Challenge 3: March - A Musician/Band a Day #7

I listened to Alice in Chains' album Dirt this morning twice through while I was going through some boxes in my spare room. I mean, it was mostly noise. Nothing stood out. To each his/her own, yes?

I started to listen to my next selection Harmonium by John Adams. It's an interesting concept... orchestral and choir arrangements based on famous poetry by writers such as Emily Dickinson. I was liking it... I'll get back to it tomorrow...

Challenge 3: March - A Musician/Band a Day #6 pt. 2

Drat! I fell a day behind. I've been listening to The Allman Brothers Band since Thursday. The album I've been listening to, At Fillmore East, is tauted as one of the greatest live rock recordings of all time. The recordings were made over the course of four shows at Manhattan's Fillmore East audiorium. I can see why... it's a fun romp. I've found myself tapping my toes and hands along as I work and clean to this... I can't choose which ones to star, because they're all good.

Next up... Alice in Chains' Dirt...

Challenge 3: March - A Musician/Band a Day #6

I'm listening to The Allman Brothers Band's album At Fillmore East. I'll report more in the morning...

Challenge 3: March - A Musician/Band a Day #5

So today I listened to an Ethiopian musician. You really can't say that everyday. Well, I suppose you could, but I really doubt you do. I listened to Mahmoud Abmed's album, Ere Mela Mela. I have no idea what any of it meant, but I loved it. According to Don Moon in his book 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, from which this challenge originated, the album's title song is about a faraway love. Whatever it's about, it got a star from me, as did a few other songs on this album. I'll listen to this again, and maybe figure out what some of it means...

Challenge 3: March - A Musician/Band a Day #4

Yesterday, I listened to Shakin' in the Rafters by The Abyssinian Baptist Choir.  I suppose I shouldn't have listened to this while reading a strange YA fantasy novel, right? It felt like too stark a contrast. I mean, it was gospel and it was upbeat, and I starred the song "I Want to Ride that Glory Train."

Today, whenever I was writing, rendering, or reading I listened to Ryan Adams' Heartbreaker. I was cheating a bit, because I've heard Ryan Adams before. I love his sound. I decided this could count, though, because I hadn't listened to this album, or at least, not all the way through. I'll probably star the whole thing, but the standouts right now are, "To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, is to Be High)" and "Oh My Sweet Carolina."

Challenge 3: March - A Musician/Band a Day #3

Yesterday I listened to the album Blu Blu Blu by The Muhal Richard Abrams Orchestra. When I first started listening I enjoyed it, but as I played it later in the day as a background track to reading, I found it agitating. Then, I don't care much for Jazz... It had a lot of unique sounds, though, I'll give it that.

Tonight, I'm listening to the album Shakin' in the Rafters by The Abyssinian Baptist Choir. It's hard not to be drawn into gospel music... so snappy!

Challenge 3: March - A Musician/Band a Day #2

Yesterday I listened to the first recording listed in 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. It's alphabetical. I was stuck listening to ABBA. The album chosen by author Tom Moon was Gold.

I'll admit that after a few listens it grew on me a bit, but I still don't think I'd go out of my way to listen to most of their material. They're a bit much for me. Still, the author is right, the lesser known hits are much better. I put stars next to: "I have a Dream," "Take a Chance on Me," "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)", and "Thank You for the Music."

Today, I'm listening to the album Blu Blu Blu by The Muhal Richard Abrams Orchestra. I thought I didn't like jazz, but I'm loving this...

Challenge 3: March - A Musican/Band a Day #1

28 days in February, and I wrote 22 poems... Hmm...

It was a good exercise just the same. I'll try to write them more often now. It was really easy to just throw something together first thing in the morning, or to write a few inspired words into my phone's notepad to ponder later. Some of the poems might be a good start for better poems. Others will probably never go any farther than this blog.

This month's challenge is inspired by a book I've checked out about 10 times from the library, and failed to even crack open. It's called 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die: A Listeners Life List. I like the idea of this book, because 1,000 recordings seems like a manageable goal for not a life, but a year. That was, of course, before I realized that it's "recordings" not "singles." I was going to listen to them all this month when I thought it was 1,000 individual songs. Totally doable, right? Then, I realized that was still too much for a month if I was really going to savor every song, so I thought, "Hey, I'll spread it out over a couple months." That would've been 15 songs a day. It was just after this that I opened the book to the first artist and saw that it was "recordings" as in "albums." That blew the whole original idea. Instead, I'll just start working my way through the book and listen to a new album a day. If I run across an album I already know really well, I won't listen to it again or write about it, but I'll mention it in the blog. Fun!

Oh, and in case you're interested, there's a Spotify list that's been created based on this book. I've actually been listening to this from time to time since discovering the book (probably a year or more ago). It's a fun listen if you just want to experience a few new sounds or enjoy some old ones.

Incidentally, I'm listening to the first album right now...

Challenge 2: February - A Poem a Day #22

Nightmare-sparked power outage
breeds caterwauling
and siren chatter,
world sleeping,
unaware

Pierced cold
spins senses,
moon, street, and phone light
symbolize
alone,
awake,
afraid

Challenge 2: February - A Poem a Day #21

Upside down swing queen
Monkey bar child, I once was
The ground is dashing

Sugar sweet with cream
Banana split cherry top
My favorite shirt

Bang! Sky filled with zing
monotonous fireworks crash
Blue wave ocean screams