Mister Trend's Random 10

Of all the things blues music does, directly and openly addressing current political affairs hasn't ever really been one of them (though certainly hundreds if not thousands of songs have used metaphor and vague allusions to address such matters). J.B. Lenoir is one of the few exceptions I know of. He was never afraid to openly (rather than subtly, like many blues artists did) cite political factors for social and economic problems in the world (such as his "Eisenhower Blues"). And he is the only bluesman (that I know of) who openly addressed issues of the 60s such as racism, the Civil Rights movement, and the escalation in Vietnam blatantly, be it in "Shot on James Meredith," or "Vietnam," or this week's seventh song, "Vietnam Blues". His playing and singing styles are unique themselves (his voice can easily be confused for a woman's), but to me it's his effort to use the blues to openly deal with these issues that makes him one of the standout bluesmen in the 1960s.

1. "General" - Jorge Cafrune
2. "Herculean" - The Good, The Bad & The Queen
3. "O Homem Falou" - Maria Rita
4. "Drei Phantasion nach FriedrichHordelin - Three phantaseis after Holderlin: II. Wenn aus der Ferne" - Gyorgi Ligeti
5. "I Dream a Highway" - Gillian Welch
6. "Meu Glorioso São Cristovão" - Gilberto Gil and Jorge Ben
7. "Vietnam Blues" - J.B. Lenoir
8. "Easy" - PJ Harvey
9. "Martha" - Tom Waits
10. "Die Sweite Heimat" - μ-Ziq