
No, the title of this post doesn't refer to Harry Reid's painfully back-handed "compliment" of Barack Obama. It's the cleverly provocative title of the newest album from the Carolina Chocolate Drops, an all black string band from North Carolina. The album blends a delicious stew of old-time string music, blues stomps, and Celtic arrangements with an acappella ballad, a Tom Waits cover, and a reworking of Blue Cantrell's R&B hit "Hit 'Em Up Style" thrown in for good measure. The album relies heavily on fiddle and banjo, but also incorporates beat-boxing, jug-blowing, mouth harps, and, I suspect a washboard or two among the beautifully varied vocal styles. While the album harkens back to the era of Harry Reid's birth (1939) and before, these musicians are decidedly of the Obama generation. Unlike the Obama Administration, however, the Chocolate Drops have the courage of their convictions and exude an authentic love of their source material. In short, while Obama seems only to pay lip service to his base these days, the Chocolate Drops play directly to theirs.






