"The Onion" Part Due

I saw that "Voice of God" bit way back when... very funny. :) God bless GW, but w/ clips like the one below, parodies like that "Voice of God" one on the Onion just seem feasible! ;)

Today's Feature from "The Onion"

Voice Of God Revealed To Be Cheney On Intercom

This is both hilarious and creepily prescient.

And they say the Bush economy sucks...

Take note that this is INDIVIDUAL tax receipts and NOT corporate... Read on...

Tune in to Jay Farrar & Co.

I’m not sure how I missed it until now, but Jay Farrar and Son Volt have been putting out a lot of good music since the break-up of Uncle Tupelo. I’ve been a fan of Wilco, Uncle Tupelo’s other spawn, for a few years now and knew about Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy's former bandmate and fellow songwriter, Jay Farrar. I’d heard good things about Farrar and Son Volt, but was content just absorbing Wilco's material, which I assumed was the best stuff to emerge from the Uncle Tupelo progeny. That was a bad assumption.

After just a few listens to Son Volt's new release "The Search" (briefly reviewed below), I got the urge to go back and check out the rest of the Farrar material I'd overlooked the past few years... It's always cool when you get turned on to an artist who has already released a solid catalog of albums for checking out. I'm just getting started, but digging everything I'm hearing so far, especially Son Volt’s album Wide Swing Tremolo. Farrar has some incredible songwriting chops. After immersing myself in Farrar & Co.’s music for the past few days, I now consider myself sufficiently educated to authoritatively proclaim that Farr and Co. are terribly underrated and underappreciated by the public at large and the music industry itself, even the journalists and critics.

John Scofield at the Sheraton

I was lucky enough to catch the "John Scofield Real Jazz Trio" Monday night at the Salt Lake City Sheraton. Scofield's playing was both moving and mind-bending, all while being distinctively "Scofield". Also playing in the trio were Bill Stewart on drums (the first I'd heard of him - talented young guy who played with scorching energy) and Steve Swallow on bass (a much older fella whose mature, perceptive style brought it all back home). The show was excellent; the performances and playing were brilliant.

The only drawback was the significant annoyance caused by an unusually large number of attendees who, right in the middle of the sets, were constantly leaving and re-entering the hall (like it was bloody basketball game). It seemed rather disrespectful to the performers, and certainly distracted from the atmosphere one seeks and expects at an event featuring one of the greatest and most relevant jazz musicians of our time (admittedly, I'm easily distracted, but still...).

Ending on a positive note, I got to briefly chat with Sco after the show when he autographed my copy of "Grace Under Pressure". Trying to play it cool, I told him to come back soon, but lacked the nerve to suggest that his next booking in SLC be slated "Medeski, Scofield, Martin, and Wood".

Son Volt's "The Search"

I recently picked up the new Son Volt album "The Search" having only heard one song (something I very rarely do these days) on an impulsive whim and was not sorry. It's very good stuff. I highly recommend it to anyone who digs the country-infused rock scene hailing from the northern Midwest. The Son Volt lineup features former members of alt-country pioneers, "Uncle Tupelo" - most notably Jay Farrar. As a sidenote, other Uncle Tupelo alumni went on to form the higher-profile alt-country-progressive-folk-rock band Wilco of "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" fame. For those interested, the new Son Volt material is resoundingly rootsy and organic, yet gracefully complemented with progressive subtleties and originality - all in all a worthy contribution to the warm country-rock trickling out of cold Minnesota.