A plea for honesty. Watching Real Time with Bill Maher this week made me laugh out loud for the ACTUAL things that were expressed, not even being clothed in the usual euphemisms. And because it is HBO, there is that healthy sprinkling of obscenity that serves to further drive the emphasis. It’s actually very refreshing, delivered in this no holds barred way. I wish politicians could be so overt, and put it out there for all to see. But that ain’t gonna ever happen.

There can, however, be honesty in songs thank goodness. Amy LaVere’s new album comes out today, and you can count on her to lay the emotions bare. Through the years she has explored the underside, and I know there were lots of life changes in the ramp up to this album. Jim Dickinson was scheduled to return to the producer’s chair, but his passing in 2009 set Amy to finding another to fill his shoes. That he was mentor and a huge supporter, made the grieving especially tough. And the breakup of her 6 year relationship to drummer Paul Taylor left another hole. She missed his collaboration, and wound up asking for him to play drums to complete the record. Amy’s third CD is called Stranger Me, and here is our live version of one of the tunes, “Damn Love Song,” filmed at the Music Fog Marathon in March at Threadgill’s.

- Jessie Scott