True True Dreams and Living Twice
This Week's Spotify Soundtrack looks ahead to the week in New Orleans and back at last week's Americana Music Association Conference in Nashville.
This Week's Spotify Soundtrack looks ahead to the week in New Orleans and back at last week's Americana Music Association Conference in Nashville.
1. "Rebennackin'" - Tom McDermott: Dr. John was honored with a Lifetime Achievement award at the Americana Music Association Awards last Wednesday at the Ryman Auditorium. This is Tom McDermott's salute to him from All The Keys & Then Some.
2. "Ode to John and Yoko" - Hurray for the Riff Raff: Hurray for the Riff Raff played a lot of new material at their AMA showcase, as well as this song from Look Out Mama that I overlooked when it was released. They play One Eyed Jacks Wednesday.
3. "OK Corral" - T. Hardy Morris: One of the pleasant surprises of the AMA was T. Hardy Morris and his wan, druggy honky tonk sound.
4. "You Only Live Twice" - Mark Lanegan: Speaking of druggy. From his new album, Imitations.
5. "Vortexas" - Howe Gelb: Giant Sand's Howe Gelb made a typically irrascible appearance at his AMA showcase, alternately hushed and ear-threatening, tender then hacked off at the noise at the bar. Sunniest line: "They've been killing off your heroes since you were 17."
6. "Jericho" - John Fullbright: This song was one of the highlights of the awards show at the Ryman, and Fullbright was one of the young heroes of this year's conference.
7. "Love is War" - Ben Miller Band: I thought this three-piece hill country blues band from Missouri looked disturbingly like white supremacists with their shaved heads and big beards. Geoffrey Himes of The Washington Post thought they looked more like refugees from a reality show. Whatever, they were also impressive with homemade instruments, a phone strung up as a microphone, and inventive arrangements that kept the trio's one-chord blues from becoming predictable.
8. "Banana Mae" - Why?: They play One Eyed Jacks Tuesday.
9. "Audition Tapes" - T. Hardy Morris
10. "Stranger into Starman" - Aimee Mann: Aimee Mann comes to Tipitina's Tuesday, October 1, and we'll have an interview with her coming soon.
11. "True Dreams of Wichita" - Mike Doughty: Singer Mike Doughty has made no secret of his anger toward the way his songs were treated by the other members of Soul Coughing. He has re-recorded many of those songs including this one on Circles, and he'll play Tipitina's November 15.
12. "Tessellate" - Alt-J: Alt-J plays the previously postponed show at the House of Blues Wednesday.
13. "Bad Dancer" - Yoko Ono's Plastic Ono Band: Yoko's current incarnation of the Plastic Ono Band includes son Sean, Cibo Matto's Yuka Honda, Mike D and Cornelius. This is from the recent Take Me to the Land of Hell.
14. "900 Rhymes a Minute" - Casual: Casual plays the Hi-Ho Lounge Monday.
15. "Adaptation" - The Weeknd: From his new album, Kiss Land.
16. "Refuse to Be Saved" - Elvis Costello and the Roots: From the new album, Wise Up, Ghost.
17. "Poverty's Paradise" - Tha Alkaholiks: They headline the show with Casual at the Hi-Ho Monday.
18. "26" - Chic: People had largely stopped paying attention to Chic by the release of Real People, but it still had a lot of good songs like this one.
19. "I Need You" - Sylvester: The recent Mighty Real: Greatest Dance Hits is a public service, putting this talked about but lightly anthologized disco icon back into circulation.
20. "Booty-Whop" - Big Freedia: The Queen Diva will have a red-carpet premiere of the first episode of the online reality show Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce Sunday at The Republic.
21. "Sidewinder" - AC Slater: Love the name on this EDM artist from West Virginia who plays The Republic Thursday. Here's a link to the free music page on his website.
22. "Introspection" - MGMT: From the new album, MGMT.
23. "Klezmer Nuthouse" - Tom McDermott: In my recent conversation with Tom McDermott in The New Orleans Advocate about his new album, Bamboula, McDermott expressed surprise that Van Dyke Parks didn't select this song for the recent album of his material chosen by Parks.
