Arrr! M. Ward and a Pirate's Loot!

Today, young lads and lassies, is a special day, for it is the release day of the great Post-War, the fourth studio album by the great M. Ward. He's so special he don't need a first name!

Ward has proven himself since his first release in 2001 to be very consistent as a songwriter and performer, unlike some, er... songwriters we know that somehow get that same "prolific" label(we are not NAMING ANY NAMES). Even though less intimate than its 2005 predecessor Transistor Radio, Post-War nevertheless maintains a personal narrative voice and sincerity that hooked us five years ago. It's just less like reading some cat's personal diary and more like hearing him blather on about his lost love at some loserly self-help seminar. Only...without the negative connotations that simile suggests. Yeah.

Poison Cup
Magic Trick

Skip lunch and buy Post-War. It'll probably wind up being cheaper, too, fatso.

And, here's another delicious find that was released last week:






It's called Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys, and it's an assortment of pirate ballads and sea songs recorded by, well, a very eclectic group of musicians. Here's the chocked-full tracklisting and a few mp3s of my personal favorites:

Disc 1:

1. Cape Cod Girls - Baby Gramps (backed by Akron/Family as on the Letterman Show 8.28.06)
2. Mingulay Boat Song - Richard Thompson
3. My Son John - John C. Reilly
4. Fire Down Below - Nick Cave
5. Turkish Revelry - Loudon Wainwright III
6. Bully In The Alley - The Old Prunes
7. The Cruel Ship's Captain - Bryan Ferry
8. Dead Horse - Robin Holcomb
9. Spanish Ladies - Bill Frisell
10. High Barbary - Joseph Arthur
11. Haul Away Joe - Mark Anthony Thompson
12. Dan Dan - David Thomas
13. Blood Red Roses - Sting
14. Sally Brown - Teddy Thompson
15. Lowlands Away - Rufus Wainwright & Kate McGarrigle
16. Baltimore Whores - Gavin Friday
17. Rolling Sea - Eliza McCarthy
18. Haul On The Bowline - Bob Neuwirth
19. Dying Sailor to His Shipmates - Bono
20. Bonnie Portmore - Lucinda Williams Listen
21. The Mermaid - Martin Carthy & the UK Group
22. Shenandoah - Richard Greene & Jack Shit
23. The Cry Of Man - Mary Margaret O'Hara

Disc 2:

1. Boney - Jack Shit
2. Good Ship Venus - Loudon Wainwright III
3. Long Time Ago -White Magic
4. Pinery Boy - Nick Cave
5. Lowlands Low - Bryan Ferry w/Antony
6. One Spring Morning - Akron/Family
7. Hog Eye Man - Martin Carthy & Family
8. The Fiddler/A Drop Of Nelson's Blood - Ricky Jay & Richard Greene
9. Caroline and Her Young Sailor Bold - Andrea Corr
10. Fathom The Bowl - John C. Reilly
11. Drunken Sailor - Dave Thomas
12. Farewell Nancy - Ed Harcourt
13. Hanging Johnny - Stan Ridgway
14. Old Man of The Sea - Baby Gramps
15. Greenland Whale Fisheries - Van Dyke Parks
16. Shallow Brown - Sting
17. The Grey Funnel Line - Jolie Holland
18. A Drop of Nelson's Blood - Jarvis Cocker
19. Leave Her Johnny - Lou Reed
20. Little Boy Billy - Ralph Steadman

Ahoy, and Amazon's got a good deal on
Rogue's Gallery. Arrr, bye for now, you scur'y dogs
Ye'll ne'er get me buried booty!