Whitman news since 1896

Whitman Wire

Vol. CLIV, Issue 6
Whitman news since 1896

Whitman Wire

Whitman news since 1896

Whitman Wire

professor playlist: nadine night (english)

1. The Kelly Bell Band − I’m from Baltimore, so I have to start the list with a hometown
favorite. They describe their sound as “phat blues music,” and what a sound it is. I
recommend their live album, “Live From the Recher” for a good survey of their groove.
Best songs: “Homegrown” and “Dear Maggie.”

2. Carbon Leaf − These guys hail from Richmond, VA, but I don’t hold that against them.
Tracking the evolution of their sound from Celtic and Appalachian folk to more of a
rock sound has been fun. They play some great jams during live shows (and they usually
play Seattle a few times a year). There is not a single bad song on their 2004 album
“Indian Summer.”

3. Rockwell Church − Completely obscure, and they might even be defunct at this point.
But they were a staple on the Philly-New York-Boston coffeehouse scene for years, and are an amazingly talented folk duo. For an encore they always do hilarious covers of Brittany Spears or Christina Aguilera, but their own songs tend to use words like “transmogrify,” which should delight English majors. The song “Tend To Your Head,” from the album “Inches From the Ground,” is an all-time favorite of mine.

4. John Brown’s Body − Seriously, the best reggae you will ever hear coming out of
Ithaca, New York, of all places. Their roots sound is right at home in Jamaica, and they’ve held their own at the famed Reggae Sunsplash. I like their early album “Among Them,” though I adore the song “Forward Always” off their later album, “Spirits All Around Us.”

5. Toots and the Maytels − Living legends. I have to mention the guys who coined the
term “reggae.” Plus, I once danced onstage with Toots himself, one of the greatest
experiences in my life to date. Buy any album that has both “Reggae Got Soul” and
“Pressure Drop” on it. Bonus if you also get their cover of John Denver’s “Country Roads.”

6. Ulali − A trio of First Nations women of Tuscarora, Mayan, and Apache heritage. For a mostly a cappella group, the amount of power they generate is astounding. They seem to have only ever put out one album, though they do still tour. That album, “Mahk Jchi,” is a mix of both traditional and contemporary songs, and has rarely left my CD changer in
the 10 years I’ve owned it.

7. Kathleen Edwards − Canadian alt-country-rock. She’s a great songwriter, and there are
times when I really appreciate her songs written by and for an angry woman. I give the
slight edge to her first album, “Failer,” for the songs “12 Bellevue” and “Six O’clock
News.”

8. Great Big Sea − Also Canadian, from what they claim is the “tropical isle” of
Newfoundland. They veer gleefully between aggressive, high-speed Celtic and Newfoundland traditional music and more radio-friendly pop/rock. It makes for a high energy, extremely fun live show. Their song “Ordinary Day” reminds me to stay cheerful.

9. Seven Nations − The best band you will ever hear that features the bagpipes as a major
instrument. Like pretty much everyone else on this list, they put on a phenomenal live
show. The live recording of their song “Our Day Will Come” has been a great consolation during many bouts of schoolwork-related despair and late-night writing.

10. Koffi Olomidé − A friend introduced me to Congolese music last year, so I’m just
starting to learn about it. But the tracks I have by Koffi Olomidé are rapidly becoming
staples in my CD player, particularly the song “Affaire D’état.”

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