The Stranger Dance


Wednesday Blues: Mixed Bag Blues

Ray Charles

Well, it’s Wednesday again… and I still got them hump day blues. This week’s selection includes some deep cuts from artists you won’t find in the blues section of your local record store. It’s a mixed bag, but it’s all 100% blues.

Stay tuned for the next installment, featuring some great stride blues tracks from the likes of Professor Longhair, Dr. John, and Otis Spann.

Happy rest of the work week from the Stranger Dance crew.

MP3s:

Bob Dylan - Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat
Aretha Franklin - Good To Me As I Am To You
The Rolling Stones - Fancy Man Blues
James Brown - Tell Me What I Did Wrong
Little Willie John - I Need Your Love So Bad
Ray Charles - Hard Times
Little Richard - I’m Just A Lonely Guy

It’s Time for Campaigning

This has little to do with music, but is based on Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are a-Changin’” and therefore fair game. Plus, it’s awesome. You may remember JibJab from its presidential election parody in 2004. Well, they’re back, and hold on, because it’s pretty sweet.

Behind the Curve: I Finally See “I’m Not There”

Last night I caught the cryptic Bob Dylan biopic, I’m Not There, for the first time. As you probably already know it features “six distinct stages of Dylan’s public life and persona portrayed by an ensemble cast: Marcus Franklin, Ben Whishaw, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Richard Gere and Cate Blanchett.” (source). What exactly does that mean? Well, for one, the surreal quality of the film is greatly enhanced by alcohol or other mind altering substances… ahem. My roommates left me to watch alone after the first half hour.

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Mixtape: Covers Project

The Mixtape - Covers

Here’s one for the weekend. Everyone loves a good mixtape, and everyone loves a good cover song, so here’s a mix I made of some of my favorite cover tunes.

The mix spans a good deal of genres (R&B, country, reggae, folk, bluegrass) and artists - from relative unknowns (Clem Snide) to legends (Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Townes van Zandt).

It zig-zags a little, from an acoustic Sublime cover of Marley, to Reverend Al covering the Fab Four (worth it just to hear a band member yell “Shut up, Al Green” in the beginning) and breaks quite a few of my rules for making mixes along the way.

This is definitely a mix, so feel free to download everything and listen to it as such, or just pick and choose. Enjoy. (more…)

Tom Waits Announces Summer 2008 Tour

Tom Waits in Concert
This is big news. The 2008 Summer concert lineup was already off to a good start, but it just got a whole lot better.

Tom Waits’ publicist just announced a Summer tour across the US and Europe. Details are shaky and no dates or venues have been announced. We’ll update as news becomes available. [Update: 2008 Tour Dates Announced]

Fans know that seeing Waits live is something between witnessing Halley’s comet and a blue moon. I was lucky to catch a short set at this year’s Bridge School benefit, but I’d be a lot happier to see a full show in a better venue (especially without obnoxious John Mayer fans complaining throughout).

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