Dueling Banjos

Sunday afternoon at the store.

Turn On, Tune In, Opt Out

The greatest feature of Facebook and Twitter is that they allow complete opt-out.

Maybe I should put a bucket over my head
and a marshmallow in each ear
and stumble around for another dumb numb week
for another hum drum hit song to appear.
-- Ani Difranco, Fuel

For hit song, substitute tweet or poke, and that's where I'm at.

What I'm Doing

Not reflecting, that's for sure. I'm in the moment. Events are unfolding quickly and now demand attention. Reflection requires pause and it's too early to pause. Reflecting happens later. Now I am in the world and it requires my attention. What use are politics or criticism or language or art. I am engaged. Events are unfolding. Connections need soldering. People are coming. I will show them something new. There's something new to experience. Small moments, unfolding into something larger, rolling out like a parachute.

New Neighbors

One of my favorite bands just changed its name. That's not something that your favorite bands typically do. But these guys are young and have a whole career still ahead of them.

New Neighbors posted a bunch of live and rare recordings on their new website. I have to say I would have freaked out if I had been there when they eased into The Postal Service's Such Great Heights. I know because I just about freaked out when I heard their mellow and almost menacing version of With a Little Help From My Friends. A cleverly rearranged cover is the mark of a truly interesting band, as is a note-for-note recreation. I wonder if they will post a recording of their Bowie/Lennon Fame cover? Note-for-note funky bliss.

[Note: I had created and posted Muzicons of these tracks, but Muzicons has changed the way they code their files and the sound quality was too poor to share.]

You can download high-quality MP3's of these tunes and many others here.

And if you're in the neighborhood, New Neighbors will be performing live in-store on April 17 at the grand re-opening party of McNeil Music of Ithaca.