Sometimes I hear a recording and it really makes me want to see and hear the song preformed live. “Always” is a duet on Shea Seger’s album The May Street Project. Ron Sexsmith takes the first verse. It’s special. Seger comes in. And it’s a great shift in tone. The recoding is way cool. But I want it to be late, in a dark club. Bricks. Heavy Curtains. Underground. It’s a small room. It’s perfectly crowded. It sounds good in there. A four piece band and the two of them. Their voices perfect and naked out in front of the band. I want it to be one of those magic, selfish moments. Live.
Shea Seger “Always” with Ron Sexsmith
Paul Simon “Dazzling Blue”
Well, I have been hankering down and missing in action for a couple of months. On one level, I have been ridiculously spinning wheels with too much to do. On another level, Lillie has been killing it and it’s as fun to watch as it is to play. I think I might make a playlist out of Lillie’s breakup song list and party with it once a month, just to remind myself I am alive. I am going to re-read Lillie’s 30th birthday post every birthday I have this decade, just to remind myself how insanely weird it was to turn thirty. Maybe think about how it should really never have been as big a deal as the universe sets it up to be. And maybe think about the simple sweet things in life, just like Lillie does. Ah, music. The best drug. I was gifted “Dazzling Blue” by Paul Simon back in October and I rode it’s leisurely downstream pitter patter right through every intense moment of the holidays. It gives life this mellow twilight feeling, and it reminds me of the evening Lillie describes. Haha. It’s February and I am still using “Dazzling Blue” to relax.
King Floyd “Groove Me”
So, you know how sometimes, you need a song to put on when you are feeling sorry for yourself? I love to announce when I’m feeling sorry for myself, as just saying that out loud is so ridiculous that I always feel at least a teeny bit better. King Floyd’s “Groove Me” is a go-to song for when I have the blues. It is so funky, so dance-inducing that by the end of the song, I typically feel about ready to take on the rest of the day. (I also love that his name is written on his hat.)
Madi Diaz- Plastic Moon
Madi Diaz is one of mah veery, veery favorite ladies. Unfortunately, since she is so amazing, she is always on the road and I don’t get to see her as much as I’d like to. She and DT have written some of my favorite songs together, including an unreleased one that is my most played song on my itunes. (I’m determined it will see the light of day even if it means I steal it from them and put it out under a made up name. It is kind of a dance song, so I reckon they don’t want to dance.) Anyway, I’ve seen Madi silence a room with her songs and she is more powerful than I believe she even knows. She has a clear voice that is a delight to listen to, especially live. She and Kyle Ryan have a beautiful connection and have put their heart and soul into their new record, Plastic Moon. It is fun, it is sad, it is lovely and it is one more step on what promises to be a very beautiful road. (Pic is an oldie Madi took of me in her old tour tee shirt. I’m her #1 groupie.)
Jessie Baylin “The Greatest Thing That Never Happened…”
I knew of Jessie Baylin before I knew her. A mutual friend pulled out his cell phone a showed me a picture of me at my wedding. ”AWWW!…..Oh wait.” Except it wasn’t me, it was Jessie Baylin. He had just returned from her wedding and it turns out we wore the same (awesome) dress. I should have known then she would make one of my favorite records of the year. It is not terribly difficult to get me to enjoy a song. I can bop along to many a song for 3 minutes. It is, however, exceedingly difficult to get me to listen to and then love an entire record. Jessie’s record, Little Spark, is truly a record I have come to love. Really love. At any given time, I’ve had each song stuck in my head for days. It is a record that is nice to live with and I highly recommend you do to, especially on vinyl. I really recommend the whole album, but my favorite song for a long time was Yuma, then Love is Wasted on Lovers, and then it changed a lot. It is currently “The Greatest Thing That Never Happened.” If you need any added encouragement, note the Rosson Crow painting (see at 2:25) tucked in the studio where she recorded the album. Rosson Crow means the studio owners are badass, badass studio means a badass producer, badass producer means they only work with badass talented folks. Like Jessie. Super talented, puts on an awesome show and has made a really special album I can’t recommend highly enough.