Album of the Month
I'm a little late in determining this month's musical jewel, but I've just been caught up in a lot of stuff (not the least of which being preparation for my Paris honeymoon, which begins next Tuesday). Surprisingly, the album that's caught my ear the most is a compilation that's available only at Starbucks--Joni Mitchell: Artist's Choice (from the Hear Music label, which is owned by Starbucks). I've become a fan of this series, which provides a well-known musician the opportunity to create a mix of songs that have inspired him or her through the years (or is just a groovy tune). Mrs. Facade and I have several titles from this series, including a very heartfelt compilation by Johnny Cash that was released right before he passed away. When I found out that Joni Mitchell and Elvis Costello were joining the Hear Music bandwagon (favorite artists of Mrs. Facade and Mr. Facade, respectively), I rushed out and grabbed them (without even so much as stopping for a dopio espresso).

The Costello collection is pretty good, but I haven't been able to concentrate on it as much yet as I keep returning to Mitchell's CD. In a bit of a departure from previous titles, which seem just a hodge podge of cool tunes, it feels like Mitchell worked very hard to program the mood of the mix and provide an aural journey (something I always attempt, but sometimes don't necessarily succeed at, with my own mix CDs). She starts out with a soft Claude Debussy piano piece that flows nicely into some older, swingier jazz tunes by Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and Miles Davis. The mid-point of the CD would be appreciated by some of my favorite chill/balaeric DJs (Rob DaBank and Chris Coco, hosts of the BBC's Blue Room shows early on Saturday and Sunday mornings), with a satisfyingly silky mix of Steely Dan, Deep Forest, and Edit Piaf. It ends with several singer/songwriters, including Marvin Gaye, Bob Dylan, and my favorite progressive anthem, You Get What You Give by New Radicals.

BTW, I highly recommend giving The Blue Room a listen. While the shows are from 5 to 7am GMT on Saturdays and Sundays (not very conducive to listening here on the Left Coast), they're archived for the following seven days in Real Audio format. (I listen to the shows first thing Monday morning.) I've found some of my favorite music from the past few years from this show (and have, in turn, introduced many friends to these discovered songs via my many mix CDs, from a groovy remix of Lou Reed's Satellite of Love to the rediscovery of Razzy's country/soul classic from the 70s, I Hate Hate). My most delightful recent Blue Room discovery is The Magic Numbers, a folk/pop group composed of a few siblings from Wales (I think). Enter their site and check out a couple of the live tracks they have on offer; their album will be coming out sometime this summer, and I'm eagerly awaiting it.