New Multitudes is: Jay Farrar (Son Volt), Will Johnson (Centro-matic), Anders Parker (Varnaline) & Yim Yames (My Morning Jacket)

New Multitudes is an intimate interpretation of American icon and musical legend Woody Guthrie’s previously unrecorded lyrics from a dream team of Americana torchbearers: Jay Farrar (Son Volt), Will Johnson (Centro-matic), Anders Parker (Varnaline), and Yim Yames (My Morning Jacket). What makes this album such a rarity in today’s music world is the allowance of the songs’ infectious simplicity to stand alone in all their glory. In doing so, Farrar, Johnson, Parker, and Yames have paid the greatest compliment to Woody Guthrie and the collaborative spirit he so greatly embodied. This is an album which seamlessly converges the sepia-toned essence of the time honored past with the risks needed to forge the future.

Album Release Date: 2/28/2012
Click to Pre-Order: VINYL
Click to Pre-Order: Deluxe CD
Click to Pre-Order: CD

photo by Patti Perret

¿Which Side Are You On?
COMPLETE TRACK LIST
1: Life Boat
2: Unworry
3: ¿Which Side Are You On?
4: Splinter
5: Promiscuity
6: Albacore
7: J
8: If Yr Not
9: Hearse
10: Mariachi
11: Amendment
12: Zoo

Singer/songwriter/guitarist Ani DiFranco has announced the upcoming release of her eagerly awaited new album. ¿Which Side Are You On? arrives via the Grammy-winning artist’s own Righteous Babe Records on January 17, 2012. ¿Which Side Are You On? marks DiFranco’s first studio album in more than three years. The collection features 11 new songs alongside a radically reworked rendition of the classic title song, famously popularized by the one and only Pete Seeger nearly five decades ago, but no less relevant today. Backing DiFranco is a remarkably diverse line-up of stellar musicians, including members of her own crack touring band as well as such guest players as Ivan and Cyril Neville (of New Orleans; first family of funk and R&B, The Neville Brothers), avant-saxophonist Skerik (Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Bonnie Raitt, The Meters), acclaimed singer/songwriter(and Righteous Babe recording artist) Anaïs Mitchell, guitarist Adam Levy (Norah Jones, Tracy Chapman, Amos Lee), and a host of New Orleans-based horn players known for their work in such outfits as Galactic, Bonerama, and The Rebirth Brass Band.

As much as my life is filled with music at all times, during all activities ranging from waking up in the morning, running, sleeping, reading, writing, & of course working, the question seems so obvious to me. Of course I can listen to music when I write – I can also choose to not listen to music when I write. But that would be less interesting. The dark secrets of my words which rarely go published as it is, would be different if not for the musical choices I have made throughout my life.

Often when I write I choose music which directly correlates to my mood. Sometimes I go out of my way to choose music that I don’t normally listen to, so I can be sure to create new experiences within my creative space. Sometimes I make mix tapes (playlists) using the subscription service of my choice, usually Rdio, which are carefully sequenced for my writing mood of the day.

A quick search on Rdio reveals I am not alone. This particular Rdio user created a “Music for Writing” playlist with 72 songs, lasting just over 7 hours total.

My own writing hobby began in childhood at the age of 6, when  my father started assigning me “Written Expressions” – a basic summary of daily events. He would pop on Shostakovich and I’d be off to the written races, spelling words wrong, writing stories about the day. We would read it together, classical music quietly pushing us along in the background. I’ve read a few of them as an adult and it’s clear: I loved the Zoo. Especially the monkeys and the Elephants.

Even before the age of 6, I couldn’t fall asleep without classical music.

I have always been able to pull off most tasks with music in the background.

Can I write with music in the background (asks NaBloPoMo’s prompt) – yes. Anyone can. The true test is taking action. Will I write with music? In my case the answer is yes. Lots of music. Always lots of music. New and old. Music i have heard of, music i have not heard yet, Jazz, Classical, Rock, Metal – the genre or the mix of music depends on me, and the words which end up on the page are sometimes mine, but often channeled by the art i am ingesting.

Art begets art. There’s no way to know if the music writes my words, or if I do. I believe it is a combination of both, with a dose of spiritualism. Channeling art requires the simple act of exposing ourselves to art, daring ourselves to hear something new and figure out what art it brings forth in us and giving a bit up to the universe with trusting abandon. Or not. It’s up to you. The point is, anyone can write while listening to music. The only component required is the willingness to try.

The second part of the question is more baffling to me. NaBloPoMo asks “What song did you listen to today” – what song? as in one single song? I listen to dozens of songs every day. On a good day it’s more than just dozens, it’s the whole day. I realized earlier today that there may be people who only listen to one song a day. Those are some of my favorite people even though I’ve never met you. I want to know more about you. I’m a music addict. One is never enough. One is just a gateway to a broadened firehose of music throughout the day.

The path of art is up to the creator and the creator is under the influence of whatever she has seen, heard, imagined, known or wanted to know.

What songs did I listen to today? I listened to this playlist titled Franny & Zoe Glass, and for that we have Mr Salinger to thank; he had nothing to do with the creation of the playlist, he merely inspired it. Art begets art, and so it is the relationship of Franny & Zooey Glass which brought about this playlist. These are a few of many songs I heard today. And as long as I wake up tomorrow morning, I’ll do it all again.  To quote Mr. Leonard Cohen as covered by Mr. Jeff Buckley…Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

I would want it to be whatever i just ate.

All meals i eat are my last.

This evening’s last meal was Little Star pizza with my best friend and her husband while hanging out in my amazing apartment with m’little baby 2.5 month old kitten and my 15 yr old cat.  What a way to die. We noshed on a big bunch of seedless  grapes, too. I guzzled Crystal Lite. De-lish. And if i die before I wake, I pray the lord – or something like that -  my full bellied happy satisfied soul to take.  But if I don’t, my next meal is breakfast: scrambled egg whites & spinach. If that’s it, I’ll be happy then, too.

What does the busiest time of the year mean to me? This year it means:

• Absolutely no vacations whatsoever during October and early November, exept for industry related (business related) events and business development (i.e. CMJ) (which i didn’t attend this year for personal reasons) (see below)

• Spending lots of time with my 17 yr old kitty Cleavis prior to his death while simultaneously getting essential items completed – and then immediately diving into 18 hour work days in order to catch up on missed time. I am still catching up, which is why this blogpost is going up about 12 hours after I wanted to post it

• Commitments: Setting deadlines and keeping them. Showing up. Saying NO to many things that sound awesome, but distract me from a primary purpose: kicking major ass on the job

• Volunteerism & Hobbies: I schedule these, and in doing so feel a sense of purpose which stretches outside of the realm of anything i call “work” or “business.” I volunteer because I want to, and because it gives me a sense of purpose. So do my hobbies. One of my favorite hobbies is photography. Another is Writing, which is why I am purposely participating in Blogher’s NaBloPoMo, as well as NaNoWriMo.  Writing is a beloved hobby, but publishing is scary! This is zen during a busy week.

• Prioritization: I use a 1-3 scale and place a number next to each To Do Item

• To Do Lists – Every morning within the first 30 minutes of waking up I create a To Do List. Items are prioritized (see above) and any item that does not get done moves to the next day. By Friday night all items are to be completed.

• Weekend Assessments: On Saturdays I create a weekend to-do list and it includes personal items such as grocery shopping, working out, and even spending time with friends.

• Calendar Vigilance: I used to suck at this, but when it’s this busy and I’m driven to succeed, there’s no ignoring reality. Without adhering to a well kept calendar and maintaining it, I am L O S T, which makes October and November that much busier, in a more chaotic way. This year I’ve been diligent, and it feels much better

• I wake up at 3 or 4am every morning so I take 20 minute Naps: 2 a day, one in the morning, one in the evening. No longer than 20 minutes, with alarm set.
• More realistic exercise schedule: instead of running every day, I am running 3-4 days a week, max.

• Too much coffee: Can’t even begin to tell you how much coffee I’m drinking. Don’t follow my lead on it unless you want to drink a lot of coffee.

• Turning Off: At night, after crazy long work days creating useful tools & promoting some of my favorite things on the planet (music and this year, a film) I have discovered the value of turning it all off. Part of this process involves walking away from my computer, grabbing a book that has nothing to do with the music business, turning off the Television and turning on Low’s ‘Things We Lost In The Fire.’ Even if my alarm is going off in 3 hours (which is usually the case)

Of course, after Thanksgiving it gets really quiet…..til January. And in that time I hope to stay vigilant, but not working abnormally long days; by finding more time to create space for creating. The list above is written only for October/ November and springtime releases. It will be interesting to publish this post and provide myself with insights into my process during the busiest time of the year versus the rest of the year.

Good luck! Just a few more weeks to go!