An Open Letter to Son Volt

Dear Son Volt,

I never saw this coming. I never thought I'd hear a Son Volt album I could possibly love more than Trace or Straightaways. What have you done? American Central Dust is a left turn onto a dusty gravel road that is new, yet strangely familiar and comforting. Thank you!

Seriously, I read the press about the new album serving as return to the roots of Trace. Everyone says that when they want to inject a bit of life into their fan base and possibly raise an eyebrow or two. But you guys are serious. From the first line of the opening tune it is clear this is a different Son Volt album. 'Dynamite' is the best album opener since 'Windfall.' A fairly short song at 2:50, it sets the album mood nicely with the accordion, acoustic guitar, and percussion. I feel it when Jay Farrar sings "There is no right way, only the way that keeps your mind free."

Quality songs keep coming. 'Roll On' is beautiful with the gentle electric guitar flourishes. The organ complements the guitar perfectly. 'Cocaine and Ashes' is a great piano-driven ode to Keith Richards. Even the single 'Down to the Wire' doesn't let down with its nasty vibe and groove. This captures the ear and stays once the song has ended.

Perhaps my favorite song so far is 'No Turning Back.' This ode to the long-haul trucker has everything fans love about Son Volt: a great hook, guitars and organ playing well together, and harmony vocals. And who can't use a song that namedrops Lead Belly?

Granted, there may not be a song that rocks in the same way as 'Route' from Trace, but Son Volt is a different band now. The Boquist boys have departed and it's a new group around Farrar creating the tunes now. I give credit to Chris Masterson for creating some of the texture here too. I saw his work in Jack Ingram's band and I think it's possible his contributions are large. If I'm wrong please feel free to correct me Jay.

The bottom line is this: after producing music for nearly 15 years as Son Volt I don't think we fans had any expectations the results would be this solid. Sure, we hoped they would, but one never knows how a band will mature. If there was any doubt it has been dismissed. Heck, at this point my biggest regret is I didn't take advantage of the CD/t-shirt combo offered on the website upon the album's release.

In 'Dust of Daylight' Farrar sings "Hand in hand there are angels that are holding warning signs." Certainly none of the signs are warnings about this album. American Central Dust is a first-rate release by one of the founders of the alt-country movement. Now all I need to do is fill up the gas tank, find the open highway, and absorb all Son Volt has to offer.

Sincerely,
Me

From American Central Dust:

Roll On by Son Volt   (6131 KB)
Listen on posterous

No Turning Back by Son Volt   (6927 KB)
Listen on posterous

From Trace:

   (3741 KB)
Listen on posterous

Jay Farrar with Mark Spencer performing 'Cocaine and Ashes' at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, CA.

Posted via email from All Over the Map

Humpbacks Saving Seals from Killer Whales?

Save the Seal!

Whales act instinctively to save seals

By Robert L. Pitman and John W. Durban

Robert L. Pitman

Last January we sailed from the tip of South America to the Antarctic Peninsula on the sixty-five-foot yacht Golden Fleece, in search of killer whales. The kind we were looking for—which potentially constitute a new species—prey on seals that live on and around the sea ice. We hoped to document one of their remarkable hunting techniques: sometimes as many as seven whales swim side by side to make a wave that washes a seal off an ice floe. The journey brought some surprises.

Early one morning, we located a pod of ten killer whales that we had previously tagged for satellite tracking, and found they had a pair of agitated, adult-size humpback whales in their midst. The humpbacks were bellowing loudly through their blowholes and slapping the water with their tails and fifteen-foot flippers. At first we thought that the humpbacks were under attack, but we saw no overt signs of aggression, so we concluded that they were probably just being harassed. Killer whales often test larger whales, perhaps to check for weaknesses that they might be able to exploit. We ducked below deck to quickly review some video footage of the event, however, and noticed a Weddell seal between the humpbacks—perhaps that’s what the killer whales were after.

The killer whales moved on, and fifteen minutes later they spotted a crabeater seal on an ice floe. They created a wave that broke up the floe and left the distraught seal on a piece of ice not much bigger than it was. Just when it seemed the killers were about to have their way, the same pair of humpbacks charged in, swimming around the floe, bellowing and thrashing the water. The killer whales seemed annoyed and finally left the seal alone, still safe on the floe. We concluded that perhaps this deliberate intrusion by the humpbacks was some jumbo-size form of mobbing behavior, comparable to the way songbirds pester birds of prey to drive them off.

 A week later we witnessed a similar event that suggested a somewhat different interpretation. Another group of killer whales was attacking a Weddell seal on an ice floe, and a different pair of large humpbacks had inserted themselves into the fray. At one point, the predators succeeded in washing the seal off the floe. Exposed to lethal attack in the open water, the seal swam frantically toward the humpbacks, seeming to seek shelter, perhaps not even aware that they were living animals. (We have known fur seals in the North Pacific to use our vessel as a refuge against attacking killer whales.)

Just as the seal got to the closest humpback, the huge animal rolled over on its back—and the 400-pound seal was swept up onto the humpback’s chest between its massive flippers. Then, as the killer whales moved in closer, the humpback arched its chest, lifting the seal out of the water. The water rushing off that safe platform started to wash the seal back into the sea, but then the humpback gave the seal a gentle nudge with its flipper, back to the middle of its chest [see photograph]. Moments later the seal scrambled off and swam to the safety of a nearby ice floe.

It occurred to us that in all three of these encounters, the menacing behavior of the killer whales may have triggered a protective maternal response in the humpback whales. Even though they did not have calves that were at risk, they acted immediately and instinctively to counter the threat posed to a smaller animal.

When an animal provides maternal care to another that is not its own offspring, it is termed allomaternal care [see “Meet the Alloparents,” April 2009]. Maternal behavior may even cross species boundaries. Perhaps the most common example of that is when humans raise pets, but there are plenty of cases of domestic cats and dogs adopting orphaned animals. Such behavior has been documented less frequently in undomesticated animals—though in 1996 a mother gorilla at the Brookfield Zoo near Chicago made headlines when she gently picked up a three-year-old boy who had fallen into the gorillas’ enclosure and carried him to the zookeepers’ door.

When a human protects an imperiled individual of another species, we call it compassion. If a humpback whale does so, we call it instinct. But sometimes the distinction isn’t all that clear.

via naturalhistorymag.com

This interesting story about the Antarctic humpback whales was brought to my attention by Betsy Karasik on Twitter. It would be extraordinary if we could prove they are acting in a protective manner. In any case, the instinct/compassion shown to protect the seals is noteworthy.

Posted via web from All Over the Map

Kansas City's Most Expensive Prostitute

Charges filed in case of john robbed by prostitute in KC

Kansas City police have arrested a prostitute accused of robbing a customer over the weekend and stealing his car, which contained up to $50,000 in sports memorabilia.

Jackson County prosecutors today charged Carolyn A. Williams, 45, of Kansas City, with first-degree robbery and armed criminal action for the holdup Sunday.

The victim said he met the prostitute about 8 p.m. on Independence Avenue near Brooklyn Avenue. After he drove her to a parking lot near Independence and Tracy Avenue, they walked into an apartment, where he thought he was going to pay $40 in exchange for sex. Instead, the prostitute and a gun-toting man robbed him.

The victim gave them some cash, but the prostitute said she wanted more.

“I got rent due tomorrow,” she said.

The robbers took $360, the man’s cell phone and car keys and told him to walk away. The victim saw the robbers drive away in his car, which contained the valuable memorabilia.

Police said they recovered the stolen memorabilia. Police were still looking for the suspected gunman.

via kansascity.com

If you need the services of a working woman, please take the $50,000 worth of sports memorabilia home first. Why risk the Jose Canseco rookie card while out looking for a good time? This is clearly not the brightest guy on so many levels.

Posted via web from All Over the Map

SOTD: Chapterhouse - 'Pearl' from Whirlpool (1991)

I never should have liked Chapterhouse anyway. I blame Dave Kendall and that dang MTV 120 Minutes.
A history lesson for those of you too young to remember how discovering music could be difficult pre-internet days. When MTV still aired videos they had a show called 120 Minutes on Sunday nights hosted by a Brit named Dave Kendall. It wasn't uncommon at that time to tape the show on the VCR and watch it during the week, as the videos played would often not air in regular programming. Bands such as Oasis, Blur, or Weezer got exposure on 120 Minutes. Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' had its world premiere on the show before blowing up and becoming a massive worldwide hit. 120 Minutes aired the bands you craved to discover but could never hear on the radio outside of big cities or college towns with good radio stations.
It was during one such episode in the summer of 1991 the video for 'Pearl' from Chapterhouse's debut album Whirlpool aired. Though everything was wrong with the band, I still remember watching it with the same rapt attention that Straitjacket Fits received for the vaguely similar 'Down in Splendour.' The music was mushy (for lack of a better word) and the vocals buried in the mix. I was transfixed. My Bloody Valentine's epic Loveless would be released later in the year and I had yet to discover Slowdive. The swirl of sound drew me in and wouldn't let go. I had been introduced to the shoegazing bands.
In Augusta, Georgia there was only one place in 1991 that would stock imports and left-of-center releases. I went that week and found one copy of the CD with its "Made in Germany" sticker affixed. Despite the import price I walked out of the shop with my prize. To this day, 'Pearl' is probably one of the top five songs I've played most often. The vocals ended up being something I loved. When Rachel Goswell of Slowdive (and later Mojave 3) kicked in with her contributions late in the song I swooned.
'Pearl' ended up being part of the soundtrack of my life in the summer of 1991.

Trivia about the song. At about the 1:45 mark of the video there is a breakdown to the bridge. Some may recognize the distinct similarity to 'Kiss Them for Me' by Siouxsie and the Banshees from the Superstition album. It's interesting to note that Superstition was released on June 11, 1991 while Whirlpool hit stores on June 25, 1991, exactly two weeks later. The somewhat curious similarity came up a few years later when I was interviewing a British band, probably in 1995/1996. (I am fairly sure it was Jim Shaw of the Cranes as we hit it off during an interview but may have been someone else.) In any case, apparently an engineer working on Whirlpool was dating someone in Siouxie's band or management. They thought the loop was cool and took it to Siouxsie who then used it in 'Kiss Them for Me' as the main loop. Ironically, Superstition was released first and everyone then thought Chapterhouse had robbed Siouxsie and the Banshees. Go figure.

Posted via web from All Over the Map

Children, Why Not Play Amongst the Headstones?

Rural Missouri sometimes does things just a little bit differently. Sure, the festival may not actually be in the cemetery but at first glace it's hard to be sure!

Posted via email from All Over the Map