Before Midnight Scholar

db posts a day early so's I can get on up to Door County for my vaca. Two tracks to carry you through til we meet again on Monday


My friend Japeth gave me the record Before Midnight Scholar a few weeks ago, which comes courtesy of his roommate's band and sometime solo project Judson Claiborne. Before Midnight Scholar has been on heavy rotation since I got it, and when the band played at Empty Bottle last Monday I headed out to see them. When "Bloody Holiday" came on, Japeth told me the song is based on a true story about his roommate's grandparents. I never paid attention to the title, and I'd been so lulled by the song's lilting charms that I didn't realize how violent a tale it tells, but it makes me like the song all the more to realize it's about a fantasy of escape gone terribly wrong. Especially compelling is how "Bloody Holiday" is followed on the album by the fall-from-grace song "In the Sun." The latter feels bright and fragile, the natural result of the events suggested in the former. I don't know if "In the Sun" is also based on a true story, but tonally, I love the way these songs are paired. If you like the music, there's a link on the myspace page where you can buy a special vinyl edition of Before Midnight Scholar that comes with a cd in addition to the record.

http://www.myspace.com/judsonclaiborne

BLOODY HOLIDAY


IN THE SUN