World Of Mystery

After quite a long absence due to marital bliss and parenthood, Mr. Deadpan strikes again. And although not as firmly focused as his 2013 tour de force Dream River, the twenty short and sweet stream of conciousness tracks collected here certainly don't disappoint. The track below has him at his most tender, crooning about the woman of his dreams. But being Bill C, he just can't help himself and has to add a wacky detail concerning Willie Nelson's guitar.

Bill Callahan - What Comes After Certainty

Face It

"No matter where I go, I will always see your face..." Why the long face, people? After all, it's the return of the fabulous six-pack. Rejoice.

Love - Always See Your Face
Bobby Charles - Long Face
Mallard - Your Face On Someone Else
Emitt Rhodes - With My  Face On The Floor
Tortoise - I Set My Face To The Hillside
Smog - Your Face

Chasin' The Bird

"The midnight cry of a blood red bird brought this sleeplessness on..." Presenting part two of a feathered six pack. Bird is the word. Collage once again by the mighty Tinca. Buy some of her exquisite art why don't you.

Smog - Blood Red Bird

The Holy Modal Rounders - Bird Song
The Anomoanon - Bird Child
Fun Things - When The Birdmen Fly

The Upsetters - Bird In Hand

Ornette Coleman - Bird Food

Wild Weekend Vol. 60

About time for Wild Weekend, edition 60. Afro, lofi, ancient blues and so much more for your money. Will melt away the clouds in no time. But first: a simple question.

We know by now they can play the blues (a bit), but can white boys play reggae, too? If they're true roots fans and mix it in with a punk rock background, why not? Just ask the Clash. Or the Ruts, whose angry and rootsy Jah War remains a classic in the genre. "Fighting, fighting, too close frightening..." And here's one especially for the missus. She saw Bill Callahan live in concert a couple of days ago and was mighty impressed, but couldn't remember for the life of her that we already saw the man play a couple of times when he still operated under the Smog moniker. To refresh her memory, here's the lofi and funny 37 Pushups: "I feel like Travis Bickle, I'm listening to Highway To Hell..."

The Ruts - Jah War MP3

Smog - 37 Pushups MP3

Promising new stuff up next, in the form of Two Cent Revival. From Brooklyn, where a lot of cool new bands reside at the mo, but sounding like they have a Texas - or maybe even Seattle - background. Their brooding The Devil's In This Whiskey immediately brought Mark Lanegan to mind, which is definitely a good thing. Gonna continue my obscure nineties indie fixation now with another short-lived combo you probably won't remember: Big Trouble House. Hailing from Minneapolis, they were almost inevitably raised on Soul Asylum and the Mats, which is obvious on their recommended second and last album Mouthful Of Violence.

Two Cent Revival - The Devil's In This Whiskey MP3

Big Trouble House - Union Feed Grain Mill MP3

The Library of Congress just launched a cool new website that allows listeners to stream a vast archive of more than 10,000 pre-1925 recordings of music, speeches, poetry and comedy. Much of it hasn't been widely available since World War I, so go there asap if you like old timey stuff I'd say. And since they forgot to include Ma Rainey's 1924 gem Booze & Blues for some reason, I'll put it up here. And I'll bid you farewell with a jazzy Afro scorcher by the one and only Fela Ransome Kuti. Bought a twofer of prime '75 albums I didn't own yet of the Nigerian master last week - Everything Scatter paired with Noise For Vendor Mouth - and I've been groovin' to them ever since. Go wild.

Ma Rainey - Booze & Blues MP3

Fela Kuti - Mattress MP3

Walking Side By Side

Soul survivor and godfather of hiphop Gil Scott-Heron is back after a long absence, and that´s good news. I saw the man, who came to fame with the immortal The Revolution Will Not Be Televised in the early seventies, perform live one time in a small club in the late eighties and that made quite an impression. Although attendance was poor to say the least, Gil gave it his all and simply sang his heart out for two hours.

On his new album, the ironically titled I´m New Here, he deliciously modernizes blues legend Robert Johnson´s Me And The Devil Blues. Heavy stuff, inna surprising triphop stylee. Do yourself a favor and compare the two below, and in chronological order if you please. "Hello Satan, I believe it´s time to go..."

Robert Johnson - Me And The Devil Blues MP3

Gil Scott-Heron - Me And The Devil MP3

The title track of I´m New Here brings another surprise. Who could ever have thought Scott-Heron would one day cover a song by Bill Callahan of lofi heroes Smog? Cool choice, and Gil obviously has fun with it.

"Met a woman in a bar, I told her I was hard to get to know, and near impossible to forget...

She said I had an ego on me the size of Texas...

Well I´m new here, and I forget, does that mean big or small?"

Gil Scott-Heron - I´m New Here MP3

Smog - I´m New Here MP3