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Monthly Archives: January 2010

Downtown Church

January 16, 2010 by james | No Comments | Filed in Music

Our group of friends in Nashville has strong ties to the Downtown Presbyterian Church. Many of them attend the church, others have done at various times, and some have had art studios, worked on programs with the homeless or simply found some shelter in the building.

One of the latest initiatives based out of the church is the Nashville Contributor street newspaper. It was there that we read of Patty Griffin recording her new album in the church sanctuary, and naming it “Downtown Church” in its honour. You can read their exclusive article on their website.

First listens to the album are promising – the selection of gospel tunes and Buddy Miller’s production work well and I’m particularly enjoying the soulful backing vocals. You can preview it courtesy of NPR.

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Snow days

January 12, 2010 by james | No Comments | Filed in Uncategorized

A tweet from Jenny this evening reminded me to blog a little more about the snow in Tennessee when we were there last week.

This wasn’t the first time we’d been in Nashville when it was snowing. A few years back a few flakes fell on New Year’s Day. Nothing really remarkable in many places, but even that elicited some surprise at the time.

This year there was significantly more snow, though still barely a grazing compared to what the UK has experienced over the past week, let alone a typical winter snowfall in Michigan. It was somewhat satisfying to see another society grinding to a halt in the face of a lot less snow, having been one of the many rolling my eyes when, during the snow in February 2009, the CBI and others moaned about Britain’s poor infrastructure and the billions of pounds lost to the economy. And then there was the way many less jaded than I were loving the snow. A reminder that an economy that can’t handle a few days of unplanned collective unwinding is at least as bad as one that insists on continuing whatever the weather.

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Flying backwards

January 10, 2010 by james | No Comments | Filed in Travel

I’d never flown facing backward before last night, and had a little trepidation before take-off as I wondered how it felt. But I’d very happily do it again. The views of early-evening Chicago as we took off, circled around the city and then headed east over the lake were stunning. Somehow the fairly dull grid system that rules the city came to life and the occasional diagonal created wonderful effects.

We were travelling 24 hours later than planned—and taking a different route—because of delays on the previous day’s flights between Nashville and Washington DC. Spending an extra night in Nashville paid off as we were upgraded to business class (flights from the US to London are so backed up that the upgrade was the easiest way for them to find us seats) and got full use of the lounges during a lengthy layover and significantly more comfort during the transatlantic flight.

And so I found myself in one of the newly redesigned business cabins where half the seats face backwards. And got used to it far too easily.

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Grand Rapids Coffee

January 9, 2010 by james | 1 Comment | Filed in Uncategorized

When we lived in Grand Rapids, I did a lot of that living in coffee shops. Through my research for the (now rather neglected) Grand Rapids WiFi site I became a bit of an expert on the different outlets around town. These days—having an office—I spend a lot less time in coffee shops. Except when we’re back visiting the US and I’m crazily trying to fit work into the trip.

This time around I got the chance to check out two new coffee shops in Grand Rapids: Sparrows and Madcap. I’d heard a lot of talk about the former and really enjoyed working there, surrounded by the magazines that it also sells. The United States has an incredible magazine culture with many, many fantastic titles. But most of the country is terribly short of good places to buy them. I would have loved to have a place so near our house to walk to and browse magazines when we lived in GR, and I’m very glad it’s there now.

Since living in London I’ve noticed my coffee tastes changing, influenced by the antipodean trends that have swept the city. I found much of the coffee I drank in my older haunts lacking in body and have really been longing for a good americano or flat white, or something made in a cafetière. Madcap sated that thirst a little with their slow brewed coffees. Standing apart from the drip coffees so standard in US coffee shops, these had real depth and body to them and lots of flavour. I’m very grateful to Karl for suggesting I check the place out.

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Nathan Phillips’ Postcard

January 4, 2010 by james | No Comments | Filed in Music

Last time we were in the States, Nathan Phillips handed me a CD-R of his then-new record Postcard. Nathan had played one of our Ambridge evenings with Julie Lee while touring with her, and I was delighted to have the record. It’s a beautifully understated home recording made over the course of a year, and numerous people have asked me how to get hold of it.

Finally, having caught up with Nathan as he returns from California to Nashville, I’m able to answer that question. So if you’ve been dying to hear it, you can preview and/or buy it over at CD Baby. If you’ve not, I’d still recommend it.

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