Ani DiFranco: Red Letter Year

image from Shavar

There is something about gospel music that just ignites me.  I do not mean praise music (tho I can easily tap a toe or 2 to some) or Contemporary Christian music.  I mean gospel music, that delicious stew that grew out of/along side American folk music.  Gospel music is marked by strong rhythms and elaborated refrains, incorporating elements of spirituals, blues, and jazz.

There is a funny thing tho about me & gospel music - I listen to it mainly for the music, not the words.  I know, I know - what kind of Jesus follower do I claim to be if I do not light up at all the "lord i love yous" or "lift us up higher".  This is sorta like reading those magazines in brown paper wrappers for the interviews. (p.s. I suspect some of my readers have no clue just what magazines I am referring to).

One of my fav fav fav gospel artists has a new set out - Ani DiFranco clearly had a great time over the last 2 years pulling together Red Letter Year.  In a review of the set, the NYTimes said "In this diary, the groove can be as meaningful as the words.  "  Here's a promo interview Ani did with Billboard:

In an interview along with the set, Ani said “I have a lot of newness going on” - this includes a new band, family and New Orleans home.   You can get a great feel for this newness, this energy in the vid clips the Righteous Babe has posted.

Ani started performing at nine and was at the forefront of a massive shift in the music biz,  launching her own label righteous babe records at 20.  For countless women & men, she is a feminist force of nature, bravely chronicling her extra-ordinary POV on things huge and mundane.  Her art is intensely personal, sometimes almost uncomfortably confessional, and wildly inventive, pulling from folk, punk, jazz, country, funk and what ever else is handy.  She is an embodiment of that fine gospel tradition that is revelation, the work of making something obvious and clearly understood.

There are 2 cuts on this fabulous set that have really connected with me:

The Atom

oh holy is the atom
        the truly intelligent design
        to which all of evolution
        is graciously aligned
        the one single structure
        to which everything distills
        the air, the wood smoke there, and the hills

you leave me here surrounded
        by everything that's real
        far outside the boundaries
        of the digitized ordeal
        leave me here awake
        leave me here to heal

human beings are a cross
        between monkeys and ants
        you can see us from your spaceship
        melting the polar ice caps with our arrogance
        summon a congress of angels
        dressed in riot gear
        we've got a serious problem down here

Alla This

i will maintain the truth i knew naturally as a child i won't forfeit my creativity, to a world that's all laid out for me i will look at everything around me and i will vow to bear in mind that all of this was just someone's idea it could just as well be mine

             

Comments

[Mark Berry]

Love this album! So gutsy and creative!