peacenikinhell's Last.fm Journal

happy birthday.

Sun, 24 May 2009 13:42:32 +0000

Happy Birthday, Bob Dylan.

Bobby Dylan turned 68 today. Yes, it's been almost half a century since Dylan popped up in Greenwich Village, New York in the early 60s. Forty-six albums later, he's still making music and touring around a hundred shows a year (a pace he's been keeping up for over twenty years straight now).

Together Through Life was released about a month ago. It had two weeks at the top of UK charts, and a week here. Fifteen other countries also have it in the top of the ranks. Easily not his best work, he's still comfortable and relaxed in his style, and his "Jack Frost"=alias, for production, seems to be getting more adventurous with each release.

Popular bands have actually come back and starting covering Dylan's songs. I won't include or mention their names here out of respect to decent music. Even talking about the existence of these covers verges on blasphemy, but still bears mention due to it being a doorway provided to all those lesser ears towards better musical tastes.

I'll be listening to his entire studio catalog today/tomorrow. There's entirely too much to get it through in one day's time, especially if I'll be paying attention to the lyrics and enjoying the man's wisdom.

I'm starting the day off, because it's Sunday, with his Christian period trilogy: Slow Train Coming, Saved, and Shot of Love. All of these are vastly underrated albums, and while they may be preachy they still grab hold of your soul and can make you feel the singer's emotions. And besides, in hindsight it's entirely possible Dylan's only intentions for Christianity was the ability to release some Gospel albums (oh, and fuck some black women. Dylan liked his black women).

We'll skip way back towards the early sixties again, with his folky releases up to the holy grail of the thin, wild mercury sound, Blonde on Blonde. I think I'll have to shove John Wesley Harding in there before Bringing It All Back Home, though. The seventies will follow, up until the brilliantly unappreciated Street Legal, beginning with the '69 release Nashville Skyline.

Then Oh Mercy, his amazing 80's comeback album, followed by the recent trilogy of Time Out of Mind, Love and Theft, and Modern Times. Then, we'll spin the previously mentioned "Together Through Life." After that we'll return to the 80's back catalog and listen to the less-acclaimed LPs.

Anyway, grab a harmonica or a guitar and play something in honor of the Poet of Rock.

Happy 68th, Bob Dylan!

deep salt sea. [mixtape]

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 23:48:37 +0000

1. Altar Boy - Eels
2. Gotta Have You - The Weepies
3. Yours - Amy Correia
4. I Want You - Tom Waits
5. Because You Are a Woman - Brett Dennen
6. Blind Love - Tom Waits
7. Hold On To Yourself - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
8. Sea of Love - Tom Waits
9. Almost Gone - Hazmat Modine
10. Eyes Down - Eels
11. All I Want Is You - Michael Franti & Spearhead
12. Hollow as a Bone - Cowboy Junkies
13. I'm Going to Stop Pretending That I Didn't Break Your Heart - Eels
14. Never Let Go - Tom Waits
15. West Country Girl - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
16. In a Graveyard - Rufus Wainwright
17. Time - Tori Amos
18. Can't Leave Her Behind - Lee Ranaldo & Stephen Malkmus
19. Love minus zero/No limit - Joan Baez
20. House Where Nobody Lives - Tom Waits

sometimes music says more than the words you have on your tongue.

We're All Mad Here

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:46:33 +0000

Sun 29 Jun – Tom Waits

WOW! That was one hell of an amazing show Tom put on this evening. He came on a little late, finally hitting the stage about 20 'till 9, but it was well worth the delay.

The band kicked off with a WICKED version of Lucinda, with Waits stomping his work boots on a raised platform and sending chalk dust into the air. He moved and gyrated and kicked his heels and arms all around the stage, directing the band and the audience like an orchestra director taking charge of his instruments.

Tom sang for the first few songs, and picked up the guitar to rock out some classics, then stepped down to a piano and delivered an absolutely sublime Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis. He finished up his piano stint with You Can Never Hold Back Spring and hopped back up to the podium.

What followed was an absolutely awe-inducing round featuring such highlights as Rain Dogs and an electrifying Eyeball Kid, where Tom Waits swapped out his black pork-pie for a disco-ball one and flailed around to fling light all around the auditorium.

In my opinion, however, the high-points of the evening were when a light bulb dropped down from the rafters and Tom Waits said that he finally had a story to tell us. It was one about old neighborhoods (and how they eventually become renovated and clean, leading people to stare at you funny when you relay past horror stories about what's now a polite city block)...9th & Hennepin. Early on in the show, during one of those gunshot sneeze moments, I shouted out "PEHDTSCKJMBA!" and Tom looked up and said "What?!" before jerking the audience for not having "worked together very long" and how a few people had risen their voices and become "city councilman." Oh man, I got to talk to the man (even if from a distance).

absolutely bitchin' show.

PEHDTSCKJMBA

Tue, 20 May 2008 23:52:48 +0000

So, I'm going to see Tom Waits in Knoxville this summer on the "Glitter and Doom" Tour. I'm fucking psyched!

In his press conference he explains the astrological and metaphorical logistics at play behind the tour.

i wonder how much, if any, like Orphans this tour will be. I'm particularly fond of his earlier stuff, Heart Of Saturday Night and Closing Time but everything the man's done is genius. I all really dug his William S. Burroughs collaboration on The Black Rider which is definitely worth searching out.

All in all, I'm just giddy as a school girl with anticipation.

say "Hi" to your mother.

Dylan Dug.

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 13:27:47 +0000

Thu 27 Sep – Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Amos Lee

Going to see Bob Dylan perform obviously isn't going to be the same experience twice, as nearly anyone will tell you. It's difficult to explain exactly what goes on with the music, and sometimes it hits and it doesn't. I'm personally glad I spent what I did on tickets and was impressed with his ability to still create raw, intense music despite having been trucking along since the early sixties.

Highlights of his set included "Working Man Blues #2," "Memphis Blues Again," and "Highway 61 Revisited." All three of these renditions put me in a good mood and i could feel the vibe he was putting off. What sticks out most in my mind, however, is a sour taste from a modernized, slowed version of "Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" that was difficult to connect with. Perhaps that's just a predisposition to the acoustic arrangement. The "All Along The Watchtower" that crept up my ears at the end left me stunned and, to me, cemented the entire concert.

Amos Lee and Elvis Costello did both put up great stage performances, and Dylan could definitely have tried to be as engaging as his openers. However, hasn't he taught us that it's worthless to try to expect something out of him, he'll only change it around and fuck with your head? I'm a fan of a lot of his recent albums and don't find his voice to be irritating; it's assumed that his voice is going to sound raspier live than when put through an editing studio.

I was neither disappointed nor ecstatic about the entire show, but just being able to see Bob Dylan is an experience and definitely one worth repeating. As for claims he's past his prime, a true Artist has no prime, as Art is an expression of Life. And yes, his voice is going, but that's to be expected after his lifestyle for as many years as he's been on the road. Try listening to Tom Waits for a few months and then switch back to Dylan's newer voice, trust me, he'll be a whole lot more intelligible.

Bob Dylan Concert

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 04:02:12 +0000

so, the fucking man is coming to my fucking town, how fucking far out is that?! oh my gods, words cannot express the sheer amusement i have at the very idea of attending this concert. i made sure i had the fucking tickets the absolute first second they went available.

in preparation i've been spinning a bunch of Bob Dylan's live shit. a live Dylan recor worth grabbing:

Before the Flood -- one of my favorites. Disc one tasties include: a more rocking, blusey rendition of "Rainy Day Woman #12 & 35", and a faster and intense version of "Ballad of a Thin Man." Hit the second disc and check out a take of "Just Like a Woman" that'll make your skin crawl followed by a rock n' roll remake of "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)". You'll notice Jimi Hendrix's influence on "All Along the Watchtower" this time, cementing the definitive remaking. "Highway 61 Revisited" comes up next as a loud, sexy blues driven number that's closed up with an even louder Like a Rolling Stone." To cut the whole thing to a close is a blast from the past, Blowin' in the Wind" updated to become a rock piece strong enough to hold its own with the rest of the set. Various other goodies, including covers and non-album originals can be found here as well, definitely worth the purchase.

Gling-Gló

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 06:22:24 +0000

Gling-Gló by Björk is an absolutely beautiful record. fucking, Björk singing in Icelandic to jazzy music; what's not to love? her voice is absolutely gorgeous, but her native tongue combined with the instrumentals does wonders. very very good.

forgive me mr. lennon

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:59:47 +0000

so...Yoko Ono released a new collaborative album with a rather eclectic group of artists. Yes, I'm A Witch. at least the album title is appropriate.

it's a good album, definitely worth getting. yoko is talented, doesn't mean i have to like her.

if you dig tom waits...

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 05:54:51 +0000

go out. take some green paper. give it to your indie music store dude. tell him you want Fishnets & Cigarettes. it's fucking brilliance. jazzy insanity. mad man stories and rantings.

peace/puck

argh. smoking killed me.

Fri, 9 Mar 2007 04:41:21 +0000

rah. i think i'm going to work on quitting smoking cigarettes. i just had pneumonia for a week and felt like shit. finally i'm feeling better and able to work again. jeez.

peace/puck