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31 December 2004
what we're listening to
We greatly enjoyed Madeleine Peyroux's first album, Dreamland, and are now happy to have a second, Careless Love, which also reflects her languorous, blues-y chanteuse-y style. Friends of ours introduced us to her music many years ago, and we don't grow tired of it. Some find her vocal quality similar to Billie Holiday's; we just like it for what it is.
Peyroux's two albums are available in CD form and also via iTunes, where she also has contributed to the "celebrity playlist" section. While some of the celebrity playlists are beyond inane, Peyroux's is exceedingly cool. (For an example of inanity, see Jennifer Garner's list, which is peppered with so many "great song!" and exclamation points that it seems to be written by a stereotypical teenybopper instead of...well...let's move on...don't get me wrong, I love Alias, which is perhaps why I was a bit disappointed in Miss Garner's selections.)
For those of you not accessing iTunes, Peyroux's playlist selections are: (Night Time Is) The Right Time (Ray Charles from Ray Charles Live); Let's Get It On (Marvin Gaye from Live in Montreux 1980); Who Killed Davey Moore? (Bob Dylan from The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964 - Concert at Philharmonic Hall); I Cover the Waterfront (1956 Carnegie Hall) (Billie Holiday from The Essential Billie Holiday: Carnegie Hall Concert Recorded Live); The St. Louis Blues (Bessie Smith from Bessie Smith: The Complete Recordings, Vol. 2); Midnight Special (Leadbelly from The Library of Congress Recordings: Leadbelly - Midnight Special, Vol. 1); West End Blues (Louis Armstrong from Louis Armstrong: Super Hits); The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) (Simon & Garfunkel from Live from New York City, 1967); The Star Spangled Banner (Jimi Hendrix from Live at Woodstock); Lost Someone (Live) (James Brown & The Famous Flames from Live at the Apollo (Remastered 1962)); Diminuendo in Blue and Crescendo in Blue (Duke Ellington from Ellington at Newport 1956); Johnny B. Goode (Live, San Francisco 1967) (Chuck Berry from Live at Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco); Hallelujah (Live) (Jeff Buckley from Live at Sin-e). A cool mix indeed.
For a mix that's intriguing in a different way, "Lemony Snicket" has contributed a celebrity playlist to iTunes, one that he admits could be titled "A Series of Unhappy Songs." Attractive in a different way than Peyroux's, but a tonic for inanity nonetheless.