Inspirational Technology

eMusic Picks

Here's some music picks for an early Sunday morning. Available through eMusic.

James Browne - Hot Pants - This is in my collection on vinyl so it's really great to finally have some James Brown in digital form. It grooves.

Ravi Shankar - Ragas - I'm a big fan of indian classical music and Ravi Shankar is one of the greatest in the genre. I have quite a bit of Ravi in my CD collection, but more never hurts. Just got done listening to Raga Bilashkani Todi, excellent.

Jimmy Smith - Organ Grinder Swing - And swing it does, the track Organ Grinder's Swing is easily one of my favorite jazz pieces and swings like nothing else. I have that track on a compilation CD and this album on vinyl so being able to listen to the whole thing is great. When I was buying vinyl a lot, Jimmy Smith was always one of my most sought artists. He's made a ton of albums.

The Hub - Trucker - This is a new find. It's avant-garde jazz along the line of John Zorn. I've only actually listened to one track off of this so far, but that track was killer. This kind of music can be tough to take for the uninitiated, but if you're a fan of John Zorn like I am then you'll love it.

50 Cent - Guess Who's Back - I recently developed a bit of a taste for Rap, don't know why, but suddenly I found myself listening to it more then anything else. Historically, along with country, it's been one of the few genres I've generally avoided. Well, now not only am I a big fan of people like Johnny Cash, but also a few rappers as well. 50 Cent has made that rapidly growing list. It's the result of my finally blowing out the last barrier in my musical taste, I can now listen to and enjoy just about any kind of music. I still struggle a little with contemporary country, but I'm trying to keep an open mind and work on it. I can at least finally admit that Johnny Cash is cool.

The Great Gospel Women - This is an incredible disk. I've actually purchased several CDs looking for more good gospel artists beyond Mahalia Jackson. None of them are anywhere near as good as this one. This has several Mahalia Jackson tracks which are of course great, but the rest are also incredible. I'm very familiar with Mahalia Jackson thanks to the excellent Columbia box sets, but many of the other singers are new to me. I just finished listening to Come Out the Corner by Marion Williams, stunning. I do actually have a Marion Williams recording on vinyl, but I don't know it I ever got a chance to listen to it, what a shame.

OK, that's enough for now. Hmm, maybe not ... Sonic Youth is playing now, I have a bunch of their CDs but I haven't listened to them in a long time. The song playing now is live and really has that haunting, kind of random sound that first drew me to the band about 10 years ago. Love it, so one more link. Sonic Youth - Texas, 1986: Live at the Continental Club. Now playing, Ghost Bitch.

Coming on the play list, Mahalia Jackson, Pavement, Scorn, Ravi Shankar, KRS-One, Metaphor, Margot Levart, The Damned, Terranova and "I'll Close My Eyes" by my man Jimmy Smith.