Lyrically, Dar Williams's My Better Self is a political album, in the most personal way. It combines songs of love and hate with tales that illustrate some of the many social and environmental issues that Dar holds dear to her heart. The album includes amazing guest performances by Soulive, Ani DiFranco, Marshall Crenshaw, and Patty Larkin. It continues an evolution in the sound and vibe from her previous albums.
We asked Dar to share with us the music she loves and wants to recommend to her fans: these are her picks.
Find more artists' recommendations on our main Music You Should Hear page: http://www.amazon.com/mysh
Dar Williams's List of Music You Should Hear
American Pie, Don McLean Growing up in the suburbs of New York in the early '70s, this album defined the whole scene: personal, political, and cultural with writing I still think is excellent.
Whales & Nightingales, Judy Collins This album, too, was fraught with the deep cultural and political issues of the times, with lots of musical risks as well.
David's Album, Joan Baez This was the album Joan made in Nashville, and it inadvertently broadened my musical horizons at an early age.
Revolver [UK], the Beatles Court and Spark, Joni Mitchell Both of these albums broke the mold in terms of music and lyrics for me and have some of my favorite songs of all time, and both restored sanity at important times.
Hounds of Love, Kate Bush It really rocked me to see that under the title of "Waking the Witch" on the liner notes, there was an accompanying paragraph instead of lyrics, and I was turned on to the idea that a song is just a sonic gateway to a bigger world.
No Borders Here, Jane Siberry I always thought this album was beautiful, and it, like Kate Bush's albums, expanded my idea of what you could do with a song.
Double Fantasy, John Lennon and Yoko Ono My producer, Stewart, pointed out that John Lennon might be one of the rare super-celebrities who tried to grow personally as well as artistically, and I'm obviously a Yoko Ono fan, as well, and I also think this album is incredibly beautiful.
Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem [A German Requiem] I heard this for the first time in high school, and it was around the time a friend had died, so its endless beauty was well appreciated by endless-feeling teenage grief.
99.9 F�, Suzanne Vega A beautiful, modern meeting of songs and production.
Circles & Arrows, Cheryl Wheeler This album was my introduction to the modern folk movement, and it's the reason I chose to reside there myself!
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