ZEITGEBER: Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

While working my arse off for the last weeks of summer, I was thinking up good ideas for music to post. I came up with this idea of posting an old album and new album from one artist. The only catch would be that they both have to be good though. The first artist that came to my mind was Will Oldham. Cool right? I know, I know... he's one of those artists where everyone has their personal favorite and if I pick something different someone's gonna be all like.. THIS ONE IS BETTER yadda yadda yadda... Well, pitchfork gave "I See a Darkness" a 10! Thats right. They NEVER give out 10s. And if a bunch of pretentious art/music school drop outs turned music critics are wrong then I don't want to be right. As much as I hate to agree with them, "I See a Darkness" is not only one of Will Oldham's best albums... it's pretty much one of the best albums in general. I must warn you though, it's dark... real dark... (hence the title i guess). Listen to the title track.. like.. a lot, cause it's one of the best songs ever written. Johnny Cash later covered this song with Will's help. If Johnny fucking Cash covers your song you can pretty much call it a day. Great production, great dynamics, great singing, great music... if you don't like this album either your taste in music is terrible or you simply just haven't given it enough time to grow on you. Possibly the only flaw in this album (which also is a positive thing, for me at least) is that you can't listen to it in passing. You can't put this on as background noise, or ignore the lyrics and just enjoy the music. You really have to pay attention, otherwise the payoff just isn't the same. His new album "Lie Down in the Light" doesn't require as much focus but I think it just might be the best thing he has done since "I See a Darkness". That doesn't sound like that much of a glowing review, but trust me, IT IS. It might not be quite as consistent, but the songs that are good ARE REALLY GOOD. Just off on a tangent for a second here. You know... I've never found a satisfactory answer as to why he chose the name "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy". I read somewhere that he liked the way it rolled off his tongue. Really? That's it?! Interesting... Just like "PJ's 'Blog' Rulezme". Say it. Rolls right off the tongue doesn't it? I would change the name of the blog but i enjoy explaining how to spell and define the word "zeitgeber" to everyone I talk to. *sigh*