My Old Friend the Blues

(Tuesday Treasure is a weekly song that is unheralded, long-lost, or buried somewhere deep on an album, yet deserves another listen.)

Well, another Super Bowl has come and gone without an Eagles' parade down Broad Street. For the last few weeks, I've been nursing my annual January/February dismay, disappointment and depression. And no song captures depression as well as Steve Earle's My Old Friend the Blues.

Tuesday Treasure 2/3

A Guilty Pleasure (Heard)

Get Guilty. A.C. Newman
Buy on Amazon.
Buy on eMusic.

There are few guarantees in life. One of them is that any record with A.C. Newman on it is going to be filled with great guitar-heavy pop hooks and memorable, if not well understood, lyrics.

On his last two albums, however, the New Pornographers' Challengers and his newly released solo album Get Guilty, Newman has toned down the frenetic pace.

The result with Get Guilty is that its songs take on a more dramatic, sweeping feel and slowly ingratiate themselves into your brain. A perfect example -- the album lead-off There May Be Ten or Twelve -- with its flowing stripped down sound and obtuse words. The songs aren't as much of a sugar rush, but they're still memorable. Check out the three songs on the Currently Spinning playlist on the right and you'll see what I mean.

This being a solo effort, there's no Neko Case. But that's OK -- Newman gets great background vocals from Nicole Atkins and Kori Gardner

Yes, I still prefer the hundred-miles-a-minute Newman that made Slow Wonder such a classic. But, there is not a more consistently pleasing indie/power pop songwriter out there. Get Guilty is the first great album of 2009.

Weekly Wikipedia Link -- Politician Jimmy Walker

Rod Blagojevich. Ted Stevens. William "Dollar Bill" Jefferson.

We've seen our share of corrupt politicians over the last year. But this is nothing new. Where ever there is a seat on a committee, there's the opportunity to line your pockets.

One of the most unique was former New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker. During his term in the '30s, Walker's administration had a habit of sending innocent people to jail. It eventually caught up to him and he was forced out of office by FDR. Soon after, he took off for Europe to escape prosecution

Walker was the subject of Bob Hope movie and a Broadway production.

This week's Wikipedia link -- Jimmy Walker.

Nothing Broken in This Crime Novel (Read)

The Broken Shore. Peter Temple.
Buy on Amazon.
Buy at Powell's Books.

Temple is well-revered as a crime novelist in Australia, picking up numerous awards for his eight novels. His latest, released last year in the US, will appeal not only to those who love the genre, but to all those who just plain love to read.

Written in simple, yet captivating prose, Temple draws you into the life of Joe Cashin, a middle-aged policeman, living with his two dogs in a dilapidated house in a remote section of Australia. He's still recovering from serious injuries that happened during a botched stake-out. Like most book detectives, Joe has his demons -- a son he's never seen, a mysterious family death, and numerous others.

His quiet life is upended when a local philanthropist is found dead. It's widely assumed by those in town that the Boongs (a degoratory name for Aboriginals) killed the millionaire in a robbery attempt.

Cashin, who grew up with the Aboriginals, keeps digging until he gets the answer.

The publishers include a glossary of Australian slang words in the back to help the American readers.

Read an excerpt here.

I Don't Get It -- Monster Truck Deaths

It's hard to believe anything more ridiculous happening in the past week than Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich taking his bad haircut onto The View and later comparing himself to Ghandi and Martin Luther King. However, there was one other news item this past week that just had me scratching my head.

Last week, George Eisenhart went onto a Wisconsin television station to tout the safety of Monster Truck events. His appearance was meant to calm fears, as a few days earlier a six-year-old boy was killed by flying debris at a show in Tacoma, Wash.

Eisenhart told the reporter, according to CNN: "This is our 16th year. I wish I had a big piece of wood to knock on right now, but we have not had an incident besides a gal slipping in the aisleway at another location."

It's a shame he didn't have that piece of wood. Because a couple of days later, he was crushed to death by a monster truck during an event in Madison, Wisc. And the driver was a good friend.

Now, I don't want to in any way poke fun at these two very sad deaths. It's a horrible tragedy. And I feel horrible for those families. But, come on. The organizers need to be held accountable. What are the odds? That's like a kid getting fatally injured by a foul ball at a baseball game, then Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig accidentally getting hit by the bat of former Mendoza line-hanging Phillie Steve Jeltz taking BP. Or like the replacement for the New York Giants' leg-shooting Plaxico Burress hurting himself in a gun-related accident. (Oh wait, that actually did happen).

Seriously, how do you let this happen? I understand that the people running the Monster Truck Racing Association are probably not Rhodes scholars. Heck, they probably have a hard time keeping up with the plot line of Ernest Goes to Camp. Wait up, is FEMA's Michael Brown running the show over there?

By the way, don't visit the MTRA's Web site. As of Tuesday, Google had a warning that declared "This site may harm your computer." Giving the way the MTRA has handled things the last couple of weeks, I wouldn't want to get near their Web site, let alone a show. But if you do, I'm sure you'll be fine.

Knock on wood.

Hey, Hey We're the Monks (Heard)

Say goodbye to the Weekly playlist. Starting this week, I'll blog on a more regular basis, focusing on whatever book (read), music (heard), movie/TV (seen), etc. that I've finished, rather than wait until the end of the week for a full list. I hope that makes this an easier blog for you to follow. And I don't mean the collective "you." I mean you -- the one person out there reading this blog.

Monk Time. The Monks
Buy on Amazon
Buy on eMusic

A group of GIs stationed in Germany form a band after they're discharged. They shave the tops of their heads and play in monk outfits. This music is raucous, playful and, well, a little weird. And it has some of the raw power that you've heard from the Stooges and MC5. They disappear from the scene after a few years, hardly a footnote in music history. They later gained a cult following that led to a reunion in the late 90s.

According to Pitchfork, Light in the Attic Records, the company behind recent Rodriguez and Betty Davis re-issues, will re-release some of the Monks' early work sometime in April.

Check out Higgle-dy, Piggle-dy and Drunken Maria on the Currently Spinning music playlist on the right hand side of the page.

The Slummer the Slum

(Tuesday Treasure is a weekly song that is unheralded, long-lost, or buried somewhere deep on an album, yet deserves another listen.)

Have y'all recovered from last week's dip into Eugene Chadbourne's catalog? This week's song is not anywhere near as bizarre. It comes from 1958. Upon hearing it, though, you might expect it to be a mid-60s garage rock classic. Listen to guitarist Lowman "Pete" Pauling, who was an influence of both Steve Cropper and Eric Clapton. Rock critic Dave Marsh, who lists this song as one of the 1001 greatest singles of all time, claims it's the first use of intentional guitar feedback.

The 5 Royals wrote several songs that later became hits for others, such as "Dedicated to the One I Love." This song is also featured on the latest Oxford American Music Issue CD. I'll be writing more on that magazine/CD later this week.

Enjoy this treasure.

Tuesday Treasure 1/27