Monday, April 09, 2007

Alejandro Escovedo, and Dance Baby!

Alejandro Esvovedo, The Boxing Mirror:
My brother turned me onto this cat some fifteen years ago or so with his With These Hands record. Quite a musical pedigree old Al has, from the punk (era and sound) Nuns and Dils to the countrified roots-punk Rank and File, his own True Believers (Austin roots n' roll) and Buick McKane (a little more nutsy), he was seasoned before starting a solo career in the early 90's. After being sidelined by hepatitis at the turn of the century, he roared back to form with this killer album. This is one of those 'textured' rock albums alongside the likes of Los Lobos' Kiko, late-era Wilco with less skronk, and most anything produced by Mitchell Froom. The man behind the boards this time is none other than the great John Cale, and aside from a questionable choice or two, he pulls it off wonderfully. The opening track "Arizona" opens with a swirling dirge and the offer..."have another drink on me/ I've been empty since Arizona..." This (autobiographical?) tale is veiled in shadowy phrases relating to his maturity, maybe looking back at a lost love? Not sure, but it's damned enchanting. The record continues with the 4/4 rock of "Dear Head on the Wall", complete with shifting strings which lift it above the standard. Other rockers include "Notes on Air", and the fist thumper "Break This Time." Unfortunately two tracks ("Looking for Love" and "Take Your Place"), while great (or at least good) songs, are marred by whizzy synth tracks, the former of which drills into my head like the worst MP3 you've ever heard.
Given his penchance for slow introspection, Escovedo does a nice job of it on "The Ladder", "Evita's Lullaby", and "Died a Little Today." My standout however is the spoken-word over free-form rock-skronk (not unlike Wayne Kramer) of "Sacramento and Polk" where the singer reflects on a gritty life and someone from his past. Spellbinding stuff from a brilliant artist.


Fisher-Price, Dance Baby Dance!:
I love my mother and know that she only wants my little 15 month-old Alice to be happy. So she gets her this cd of horribly synthesized/produced 'dance' versions of "Old McDonald", "Bingo", etc. If you really want to see Alice dance, put on XM channel 65, The Rhyme. She just starts boppin' away in the car as soon as it's on; Public Enemy, Digital Underground, Snoop, Run DMC, hell she was diggin' 2 Live Crew's "Pop That Coochie" the other day. She also loves James Brown, London Calling, and Cheap Trick. Little ones are smarter than we think....

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home