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Better Oblivion Community Center

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A few words about “Chesapeake,” from the wonderful Better Oblivion Community Center album

Can’t stop/won’t stop listening to Better Oblivion Community Center, the collaborative LP from Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst. I’m especially stuck on “Chesapeake,” the sixth of the album’s 10 tracks. It’s an elegant examination of how music is passed from one generation to the next, and how the things that connect us can eventually foster alienation. There’s definitely some bitter mixed in with the sweet here, but the first four lines may be the most beautiful love letter to music I’ve ever read, and they don’t even mention music:

The world will not remember when we’re old and tired
We’ll be blowing on the embers of a little fire
We were the tallest person watching in Chesapeake
You put me on your shoulders so I could see

The Louvin Brothers

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The Wisconsin wing of my family visited Richmond over the weekend, and — calendars be damned — we did a full-on simulated Christmas morning. Vince Guaraldi. Bacon. Bloody Marys. Presents. Snow on the ground. The whole deal. And as we all know, nothing says Christmas like unwrapping an album called Satan Is Real. I’d been on the lookout for a copy since I listened to the incredible Cocaine and Rhinestones episode about the Louvin Brothers. Turns out these Wonderful Wisconsinites™ had gotten me the coveted translucent red Light in the Attic pressing. You can really feel the hellfire when you hold it. A passage from the liner notes on the back:

The fiery setting pictured on the cover of this album was conceived and built by the Louvin Brothers themselves, using chiefly rocks, scrap rubber, and lots of imagination. The scene became a little too realistic, though, when Ira and Charlie were very nearly burned while actually directing the photography for this dramatic cover photo.

I can’t even. I love it so much. The (very bonkers) title track is embedded below. Take a listen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdJ_AXje5iI

Jerry Hahn

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A late-breaking New Year’s resolution: To say a little something on here about the records I pick up, whether it’s at one of the many wonderful record stores in town or at a thrift store, which is where I found this 1973 Jerry Hahn album called Moses. I had a good feeling about it based on the cover, though my guess was that it was somewhere in the realm of folk or American primitive acoustic guitar music. Nope — straight up jazz-rock, with exceptionally clean and quick guitar playing throughout, and more wah-wah than you can shake a Les Paul at. (The photo on the back cover is of Hahn with the classic Gibson model in hand.) There’s a great version of Miles Davis’ “All Blues” from Kind of Blue, though the highlight for me — and this comes as a surprise — is probably his version of Donavan’s “Sunshine Superman.” I’ve never had strong positive or negative feelings about the song, and I never thought the application of wah-wah would be such a selling point, but Hahn uses the effect with an uncommonly deft touch — like writing with a pen as opposed to a marker — making the most of the pedal’s ability to mimic the human voice. See what you think:

VOTE

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Big day today. I bet many of y’all have already voted, but for those of you who haven’t or are on the fence, I want to add my voice to the many I’m sure you’re hearing saying things like “Vote!” and “Please vote!” and “This could be the most important midterm election in our nation’s history, so for crying out loud, PLEASE VOTE.”

I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it: Democracy works best when all of us are involved. Your vote matters. You matter. Please vote.

For those in Virginia: Here’s the information I typically share about what forms of ID you can bring to the polls, this time in the form of a handy YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGkdeP2zHME

For those of you who have already voted and are nervously awaiting results, I thought I’d share some self-care music to get you through the day. (I know I’m a nervous wreck, and I’m leaning hard on tunes like these today.) Courtesy of a Mark Richardson tweet, here’s Charlie Haden and Hank Jones playing “Going Home,” which is based on a passage from Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9.

Matthew E. White

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This. All damn day.

Listen below to Matthew E. White’s “No Future In Our Frontman,” a protest song that’s as blistering in terms of groove as it is in terms of commentary.

Here’s a taste of the latter:

There is no future in our frontman
There is no gracefulness to his song
There is no melody in his choir
And I refuse to sing along

I love this metaphor so much. Not only is it incredibly apt, it’s profoundly ironic, because it brings into relief just how devoid of art our president’s life must be. Can you imagine him engaging in the creative process in any way? He danced to “My Way” to celebrate winning a democratically held election, for crying out loud.

If you dig the song like I do, click here to snag a 7-inch vinyl copy and/or its companion t-shirt, which was designed by brilliant artist and musician Lonnie Holley, who recently released a powerful statement of his own on the state of our democracy. (If you’ve been following this here blog, you might remember Holley was the opening act for White’s 2017 show at the Broadberry with Flo Morrissey in support of Gentlewoman, Ruby Man.) Proceeds go to voter registration and participation charities. Great song, great cause. Check it out.

Mighty Joshua

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It recently hit me that I’m approaching a momentous tipping point: I grew up in Norfolk but moved to Richmond for college when I was 17, and that was nearly 17 years ago, so in a matter of a month or so, I will have lived in Richmond as long as I lived in Norfolk. It’s a weird thing to think about — especially at a time when I keep hearing about exciting changes taking place in Norfolk in recent years.

One of those recent developments is the NEON District, an intentionally drawn area of downtown where arts institutions, businesses, and events have coalesced to harness Norfolk’s creative energy. The Chrysler Museum, the Virginia Opera, the D’Art Center, Work | Release, glass working, tons of street art… taken together, these resources represent a tipping point of their own — a destination for visitors and a gathering place for folks in town. Really neat.

It also makes a pretty snazzy backdrop for an Overcoast Session. Longtime YHT readers might remember the Dharma Bombs’ Overcoast Session, which was filmed at the Carter Family Fold in association with Virginia Tourism. Their newest collaboration finds Richmond reggae artist Mighty Joshua serenading the NEON District with “Them A Watching,” from his self-titled 2013 album. Check it out below.

Sleepwalkers

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Blessed be this day.

The birds are singing more sweetly. The sun is shining more brightly, rendering colors more vivid than had previously been seen by the human eye. And in a stunning reversal, Friday the 13th has officially been declared the luckiest day. Why?

Because Sleepwalkers have released new music. This is not a drill.

Fresh on the heels of news they were signing with Spacebomb Records, Sleepwalkers have shared “Wake Up” and “Reasons To Give Up In You,” both absolute gems. All hyberbole aside, this is a truly exciting day for those of us who fell in love with their 2014 album, Greenwood Shade, and have been waiting to see what their next move would be. A move to Spacebomb? The payoff couldn’t be more perfect.

Part of the newsworthiness of this moment is the fact that Spacebomb is putting out music they had “no direct hand in making,” as the label’s site puts it. “No need to improve on this maximalist pop masterpiece,” they go on to say, pointing to something that has always distinguished Sleepwalkers — their complete mastery of the studio environment. The group complements savvy songwriting and memorable melodies with a rare ability to envision and achieve specific moods and colors. This guitar effect. That snare sound. The specificity reflects a powerful knowledge of recording approaches from the 1960’s onward, and that focus on process is infectious — it invites ongoing deconstruction and appreciation as you notice how individual studio brush strokes come together to form something that’s undeniable and fun in aggregate. In short, it’s music that makes me like music more.

Speaking of fun, here are the videos for “Wake Up” and “Reasons To Give Up In You.” The former is home to a hook you’ll be humming along to for the foreseeable future, with guitar work that captivates just as quickly. The latter offers a sense of buoyancy that swells and swells throughout, with a chorus that lifts you up and places you back down beautifully.

Go forth, dear reader, into this new and wonderful world that includes new Sleepwalkers songs. Long live the new Friday the 13th.

VILLAGES

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Happy summer, y’all! Now that we’re halfway through the year — with midway best-of lists popping up here and there like fireflies and hydrangeas — I’ve started looking back at the albums that have come out so far in 2018. It’s been eye-opening. This is shaping up to be a crazy-good year for Richmond music. A+ albums from Lucy Dacus, Kenneka Cook, Natalie Prass, Saw Black, Andy Jenkins, Scott Clark, Yeni Nostalji, and others, all in these first six months. It’s pretty wild. And as of tomorrow, you can add VILLAGES to that list.

Their new self-titled album is a quick listen at seven songs, and it’s even quicker in terms of resonance. These songs are easy to love right away, and while catchiness plays a part, I think an even bigger factor is the clarity of Justin Paciocco’s songwriting. In his review of John Prine’s new album, The Tree of Forgiveness, Fresh Air critic Ken Tucker referred to the “metric precision” in Prine’s songwriting. I hear that same precision in Paciocco’s songs. The pacing, the rhyming, the way narratives unfold — it all just feels right. Impeccable, but not fussed-over.

Give lead single “Everything Is Fine” a listen below. The band will be toasting to the album’s release tomorrow at the Camel alongside The Northerners and Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires. Click here for more info.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHzThXbpL2A

Crosby & Nash

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If you haven’t already heard it, here’s a link to the ProPublica article that contains audio of children who were recently separated from their parents by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It’s as wrenching a piece of audio as you’ll hear. I listened last night after the rest of my family was asleep, and I wanted to go upstairs and wake my kids up just to hold them. I didn’t make it all the way to the end, but I tried, because this feels like one of those times when it’s important to look what’s happening directly in the face. It’s ugly and evil and can’t be ignored.

This morning I stumbled across “Immigration Man,” a song Graham Nash wrote after a run-in with U.S. Customs. That incident looks like a minor inconvenience when held up next to what’s happening to children on the Mexico–United States border, but the lyrics remain stirring. If you’re stirred enough to want to take action, here’s a link to an ActBlue page that will distribute your donation between charities working to help children separated from their parents at the border. And please vote in November. It won’t be the last time you hear me say that.

West Nkosi

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Found the 45 above at Goodwill earlier this week. A couple of tunes from South African saxophonist and longtime Ladysmith Black Mambazo producer West Nkosi. (The A-side is one of his hits, “Two Mabone.”)

Feels like now is the time to share it. The sun is shining, it’s warm, it’s Friday… maybe give B-side “1815 Special” a listen or two as you’re walking out of work. Not a bad way to greet the weekend, if you ask me.

Happy Friday, y’all.