Texas, Our Texas

T is for Texas (Blue Yodel No.1) - Jimmie Rodgers (itunes)
They Don't Know - Paul Wall feat. Mike Jones (itunes)

Sxsw has come and gone, along with the Rodeos, and Bluebonnets are in full bloom. Its squarely between Texas Independence day (march 2nd) and San Jacinto Day (April 21st), so might as well give ya'll a couple texas standards. The Jimmie Rodgers track is ripe for sampling, "cause i could get more women than a passenger train could haul," needs to be sped up or slowed down into a country-vibe track (ala Trick Daddy's Sugar), and the texas-reppin' song of the last minute is here too.

I went to a lecture today by Latin American Scholar PhD Marshall Eakin at Rice today, discussing the importance of globalization/world history when dealing with the American South. States like Texas, Louisana, and Florida, can clearly be seen in a Latin American context throughout their history and more n more, these states, along with the rest of the south, is becoming more like it how it was pre-"old south," which is a fascinating thought. That the biraciality which is a backbone of the South is now increasingly being seen as an anomoly of the Americas history, rather than the norm. Wish the excitement i felt during the lecture i could more properly discuss.

Things ain't what they used to be.

Soda Fountain Rag - Duke Ellington (itunes)

Duke Ellington sure hit the nail on the head with that remark. This live recording of his final solo performance, in 1973, comes at the brink of the hiphop generation. His career had spanned the entire middle half of the twentieth century and he had seen the guard change many times. Only 6 1/2 miles northeast and on the other end of the Summer of '73 DJ Kool Herc would make a name for himself. That is all i will say on a subject that is wonderfully written out in a new book by Jeff Chang, "Can't Stop Won't Stop," get it. read it.

This is/was the first post of Audio Studios. I've meant to get into this blog game a long time, apparently livejournals don't count, nor does telling everyone of your AIM buddies about a certain mp3 = mpgblog-status. This blog will focus on Music, but will have forays into literary and historical criticism (hopefully dealing with songs/artsts, but sometimes not).

Enjoy.