Welcome Back, Taylor

This has possibly been the worst month of my professional life but I'll save it for another time. I feel like I work for a combination of the Nixon and Bush Administrations. At least there's always Deepthroat, right?

I wanted to talk shop about some great music that I've stumbled across this last month first of all. Man, I've had a good streak!

Bernard Fanning - solo album from a member of the now-defunct Aussie band Powderfinger. Okay, name from Neil Young song, album cover reminiscent of Eric Clapton's first solo, I'll check it out. Amazing. Roots-based, singer-songwriter rocker and one hell of an album. I can't keep from listening to it. I don't care to even know anything else about this guy unless his band's stuff is anywhere remotely close to this. I picked this one up simply because the cover looked cool. Always have to be careful because you'll always get bitten.

Alice Peacock - What I Am. Funny you should mention that because this is exactly how I stumbled across this one as well. I must apologize in saying that I picked this one off the shelf because she's absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. Thank goodness the music is good, if not better, than the album cover. Here's a woman, a Chicago-based singer-songwriter in the vain of Sarah McLaughlin/Sheryl Crow with a massive dose of Carol King sensibility. Oh, gawd, you say, can you get any more cliche? Well, this album is loaded with wonderful, piano/acoustic based confessionals and Peacock's got a great voice. After snooping around and doing my homework on her, I see that this album's received the least favorable reviews of her three albums. I say "bring on those first two" if "What I Am" is this wonderful. A perfect Sunday morning album. Unless you're stuck watching Thomas the Tank Engine.

Bob Dylan - Modern Times. I'll save the pontification of the Sphinx of American songwriting for someone more adept and loquacious. Simply stunning. The most recent album of Dylan's I own prior to this is his Rolling Thunder Review boot. This man is a fine wine. I hope to have this much strength, sass and direction when I'm twice as younger than that now.

Miles Davis - Milestones. HUGE Miles jones right now. Reading John Szwed's biograpy and learning tons while rediscovering the man's genius. Though I bought the wrong album (I was thinking I should pick up one of the first quintet's '56 albums), to hear Coltrane and Cannonball go head-to-head gives me chills every time.

Branford Marsalis Quartet - Braggtown. While I don't have the album yet, I've sampled it and it's choice. What I do have is one ticket for his 9:30 performance at the Jazz Standard in New York City two weeks from tonight. To sit in a club in the lower east side in the heart of jazz's history will be a dream come true.

Billy Holliday - Ken Burns Jazz. "Autumn in New York" has been my favorite of hers for about the last, oh two or so years. Could never find the dumb song and now that I have it, I can't wait to sing its lyrics as I chase my son through Central Park.

Wolfmother - whoever recommended this to me, you owe me $10.

Death Cab For Cutie - don't know anything about these guys but the coolest freakin' band with the most jacked up name in pop right now. Have two albums and love them. Connor Oberst, on the other hand, has just about the least desirable voice in all of pop music. He makes Neil Young sound like one of the three tenors. Crimony.

My family leaves in less than two weeks for Philadelphia to visit my brother's family one last time. They'll be relocating in about six months and we wanted to take one last East Coast romp. It'll be a light romp with my son at two years of age but we'll do some damage nonetheless. I want to take pictures of my beautiful wife and son next to some of the greatest landmarks of my favorite city in my country. We also plan on visiting Gettysburg and Atlantic City, which should be fun. Put your make up on and fix your hair up pretty. Off to reserve my hotel room.

Politics are what they are. It's rewarding seeing the Bush Administration's report card on just about everything right now. Does Not Play Well With Others, Fails To Follow Directions, and my favorite, Just Plain Stupid. I'd blow his head off right now but the 'blogs and press make it redundant.

This feels good to record a good post. Happy sixth, Almost Famous. Bad week for anniversaries, as Monday made 36 for Jimi, yesterday made 33 for Gram and today makes 33 as well for Jim Croce.

My son identified Bob Dylan simply from his picture in Newsweek this week. I rule.