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ch-scene - Re: Taproot Radio News #133

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  • From: DJ Golf <djgolf AT mindspring.com>
  • To: ch-scene AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: Taproot Radio News #133
  • Date: Mon, 05 Nov 2007 14:15:25 -0800

The Jason Isbell record is really really good. As in, no bad songs
and maybe my favorite album of the year. You are correct in that the
songs can be a little unsettling, but Isbell's lyrics are amazing, and
the darkness kind of creeps in around the edges...even in the more
over-the-top moments like "Try" - a song that cracks like a bullwhip
and is, as far as I can tell, about a guy who just shot his wife/
girlfriend ("You can't stop that ringing in your ear/You can't make
the highway disappear...") "Grown" is indeed great, and we also get
"Dress Blues" and "The Devil Is My Running Mate", maybe the two best
political songs of the Iraq era. "Devil" is a song written for George
W. to sing ("They tried to do this once before/But Daddy wouldn't let
them... Sometimes I can't stand to read my name") that has an odd way
of making you feel sorry for the guy. Super live show at the Hideaway
this summer too.

On Nov 4, 9:57 am, cal... AT cspowers.com (Calvin Powers) wrote:
> Rotation #133 - November 5, 2007
> read:http://www.taprootradio.com
> listen:http://www.live365.com/stations/taprootradio
>
> Howdy,
>
> Jason Isbell's CD, Sirens In The Ditch, fell through the cracks of my
> audtion process and just this week I rediscovered it underneath the seat of
> my car. I'd been listening to it a lot but never got it into rotation
> because I misplaced the CD. This is definitely one of those CDs that grows
> on you with repeated listenings. At first my favorite track was "Down In A
> Hole" but over time "Brand New Kind of Actress" and "The Magician" started
> standing out. Amazingly, the track that was my least favorite on the first
> listen has become my favorite/ "Grown" is the clearly the centerpiece track
> of the CD and has some gut-wrenching lyrics. In fact I'd say that Isbell's
> strenghts is in writing ballads that seem realistic and just a little bit
> unsettling al at the same time.
>





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