The Handsome Family
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The Handsome Family
The Handsome Family is an American music duo consisting of husband and wife Brett and Rennie Sparks formed in Chicago, Illinois, and as of 2001 based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They are perhaps best known for their song " Far from Any Road" from the album ''Singing Bones'', which was used as the main title theme for the first season of the 2014 crime drama ''True Detective''. The band's tenth album, '' Unseen'', was released on September 16, 2016, the first new release on the band's own label Milk & Scissors Music and through long-time label Loose in Europe. History Husband-and-wife duo Brett Sparks (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Rennie Sparks (bass, banjo, vocals) formed the band in 1993, along with drummer Mike Werner. The band would later revolve around Rennie, who writes the lyrics, and Brett, who writes the music. Guest musicians complete the band line-up for recordings and live work.Strong, Martin C. (2003) "The Handsome Family", in ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canonga ...
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Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_type2 = Counties , subdivision_name1 = Illinois , subdivision_name2 = Cook and DuPage , established_title = Settled , established_date = , established_title2 = Incorporated (city) , established_date2 = , founder = Jean Baptiste Point du Sable , government_type = Mayor–council , governing_body = Chicago City Council , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Lori Lightfoot ( D) , leader_title1 = City Clerk , leader_name1 = Anna Valencia ( D) , unit_pref = Imperial , area_footnotes = , area_tot ...
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Odessa (The Handsome Family Album)
''Odessa'' is the first album by American band The Handsome Family. It was released 1994 by Carrot Top Records. Critical reception AllMusic wrote that "Brett Sparks' plain but resonant Midwestern twang gives the songs on ''Odessa'' the ring of common truth, and he and Rennie Sparks had already established themselves as writers to be reckoned with, conjuring a lyrical voice that sounds homey and terribly alienated at the same time." Greil Marcus called the album an effort to "transfer the fatalism of the old murder ballads into modern life." ''Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...'' wrote that "if ''Odessa'' has a fault, it’s lyrics that are sometimes too coyly knowing, tossing off pop cultural references to no real effect." Track listing # "Here's Hopi ...
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Smothered And Covered
''Smothered and Covered'' is a collection of outtakes, demos and rarities by The Handsome Family. It was released in 2003 by Handsome Family Music. Track listing #"There's A City" - 3:12 #*outtake from ''In the Air'' #"Sunday Morning Coming Down" - 4:48 #*Kris Kristofferson cover #"Prepared Piano #1" - 1:29 #*acoustic piece played by Brett Sparks on a modified piano #"I Hear A Sweet Voice Calling" - 3:44 #*Bill Monroe cover #"Down In The Ground" - 2:30 #*4-track demo of the song released on '' Through the Trees'' #"Cello #1" - 1:00 #*acoustic piece played by Brett Sparks on cello #"Trail Of Time" - 3:12 #*Alton Delmore cover #"Far Away Eyes" - 4:26 #*Rolling Stones cover #"Knoxville Girl" - 4:03 #*version of a traditional #"Prepared Piano #2" - 1:04 #*acoustic piece played by Brett Sparks on a modified piano #"The Last" - 2:45 #*4-track demo of the song released on ''Odessa'' #"Banks Of The Ohio" - 3:26 #*version of a traditional #"Cello #2" - 1:15 #*acoustic piece played by Br ...
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Wilderness (The Handsome Family Album)
''Wilderness'' is the ninth studio album by The Handsome Family. It was released in May 2013 by Carrot Top Records. ''Wilderness'' is an often surreal concept album about nature, with each song named after an animal. The album was released both as a single album and a box-set version that included a companion book of essays and art by Rennie Sparks. Reception The album was well received by critics: according to Metacritic, the album has received an average review score of 76/100, based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews." James Monger of AllMusic noted the album's Kafkaesque, dreamlike quality, praising the "remarkably affecting" song "Wildebeest," about the death of 19th-century songwriter Stephen Foster. A.V. Club reviewer Christopher Bahn described ''Wilderness'' as "one of the strongest, most cohesive albums of their career", calling it "rootsy, literary country-rock that’s a little like a collaboration between Hank Williams and Edgar Allan Poe." He par ...
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Honey Moon (The Handsome Family Album)
''Honey Moon'' is the eighth studio album released by The Handsome Family. It was released 2009 by Carrot Top Records (North America) / Loose Music (Europe). Reception The album was well received by critics: according to Metacritic, the album has received an average review score of 75/100, based on 12 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Track listing # "Linger, Let Me Linger" – 3:34 # "Little Sparrows" – 3:08 # "My Friend" – 4:56 # "When You Whispered" – 3:11 # "The Loneliness of Magnets" – 3:43 # "June Bugs" – 3:38 # "A Thousand Diamond Rings" – 3:40 # "Love Is Like" – 3:21 # "The Petrified Forest" – 4:11 # "Wild Wood" - 3:10 # "Darling, My Darling" - 3:39 # "The Winding Corn Maze" - 4:35 # "The Red Leaf Forest" - 3:25 #* Bonus track included on the digital version of the album sold through iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTu ...
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Last Days Of Wonder
''Last Days of Wonder'' is the seventh studio album released by The Handsome Family. It was released 2006 by Carrot Top Records (North America) / Loose Music (Europe). The title is a reference to Puritan scientist and witch-hunter Cotton Mather's 1693 book ''Wonders of the Invisible World'', which lyricist Rennie Sparks found intriguing because of what she called its "madness brimming under the surface of things." Reception The album was well received by critics: according to Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ..., the album has received an average review score of 80/100, based on 17 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Track listing # "Your Great Journey" – 3:13 # "Tesla's Hotel Room" – 3:56 # "These Golden Jewels" – 3:32 # "After We Sh ...
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Searching For The Wrong-Eyed Jesus
''Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus'' is a 2003 documentary film about the American South starring Jim White. Commissioned by the BBC, it documents the intersection of country music and Christianity in the United States. It was inspired by White's similarly titled album '' The Mysterious Tale of How I Shouted Wrong-Eyed Jesus''. The film was directed and photographed by Andrew Douglas, written by Steve Haisman, and edited by Michael Elliot. It was executive-produced by Steve Golin and Anthony Wall, and features the music of Jim White, Johnny Dowd, The Handsome Family, David Eugene Edwards of 16 Horsepower, Rev. Gary Howlington, The Singing Hall Sisters, David Johansen, Melissa Swingle and Lee Sexton. It also features the author Harry Crews. Music Jim White Presents: Music from ''Searching For the Wrong-Eyed Jesus'' In 2005, an official soundtrack to the film was released, containing the following songs. ;Wrong Eyed Jesus Official Soundtrack See also *Southern Gothic *Amer ...
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Live At Schuba's Tavern
''Live at Schuba's icTavern'' is a live album by The Handsome Family recorded at Schubas Tavern in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ..., Illinois. It was released 2002 by Digital Club Network. It contains songs as well as short jokes or stories told by the band. Track listing # "Amelia Earhart Vs. The Dancing Bear" - 3:21 # "The Good Toothpicks" - 0:18 # "So Much Wine" - 3:57 # "The Czar Bar" - 1:02 # "Tinfoil" - 2:41 # "A Beautiful Thing" - 3:45 # "Vienna Sausage Hotline" - 0:53 # "The Giant of Illinois" - 3:12 # "My Sister's Tiny Hands" - 3:18 # "Names For All His Shirts" - 0:36 # "Cathedrals" - 3:51 # "Weightless Again" - 3:44 # "Bony Bread" - 0:24 # "Winnebago Skeletons" - 3:45 # "Drunk by Noon" - 2:49 # "Magic Balls, Int ...
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Twilight (The Handsome Family Album)
''Twilight'' is the sixth album released by The Handsome Family. It was released 2001 by Carrot Top Records (North America) / Loose Music Loose is a British independent record label based in Ladbroke Grove, London. In 1998, Loose was formed from the vinyl only record label, Vinyl Junkie, which was set up in 1994 by Tom Bridgewater. Loose Music - About Since 1998, Loose has rele ... (Europe). Track listing # "The Snow White Diner" – 4:01 # "Passenger Pigeons" – 4:29 # "A Dark Eye" – 3:53 # "There Is A Sound" – 3:26 # "All The TVs In Town" – 3:05 # "Gravity" – 3:08 # "Cold, Cold, Cold" – 3:10 # "No One Fell Asleep Alone" – 2:48 # "I Know You Are There" – 3:40 # "Birds You Cannot See" - 2:53 # "The White Dog" - 3:36 # "So Long" - 3:31 # "Peace In The Valley Once Again" - 3:03 Personnelcf. Brett & Rennie Sparks (2001): Credits. In ''Twilight'' D booklet Chicago: Carrot Top Records. * The Handsome Family **Brett Sparks - wrote and played all music except as ...
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In The Air (The Handsome Family Album)
''In The Air'' is the fifth album released by American band The Handsome Family. It was released in 2000 by Carrot Top Records (North America) / Loose Music (Europe) and comes as an enhanced audio CD with an additional video for the song "Amelia Earhart vs. The Dancing Bear," from '' Milk and Scissors'' (directed by Bill Ward). Los Angeles Times critic Randall Roberts praised the "tender urgency" and "morbid wit" of the song "So Much Wine”, calling it "a little pearl of destruction" and "the perfect introduction to the Family’s world." Track listing All music by Brett Sparks, all lyrics by Rennie Sparks. # "Don't Be Scared" – 2:39 # "The Sad Milkman" – 3:40 # "In The Air" – 3:30 # "A Beautiful Thing" – 3:39 # "So Much Wine" – 3:48 # "Up Falling Rock Hill" – 2:57 # "Poor, Poor Lenore" – 3:41 # "When That Helicopter Comes" – 2:32 # "Grandmother Waits For You" (inspired by "Where We'll Never Grow Old" as performed by The Smith Sacred Singers) – 3:50 # "Lie D ...
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Uncut (magazine)
''Uncut'' is a monthly magazine based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections. A DVD magazine under the ''Uncut'' brand was published quarterly from 2005 to 2006. The magazine was acquired in 2019 by Singaporean music company BandLab Technologies, and has been published by NME Networks since December 2021. ''Uncut'' (main magazine) ''Uncut'' was launched in May 1997 by IPC as "a monthly magazine aimed at 25- to 45-year-old men that focuses on music and movies", edited by Allan Jones (former editor of ''Melody Maker''). Jones has stated that " e idea for Uncut came from my own disenchantment about what I was doing with ''Melody Maker''. There was a publishing initiative to make the audience younger; I was getting older and they wanted to take the readers further away from me", specifically referring to the then dominant Britpop genre. According to IPC Media, 86% of the magazine's readers are mal ...
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Jeff Tweedy
Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the singer and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, started his music career in high school in his band The Plebes with Jay Farrar, which subsequently transitioned into the alternative country band Uncle Tupelo. After Uncle Tupelo broke up, Tweedy formed Wilco which found critical and commercial success, most notably with ''Yankee Hotel Foxtrot'' and ''A Ghost Is Born'', the latter of which received a Grammy for Best Alternative Album in 2005. Across his career Tweedy has released 20 studio albums, including four with Uncle Tupelo, twelve with Wilco, one with his son Spencer, a solo acoustic album, three solo studio albums, along with numerous collaborations with other musicians, most notably ''Mermaid Avenue'' with Billy Bragg. Early life Tweedy was born in Belleville, Illinois, on August 25, 1967, the fourth child ...
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