dylan haunting...

my friend M told me today she feels haunted by bob dylan.

i must admit, i haven't helped, the last 2 books i lent her have had numerous references to the bard, almost like an absentee supporting character.

one of these is love monkey by kyle smith, the other is the aerialist by Richard Schmitt.

you know what though? i too have had much dylan on my mind...there's this version of i'll remember you that only figures live in the movie masked and anonymous, and isn't on the soundtrack, or anywhere else, i'll transfer it eventually, because it is so sparse and beautiful, i mean, so stripped-down, and low-brow.

the drums are a broom on a cardboard box, how much more drool-inducing can you get?

it is light years ahead of the empire burlesque version.

anyhow, i have to confess to having truly started to delve into the genius this late in my life, though i have always appreciated and enjoyed whatever i have come across by him, he figured prominently in many a mix tape of mine.

in any case i recently acquired his discography, basically everything, on 2 dvds, and i think i lent it subsequent or during my move, and have yet to recall to whom, and this has been a frustrating realization, not recalling who has all that music.

i thought to give you a taste of a duet version of girl from the north country, he did with johnny cash, a really beautiful mix of 2 greats, and it got me thinking about duets, and how they've often been quite noteworthy.

one of those that are springing to mind right now, is patti smith with R.E.M in e-bow the letter, which is a beautiful song and a beautifully blue-green-washed video, back when that was hip, in the 90's, before it got overdone.

i just saw it recently on a retro show, (who'd've thought the 90's would become retro so fast...) that preps me to enter into a diatribe about musical generationalism, and THAT will have to wait for another time.

the blue-green-wash idea also reminds me of alfonso cuarron, who directed great expectations, with ethan hawke, and gwynneth paltrow, in which every single shot had a green element a visually beautiful and highly aesthetic film. he then went on to do harry potter and the prizonner of azkaban.

gwynneth, on the other hand, and speaking of duets, did a wonderful one with huey lewis, of & the news fame, in the movie aptly titled duets. though i haven't seen the movie, i have highly enjoyed their song, and she does a pretty respectable job at it.

she's releasing an album soon, by the way, and this also gets me thinking of the whole actors who play at being musicians, and vice-versa...which is at least another entry altogether.

anyhow, this also ties into the book i am reading now: the ledge, by Blanaid McKinney, an irish lady, in which she questions as a passing aside wether keanu's dogstar counts as a band or if it is only a pet side project of his...

where were we?

tangent hell?

bob dylan.

the girl from north country.

enjoy.

>>> bob_dylan_w_johnny_cash - the_girl_from_north_country.mp3

ysi, again.

oh and check the comments...

no rest for ghosts

so, another week.

summer seems to be on its way out already.

the ominous fall-ness is fast-approaching.

and for many it will be back to the books.

for some, though, summer is the perfect time to hit the books, summer reading being a habit many have had engrained through school-life, and have kept as we meander into pseudo-adulthood.

i've been very forgiving in books of late, and have actually scored some excellent bargain bin finds.

i'll try and compile a list of books i'd recommend to friends, and maybe some folk who're reading this will extrapolate from that and submit their own suggestions.

for now though, i hope you, dear reader are well immersed in a good book.

i will close this post as i want to go plow through the confessions of Mycroft Holmes, by Marcel Theroux, which i am thoroughly enjoying.

i will, however not disappoint, and leave with some music, a really solid track by Minus Story.

they're a band from MO, usa, and the second paragraph of the All Music Guide starts with,"Hailing from Boonville, MO, but with strong ties to the Lawrence, KS, rock scene..." they're on jagjaguar, along with other notables, okkervil river, with whom they toured this past year. i was very sorry to miss that show.

anyhow,

i was having a hard time deciding what track to select, and wanted it to be from their newer album... i've decided on Waking Up off No Rest for Ghosts (don't you just love when the title of the album figures in a song?...ah continuity.)

>>>minus_story - WakingUp.mp3

up the wolves...

so it seems we have our html wizard back...let's see how long it lasts...

remember what was said earlier about wolves? wolves are in. everybody wants to have a wolf association (which is my new copywritten band name: "wolf association" go on, you love it too.)

wolves are ever present in music imagery again too, like stags and birds and skulls.

anyhow, this leads me to an exciting track off the latest TV on the Radio release...
it's called Wolf Like Me...which is also the first track off the debut album of this amazing new (fictitious, for now) band called Wolf Association.

all kidding aside, this track just begs to be listened to at higher volume, while driving fast somewhere...or getting ready for a date, or psyching yourself up for something. it fits with something pace-quickening, expectant, exciting and fast. plus it even has the requisite slow-down segment to it...the catch your breath.

nod your head to it, you'll see.

the band is TV on the Radio, the track is Wolf Like Me.

>>>TvOnTheRadio - WolfLikeMe.mp3

ysi, so 7 days unless 100 of you get it or we decide to re-up it.