Our friend and awesome singer-songwriter Brian Fitzpatrick from Jersey, is in Dublin where he posted a photo of the Phil Lynott statue (Thin Lizzy), wondering why more artists are not celebrated in statue form stateside, specifically mentioning the absence of a Joey Ramone statue in NYC. We agree with Brian: Europe seems to celebrate its artists more than we do here in the U.S. and we wonder why? Do they value the arts more across the pond? Without getting into the related political issues, lack of funding for the National Endowment of the Arts or even wondering why, at such a relatively low cost, there aren't more saucy gents out there who'd be willing to commission such landmarks celebrating the artists who were so (pun, comin' atcha) instrumental in putting our municipalities on the larger map.
The Jimi Hendrix statue proudly sits on Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, at Broadway and Pine, right across from Seattle Central Community College. So we looked online for some photos of it, in the handful of ways we've seen it over the years, to celebrate it here.
Okay, that's it. How many ways can one statue be shown? Jimi was a local boy done good, we celebrate him, the brilliant and prolific catalog of music he gave us in such a short time, and appreciate that the world was fortunate enough to have him at all. Naturally, we wonder what might have been. Ultimately, rather than speculate what Jimi may have given us in these last 40 years, we celebrate the amazing stuff he gave us in just four.
Oh - here's Brian with the Phil Lynott statue, the original inspiration for this goofy post. Thanks, buddy!
We're checking in here to throw some of our favorite new stuff atcha. Check these artists out:
1. JD McPherson. Oklahoma guy, caught the interest of our old Chicago homeboy,original Mighty Blue King and Four Charm, Jimmy Sutton, who produced the record and plays bass.
2. Gary Clark Jr.. The present and future of Texas Blues, a complete and total animal. On the guitar. We don't know Gary personally, but we'll assume he's a perfectly nice dude when he's not making a guitar his bitch.
3. Dr. John - dude put out his best album is 30, 40 years this year. Produced by Black Keys' guitarist Dan Auerbach, this is one fine set of fresh music.
4. Jack White. He may be the most prolific if not interesting and commanding artist of the modern era. First, he played bass in the Detroit cowpunk lounge act Goober & the Peas. Then, he formed the raucous and bluesy 2-piece White Stripes with his ex-wife, Meg, who was billed as his sister. Then came the Raconteurs, then the Dead Weather. Along the way, he formed Third Man Records which puts out tons of vinyl by artists ranging from the legendary to the relative unknown, and they host crazy in-store shows at their flagship store in Nashville. His first solo album came out a couple months ago and it might be the Album of the Year.
5. Alabama Shakes. Blues-rock and Southern soul at its finest, right here.
Okay, we said 5 things we like but we really meant 6. See how we're always goin' the extra mile for ya, under-promisin', over-deliverin'? Please, please, don't applaud, just throw money!
6. Kelly Hogan is probably best known among the uninitiated as a prominent member of Neko Case's band, but for those of us lucky enough to have stumbled upon her special voice, she's been unwittingly singin' us to sleep for the last 15 years. This is not her first solo album, but it will prove to be her mainstream breakthrough. It's that good. With assists from such stalwarts as Robbie Fulks, M. Ward, Jon Langford, John Wesley Harding, Vic Chesnutt, Booker T. Jones, and the unsung hero of the thing, our old friend Scott Ligon, we can't say enough, other than BUY IT NOW.
Blues, real R&B, and Americana are at a relative high right now. There's so much good stuff out there that involves people writing their own stuff, bending strings, hitting things with sticks, pounding on ivory, blowing through brass, stomping on the floor and belting out their souls... and it ain't hard to find. You just gotta wanna find it. Hope to see you in a sweaty club soon, be it ours or somewhere else.
Okay, that's it. How many ways can one statue be shown? Jimi was a local boy done good, we celebrate him, the brilliant and prolific catalog of music he gave us in such a short time, and appreciate that the world was fortunate enough to have him at all. Naturally, we wonder what might have been. Ultimately, rather than speculate what Jimi may have given us in these last 40 years, we celebrate the amazing stuff he gave us in just four.
Oh - here's Brian with the Phil Lynott statue, the original inspiration for this goofy post. Thanks, buddy!
