I Got Mine - James Mathus & His Knockdown Society
I’m in the midst of ripping all my CDs into my computer for the first time ever. It seems like a futile thing to do with these all-you-can-eat streaming music services getting better and more ubiquitous by the day, but it passes the time. In the course of going back through 20 years worth of CD collecting, I’ve come across some gems I’d forgotten about.
Case in point, Play Songs for Rosetta by James Mathus (of Squirrel Nut Zippers [remember them?] fame)* & His Knockdown Society. I had a Zippers phase back in college, and I bought this record because of that association. It’s a different style than most of the Zippers’ stuff: more acoustic blues and jug band than big band swing. A mix of traditional songs and Mathus originals, Rosetta is a solid album all the way through, but the music itself is only half the story.
According to allmusic.com, Rosetta is the daughter of bluesman Charlie Patton and is someone who was instrumental in Mathus’ upbringing. Proceeds from the record went to help pay Rosetta’s living expenses as she sees no money from the sale of her father’s music.
Quite a story, and quite a connection. And a pretty damn good record, too! Hope you enjoy.
SIDE NOTE: A few of the people I follow around on the Internet are trying to “B(V)log Every Day in August (B[V]EDA)*, and I think I’m going to give it a shot. I realize I’ve missed a couple days, but I’ll try to make it up.
*Double parentheticals!
