The Cool Report (Volume 1)
Touts, tips & things I think you’ll dig
The first in an ongoing series about stuff that floats my boat, blows wind into my sails & touches my soul.
• The Third Mind Live in Concert (04 Center, Austin, TX, 3/2/24)
Psychedelic rock that refracts enchantingly through the musical prisms of the late Sixties, back when LSD was clean and potent, man! This group formed by roots avatar/King of Cali Dave Alvin and Cracker/Camper bass guru Victor Krummenacher were dazzlingly loose yet finely attuned with one another before a house packed with fans, musicians and tastemakers at Austin’s divine listening room in a (obviously progressive) church. Early on it felt like Mike Bloomfield had entered the souls and fingers of both Alvin and tour guitarist Mark Karan as their six-strings knitted a dazzling paisley tapestry. Singer Jesse Sykes has a sublimely crystalline hippie-vibe voice that reminds of Grace Slick and Pattie Santos from It’a A Beautiful Day. I most always quickly tune out on jamming, but this organic union is akin to improv synchronized swimming guided by a groove deep in the magical rhythmic pocket. Rebirth of old-school cool. Bought the t-shirt, band sticker is now on my car.
• “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans” (Hulu)
The battle royal between Manhattan high-society grand dames who lunched at Le Côte Basque and writer/scamp Truman Capote brought vividly to a seemingly close approximation of real life. With a supernova of keenly-talented grown-up thespian women at its subtly molten core – Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Chloë Sevigny and Calista Flockhart – plus potent supporting players like Demi Moore, Molly Ringwald and the late Treat Williams, the series is still as much driven by story as its star power. The maypole it all dances around is Capote, played with louche, catty brio by Tom Hollander. The big fail in this show and his portrayal is how it never conveys the sense of Capote’s masterful gifts as a writer. Despite that, it’s still a richly entertaining series well-worth binging that shines a beam into the life of upper-crust Manhattan ladies who lunch and fiscally married well.
• The Direction of Motion by Kathy Valentine (Substack)
I lean favorably towards the Go-Go’s bassist and hit songwriter as we share a birthday (January 7). She hardly needs the bonus points, though, as her memoir, “All I Ever Wanted,” wins esteem for its honesty, wisdom and charm as her tale goes from a free-range rock’n’roll girlhood in Austin, TX to the top of the pops and an admirable devotion to sobriety. The AA Fourth Step mindset of fearless and searching personal inventory smartly informs her Substack reports and ruminations on a life that even for a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has its everyday challenges, glitches and issues as well as wins and joys, lately detailing her move to England, her mother’s homeland. To ice the cake for me is her new (and again all-woman) band, The Bluebonnets, a loud’n’proud four-piece combo who deliver wham, bam, thank you, ma’am R’n’R with hooky finesse. And spotlights Kathy’s sparkling agility as an electric guitarist. They have three smoking albums that’ll leave you salivating for the next one. Given that we Capricorns are late bloomers, and all that Valentine already nailed down in her younger years, I’m keeping my eyes on her words and ears on her music for what’s next. You should too.
• Rock In Perpetuity: Mojo Nixon
The recent death of the clever beatnik roots rocker and Sirius XM Outlaw Country air personality – with a capital ‘P’ – hit me in the gut, as we were pretty friendly; hardly a brag; Mojo was friendly with everyone. But Nixon did have me as a guest on his radio show some years back when he was broadcasting from Austin and was always warmly amusing whenever our paths crissed. He passed away in his element and among his people on the Outlaw Country Cruise, who dealt with the tragic pall it cast on the high seas hearty party by quickly organizing a lovely, healing tribute show. Followed soon after by another such salute during South By Southwest in the Saturday afternoon slot that had for years been hosted by Nixon as his Mojo’s Mayhem party. Beloved by his peers, community and fans, he shall be remembererd fondly and much missed.
• Song of the Moment: “Jerusalem” by Steve Earle
In 1973, I twice visited the holy city of three major faiths twice not long after living through the last Israeli war in the Jewish state. It felt to me like one of the most magical and emotionally redolent locales on Earth. Hence this heartfelt prayer for peace immediately spoke deeply to my soul when I heard it on Earle’s masterful 2022 album of the same name. Not long after I heard him perform it in concert, and it played to me like it was one of the finest songs I’ve ever heard, blending war, religion and the need for mankind to evolve beyond conflict and live together peacefully. Like the best political songs by Bob Dylan – whose topical songwriting mantle Earle seems destined to inherit – “Jerusalem” has recurring resonance, no more so than right now.