Nixon (1995)

L'élection de Barack Obama comme l'accession de Donald Trump à la présidence des Etats-Unis ont illustré le désarroi et les interrogations des Américains, et symbolisé tout autant une crise d'identité nationale qu'une remise en question du rapport au monde des Etats-Unis. Ces deux scrutins traduisent la profonde transformation d'un pays - de nain diplomatique au début du XIXe siècle à hyperpuissance à la fin du XXe siècle - dont la suprématie mondiale est de plus en plus contestée, notamment par l'ascension de la Chine. …

Lambchop seem like one the most domesticated bands around. Maybe it’s because their sound, despite the fullness that comes from so many members, retains its subtlety and subdued complexity with the loose feel of a pick-up band among friends. Or maybe it’s because in songs such as “Nashville Parent” and “The New Cobweb Summer,” singer / lyricist Kurt Wagner always seems to be wandering his house, thinking deep thoughts about dogs and sponges, and doling wryly homespun wisdom like some brilliantly addled Lewis Grizzard. He finds inspiration in such housebound activities as walking the dog, verbally sparring with the missus, and drinking in the backyard. In a sense, this is the flipside of the typical country concerns of cheating spouses and barstool life, playing up not the heartache that haunts most songs, but the mundanity of the day-to-day grind that everyone faces—as well as the small particulars that make it worthwhile.

Big Walter Horton was one of the key architects of modern blues harmonica. Blues legend Willie Dixon referred to him as "the best harmonica player I ever heard." Along with Little Walter Jacobs and Sonny Boy Williamson II, he is considered to be one of the most influential harpists ever. He was capable of both intense power and fragile delicacy, often in the same song. He was endlessly melodically adventurous, and always unpredictable. His only Alligator Records album, - "Big Walter Horton With Carey Bell", came out in 1972. It paired him with his young protégé, who had played under Walter's tutelage since Bell's arrival in Chicago. Walter's long-time partner Eddie Taylor joined them on guitar. It was Alligator's second-ever release, and received widespread critical acclaim, especially for the fiery harp duets that pitted the two harmonica masters against one another.