fresh air

Jason Isbell on Fresh Air

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Jason Isbell (2)

The more listens I give to Jason Isbell's remarkable album, Southeastern, the more I love it.

I point you to a lot of music and most of the time I blog on albums when they are on sale. Finding a good album for $5 or cheaper is joy. Southeastern is full price. It's $9.99. And it's worth three times the price. If you wait and spend your money only when albums are on sale, you will miss something remarkable. 

I submit into evidence Jason Isbell's recent appearance on NPR's Fresh Air podcast. Isbell plays a few of his songs live and talks about his own struggles with addiction. It's a great interview. And every song on this album makes me think. I hope you'll check it out.

Stephen King on God

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King crop

Stephen King wrote one of my favorite books on writing called On Writing. His take on adverbs clearly has stuck with me. He has also written a popular book here or there. Terry Gross' interview of King on Fresh Air yesterday was really good, including a bunch of quotes worth checking out. Here's a great example. You should go listen to the whole thing.

I choose to believe it. ... I mean, there's no downside to that. If you say, 'Well, OK, I don't believe in God. There's no evidence of God,' then you're missing the stars in the sky and you're missing the sunrises and sunsets and you're missing the fact that bees pollinate all these crops and keep us alive and the way that everything seems to work together. Everything is sort of built in a way that to me suggests intelligent design. But, at the same time, there's a lot of things in life where you say to yourself, 'Well, if this is God's plan, it's very peculiar,' and you have to wonder about that guy's personality — the big guy's personality. And the thing is — I may have told you last time that I believe in God — what I'm saying now is I choose to believe in God, but I have serious doubts and I refuse to be pinned down to something that I said 10 or 12 years ago. I'm totally inconsistent.

Fresh Air: Maurice Sendak is Happy/Sad

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Sendak

Terry Gross of NPR's Fresh Air interviews 83 year old, award winning author Maurice Sendak. You know him as the author of Where the Wild Things Are. He has a new book coming out, which is the point of the interview. But it turns into a talk with an author reminiscing about a life of art, being homosexual, therapy, losing loved ones, and ending life as an atheist in love with the world and feeling it slip through his fingers. Well worth a listen.

"I'm a happy old man, but I will cry my way all the way to the grave."

Music Monday 12.6.10

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Blind music

Drew Grow & The Pastors' Wives: The Comfort Feel EP releases tomorrow, but you can listen to the whole thing today for free. Also grab their recent, self-titled album, which is great.

Fresh Air had a nice interview with jazz pianist Dave Brubeck celebrating his 90th birthday. Great stuff. Pick up Brubeck's albums: Time Out or Take 5. Who is Dave Brubeck? Ahh...

You don't think I'd leave you hanging without a Christmas song, did you? Here's one of the greatest Christmas songs EVER.