Levon Helm: Only Halfway Home

Got turned onto this the other day. It's a short film inspired by and featuring music from Levon Helm's 2007 album, Dirt Farmer. The music is uniformly excellent ... big surprise there ... but the film itself is a poignant snapshot of life in one desperate corner of rural America. In that sense, I'd say it's kin to Ray McKinnon's 2001 short, The Accountant. Check that one out if you haven't already done so. And if you don't already have Dirt Farmer, whatcha waiting for?!?! It's the sound of real, salt of the earth country music digging in its heels and not backing down. God bless Levon Helm.

Incidentally, according to Amazon, Dirt Farmer is coming out on vinyl on June 10. In the meantime, enjoy the movie:

See That My Grave Is Kept Clean

Does the singer catch the song or does the song catch the singer? Blind Lemon Jefferson, writer of "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean," hit with the tune on separate recordings in 1927 and 1928, but was dead of unknown causes by 1929. I like to think that maybe the song was trying to catch up to him.

In a tragic irony, Jefferson was buried in an unmarked grave until 1967. However, it wasn't until 1997 that his hometown of Wortham, TX ... in conjunction with the Blind Lemon Jefferson Memorial Project ... erected a bona fide headstone to honor their famous blues prodigy. That gracious gesture even extended to renaming the cemetery, Blind Lemon Memorial Cemetery. Good stuff. Written on the gravestone is the couplet that formed the heart of his famous song: "Lord, it's one kind favor I'll ask of you/See that my grave is kept clean." Thankfully, as the picture above seems to indicate, that simple request is finally being honored. From 1928, here's the great Blind Lemon Jefferson singing his signature song:

Blind Lemon Jefferson - See That My Grave Is Kept Clean [purchase]

While Blind Lemon's influence on Texas and Louisiana blues is inestimable ... T-Bone Walker, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Leadbelly all drew from Jefferson's deep well ... his appearance on Harry Smith's 1952 Anthology Of American Folk Music would prove to be equally influential. The Anthology compiled 84 American folk, country, and blues recordings from 1927-32, including "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean," both rescuing these classic cuts from obsolescence and serving as Ground Zero for the folk music boom of the late '50s and early '60s. Of course, the biggest boom was heard from a young singer and songwriter from Hibbing, MN.

Bob Dylan digested Harry Smith's comp like few others and would eventually drag folk music kicking and screaming into the late 20th century. But, he started out as a faithful interpreter of those old folk, country, and blues songs. Here's his Royal Bobness from 1962, doing his part to resuscitate the Blind Lemon Jefferson legacy with the final track on his self-titled debut album.

Bob Dylan - See That My Grave Is Kept Clean [purchase]

Which brings us to Thelonious Monster. It was the Monster who actually turned me onto this tune, initially through their 1989 album, Stormy Weather, but definitively and absolutely at their live shows. I probably saw 25 Thelonious Monster performances between 1990-97 and "Grave" was the set climax nearly every time. Where their studio version turned Dylan's meditative blues into a full-bore moshpit anthem, on stage the song managed to split the difference, like a punk rock requiem. It was still anthemic, but because the song would often stretch out for 8-10 minutes, the band was able to explore the dynamics more fully. In fact, as the live version below demonstrates, the band essentially functioned as a Greek chorus for the death stories of singer, songwriter, and raconteur extraordinaire, Bob Forrest.

Thelonious Monster - See That My Grave Is Kept Clean - Album version [purchase]

Thelonious Monster - See That My Grave Is Kept Clean - Raji's, Los Angeles, 4/2/92

If any one song can illustrate why Thelonious Monster had such a profound impact upon me, this live version of "Grave" could be it. Brutal honesty, passion, and humor delivered with all balls and no bullshit. What's not to like?

Takin A Ride

Big week here at the Lounge. We're finally open for business, the coffee is brewing, the jukebox is humming, and we just found a stack of Replacements reissues in the mail. Sweet!

Before we kick things off, though, special thanks are in order for Paul Smith, commander-in-chief of the interweb's butt-kickinest music blog, Setting The Woods On Fire. His site pretty much inspired me to give the blogosphere a go and his assistance in getting me off the ground was like a cold drink of water on a hot summer day. I cannot thank him enough. Props also go out to my lovely wife, Ashley, who designed the masthead and logo. Her camera skills and Photoshop ninjitsu were an absolute godsend. Honey, you're the bomb.

Anyway, in honor of our debut post, The Adios Lounge is kicking things off with the opening song from the Mats' debut album ... remastered for your audio protection! ... 1981's torn and frayed masterpiece, Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash.

Takin A Ride [purchase]

Oh, what the hell ... I'm in a giddy mood, why stop there? Here's a video featuring two more Sorry Ma songs, taken from an inspired Minneapolis gig in September 1981. Pay particular attention to Bob Stinson's lunatic fringe guitar abuse at the :45 mark of "Customer." Pure f'in brilliance.