What are you listening to?

Two new discoveries this week: Alexey Arkhipovsky, Russian balalaika soloist - check out this concert. And a young woman named Kat Edmonson, who sings like a cross between Blossom Dearie and Joni Mitchell, and writes as if she were channeling Cole Porter. Both amazing!
 
I agree, I adore Steely Dan. Love them! All of the albums. Have not heard Walter's solo stuff (but open to suggestions), and all of Donald's solo material is great; adore Sunken Condos (2012)--you have that one=, mike?!

Grab your Chromecasts and 70 inch wide screens for the documentary you mention, Mike, here: It's excellent, indeed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8GwEX7nn6o

I have everything that Steely Dan has put out as well as everything Donald Fagan has put out. Listening to Fagan's solo stuff, it's very easy to hear where the Steely Dan sound is coming from. I checked out Becker's solo stuff but listening to samples of it on line, it didn't turn my crank so I haven't gone after any of it.

Thanks for the link to Classic Albums: Aja documentary, I didn't know it was available free online. I hope people reading this check it out. I found it fascinating, especially how they would mold the band to the songs to get the sound that they were looking for. They might use one band to record a song or two and then bring in a whole new band to record other songs. I think Duke Ellington worked in a similar way but he would compose certain songs to fit the strengths of individual musicians in a fixed band. I also found it fascinating to hear the view points of the various musicians called upon to work on the album. I've seen it several times and still enjoy it very much.

Now listening to Pretzel Logic and Katy Lied.

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Mississippi John Hurt - Today! From "The Complete Studio Recordings"

Mississippi John Hurt was one of my favorite surprise discoveries. These recordings are so intimate, so warm and so gentle. Hurt was such a wonderful finger picker. When listening to these recordings you'd sometimes think that there was more than one guitarist playing. This 3-CD set of warm folk-blues is highly recommended.

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This is also probably one of the few forums where people will "get" her voice. Her songwriting skills and lyrics are incredible.
 
This is also probably one of the few forums where people will "get" her voice.

Hmmm.... There's a lot of good music out there so something would have to be pretty compelling if one is going to stick around long enough to have to "get" something. I've never heard of Newsom before and based on the examples above, I find her voice to be very affected, there's a child-like coyness there that I don't know that I like. It has me wondering what she would sound like if she just sang straight out and didn't try to "stylize" her voice so much. At first I thought she was a non-English speaking performer singing in English and that is why her style sounded like it did. Then I found out she was from California! Now that I think of it, it makes me think of some of the female vocalists I've seen audition on the various voice shows. Perhaps Newsom was an influence on them but I'd seen a few of them sing with that affected style and it had me wondering what the heck they were doing. Maybe it plays better in that small venue, coffee club, girl with a guitar, singer/songwriter type of setting. I don't know that I'd write her off but my first impression is "pass" with the outside chance that her stuff could possibly grow on you with repeated listens. (Like if your wife or girlfriend kept playing it and you had little choice but to listen to it.) As with anything, this is just one man's opinion and YMMV.
 
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David Crowther's History of England podcasts....

Oh, you mean music? Well, on my MP3 player: Al Bowlly, Bob Dylan, Malcolm McLaren, The Animals, Trio Los Panchos, Steve Goodman, Moondog, Santana, Webb Wilder, Bach, James Brown, John Handy, Bob Marley, Brian Ferry, Al Green, Lee Morse, Etta James, Gotan Project, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Bruce Cockburn, David Wiffen, Fred Neil, King Oliver, Cliff Edwards, Right Said Fred, Louis Armstrong, Ruth Etting, Josephine Baker, Puccinni...

Probably better to say what I'm NOT listening to:
Rap
Hip Hop
New Country
New R&B
 
Guthrie Govan. Seriously, this (English) guy is immense. I know it's not ukulele, but for sheer technique, phrasing, musicianship etc etc etc he's virtually unmatched. Take a look at his Wikipedia entry to get a feel for the guy. You may not like the following clip, but you can't argue with his mastery of the instrument.

 
Your comments about technique made me think of this clip I first saw years ago, a busker playing an electric bass.

 
Can't get enough of Dawes lately. So stoked to see them again this month.

 
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R. Crumb And His Cheap Suit Serenaders - Chasin' Rainbows

The ukulele actually appears in one of the songs. This is fun, string band type music featuring the famous R. Crumb on vocals and banjo.
 
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Art Pepper - The Complete Galaxy Recordings

This is a massive 16-CD box set which chronicles Art's work from 1978-1982, his final years. In my opinion, Art was one of the greatest alto sax players of all time.
 
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Louis Armstrong - It's Louis Armstrong

This is a 10-CD box set and it's an incredible value. I can't believe how cheaply this can be had on Amazon. Armstrong was a true musical giant you'll see very few of in a lifetime.
 
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Frank Sinatra - Come Fly With Me

Sinatra was on top of the world at Capitol and rightfully so, his body of work there is hard to touch and there are a lot of artists out there who would kill for just a tiny fraction of his talent and success. Beautiful voice, beautiful arrangements, beautiful music.
 
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