"These are the Ways of my People" Louie Ludwig zzi072614 Another genre-busting collection from New Orleans "iconoclast" songwriter Louie Ludwig, with takes on young love, art, quantum physics, hipsters and the end of the world, along with the greatest soul song written in fifty years. Produced and engineered by Louie Ludwig. Mastering by Chris Finney. Cover painting by Carri Skoczek. All songs copyright Louie Ludwig/zzi music except "La Mort" by Jacques Brel, Eric Blau and Mort Shuman/Warner-Chappell Music. Dubbed New Orleans' "iconoclast" songwriter by Offbeat Magazine, Louie Ludwig has ever thumbed his nose at genres and pigeonholes, preferring simply to perform and record the songs that come. In his latest collection, "These are the Ways of my People," his eclecticism marches on, with paens to life, death, young dreamers and old cynics. The songs: "The Reservation" is an unflinching look at the drastic divide between the have-alls and the rest of us in contemporary America. The track, combining spoken word with a dense musical montage, has been compared to the best work of the Last Poets. ASCAP Work #887101961 ISRC USWGE1400004 "Let's All Hate on the Hipsters" is a jug band snapshot of a neighborhood in transition, with a surprisingly empathetic view to the urban invaders. ASCAP Work #887101962 ISRC USWGE1400006 "Underground" is a sparse, funky warning to get ready for the storm, whatever form it may take. Rosie Rosato's conga work gives the choruses just the right snap. ASCAP Work #887102121 ISRC USWGE1400008 "New York Apartment" is a sweet folk tale of young lovers setting out to make their mark in the big city--and get the super to fix the leaky windows. DRobert's sprightly bass and Bart Ramsey's accordion lead the listener on a gypsy walk through a city of dreams. ASCAP Work #887102122 ISRC USWGE1400009 "Headin' Home" is a low-key, head-bobbing ride from Grand Central Terminal down the Crescent line to New Orleans, expressing the narrator's yearning gentler climbs and a life sublime. ASCAP Work #887102274 ISRC USWGE1400010 "Pony Girl" is a wistful, yet slightly cynical, love song to the one who got away--or was she left behind? Reminiscient of the best of Neil Young. ASCAP Work #887102275 ISRC USWGE1400011 "Another Universe" is something of a cowboy campfire song about the many-worlds interpretation of quantum theory, speculating on just what the world might be had a butterfly wing flapped another way. ASCAP Work #887102276 ISRC USWGE1400005 "The World is Going Down" is a cheery look at the end of the world rather like listening to Tom Lehrer read the headlines. Rosie Rosato provides percussion reminiscient of Spike Jones' wackier work. ASCAP Work #887102417 ISRC USWGE1400003 "The Feeling's Got Too Strong" is a tender soul ballad harkening back to the golden days of Stax and Motown. Rabadash Records president John Autin heard it and said, "I wish Otis were alive to cut this." Jimmy Messa's bass holds down the bottom while Jerry Jumonville sax stack provides reedy goodness. ASCAP Work #887102418 ISRC USWGE1400012 "La Mort" is a dub update one of Jacques Brel's finest love songs. "Whatever lies behind the door/There is nothing much to do/Angel or devil, I don't care/In front of that door stands you" George 'Keys' Izquierdo's B3 is perfect. BMI Work #1029906 ISRC USWGE1400001