Smoking is Such a Drag

Oh my God, I just saw the best film I've seen in years--Thank You For Smoking, the bitingly funny new independent film starring Aaron Eckhart, Rob Lowe and the inimitable William H. Macy (Cumberland, Md.'s own, doncha know). It was hilarious, smart, quick and made me laugh out loud (and think). Good stuff. Go see it.

A few of the songs used in the film made me think of the amazing 1997 concept album by k.d. lang--Drag. I played the hell out of this thing when it came out, and on repeated listenings, it's still a beautiful record. Each of the songs she chose had something to do with smoking (odd, since she's a non-smoker). And admittedly some of them are a stretch in terms of fitting the concept, but God, do they sound good (note: two references to God in this article--hmm...). Her cover of the Hollies "The Air that I Breathe" is leaps and bounds better than the original, and her version of "The Joker" would make Steve Miller blush (I did this song once in Atlanta for karaoke--odd choice; I don't recommend it). The most beautiful song on the album is a song called "My Old Addiction," 6.5 minutes of pure emotion and orchestral beauty. Drag is well worth a listen; it's as good as anything k.d. has done.

And she looks HOT in the photos. Now what does that say about me?

Nena at $35,000 an Hour

As much as I love German group Nena's 1984 hit "99 Red Balloons," or "99 Luftballons," depending on your interpretation, listening to it nonstop for an hour would be a little difficult.

But tomorrow, VH1 Classic will do just that, by playing both the English and German versions of the video for a solid 60 minutes, after a viewer pledged $35,000 to charity. "The channel has been running a charity jukebox to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina," the BBC reports. "Viewers could pay per track or by the hour to request their favourite videos."

Sounds interesting, and it's for a good cause. Especially interesting is the story that the song tells. "The single tells the story of 99 red balloons floating into the air, triggering an apocalypse when the military sends planes to intercept them," the Beeb explains. Funny I didn't really get that the first time around; I should give it another listen.

My fave line? "Everyone's a superhero/Everyone's a Captain Kirk."

A Voice from Women's History

I love music written by women, performed by women. That's no surprise to any of you who know me. I've talked at length about the glories of Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro, Annie Lennox, Julie London, Rosanne Cash...but today, I'm turning the clock back to the very beginnings of women in recorded music--90 years, in fact, to share with you a song that was so revolutionary in its time that it deserves a fresh look today.

The song is "She's Good Enough to Be Your Baby's Mother (And She's Good Enough to Vote With You)." Doesn't quite roll off the tongue, but the title says it all. Recorded in 1916 by Anna Chandler (left), I discovered this on a wonderful 1999 compilation called Respect: A Century of Women in Music. And in honor of Women's History Month, I'd like to share the lyrics with you today.

She's Good Enough To Be Your Baby's Mother
And She's Good Enough to Vote With You
No man is greater than his mother
No man is half so good
No man is better than the wife he loves
Her love will guide him
What ‘ere beguile him

She’s good enough to love you and adore you
She’s good enough to bear your troubles for you
And if your tears were falling today
Nobody else would kiss them away
She’s good enough to warm your heart with kisses
When your lonesome and blue
She’s good enough to be your baby’s mother
And she’s good enough to vote with you

Man plugs the world in war and sadness
She must protest in vain
Let’s hope and pray someday we’ll hear her pain
Stop all your madness, I bring you gladness

She’s good enough to love you and adore you
She’s good enough to bear your troubles for you
And if your tears were falling today
Nobody else would kiss them away
She’s good enough to warm your heart with kisses
When your lonesome and blue
She’s good enough to be your baby’s mother
And she’s good enough to vote with you

She’s good enough to give you old Abe Lincoln
She's good enough to give you Brandon Sherman
Robert E. Lee and Washington too
She was so true she gave them to you
She’s good enough to give you Teddy Roosevelt
Thomas A. Edison too.
She’s good enough to give you Woodrow Wilson
And she’s good enough to vote with you.

Listen to a sample of this song here.

New Cassandra Wilson

It's been 10 years since I first heard Cassandra Wilson's classic New Moon Daughter album. I was struck instantly by her voice--kinda like Nina Simone, kinda like Bill Withers, but completely original. Think low. Think lower. Think sexy. Think sexier.

One of the best concerts I've seen was Cassandra at the Lisner auditorium about three years ago. Since then she's been hard at work on a new album, with T Bone Burnett of all people at the production helm. And today the new single "It Would Be So Easy" was released on iTunes. It's great--as great as any of her covers of works by folks like Joni, Neil Young, even Dylan, Sting and the Band. It's funky, retro-soul groovin'...in short, as classy and cool as Cassandra herself. Looking forward to the April 4 release of her new album Thunderbird (and hopefully a tour).

I Saw Him Standin' There by the Record Machine

It was today, 24 (Jesus Christ!) years ago, that "I Love Rock and Roll" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts hit No. 1. It stayed there for 7 weeks.

I distinctly remember how much I loved that freaking song. My mom bought me the 45; I came home from school (7th grade) one afternoon and saw it on my dresser. I loved it so much I wore out the grooves. I also loved "Crimson and Clover," the second single from the album.

My fave Joan Jett songs:

1. I Love Rock and Roll
2. Do You Wanna Touch (Oh Yeah!)
3. I Hate Myself for Lovin' You
4. Bad Reputation

Heard You Missed Me--I'm Back!

First of all, I apologize for slipping off the radar for a week. Life gets busy, my kittens.

So I’ll burst back into your lives by posting my thoughts on three fantastic concerts I’ve seen in the last two weeks—Belle and Sebastian with New Pornographers; Donald Fagen; and Rosanne Cash.

A Belle Noir
The Belle and Sebastian show at 9.30 Club was fantastic. High on the success of their current album The Life Pursuit, the septet, sometimes octet from Scotland performed with an energy and professionalism that only comes from a band who loves playing music. The concert was pretty heavy on the new material, but featured quite a bit from If You’re Feeling Sinister (their breakthrough album from the late ‘90s), and a most satisfying performance of “Your Cover’s Blown,” a B-side from the “Wrapped Up in Books” single. Great energy, fantastic musicianship—a definite crowd-pleaser. I wasn’t disappointed with a single selection—and the encore song, “Fox in the Snow” was a real winner.

New Pornographers were fine, but I have to admit I was just anxious for them to leave the stage.

Fagen-tastic
The very next night, Brian, Bill and I went to see Donald Fagen at the Warner Theater. Now I’ll start by saying that Fagen has the stage presence of an old grumpy man. He took his seat at his Rhodes keyboard and didn’t get up until the end of the show.

But what a show it was! I’ve seen Steely Dan, and that was amazing, so I was curious how a Fagen solo show would be. It was equally amazing. He did material from his new album Morph the Cat (review coming up later this week), his 1981 first solo album The Nightfly, and a few tracks from the 1993 underappreciated album Kamakiriad.

And of course, he “dug into the Steely Dan files” for some terrific versions of old hits. The show opened, in fact, with an almost unrecognizable version of “Here at the Western World,” which rocked mine. I nearly “croimed my joins” when he did “Black Cow” and “Home at Last” from Aja and “Third World Man” from Gaucho.

I got the impression that Fagen onstage runs a damned tight ship. Steely Dan’s reputation for perfection has most definitely affected the final product, and Fagen’s stage show was no different. I caught him giving a bit of an evil eye to his young guitarist at some point; the picker got right back on track instantly (of course to us, it all sounded perfect). A great horn section, a terrific drummer, kick-ass bass player and of course, Fagen himself added up to a night of musicianship so good it made my teeth hurt. The night was over far too quickly.

Rosanne-credible
And just last evening, my friends Jen and Martin from Pennsylvania, Brian and I went to the Birchmere to see the incomparable Rosanne Cash. Before I get to that, I’ll chat a bit about her opening act, Iain Campbell Smith, an Australian singer-songwriter who now lives in DC. He was a terrific opening act—his songs made us laugh (out loud, at least for me), made us think, and even touched on some rawer emotions—all in about half an hour. His humor, stage presence and performance really set the stage nicely for Rosanne. Campbell Smith is a guy you wouldn’t mind grabbing a beer with.

So, Rosanne. DAMN, she was good. You all know how much I love the new album Black Cadillac—but I’ve always had a soft spot for her going all the way back 25 years to her breakthrough single “Seven Year Ache.” Well, Rosanne did not disappoint. Even MASSIVE sound problems onstage didn’t stop her humor, grace and elegance. She looked fantastic; her voice was clear, pure and dare I say better than ever. She, too, is someone you’d grab—well, maybe a coffee—with. The concert was heavy on the new material, which was great; you can tell she’s proud of the work, as well she should be. Older hits like “Seven Year Ache” and “The Wheel” brought down the house, as did her cover of her father’s song “Tennessee Flat Top Box,” which has always been one of my favorite songs of hers.

I love seeing people at the Birchmere and don’t do it nearly as often as I should. Among the terrific performances I’ve seen there have been Maria McKee, Aimee Mann and Michael Penn and Greg Brown, all of which have been fantastic. There is a sense of intimacy at the Birchmere you don’t find in other venues. Fantastic stuff.

Rosanne ended her show with an unlikely cover of “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” from My Fair Lady, which left my eyes a bit damp. It was slow, beautiful, and highlighted her clear, heartfelt voice. God, was it a good show.

So there you have it, kittens…three weeks’ worth of fantastic live performances. I’ve been very lucky.