Thursday Morning Music Shuffle – Something Nobody’s Ever Seen Mix

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There was fog this morning, and for once, it was not all in my head…

Let’s shuffle, shall we?

“Judee Was a Punk” by Aaron Lee Tasjan

E2TG is and has long been all about connections.  I try not to overstate it, but rather let the connections express themselves in a variety of ways. Sometimes, something I post – a song or an artist or an album or my reflection about a one of those – will lead me to a deeper connection with someone I know – through a shared experience or emotion.  I have made some wonderful connections due to writing this blog. Big picture, I believe that we are all connected, and that life’s big illusion is one of separation, and that our primary purpose in life is to work on breaking through that illusion to find the real. Unexpected reminders of our collective connectedness are the source of some of my greatest joys, 

All this to say, the first time I was made aware of Judee Sill and her tortured life and her beautiful music was through my friends in Valued Customer. Very shortly after reading about Sill on Patrick and Justus’ Peacefork blog, I heard Aaron Lee Tasjan singing this song in Nashville at The 5 Spot.  The song and the unexpected connection brought me great joy.  It is an awesome song, and I am glad ALT included it on his latest album, In the Blazes – which is a much buy album – by the way.

“Inertia Fire” by Calming River

We move on with another track from The Ones That We Left Behind by this singer/songwriter from Denmark by way of the UK.

“Central Park” by Brian Wright and The Waco Tragedies

Man oh man, any shuffle that has Aaron Lee Tasjan AND Brian Wright is alright in my book.  From Brian’s album Bluebird with the Waco Tragedies. I love this song. Brian Wright’s songs speak truth – like all the best music does.

“Bought and Sold” by The Graveyard Kids

The Graveyard Kids were a Brooklyn band and part of the Mama Coco’s Funky Kitchen family (which I dig so much). They released their swansong, It’s Been a Wonderful Evening, and then called it quits.  This is an awesome song, and I hope some people will look them up and follow rabbit holes to stay up with what the band members and the rest of MCFK are up to in the Big Apple.

“Waiting for the Sun” (Live) by The Jayhawks

Another thing I dig – also related to connectedness – are happy coincidences. Just like I trust in the power of randomness, I also believe in coincidence. Anyway, just yesterday someone posted something about The Jayhawks, and today this song shows up in the shuffle.  This is from that live recording that I grabbed off Noisetrade.  A solo Gary Louris live version of this was included on the Bonus CD of Rainy Day Music – called More Rain.

“Bluebird” by Don Gallardo

ALT, Brian Wright, and Don Gallardo!  A good day for Nashville music. Another coincidence, this song shares a title with the Brian Wright album from which today’s posted song was taken. Don Gallardo has jumped into my consciousness over the past several months, and I cannot wait to her is brand new album. This is from his 2012 album, The Art of Troublesome Times and features Jill Andrews.

“Laurel Canyon” by The Church

Yet another coincidence!  Yesterday, I heard that The Church will be making a rare Nashville appearance in April at the Mercy Lounge.  I have been a fan of The Church since the early 80s – when I heard “Electric Lash” on a compilation that was released on cassette inside a field rations can.  Laurel Canyon has a storied musical history dating back to the sixties and seventies. I once wrote a short story with a character named Laurel who another character called “Laurel Canyon”, but I’m not sure if that counts as coincidence or is just evidence of my weirdness.  Anyway, the recording I listened to, came from one of those many World Café Sessions that I downloaded some time ago. The song was on the band’s 24th and most recent Studio Album Further/Deeper.

“Down So Low” by Mother Earth

And we close things out with an iconic song with connects with my recent interest in late 60s/early 70s Nashville. Mother Earth formed in San Francisco, but later moved to a farm just outside of Nashville and became an integral part of the burgeoning scene around the West End area.  This song is from the band’s debut album Living with Animals and is easily one of the band’s best known songs. I got to see Tracy Nelson perform twice last year.

I will close out this post, by encouraging each of you to be open for unexpected moments of connection.  They – like the truth – are out there.

 

 

 

 

 

VIDEO PLAYLIST

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A Rare Saturday Night Shuffle – Amazon Music Mix

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I am bored and amped up on caffeine and messing around with a bunch of music I have saved to my Amazon Music Cloud.  So here you go.. I’m guessing this is kind of what they call live blogging… so yeah…

“Piano Concerto No. 2 in D Minor…” (Mozart) by Denis Matthews , Vienna State Opera Orchestra from Big Mozart Box

’cause sometimes I just feel like listening to classical music… is that okay with you?

“Electric Lash” by The Church from Seance

Way back when, I bought this cassette “Survival” Sampler that came in an olive green rations can with handy dandy survival guide liner notes and a bunch of cool music of the day including this one which I have loved ever since.

“Effigy” by Urge Overkill from Rock and Roll Submarine

This was the first single from the band’s 2011 album, there first since 1995.

“Summer” by Katie Herzig from Walk Through Walls

Nashville Indie Pop artist Katie Herzig warms a long cold winter with this song about Summer.

“Bright Stars Burning” by Hey Marseilles from Lines We Trace

Orchestral Folk/Pop from Seattle.  A jaunty number from their 2013 album which is their most recent.

“Rock n Roll” by Feedtime from Loss Opportunity Sampler/Shovel

Some Australian post-punk rock n roll…from 1987 or so

“Well All Right” (Buddy Holly cover) by Kid Rock from Rave On

I hope this is the only Kid Rock song in my collection.  Keeping just because it’s a Buddy Holly cover… bleh…

“Tree by the River” by Iron and Wine from Kiss Each Other Clean

I can never remember which one is Iron and which one is Wine…

“Find It” by Family of the Year from Loma Vista

Who votes for these things? 

“Divertimento in B-flat Major for 2 Horns and Strings, K.287: IV. Adagio” (Mozart) by English Chamber Orchestra, David Blum conducting from Big Mozart Box 

What can I say, I am a sucker from cheap classical downloads with tons of music on them…

“Lost in My Mind” by The Head and The Heart from The Head and The Heart

I can never remember which one is The Head and which one is The Heart… oh, I used that joke already… I guess I’m just lost in my mind….

VIDEO FUNTIME SUPER PLAYLIST SHUFFLE THING 

Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle – Infamy Mix

More yucky late fall, early winter weather. Today is the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. So remember the Alamo or remember the Maine or remember to rent your car from Alamo when you are travelling in Maine or don’t. Seriously, though, my great uncle???? was killed at Pearl Harbor, he was the band director aboard the Arizona???? – don’t fact check me, please. A spin through the vagrancies of my playlist….
  Under the Milky Way by The Church is from 1988s Starfish. Fine Australian pop.

Baby, I will Leave You in the Morning by Marissa Nadler is off of her eponymously named 2011 album. Dreamy modern folk-pop.

  San Pedro by Mogwai comes from the Scottish hardcore band’s 2011 album Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will. It is one of only two songs in my playlist which reference San Pedro and are not Mike Watt related.

  Waiting for the UFOs by Graham Parker and the Rumour from their classic 1979 album Squeezing Out the Sparks. Proto-Power-Pop-Pleasures….

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Graham Parker & the Rumour : the Up Escalator Graham Parker & the Rumour : the Up Escalator

Under the Milky Way: The Best of the Church {@Buddha}’s {^Under the Milky Way: The Best of the Church} is a terrific, comprehensive anthology, tracing their career from their 1981 debut, {^Of Skin and Heart}, to 1994’s {^Sometime Anywhere}. Some hardcore fans may notice some personal favorites miss

Marissa Nadler Singer/songwriter Marissa Nadler found herself in an unenviable position in 2010. After releasing the celebrated Little Hells in 2009, she was dropped by her label. As an indie artist, Nadler turned to a Kickstarter campaign to fund this album. Issued on her Box of Cedar imprint, and produced with great care and restraint by Brian McTear, Marissa Nadler is, ironically, her lushest, warmest, most sophisticated offering yet, with its lyric and melodic concerns honed to a stiletto’s edge. The haunting ballad, “Baby I Will Leave You in the the Morning,” is indicative of the album’s more polished direction and hints at influences outside the folksinger’s earlier recordings. Carter Tanton’s bass, guitars, and vibes fill out the tune’s layered backbone; its more illustrative flourishes come courtesy of Orion Rigel Domisse’s synths, Ben McConnell’s percussion, and Nadler’s swooping, soaring voice, which feels like a cross between a young and androgynous Marc Bolan’s –of the acoustic Tyrannosaurus Rex incarnation — in its phrasing and Hope Sandoval’s dreamier, airier one in expression. The strumming acoustic guitars and gently shuffling drums that underscore her soaring vocal on the summery if sad “The Sun Always Reminds Me of You” are textured and given flight by Jim Callan’s whining pedal steel and Domisse’s upright piano. These songs reflect real growth in their melodic components for Nadler as a writer. For the most part, she forgoes the third person and delivers her poetically rich narratives from the heart of the “I.” The shimmering “Alabaster Queen,” adorned with her double-tracked, reverbed vocals, cymbals, Rhodes, and acoustic guitar is gently erotic in its promise of fealty. “Puppet Master” is a more English-styled post-psychedelic folk song. It’s a dark reflection of eros and emotional need, and uses the physical world to depict the inner psychological machinations. The jazzy bridge with Tanton’s vibes is beautiful. “Wedding” comes from the ether, with channel-shifting reverb effects that nonetheless put her voice front and center. It uses a ’60s girl group melody, with her own backing vocals to create a backing chorus line. The languid, dreamy “In a Magazine” utilizes Callan’s steel as its driving force; it reflects the influence of songwriter and producer Richard Hawley’s obsession with Roy Orbison’s dramatic sensibility. “Little King” and “Daisy Where Did You Go” are stripped down enough to recall her earlier recordings. Nothing here feels the least bit overdone. Marissa Nadler is a sensual, provocative, enticing work of vision and maturity. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi Performers: Orion Rigel Dommisse – Vocal Harmony, Fender Rhodes, Synthesizer, Piano; Helena Espvall – Cello; Jim Callan – Peda

Mogwai [EP+6] Released a few months after their nearly universally underappreciated sophomore effort, Come On Die Young, Mogwai’s EP+2 is essentially a continuance of that record’s reflective tone. Calm but no less effective, the four new songs on this EP are steady an