The problem with being a music junkie blogger is that you read that Vieux Farka Touré, son of Ali Farka Touré, is coming to town, and you think, “Hmmm. I should really do a post on Ali Farka Touré.” And then you get this far and you realize, “Hmmm. I don’t have a thing to say about Ali Farka Touré.”
Month: October 2015
Ali Akbar Khan
Actual conversation that led to this post:
“You should do a post on Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.”
“You mean Ali Akbar Khan?”
“No. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.”
“Wait. Those are two different people?”
Alex Chilton/Big Star/Box Tops
“Alex Chilton” is pretty much my favorite Replacements song, so you’d think I might be a big Alex Chilton fan. When in fact, other than the two Box Tops numbers here, I don’t know a note of his music.
Alberta Hunter
In round 2 I will do a fair amount of apologizing for acts I can’t believe I left out of round 1. And with that in mind … Alberta Hunter.
10,000 Maniacs/Natalie Merchant
And round 2 begins … now.
You might think a band with a name like 10,000 Maniacs would play the wildest, most raucous music ever. When in fact, 10,000 Maniacs played pretty much the smoothest, most polished music to come out of college radio in the 80s. Lead singer Natalie Merchant took things a step further in her solo career by making music that was smooth, polished, and boring.
ZZ Top
Z IS HERE! BE SURE TO SEND IN YOUR ARTIST/GROUP SUGGESTIONS FOR POTD, ROUND 2!
For a group whose image is, “dumb guys with beards,” ZZ Top are pretty smart. By naming themselves ZZ Top, they more or less guarantee that they will always appear as the last entry in lists like this. At least until a group named the “ZZZs” come along. And really … who wants to listen to a group called the “ZZZs”?
Zydeco
Z IS HERE! BE SURE TO SEND IN YOUR ARTIST/GROUP SUGGESTIONS FOR POTD, ROUND 2!
Every year, my neighbor Linda attends our local zydeco festival and invites me to go with her. That is because she is awesome. Every year, I am unable to go. That is because I am lame.
Zap Mama
Z IS HERE! BE SURE TO SEND IN YOUR ARTIST/GROUP SUGGESTIONS FOR POTD, ROUND 2!
I don’t know a note of their music, but I’d like to say here that “Zap Mama” is by far the coolest band name ever.
Zakir Hussain
Z IS HERE! BE SURE TO SEND IN YOUR ARTIST/GROUP SUGGESTIONS FOR POTD, ROUND 2!
During the Penn State scandal, for some reason people thought it was funny to point out that my last name is only one letter away from “Sandusky.” So as a public service, I will point out that Zakir Hussain’s name is one letter away from “Hussein.” Which means, no relation.
Youssou N’Dour
Z IS COMING SOON! BE SURE TO SEND IN YOUR ARTIST/GROUP SUGGESTIONS FOR POTD, ROUND 2!
Before I became an educated music junkie, I would have said Youssou N’Dour was a groundbreaking world musician. But now, thanks to always informative and insightful World Is Africa blog, I know that he basically just slicked up and genericized all of Orchestra Baobab’s innovations.
Playlist of the Day 