Marshall Crenshaw’s Usual Things: Carhartt

Because he’s written so many great tunes for other performers, some people might get the wrong idea about Marshall Crenshaw. He’s also a fine singer. No matter how many celebrity vocalists have tackled his stuff, nobody puts more into a Marshall Crenshaw song than the man himself. If you somehow have overlooked the music of this 55-year-old Detroit native, you should immediately dive into the pond with the 2006 double-CD of his early stuff, Marshall Crenshaw: The Definitive Pop Collection (Rhino), then fast-forward to his new one, Jaggedland (429). Naturally, the voice sounds a little more lived-in almost 30 years later, but the songs are every bit as finely crafted. Crenshaw is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with him.

Crenshaw: Having an unemployment rate in this country of 10 percent and climbing is a really bad thing for every one of us, and I’m not just saying that because I have (had?) relatives in the UAW. These days, whenever I buy anything, whether it’s a pair of socks or a piece of furniture, I try to find something that was made in this country. Sadly, it’s not always possible, but this website helps. On that note, a couple years ago, I read about how Gretchen Carhartt Velade, chairman and majority stockholder of Carhartt work clothes, became an “angel” to the Detroit International Jazz Festival with a $250,000 donation; she and her husband own Mack Avenue Records, a big jazz label. Ever since, I’ve only bought Carhartt jeans. On the label inside, it says something like, “Made in Nicaragua using USA components”; I can live with that. They’re comfortable, and I get compliments on them all the time.