Music to hear: November 2005 Archives

I saw Storyhill at the Cedar Cultural Center last night. The show was a benefit for Twin Cities Homeless Shelters. The proceeeds benefited Simpson Housing Services, Our Saviours Housing & St. Stephens.

The music was awesome. It's an acoustic duo starring Chris Cunningham and John Hermanson. The sounds they produced with their guitars blew me away. I had heard all of those sounds made by guitars, but never in such a rapid fire fashion. Their vocals were a great match for the strong bright chords and impressive finger picking. If you like acoustic folk style music you should listen to these guys. I was especially blown away by the song "Somewhere In Between".

"I've tried to get through to let you know
    how much of who I am I owe to you.  
But you won't let me and you turn
    and twist my words and make cracks for them to fall through.    
And I waste my time trying to be honest.  
Looking for words to bridge the gap between us. 
But you don't hear them, and I'm still talking.  
They're somewhere in between us.

I was sleeping, I don't know if we're in Iowa or Missouri.  
But it doesn't matter, 
    it all looks the same between the corn fields and snow flurries.  
And I'm just passing through on the way to somewhere.  
The destination's distant, but I don't care.  
I haven't yet arrived, but I'm I'm not just starting.  
I'm somewhere in between."

I love being able to support a worthy cause and have a great time doing it. You can bet I'll be going to their show the next time they are in town. Thanks for the invite Clay!

American IV: The Man Comes Around

by Johnny Cash

I saw "Walk the Line" the Johnny Cash bio a few nights ago. I haven't seen the last few musician biopics so I don't have a lot to compare this movie to, but I liked the movie quite a bit.

Reese Witherspoon tore up the stage as June Carter. I mean she could have a career in country music in the time it takes for you to shed a tear in your beer. Based on her portrayal of June Carter it was easy for me to see why Mr. Cash fell in love with her -- I think the whole audience was in love with her by the end of the movie. I loved how the movie showed them dancing around each other for so many years. I loved the way she walked around his addiction then plunged right in to help him when it seemed he needed it most. I loved her smile.

Joaquin Phoenix was ok as Johnny Cash. He had the mannerisms but something was missing in the way he covered the music. Personally, I would have preferred that more of the music was gleamed from the original recordings.

I'm predisposed to like any movie with a tragically flawed hero, so take my recommendation with a grain of salt.  I give it four stars out of five. The worst thing about the movie is that it ends to soon. I wanted to see him as an old man with June Carter still at his side.

After seeing the movie, I had to get out my "American IV: The Man Comes Around" album. I love that album. Cash's cover of Trent Reznor's "Hurt" is haunting. The original Nine Inch Nails version is good, but Cash's treatment, with it's spare melody and emotional voice, is fantastic. Once you see Cash's personal struggles with addiction on the big screen the song takes on even more life and meaning. The whole album is really good although I'm not fond of the duet on "Bridge Over Troubled Waters". It's not that I dislike Fiona Apple; it's just that she doesn't add much to the song and their voices don't seem to compliment each other at all.

I think I need to add a few more Johnny Cash albums to my Christmas wish list. I don't think I'm alone in this. I went to Target to pick up some grocery tems on Saturday; the Cash section was all sold out.

The Cosmic Game

by Thievery Corporation

There are a couple of albums that have been getting played a lot on my iPod.

• "The Cosmic Game", Thievery Corporation -- I first heard Thievery Corporation on the "Garden State" Soundtrack. The song was "Lebanese Blonde". It was amazingly smooth. It had this mid-eastern feel at the beginning which gets combined with what I think is a bossa nova beat. I picked up their latest album and found it was filled with songs that have this great combination of world music sounds and really interesting rhythms. How can you not like a song titled, "Marching the Hate Machines (Into the Sun)"?
• "Plans", Death Cab for Cutie -- I loved their last album Transatlanticism. I found them while browsing Amazon, checking out that little "people who bought X also bought Y" feature. I'm sure you can find a million other Death Cab fans on the web who can explain their allure better than I can. All I know is they are smooth and understated. Given the number of times I have listened to their music I seriously should be sick of them by now but I still like them.