The Friday Refrain: Saturday Edition!
There comes a point every week when I just need to sit down with my marshmallows and my coffee and hash this out. So here goes. Happy return from Bonnaroo! It was a good time. The little guy did amazingly, much better than me. For all my worry of him staying cool and hydrated, I guess I should have worried about myself. It seems the dust, the heat, the allergies - it all combined to basically just overpower my system and I found myself hanging out in the Medical Tent for an hour or so last Friday afternoon. I know I talk a lot about staying hydrated and wearing sunscreen but even if you're doing all of that, you may find yourself sitting at a table with your friends and calmly realizing you need to see a medical person. These medical people might try to find out what drug you're on, even if you're not, but they'll help you. So if you're out in the elements and there are resources to help you and you start to feel like maybe you need some help, Go. Get. Help. Especially if words are starting to seem weird and you can't find the right ones. Get out of the heat and into somewhere cold. Put some icepacks under your arms. I feel better that I did it before I was unable to walk, had passed out or worse. but then I'm a bit proactive about my health.
So enough of that. MUSIC! Which is why I didn't post last week because I was definitely in tentative-Bonnaroo mode after all that. There were some pretty notable releases last Friday so we'll hit those up first and chat a bit about yesterday. Allen Toussaint released American Tunes and it's beautiful. It sounds like his fingers don't even touch the keys, but he just wills them to play. Band of Horses released Why Are You OK. Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle teamed up for Colvin & Earle with delightful collaborations on it. I love hearing Ruby Tuesday and they're rendition is fun. Pop dancing funness Fitz and the Tantrums released Fitz And The Tantrums. Garbage come back with Strange Little Birds. Speaking of pop, Nick Jonas is out on his own explaining, Last Year Was Complicated. Alt/Indie Rockers Peter Bjorn And John, well known for their whistling hit, released Breakin' Point. And now for some new old news, yesterday's releases included: The Low Anthem, Eyeland; Jake Bugg, On My One; country singer Luke Bell, Luke Bell; The Tragically Hip, Man Machine Poem; Sarah Jarosz, Undercurrent; Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Getaway; case/lang/veirs, case/lang/veirs; and Bassnectar, Unlimited.
It's a Half Pints week so head over to csicon.fm to hear all about that. And I did get some other listening done besides that. So here goes:
Things I liked last week
Flamingods, Majesty - it's got a hot summer's day sound to it that is going well with this warm office space of mine I'm sitting in. Office space? Workroom? Studio? Something. My room. My hot 2nd floor room I'm in
Bichkraft, Shadoof - Noisey experimentalish rock
Elza Soares, The Woman at the End of the World - Brazilian legend and it's a good album that covers a lot of musical ground
Chevalrex, Futurisme - I'm in a bit of a worldly mood. This one is in French and it's good. Low-key upbeat hangout outside good.
Decorations, Have Fun - Yes I am listening to the list in alphabetical order and so I may not have any recommendations for anything after F today, but so what? Put on this for some good old indie rock such stuff
The Deslondes, Tres Grand Serpent/What Are They Doing in Heaven Today? - fun two song country single
Dominick Farinacci, Short Stories - your jazz fix of the week
The Everymen, These Mad Dogs Need Heroes - More CA or sunny rock
So there you go. Maybe next week I'll do backwards alphabetical. Ha. All right, so what did we learn today? If you can't get yourself right, go get help. Even if you're staying hydrated and wearing sunscreen. Maybe the elements are conspiring against you and your poor body. But still stay hydrated, wear sunscreen, bring that ear protection and use it and HAPPY LISTENING!