Friday, February 22, 2008

Mister Trend's Random 10

I really know very little about American Folk music, and only got into John Jacob Niles because of Scorcese's documentary on Bob Dylan. In discussing the early influences on Dylan as he was moving to New York City, Niles comes up, and they show about 10 seconds of him singing "Go 'Way from My Window." With Niles' otherworldly falsetto, it is simply one of the more haunting things I'd heard, and that's how I got into more of his music. His songs range from playful to political to personal, and, in true folk fashion, often sang standards, but his voice always made the traditional songs completely new.

1. "Don't Go Back to Rockville" - R.E.M.
2. "The Letter" - P.J. Harvey
3. "It's Me" - Dinosaur Jr.
4. "Hunting for Witches" - Bloc Party
5. "Broken Train" - Beck
6. "Ghost Bitch" - Sonic Youth
7. "American Street, Field and Jail House Cries" - John Jacob Niles
8. "Untitled" - Akron/Family
9. "I Surrender, Dear" - Thelonious Monk
10. "Coisa No. 10" - Moacir Santos