Lately the Bearsville schedule has been informing my musical choices, which is interesting because the iconic Milton Glaser logo is burned in my memory from the dB's and Todd Rundgren albums of my youth. Some of my earliest memories included Rundgren's Something/Anything and A Wizard, a True Star, so they've been in heavy rotation as we prepare to welcome Todd back to the theater. Billy Bragg's recent visit had me doing a deep dive back into his Talking to the Taxman About Poetry. I'll always crank up Levi Stubb's Tears or The Warmest Room. He's definitely a hero. I'm also now a recent Ratboys convert; I hadn't heard of them until their recent performance here. I wasn't expecting much melody from a band named Ratboys, but I'm definitely hooked now that I've discovered how tender and sweet their songwriting is. I hope they come back soon. I even bought a T-shirt! Winged Wheel's recent performance prompted me to download their first album No Island, from Bandcamp. It works beautifully as a soundtrack when driving around the Ashokan Reservoir. Classy music, classy band.
I've got a 30-minute commute from my house to the theater, and when I'm not streaming music I resort to the three CDs I keep in my car. One is a compilation of Charlie Rich from his Smash Records sessions, which simply makes any drive more fun. I've also got an old burned mix CD with Rockpile, lots of Kinks, The Bitterest Pill by the Jam, Jeff Buckley's version of "Lilac Wine," and some great girl group stuff. The last one is The Convincer by Nick Lowe, which to me is a perfect album when I need to drive and clear my mind. And to be perfectly honest, occasionally I roll down the windows and listen to Frank Bango's Touchy/Feely. Which I wouldn't have to do if more of you people out there would also do it.
