It’s safe to say that without the tireless efforts of Alan Lomax, the world may never have been introduced to the likes of Woody Guthrie, Muddy Waters, Leadbelly or countless other musicians the folklorist and ethnomusicologist recorded on dusty back roads, barns or just about anywhere else he could set up his recording gear. Lomax spent his entire career making field recordings of folk and traditional music, both in the U.S. and abroad, amassing a collection of 5,000 hours of sound recordings, 400,000 feet of film, 3,000 videotapes, 5,000 photographs and piles of manuscripts. Some 17,000 tracks from his weighty collection, which he envisioned as “global jukebox” to be disseminated and analyzed, have been digitized and will be made available for the first time for free streaming beginning at the end of February.
- List Time: 30 Great Leonard Cohen Covers That Aren’t Hallelujah
- American Songwriter is in the midst of their 30 Days of Bob Dylan series
- Cover Alert: John McCauley (Deer Tick) tackles Neil Young
- Dan Auerbach talks to Bon Appetit about the best places to eat in Nashville
- Download This: Randy Newman – WPLJ FM – New York City – August, 1971
- Miles Davis will get honored with his own stamp from the U.S. Postal Service
Finally, earlier this week we hipped you to the 37-minute Neil Young & Crazy Horse jam, that the legendary singer-songwriter had posted to his website this past weekend, which had many speculating that this was the precursor to an announcement of a full-fledged tour. Well it’s looking that things may be heading that way, as yesterday it was announced that Young and his longtime on and off again band will be appearing at the MusicCares Person of the Year Gala honoring Sir Paul McCartney on February 10 at the L.A. Convention Center, marking their first public appearance since wrapping the Greendale tour back in March of 2004. In another sign that we’re headed towards some live shows from the muscular outfit, Rolling Stone is reporting that Neil and the band recently wrapped work on a studio album – so if you ask us, we suggest you start saving your pennies for their inevitable return to road.
