In Under the Wire

Well, after dinner & a couple of episodes of The Crown, I nearly forgot about updating the blog. I could skip today, but I feel like keeping the momentum going even if I don't feel much like writing.

So, I'll be brief. Instead of writing about books today, maybe I'll share my recent listening. Shortly after getting my second vaccine shot, I went down some algorithmic rabbit holes and ended up ordering several CDs. (The timing was not deliberate, but in fact, as I've been out & about just a bit more most-vaccination, I've had more opportunities for listening in the car. Even though my pre-pandemic commute was pretty short, I find I do miss the music. I mean, sure I could play music around the house more often; I just don't, especially as I'm still in mourning for my defunct iPod nano. Maybe at some point I'll get in a trip to the Apple store in hopes of resurrection.) I won't talk for now about the albums that seemed disappointing or mediocre (in fact, none of this year's purchases would make the desert island list), but I'll mention the two I've been enjoying most:

The Green World by Dar Williams. While it isn't going to displace Mortal City as my favorite Dar album, it grows on me more with each listen. I bought this primarily because the song "Calling the Moon" was recommended by Effy Wild. It's a good track, but my favorite is "After All." I noticed more Christian references in the lyrics than in the albums I'd heard before, including in a song that pays tribute to the Berrigan brothers, anti-war protestors. And "I Won't Be Your Yoko Ono" is fun--even though it prompted me to look for YouTube videos of Ono singing (I've never been a fan of Ono-bashing, especially as most of it is blatantly misogynistic, but the Ono music left me ... unimpressed).

We Are by Jon Batiste. I enjoy seeing Batiste on A Late Show on the rare occasions I stay up for it (and although the music snippets are usually tiny), and I also enjoyed watching the movie Soul, which Batiste consulted on. This album has a strong element of New Orleans brass, a sense of community (I didn't realize the opening track included members of the Batiste's high school's marching band until I saw this interview online, a cool detail; I also appreciate how he rejects genre pigeon-holing in the interview),and a variety of moods. Some of the tracks like "Boy Hood" have more of a rap/spoken word vibe than I prefer--but it also has some really nice instrumentals (and to me there's actually something about the spoken sections that remind me of Van Morrison's setting of the "When the child was a child" poem from Winds of Desire). My favorite track is the ebullient "Freedom."