So I’ve been listening to so much Nick Drake lately. Feeling very restless inside.

I’ve heard it said that nobody wants to hear about your dreams unless they are in them. Is the same true for blogs? Likely. Ok, so this is about you….I have been listening to a lot of Nick Drake….. with you.

My brother and I often have those kind of brotherly talks about things like “Who is/was the greatest singer…ever?” which is I guess subjective, maybe…at least that’s what YOU always say…....It’s funny how we don’t really overlap on too many…I always argue for Johnny Cash…He brings up Hank Williams….which I second…we run through the list…Billy Holiday, Lennon and McCartney, Ella Fitzgerald,.. and on and on..until YOU get sick of it…..my point in all this is that we unanimously agree on one singer: Bob Marley. Here is the clip of all clips, recorded during rehearsal at his studio the year he died….I kinda can’t even believe how good this is…. Bob Marley—Bad Card

Ok, that is our crowned male singer, the female singer I would crown is Nina Simone….Here are two clips to bring it home: Nina Simone - Turn me on and Nina Simone - Seems I’m Never Tired Lovin’ You.

YOU: “Of course when we are talking about Singers we are really talking about the Spirit….Let’s just put that out there.”

Ok. “And for fun lets just throw in the duo idea, Can’t beat these guys or this song”:  Robert Plant & Alison Krauss : Your Long Journey

Music is so awesome. I can’t even say it enough. I feel so grateful for it. A new friend of mine, I mean YOU, pointed out an interview with the artist/painter Francesco Clemente on Charlie Rose’s show. It was so great. Clemente says that the main quest of the human heart (even superseding the quest for love) is the quest for drama….a narrative, a story and a story to tell. Wow. I feel so grateful to be able to tell my story through music. I believe that the greatest human quest is the quest for union with a higher power…although the quest for drama can battle it and become entwined with it… I think those two are the supreme quests and their battle becomes our lives.

So then, is the desire for union with a higher power dragging behind it a need for a story? Or are the grand stories we tell ourselves about our lives better stories if they include the quest for a union with a higher power?

PS - The music goes on… Nick Drake - Black Eyed Dog.
Later YOU,

Mason

Minnesota (Check a map)

8/9/10

MASON JENNINGS TO RELEASE LIVE AT FIRST AVENUE

OUT AUGUST 24th, FEATURING THREE UNRELEASED SONGS


Mason Jennings will release his first live album, Live At First Avenue, on August 24th via Stats & Brackets. The live album was recorded during the last night of his fall 2009 Blood Of Man tour from the prestigious First Avenue venue in his hometown of Minneapolis, MN. The album features three unreleased songs: “Born”, “Grow Old With Me,” and “Lonely Computer Screen.”

Jennings latest release comes almost a year after his critically acclaimed and self produced Blood Of Man 2009 LP. Rolling Stone gave the album 4 stars, calling it his “Best Album Yet” and said, “What Makes Mason Jennings one of the best acoustic-based singer-songwriters you’ve never heard of is his ragged, intimate voice and simple ruminations of God, war, hope and gratitude.”

In addition to the live record, Jennings will release a new album this September. The Flood is a 15-song record featuring once lost and unrecorded songs that he has written over the past 18 years.

“Last winter an old friend asked me about a cassette tape filled with songs that I had given her fifteen years ago. She said she had lost it and was wondering if I had a copy. I called my Dad and he found a box of old recordings in his basement and sent them to me. The tape she was talking about was in there as were a bunch of other ones spanning the last eighteen years. Some were 4 track recordings, some were just recorded into an old voice recorder from Radio Shack. Some of the songs were songs that I have since recorded on my CDs but most were unreleased and many were a complete surprise to me.

“I listened to them all and thought it would be fun to re-record some of them to keep them from getting lost again. I decided to do it with just guitar and voice so the songs would be the center point and they would feel cohesive even though they were written over the course of eighteen years,” says Mason about recording The Flood.

In support of both Live At First Avenue and The Flood,  Jennings will tour California on an intimate four-city run including two nights at Largo at the Coronet in Los Angeles, CA.


TOUR DATES

July 31st - St. Paul, MN - Lowertown Music Fest

September 10th - San Francisco, CA - Yoshi’s

September 11th - San Francisco, CA - Yoshi’s (8 PM Show)

September 11th - San Francisco, CA - Yoshi’s (10 PM Show)

September 12th - Arcata, CA - Van Duzer Theater

September 14th - Los Angeles, CA - Largo at the Coronet

September 15th - Los Angeles, CA - Largo at the Coronet

September 16th - San Diego, CA - San Diego Woman’s Club

Asamoah


I am so excited for the World Cup final. What an awesome month it has been. Although, I do miss having the South American and African teams in there. I love their open style of play. I have to say that my favorite play of any of the games came when Asamoah Gyan of Ghana walked out onto the pitch with millions of people watching after he missed the penalty kick that would have sent them to the semi-finals and bravely took the first shot of the shootout and buried it. That was such a powerful moment of human courage and leadership.

How can one not enjoy watching Diego Forlan play too? What an amazing player and vibe.

Here is a cool photo by Jessica Hilltout from The New York Times and a link to a cool article regarding her new book about African soccer

Also, some people have asked me about the new lyrics I have been singing live to my song “I Love You And Buddha Too”. Here They are. I have a feeling this song will continue to change over time…..
Oh Jesus I love you
And I love Buddha too
Ramakrishna, Guru Dev
Tao Te Ching and Mohammed
Why do some people say
That there is just one way
To love you God and come to you
We are all a part of you
You are unnamable
And undefinable
All we have is metaphor
That’s what time and space are for
Is the universe your thought
You are and you are not
You are many, You are one
Ever ending, Just begun
Alright, all right, alright
I love you and Buddha too
When Prophets say they’ve heard
The one and only Word
And every Word is different
God becomes an argument
And we are left to choose
A side or to refuse
The whole thing in its humanness
Or learn from each with tolerance
alright, all right, alright
I love you and Buddha too
all right
I hope you all are doing well. I have been writing a bunch lately and have been enjoying the beautiful summer. I hope you have been too!

Love,
Mason
7/08/10
World Cup Headquarters, Minnesota, USA

Have you guys seen this picture or Barack? So awesome. I met some really nice people in Richmond last week and they recommended some websites…I found this photo on a cool one called theblaaahg.com.

Also, I have been meaning to post a link to my favorite radio station. Minnesota is blessed with one of the best stations in the country. It is called The Current. It is a MPR station that plays really great music. They stream online, you guys should check it out. The Current Radio. Such great DJs and such a great resource for new music.

And thirdly, how horrible is that oil spill? I can’t believe it. It is so brutal. My cousin went down there right after it happened and told me that it is so much worse than the media is making it out to be. She was and is so heart broken. It has made me look around at the world while I have been touring. My question is….isn’t covering the earth with blacktop for roads and parking lots just a slow motion oil spill too? I bet if you add up all the roads they would dwarf the oil spill. What are we gonna do? We have to find a good alternative to automobiles. We overwhelm me.

And…..I know it’s bad form to follow a major earth tragedy with a silly soccer calamity but, just to lighten it up, that was a crazy goal the USA tied England on, right? I was a soccer goalkeeper for years growing up. I feel for Robert Green. But that is also the fun part of that position. Being accountable and on the spot. It’s like a high wire act. I hope he uses that botched save as fuel for a great game later this week. I LOVE the World Cup…...But I do hope the fans cool out on those vuvuzela trumpets….. It’s like a fleet of plastic jet engines are landing on the field for 90 minutes…...I thought something was wrong at first…..but I get it…...the South African fans love them….

Alright, back to work at the studio. Hope to see you on the road!

Peace and love,
Mason
Minnesota
6/15/10