december songs, week two

the last two decembers i've challenged myself to posting a song or artist per day for the month. this year i'm choosing weekly digests. so here is (a week late!) december songs, week two:

when i hear a song i like i take note of it

i follow up by investigating online and seeing where it leads. sometimes i realize i don't want to hear the song again. but more often than not, it becomes a new fascination.

these december songs are some of the songs from my notes, but also some others

many of these songs i've heard on the radio––while listening at home, or on my frequent drives to and from charlottesville

some are old favorites

many are still new, something fascinating to hold to the light

some i over-listen to 

maybe this is my unfolding play list? or mix tape?

i'm sharing it with you.

richard thompson // 1952 vincent black lightning  



(when i was fresh out of college in 1989, living in buffalo, and hoping to be a writer, i wrote a few pieces for "arts in buffalo" after the editor made me troll the streets for a couple of weeks trying to sell ads. it was clear sales were not my forte and he finally gave me a chance at writing. he asked me to interview john lombardo, a former but founding member of the 10,000 maniacs. one afternoon, sitting in shafts of sunlight in lombardo's living room, he talked to me all about legendary producer joe boyd, who produced the maniacs first album, the wishing chair. this lead to a conversation about what bands influenced him most, one of those bands being fairport convention. he placed an lp on the record player and i was profoundly moved by the sound that emerged. this was my introduction to richard thompson & sandy denny and to that era of electric folk music, which also includes pentangle. to this day fairport convention and pentangle remain two of my favorite bands. in november i got to see richard thompson live for the first time. he played this song, among many others.)

big star // my life is right



(i heard this song on the radio recently and even though i've had the recording for some time, it hit me in a fresh way and it's become one of those obsessive auto-repeat songs.)

mckinley dixon // circle the block



(i saw him perform earlier in the year at the uva chapel and was impressed by his fusion of jazz and hip hop, his charisma, his poetry, and his band. relevant, complex, riveting)

marc bolan (tyrannosaurus rex & t rex) // organ blues & cosmic dancer





(i have two videos here because i heard both songs for the first time recently, leading me to actually listen to t rex. we've all heard "bang a gong," but somehow i just never went any further. i heard cosmic dancer at a dj event recently and when told it was t rex, i was like, "of course." it was clear. but still, i'd just never really explored the band beyond the radio songs. i heard organ blues on wtju soon after, made by tyrannosaurus rex, before they became just "t rex.")

wooden shjips // staring at the sun



(dreamy psychedelic music is pretty much my bread and butter. breakfast, lunch, and dinner. and dessert. a crepe with nutella. and strawberries. with wine.)

juliana daugherty // california



(local to charlottesville, i saw juliana for the first time at the funky magnolia house, where i sat on a stairwell surrounded by nice people, kitschy decor, and her stunning voice. heartbreaking and elevating.)

alexander // untitled



(starting in the autumn of 2017 i've been attending small intimate music shows held at low, a vintage cothing shop in downtown charlottesville. each show has been soul cleansing, meditative, a high dive into deep art. alexander is one of several improv guitar players i've seen there. pretty much life's soundtrack)