At least I don't have to make any excuses for not writing a post about last night's show by Rickie Lee Jones at (Le) Poisson Rouge — it was canceled. Otherwise, though, I've let issues old (overwork) and new (spotty connectivity) prevent me from checking in for slightly more than a week — which really bugs me.

I still need to write up my notes from Denver, obviously, and I will. Since then I've seen excellent shows here in New York by two veteran singers, Peter Hammill and Fish, both of whom deserve comment. I'll spare you a lengthy, wearisome tirade regarding the craven Dems in the House of Representatives caving in to administration demands and kowtowing to special interests last week, which is pretty much all I could think about on Friday. (I'll tip my hat once more, however, to my home district's steadfastly honorable representative, Carolyn Maloney, who voted "nay" on H.R. 6304)

I'll keep working on getting that pipeline ungunked. Meanwhile, please go visit an old friend of mine, now the newest constellation in the blogosphere: Leann Davis Alspaugh, whose Orange-Tinted Glasses is a happy arrival. Leann's got a war hero for an uncle, a Grammy-nominated record producer for a husband and a lot of strong, stylish words for literature, visual art and music on her blog. She's also a consistently snappy dresser and one of my all-time favorite people. Go say howdy.

Playlist:

Napalm Death – Leaders not Followers: Part 2 (Century Media)

Grateful Dead – Road Trips, Vol. 1, No. 3: Summer '71 (Grateful Dead)

Van der Graaf Generator – The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other, H to He Who Am the Only One, Pawn Hearts and Trisector (EMI); Real Time (Fie!)

Peter Hammill – Singularity (Fie!)

Johannes Maria Staud – Apeiron – Berlin Philharmonic/Simon Rattle; Incipit III (Esquisse Retouchée II) – Uwe Dierksen, WDR Sinfonieorchester/Lothar Zagrosek; Toward a Brighter Hue – Ernst Kovacic; Violent Incidents (Homage à Bruce Nauman) – Marcus Weiss, Windkraft Tirol/Kasper de Roo; Peras – Mario Formenti (Kairos)

Luca Francesconi – Etymo; Da Capo; A Fuoco, 4° studio sulla memoria; Animus – Barbara Hannigan, Pablo Márquez, Benny Sluchin, IRCAM, Ensemble Intercontemporain/Susanna Mälkki (Kairos)

Marillion – Clutching at Straws (Sanctuary)

Norma Winstone – Distances (ECM)

Bill Dixon – 17 Musicians in Search of a Sound: Darfur (AUM Fidelity)

Jamey Johnson – That Lonesome Song (Mercury; due August 5)

Heidi Newfield – What Am I Waiting For (Curb/Asylum; due August 5)

Rex Moroux – These Bricks Are Bleeding (333 Entertainment)

Little Jackie – The Stoop (S-Curve; due July 8)