A Clean, Well Lighted Used CD Store

It will come as no surprise to anyone who has so much as glanced at Citizen K. to hear that I like a good used CD store. The best kind does not necessarily have the largest selection. Any university district has a used CD store with acres of CDs that college kids have bought, burned and resold. If you're looking for something specific, these are good places to check, especially for mainstream recordings. The problem today is that much of the selection from these type places is available for downloading at the same price (or less) as the used CD version. You can even legally copy purchased downloads (iTunes allows seven copies), so in a sense downloading puts you ahead of the game.

But a small neighborhood shop can be a jewel. Last Saturday when we went over to West Seattle for dinner, I was excited to spot Rubato Records, a place with real potential. It did not disappoint. First of all, it's small enough that I could review their entire selection within 20 minutes. Second, the selection is offbeat, including a small selection of unusual imports. I wound up with four CDs that I didn't know existed, and they're all good.

Chuck Leavell has played piano for The Allman Brothers and The Rolling Stones (among many others) and fronted his own band called Sea Level. Back in 2001, he released a delightful set of solo piano compositions called Forever Blue. Brief but compelling, Forever Blue makes for great morning or dinner listening...The British folksinger Donovan's Sixties hits are familiar to most people (of a certain age, anyway), but I'll bet you didn't know that in 2004 he recorded an homage to the Beat Generation called Welcome To The Beat Cafe. He captures the coffee house spirit in a fun, ambient recording that includes a version of Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight" set to music...The expatriate singer-songwriter Elliott Murphy has lived and recorded in Paris for over 25 years. He releases much of his music on his own label, including Never Say Die: The Best Of 1995-2005...And More. I got turned onto Murphy a couple of years ago; Never Say Die is a great means of catching up on what I've been missing...Rubato Records even had a Cajun selection, and I took a flyer on Authentic Cajun Music by Jackie Callier, Ivy Dugas, and the Cajun Cousins. The Cajun Cousins include a steel guitar which adds an element of Western swing to their sound. Exceptionally well produced in the bargain...And where else would one find Greatest Hits from the Seattle avant-garde composer-musician Amy Denio? Denio's primary instruments are the sax and the accordion. I'm not especially well-versed in the avant-garde, but there's a gentleness and musicality here that I don't naturally associate with the term...

So, support your local used CD store. The smaller and more cramped looking, the better!

Now this is what should have been on the cover of The New Yorker. Thanks, PWALLY!

Blow Winds! Rage, Blow!

Ferocious winds last night, ripping and howling off the bay, colliding brutally with the house. They forced their way through the tiny gaps between window and frame, blowing the curtains in our bedroom even though the windows were closed. T. slept fitfully while the continuous bellowing had an oddly soporific effect on me: I slept like a baby. They had let up some this morning, but have started in again, this time driving a hard rain sideways through the cove. I love it. Of course, a hurricane or flood considerably diminishes the romance of a storm...

We spent yesterday afternoon running errands in the nearby market town of Castlebar, where we filled up the car to the tune of $7.85 a gallon. (1.33 euro per litre only sounds better.) T. needed art supplies for her post cards and I needed special-sized light bulbs that I couldn't find in Westport. To our delight, we discovered that the fiddler Kevin Burke performs there in July. His "Lighthouse Keeper's Waltz" was the bride's processional (as it were) at our wedding in December; we've already emailed a request for him to play it...

Thx to Amy Denio for the photo. Amy stayed at Carrowholly last February...

Charles Black, a key advisor to Johnny Wattles, sez that an attack by terrorists on the United States, would benefit McCain to the detriment of Barack Obama. Naturally, the MSM misses the real point: It falls all over itself trying to figure out whether Black is right or wrong while ignoring the colossal cynicism of the remark. The Republicans know they can't win talking about Iraq, the economy, health care, alternative energy, infrastructure -- in other words, any of the huge issues facing this country that they did nothing about when they had the chance -- so they play fear card. Hang on, it's going to be a bumpy ride...

The Washington Post's Richard Cohen brings McCain milk and cookies before tucking him into bed, here. The thrust of Cohen's argument is that no matter how many times McCain flip-flops or how egregiously he panders, his five years as a POW in North Vietnam trump all and prove that his character is superior to Obama's. He doesn't consider the possibility that McCain has sold out his legacy and will say anything to become president, gambling that the punditocracy will never call him on it. If Cohen is a representative sample, it might be a good bet...

For a nuanced, thoughtful, and perspicacious analysis of the public view of Iraq, you can't beat Frank Rich's column here. Rich argues that it no longer matters what incremental "good" news may come come out of Iraq -- that the public has already made up its mind that the war was a mistake and that nothing can change that. The issue now is to get out so that we can focus on the economy, health care, alternative energy, and infrastructure. Rich believes that McCain's platform of holding on in Iraq amounts to the flogging of a dead horse...

New Orleans: Screwed again. But the music, oh, the sweet music...New Orleans blues guitarist Spencer Bohren: "Music is a quintessential part of the fabric in the life and culture of New Orleans, and vice versa. Musicians were among the first to return to the bewildering mess that was New Orleans following the storm, and though there were very few places for them to play, and very few people to hear them, they provided an early signal that the precious spirit of New Orleans was not dead." Be sure to listen to "The Long Black Line"...

It's no picnic in the Midwest, either...

The pot calls the kettle very, very, very, very, very black. We're talking pitch-black, ebony, midnight, center-of-Carlsbad-Caverns-without-a-match-here: The Rev. James Dobson of Focus on the Family accuses former Constitutional law professor Barack Obama of a "fruitcake" interpretation of the Constitution and, worse, of "...distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own worldview, his own confused theology..." Focus on the Family supports the teaching of so-called "Intelligent" Design, opposes same-sex couples benefits, opposes meaningful stem cell research, opposes a woman's right to choose, opposes...you get the picture. They do support abstinence before marriage.

I just stepped out into the wind. Wow! It must be 35-40 mph. Best have some tea.

Dispatch from Carrowholly

Avant-garde composer and musician Amy Dinio is spending February at my house in Carrowholly on the west coast of Ireland. Amy writes:

"Today's exciting adventure: This morning I went squelching off in the mud flats at low tide (in high winds) with Pat [a neighbor], to his family's tiny sheep-dotted island, a ways out towards the Atlantic. They’d moved to the mainland when he was 4, but the house is still there [see photo]. Took a picture through the weather-streaked window, looked like something seen through the mists of time. He & his son were repairing fences, because it seems the sheep sometimes long for the mainland, and set out, only to be swept out to sea when the tide comes in. As you probably know, the current's very strong. He said he watched a pregnant ewe paddling away in the icy water for more than an hour yesterday. Luckily she finally made it to land, and laid down for the rest of the day. The first lamb was born the other day, cute as a button. Many more to come.

"Explored the minutiae of the key of A major at McHale’s pub last night, playing with Pat & Mick. Very merry company. There was a picture of Ginger on the wall, 3-time Irish national heavyweight champion, undefeated, drinking his second Guinness with his friend Liam, in the year 1960. Ginger was a fighting cock with his head deep in the glass....

"Yesterday dawned clear-ish and calm, so I took (some of) your advice & visited the Burrishoole Abbey, a truly lovely place, and very nice indeed to have it all to myself. Then onward at 100kph (insane speed limits on these narrow roads!) towards Achill Island. I’d followed a sign saying “Spanish Armada”, and found myself following the Atlantic Route around the peninsula from Mallaranny (Mhala Raithni), passing Gubbain Point, Dooghbeg, Gubacarrigan, Bolinglanna and Glassilaun (love those names!). Everyone waved, and I waved back. And sheep everywhere - I can't tell if their expressions are wise or empty... Their wool is long this time of year, & in that area is spray painted pink & purple & blue, all on the same creature, very punk rock. As you've probably noticed, they pay no heed to automobiles, even while sitting in the road (very punk rock!)

"Then, crossing the Gob an Choire (Achill Sound) on that tiny bridge (now under construction), I wandered around Achill while the weather improved by the minute until it was blazing sunlight once again, the big hills on the island wearing fancy wide cloud hats. I followed my whim & first did a big loop around the south end of the island, coming across some of the most stunning views I’ve seen in ages, high cliffs, crashing Atlantic waves, and no one except for the nonchalant multi-coloured sheep in sight. I hadn't written down how to get to the cell tower, so found myself at the gorgeous beach below it instead, a lovely waterfall, glorious sunlight, and something like a Gaelic crop circle made of stone in the grass. I can't wait to share photos!

"slean leat (goodbye - I just remembered it, after 30 years!)"