What's this one like Billy ?

Do you have any Norman Blake? I'm a big fan...he's a great bluegrass guitar player. In addition to his solo work and work with wife, Nancy, he's played sideman for Dylan, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, June Carter Cash, Bill Monroe, etc etc.

This is just great old timey bluegrass music with lots of guitar, mandolin, violin, dobro, etc. Norman sings the lead and Nancy joins in on the chorus. Neither has a particularly great voice but they harmonize really well together.

I have 4 or 5 of his albums and this might be the best one. I'll try to ysi it if you're interested. I think Bloor and StopBreathin' might be into too so I've been meaning to anyway.

using the following billy g scale:

10: One of the best records of all-time; listmania quality
9: Not a top 100, but still a stone cold classic
8: Maybe not an all-time classic, but would be #1 in most recent years
7: A Very Good Record
6: A Good Record, But One with Questionable Staying Power
5: I Don't Mind Hearing It, but I don't Need to Own It
4: Not Very Good, nothing really stands out even if its not bad
3: Pretty Bad
2: Even Worse
1: Absolutely Awful
0: No Redeeming Quality What So Ever


1 belle and sebastian.the life pursuit 8.1
2 built to spill.you in reverse 8.0
3 isobel campbell and mark lanegan.ballad of the broken seas 8.0
4 mogwai.mr. beast 7.7
5 the radio dept.pet grief 7.7
6 calexico.garden ruin 7.5
7 cat power.the greatest 7.5
8 drive-by truckers.a blessing and a curse 7.4
9 mono.you are there 7.4
10 morrissey.ringleader of the tormentors 7.4
11 nathan fake.drowning in a sea of love 7.4
12 loose fur.born again in the usa 7.3
13 hot chip.the warning 7.3
14 arctic monkeys.whatever people say i am, that's what i'm not 7.3
15 yeah yeah yeahs.show your bones 7.2
16 the strokes.first impressions of earth 7.2
17 archie bronson outfit.derdang derdang 7.2
18 flaming lips.at war with the mystics 7.2
19 gomez.how we operate 7.1
20 graham coxon.love travels at illegal speeds 7.0
21 raconteurs.broken boy soldiers 6.9
22 the black angels.passover 6.9
23 parts & labor.stay afraid 6.8
24 neko case.fox confessor brings the flood 6.7
25 twilight singers.powder burns 6.7
26 clearlake.amber 6.7
27 secret machines.ten silver drops 6.7
28 glenn kotche.mobile 6.5
29 the streets.the hardest way to make an easy living 6.4
30 the concretes.in colour 6.4
31 embrace.this new day 6.4
32 josh rouse.subtitulo 6.2
33 beth orton.comfort of strangers 5.3
34 band of horses.everything all the time 5.3
35 stereolab.fab four suture 5.2
36 tortoise & bonnie "prince" billy.the brave and the bold 5.1
37 delays.you see colours 5.0
38 the wood brothers.ways not to lose 5.0
39 placebo.meds 5.1
40 charlatans.simpatico 4.8
41 prefuse 73.security screenings 4.5
42 richard ashcroft.keys to the world 3.0


i'm sure tv on the radio will be cracking my top 5 when i finally rank it.
still to be ranked/not enough listens: sonic youth, adem, dirty pretty things, walkmen, tunng, helios, king biscuit time, shearwater, the zutons, vetiver, paul simon, primal scream, juana molina, film school, camera obscura, gnarls barkley and mojave 3. whew.

could i get in on this too por favor, senor g?

okey dokey...I probably won't get around to doing it until tomorrow at least.

<---- going to see the Fall tonight

Color me interested for the Norman and Nancy Blake for sure Billy.

And dont break your hip at The Fall, old man.

I'm aware of his work as a sideman and his contributions to 'Nashville Skyline' but have never heard any of his own work.

Thanks Billy. I'd love to hear this.

1.Tool- 10,000 Days
2. Ellen Allien and Apparat - Orchestra of Bubbles
3. Youth Group - Skeleton Jar
4.Cat Power- The Greatest

Will Own and Love
5.Radiohead
6.Thom Yorke - The Eraser
7.Portishead
8.DJ Shadow - The Outsider
9.Modest Mouse
10.The Killers

MY TOP ALBUMS of 2006

01. ISLANDS - Return To The Sea
02. LIARS - Drum's Not Dead
03. THE BLACK HEART PROCESSION - The Spell
04. BELLE AND SEBASTIAN - The Life Pursuit
05. NEKO CASE - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
06. CESARIA EVORA - Rogamar
07. THE FIERY FURNACES - Bitter Tea
08. MOGWAI - Mr. Beast
09. SONDRE LERCHE & THE FACES DOWN QUARTET - Duper Sessions
10. VARIOUS ARTISTS - Congotronics 2: Buzz 'N' Rumble From The Urb 'N' Jungle
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. STARLIGHT MINTS - Drowaton
12. CHEIKH LO - Lamp Fall




HONORABLE MENTIONS: HIS NAME IS ALIVE - Detrola, PARTS & LABOR - Stay Afraid

NOT EVEN CLOSE: GOTAN PROJECT - Lunatico

NEED MORE LISTENS: DEVOTCHKA - Curse Your Little Heart, SATURDAY LOOKS GOOD TO ME - Sound On Sound

Done

check your messages people.

I sent it to a few others unsolicited because it deserves to be heard.

MY TOP ALBUMS of 2006

01. THE WALKMEN - A Hundred Miles Off
02. ISLANDS - Return To The Sea
03. LIARS - Drum's Not Dead
04. THE BLACK HEART PROCESSION - The Spell
05. BELLE AND SEBASTIAN - The Life Pursuit
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
06. NEKO CASE - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
07. CESARIA EVORA - Rogamar
08. THE FIERY FURNACES - Bitter Tea
09. MOGWAI - Mr. Beast
10. SONDRE LERCHE & THE FACES DOWN QUARTET - Duper Sessions
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. VARIOUS ARTISTS - Congotronics 2: Buzz 'N' Rumble From The Urb 'N' Jungle
11. CHEIKH LO - Lamp Fall
12. STARLIGHT MINTS - Drowaton



HONORABLE MENTIONS: HIS NAME IS ALIVE - Detrola, PARTS & LABOR - Stay Afraid, SATURDAY LOOKS GOOD TO ME - Sound On Sound

NOT EVEN CLOSE: GOTAN PROJECT - Lunatico

NEED MORE LISTENS: DEVOTCHKA - Curse Your Little Heart

Could people let me know if they were able to download this and get it to play. someone was having problems and i'm trying to figure out if the problem was with the upload or download cause the tracks seem fine on my computer. Thx.

1. the gossip standing in the way of control 7.5
2. arctic monkeys whatever people say i am, that's what i'm not 3
3. the subways young for eternity 6
4. the hellacopters rock and roll is dead 7.3
5. zeigenbock kopf fuck you to dust 8.9
6. hot chip the warning 8.2
7. liars drums not dead 1
8. ghostface killah fishscale 9.5
9. infadels we are not the infadels 4
10. the robocop kraus they think they are the robocop kraus 8
11. the yeah yeah yeahs show your bones 5.2
12. wizardzz hidden city of taurmond 2.9
13. band of horses everything all the time 8.4
14. phoenix it's never been like that 8.7

stuff i haven't fully listened to yet: strokes, neko case, clearlake, jenny lewis, placebo, she wants revenge, the flaming lips, ray davies, ariel pink, drive-by truckers, pink mountaintops

Ouch. You are out of your mind.

worked for me billy. thanks again.

listening now. i like this. i could see this getting a lot of sunday morning play around my house.

ok, update on the norman & nancy blake...it just crapped out on me after the 3rd song..."corrupt file"????

So far, in order:

Ike Reilly: "The Last Demonstration" Top notch. A couple un-released tracks and killer acoustic demos of "Suffer For The Trust", "Garbage Day", "Kara Dean", and "God and Money".

Rhino Bucket: "And Then It Got Ugly" Still strong.

Crap. I need to get this. Is it website only?

Yeah, web only, which sucks. I grabbed it from iTunes. "Suffer For The Trust" is soooo much better than the version on "Junkie Faithful"--it's vocals, brooding keyboards, and a monster harmonica.

Another update as i'm bored.

1 Television Personalities - My Dark Places
2 Alex Fergusson - Castle
3 Catfish Haven – Please Come Back
4 The Bitter Springs – That Sentimental Slush
5 The Legendary Pink Dots – The children Placate …
6 Venetian Snares – Calvalcade Of Glee….
8 The Teenage Mutants - Silence Of The Mutants
8 Karl Blau - Beneath The Waves
9 Todd – Comes To Your House
10 Park Attack - Half Past Human
11 Candi Staton - His Hands
12 Mission Of Burma - Obliterati
13 Shonen Knife - Genki Shock
14 Faun Fables - The Transit Rider
15 12Twelve - L'Univers

MY TOP ALBUMS of 2006

01. BEIRUT - Gulag Orkestar
02. THE WALKMEN - A Hundred Miles Off
03. ISLANDS - Return To The Sea
04. DEVOTCHKA - Curse Your Little Heart
05. LIARS - Drum's Not Dead
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
06. THE BLACK HEART PROCESSION - The Spell
07. BELLE AND SEBASTIAN - The Life Pursuit
08. NEKO CASE - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
09. CESARIA EVORA - Rogamar
10. THE FIERY FURNACES - Bitter Tea
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. MOGWAI - Mr. Beast
12. SONDRE LERCHE & THE FACES DOWN QUARTET - Duper Sessions
13. CHEIKH LO - Lamp Fall


HONORABLE MENTIONS: HIS NAME IS ALIVE - Detrola, PARTS & LABOR - Stay Afraid, STARLIGHT MINTS - Drowaton, SUNSET RUBDOWN - Shut Up I Am Dreaming

NOT EVEN CLOSE: GOTAN PROJECT - Lunatico, TILLY AND THE WALL - Bottoms Of Barrels

NEED MORE LISTENS: SATURDAY LOOKS GOOD TO ME - Sound On Sound, THE BASEMENT BOYS - The Basement Boys Present Mudfoot Jones

1 - neko case FOX CONFESSOR BRINGS THE FLOOD
2 - belle & sebastian THE LIFE PURSUIT
3 - nathan fake DROWNING IN A SEA OF LOVE
4 - jenny lewis & the watson twins RABBIT FUR COAT
5 - mogwai MR BEAST
6 - cortney tidwell CORTNEY TIDWELL
7 - two gallants WHAT THE TOLL TELLS
8 - isobel campbell & mark lanegan BALLAD OF THE BROKEN SEAS
9 - the strokes FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF EARTH
10 - roddy frame WESTERN SKIES
11 - the fiery furnaces BITTER TEA
12 - cat power THE GREATEST
13 - clap your hands say yeah CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH
14 - the broken family band BALLS
15 - megan reilly LET YOUR GHOST GO
16 - el perro del mar EL PERRO DEL MAR
17 - the late chord LIGHTS FROM THE WHEELHOUSE
18 - matmos THE ROSE HAS TEETH IN THE MOUTH
19 - the high dials WAR OF THE WAKENING PHANTOMS
20 - the meligrove band PLANETS CONSPIRE
21 - gossip IN THE WAY OF CONTROL
22 - mystery jets MAKING DENS
23 - james roberts EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IS RIGHT
24 - roots manuva ALTERNATIVELY DEEP
25 - holly throsby ON NIGHT
26 - the horror, the horror THE HORROR, THE HORROR
27 - semifinalists SEMIFINALISTS

Downside Only one album has gone into my top ten in the last 9 weeks, everthing else is from Jan, Feb and early March. We've definately been in a fallow period, music wise, lately.

Upside 'Rather Ripped' comes out next week (new number 1?) as does the Beirut album which I'm hoping lives up to the hype.

billy g send it to me

i am up for a break from gangster rap

Not much change:

1. Danielson - Ships
2. Liars - Drum's Not Dead
3. Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice - Gipsy Freedom
4. Super Numeri - The Welcome Table
5. Boris - Pink
6. Cat Power - The Greatest
7. Jesu - Silver
8. The Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics
9. Terrestrial Tones - Dead Drunk

I'm a tad disappointed in both the Boris and Jesu releases now that I've finally bought them and listened to them more. They each have kinda annoying vocals (more the lyrics, in Jesu's case).

A couple of things that seemed really good to me but aren't on my list because I haven't bought them are Islands, Man Man, Belle & Sebastian, and Bruce Springsteen. I've been keeping my eye on used bins for all of them, but I may just have to fork over the cash for new copies. I think they're all worth buying although I might not get the Bruce since it's a dualdisc.

someone explain that shiv rating system