Monday, April 28, 2003
Went to the Ithaca record fair on Sunday at the Holiday Inn. Spent too much money. No amazing finds but I managed to fill some gaps in my record collection. Finally got my own copy of the Elvis Sun Sessions, and Dylan's Basement Tapes, and picked up three Randy Newman LPs for eight bucks. Then I satisfied my eighties melancholia with a Sisters of Mercy LP, Lexicon of Love by ABC and Happy Birthday by Altered Images. And all on glorious vinyl.
I'd never heard the Basement Tapes before. It sounds pretty great. Dylan is developing the mystical oracle persona he would inhabit on John Wesley Harding, but there's a flamboyance and a sense of engagement here that didn't make it onto that record. I like John Wesley Harding just the way it is - distant and hermetic, but the Basement Tapes have an energy and a focus that is something else altogether - loose and unhinged, but full of soul.
I'd never heard the Basement Tapes before. It sounds pretty great. Dylan is developing the mystical oracle persona he would inhabit on John Wesley Harding, but there's a flamboyance and a sense of engagement here that didn't make it onto that record. I like John Wesley Harding just the way it is - distant and hermetic, but the Basement Tapes have an energy and a focus that is something else altogether - loose and unhinged, but full of soul.
Ruthie, the bass-player came over on Saturday afternoon and we practised. Things went well. She's competent and enthusiastic, and she likes my songs. The lines she came up with to my songs were simple and strong, and she was cool about making changes and trying different things. She can sing backup also and seems to be able to pick out harmonies easily. And she's cute too.
She needs some musical education though. She's never heard the Buzzcocks! Soon fix that.
She needs some musical education though. She's never heard the Buzzcocks! Soon fix that.
