Hey man, whatcha’ listening to?

Nowadays I find it hard to listen to music like when I was younger. I used to always be on the lookout for new music. I had friends who were also into music, and we’d always be talking about new bands.  This was back before the internet, and you had to go out of your way to find new stuff. You’d read all of the mainstream music magazines, read the ‘zines for the underground bands, listen to college radio to be exposed to unknown bands, or trade mix tapes with your friends. I’d listen to music all of the time but now I don’t have time to do all of that. If I listen to music now, it’s usually in the car, so here’s what I currently have in my car,

Ry Cooder – Boomers Story

Ry’s done a lot of good stuff. This was the first album of his that I bought, and it’s still my favorite. I prefer Ry's earlier albums, up to about the album Borderline. To me that is what Ry was all about, playing and exploring traditional music. Some of his mid period albums are okay, but I hear that his most recent couple of albums are really good. I haven't bought any of them yet, so I can't say.

Charlie Patton – Founder of the Delta Blues

It’s hard to pick a favorite blues singer, but Charlie is definitely up there. His playing is still causing people to say " How is he doing that?" Not to mention his vocals. There's a great quote from Son House, when asked in the 1960s to decipher what Charlie was singing on an old record, Son says that he couldn't understand what he was saying when he was sitting next to him in the 1930s. (When I find the actual quote, I'll post about it.)

Uncle Tupelo – Anodyne

The last album by Uncle Tupelo before they split up to form Wilco and Son Volt. When I first heard this, It didn't really do anything for me, so I put it on the shelf. A couple of months later, I gave it another try and I couldn't understand why I didn't like it the first time. It became one of my favorite albums of the mid 1990s.

Leoncavallo – Pagliacci (with Placido Domingo)

When I played in the Munier Mandolin Orchestra, I always enjoyed playing Vesti La Giubba, especially when we had a singer. To me opera has what I like in music. It tells a story, and touches on basic human emotions.

Grateful Dead –  Ladies and Gentlemen… The Grateful Dead- Filmore East April 1971

This is my favorite time period of the Grateful Dead, They still had the energy from the early days, and hadn’t yet become too spacey. Also Pigpen was still in top form with his raps. On this album, you can still hear them trying to find their way from the psychedelic music of the 1960s to the more folksy American Beauty/Workingman's Dead period.  On this, they cover songs as far apart as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles "I second that emotion", to Merle Haggard's "Sing me back home."