CMJ reviews
Found it interesting that in the latest issue of CMJ New Music Monthly,
where they feature five or six CDs as the Best New Music of the month,
that 3 out of 6 releases reflect the interests of this list. Think it
speaks to the vitality and how interest in this music is growing.
Thought others might enjoy reading the reviews.
STEVE EARLE THE DEL MCCOURY BAND "The Mountain"
Although The Mountain marks Steve Earle's first true bluegrass album, it
sure ain't high and lonesome. But neither is Earle--at least not
anymore. To continue the potsherd renaissance that began with 1995's
similarly rootsy and acoustic Train A-Comin', Earle enlists one of the
world's finest bluegrass bands to support his latest batch of well
crafted songs, and what results feels like a hoe-down, a hootenanny, and
a house party. Earle's worn and weary voice rasps appealingly against
the McCoury brothers' plucky banjo and mandolin playing (Del's classic
high tenor hides in the background), and if some songs smack of genre
exercises, it's because of bluegrass's relatively fixed conventions. But
even when "Yours Forever Blue" rewrites El Corazon's "You Know The Rest"
and "Leroy's Dustbowl Blues" cribs a chorus from Dylan's "Tombstone
Blues," Earle and company invest the songs with the joy of collaboration
and celebration. Truth be told, Earle's in a bit of a rut: Like his
recent albums, The Mountain includes a sweet-and-sour duet (here with
Iris Dement), a couple geographic rave ups ("Texas Eagle," "Dixieland"),
and an in memoriam valedictory (the gospel "Pilgrim"). But it's a high
caliber rut, of classic sounding songs, and The Mountain should appeal
to bluegrass aficionados and neophytes alike. -Steve Klinge
DAMNATIONS TX "Half Mad Moon"
Amy Boone and Deborah kelly, co-leaders of the Damnations EX, might be
New York bred, but they cut their teeth in the early '90s at venerable,
folksy Austin venues like (the sadly defunct) Chicago House. Now a
regular and popular part of Austin's rich scene, the Damnations deliver
an irresistible debut that proves Austinites still know their tunes.
Clearly, so do the Damnations. From the folksy, bittersweet "Spit and
Tears" and tender "Jack's Waltz" to the bright, gritty "Things I Once
Adored" and rollicking "Down The Line," Half Mad Moon is the kind of
record y'allternative fans have been waiting for--a challenge from
country-rock's second generation, packed with character, class, and
originality. Neighbor John Croslin's tasteful, understated production
brings out the Damnations' best, as the group piles on stellar
musicianship, warm keyboards, and a host of strings (acoustic and
electric guitars, banjo, mandolin, etc.). Half sisters Boone and Kelly
hook listeners in with supple vocals, heartfelt harmonies, and engaging
stories, including a simple, gorgeous tale of a stolen amplifier ("Black
Widow"). Mixing fun and frolic ("Finger The Pie," "Unholy Train") into
their twang and tears, the group confidently honors the past as it keeps
its eyes and ears on the future. -Mark Woodlief
KELLY WILLIS "What I Deserve"
It's all too easy to compare Kelly Willis to Lucinda Williams. Like
Williams, she transcends genre, beautifully blurring the lines between
country, rock, and folk, and like Williams, her critical acclaim is
matched only by her commercial frustrations and music biz missteps
(Willis has gone through three record labels in this decade alone). But
there's a problem with this spindle. See, Lucinda Williams is, as the
kids say, cary-talented--a peerless songwriter and a very tough act to
follow. That's too bad for Willis, because What I Deserve is her most
assured album to date. Its best songs, in particular the title track and
"Real Deep Feeling," sway with ease and a strangely abiding sadness.
They find solace in life's limitations, and a universe in the space
between two people. Willis's voice--pure as a tear, real as a lump in
your throat--has never sounded better. And her subtle harmonies recall
those of the Everly Brothers at their keening best. In any other 12
month cycle Willis's new album would be a much fawned over salve for the
new country blues. And while Williams's recent Car Wheels On A Gravel
Road has raised the critical bar on that salvation, so that What I
Deserve doesn't sound quite as good as it might have a year ago, it
still spotlights a talented craftswoman in her prime.
-Matt Hanks
Enjoy. I am really looking forward to hearing all three of these CDs
myself next week when they arrive.
John
Re: Fwd: [merlehaggard] VIRUS
http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html This public service web site is there so that you can check to see if these are real or just hoaxes. As you will see if you visit that site, Join the Crew is a hoax. John Title: CIAC Internet Hoaxes Internet Hoaxes Please Note: This web site is provided as a public service; however, CIAC does not have the resources to investigate and/or confirm every hoax currently circulating the Internet. CIAC appreciates input on questionable hoaxes, but we are not able to respond back to each e-mail message. You can help eliminate "junk mail" by educating the public on how to identify a new hoax warning, how to identify a valid warning and what to do if you think a message is a hoax. Hoaxes described on this page: PKZ300, Irina, Good Times, Good Times Spoof, Deeyenda, Ghost PENPAL GREETINGS!, Make Money Fast, NaughtyRobot, AOL4FREE, Join the Crew, Death Ray, AOL V4.0 Cookie, A.I.D.S. Hoax, Internet Cleanup Day, Bill Gates Hoax, WIN A HOLIDAY, AOL Riot June 1, 1998, E-mail or get a Virus, Bud Frogs Screen Saver, Disney Giveaway Hoax, Internet Access Charge Last modified: Monday, 11-Jan-99 15:42:40 PST You are the 1829147th visitor to this page. For information on Internet Chain Letters, check the New CIAC web page located at http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACChainLetters.html The Internet is constantly being flooded with information about computer viruses and Trojans. However, interspersed among real virus notices are computer virus hoaxes. While these hoaxes do not infect systems, they are still time consuming and costly to handle. At CIAC, we find that we are spending much more time de-bunking hoaxes than handling real virus incidents. This page describes only a small number of the hoax warnings that are found on the Internet today. We will address some of the history of hoaxes on the Internet. Users are requested to please not spread unconfirmed warnings about viruses and Trojans. If you receive an unvalidated warning, don't pass it to all your friends, pass it to your computer security manager to validate first. Validated warnings from the incident response teams and antivirus vendors have valid return addresses and are usually PGP signed with the organization's key. PKZ300 Warning The PKZ300 Trojan is a real Trojan program, but the initial warning about it was released over a year ago. For information pertaining to PKZ300 Trojan reference CIAC Notes issue 95-10, at http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/notes/Notes10.shtml that was released in June of 1995. The warning itself, on the other hand, is gaining urban legend status. There has been an extremely limited number of sightings of this Trojan and those appeared over a year ago. Even though the Trojan warning is real, the repeated circulation of the warning is a nuisance. Individuals who need the current release of PKZIP should visit the PKWare web page at http://www.pkware.com. CIAC recommends that you DO NOT recirculate the warning about this particular Trojan. The following is the true warning about PKZ300 from the PKWare web site: !!! PKZIP Trojan Horse Version - (Originally Posted May 1995) !!! It has come to the attention of PKWARE that a fake version of PKZIP is being distributed as PKZ300B.ZIP or PKZ300.ZIP. It is not an offical version from PKWARE and it will attempt to erase your hard drive if run. It attempts to perform a deletion of all the directories of your current drive. If you have any information as to the creators of this trojan horse, PKWARE would be extremely interested to hear from you. If you have any other questions about this fake version, please e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] Irina Virus Hoax The Irina virus warnings are a hoax. The former head of an electronic publishing company circulated the warning to create publicity for a new interactive book by the same name. The publishing company has apologized for the publicity stunt that backfired and panicked Internet users worldwide. The original warning claimed to be from a Professor Edward Pridedaux of the College of Slavic Studies in London; there is no such person or college. However, London's School of Slavonic and East European Studies has been inundated with calls. This poorly thought-out publicity stunt was highly irresponsible. For more information pertaining to this hoax, reference the UK Daily Telegraph at http://www.telegraph.co.uk. The original hoax message is as follows: FYI There is a computer virus that is being sent across the Internet. If you receive an e-mail message with the subject line Irina, DONOT read the message. DELETE it immediately. Some miscreant is sending people files under the title Irina. If you receive this mail or file, do not download it. It has a virus that rewrites your hard drive, obliterating anything on it. Please be careful and forward this mail to anyone you care about. (
