| The
Crossing - August 2009
A trip back in time...40
years ago this month...
The event: the Woodstock
Music and Arts Festival.
The time: the weekend of
August 15-17, 1969 in the Summer of Love.
The place: Max Yasgur’s 600
acre farm in Bethel, New York.
The guests: 400,000+ young
and crazy, peace lovin’ fans of music.
The artists: John B. Sebastian,
Canned Heat, Richie Havens, Country Joe & the Fish, Arlo Guthrie, Sha-Na-Na,
Country Joe McDonald, Joan Baez, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The
Who, Joe Cocker, Santana, Ten Years After, Jefferson Airplane, The Band,
the Grateful Dead, Johnny & Edgar Winter, Mountain, Tim Hardin, Ravi
Shankar, Blood Sweat & Tears, Sly & the Family Stone, Butterfield
Blues Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin & Jimi Hendrix
among a few others.
The happening: Sun, sky,
music, love, happiness, peace, peace signs (both kinds), massive crowd,
hippies, hitchhiking, a nominal charge turns to free admission, rain, mud,
toilet and sanitary issues, grass (both kinds), drugs (don’t take the brown
acid), a rash or two, perhaps a sexually-transmitted disease.
The aftermath: We are music
fans...they are us and we are them, all to variable degrees. The biggest
music festival ever held up to that point becomes the event by which all
music festivals will be compared to.
The spirit of peace and music
lives on winding down the generations...
Recently released and not
mentioned in last edition:
* Big Country - The Homecoming:
Live at the Barrowlands, Glasgow, New Years Eve 1983/84 - CD/DVD.
* Bruce & Jamie Watson
- Live at Lathone’s
* Kieran Kane - Somewhere
Between the Roses
* The Starlight Mints -
Change Remains
* The Working Title - Bone
Island
* Modern Day Escape - House
of Rats
* The Trashcan Sinatras
- In the Music
* The Features - Some Kind
of Salvation
* Yim Yames - Tribute to
George Harrison (Jim James of My Morning Jacket.)
* Hatcham Social - A Stunner
* My My My - Little Cat
Plays the Alpha Rave
* Homemade Jamz Blues Band
- I Got Blues for You
* Mishka - Above the Bones
* Set Your Goals - This
will be the Death of Us
* Ana Popovic - Blind for
Love
* Eyedea & Abilities
- By the Throat
* Rx Bandits - Mandala
* Bad Veins - S/T
* Generationals - Con Law
* Band of Skulls - Baby
Darling Doll Face Honey
* Beardfish - Destined Solitaire
* Owl City - Ocean Eyes
* Wye Oak - The Knot
* Tenth Avenue North - Over
and Underneath
* Megafaun - Gather, Form
and Fly
* Manic Street Preachers
- Journal for Plague Lovers
* The Wishing Tree - Ostara
(import.)
* Nick Lowe - Brentford
Trilogy box set
* The Rolling Stones - Amazon.com
exclusive box set. (13 discs.)
+ 12
8/4
* Modest Mouse - No One’s
First and You’re Next
* Fruit Bats - Ruminant
Band
* Wolf & Cub - Science
& Sorcery
* We Were Promised Jetpacks
- These Four Walls
* Throw Me the Statue -
Creaturesque
* Jimmy Mancus - Move Down
* Julian Plenti - Skyscraper
* The Hooters - Both Sides
Live (Country ‘and’ western? No. Electric and acoustic.)
* Collective Soul - S/T
(rabbit on cover.)
* Seasick Steve - a few
reissues
+ The Soloist
+ Fragments
+ Race to Witch Mountain
+ Flight of the Conchords:
Complete 2nd Season
8/11
* Cobra Starship - Hot Mess
* As Tall as Lions - You
Can’t Take it With You
* After Midnight Project
- Let’s Build Something to Break
* The Dry Spells - Too Soon
for Flowers
* Bombay Bicycle Club -
I had the Blues but I Shook Them Loose
* Between the Trees - Spain
* August Burns Red - Constellations
* The Bottle Rockets - Lean
Forward
* Mindy Smith - Stupid Love
* George Strait - Twang
* Robert Cray - This Time
* Britt Nicole - The Lost
Get Found
* Maia Sharp - Echo
* Anna Ternheim - Leaving
on a Mayday
* Robert Pollard - Elephant
Jokes
* Michael McDermott - Hey
la Hey
* Mike Stern - Big Neighborhood
* Tommy Castro - Hard Believer
* The Stone Roses - S/T
(20th anniversary edition; 3 CD’s/1 DVD.)
* Dan Fogelberg - a few
reissues
* The Cate Brothers - a
few reissues
+ Vanilla Fudge - Live 2004
+ I Love You, Man
+ The Class
+ Gigantic
+ 17 Again
8/18
* MuteMath - Armistice
* Jones Street Station -
In Verses
* Sister Hazel - Release
* Third Eye Blind - Ursa
Major
* Colin Hay - American Sunshine
* Breathe Carolina - Hello
Fascination
* Cave Singers - Welcome
Joy
* Brendan Benson - My Old,
Familiar Friend
* David Nail - I’m About
to Come Alive
* Skillet - Awake
* Nathan Maxwell - White
Rabbit
* Joe Henry - Blood from
Stars
* Delbert McClinton - Acquired
Taste
* Otep - Smash the Control
Machine
* The Popes - Outlaw Heaven
(w/guests Shane MacGowan and Spider Stacy.)
* Madness - The Liberty
of Norton Folgate
* The Cult - Love (Deluxe
edition.)
* Richard Thompson - Working
on a Wire 1968-2009
* Various Artists - Woodstock:
40 Years On: Back to Yasgur’s Farm (6 CD box set.)
+ The Last House on the
Left
+ The Last Starfighter (25th
anniversary.)
8/25
* Jack Ingram - Big Dreams
& High Hopes
* Imogen Heap - Ellipse
* Matisyahu - Light
* 16 Horsepower - Secret
South
* Dolores O’Riordan - No
Baggage
* Colbie Caillat - Breakthrough
* Amelia Curran - War Brides
* Willie Nelson - American
Classic
* Ingrid Michaelson - Everybody
* Jet - Shaka Rock
* Mew - No More Stories
* Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
* Shonen Knife - Super Group
* Needtobreathe - The Outsiders
* Mellowdrone - Angry Bear
* The Postmarks - Memoirs
at the End of the World
* Radiohead - Kid A/Amnesiac/Hail
to the Thief (Deluxe Editions.)
* Woody Guthrie - My Dusty
Road (box set.)
* Hall & Oates - Straight
from Philadelphia (box set.)
* Various Artists -
Taking Woodstock soundtrack
+ Cheap Trick - Sgt. Pepper
Live (CD/DVD.)
+ Adventureland
+ Duplicity
+ Sunshine Cleaning
+ The Informers
9/1
* Derek Webb - Stockholm
Syndrome
* David Bazan - Curse Your
Branches
* Brandi Carlile - Give
Up the Ghost
* Chevelle - Sci-fi Crimes
* The Color Morale - We
All Have Demons
* These United States -
Everything Touches Everything
* Juliette Lewis - Terra
Incognita
* The Used - Artwork
* The Black Crowes - Before
the Frost (CD.) and ...Until the Freeze (download only.)
* The Proclaimers - Notes
& Rhymes (import.)
* Drive By Truckers - The
Fine Print (A Collection of Oddities & Rarities 2003-2008.)
* They Might Be Giants -
Here Comes Science (CD/DVD; children’s album; Amazon.com exclusive.)
+ State of Play
9/8
* John Fogerty - The Blue
Ridge Rangers Ride Again
* A Fine Frenzy - Bomb in
a Birdcage
* Rodrigo y Gabriela - 11:11
* Pete Yorn & Scarlett
Johansson - Break Up
* Howie Day - Sound the
Alarm
* Sondre Lerche - Heartbeat
Radio
* Vivian Girls - Everything
Goes Wrong
* Taken by Trees - East
of Eden
* Mayer Hawthorne - A Strange
Arrangement
* Thousand Foot Krutch -
Welcome to the Masquerade
* Zero 7 - Yeah Ghost
* Pinetop Seven - Bringing
Home the Last Great Strike (reissue.)
+ Various Artists - US Festival
1983
+ Patty Griffin - Live from
the Artists Den
9/9
* The Beatles - Entire Catalog
(John, Paul, George & Ringo get the remastered treatment for the first
time ever! Both mono and stereo box sets available.)
9/15
* Mark Knopfler - Get Lucky
* Bruce Hornsby - Levitate
* Robin Guthrie - Carousel
* Landon Pigg - The Boy
Who Never
* Gary Go - S/T
* Muse - The Resistance
* The 69 Eyes - Back in
Blood
* The Beastie Boys - Hot
Sauce Committee
* Ace Frehley - Anomaly
* Lita Ford - Wicked Wonderland
* Anvil - This is Thirteen
* Megadeth - Endgame
* Living Colour - Chair
in the Doorway
* Europe - Last Look at
Eden (import.)
* Santana - Supernatural
(Deluxe edition.)
* Big Star - Keep an Eye
on the Sky (box set.)
+ Alter Bridge - Live in
Amsterdam
+ X-Men Origins: Wolverine
9/22
* Monsters of Folk - S/T
(Conor Oberst, Jim James, Mike Mogis and M. Ward.)
* David Gray - Draw the
Line
* Pearl Jam - Backspacer
(Target exclusive.)
* Porcupine Tree - The Incident
(2 CD’s.)
* Nick Cave & Warren
Ellis - White Lunar (2 CD’s.)
* Editors - In this Light
and on this Evening
* Or, the Whale - S/T
* Brand New - Daisy
* Mika - We are Golden
* Alberta Cross - Broken
Side of Time
* Billy Tallent - III
* Various Artists - Where
the Action Is! L.A. Nuggets 1965-1968 (box set.)
+ Ghosts of Girlfriends
Past
9/29
* Drivin’ N Cryin’ - Great
American Bubble Factory
* Swell Season - Strict
Joy
* The Avett Brothers - I
and Love and You
* Will Hoge - The Wreckage
* Ian Brown - My Way
* Hope Sandoval - TBA
* Dennis Diken - TBA
* Paramore - Brand New Eyes
* La Roux - S/T
* Alice in Chains - Black
Gives Way to Blue
* Lynyrd Skynyrd - God &
Guns
* Foreigner - Can’t Slow
Down (2 CD’s/1 DVD; Wal-mart exclusive; Kelly Hansen formerly of Hurricane
now on vocals. Think Journey.)
* Genesis - Live Box Set
1973-2007
+ Monsters vs. Aliens
+ The Wizard of Oz (70th
anniversary.)
10/6
* Rosanne Cash - The List
* The Badlees - TBA
* Katharine McPhee - TBA
* The Clientele - Bonfires
on the Heath
* Daniel Merriweather -
Love and War
* Lou Barlow - Goodnight
Unknown
* KISS - Sonic Boom (2 CD’s/1
DVD; Wal-mart exclusive, think Foreigner and Journey.)
10/13
* Wolfmother - Cosmic Egg
* Thrice - Beggars
* Antipop Consortium - Flourescent
Black
* Lynch Mob - Smoke &
Mirrors
10/20
* Sufjan Stevens - Brooklyn-Queens
Expressway (CD/DVD.)
* Lyle Lovett - TBA
* The Roots - How I Got
Over
* Maps - Turning the Mind
* Atlas Sound - Logos
* 30 Seconds to Mars - This
is War
* Flight of the Conchords
- I Told You I was Freaky (Comedy album.)
10/27
* Tegan & Sara - Sainthood
* Sting - If on a Winter’s
Night...
LYRICS of the MONTH:
“I came upon a child of God
He was walking along the
road
And I asked him where are
you going
And this he told me
I'm going on down to Yasgur's
farm
I'm going to join in a rock
'n' roll band
I'm going to camp out on
the land
I'm going to try an' get
my soul free
We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden
Then can I walk beside you
I have come here to lose
the smog
And I feel to be a cog in
something turning
Well maybe it is just the
time of year
Or maybe it's the time of
man
I don't know who I am
But you know life is for
learning
We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden
By the time we got to Woodstock
We were half a million strong
And everywhere there was
song and celebration
And I dreamed I saw the
bombers
Riding shotgun in the sky
And they were turning into
butterflies
Above our nation
We are stardust
Billion year old carbon
We are golden
Caught in the devil's bargain
And we've got to get ourselves
back to the garden.”
Joni Mitchell, the song “Woodstock”
off the album Ladies of the Canyon first released in 1970. It’s
also more recently available on Hits.
See you in September…
Peace,
Chris Barlow
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