Birthday

Jan 26: Lucinda Williams was born in 1953

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

Like so many, I discovered Lucinda Williams when she released the fantastic album, Car Wheels On A Gravel Road. I went to the record store (yes, we actually did that in the old days) and bought as many of her albums as I could find. There were four albums before Car Wheels.., great albums, I love them all. Since then I’ve awaited all Lucinda Williams albums with great excitement. She’s always good, most of the time she’s great.

Half an hour of the wonderful Lucinda Williams live at Paradiso Amsterdam (2013):

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Great Album: David Bowie – Blackstar ★

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

Blackstar (stylised as ★) is the twenty-sixth studio album by David Bowie. It was released on 8 January 2016, today, the date of Bowie’s 69th birthday, and features seven songs. This is the first truly great album of 2016. I don’t know what I expected, but my expectations were exceeded.

★/Blackstar is a mix of jazz/rock/cabaret/krautrock and electronica. It is beautiful, the songs are smooth and intimate, but musically complex and intriguing. It is not “difficult” music, it’s rhythmic and very recognizably David Bowie.  The jazz elements are not overwhelming, they are just …fitting.

A classic Bowie album, no less.

…and Happy Birthday, David Bowie!

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Jan 4: Michael Stipe was born in 1960

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

And I don’t expect anyone can bring about a revolution in the way that Bob Dylan did – and really didn’t – in the 1960s.
~MichaelStipe

Super casual music listeners. That’s most of the people in the world. And you have to understand, that’s why Top 40 radio exists. It’s not there for people who seek out music and who love music.
~Michael Stipe

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dec 31: Paul Westerberg was born in 1959

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

Misdirection is my path. How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him lost?
~Paul Westerberg (2012 interview)

Reading music is like listening to flowers. I don’t understand the concept.
~Paul Westerberg

Any musician who can stop.. may be a musician, but they’re no artist. If it’s in your blood, it can’t stop flowing.
~Paul Westerberg

Paul Westerberg – Dyslexic Heart (Official Music Video):

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Dec 12: Frank Sinatra was born in 1915

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

“Alcohol may be man’s worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy.”
― Frank Sinatra

“I feel sorry for people who don’t drink. When they wake up in the morning, that’s as good as they’re going to feel all day.”
― Phil Harris (often used by Frank Sinatra)

“I would like to be remembered as a man who had a wonderful time living life, a man who had good friends, fine family – and I don’t think I could ask for anything more than that, actually.”
― Frank Sinatra

Right from the beginning, he was there with the truth
of things in his voice. His music had an influence on me, whether I knew it or not. He was one of the very few singers who sang without a mask. It’s a sad day.
~Bob Dylan (remembering Frank Sinatra)

I Only Have Eyes For You (live w/Count Basie Orchestra):

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Dec 11: Willie Mae ‘Big Mama’ Thornton was born in 1926

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton (December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984) was an American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter. She was the first to record Leiber and Stoller’s “Hound Dog” in 1952, which became her biggest hit. It spent seven weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B charts in 1953 and sold almost two million copies. However, her success was overshadowed three years later, when Elvis Presley recorded his more popular rendition of “Hound Dog”. Similarly, Thornton’s “Ball ‘n’ Chain” (written in 1961 but not released until 1968) had a bigger impact when performed and recorded by Janis Joplin in the late 1960s.

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