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First off, nice job to all the folks at the ACL festival with this booking. The National's new album, The Boxer is another fantastic work by this posse of Cincinnati boys, now living in New York City.
I can't get enough of it and the bloggeratti are going nuts over these guys. Although they got the total shaft on scheduling (Sunday, the 16th @ 1:30pm, ATT stage), The National is a gem to see in an otherwise total lull period of the final day. It's difficult to describe their music-- gothy with a great power punch, layered with horns and strings. They just played Dave Letterman this week and even he was really impressed- calling it "beautiful." Watch for yourself as they perform "Fake Empire" live.
I'll spare you the details, but Austin Music Magazine has subtly changed names and more importantly, ownership. A new Austin magazine spawned over the last two years, and one I have contributed to over the last year and a half (thanks Dante Dominick and Dennis Carter), perseveres.
I bring this up because we're embarking on yet another Austin City Limits Music Festival, September 14-16th in what will certainly be green, vibrant and always beautiful (Hel-lo...Texas has made national news for all its rain...) Zilker Park, 1/2 mile from downtown Austin.
Austin Music + Entertainment once again will compile an ACL preview: "Austin Acts Not to Miss," and "National Acts Not to Miss." Yours truly has been assigned the duty of the two-page feature for the September/October issue. Not only am I excited at this assignment, I've been amped up for the festival ever since the lineup was announced in mid June.
Get your asses down here and see the festival, and be on the lookout for the new issue in late August if you're an Austinite. If you're nice I might send you one, and if you're interested, check out the current issue.
Also, look at the bottom of this blog list for a review of many of the great bands to hear while here, and be ready for "Column #2 (of 3)" of ACL's "uncovered" list coming to a blog near you...
LISTEN to Jimmy Hendrix- Electric Ladyland here.
Electric Ladyland was where Jimi began experimenting with his sound in the studio, incorporating all the influences he'd accumulated in four years on top of the world, before he would finally leave it...
The CDDocumentary project began at KBUT public radio, in Crested Butte, Colorado as an appreciation of albums essential to our station's music library. Now in Austin, Texas, I carry on the project producing segments airing on statons KBUT, Crested Butte and KDUR, Durango. A new segment is produced every two weeks. Here's the latest.
While at my previous public radio station we had a little fun during Women's History Month this past March. I asked listeners to vote on their top women in music, resulting in a two hour program titled "Top 20 Women in Music Countdown."
I took the listeners votes , tallied them up and compiled the program. Each artist is featured with a short profile and brief commentary on their contributions and accolades. Two to three songs per artist are used.
Keeping in mind that the list was listener's choice there is always the example of more recent artists winning out over performers from previous decades and lesser-known but influential artists being passed over for a current singer who is heaping media attention. Also, this type of list generates the passions of music lover's who want to promote personal favorites. Why not? Fight for the ones you love.
Read the full list here.
Take the Dixie Chicks for example. While I do believe their body of work over the past three albums is impressive, I'm not so sure they would be in my #10, if in my top 20. Neko Case is well on her way to a decade or more of redefining the powerful yet delicate female country vocalist; all with her own twist. But she's not there yet. Even though Aimee Mann is one of my personal heroes, and a fantastic songwriter, has she really had any measureable impact, like many of the women artists on this list? Also, although Ani Difranco has accomplished much and is a cultural force in her own right, she doesn't make my personal top 20 either (I can just feel the looks...).
Listen to Hour #1
That knocks four off the list. Who would I replace them with? The biggest oversight is Dianna Ross and the Supremes. They were the greatest girl band of all time and defined African American music of the 60's. 23 top ten singles and 6 in the UK doesn't hurt either.
One terrible oversight on this list is Mother Maybelle Carter. Popular music would not be the same today if it weren't for the Carter family. Mother Maybelle was the heart. Don Walls once told Life magazine that Mother Maybelle took country from the front porch to the radio. She matched rhythm guitar to the vocal harmonies and helped propel the guitar as a lead instrument in popular music.
Listen to Hour #2
Bessie Smith is another overlooked contributer. Not only was she an accomplished singer, she was a dancer, comedian and actress and ran her own touring company throughout the 20's and 30's. She was one of the highest paid African American performers at the time.
Dusty Springfield was declared "Brittan's best pop-singer ever," by Rolling Stone magazine. Adapting due to fragmentation of popular music into more "hip" genres, she was a queen of reinvention moving from her Burt Bacharach partnership, to her love of Motown and R&B. Recording with just about every relevant name in music during the 70's and early 80's she reemerged again in the 80's with club hits from some of the days most popular bands and "Son of a Preacherman" enjoyed tremendous revival thanks to Pulp Fiction.
The limitations of only 20 great women are highlighted when names like Patti Smith, Wanda Jackson, Joan Jett, Big Mama Thornton and Linda Ronstadt are passed over. A few of them received votes, but barely. Hopefully next year will be top 25 or 30 women.
Read the full list here.
DOWNLOAD the full program here.
Whimsical reason #1 that other countries solve problems better than the US:
Europe’s latest automatic multi-storey car park in Istanbul: 612 parking places in a cube of steel, glass and aluminium.
This shit is cool, watch this presentation.
LISTEN to CDDocumentery- Ryan Adams: Gold
CDDocumentary is a segment I used to produce for KBUT public radio in Crested Butte, Colorado and was/is a music-intensive look into an "essential" album within it's music library.
I'm producing them again and they're back on the air on KBUT and KDUR in Durango, Colorado. I'm looking for more public stations to pick up the series.
I will continue to add them to Eating Fresh Texas and also include past segments (Liz Phair, Ali Farke Toure, Uncle Tupelo, REM, James Brown, more...)
Gold, Adams' second solo release since leaving the group Whiskeytown, would take him another step closer to being one of this decade's most prolific singer-songwriters...
PART ONE OF A THREE PART SERIES :
Do this...go to the Austin City Limits festival lineup site some weekend afternoon, make a 'rita or mojito, take an hour and go down the list of "third-tier" acts and click on the band name and listen through the music clips that are loaded up there. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how good this year's lineup actually is. I have only gone down the far left column, and already I'm excited:
Rev Horton Heat- w a new album of honky tonk tunes, this is perfect for Austin
Peter Bjorn and John- took the "indie/songwriter" category by storm this winter when the album came out
STS9- Panic can't play ACL every year, and they're already taking over the Backyard for 3 nights again in July
Yo La Tengo- I love these guys, very eclectic
Roderigo y Gaberiella- don't you dare miss this Latin guitar duo, brother and sister, PHENOMENAL. This is my pick for break-out of ACL
Blonde Redhead- its like 90's new wave, and very powerful live
Eli Young- I'd compare him to Robert Earl Keen. He's not quite there yet, but good...
Aterciaopelados- Columbian pop/dance, this kicks ass
Heartless Bastards- from Ohio, I drove to Denver and saw them play for 40 people, and they rocked! The Chrissy Hynde of the 2000's
Raul Malo- the guy is the mexi-texi crooner of the last 20 years
James Hunter- WOW, this guy's fun, he used to "busk" in England and he's fantastic live w/a great throwback sound.
Mighty Clouds of Joy- LA group mixing Gospel and Soul, great sounds, incredible energy, "the Temptations of Soul" is appropriate
Preservation Hall Jazz Band- always with some 'Nawlins flavor at ACL, these gents won't disappoint
Andy Palacio and the Garafino Collective- it's a shame that Ali Farke Toure died two years ago and never played ACL, this makes up for that. Great sound.
Ryan Shaw- can you say Lenny Kravitz, Stevie Wonder and Ben Harper. Holy shit will this guy tear it up...another candidate for ACL break-out
The National- there are a lot of "alternative" bands this time around (see Bjork and company at tier 2) and this is one of the best playing...and no body knows about them
Beau Soleil- another New Orleans party band
Grace Potter & the Nocturnals- I friggin' love this gal, she is like Ruthie Foster (catch her when your here) and the wife of Dereck Trucks (im spacing her name right now)
Del McCurry- nothing needs to be said about this man
Jessie Malin- he's been on the scene for about 3-4 years now and I cant believe this AAA rocker hasn't shown up at ACL yet
Railroad Earth- bluegrassers haven't been here since 2003's ACL. Fan favorite
(center column cheater...)
Charlie Musselwhite- closest thing to seeing Johnny Cash
So....that's the Left column. I'll follow up with center and right, but hopefully you're beginning to see that this year is once again a fantastic lineup. When we get spoiled with headliners, it's hard to see past that or the second tier artists (for some reason I've always referred to the ACL font size as Headliners, 2nd tier, 3rd tier, I think you get it)
The ACL Festival, like the city of Austin itself, has always been far deeper than what you see on the surface. Dig beneath the headliner big names and you find the real heart and soul.
