1000 SONGS - Day 351 Song # 382

Day 351: Attwenger 

Attwenger from Upper Austria are Markus Binder (dr, voc, lyrics) and Hans Peter Falkner (acc, voc). They started with a kind of crossover between Austrian Folk Music and Contemporary Approaches to Music and developed that style on various albums in various directions. Nuff said. Here are two great tracks: "dog" - which does not mean the animal we all like, but is Upper Austrian dialect for "day" ('tag')  {Bangok!} - and "hintn umi", which could be translated as "round the / behind my / back" ('hintenherum' 'hinter meinem rücken'). Everybody thinks that Falco was a serious contribution to contemporary music by an Austrian guy and since then .... I think, Attwenger are one of a kind of serious contribution to new musical sytles.

1000 SONGS - Day 350 SONG # 381

DAY 350: A Song about Me & Myself

In the original 30 days song-challenge, there might have been categories like "a song that describes you". Among those songs describing me (although it is a song representing the female side) there is the "Gin House Blues". Two songs are filed under that title nowadays, both of them first recorded by Bessie Smith (1894-1937). The original one, with the title "Gin House Blues" was written by Fletcher Henderson and Henry Troy, recorded by Bessie Smith in  1926. The other one, originally called "Me and my Gin" (the one that describes me) was recorded by Bessie Smith in 1928. It was allegedly written by a man named Harry Burke. Be that as it may, it has become the song to be known as "Gin House Blues". Andy Fairweather Low (of Amen Corner) did a version of it, and the first version you find when you google the title, is one rather superfluos live version done by Mr. Low and Old Slowhand. As I do not appreciate their mutual effort too much, I do not include it here. In contradistinction to these merry ol' englishmen, Nina Simone did a really good version of that song (as was to be expected). So let's get to the Bessie Smith version first, then to the rendering of Queen Simone (what a great version!), and, for completeness' sake, add the original "Gin House Blues" in Bessie's version.

1000 SONGS - DAY 349 SONG #380

DAY 349: CHAMBER MUSIC

I listend to Jethro Tull a lot when I was a teenager. During the last years I have rediscovered them. Ian Anderson is a fine musician, without any doubt. "Thick as a Brick" is a masterpiece, in my opinion. But there are many more fine tunes composed by Anderson. I always loved the more reduced ones, the poetic ones, those in "odd" time signatures more than the rock songs in 4/4 (although there are some fine songs among them, too, and after not listening to it for decades, I can also appreciate "Locomotive Breath" again). Most famous of the "odd" time compositions is the 5/4 "Living in the Past", but methinks that Ian is a master of the 6/8 time and the way to put his lyrics in there with those breaks (he stops the sentence and leaves out something like two eights and puts the last syllable on the last 8 - or something like that). I recently discovered two chamber music versions of two of my favourite Anderson compositions, Wond'ring Aloud and Life is a Long Song.






As a bonus track, a version of "Wond'ring Aloud" other than featured on "Aqualung", called "Wond'ring Again" - first song of side b of second disc of "Living in the Past" (I think, but maybe another alternative version); so beautiful:

1000 SONGS - DAY 348 SONG # 379

DAY 348: The Cretacious Period

As each and everyone seems to have found new interest in Tyrannosaurus Rex and other saurians (at least according to what I can judge from scrolling down facebook this morning), I also do remember the Tyrannosaurus before his name became abbreviated to T. There is some great T. Rex stuff, too, so please don't let me be misunderstood. Nevertheless, here is "By the Light of a Magical Moon",  a fine tune by Bolan (he plays all the instruments that Mickey Finn does not play...) from the fourth and last Tyrannosaurus Rex  LP before Bolan changed the name to T. Rex  and became a Glam-Rock-Star or something like this. Only the good die young....

1000 SONGS - DAY 347 SONG # 378

DAY 347: A band I recently discovered

I do not even know how, but somewhere and by chance (I guess) I heard a tune by Musée Mécanique. I found it very beautiful. So I bought their 2014 release "From Shores of Sleep" and I really like it. The Band seems to consist mainly of Micah Rabwin and Sean Ogilvie, who write the songs. It is based somewhere in Oregon (Portland, I guess) and has already toured Europe. I strongly recommend to listen to them and, if you like what you hear, buy their records (apart from "From Shores of Sleep" there is an album recorded by them in 2008, "Hold this Ghost"). From their 2014 release, here is "The Lighthouse and the Hourglass". I think it is beautiful, beautiful being the word of the day.

1000 SONGS - DAY 346 SONG #377

DAY 346: Time for some Jazz

There is no need to introduce Thelonius Monk (1917-1982) to the wider public. An  influential figure

in the emergence of bebop at Minton's, taking Jazz from Swing to Academia, he was known for his distinctive style as a pianist and  ranks number two among the most covered jazz composers of all time. From his "Columbia years", here is a fine tune, relaxed and inspring at the same time (featuring some of those "dissonances" Monk is famous for): The  opening track of his 1967 release "Straight, No Chaser", "Locomotive". Musicians are:  Monk on piano,  Charlie Rouse on tenor saxophone,   Larry Gales on bass and finally, the drummer,  Ben Riley. Miles Davis is credited to have said "Bebop was about change, about evolution. It wasn't about standing still and being safe" and "If you got up on the bandstand at Minton's and  couldn't play, you might get your ass kicked."

1000 SONGS - DAY 345 SONG # 376

DAY 345: An Often Covered Song

It makes no sense at all to try to list all or any of the cover-versions that have been done of that song. Anyway, this version by the man who wrote it, is really coooool. Look at the relaxed musicians (as a kind of contrast to the very focused singer) -  I especially like the drummer, who is in between cool and focused - he was the one who had to count the 26 times that Bill Withers says "I know", replacing a verse of the original lyrics. But those guys on the e-strings - just cool.

What a great song.

1000 SONGS - DAY 344 SONG #375

DAY 344: A Bosnian Song

Selma Adzem, a Bosnian singer does a fine version of Lelo, a Bosnian song by Dino Merlin. She is accompanied by "The Sound", featuring her husband Johannes "Johnny" Ertl on guitar. Ertl is a former Styrian footballer who has played for Sturm Graz, Crystal Palace, Sheffield United and Portsmouth. He is now member of the management of the latter club, which is (as far as I know: partly) owned by its fans. He has also played for the Austrian national team. 

1000 SONGS - DAY 343 SONG # 374

DAY 343: I'm satisfied with Delta Blues

Mississippi John Hurt (1892/3-1966) taught himself how to play the guitar when still a child of 9 years. He later started a short career as a blues musician, ending up as a farmer due to commercial failure of his records. In the 1960ies he entered the scene again together with some other rediscovered Delta Blues Musicians. Library of Congress recorded his songs that have later been interpreted by many artists such as Bob Dylan and Gillian Welch. There is a fine rendering of "I'm satisfied" by John Hiatt on "Avalon Blues - A tribute to the music of Mississippi John Hurt" (together with other fine versions of his songs done by musicians like Lucinda Williams.)  I include Mr. Hurt's recording of that song with his typical finger picking style instead of Stack O'Lee. 

1000 SONGS - DAY 342 SONG # 373

Day 342: Covering Soundtrack

"Billy" is taken from the Soundtrack of "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid", written by Bob Dylan. Here are two very different versions. The one, a rather melancholic one, is done by my favourite Americana-Duo, the great Gillan Welch & David Rawlings. The other one is a kind of Tex-Mex-version, done by Los Lobos. Enjoy.