Category: Ron Muga

Monday Morning Music Shuffle – Who Knows? Not Me Mix

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It’s apparently some holiday which you should celebrate as you see fit… 

In honor, today’s shuffle hits only high points…

“The Man Who Sold the World” (David Bowie cover) by Richard Barone

Richard Barone’s 1987 album Cool Blue Halo was recorded live and is one of the most stunningly beautiful albums made and one of my all-time favorites.  Here is a classic Bowie cover from that album.

“Happiness” by Grant Lee Buffalo

A great song from the band’s  1994 second album, Mighty Joe Moon. This song was used at the end of a season 1 episode of the television series, House.

“That Black Bat Licorice” by Jack White

From White’s 2014 album Lazaretto.

“(Do the) Instant Mash” by Joe Jackson

Look Sharp! was the 1979 debut album by Joe Jackson.  I first “discovered” Joe Jackson when Night and Day came out in 1982, but this album has become one of my favorites.  “I don’t work in supermarkets any more…”

“Terrifying Love” by Marshall Crenshaw

It’s been fun listening again to Downtown.  The album came out in 1985 when I was in college, and I listened to this quite a bit while driving around town, so much so that these songs are imprinted upon my memory with the sights and feelings of that time.

“Wonderful Doom” by Ron Muga

The title track from Ron Muga’s 2014 album, a devastatingly beautiful song.

“America” (Simon and Garfunkel cover) by First Aid Kit

The title track from an EP released earlier this year by the Swedish duo, and a gorgeous cover of the Simon and Garfunkel classic from Bookends.

“Feels So Good” by The Record Company

The title track from the L.A. Rock/Blues band’s 2013 EP. Digging this record, a bunch.  Proving that when Sue Havlish recommends a band, you need to listen.

“A Time Machine Built for Two” by The Ghoul Goes West

Seriously, I know I say this a lot, and I know I don’t post music I don’t like, but I really want you all to check out The Ghoul Goes West.  Their latest album is Ghosts and Bones and Blood and Things. There are some classic songs in this shuffle and some of my all-time favorite artists, and this song sounds great to me alongside those songs.  Instant classic? Maybe.  Great song? Certainly.

“Pillar to Post” by Aztec Camera      window.amznpubstudioTag = “eartothegro00-20”;     

Speaking of classics and all-time favorites… from the 1982 album, High Land, Hard Rain…. Roddy Frame and company made such beautiful music.

VIDEO PLAYLIST



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Monday Morning Music Shuffle – Hangin’ Downtown Mix

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After a long, productive weekend, I am back at the work week – shuffle thing….

ICYMI: my latest two live reviews are up on No Depression.   You can read the first part of my recap of the Safety Harbor Song Fest. (Part II coming soon)  And my Review of Friday nights Humming House hometown record release celebration.

On to the shuffle:

“Harley” by Don Henry

Don Henry’s 1991 album Wild in the Backyard was one of my favorites – great mostly humorous songwriting from a top Nashville writer.  I lost possession of the CD at some point, but the good news is I am pretty sure it ended up in the hands of a friend who went on to be a pretty awesome songwriter, too.  I was happy to come across this live version of a song from that album which was recorded at the Bluebird Café here in Nashville.

“Bozeman” by Matt Prater

I am seriously digging on Matt Prater’s Tables and Chairs album which was released earlier this year, and this is one of my favorite songs, a classic Boy meets… song. Great hook and a fun twist.

“Wave As We Run” by Sean Watkins

Another great song from the album, All I Do is Lie by Nickel Creek guitarist Sean Watkins.

“Tension” by Minutemen

Originally from the 1st 12inch release by post-punk legends the Minutemen – The Punch Line.  That record and What Makes a Man Start Fires were later compiled on the CD Release called Post-Mersh Vol. 1. The song was written by Mike Watt and the late Martin Tamburovich who was part of the band The Reactionaries which was a predecessor band to the Minutemen. 

“My Baby Don’t Understand Me” by Natalie Prass

The opening track from the self-titled debut album by one-time Nashville resident Natalie Prass.  The album was released earlier this year, and debuted at number 50 on the UK album charts. 

“Walked to You” by Tipi Valley

Dust is the latest release from E2TG favorite Tipi Valley of Swansea UK.  The song uses electronic sounds and effects to convey a gorgeous song.  Please take a look at Tipi Valley’s 2015 CXCW video located below the Video Playlist.  The video, like all of Tipi Valley’s videos, is available on Vimeo and not You Tube.

“The Extra Mile” by Jeremy Gluck/Robert Coyne

Another great track from the album Memory Deluxe: I Knew Buffalo Bill 2 which is a follow up to 1987’s album I Knew Buffalo Bill and featured Gluck along with Nikki Sudden, Rowland S. Howard, Jeffrey Lee Pierce, and Epic Soundtracks.

“One O’ The Girls” by Phranc

Phranc’s song about fitting in on the women’s swim team.. from Folksinger.

“Hangin’ Downtown” by The Replacements

From Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash.  A song about – hanging downtown because there is nothing else to do.

“Tear Me Down” by Ron Muga

Another cool song from the album Wonderful Doom by New York singer-songwriter Ron Muga.

VIDEO PLAYLIST


And because Tipi Valley isn’t on You Tube, here is his 2015 entry in Couch by Couchwest from Vimeo…
https://player.vimeo.com/video/121283095
Silent Breather for cxcw 2015 from Tipi Valley on Vimeo.
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Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle – Fairytales and Other Legends Mix

I’m short on time and don’t really have much preliminary banter… so let’s just get to the shuffle – we have a good one today!

“Rain” by Ron Muga

New York songwriter Ron Muga is up first with another lovely track from his Wonderful Doom album. Muga is the driving force behind the No Country Project which is dedicated to deconstructing about every genre of music which is descended from American Roots music. 

“Leaves” by The Western Shore

Fresh off their killer appearance at Monday night’s E2TG Presents event, comes one of East Nashville’s best… This song appeals to me because my (currently unpublished) novel, The Drift uses leaves floating down a stream as an metaphor at an important moment in the book.  This song is on the excellent album, Thunderstorm.

“heavy sleepers” by Dead and Lovely

Brand new Nashville residents, Jayda Hampton and John Levan are Dead and Lovely.  Naming your band after a Tom Waits’ song sets up some high expectations, and as I can attest after seeing them perform at an Eastside Invasion round at Bobby’s Idle Hour, they meet or exceed those expectations.  A pair of unique voices singing excellent songs.  It is great to have their music in the shuffle. This is from their album Heavy which is on their bandcamp page. 

http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3199444926/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/artwork=small/transparent=true/

“God Only Knows” by She and Him

As heard on the hit Fox TV series, The New Girl – because Zooey is adorkable, and because it’s a freaking Beach Boys song… jeez!

“Meridian” by The Lucky Jukebox Brigade

Although more and more Nashville music is making its way into the shuffles, I remain grateful and loyal to the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut bands that helped Ear to the Ground to be named “The Best Nashville-Based Music Blog that focuses primarily on music from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut – 2012 and 2013)*  The Lucky Jukebox Brigade on one of the most original and one of my favorite bands. If you haven’t gotten you copy of Familiar Fevers (the album which includes this song), I advise you to do so immediately.

*As voted on by a panel of absolutely no one since it’s a self-proclaimed title, but basically undisputed… 

“Fairytale of New York” (Pogues cover) by Paleface!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,”script”,”twitter-wjs”);

An excellent cover of the Holiday classic made famous by The Pogues and the late, great Kirsty MacColl by enigmatic American singer/songwriter Paleface.  I posted this song last year as a Bonus Track, but this is the official shuffle debut. In my hasty research, I could not find out who sings with Paleface on this song, so if you know, please let me know.  I also could not find a video of the Paleface version, and I posted the Official Video of the original song – because The Pogues and Kirsty Maccoll!

“so what?” by Dead and Lovely

How about another from Pennsylvania transplants, The Dead and Lovely with another from Heavy.  They also have some songs up on Soundcloud, so if you like what you hear, head over there as well.

“Little Trip to Heaven (On the Wings of Your Love)” by Tom Waits

It seems appropriate to follow up a song by Dead and Lovely with a Tom Waits song, so it’s a good thing my shuffle function did just that.  This one goes way, way back over 40 years to Tom Waits’ first album Closing Time.

“Just Me and These Ponies (For Christmas)” by Corb Lund

A new Christmas song from a brand new compilation called An Americana Christmas put out by New West Records.  The album features new and classic tracks from artists like Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Nikki Lane, The Old 97s, The Band, John Prine, and Valerie June.  Corb Lund’s contribution adds to the long line of sad Holiday songs which validates the experiences of many around this time of year.

VIDEO PLAYLIST


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Thursday Morning Music Shuffle – Doing the Horizontal Mix

A frustrating morning commute – made all the better by an eclectic ten song shuffle… enjoy…

“Waffle House” by Darrin Bradbury from When a Car Becomes A House (Demos)

“I’d like to know what I want without it being advertised.” A beautiful song of the road from the one and only Darrin Bradbury.

“Moons of Jupiter” by Ron Muga from Wonderful Doom

Another lovely song this one from Ron Muga.  I had some technical difficulties before, some I glad to be featuring these songs finally.

“Truckin’ Trees for Christmas” by Red Simpson from Lit Up Like a Christmas Tree – A Vintage Holiday Mixtape/Truckers’ Christmas

Is it a coincidence that there were two country music singers named “Red” who were notable for Trucker songs?  This one goes out to all those who drive long distances day after to day so that we can conveniently get the things we want and need.

“Trick” by Joe Sundell from The Hat Thief

This is one of my favorite records of the year, and this lively, old-time sounding song is one of my favorites off of it.

“Santa Claus” by Thee Headcoatees from Lit Up Like a Christmas Tree – A Vintage Holiday Mixtape/Sisters of Suave

Thee Headcoatees are a 90s British Garage Rock band who sound like they could be 60s Garage Band.  This song may or may not sound like their song, “Davey Crockett”. 

“5th String is Broken” by Sammy Brue from Bootleg Sessions VOL I

For a second day in a row, we have 13 year old phenom Sammy Brue in the shuffle. Maybe Santa can bring him a 5th String for Christmas?

“Santa’s Doing the Horizontal Twist” by Kay Martin and Her Body Guards from Lit Up Like a Christmas Tree – A Vintage Holiday Mixtape/Kinky Christmas Songs

At this point, I feel compelled to point out that the shuffle literally comes from a random shuffle of songs in a playlist I curate.  So, while I must take responsibility for adding this song to said playlist.*  I cannot be held accountable for this showing up right after a song by a 13 year old boy.  Spoiler Alert: It should also be pointed out that the character mentioned in the song is not actually Santa.  *David “Popa Tunes” Horton sent me the mixtape. 😉 

“Country Nugget” by Blackfoot Gypsies from Dandee Cheeseball

I just heard that Blackfoot Gypsies are playing The 5 Spot a week from today with Cory Brannan and bunch of other folks.  I implore you to check this band out whenever and wherever you get the chance.  Also, I actually checked to make sure my Music Player was operating correctly when this song was playing.  That is a compliment.

“Fish Plant Rebellion” by Ike Reilly from Am I Still the One for You?/Poison the Hit Parade

The last time I posted an Ike Reilly song and tweeted about it, he replied and said I should make sure to tell my friends that the songs I have been featuring are all available (free and easy) via the fine folks at NoiseTrade.  If you are interested (and you should be interested), I am going to post the widget to make it even easier.

“The Shroud” by The Lucky Jukebox Brigade from Familiar Fevers

We close things out with another awesome song from the way cool Familiar Fevers album by The Lucky Jukebox Brigade. 

VIDEO PLAYLIST


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Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle – Protective Leather Skin Mix

Let’s see….  So apparently, Foo Fighters are playing at The Ryman on Halloween.

Last night, I got hang out with some awesome songwriters and talk music and the movie Road House, plus hear some of them do what they do best.  I also hopped over to the Mercy Lounge to finally see Dogs of Oz live.  They were awesome, and I hope to see a longer set from them soon.  Here is a picture.



Let’s get to the shuffle –

“The Good Fight” by Lael Summer from Burden to Bear

For the second day in a row we have a long from Lael Summer.  Such a great voice!

“Runnin'” by Modoc from Deer Head Music Presents: Indie Mixtape Nashville/Modoc

The breath and depth of talent in Nashville is outrageous. This incredible Indie mixtape while demonstrating a wide range of sounds and styles within the loosely defined genre is still but a drop in the bucket.  So many awesome players, writers, and bands….  That’s to Deer Head Music and Daniel Ellsworth and the Great Lakes for expanding my Nashville musical vocabulary.  Cool song from Modoc, who I have been hearing about for a while… my first listen, and I dig it.

“Tarpit” by Golden Smog from Blood on the Slacks

A week or so ago I found two Golden Smog albums at Goodwill. For the uninitiated, Golden Smog is a loosely associated group of musicians who are better known from their other bands.  Primarily, it is Gary Louris from The Jayhawks and Dan Murphy from Soul Asylum. Although best known for their awesome covers, on later albums the band began writing original music.  This, however, is a cover of a song by Dinosaur Jr.  P.s. I love the name of this album!

“Widows” by Heath McNease from Fort Wayne (Songs Inspired by the Film)

Another great track from Heath McNease from the album that accompanies his film, Fort Wayne.

“I Don’t Really Want to be Social” by BROCHO from An Introduction to BROCHO/Can’t Get Past the Lips

Some days, I think this could be my theme song…. I’ve been really digging on this BRONCHO music – thanks to NoiseTrade for the introduction…

“Nothings Gonna Change my Clothes” (live) by They Might Be Giants from First Album Live

We are almost done with our presentation of the live recreation of TMBG’s incredible first album.  “And the mirror, it reflects a tiny dancing skeleton
Surrounded by a fleshy overcoat and swaddled in
A furry hat, elastic mask, a pair of shiny marble dice
Some people call them snake-eyes, but to me they look like mice”

“When I See You Again” by The Western Shore from Thunderstorm

In spite of or because of or coincidental to the fact that Nashville has a wealth of musical talent (as previously discussed), it is also (or at least can be) a very small, tightly knit community. A few weeks ago at a Friday Tim Carroll show, I met Charlie Smyth and in the course of our conversation, I mentioned that I write a music blog at which point he handed me a CD. (Seriously one of favorite parts of writing a music blog), and just a few minutes later, I found out he is friends with some of my new musician friends.  Well, I gave the album a listen and immediately added to my active playlist, and today the Shuffle monster finally coughed our first (but not our last) song from this album.  Highly original sound, great songs, and superior execution.  I’m a fan.

“We Take Care of Our Own” by Matt King from Raw

I think I’ve said it before, but I am so looking forward to the next Matt King album which should feature his new band Killing Streets which includes my good friends Matt and Livia from The End Men (who are still the most tagged band on Ear to the Ground – although Darrin Bradbury is closing).  Until that album comes out, it’s been good to listen to this stripped down album and imagine this incredible songwriter back by such a kick ass band. 

“Getting Tails” by Zachariah Red from This Town EP

During the past couple of months, as I go through a rather difficult time, I have been fortunate to meet some incredible and incredibly talented people.  A couple of weeks ago, I got to write out Zachariah Red following his guest slot at Fran’s Eastside.  Today we have another song from his EP.  Looking forward to hearing more from Zachariah Red soon.  By the Nashville readers, Zach and several other of new friends and new favorite songwriters are playing at Belcourt Taps on Thursday. Come out.

“Sweet Trepidation”  by Ron Muga from Wonderful Doom!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,”script”,”twitter-wjs”);

We close out the day with a song from New York songwriter Ron Muga.  He was kind enough to contact me and send me some music.  I like this song a lot. Check him out.

VIDEOS


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