EAGLES OF DEATH METAL
Released October 2, 2015
NEW 2015 MUSIC: It is a shame that it often takes a tragedy to become greater acquainted with a musical artist or band but that is indeed what has happened between myself and Eagles Of Death Metal.
Due to the terrorist attacks in Paris, and most specifically, the shootings that occurred during the band's performance inside Le Bataclan, I found myself heading to B-Side perhaps a week afterwards to purchase the band's current album, their first in seven years. Now, certainly being a fan of Joshua Homme and his work within Queens Of The Stone Age and Them Crooked Vultures, I had heard of EODM but for no reasons whatsoever had I not really listened to his two man project alongside lead vocalist/guitarist Jesse Hughes. After finally hearing the musical speedball that is "Zipper Down," I am deeply inclined to check out the remainder of their catalog.
Quick and to the point, "Zipper Down" is good ol' high octane, sleazy rock and roll that showcases a surprising studio sheen and even some glam rock sensitivity alongside its bad boy garage rock attitude. Of special note is the band audaciously faithful cover of Duran Duran's "Save A Prayer" without narry a nudge or a wink.
JEFFERSON AIRPLANE
Released November 1969
STEVE HILLAGE
Released 1976
ATOMS FOR PEACE
Released February 26, 2013
LED ZEPPELIN
Released March 31, 1976
ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK
Released September 9, 2003
BEIRUT
Released September 11, 2015
NEW 2015 MUSIC: I actually just picked this up near the very end of the year based upon some kind words I had heard from friends and songs that were played upon the WSUM radio show "The Mixtape" hosted by the illustrious DJ Nightway. While I have now only heard the album in full perhaps twice, I am immediately struck with bandleader/songwriter/singer/multi-instrumentalist Zach Condon's blending of musical genres certainly, but I am a sucker for the overall warmth that is found in live drums, gentle brass and electric pianos and analog synths, So far, so good...
JOHNNY MARR
Released December 4, 2015
NEW 2015 MUSIC: The six string dreams of Johnny Marr as he and his crack band perform his solo selections alongside the music he created with both The Smiths and Electronic in a live setting. What else could I want?
...and from the SAVAGE LIBRARY...
UNFAITHFUL MUSIC & DISAPPEARING INK
ELVIS COSTELLO
Publisher: Blue Rider Press
1st Edition October 13, 2015
688 pages
"There is music that seems to belong to you the moment that you hear it, and music about which you must be patient, awaiting the hour when it may reveal itself to you."
Within the nearly 700 page tome that is the luxuriously written memoir by Elvis Costello, those above words provided me not only with such uplift, but also with a certain connection to a musical figure whom I always have felt to be so defiantly inscrutable. Yet, after these past two and a half months of reading, while not remotely a "tell all," Costello has provided demonstrably more than I ever could have asked from him regarding his life story and his continuing adventures within music and songwriting.
Elvis Costello's Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink eschews the standard biographical memoir trajectory for a more non-linear approach that almost serves he way actual memories tend to work: in waves, from anecdote to anecdote, how one memory triggers another and therefore, how they all link together into a cohesive whole. In many ways, every chapter feels like a movement within the symphony of his life story.
Costello's impeccable and brilliantly detailed memory plus meticulous research ensures that this memoir not only delivers the goods regarding Costello's musical life, and of that, there is a tremendous amount of material. He presents to us his first hand accounts of his initial brushes with fame and fortune, the dalliances and self-destructive behavior that inflicted wounds within his personal life and relationships.
We are given copious glances into his past alcoholic periods and he also delivers what should be the final word concerning his infamous comments regarding Ray Charles over 30 years ago. We are given new avenues to witness the likes of Bob Dylan, Burt Bacharach, the late Allen Toussaint and Paul McCartney behind the scenes. And mostly, we view Costello as being a figure just like any of us reading his book: a fan learning, enjoying, loving and forever becoming transfixed with music. Costello's dense prose is filled with self deprecating wit and the sharp witticisms that have populated his lyrics from the beginning of his career. And while I remained awed by his skillful songwriting, of which the book provides many examples peppered throughout the narrative, he often strikes a bemused pose, honestly stunned at his good fortune with having maintained a career in music and having brushed shoulders with so many heroes and contemporary legends for nearly 40 years.
Augmenting the music, the book also works as an exploration of Irish and English history, a journey through Costello's family tree, and most touchingly, at its core, the book serves as a tribute to the relationship he shared between himself and his Father, also a musician.
While not a quick read by any means, Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink is an exquisitely written remembrance that should not only satisfy Costello's generations of fans handsomely. It should satisfy any lovers of fine literature.
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