OK, I realize I should be publicly flogged for being completely ignorant of
ND's "Man o' the Decade," but I saw an AE disc sitting patiently in the used
section of a local record store and wondered about it. It was called "13
Songs" or something like that--the one with the "Theme Song." Anyway, I also
saw a Buddy Miller disc that had the word "lies" in the title. Well, anyway,
you get the picture. These are a couple dudes whose names tend to get
dropped every day or three, so all you fans let me know what's up.
_Thirteen Songs_ is a pretty swell record, though not exactly cheerful.
It's fairly hard to describe Alejandro in a convenient sound bite, but he's
got elements of punk (he was a member of seminal SF punk band the Nuns),
singer/songwriter, honky tonk, and alt-country in his sound, along with
lots of other influences. Buddy Miller is much more of a straight
country/country-rock artist, in the Steve Earle vein, and everything he
does is good. IMHO, of course. g
And for the fella who asked about Railroad Jerk, I think "One Track Mind"
may be one of the sleeper records of the decade. If you like the JSBX--but
grow tired of the schtick--and you like Beck's wacky
electro-folk-hipster-hop-damnation, check it out. Clever without being too
cheeky, methinks. I thought Third Rail was a step backward, but good enough
to buy used. Are they even around anymore? I haven't heard from them in
awhile.
Railroad Jerk just played in NYC a couple of weekends ago. I missed them on
the same night that I missed the Old 97s. I haven't heard rumors of any new
records in the works, but what do I know? I'd like to hear what they do
next, though; they're an underrated bunch, and Lance's comparisons to Jon
Spencer and Beck are apt ones.
--Amy
