Thursday, June 30, 2016

Tift Merritt

Part 6 of my series on female vocalists features my beloved Tift Merritt. I've featured her here before, but it never hurts to get her more exposure. She's a military brat and a NC native, although I believe she lives in NYC now. She's incredibly talented, being a great songwriter, singer, guitarist and keyboard player. She has a feminine vulnerability that the other women I've linked don't. She does a lot of soul/Motown-influenced pieces.







Jolie Holland, Be Good Tanyas, Po' Girl

Part 5 of a series on female vocalists. I group these all together because the music is similar and they've all played together. Jolie Holland has a quirky, affected vocal style that can be irritating, as it sounds a lot like a send-up of backwoods twang. She was a member of the Be Good Tanyas before embarking on a solo career:





After Holland left the Be Good Tanyas, Frazey Ford took over the majority of the vocal chores in BGT:





Po' Girl was originally a spin-off project from the Be Good Tanyas, allowing some of the other Tanyas to step out of the huge shadow that Frazey Ford casts:



Beth Orton

Part Four of a series of posts on female vocalists more people should be aware of. Here's Beth Orton, the only UK vocalist among this group:







Kathleen Edwards

Part 3 of a series of posts featuring female vocalists I think more people should be aware of. Here's Kathleen Edwards:









Neko Case

Part 2 of a series on women singers. Here's Neko Case, who has the best set of pipes among the women I'll be linking:







Has that honky-tonk Patsy Cline vibe really working, huh?

Eilen Jewell

Here with the first in a series of posts of favorite female vocalists. These are women that don't get much radio airplay on broadcast radio, but probably do pretty well on the satellite channels. I'd be willing to bet most of you haven't heard of them before.

First up is Eilen Jewell. She has some great drawling vocals, smart songs, and a great band behind her, especially her guitarist, who is playing a Gretsch Eddie Cochrane guitar in these videos:









Hope you enjoy it!

Monday, June 20, 2016

The Perfect Trumpian Nickname for Obama

Donald Trump is well-known for giving his political opponents derogatory nicknames: "Crooked" Hillary Clinton, "Lyin'" Ted Cruz, "Little" Marco Rubio, etc. Now President Obama is injecting himself into the campaign, so Trump needs to come up with a nickname for him. How does this sound?

Imam Obama, the Defender of Islam.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Time To Water the Tree?

I Smell Jackboots

"DHS Secretary: Gun Control Should Be Handled By Homeland Security"

The DHS is turning into a Gestapo or KGB, and Jeh Johnson reeks of Beria and Himmler. Time for the DHS to be disbanded.

Saturday, June 04, 2016

The Fight We All Lose In the End

Muhammad Ali, the boxer who dominated the sport in the 1960's and 1970's, is dead at 74 of respiratory illness.

Sadly, he developed Parkinson's Disease shortly after his retirement and disappeared from the limelight, so many younger people have little clue how much a dominating force he was in his heyday. He won the heavyweight title three times - - which means he lost it twice, of course, mainly due to hubris and complacency - - lack of confidence was never a part of the Ali package, nor was humility.