Music

Face the Nation

Continued from page 7

Ray LaMontagne, Till the Sun Turns Black. I really liked Trouble a lot. When I got this one, I listened to it a bunch of times and I thought, "Oh, okay: This is his masterpiece; he's a genius," and then it turns out, it was received as a turning-inward.

Bob Dylan, Blonde on Blonde. This album had always seemed sort of jumpy to me, but this year, not at all. Now it seems very spontaneous, and what I used to think of as "jumpy" is people listening to each other having fun and following Dylan's crazy lead. Some of it is just so funny: "Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat" makes me laugh every time.

Former Saturday Night Live cast member, screenwriter, and New York Times best-selling author Al Franken is currently living in Minneapolis and campaigning for a seat in the United States Senate.

"First of all, I have to make a confession. My favorite music of 2007 bears a striking resemblance to my favorite music of 1975. Also to my favorite music of 1976, 1977, 1978, etc., etc.

See, I'm a Deadhead. As anyone who listened to my radio show knows, I used the Grateful Dead as my bumper music going in and out of breaks. And there's a real community of Deadheads out there. At an event the other day, a guy handed me a new remix of 'Cornell '78.'

That said, I do allow a few new influences into my musical consciousness every once in a while. So, here's my list of five non-Grateful Dead things I've been listening to in 2007:

Bob. That's the format used by KLCI (106.1 FM), and it's a mix of contemporary and older country that is apparently mimicked by many "Bob" or Bob-like stations across the country. I love country music because I like the unabashed melodrama.

Trampled by Turtles. Speaking of country, I'm a big bluegrass fan. I got turned on to this band by Tom Saxhaug, the state senator from Grand Rapids. I thought it was a little suspicious that he spent most of our first meeting telling me how great their new album was. And wouldn't you know it, his son turns out to be the bass player. But the album really is great. This New Year's Eve, Franni and I will be at the TBT show at the Orpheum.

Fountains of Wayne. Specifically, their song "Better Things," which is a cover of a Kinks tune. I think it's going to be our campaign song because of its message, which is that better things are up ahead.

The Grateful Volunteers. Okay, this is kind of a cheat. The Grateful Volunteers are a Dead cover band composed of some great DFLers who are kind enough to play at some of our events. And even kinder enough to let me sing once in a while. Specifically, "Brokedown Palace."

Call Time: The Musical

This warrants some explanation. As you know, running for Senate requires that I raise a great deal of money, especially since Norm Coleman has the deep-pocketed special interests on his side. So I spend hours and hours a week calling people to ask for support. To keep myself from going crazy, I've been entertaining myself and Kris Dahl, my "call time manager," by composing and singing hundreds — no, thousands — of songs for a musical based on call time titled Call Time: The Musical. Some songs are only 15 seconds long, such as "I Left a Message and I Hope They Call Me Back." Or, "I Don't Think That Was His Office Number (I Think That's His Home)." Most of the songs have original music, but some simply use existing tunes, such as "Pick Up the Phone, Arlen Lundahl," to the tune of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" from Evita. I should probably have just put "Springsteen" for this, huh? I really like his new album.

— Sarah Askari

A Monkee, an indie rocker, a Latin/soul DJ and the Ice-Man: Broward County's motley crew weighs in.

It's been awhile since Davy Jones was considered hip, if ever the Monkees truly were. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have an ear for music. The British drummer/singer is still in the studio frequently and trying to stave off old age by listening to new music.

"I'm mostly into music from the '60s and the '80s, to be honest," he admits. "I actually missed the '80s the first time around, so I'm catching up finally and listening to lots of music from that decade."

Okay, so maybe Jones isn't the best authority on new tunes, but he still hit us up with a list of what's on his radar.

Sir Paul McCartney, Memory Almost Full. I got used to it after awhile. He's getting older but I especially like the song "Dance Tonight."

Kenny Chesney, Just Who I Am: Poems and Pirates. I kept hearing so much about the album, I figured I'd go out and buy it. I like it but I'm thinking, "Country Artist of the Year?" There's more meat on Willie Shoemaker's whip than there is on Chesney's whole body.

James Blunt, All the Lost Souls. It was a bit twee but he's got great songs on there and I liked it.

Norah Jones, Not Too Late. My favorite artist of the year was Norah Jones by far. My grandchild was born to Norah Jones' music. That probably says a lot about me. I'm old, man. I'm at the point where, when I walk up a flight of stairs, by the time I get to the top, I forget why I went there and walk back down again.

On the surface, you might think rapper/hardcore veteran Vanilla Ice wouldn't know good music if it bit his ass. He's been the butt of a million jokes from his early days as the man behind "Ice Ice Baby." But the Palm Beach County-based emcee has fairly eclectic taste in music. He's keeping his career afloat by recording with rapcore legends Insane Clown Posse and making fresh tracks himself.

As Ice, a.k.a. Rob Van Winkle, puts it, "I've got a subculture following in the hardcore hip-hop scene. I've got the 16-to-25-year old market. They totally missed the 'Ice Ice Baby' stuff and that's a good thing."

The White Stripes, Icky Thump. They're just an amazing band. Jack White is one of the most amazing musicians in the world, ever. Just to hear him put it down, he's one of the most original artists out there right now and this album is incredible.

Slim Thug, Serve and Collect. He's really doing it for Houston right now. I like his whole style

Chamillionaire, Ultimate Victory. I really like that slow flow. Ever since [DJ Screw] started slowing everything down and screwing up the beats, I've really been into this music. Chamillionaire is just a dope rapper. I'm feeling this one.

Korn, Untitled. They keep reinventing themselves. They've got a great live show and just when you're think they're whole style is dead and gone, they find a way to stay on top of the game.

Justin Timberlake, FutureSex/LoveSounds. Man, I never liked him when he was a Disney act, but he's laying it down right now. I've forgotten about all that 'N Sync shit. You gotta give credit where its due and this album is solid.

Slipknot, Collector's Box. They're one of my favorite heavy metal bands of all time. You gotta realize they get no radio play, no real support, and still sell millions of records without MTV. That's phenomenal. I've recorded with them before and they're just great guys in person as well.

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