Monthly Archives: January 2008

Vincent Black Lightning 1952


(from http://www.thevincent.com/)
Two readings of the same text. Me, I’ve never been a participant on motorcycle lore, though I have friends who were and did. But I know a Good Song when I hear one, played here by one of the reigning geniuses of the guitar:

(lyrics)

It’s Richard Thompson’s song (from Rumor and Sigh, 1991), one of a great many from his pen that capture humans in vulnerable moments and make their exploits live on (see an interview with RT for some background). And Del McCoury does a remarkable job of translating it to Tennessee (Knoxville replaces Box Hill):

There’s a novel, due to be published in March 2008: Vincent Black Lightning 1952: A Novel, by Al Sciarrino (“…a business and entertainment law professor at State University of New York, teaches a course on Music and the Law at the Eastman School of Music and has been an aficionado of country music and motorcycles his entire life…”), but whether it’ll cast any new light on the original James Adie remains to be seen.

links for 2008-01-11

Marseille Figs

Cory Doctorow pointed to Marseille Figs: uptempo pop from a “small big band” — Violent Femmes meets Tom Waits meets Squirrel Nut Zippers and I followed up with a little venture in downloading via Amazon, but perhaps I shoulda gone with CD Baby for a few bux more… Anyhow, I’m enjoying them, and some of you will too (probably the same ones who respond with glee to the excesses of the Holy Modal Rounders). Others won’t (probably the same ones who can’t bear The Pogues). But take a look at the band’s Web site and perhaps sample Low Low Thing, Caesar’s Revenge, and Good Year, and see a useful review by Chris Daykin: Something new, for a change

links for 2008-01-10

links for 2008-01-09