Off-the-cuff music recommendations

Last night a friend posted on Facebook, looking for recommendations for new music to take on a long road trip. In a few minutes, I sent over a list of six albums from different genres, chosen not only for being great albums but also for being relatively obscure – if I recommend someone check out Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs, for example, there’s a decent chance it’ll be a wasted recommendation.

Here’s what I came up with:

• (Hip-hop) K’naan, The Dusty Foot Philosopher – K’naan is a Somali-Canadian rapper, whose history growing up in war-torn Somalia means he’s had more experience with violence and guns than any “gangsta” rapper. But K’naan doesn’t revel in death and poverty in his impressive debut album, instead calling for an end to violence and war. Moreover, he’s a great rapper, his voice slightly thin, his style flowing and sing-songy – traits that could be crippling, but in K’naan’s talented hands and his album’s deft production make a compelling presentation, indeed. (Song picks: “Soobax,” “I Was Stabbed By Satan”)

• (Americana) William Elliott Whitmore, Ashes To Dust – Hailing from a small farm in southeastern Iowa, Whitmore has a deep, gravelly voice of a man twice his age, and the soul of an old-style Baptist preacher. His second album is called Ashes To Dust, and like his debut Hymns for the Hopeless, it dwells in a world of bad luck, sin and inexorable death. And it’s tremendous fun! Whitmore’s songs have a primal simplicity to them and an inescapable earnestness to the lyrics. The predominant character in the lyrics of Ashes To Dust is a man who knows he’s a sinner but intends to keep doing his best in what time he has left. (Song picks: “Diggin’ My Grave,” “Lift My Jug,” “Porchlight”)

• (Folk) Great Big Sea, The Hard and the Easy – Over the past decade and a half, Newfoundland folk-rock group has split their output between two types of music: traditional (and traditional-style) Newfoundland folk music, and catchy original folk-rock anthems. The Hard and the Easy is an anomaly in that it’s composed entirely of traditional music – but as much as I like some of Great Big Sea’s original songs, this stuff is what they do best. Most of this album is upbeat and energetic – it’s one of my favorite albums to sing along to driving alone in my car. (For your first listen-through, you might want to skip past the first song, an ancient children’s counting song that’s enthusiastically delivered but something of an acquired taste.) In the collection of songs about piracy, whaling, drinking and hauling timber – there’s not one but two tracks about horses falling through frozen ponds – there’s also plenty of humor, too. (Song picks: “The River Driver,” “The Mermaid,” “Tickle Cove Pond”)

• (World) Matmatah, La Ouache – Matmatah were a French rock band from Brittany, drawing on influences as disparate as punk rock, traditional Celtic shanties and hard-core punk rock. All of those are in evidence on this, their debut. Some songs are hard-driving, others bouncy, others sung with the gusto of a drinking song in a pub. Lyrically, the songs vary from a tribute to Avengers character Emma Peel, to an homage to drug and alcohol use that got them in legal trouble, to a traditional improvised song where each member in turn has to contribute a rhyming line. (Song picks: “Anter-Ouache,” “Lambé An Dro,” “Les Moutons”)

• (Classical) Johannes Brahms, Ein Deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem) – Brahms, who belongs in the same breath as the more famous “German B’s,” Bach and Beethoven, took the traditional musical form of a church requiem but stripped out most of the doctrine. More importantly, it’s a musical masterpiece, with soaring melodies and a lush, epic orchestration. Moving and awe-inspiring.

• (Rock) Bruce Springsteen, Live in New York City – Sure, the Springsteen isn’t exactly obscure, but this live album isn’t as well-known as his album cuts. That shouldn’t turn people away – the Boss is famous for his high-energy live shows. This show was the part of first reunion of Springsteen’s E Street Band after a wilderness exile involving studio musicians and folk side projects, and the joy of the performers is palpable. Springsteen rolls out his hits, digs into his library to resurrect some classics, and unveils a couple of new songs. (Song picks: “Atlantic City,” “Land of Hope and Dreams,” “Lost in the Flood” – sorry, can’t find good YouTube links for the Live in NYC versions of these songs)

If I weren’t constrained by trying to come up with music that would be new to people, I might also recommend The Suburbs, The National’s High Violet, Mumford & Sons’ Sigh No More, Van Morrison’s Moondance, Cat Stevens’ Tea for the Tillerman, Nickel Creek’s This Side, and Mos Def’s Black on Both Sides.