Friday, April 23, 2010

For those of you living under a rock

I realized I never mentioned one of my most consistent blues-related enjoyments currently. With my thesis eating my soul and me gearing up for graduation, I have very little free time, which means I don't necessarily get to research as much music as I would like to. Enter Keith Shapiro and Jonathan Pechon, DJs from Austin and Dallas, respectively, who started a podcast about blues music for dancers (and DJs) roughly 8 or 9 months ago. Each month, they spend 70+ minutes sharing music (most of which has been unfamiliar to me), upcoming events, thoughts on various aspects of the social dance scene, DJing for blues dancers, and the history and tradition of blues music, and feedback from blues and dance enthusiasts from all over the world. It's a great way to keep my finger on the pulse of the dance scene until I have more time and energy to get my DJing back into full swing (or blues ... badum tshh :-P).

Check out Confessing the Blues

Sunday, April 18, 2010

04-14-10

Drop Dead Blues

-Don't Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down - Eric Bibb, Rory Block, Maria Muldaur
-Lord, Don't Move the Mountain - Angela Strehli
-My Road Lies in Darkness - Charlie Musselwhite
-Red Rooster - Howling Wolf and Muddy Waters
-National Steel - Colin James
-Deep in the Delta - Brother Yusef
-Sunshine in the Shade - Satan and Adam
-I'll Be Your Sweet Black Angel - Saffire - the Uppity Blues Women
-Love Me or Leave Me - The jimmy Cotton Blues Quartet
-Another Man Done Gone - Irma Thomas
-Red Mud - Chris Thomas King
-Sun Dirt Water - The Waifs
-O Death - Tangle Eye
-Son of a Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield
-Blues in the Night - Ledisi

Friday, April 9, 2010

Why I love Blues

I ran across a thought today, and it beautifully summed up how I feel about blues dancing. I don't actually know the person who said it, but I hope she doesn't mind me passing it on:

"Isn't blues dancing just the physical celebration of Living despite how much pain and heartache we experience day to day? ...Blues 'aesthetic' is nothing without augmenting each move with a tempered sense of loss and of aging, a willingness to express aggression and even anger, a broken agreement to relive sorrow, but also a decision of optimism to explore joy, find a new romance, and carry a bold sense of confidence into each spontaneous (yet intentional) move and twist of the body? Personally, my favorite part of the spirit of blues, is simply holding someone else close--and with my eyes closed, gladly sighing with the sense that everything's gonna be alright."
-Amanda Lorenz