Perfect iPod Morning

An iPod on Shuffle can be a wonderful thing. Driving to work today, this is the random selection that Shuffle gave me:

The New Pornographers - My Shepherd
Rosanne Cash - Sea of Heartbreak (with Bruce Springsteen)
The Carter Family - Worried Man Blues
Levon Helm - Heaven's Pearls
Jacob Dylan - War is Kind

I almost suspect that my iPod has been getting communications from Siri on you iPhone, but I have an older iPhone without Siri.  The reasons for these thoughts of karmic interconnection are:

1. I am going to see Neko Case of the New Pornographers in July at Ramshead Live.
2. I am going to see Rosanne Cash on Friday night.
3. I would probably listen, at least once, to Bruce sing the phone book (if he could still find one); he would make it interesting.
4. I recently had a conversation with Arty Hill about the Carter Family and recent book about them.
5. Levon Helm - what else is there to say.  RIP Levon.
6. Jacob Dylan - kind of the 7 degrees of Kevin Bacon thing:  Levon Helm was the drummer in the Band; the Band backed Bob Dylan; Bob Dylan is Jacok Dylan's father.

Of course this is not karma at all.  I love this music, so my iPod is overflowing with it.  The odds are I am going to hear something that I like (or I would take the music off my iPod) and that my musical tastes have some commonality that unites them (somehow).  (The last premise may be a bit of a stretch -- my musical interests stretch in different directions.  Yesterday, for example I was listening on Spotify to Ry Cooder, Ali Farka Toure, and Jonny Greenwood's "From Here On Out" and "Bodysong" and on the way home (via Matthews Pizza) my iPod gave me:

Arty Hill - Montgomery On My Mind (Pie for Breakfast version)
Exene Cervenka - The Willow Tree
Majestic Silver Strings - Why Baby Why (featuring Marc Ribot)
Bob Dylan - Ballad for A Friend (Whitman Demos)
Animal Collective - Brother Sport
Exene Cervenka - Sound of Coming Down
Dave Matthews & Time Reynolds - Two Step (Live at Luther College)

So, maybe my iPod knows what I want to hear?

Memories and Rosanne Cash's Inauguration Story

In January of 2009, as Barack Obama's inauguration approached, Rosanne Cash posted an article on Measure for Measure (How to Write a Song and Other Mysteries), a music blog from The New York Times.  Measure for Measure is now dormant, but you can still find Rosanne's wonderful and touching story on line, which features her father, Johnny Cash, as much as the inauguration.  The blog archive also contains pieces from other contributors such as Andrew Bird, Suzanne Vega, and Peter Holsapple.

In response to Rosanne's story, I posted the following comment, slightly edited here:

February 13, 2009 4:21 pm Link
Rosanne:
Read this on Inauguration Day. Tears. As so many have said, wonderfully written, evocative, from the heart.

Made me think of:

God only knows how many males have a crush on EmmyLou. I know there is Steve Earle’s story in the liner notes to one of his earlier recordings about singing with her on the album and sharing a hamburger and never being the same after.
Years ago, when we are all so much younger, she came to Baltimore and sang a couple songs in namesake part of a building called The Rotunda, to promote one of her early albums for a record store. Never the same after. Not that long after I remember buying the record “Seven Year Ache” at the same store (and I mean “record”; still have it). Never the same after that either.

A year or so ago, I heard a radio story about someone in Maryland who made reel to reel tape recordings of concerts in the 1950s. He still has the tapes, I think. In one of the interviews, he recalled how down to earth the whole thing was. Just a flat bed truck somewhere for the stage. Folks all brought food and had a picnic dinner. After they finished performing, the musicians, who included your father, would all come out and meet the audience and have something to eat.

Thanks for sharing.
— Robert Young