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PRESENTING THE 1st Annual E2TG Awards – “The Earies” (The Earies – it sounds kind of strange, but not really).
Well, it is December, and as I promised, we will begin our month long celebration of all things E2TG. Welcome to the first annual E2TG awards. Our red carpet welcome had to be cancelled due to rain in the Nashville area, plus we don’t have a red carpet, and someone forgot to book the Ryman. So, this will be an on-line awards show this year…
I thought long and hard about how to begin this award month, but finally it seemed fitting and proper to begin the 2015 awards with the artist who closed out 2014 by being named the Artist of the Year.
Presenting the first award for 2015 is ….. me… Thanks, Joe. The first award to be presented is the Flattery Will Get You Everywhere Award. It recognizes the artist or artists who have realized that the blog host is basically a big ball of insecurities and self-doubt and that a little bit of flattery (even somewhat dubious flattery) goes a long way.
This artist not only routinely dedicates one of his signature songs to me, but he also included my likeness on the album cover of his most recent release. I think “Bob” is a pretty handsome guy, even if I would not say that he is short or tall. The 1st ever “Earie” goes to Darrin Bradbury. Darrin is currently on tour out West, so I will accept the award on his behalf. Also, we don’t have actual
statues. Maybe next year.
Stay tuned all month for more awards….
“Rules of Change” by Neil Young + Promise of the Real
Neil Young has been making music for over 50 years. About the only thing you can say for certain is that he has never settled into a comfortable place and sound, but has instead embraced and followed stylist changes and political movements while maintaining a pretty high level of integrity and consistently marching to his own beat. His latest album The Monsanto Years – addresses contemporary food industry issues and features Willie Nelson’s sons Lukas and Micah plus Lukas’ bandmates Promise of the Real.
“My Name is the Same” by Los Microwaves
This is another track from the 13 O’clock compilation of early and rare New Wave songs put out by Atlanta Label PPNW Records. Los Microwaves are a San Francisco band, and I believe this song was recorded sometime around 1980. I have really been digging hearing this music – most of which I missed out on the first time around.
“To Love Is to Fly” by Jonathan Tyler (feat. Nikki Lane)
I grabbed this song – from Jonathan Tyler’s latest album, Holy Smokes – after seeing Jonathan perform at “The Beast” at the beginning of Americana week. Nikki Lane joined him that night, and I am going to say that they sang this song together (until and unless someone corrects me). It was awesome, and it was good to hear it again this morning. Not a typo and not the Townes Van Zandt song.
“Read About Love” by Richard Thompson
The opening song and one of my favorites from Rumor and Sigh. I can relate all too well, and that is all I am going to say.
“Ice Forms on the Tips of Her Wings” by Smokey the Firebear
Our first (but not our last) appearance by Smokey the Firebear. Smokey the Firebear is Cade Williams another of those talented kids from Connecticut. I really don’t know what they put in the water in that state??? I just grabbed his entire and remarkably extensive discography for really cheap on Bandcamp. What I heard was actually the very brief reprise of the opening track of Smokey the Firebear’s Ohm Atlanta album. The video playlist has the entire opening song.
“Outta My Head” by Blake Babies
The fine folks at Noisetrade not only offer a great way to discover new artists, but they also occasionally put out some cool older releases. Recently, I downloaded a live album by the 80s-90s band Blake Babies called Live 5-9-89. Blake Babies was the band that gave Juliana Hatfield her start. This is the opening track for the live album. The song was on the band’s 1989 second album Earwig.
“AquaLung” by KATO
This song has been hanging around the playlist for awhile. This is another brief track – the last on KATO’s EP, A Summer in Space Beach.
“High Winds White Sky” by Bruce Cockburn
We go way back to Bruce Cockburn’s 1971 second album. This is the title track. An early listen to one of the most talented living songwriters.
“North Side Gal” by JD McPherson
Oklahoma singer-songwriter JD McPherson keeps the shuffle moving with a rave up, and the opening track of his 2012 Signs and Signifiers album.
“GTO” by Kevin Gordon
We revisit one of my favorite albums of the year – Long Gone Time (as I boldly proclaimed in my review) may well be Kevin Gordon’s best album yet. Revisiting and expounding on the locales and themes of his previous album Gloryland. GTO is a solid, toe-tapping rocker that slides in references to the complicated racial climate of the Deep South.
“Stoned” by Macy Gray
This recording came from the World Café Session mega-download I got a while back. The always amazing Macy Gray with a song that appeared her 2014 eight studio album The Way.
“Celestial Dance” by Cletus Kennelly and Lori Kelley
And we close out the shuffle with another song from popular DC area duo Cletus and Lori’s album, Lotus. Lori Kelley now resides in East Nashville and is making a name for herself on the local songwriting scene. I got to see the duo perform together earlier this year at Bobby’s Idle Hour.
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E2TG: MUSIC/WORDS 