Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Red Letter Year

"I've got myself a new mantra," Ani DiFranco shares on her new studio album. "It says 'Don't forget to have a good time.'" This attitude has clearly influenced the dozen tunes on Red Letter Year, which celebrate existence, profess love and tackle thorny political issues with an infectious sense of glee. It's one of Ani's most joyous records to date, and is her 18th full studio album!

It has been a long time coming. Red Letter Year was sculpted over the course of two years, a period in which Ani continued to hone her songwriting, performing and recording skills, all the while balancing her new role as a mom. "I think I sorely needed to be slowed down, and finally a little person came along powerful enough to do it," Ani reflects. The end result is an album of focused, layered, panoramic music.

Listen:
Ani DiFranco - "Emancipated Minor" (mp3)

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10:13 AM
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Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Happy 4th of July!

Woohoo! It is the U.S. Independence Day.

Quick history lesson for you..

I got this excerpt from a book written by Pauline Maier. This particular passage is actually included on the government website for The United States Department of State...
"The Declaration of Independence is in fact a curious document. After the Civil War members of Lincoln's party tried to write its principles into the Constitution by enacting the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, which is why issues of racial or age or gender equality are now so often fought out in the courts. But the Declaration of Independence itself is not and has never been legally binding. Its power comes from its capacity to inspire and move the hearts of living Americans, and its meaning lies in what they choose to make of it. It has been at once a cause of controversy, pushing as it does against established habits and conventions, and a unifying national icon, a legacy and a new creation that binds the revolutionaries to descendants who confronted and continue to confront issues the Founders did not know or failed to resolve. On Independence Day, then, Americans celebrate not simply the birth of their nation or the legacy of a few great men. They also commemorate a Declaration of Independence that is their own collective work now and through time. And that, finally, makes sense of the Fourth of July."
And now that the nerd fest is over...hehe, here is some music for you. May not all be patriotic, but the word July or America is probably in the title. And so it's being included.

Adam McIntyre - "America" (mp3)
Ani DiFranco - "Independence Day" (mp3)
Cary Judd - "American Girl" (mp3)
Cat Power - "American Flag" (mp3)
Def Leppard - "Hello America" (mp3)
The Damnwells - "God Bless America" (m4a)
The National - "American Mary" (mp3)
The New Pornographers - "July Jones" (mp3)
U2 - "4th of July" (mp3)

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8:01 AM
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