Fresh Cuts: “Let the bitterness die, fall in time to the beat”
It’s October?! Okaaaaaay. Labor Day was observed late this year so we started our Fall Anniversary Fund Drive a week into September – and we have a week left (from today!) to make our $65k goal. Through the incredible generosity of members thus far, we have $30k left to raise – BUT – a longtime donor has challenged us, offering the final $5k to make our goal IF we can raise the other $25k ourselves. I think we can do it. This also means that your pledge from now to the end of the Fund drive on 10/9 counts for 20% more! Please give to your budgetary ability.
Onto the music!
Fresh Cuts! Here we are. Cindy’s picks. Cindy hosts. We have the ED of FA, Sarah LaDuke, writing her reactions to some of the songs for the Fresh Cuts blog post. Where is that? You’re reading it right now.
Cindy’s weekly Fresh Cuts radio hour airs every Friday at 2pm ET / 11am PT on Folk Alley’s 24/7 stream — available on our website, mobile app, or your smart speaker. You can always hear the best in new folk music on our Fresh Cuts stream.
Brandi Carlile ft. Jon Hopkins – “Human” (Sad Gay Version)
REVERB!
I already think “Human” should win the Pulitzer Prize. The way I have screlted it since the single came out ~11 months ago can be deemed nothing less than restorative therapy. The first time I heard it, I wept. Honestly and openly. It zapped me.
Imagine summing up modernity with “Tomorrow isn’t nothing but a game that we *used* to play?” It’s piercing and it’s perfect. Now I get to hear it anew and it sounds like the 80s? It’s almost too much to be born.
Carlile is continually re-proving herself to be worthy of adulation BECAUSE she’s so real and loves music so much that she makes great stuff with excellent collaborators all the time FOR US. Long live Brandi Carlile and FA is here for “Sad Gay Versions” becoming a regular thing.
Richard Thompson – “Sorcerer’s Apprentice”
Why is Richard Thompson so cool? Not solely because he’s rhymed “not quite compos mentis” with “sorcerer’s apprentice” in this song, but that is a good example of ONE thing that is rad about him.
It’s just great.
From his upcoming 20th studio album, ‘Hippies, Thugs and Heroes,’ the song is crunchy and rhythmic, showcasing Thompson’s expressive and articulate guitar work and his always excellent storyteller manner.
Artist – Song – Album – Label
Brandi Carlile – “Human (Sad Gay Version)” – ‘Returning to Myself (Sad Gay Version)’ – Interscope / Lost Highway
Richard Thompson – “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” – ‘Hippies, Thugs and Heroes’ – New West Records
Harry Tuft – “American Tune” – ‘Friends, Lovers & Other Strangers’ – Manasses Records
Hermanos Gutiérrez – “Canto Andino” – ‘Los Ojos Del Cóndor’ – Easy Eye Sound / Concord
Humbird – “All Water” – ‘Morning When it Comes’ – Nettwerk
Rising Appalachia – “Trade My Troubles” – ‘Million Colors’ – Rising Appalachia
Dom Flemons – “Shultz’s Dream” – ‘Making American Music: The Smithsonian Sessions’ – Smithsonian Folkways
Sister Sadie – “Marlboros in Muskogee” – ‘Southern Gossip’ – Crossroads
Miko Marks – “Hell or High Water” – ‘Hell Or High Water’ – Redtone Records
Jess Williamson – “High Heels and Blue Jeans” – ‘A Mile South of Heaven’ – New West
Swamp Dogg – “Searching for Heaven” – ‘Swamp Dogg Contemplates the Afterlife’ – S-Curve Records
Caroline Cotter – “Just For You” – ‘The Answer’ – Caroline Cotter
The Suitcase Junket – “Blindside Memory” – ‘Bad Chef’ – To Go On
