Northwest Road Trip Soundtrack Sampler

Just got back from a road trip to Seattle--the Emerald City. That's right: The Big...um, Emerald; soon to be renamed The Multi-level Condo Development City. I'm too tired and anguished over the deaths of the great Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes to write much for now, so here's a sample of the music we listened to on that long, lonely stretch of I-5 between the Sleater-Kinney Exit and The Clark County Fair (all lit up, sparkling and spinning). There's still room in life for a CD collection, despite its bulk and expense.

Wanda Jackson just played in Seattle (or thereabouts, in Everett). I couldn't get to the show due to road-weariness. It's the second time this year I've missed this rockabilly great. Wanda, please return to Portland so that I may pay proper tribute to your wonderfulness. Let's Have a Party. Surely that's Glen Campbell on guitar.


Cat Power - The Greatest along with scenes from "My Blueberry Nights." Keith is the Cat Power fan. Chan Marshall's whisper-quiet voice and repetitive compositions tend to put me to sleep, but I really cherish my sleep so in the right circumstance, that's a good thing.


ELO - I Can't Get it Out of my Head. We've been grooving to ELO's greatest hits lately. Since we both grew up with a new ELO hit single every few weeks, it seems, they are definitely a blast from the past. I like how just when you're getting tired of the aggressive catchiness of their songs, they throw in some geniune string-instrument flights of fancy, and multiple harmonic hi-jinks. Shades of The Beatles, The Zombies, and the rest is all ELO original weirdness. I appreciate their package deal.


Mr. Blue Sky - Whoo! It's 1977 all over again!


The Dutchess and The Duke have been getting lots of home-town press in The Multi-level Condo Development City after opening for this summer's Fleet Foxes tour. We saw them play at Sonic Boom Records in Capitol Hill. If you want to see every great TV show or musically themed film available on DVD, simply walk along the left wall at Sonic Boom and they will be for sale there. Very hard to tear myself away from that. (Both seasons of "Big Love" - both seasons!). Here's D&D in Atlanta, folk-rockin' it up.