Posts Tagged ‘music’

Man, oh man.

And a re-interpretation.

…just this morning it occurred to me that not just one*, but two** of the musicians with whom I have written and recorded music have been nominated for Grammys.

So the pattern is established: If you want your name in a fancy envelope, book your studio time with me now.

*OK, so he was nominated long before we ever met. Technicality.

**Possibly the first time the phrase “from the get-go” was ever used in a Grammy interview.

Sometimes you put aside hype and snark and irony and criticism and just say, hey man, we’re happy for you: Our local big news, via Volume One.

Especially the take on “Beth/Rest.” Sometimes a beautiful song is just a beautiful song.* Get too wound up in postmodern ironically-detached hipster deconstruction coolism and pretty soon yer chewin’ yer own tail.

*Our four-year-old favors “Michicant” because that’s the one with the bicycle-bell (Chinese bells, I’m told, but around here, it’s a bicycle bell).

In support of his new album Bon Iver, our friend and neighbor Justin Vernon has announced his band’s upcoming tour. Let’er rip, sir.

…to be a small part of this.

Every since I was introduced to his music on a cassette in a boombox played by my friend Gene in a basement while playing darts (follow that?), John Prine has been a leading literary influence (yep, literary – musical of course, but primarily literary) on my writing.

Yesterday, Oh Boy Records released “Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows,” a tribute album on which a wide array of artists honor Prine by covering his songs.  The first song on the album is “Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)” covered by friendly neighbor Justin Vernon of Bon Iver.

I have never met John Prine, but it is among one of the more unexpected honors of my haphazard life that I was invited to collaborate with Justin on the liner notes for the album.  The final revisions were completed at my desk, but I marked up the rough draft while sitting in a deer stand.

Thanks, Justin.  And thank you, Mister Prine.

I previously posted about Prine performing a song from the album on David Letterman.