Warm Tones and Whedon

I am curently listening to Mary Fahl's The Other Side of Time. Hers was the rich alto-contralto voice that gave the band The October Project its unique, warm sound. The songs on her solo album are hit-and-miss for me (although when they are good, they are very good)but with that voice, she can't miss.

Speaking of great female vocalists, I am quite taken with Cassandra Wilson too. Her cover of "Wichita Lineman" (on the belly of the sun CD) is haunting. Her arrangements of pop tunes are a great introduction to jazz vocals.

And if you are desperate for some electronica with your Farsi, you can't go wrong with Ekova. Really interesting stuff.

Mr. Whedon's Astonishing X-Men hits shelves today. I realize that I've posted a several entries related to this project but I am ambivalent about the whole thing. Although I used to be a fan of the X-Men back in my misspent youth, I lost my taste for the soap opera that the comic became under Chris Claremont. I admit that I've never been impressed with the Wolverine character, either. And Mr. Whedon's last foray into comics (Fray) was less than impressive. But I think he is one of the best screen writers in the business and I like to think that he can take those skills and translate them into interesting comics. I will pick up a copy today and see what happens.