what are you listening to lately?

Tom Ovans has got my attention. He's a singer/songwriter from Boston who now lives in Austin. He's got an incredible and strange voice, which has been compared to Dylan, Joe Ely, Tom Waites, et al. Sounds like rusted barbed wire and has a clamp on his nuts. Really, really strangely beautiful. His lyrics are biting, cutting, from the fire in his belly. Can't get enough of him.

In my ongoing PSA for personal recommendations - the Amazon links to my recent purchases that don't suck. Click the link, scroll down to "Listen to Samples" (for ease, just click the Listen to All button) - and through the miracle of modern technology - hear snippets streamed via Real Player or Windoze MP:

Dennison Wittmer - Recovered
Bebel Gilberto - Tanto Tempo
Fountains of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers
Mull Historical Society - Us

Richard Bona, Mino Cinelu - "Mino Cinelu" (if you haven't heard this already, it's a MUST HAVE. Fantastic music, FANTASTIC fidelity)

Bob Dylan - "Love And Theft" (SACD)

Paul Simon - "You're the One"

Bryan Ferry - "Frantic" (is this SACD coming to the US anytime soon? I can't afford $50+)

Had some folks over last night to audition the new Dave Matthews solo effort "Some Devil"

We also listened to a Rykodisc world music release "Music of Upper and Lower Egypt"

Followed it up with Thelonius Monk's "Brilliant Corners" mono version on VG+ vinyl

all this accompanied by two bottles of Smoking Loon cabernet. A Napa wine lable owned by Sabastiani. Excellent, inexpensive, and ready to drink now.

Slipknot1- Damn, don't go telling everyone about Smoking Loon! That's one of our favorites inexpensive wines! Try their merlot too...it's a bit heavier than the cab if you can believe it! Got some serious legs and pretty smokey...almost zin-like in some ways. "I can't believe it's merlot!" Great stuff for not much $. Also quite wonderful is the Abundance vinyards selections in around the same $8.99-10.99 price range!

OK so last night we had company over too (downed about 5 bottles of the red stuff). We were enjoying some beautiful New Orleans female vocals from "Po Girls". Also I finally listened to and very much enjoyed "16 Horsepower" (I think one of the Audiophile rags used to rave about them). My wife thought they got a bit redundant after a short while ("....the guy's only got two notes!!!.......He should get together with Morrisey and the two of them would have four notes!"). Kind of a dark Apallachian sound!

Marco