“Loser.” “Asshole.” “Nausea.” I bet Beck must be really fun on a date.
top 10
Bebo Valdes
I know what you’re all thinking: “Gee, it’s been a while since Joe added to his ‘musician who was quite the looker in his younger days’ list.” The wait is over. Bebo Valdes.
Barbra Streisand
When I first came up with this blog, Richard said, “Of course you’re going to give Barbra a list.” Well, no. She’s one of the “legends” that I just don’t “get.” But since Sinatra’s the other one, and I finally gave him a list, leaving Streisand out didn’t seem fair. And besides, she’s had a #1 album pretty much every decade since Lincoln was president, so that must count for something. Richard, this one’s for you.
Astor Piazzolla
See Django Reinhardt (or, for that matter, Stephane Grappelli). Insert “Astor Piazzolla.”
Asleep at the Wheel
There’s a joke to be made about how I was “asleep at the wheel” in remembering to include these cult favorites in round 1. But it is lame, so I won’t do it.
Anthony Braxton
He still gives me a headache, but I think I’ve given everyone else I saw at Brown a list (not to mention one I missed), so fair is fair.
Angelique Kidjo
If you are, as I was until recently, unfamiliar with Angelique Kidjo’s music, you’re in for a treat. I Kidjo not. (And as penance for that attempt at humor, I will now listen to a full day of Celine Dion.)
Alt Country
A few years ago, I ran into a guy who looked kind of familiar from college. It turns out we were in the same program, graduated the same year—and had never actually met. I was also at the same school at the same time as Mary Chapin Carpenter, and I never met her, either. In other words: Clearly I wasn’t paying a lot of attention when I was at school.
Ali Farka Toure
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.”
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?”