I never thought I would look to John Mellencamp when it came to cues for living but then both John and myself have gone through a lot of changes since I used to spill bear on my jeans while “Hurts So Good” played loudly in the background at some house party in the Fraser Valley at three in the morning.
I mean, the latest CD by the artist formerly known as Cougar is not on a major label. Instead No Better Than This has been released on Rounder Records, a legendary indie label primarily specializing in folk music.
The tracks were cut with a four piece band and one microphone at historic locations like Sun Records in Memphis and produced by T-Bone Burnett, the minimalist folk master responsible for O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack and Raising Sand by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (to name just two.)
Burnett has a gift for stripping away the veneer of a performer and reducing his or her sound to its essentials. And No Better Than This is certainly good to the bone (to paraphrase a song title by another performer who got his first big break with Rounder.)
So anyway that’s the set up, now here’s a lyric fragment that especially resonated with your trusty blogger at this point in his life.
“Save some time for sorrow
Cause it will surely come your way
Prepare yourself for failure
It will give you strength someday
Try to keep your mind open
And accept your mistakes
Save some time for living
And always question your faith”
John Mellencamp “Save Some Time To Dream” No Better Than This
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