Showing posts with label Louisiana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Louisiana. Show all posts

June 30, 2009

Cleoma Breaux And Joseph Falcon//La Vieux Soulard Et Sa Femme

Today at around noon, the power went out in my office. As a result, I'm finishing the day working from home (read: my backyard). My upstairs neighbor has planted sunflowers and they've gotten taller than me. It's pretty damn nice out here right now.

To go with the pastoral outdoor theme that the afternoon unexpectedly took on, I thought I would post my favorite track from one of my all-time favorite birthday presents ever (thanks, Aunt Deb).

This six-disc set is jam packed with old-timey...well...jams. Als and I got pretty obsessed with the whole collection during the summer of 2006 (the last golden summer in Ann Arbor), after repeat viewings of Wisconsin Death Trip, which features many of the songs as a soundtrack.

This one is obviously the best. The title translates, from the Creole French, to "The Old Drunkard and His Wife." From the very thorough annotations that come with the anthology, we learn that this is Joe Falcon (1900-1965) and his wife Cleoma Breaux. It's Cajun (obvs) and was recorded in Atlanta in 1929. These guys totally blew up in Louisiana, where Cleoma also played with her brothers, The Breaux Freres.



La Vieux Soulard Et Sa Femme.mp3

A bit more here.

December 22, 2008

Lucinda Williams//Drunken Angel

Friday night got a little out of hand, so maybe this song is appropriate. I was a drunken angel, almost on the other side of the path tracks after an office-related Christmas party. Yeek!

I love Lucinda Williams. She is a drunken angel! The first time I saw her live was at this weird folk fest with some friends in South Jersey (where I consequently also ran into my aunt). Williams started her set super late and drank whiskey the whole way through. Her band was comprised of the awesomest old cowboy dudes. WHAT A BADASS.
Actually, Lucinda Williams is one of the only acts I’ll always go see live—she really knows how to deliver a quality show. She was also named "America's best songwriter" by TIME magazine in 2002.

This song comes from a remarkable album—probably one of the best of all time--Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. How sexy is that electric guitar tone? So, so sexy. The song, a tribute to Blaze Foley, is truly a musical and emotional gem.

I also have some very fond memories of playing this song with Mr. Beauchamp. We loved us some Lucinda!



Drunken Angel.mp3

Why’d you let go of your guitar? Why’d you ever let it go that far, drunken angel?