March 2023 Overview

 March 2023 Overview

Writer's Check-in

Hello all! Hope you all are doing well and had a nice March. I certainly did, even though not much has happened this much besides working, listening to music, and hanging out. Not that I really need to do more than those three things to be satisfied — hey, I'm pretty happy with how life has been going, and I don't ask for much more for my basic needs to be fulfilled. I think more and more I realize that people are what give life meaning to me, whether it be my family, friends, or the musicians I listen to. We are not singular entities as human beings: we are defined by who we are with because a close connection brings out something that I would not have on my own. Life is worth living first and foremost for the people in my life who give me meaning, and I am constantly grateful for all of them, whether I can meet them in-person regularly, talk to them online, or hear their souls preserved in musical recordings.

Music Stats for the Month

Total Listening Time: 105 hours, which is probably one of the lowest it's ever been. It's mostly because I've been much less busy work-wise this month and have been spending more time hanging out with friends, which isn't always conducive to listening to music. Still, any music listening at all is good for the mind, body, and soul, so who cares how much?

Top Artist: T-Bone Walker. Yep, he made it to the top second month in a row. What can I say? I cannot resist that damn guitar tone!

Top Album: The Complete Capitol/Black & White Recordings - T-Bone Walker. Well, I guess this is also expected based on my top artist, but the collection seriously is a stunning achievement in electric blues history. The first disc of this is friggin' incredible, and the other discs are excellent too (if not nearly as immaculate).

Top Song: "Ain't No Tellin'" - Mississippi John Hurt. "Louis Collins" is still my favorite song from the sessions, but this is a very close second, and it is even harder to pinpoint the source of its powerful spiritual impact. Guess his music was so immediate and humanistic that it takes a lifetime to fully understand how it manages to do so.

Video of the Month

Taj Mahal - Queen Bee (2014)

I remember a story where Buddy Guy, upon checking into a hotel before a show, met a couple who noticed he was a blues musician and said to him "you play blues. That music is so sad." He gave them tickets to his show, and they came up afterward and said "you didn't play one sad song." 

The thing is that the blues as a genre isn't sad: blues is about direct confrontation and acceptance of the facts of life that we often overlook and try to ignore but nevertheless cannot avoid, and unfortunately for most of us, the material world, with all of its forms of decadence and brutality, makes it difficult for many bluesmen to see anything but darkness. Yet, the blues can just as much be about things that keep us going despite the odds, and this song and performance capture that spirit so well that love, especially for those closest to us, can not just make life beautiful but become the beauty in life that we search for. There are few musical documents that feel more natural and organic than this, three guys just rolling along the spiritually uplifting streets of New Orleans and channeling that energy within this humbly romantic song, a minor gem in his catalog that reached its full potential here. What I would give to be there when it happened, would be enough to nourish one's soul for life.

Reviews

So, unfortunately, I will temporarily be putting the history of the singles review series on hold, for now, to focus more on articles and requested reviews. I did put out a couple in the old format, so here they are with the recommended songs bolded:

1. Mona Lisa / The Greatest Inventor (Of Them All) - Nat King Cole
2. The Tennessee Waltz / Boogie Woogie Santa Claus - Patti Page, but I highly recommend hearing both Sam Cooke's and Otis Redding's covers of the song!
3. Goofus / The Thing - Phil Harris

Articles

I know, it was a long wait, but the Neil Young article is finally complete (hope it was worth the wait). It will be published in print in April, but since all the edits were done, I decided to post it here with some notes and pictures. There is another article I am waiting to get fully finished editing-wise, so stay tuned for that!

1. Rebirth from Chaos: Neil Young's Journey Through The Ditch

Monthly Playlist

Here is the link to this month's playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3O1lymadx4fIsHrr2775ew?si=7337f86484c54de5

If anyone got tired of my playlists being too old...well, maybe they'll still have a problem with this playlist I guess, but it is definitely more accessible than the last two or three have been. I have been recently Motown-pilled (even if I instinctively find the best Atlantic and Stax/Volt singles more to my taste), which is why 20% of the playlist comprises some huge Motown singles. Besides that, the playlist is pretty focused on pre-60s blues and R&B, but I would say the songs are generally more accessible this time around, so feel free to dig in and let me know what you think!

Here is the tracklist:

1. "Lift Him Up That's All" - Washington Phillips
2. "Jinx Blues No. 1" - Son House
3. "Let Me Play With Your Poodle" - Lightnin' Hopkins
4. "Long Tall Sally (Live at Star Club)" - Jerry Lee Lewis
5. "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer" - Amos Milburn
6. "Tennessee Waltz" - Otis Redding
7. "Rock Your Baby" - Wanda Jackson
8. "Sugar Dumpling" - Sam Cooke
9. "Ain't No Tellin'" - Mississippi John Hurt
10. "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher & Higher" - Jackie Wilson
11. "Don't Leave Me Baby" - T-Bone Walker
12. "Come On Around To My House Mama" - Blind Willie McTell
13. "Going Down" - Freddie King
14. "Rocket 88" - Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats
15. "Bring It On Home To Me" - Sam Cooke
16. "Delia" - Blind Willie McTell
17. "Queen Bee" - Taj Mahal
18. "Long Skirt Baby Blues" - T-Bone Walker
19. "Strollin' With Bones" - T-Bone Walker
20. "Think" - James Brown
21. "Do You Love Me" - The Contours
22. "Roll 'em Pete" - Big Joe Turner and Pete Johnson
23. "Jamie" - Eddie Holland
24. "Someone To Love Me" - Solomon Burke
25. "Rag, Mama, Rag" - Blind Boy Fuller
26. "The Tears of a Clown" - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
27. "The Love You Save" - Jackson 5
28. "Don't You Know I Love You" - The Clovers
29. "Bob McKinney" - Henry Thomas
30. "Ooo Baby Baby" - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
31. "The Tracks of My Tears" -  Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

OK, that's all for now. Thank you all so much for reading all of my lengthy rambles, and cheers to everyone for a great next month!