95 North. . . The Newspaper

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Columbia recording artist Bob Dylan's been slinging out the alt-takes, b-sides, throwaways, covers, live versions, and other unreleased tunes on the Bootleg Series since 1991. Of course, a bootleg ain't a bootleg if it is released officially, but I digress. If there's one thing that the series has proven, it is that often Dylan's best versions of his songs are left off the albums. . . and sometimes even the best songs are scratched, left in the backyard as Bob turns the lights out (I'm looking at you, "Blind Willie McTell"). Point is, the Bootleg series is rich with material, and Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series Volume 8 , is about as good as it gets. Chronicling the era between 1989's Oh Mercy and 2006's Modern Times , Tell Tale  affords listeners a front road seat next to Dylan on his journey away from the burned out- leather jacket 80s to the ultimate bluesman, the songsmith so steeped in Americana that the man and the characters that po...

Polar brings that springtime refreshment to CT The trees are green, the flowers are booming, the grass is growing, and the whistles of track and field coaches are ringing throughout Connecticut. Here is a quick review of ten songs I've been listening to recently: "Percy Faith" by Damien Jurado: As a single released before the streaming debut of his new album The Horizon Just Laughed , on "Percy Faith" Jurado channels his folk roots, 50's and 60's easy listening grooves, and rainbow-bright keys. Easy listening music icons and Arizona news anchors are referenced with ease- the song floats along- as the last verse condemns the modern world for "knowing everything but no one at all". This letter to the past couldn't more beautiful and easy.  "My Body" David Bazan : Big Dave writes about the mind/body connection, or perhaps, disconnection. Here, Bazan evokes an ancient idea: we know what's good for us, but we don...

A quick song- well, a long song. And an instrumental one at that. Perfect for falling asleep, if you need it.

For my enjoyment, recently I've been listening to and thinking about my favorite lines from Bob Dylan songs. Viewed from this lens, his songs are interesting- there always seems to be a line or two even from his lesser celebrated songs that really sticks out to me- reverberates in my head- rattles the cage a bit- or gives me something to chew on. Today, I put  Bob Dylan on "shuffle" and participated in this "favorite line" exercise. Lucky for me, the first song that came up was "Froggie Went A-Courtin'", which is actually an ancient English folk tune that finds its roots in the 16th century. It must be a great song. It's been around for that long. Staying power. Without further ado: "Froggy Went A-Courtin'" : A little piece of cornbread laying on the shelf/ if you want any more you can sing it yourself "Idiot Wind":   She inherited a million bucks/ And when she died it came to me/ I can't help it if I'm...