Tift Merritt’s Journey to “Another Country”

The title of Tift Merritt’s third record could be a metaphor for its unique musical geography, a territory equidistant between Memphis, Nashville and Laurel Canyon. This new sound is far removed from the neo-traditionalist twang of Merritt’s early work, or the energized soul of her last release, the Grammy-nominated “Tambourine.”
In the album’s title song, “Another [...]

Local Rhythms – Dreaming of June

The net effect of winter has my brain feeling like a frost-heaved road. I’ve had one or two glimpses of my lawn since November, and a few 40-degree days strung together make me punch-drunk.
Let the temperature cross 50, and I’m hallucinating cabanas and boat drinks.
Sunday’s bright sky got me thinking about summer music. [...]

Apple’s Rhapsody?

The Financial Times reported yesterday that Apple was readying a subscription-based version of iTunes. I fully expected Lefsetz to blow a gasketat the news, but thus far, he’s said nothing.
ZD Net’s post speculates that Apple will eventually get to an annual pricing structure, not the one-time forever fee (tied to an iPod purchase) mentioned [...]

Local Rhythms – Crowded SXSW 2008

I didn’t make it to Austin for South By Southwest this year. I may be the only one.
Wild Light, a chamber pop combo that met during high school in Milford, represented New Hampshire, playing a set along with four other acts from Almost Gold, the Boston indie label they recently joined.
Vermont’s Syd Straw did a [...]

Local Rhythms – Green Again

When I married a Irish-blooded girl named Patty with a March 17 birthday, I surrendered my right to question the American fascination with St. Patrick’s Day.
Still, don’t you wonder why you’ve never seen a “Kiss Me, I’m German” badge? Why isn’t everyone Mexican on Cinco de Mayo? All this [...]

Local Rhythms – Bring Back MTV’s Better Days

I miss Unplugged.
 
Once upon a time, before it became a halfway house for has-beens, MTV actually mattered. “M” meant “music,” and when a new episode of the occasional acoustic series hit the airwaves, I was in heaven.
 
There’s something about stripping a song down to its’ bare essence that moves my soul. I don’t mean to [...]