Monday, March 2, 2009

RAM on L.A.

"Los Angeles: huge, sprawling, and eclectic, has been likened to microcosm of the country as whole — truly a melting pot of various cultures, ethnicities, tastes and influences. So is her music. With various scenes and sub-scenes, rarely has there been a defining “sound” that marks the overall zeitgeist of what is happening in the city at any one time. In 2008 I set out to create a compilation of a dozen or so L.A. based artists that I felt were creating something both unique and diverse."

So writes Aquarium Drunkard's Justin Gage. Given the thoroughly heterogeneous nature of the music scene in L.A., this was surely an ambitious task--Indeed it was too ambitious, and it required a narrower focus.

Enter Paul McCartney's 1971 album Ram. Not sure how exactly this album was chosen (apparently it's seen something of a "resurgence" amongst local musicians), but with Ram providing the necessary unifying thread, eleven area artists hit the recording studios to record their takes on the album cut of their choice.

This not-for-profit compilation has been released exclusively through Aquarium Drunkard, and comes with the option to donate to No More Landmines. Here are a couple of my favorite cuts off of the album. For more info and the rest of the songs check out the post.

Earlimart- "Too Many People"
Frankel- "3 Legs"

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