Sunday, August 16, 2015

Aug 16 : "'sundown' (Gordon Lightfoot) unmastered" - Wreaths (Asbury Park)

Not often is the "new" version or the cover of a song better than the original, but this is one of those rare exceptions. The song is Asbury Park band Wreath's version of "Sundown". The original was done by Gordon Lightfoot in 1974. I was around then :) and I remember the original. I heard it often.

But Wreaths' version has the original beat, especially with the atmospheric instrumental background. This version was recorded at Big Blue North Studio in Utica, NY, last year (Feb 2014).




Wreaths was the second band I heard when I went to Bowery Electric back on May 21 (am behind in my writing after surgery. Don't snitch on me; Dr. knew I was going there). It was my first time hearing them. This was one of those situations where I had gone to see a different band but heard this band for the first time and liked them as well. A double payoff! The band generously gave me one of their new cd's; the new album is also titled "Wreaths". I've been listening to it and like it, but I keep going back to their Soundcloud page where they have "Sundown". I hope that makes it onto one of their cd's soon.

If you'd like to keep tabs on Wreath's concert schedule, here is the click to their Facebook page ::: Wreaths (CLICK HERE)".



Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Aug 11 : "Stolen Dance" -- Milky Chance (Kassel, DE)

Finally I'm starting to get back to regular life after being home-bound for weeks and weeks after foot surgery. Have permission to go back to work this week.

Each place where I work has their favorite radio station, and at the job where I'm going tomorrow, they listen to a station that was playing this track a real lot in the few weeks before I had my accident. Maybe it was because the band was planning a US tour. In fact they actually came to Philly a couple weeks ago. But I haven't been able to go out to hear bands since May, so I missed out.

I'm wondering whether I'll still hear it tomorrow. The song is "Stolen Dance", played by German band "Milky Chance." (love the sultry vocals).





======================================
6/27/20 UPDATE ::: OOPS! The music is NOT AVAILABLE IN OUR COUNTRY! YIKES! So much for listening to this band!
======================================



If you would like to visit Milky Chance's web page, here is the click ::: Milky Chance (CLICK HERE)



Thursday, August 6, 2015

Aug 06 : "IE" - Writer (Brooklyn)

I had to do some serious negotiations to get my doctor to allow me to go to work in NY on May 21 and then go to a concert afterwards. Foot surgery was to be on the agenda, but not right away. Don't even THINK about snitching on me. Hahahaha."

The music event I wanted to go to that night was a show by Brooklyn band Writer. They were playing at Bowery Electric. Writer consists of brothers Andy and James Ralph. I had seen them play once before at Pianos and was eager to see another show. For the May 21 show they were a team of three; I don't know if the trio is a permanent change.

The style on stage had changed since I saw them last: more haze, more fuzz. Very often music that's characterized by haze and fuzz can be very laid back, but Writer's haze and fuzz was presented with the same force and thrust as the music I heard them play at Pianos back in January. Beyond that, with the new band member, the arrangements were quite different. The keys were less prominent than they had been back at Pianos in 2013.

Playing here right now on my blog page is "EI", which is the first track on their now sold out 7"lacquer recording, "I Make Neon".






Writer doesn't have any upcoming events listed on their page. In the meantime, here is the link to their Tumblr page ::: Writer on Tumblr (CLICK HERE). And here is he click to the writeup about their previous show that I attended: Writer at Pianos on Jan 22 2013



Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Aug 04 : "The Unwinding" - George Packer

A few months ago our church book group read "The Unwinding" by George Packer. The full title is "The Unwinding - An Inner History of the New America". It chronicles societal changes that have taken place in the U.S. of A. over the past few decades, part of which includes the weakening of the middle class.

The initial self-description at the top of the book jacket's inner flap says "American Democracy is beset by a sense of crisis. Seismic shifts during a single generation have created a country of winners and losers, allowing unprecedented freedom while rending the social contract, driving the political system to the verge of breakdown and setting citizens adrift to find new paths forward. In The Unwinding, George Packer, author of The Assassin's Gate: America In Iraq, tells the story of the United States over the past three decades in an utterly original way, with his characteristically sharp eye for detail and gift for weaving together complex narratives."

The author divides the book into three sections, each representing a time period over the past decades. He tells the story of America by tracing the lives of over a dozen individual Americans in various walks of life, including, among many, a factory worker, a ceo, an entrepreneur, and a couple politicians and entertainers.

We get to know each of the "characters", their families, and their communities as we read about how their lives change decade to decade. We learn about both successes and failures and that many of what might be considered failures were actually outside of our characters' own doing and control.

The book brings an unnerving feeling with its depiction of a gradual onslaught against people's financial well-being and our country's participatory democracy.

Our characters respond to this onslaught in various ways. A couple people succumb, many try to cope or reinvent themselves, but there are a couple stories interspersed in this that I think are truly heroic.

One such story showed the heroism of a woman trying to stand up to a bank foreclosing on a property while at the same time showed the evil behind some of the forces in America today. When the woman tried to fight the bank by going to the courthouse where the foreclosure proceedings were being held, she couldn't find and no one could tell her where the proceedings were taking place. Why? BECAUSE THEY NEVER EXPECTED ANY DEFENDANTS TO SHOW UP! When she, by trial and error, found the right courtroom, her entry into the room and her very presence flustered the officials, because no defendant EVER came to fight them and defend herself. She was shocked, as was I when reading this, that the bank's reps rapidly took care of and disposed of dozens of foreclosure cases in a day, taking people's homes minute by minute. And not all the plaintiffs were even in the courtroom to begin with! Some were there only electronically!

While you may think a story about economic life might be dull, you'll find the way the author has told the story through the lives of these multiple characters to be quite engaging. While I recommend this book, I will be the first to admit that it is a downer. However, the stories are timely and relevant; they explain a lot about what has been going on in our country. Through the tales of these very diverse and interesting characters and the wide fabric that the author weaves, you can get a greater understanding of the way our economic and political life is working ... and isn't working. These are the stories of living the dreams and the broken dreams.

To get a copy of "The Unwinding", click here ::: "The Unwinding" (CLICK HERE)



=================================
"The Unwinding" (c) Published: New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013