Let In The Sun

Underrated roots picker Charlie Parr takes on a classic composition by fellow Minnesotan Grant Hart, and he does that very well indeed.

Charlie Parr - Twenty-Five Fourty-One

Little Black Train

"Lay down your rifle now, here comes the Lord..." Banjo lovers rejoice, 'cause Charlie Parr's got a new rekkid out. And mighty fine it is, too.

Charlie Parr - Empty Out Your Pockets

Wonder Show

It´s a dirty job, but somebody´s gotta do it... So without further ado, here´s the one and only For The Sake Of The Song end of year list. Accept no substitutes, baby. Ten albums that were in heavy rotation during 2010, and that´s what counts in the end. Check! Buy the whole wonder show why don´t you.

1. Gil Scott-Heron - I´m New Here

Unexpected comeback of the year, by one of HipHop´s true forefathers.

Gil Scott-Heron - I´ll Take Care Of You MP3

2. Bonnie Prince Billy & The Cairo Gang - The Wonder Show Of The World

Will Oldham met guitarist Emmett Kelly, which lifted the fog on many a dreary day.

3. Charlie Parr - When The Devil Goes Blind

Intense and authentic pre-war blues, anno 2010. No, I´m not kidding.

Charlie Parr- 1890 MP3

4. Neil Young - Le Noise

Teaming up with producer Daniel Lanois was an excellent idea, sonically speaking.

5. First Aid Kit - The Big Black And The Blue

A lovely Swedish girl duo provided no-frills acoustic bliss. Jag älskar dig.

First Aid Kit - Sailor Song MP3

6. Phosphorescent - Here´s To Taking It Easy

Matthew Houck´s take on Americana compared to slipping into a warm bath.

7. Wounded Lion - Wounded Lion

Growling barb wire pop from smoggy LA. Debut of the year I´m sure.

Wounded Lion - Pony People MP3

8. Tunng - ...And Then We Saw Land

Not as adventurous as previous outings, but still the finest freakfolkers around.

9. Isobell Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Hawk

That marriage between a Belle and a Screaming Tree surely was made in heaven.

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - You Won´t Let Me Down Again MP3

10. Bill Callahan - Rough Travel For A Rare Thing

The former Smog foreman impressed once more, this time in an intimate live setting.

Bubbling under: Sun Kil Moon, Grinderman, Joanna Newsom, Drive-By Truckers, Pearly Gate Music, Off!, the Black Keys, Alasdair Roberts, Roky Erickson with Okkervil River, and the Graham Nash tribute Be Yourself.

Some old stuff released this year that I really enjoyed: Johnny Cash´s epitaph American VI: Ain´t No Grave, Dylan´s Witmark Demos and Live At Brandeis University, Complete Mythology by Syl Johnson, Satan´s A Waitin´ by Sonny Burns, and the Legacy Edition of Raw Power by Iggy & the Stooges. Music books of the year: Bob Dylan In America by Sean Wilentz, and We Never Learn - The Gunk Punk Undergut 1988-2001 by Eric Davidson.

Wishing you a bopping new year, dear readers. I´m off on a short break, see ya sometime early 2011.

Wild Weekend Vol. 42

It´s just another Wild Weekend as we jazz it up revolutionary style with mr. Shepp, take L Dopa with mr. Albini and preview El Classico with mr. Smith. Plus we´ve got a Cohen protégé, an sixties acid folkie and a new bluesy talent to watch. Enjoy and please do have a wild one.

And we´re off in jazz mode with Archie Shepp and a soulful monster from his ´72 masterpiece Attica Blues. Grooves like hell, lamenting in the meantime the miserable fate of activist George Jackson, the famous Black Panther and Soledad Brother who was shot by guards at Saint Quentin prison in an alleged escape attempt. Shepp had his doubts about this, and probably with good reason. Next up: renowned producer Steve Albini´s both revolutionary and uncompromising eighties power trio Big Black. Short but sweet sample track L Dopa hails from a certain razor sharp album with a sleeve and a title to die for. Alright?

Archie Shepp - Blues For Brother George Jackson MP3

Big Black - L Dopa MP3

El Classico will be played in Barcelona this Monday, which is an incredibly big thing in Spain, and especially in my dearest Catalunya. Barça vs. Real Madrid is a game drenched in history, which guarantees an electrical atmosphere in the Camp Nou. Better believe me, as I witnessed a couple of amazing encounters between the blaugrana and the blancos there myself. Forza Barça! Find Mark E. Smith´s ode to the match of matches on what´s possibly the Fall´s finest: Hex Enduction Hour. For something completely different, we turn to Charlie Parr. I read an enthusiastic piece about his last album in my newspaper of all places, checked out one of his bluesy Americana songs on the Hype Machine and immediately ordered When The Devil Goes Blind straight from the lion´s mouth. Yes, he´s that good.

The Fall - The Classical MP3

Charlie Parr - I Dreamed I Saw Jesse James Last Night MP3

A while back, reader Holly alerted me in a comment to an interesting album on the legendary underground label ESP by some weirdo who called himself MIJ. And indeed, Yodeling Astrologer (from ´69) does sound quite unique, as the acid drenched Grok (Martian Love Call) illustrates. Freakfolk avant la lettre. And we´ve come to the end of another Wild Weekend with a sunny sounding popsong by Neema, a Canadian singer from Egyptian and Lebanese descent who lives quite close to Leonard Cohen. "It´s a foggy night in the streets of Montreal..." The ageing master must have been rather smitten by his near-neighbour, as he co-produced her album Watching You Think, and drew its cover too. Quite a recommendation methinks.

MIJ - Grok (Martian Love Call) MP3

Neema - Escape MP3