Today at 2 a.m. Japan Standard Time, I attended the listening party for my guitar hero Marc Ribot's new album on Bandcamp. The album is titled Map of a Blue City. Marc Ribot himself, along with hundreds of fans from all over the world, enjoyed listening to and chatting about songs from the album. I sent some messages, too. I was extremely happy to be able to express my feelings to him in real time, even though my English wasn’t very good because I was busy listening. I couldn’t catch most of the lyrics, but there were a lot of messages praising them, so I’m really looking forward to the album arriving — I ordered a special edition copy on opaque blue vinyl.
Marc is a guitarist and has only seldom sung on any of his recordings, but I’ve always loved his vocals. Of course, I adore other skilled and talented singers’ voices, but Marc’s has a different charm; someone described his vocals as plaintive and wise. This album is his first to feature his vocals and was recorded over a span of 30 years, capturing moments from then until now. I learned this from a New Musical Express article, and I was super excited. My expectations were extremely high, but the album easily surpassed them.
Marc is basically a guitarist with strong originality, but on this album, his guitar playing is simpler than usual, perfectly matching his intimate and heartfelt vocals. If you’re interested, check out the live version of one of the songs from this album.
I couldn’t sleep for a few hours after the listening party because I was too wound up, so I’ve been pretty sleepy at work today.
I'm listening to Daddy's Trip to Brazil right now. I love the dark soundscape. His playing is simple but clear and full of emotion.
Great post as usual and I love the recommendation. I'm def going to check it out.
Being able to use your English during the listening party would have been very gratifying. I'm not someone who loves acoustic music, but I quite liked Ceramic Dog. My dad is a drummer and I think he'll really enjoy that performance and maybe try playing along.
@schmamie Yes, it's a fascinating tune as well, and I learned the terms "soundscape" and "full of emotion" from your comment!
@CocoPop Thank you, Uly! I looked into the verb "wind" and the noun "wind" and discovered that they had different pronunciations and origins.
@via-chan I wouldn’t have been able to attend the listening party if I hadn’t studied on this platform! And hey, you know about Ceramic Dog — that’s awesome! Every drummer and guitarist should def check them out. I’m sure your dad will enjoy their music! (I tried using the words I had acquired from Uly's comment right away.)