Troubadours ring our bells in Words and Sounds: Wilco, Son Volt, Drive-by Truckers,
Minus 5, Bryan Sutton, Levon Helm, Oneida, Sonic Youth are just few of the recent arrivals.

“Nobody told me there’d be days like these, Strange days indeed — strange days indeed” —John Lennon

“I read the news today oh, boy. About a lucky man who made the grade. And though the news was rather sad; Well, I just had to laugh.” —Lennon/McCartney.

“And don’t speak too soon / For the wheel’s still in spin / And there’s no tellin’ who / That it’s namin’ /
For the loser now / Will be later to win / For the times they are a-changin’ “ —Bob Dylan

Oh well. No real excuse, I felt like quoting Beatles, Lennon, and Dylan; it just seemed like the thing to do. It’s weird, but despite an unsettled economy and anxious markets, volatile and scary stuff in North Korea and Iran, sadness in Gaza and struggles across the US and right here in the upstate I’m hearing about from so many of our regulars about the hardships in their lives, I’m lately becoming hopeful. I do think that messages from our modern music troubadours like journeymen and women such as Patterson Hood (of the Drive-by Truckers), Pete Yorn, and Neko Case bring us a lift same as long haul road warriors like Levon Helm do and the work and messages of guiding lights Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson inject a profound and therapeutic value in our lives. Likewise the sonic audio release of bands such as Tortoise, Radio Moscow or Sonic Youth break us out of the grime and dust of every existence. Thank Goodness!! There’s more than enough annoying stuff out there, so how about some good stuff? That’s what we try to do. At Horizon we strive to keep it positive and where possible keep it cheap and always keep it unique. We are all about music old and new. We really want to just share with you what excites us. Sometimes it’s a new release like WILCO. Sometimes it’s a $3 bargain CD of Gregorian Chants or it may be that stunning old 1970’s Dizzy Gillespie record I keep playing over and over.

Music, life, it’s a journey not a destination. Wander in, we’ll share a moment. I’ll put on some old LP I just found in one of bargain crates and let’s see what it sounds like.