Week 33 to 36

Things that hibernate - bears, bats, badgers, butterflies, chipmunks, frogs, groundhogs, and THIS BLOG!! Hibernation might not be the best term for what I have been doing, but none the less this hiatus has increased my hunger for music. For a while I thought I was getting ahead.... reminds me of trying to load a wheel-barrel full of frogs: 'Everytime you throw one in, two more jump out'. I have almost bought more new music in the past month than I've actually listened to which reminded me of that little saying. You can tell from the minimal volume that I haven't been listening to much music. Time hasn't been kind to me and weeks have now passed since I slowed down to "smell the song and hear the air". On the other hand, listening had become more like a chore and I wasn't truly appreciating what I was hearing. The hiatus has resolved my passion to listen and I hope to get this train back on track. All aboard as we pull out of Hibernation Station (8/16-9/19):

Carolina Chocolate Drops - Genuine Negro Jig
Jeff Beck Group - Jeff Beck Group (Vinyl)
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Mardi Gras (Vinyl)
Metallica - Master Of Puppets
Maxwell - Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite
Pink Floyd - Meddle (Vinyl)
Medusa Stone - Medusa Stone
Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness
Quiet Riot - Metal Health
Metallica - Metallica (aka The Black Album)
Linkin Park - Meteora
Willie Nelson - Milk Cow Blues
Sarah McLachlan - Mirrorball

The Carolina Chocolate Drops fuse together Piedmont sounds with blues, R&B, country, bluegrass to produce music that has garnered a lot of attention. Robert Plant was on the 'TODAY' show on 9/14 where he made reference to his interest in the band. CCD also shared the stage recently, at the Americana Music Awards, with acts such as The Avett Brothers, Rosanne Cash, Ryan Bingham, Lucinda Williams, & Emmylou Harris. Needless to say, I am priviledged to have been able to see them perform at the American Tobacco Campus' Music On The Lawn series. Their 2010 release - Genuine Negro Jig - is just a fun album. Packed with originals, covers from familiar artist like Dallas Austin's Hit 'Em Up Style (orginally done by Boo Cantrell), and traditional songs spun into their own stringed frenzy style. This album shouldn't be overlooked. The album features a Piedmont Blues legend cover - Etta Baker's Peace Behind The Bridge. Etta passed away at the age of 93 in 2006 shortly after she was featured on Kenny Wayne Shepherd's tribute to the roots-of-the-blues album 10 Days Out: Blues From The Backroads. Robert Plant and CCD both cover the Tom Waits' tune Trampled Rose which was featured on the 2007 Raising Sand release Plant did with Alison Kraus as well as the closing track of Genuine Negro Jig.

What better way to contrast the aforementioned than to O.D. on some heavy metal. Metallica's two masterpieces - Master Of Puppets & Metallica - lead the way. However, the two albums really couldn't be further apart when it comes to true heavy metalists. Simply compare songs like Battery to Enter Sandman or Master Of Puppets to Nothing Else Matters. Metallica is the album where the band shedded the shred in lieu of a more stripped down hard rock approach. Since I'm not a true "metal-head" I'll say that "The Black Album" isn't a sell-out, but most of that comes from an increase in airplay which put Metallica's career over the top. Interesting to note that the song Don't Tread On Me and the album cover (yes there is actually a picture on it) have a connection. They both came from the Gasden Flag which can be seen below:

Ironically true metal enthusiasts think the album was a sell-out due to its lack of political rebellion against government and the Tea Party has adopted this flag as one of its symbols against the U.S. Government. I assume the irony is apparent, but if it isn't I'm not getting into politics. Wrapping up the metal parade were the 80's hair metal band Quiet Riot and 2000's rap-metal fusion Linkin Park. Metal Health spawned one of heavy metal's first number one singles Cum Feel The Noize (a Slade cover). Can't say the album was overly captivating, but considering it pre-dated "modern heavy metal" not too shabby. Linkin Park's Meteora is perhaps one of my favorite albums and in my opinion the one of the best heavy metal/rap cross-over album ever made. The transitions from song to song along with no "bad" tracks make this entire album thoroughly enjoyable to listen to start to finish.

This week contained two interesting art-rock style albums. Meddle which contains one of the simplest yet powerful songs in Pink Floyd's catalog - Fearless. Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness which Billy Corgan described as, "as "The Wall for Generation X", in comparison with Pink Floyd's 1979 two-LP concept album. I definitely see the comparisons between the "leaders" of the bands as Corgan followed in the footsteps of Roger Waters.

This weekend concluded with a three-night Black Crowes run from Raleigh to Charlotte to Asheville. Each show got progressively better as did each venue. The 'Uptown Raleigh Amphitheater' or whatever the thing is called is a decent venue, but for our show the event staff was WAY too uptight for the Crowes. The Charlotte venue was a slightly smaller scale version of Raleigh. Then you have The Thomas Wolfe Auditorium which is simply the best place in NC to see the Crowes. Perhaps because it's a venue named for a man that wrote in the same autobiographical nature of the band's approach songwriting or the fact that it's a town full of hippies where the Crowes fit right in. Regardless of the reason, it's obvious this venue brings out the best as all the bells and whistles were there from Steve Gorman's drum solo during Thorn In My Pride and visibly seeing how much fun the band was having playing. The highlight of the weekend was the closing tune Hot Burrito #2 for the Asheville show (9/19/10) paying tribute to the late great Gram Parsons - who died September 19, 1973.