Last night, BBC1 broadcast an Alan Yentob documentary called "Imagine... Sweet Home New Orleans," which traces the musical history of New Orleans and takes a view of its future through a post-Katrina lens.

Its key figures are local musicians Dr. Michael White, Aaron Neville, Dr. John, and Jon Cleary, all of whom are legendary figures in the city, and some of them outside. And all of them are deeply concerned that the flight of two-thirds of New Orleans' population will mean the end of the city's unique culture.

Of course, anybody who's taken even a cursory look at my writings, knows the hold New Orleans and its music have on my heart. Seeing Cleary jamming away at the Maple Leaf Bar's piano reawakened the feeling of devastation I felt while trying to grasp the implications of the hurricane on the city I love.

But even though I'm definitely in the target market for this sort of programme, it is really a brilliant place to start if you have even the remotest interest in New Orleans' culture and music. More than that, it spells out the absolutely critical role New Orleans played in the development of modern popular music as a whole.

This is one that everybody — everybody — needs to see.

Posted by ElectricOrange at 9:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A long time ago, an old friend of mine told a story of how she cried the first time she heard Jackson Browne's "Late For The Sky." I couldn't help but feel the same way about Strays Don't Sleep's "For Blue Skies," apparently a love letter to a friend who committed suicide. The song is absolutely beautiful in its sadness.

I'm still sinking my teeth into the rest of the album. The opener, "Love Don't Owe You Anything," is strangely evocative of a couple of 80s alternative tunes, one of which is A Flock Of Seagulls' "Space Age Love Song," and the other of which I've spent the last hour in a vain attempt to track down, based solely on a vaguely remembered lyric sample is When In Rome's "The Promise".

In a way, a lot of the album -- particularly with its drum programs -- sounds like a lullabies meet new wave, but with guitars instead of keyboards. Shit, you know what it is... there's a hint of the Dream Academy in this music. Maybe that's why I dig it so much.

Anyway, here's how they describe themselves: "Strays Don't Sleep is a kind of cinematic blend between Sinatra, Roxy Music and Curtis Mayfield through the lens of ambient urban folk music." Whatever that means.

Apparently the US release is still a bit away, but my European readers will find this for sale on their respective countries' iTunes stores.

Posted by ElectricOrange at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The new year starts off funny in this New Yorker article written by former Saturday Night Live writer Jack Handey, he of the "Deep Thoughts" segment.

“Perhaps one day the Indian will put down his tomahawk and the white man will put down his gun, and the white man will pick up his gun again because, Ha-ha, sucker.”

Priceless.

Posted by ElectricOrange at 4:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)