I have to admit, I don’t know much about blogging. I have read a few but never really found one that I thought I had to see every week/month but I do want to let people know who I am and what makes me, well, me. So, I am going to mix things up a bit – I’ll write about what I know and enjoy and perhaps you might be interested in some of the same stuff, let me know if you are so inclined. So each month, I’ll write an article that is somehow related to saving, investing or planning your financial future.
Then I’ll write about some aspect of music (I’m a weekend drummer if you didn’t know) then a piece on cooking, perhaps with a recipe and a wine pairing and then maybe an article related to travel – all things I love. I’ll do my best to keep things to the point and about one page long including photos.
So here goes my first music blog. I love all kinds of music so you’ll see all sorts of different genres mentioned. I’m a big fan of CKUA (93.7 FM) and I volunteer at the Calgary Folk Festival so it feels like I am constantly learning about these fantastic artists that I never heard of before. This month, I am going to focus on a rock album, a country record (yes, it’s still cool to call it a record) and a blues disc.
ROCK
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I’ve been aware of Neko Case for a long time but not really a fan until she appeared on the Main Stage at the Calgary Fold Music Festival last July. In the five years since her 2013 masterwork The Worse Things Get…, Neko Case has joined forces with k.d. lang and Laura Veirs for a super group, boned up on ancient Amazon cultures, and recovered after losing her home to a fire. Hell-On is an overflowing follow-up, as rich and complicated as such life experiences suggest. Haunting songs of human folly both relatively trivial (chipping a tooth on an engagement ring) and unspeakably traumatic (witnessing animal cruelty) highlight a whole slew of familiar collaborators (lang, Veirs, Beth Ditto, Eric Bachmann, Mark Lanegan) while still sounding like no one else but Neko.
COUNTRY
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Jason Isbell is someone I have listened to for several years and first discovered him when he was part of the alt-country rockers, Drive-By Truckers. He released a number or records after he left that band and tackled some of his personal demons. Southeastern is, in my opinion, a masterpiece and one my all-time personal favorite albums. To his considerable credit, Isbell has very little interest in recounting his long fall or his darkest moments. The record’s real subject is not what it means to hit rock bottom, but what happens after you pick yourself up. He’s definitely a storyteller his approach makes Southeastern his most gripping and his most personal record so far.
BLUES
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Black Coffee is the third studio album from the dazzling duo of screaming soul sister Beth Hart and the colossus of blues, Joe Bonamassa. Released on January 26, 2018, this album features some hidden soul gems reinvented by two of the leaders in their respective genres. I can only say that you need to hear these two uber-talented masters of their craft and any of their three albums would do. Maybe you need to add all of them to your collection.
By all means, if you want to talk about any of the blogs, do get in touch.
Cheers, Perry
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