NPR First Listen: Jenny and Johnny

The always excellent folks over at NPR Music have put up the new Jenny and Johnny (that’s Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley and Johnathan Rice) album – I’m Having Fun Now – for your listening pleasure.  So, if you need a little more Summer in your day… or, you’re just a fan of four chords, power pop, and sunshine… Why not check it out?

Something to say…

Hi, Everyone!  First, let me apologize for being away.  It’s been a busy week and a half, but I have now finished my dissertation and can begin to pick up the pieces.  So, updates are a-coming… honest.

For now, I wanted to let you all know about a little change in format over here.  I’ve moved the “Things I Should’ve Mentioned” posts into the newly created NEWS category.  I’m going to update the NEWS section more frequently, with smaller posts, and hopefully have a more agile, interesting site as a result.  We’ll have to see how you all feel about them…

So, you can click on NEWS up above to get started, and you can see the most recent entries in that category on the right-hand side at the top.  I hope you’ll like it!

~Jon

Things I Should’ve Mentioned…

Hey, Everyone!  Not as long a collection, this time, as I’m knee-deep in dissertation.  Even so, I’m sure you’ll find a little something to help get you over the “peek of the week” (as a former English teacher of mine used to call it).  Come and have a look, won’t you?

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Things I Should’ve Mentioned…

Hey, everyone!  Lots of stuff for you, this week.  As you might have noticed, I’m steadily working my way through the mailbag.  There’s lots more great stuff in there, which I hope you’ll see in the next few days.  The really good, slightly-longer-term news is that my dissertation now has a planned submission date.  So, one day – in the not-too-distant future – I’ll be able to spend lots more time developing some of these tidbits into articles.  But until that day comes, I leave you with the best of this week’s bookmarks…

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Mailbag: Hip Hatchet – Men Who Share My Name

These past few weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of listening to Hip Hatchet‘s Men Who Share My Name album.  Hip Hatchet hails from Vermont, and is the work of Philippe Bronchtein (vocals, guitar, clarinet, saxophone, piano) and several of his friends.  The songs are acoustic, featuring traditional instruments like clarinet, bassoon, and violin, and are built with delicate harmonies and spacious arrangements.  Indeed, the album reminds me of the wide-open Vermont spaces that I’ve so often wandered – especially those moments when the Sun finally fades, and one is left only with conversation to hold the night back.  To me, the sound of this album seems imprinted by Winter and woodland, and carries all the warmth and determination of a soul that has passed through those things time and again.

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