Okemah and the Melody of Riot by Son Volt

Listening to Ross’s CDs has been like opening a gift every week. Sometimes I open the gift and think “really, he shouldn’t have,” "it just doesn't fit," or “what was he thinking?” Then there are other times when I open the gift and I let out a small sigh of contentment and happiness because it was something unexpected yet truly wonderful. I know that seems a little over the top but I felt like this when I listened to this CD. I started listening to it when spring had really started to explode. I would play the CD in my car stereo really loud, roll all of the windows down, feel the breeze ruffle my hair, and think "this is perfect." It was cool to listen to as the landscape of pink, white, purple, and green trees and blue skies with small puffy clouds rolled past my window. Count yourself lucky to not be on the road when I was listening to this. I was probably paying more attention to the spring scenes than the road.

Son Volt, for those of you who don't know the band, are best described as an alternative-country band. The band was formed from former members of Uncle Tupelo, another alt-country band. The lead singer's voice has a slight twang to it, harmonicas can be heard in a few songs, the guitars are rocking pretty hard though so it isn't always sounding like country music. This CD reminds me of Jayhawks' CDs, lots of guitar and melodies, but without the harmonies.

My favorite songs are "Ipecac" and "Gramophone." Both songs are really mellow but I like the melodies. "Ipecac" is intriguing to me because the lyrics make absolutely no sense. Even the chorus doesn't shed much light on the meaning of the song.
"Watch out for love like Ipecac
A strange brew we're looking at"
Does that mean watch out for love that makes you vomit? That could be a good vomit (you're so excited you vomit) or a bad vomit (the love is making you sick vomit). Or is it a love that takes all of the poison out of your system from bad loves? The link below is from the second song. The second song is about how people used to listen to music. I tried looking up gramophone in the dictionary so I could make sure I knew what I was talking about. It's not even in the dictionary anymore! I love this line in the song, "Colors in sound jump out sitting by the gramophone." I think they are trying to say that music used to sound better when we listened to it from vinyl. It doesn't help their cause if they want to sell CDs but they do sound better. I always did love to hear the scratch of the needle on the record.

Ross really liked Uncle Tupelo and tried its spinoffs, Son Volt and Wilco. Although truly his favorite was Uncle Tupelo. I think he was always a little mad that they had broken up and formed these two other bands but he did start to enjoy the other bands. That's probably why he has this CD.

As I was thinking about this CD and why I liked it so much, I realized that it is the music I like to listen to. This CD has the music I turn to when I want some downtime from listening to Ross's CDs. I think that is why I felt so relieved when I started listening to it. It wasn't as though I would need to take a break from it to listen to my music. In the end, I'd liken it to opening a gift and finding that ratty old blanket you have been holding onto for years but you absolutely love and would never get rid of. I'm keeping this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZxW7U48CQY