Why LPs are better than CDs (part 93)

Sometimes you find what you're looking for right under your nose. Or around the corner and next to Tom's Tabooley. Antone's Records concentrates on Texan music and mostly the blues, and since I have an allergy to gurnin' white boy plankspankers, I've avoided the place. Even though it's only two minutes walk away, I'd more or less forgotten the place existed. But this afternoon I dropped in and found Sauter-Finegan's The Sons of Sauter-Finegan for $3.99. (Normally it costs a bit more than this.) The music is a nice surprise, low-key cool bebop a la Gil Evans*, as opposed to the usual everything- including- the- kitchen- sink- and- a- bunch- of- kazoos big band stuff they're known for. But it's the sleeve that made it leap into my hands. Jim Flora's artwork is my new obsession and this is a particulary wonderful example. It's the basis of the cover of The Mischievous Art of Jim Flora (which itself is pretty collectible even though it only came out in the fall of 2004) and captures most of the things I love about his art. Although this is one of his more low-key pieces with muted colors and recognizably human characters -- earlier works are totally crazy and his recently discovered non-LP and children's book illustrations are truly extreme.

So that's my new fixation for the new year.

Oh and I've started this blog (again).

* Probably not a very accurate comparison, and jazz buffs would laugh their goatees off at this jejune critical misstep.