good day all! hey if you are in nyc and not doing much tomorrow evening you should check out the j.a.m. awards and concert at the hammerstein ballroom. the j.a.m. awards and concert are in honor of jam master jay and will include performances by dmc, raekwon, q tip, de la soul, epmd, dead prez, everlast w/ dj muggs, and a host of others. all proceeds raised will benefit jam master jay foundation for music. sounds like it could be a cool evening.
minnesotean dan israel is part of a dying breed of musicians that are able to create records of both substance and style, melding them into one harmonious union. and these gifts are no more apparent than on his most recently and released ninth record, turning. the man keeps good company, too, enlisting members of son volt, the jayhawks, honeydogs, just to name a few to help in the recording process.
israel is a bit of a throwback singer/songwriter/wordsmith who is more in the vein of elvis costello, randy newman and springsteen, than many of what would be considered his modern day counterparts. coming across as a strange blend of newman and former minneapolis brethern craig finn, israel sings with a conviction that stretches beyond his otherwise dead pan delivery. with “turning” israel has created a record that stretches beyond his twin cities zip codes and hopefully the rest of the country will take notice.
turning can be purchased via his site
dan israel site
here is a collection of tweedy songs known as the collected jeff tweedy, lovingly put together by some of the fine folks at via chicago. this is the second part of the collection. i am still trying to locate the first the collection, which will be posted as soon as i can find it.
1. casino queen
5. sugar baby
6. millionaire
8. new madrid
11. gun
12. i got you
13. i am tryin to break your heart
14. bob dylans beard
15. dear employer
16. jesus etc
17. wait up
18. the long cut
19. screen door
22. say you miss me
