Keepin' Monsta Happy

Shearwater- Animal Joy: 4.0  Boy did this record grow on me. Another great band from Austin, TX- I'm moving there! This is music you really have to listen to and when you pay attention to each song you get rewarded with the depth and complexity of Shearwater's sonic prowess. Meiburgh's voice coupled with atmospheric orchestration are the entry points for basically every track and it grabs you by the neck and pulls you right into their aesthetically weird world of beauty. No ho-hum tracks on this cd. Love it. 

Scissor Sisters- Magic Hour: 2.0  The exact opposite of Shearwater's Animal Joy- this is music that sounds better if you're not paying attention. Cuz if you really listen to this shit, I mean music, then it's campiness comes shinning through as evidenced by the song Let's Have A Kiki; and you hear lyrics like "Twist and shout/Boobies hangin' all out,".  They get 2.0 for Baby Come Home and The Secret Life Of Letters- the only decent songs on the whole thing.

Bap Kennedy- Domestic Blues: 4.5  I love putting my favorite cd's  up for DYN review. I'm sure someone along the line will give this a 2, so that's why I'm giving it a 4.5 even though I hate "hidden" or "buried" tracts. Steve Earle and Bap Kennedy made a real masterpiece here. I like everything about this record. Great songwriting. Great musicianship. Great guest performers (Jerry Douglass, Peter Rowan, Nanci Griffith, and Steve Earle). Great production. Bap Kennedy's Domestic Blues- like The Chieftains Down The Old Plank Road- proves there is some serious connection between Celtic music and American country roots music. I'll have another Guinness please.

Buddy Guy- Damn Right I Got The Blues: 4.0  So there was this thing in 1970 called the Festival Express. Were you guys even born then?? It was one of those amazing moments in rock n' roll history. The Festival Express was a multi-band, multi-day mega party. For 5 days, the performers lived, slept, rehearsed and partied on a chartered train that traveled from Toronto, to Calgary, to Winnipeg, with each stop culminating in a huge concert. The artists were The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Delaney & Bonnie, Leslie West and yup------Buddy Guy. Well if he was cool enough to be on that train with my hero's then he was cool enough for me to start listening to. Have been a fan ever since. Highlight for me was seeing him at The Sting. Damn right he's good! Look at Buddy covering a John Hiatt song......................

John Hiatt Ghits  Bring The Family was my first exposure to John Hiatt and I've been a fan ever since. The guy is one talented songwriter. Who hasn't covered a Hiatt song? I would have a tough time cutting down his library to fit on one disc. But Alan did an admirable job. Great stuff!

Discussion:  I have tremendous friends who are not into music at all- mostly golfers, and we don't ever talk about music. In fact they look at me like I have 2 heads when I tell them about seeing The Alarm at Infiniti Hall last night- so I just drop it and we talk golf. Now, my wife is into music but our tastes are so different it's not even funny. She can't stand the stuff I like. And vice versa- mostly. And I have friends who have different musical tastes and we discuss music and it's all good. Isn't variety the spice of life? I don't ever recall walking away from a friendship because of musical differences. Maybe you DYN slugs that don't appreciate my music will be the first!!