TOP 2009 ALBUMS PART 3

GLITTER AND DOOM LIVE---TOM WAITS
i've been listening to waits & playing his songs since the first album came out way back in high school. everyone thought nighthawks at the diner(not his first but the one i could get most people to listen to because of his monologues between songs) was amusing but waits was a hard sell, even to most of the p'cola crowd. as i've said before, when i first got to new college, i could clear a room full of people just by putting on one of his albums. somewhere in the new college years, things changed & the new york hipsters there embraced waits & that's been where he's stayed for the most part. you can gauge the hipness of a hipster now by how many waits albums he owns or can reference.
on the other hand, this tour was sold out & a success. it got that way through word of mouth. waits is sounding more like the old testament prophets the last few years but, hey, that's a job somebody's has to do when you consider the sorry state we're in.


BEWARE---BONNIE "PRINCE" BILLY
i've been a will oldham fan since uva. i don't remember where i got clued into palace but that first album convinced me that there was something happening & if i kept track of it, it might reveal itself to me. i'm not sure it ever revealed itself but it's been quite a ride. this album wasn't the revelation i'd been prepared for but it was strong & deep & consistent. oldham can go way off on tangents & never return but this album was steady & sincere.
oldham is an acquired taste(like waits)but the world he creates musically is worth biting the bullet for & exploring. this album isn't a bad place to start.