Less Talk, More Music

Or as Mr. Banks puts it, this is what I've got in my lugholes. More on that in a minute.

But first, last January I made a resolution. Now, I'm not one for making resolutions because I have enough failure in my life already without adding to February's list. But this resolution has stuck, kinda, mostly because I made it elastic enough to get stretchy. It was to listen to a lot less political blather and a lot more music. A healthy change for the better, don't you think?

It helps that I have a 6-CD changer in the car so I load it up on Sunday and listen all week long. Here's what's got me cruising through rush hour this week.


Bill Evans. It was his playing I heard in my head when John Harper played piano in Beneath A Panamanian Moon. Evans once said, "It's not the notes you play, it's the notes you don't play."

Al Sunshine Guthrie (I think it was Al) advised writers to "get in late and leave early." I think he was talking about scenes, but it could be excellent dating advice, as well.

Steve Earle. Great American music. This essential CD has The Devil's Right Hand, a great song that also gave Dusty Rhoades the title to his first novel. Thanks for both.

Squirrel Nut Zippers. This is a nostalgic favorite. Hot is what put the Zippers on the map with its hit "Hell." The Zippers are local, from Chapel Hill, and they've recently reformed after years of legal, well, Hell. Listening to Katherine Whalen's voice again is a treat and how can a band with baritone sax solos go wrong?



Almost Famous. Talk about nostalgia. Great movie. Great soundtrack.


American Splendor. Another great soundtrack to another great movie, this one starring Dave White. "Chasing Rainbows" by R. Crumb and the Cheap Suit Serenaders. "Ain't That Peculiar" by Chocolate Genius. Great stuff.



Southern Culture on the Skids. Another local favorite. Recently, someone over at Daniel Hatadi's Crimespace started a forum thread on noir music. I think they meant tracks like Harlem Nocturne, but SCOTS could easily pass. With tracks like Shotgun and Carve That Possum, SCOTS is hip deep in redneck noir. But if they could be known around the world for just one song, I would vote for Banana Puddin.' Some of the time they're singing about a classic southern dessert. Other times, well, I think they could be singing about something else. Ain't that a slippery groove, indeed.

So that's what's bouncing around my cranium this week. What's in yours?

Talk to me.