So I’m back from New Orleans, after a fantastic trip. The main features of New Orleans are the seafood, the booze, and the jazz. And yet, despite being a vegetarian with no deep interest in alcohol or jazz, I had a stupendous time. It’s such a beautiful and strange city, with all these amazing old houses side by side with buildings in complete disrepair, literally falling apart. At least in the more tourist-oriented parts of towns the direct signs of Katrina are mostly gone, but it’s hard to do much of anything without feeling it to be a constant subtext.
I think I wouldn’t be able to deal with the weather in the summer but in February, there was nothing finer than the chance to take a week-long break from the snow and slush and spend a a few bright, sun-dappled days wandering the Garden District without a care in the world.
The above picture is a scene that really struck a chord with me for some reason. It’s the juxtaposition that really gets me, of a ramshackle apartment building with a gap that reveals a solid brick building, strong buy homey. And behind them both, a very modern – almost prosaically so – building that looks down on them with a quiet distance. It just seemed a metaphor for the whole place.
Anyways, I’ve got tons of stuff to write about here as a finally start to really dig into the new music from 2008. I’ll try and get some full album reviews soon, but today I wanted to spread the news about the new release from Cloud Cult. The owners of my favorite record of 2007 are already finished with their follow-up Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-Partying Through Tornadoes).
Check out the LA Times blog to hear one new track. Or check out Pitchfork for a quick take on this song:
When Water Comes to Life – Cloud Cult
Neither song struck me with nearly the same force as my first listens to The Meaning of 8, but it would be unreasonable to except anything like that. These are solid, and suggest Craig Minowa and company have lost none of the magic touch. I will be waiting anxiously for the full record.
And one more picture, from an old cemetery in the Garden District. Apparently there’s a city ordinance that forbids burying anyone below-ground, which makes from some interest tombs…
