2004-01-18 - 4:44 p.m. Snowing again. Not the shimmering exhilaration of earlier this week, but the wet, gloppy instant slush that chills the bones and makes you want to stay inside. The Eskimos, with their alleged giant glossary of snow-words, would be squirtin� out adjectives left and right this winter�. if they were in NYC for a car show or somethin�. (I know, the Inuit snow lexicon story is an old urban legend, let me have my metaphors.) Luckily, I have Richard Thompson�s 1000 Years of Pop Music to listen to incessantly. Recorded live in front of a very enthusiastic Joe�s Pub crowd, the disc covers all the hits from 1068 � 2001, including a brilliant rendition of Squeeze�s �Tempted�, a version of �Shenandoah� that will make you weep, and a straight-up version of �Oops, I Did it Again� that, stripped of the original�s gross overproduction and soulless singing, reveals itself to be a pretty decent song. Accompanied only by a percussionist (and the occasional lady singer), Thompson spins his usual compelling web of fancy guitar parts and spot-on vocals. The set of songs is instructive and moving and rendered with both great humor and respect. Interestingly, the only RT albums I own are bootlegs. I don�t think I�ve ever knowingly heard a studio version of any of his songs, except for a couple on a doomed mix tape that my friend DS made me and which I lost in an apartment move several years ago. And from the sublime to the sublime, Krishna Das was leading a kirtan at my yoga center today, as I took a class right above. His deep, resonant vocals rose up to the third floor like a blessing� I would have stayed for the kirtan itself but I was hungry and the room he was chanting in was overly-packed. Just hearing his voice in dribs and drabs while in class was enough. He sings so directly from his heart that you�d have to be a robot not to be moved. Between KD and RT, this has been a weekend for inspiring male vocalists. thoughts? (1 comments so far) previous - next blog archive contact