Joe Henry

Joe Henry is a performing musician, songwriter, producer, actor, and author. I have been a fan of his music for a great number of years. His music is truly one of my favorites--wouldn't want to live without it.

Not only does Mr. Henry have a new record coming out this year, I just discovered a movie that he has a part in (actor and producer). The movie is called Pleased to Meet Me. It is available for rent on iTunes. Aimee Mann and John Doe have featured roles. The plot centers around making music. Looking forward to watching it.

Here's a sample of Joe Henry's new album. Lead Me On from the album Invisible Hour.

Sign Painters: The Movie

The trailer for this film came out last year. I was super intrigued. Now it is available to stream from their site or from iTunes. I plan to watch it soon and will post an update.

I love what the first speaker in the trailer says about the power of the brush. I feel that when I am at the easel. Painting is powerful magic.

Note: there are some swears in the trailer. If you are at work or around sensitive individuals, put your headphones on.

Food, cooking, and novels

This morning I was listening to Alton Brown's podcast. The episode was called Mailbag Grab Bag. Alton Brown was responded to the question what is your favorite book. His answer was The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill. His brief description of the book--the mythological creature survives to the modern times, lives in a trailer park, and is a line cook in a steak house--made me think of Poppy Z. Brites' books about cooks in New Orleans. Think I will revisit that series, which starts with Liquor. It is about two New Orleans cooks who start their own restaurant.

I plan to read The Minotaur... I will post an update once I have. What novels about food and cooking does this make you think of.

Pharmacy of Love

I am really getting into Bettie Serveert's new album, Pharmacy of Love. A review will be forthcoming but for now I want my readers to be aware of this band and their new album.

Each album is a little different but the essential ingredients are all there.

You gotta love guitar driven rock from the Benelux. Well, at least I do.

The new album has made me return to the rest of their catalog. I find myself listening to "Attagirl" and the album that started it all (for me) "Palomine."

Check them out on LaLa.

Los Lobos at the Zoo

http://www.startribune.com/blogs/86507997.html

According to the above referenced article, Los Lobos will be playing two shows at the Summer Concert Series at the Minnesota Zoo in 2010.

This band is fantastic. Their music has flavors from Mexican folk, Norteno, Zydeco, Roots, and Country. That said all of it is flat-out guitar driven rock and roll. I think they are one of the best rock bands playing. I really appreciate their instrumentation. Layered guitar tones, baritone sax, Hammond organ and great vocal harmony all contribute to their sound. At times they can be a bit of a jam band, I forgive them. With music this great, I don't care if a song is 27 minutes long. Their version of Bertha is one of my favorites.

Colossal Head is one of my top 5 albums of all time.

I certainly don't want to miss one of their show this year.

King Cakes in Minneapolis

Each year on Fat Tuesday I look for New Orleans-style King Cake. They are hard to find in the frozen northland. My previous source, Scandia Bakery, is no longer.

This year I found one at Lunds in Highland Park. I am not sure if all the Lunds have them available. If you are searching for King Cake as I was, check out lunds.

I will post on Wednesday to let you know how it was.

Good Film: Away We Go

I enjoyed seeing Maya Rudolph in this picture. I hope that we get to see her in more feature films.

The writing was very good. There were some laugh out loud while snorting moments. There were also moments that made you think about parenting and about being a child of parents.

I recommend this one.

For more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Away_We_Go