Picks of the Week
This week’s picks include some genre-free music by a leading guitarist and a folk-rock band inspired by a NASCAR hero.
Bill Frisell – Beautiful Dreamer (Savoy Records)
Guitarist Bill Frisell has done it all: played jazz, country, rock, ambient, and folk; collaborated with Far Side cartoonist Gary Larson and silent film maker Bill Morrison; classical composer Gavin Bryars has written for him; you get the idea. His newest album, Beautiful Dreamer, is typical Frisell, blissfully unaware that there’s any difference between all those styles of music.
Frisell’s cohorts include violist Eyvind Kang and drummer Rudy Royston, and while much of the music is original, there are also a number of interesting covers. The title track, “Beautiful Dreamer,” is one, but you’ll also find “Tea For Two,” “Goin’ Out of My Head,” and the old Willie Johnson blues “Nobody’s Fault But Mine.” - Picked by John Schaefer
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. - Horse Power
The New York Times recently reported on the slumping fortunes of NASCAR. Fans of stock-car racing are less likely these days to spend money on tickets and merchandise. Television viewership for the Daytona 500 was down 16 percent this year compared to 2009. But if there’s a bright spot here, it’s a Detroit-based band inspired by NASCAR royalty. Meet … Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
OK, OK. Any connection to the real-life driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. or NASCAR in general pretty much ends with this group’s cheeky moniker. And you probably won’t hear Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr played at the raceway anytime soon. But … this four-song EP is called Horse Power … - Picked by Joel Meyer
