Category: The Gabriel Construct

Monday Morning Music Shuffle – A Few of My Favorite Things 2013 Mix – Part Five

Stupid winter bugs…. well, I was out sick Friday – so no shuffle.  But, today’s shuffle includes music I would have featured on that day – plus a few more.   I’m actually going to be away for the rest of the week.  Ear to the Ground will return Monday December 30 to present the 3rd Annual Band of the Year award (for the first time not based upon a poll).

Let’s get to the music…



“I Guess That’s True” by Calicocat
“Lincoln” by EdTang
“Hey Grace, Hey Tony” by Grace and Tony
“May the Road Rise to Meet Your Face” by James Crawford
“Afraid to Die” by Monks of Mellonwah
“Screwdriver” by Prince
“Arrival in a Distant Land” by The Gabriel Construct
“Patience” by Mr. Kind
“Halo Day (4 ‘Drew)” by Tim Lee 3
“Bill, I Believe This is Killing Me” by EdTang
“Davey Jones” by The Blind Owl Band
“I’d Rather be High” by David Bowie
“Lonesome Street” by The Blind Owl Band
“Knocking on Heavens Door” by You and Me
“Divine Restlessness” by Marla Mase
“On the Watch (Parts V- XII)” by The Gypsy West
“Tennessee” by The Coal Men
“New Jerusalem” by Valued Customer
“Saint” by Mission South

NOTES:

Sadly, Nashville’s Calicocat called it quits this year, but first, they dropped their brilliant Mighty Superfluous.

Look for Grace and Tony to continue to light things up in 2014. Their debut album November dropped in… well November. 

Reuniting with old classmates on social media can be a hit or miss endeavor. From acrimonious political rankling to endless game requests, there can definitely be a downside.  On the other hand, there are people I didn’t know too well in school who I’ve gotten to know and like through the web.  And then there is James Crawford who just happened to make one of my favorite albums of the year.

Prince and David Bowie released excellent new music in 2013. Go figure.

The Gypsy West kicked off 2013 with the release of the final part of their Accomplices trilogy. We loved it.

Valued Customer.

I saw Mission South at the Basement when I went out to see my friends Miss Shevaughn and Yuma Wray. They are from D.C. and pretty freakin’ awesome.

SHOP
WATCH
(all of our 2013 favorites)
 
 


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Monday Morning Music Shuffle – A Few of My Favorite Things 2013 Mix – Pt. One

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It’s here… time to begin our look back at the year which was 2013.  In true E2TG style, for the remainder of 2013 we will shuffling up a special playlist which includes some of our favorite songs from the past year.  I’ll let the song speak for themselves, but we will be highlighting some of our favorite E2TG related albums of the year as we move along.

About Band of the Year.  After two successful Band of the Year polls (by page view numbers, Band of the Year and Band of the Month polls dominate our statistics page for most viewed), so it is only after careful consideration that I’ve decided to forgo the Band of the Year poll for 2013.  Basically, it comes down to the fact that I would rather see independent bands cooperating and collaborating than competing.  We had some memorably good fun with some of our polls – especially the first annual Band of the Year poll and the legendary February 2012 Band of the Month poll that came down to a dogfight between MAKAR and The End Men.  As time went by, and I began featuring more and more bands, the idea no longer seemed to be in the spirit of this site.  

I will be naming the third annual Band of the Year within the next couple of weeks.  Meanwhile, enjoy yourself as we relive this year that almost was.  If you feel so inclined, share some of these posts with your friends near and far.


Before we jump into the first of our Favorites’ shuffles for 2013, I need to rectify something….


#E2TG Hall of Fame (Notable Omissions):

More names will be added to the Hall of Fame in early 2014 – and my progress on the completion of the Hall of Fame page has hit some unexpected delays, but I’ve became increasingly uncomfortable knowing that two of my favorite E2TG artists have not been added to the Hall as of yet. 

1.  Ubiquity Machine/Howard Rabach  – In using the tagging feature to determine our Hall of Fame, one thing I failed to take into account were the many fine bands/artists you came to prominence in the months when E2TG was still housed on the now defunct Posterous site.  Howard Rabach was one of the first readers of the blog to step out of the shadows.  His band, Ubiquity Machine, was one of our early Bands of the Week. The band finished second in our first annual Band of the Year poll, and he has remained a good friend of Ear to the Ground ever since.  UM has been kind of dormant of late, as Howard has been doing some freelance stuff.  Check out his Facebook page here. So it is with great pleasure, that I usher in UM/HR to a spot of honor in our Hall of Fame.




2. The Grimm Generation – Another thing I failed to take into account in my tagging system of Hall of Fame eligibility is the variant tagging which sometimes occurs. Blogger places a 200 character limit on tagging so sometimes I have to shorten band names – like leaving the “The” off.  That is the only explanation I have for The Grimm Generation not being in our top 20 tagged artists. Still this unique and frankly awesome collective from Connecticut (headed up by the amazing Jason Krug and Carmen Champagne), are well deserving of a prime spot in our Hall of Fame.  Hell their latest album, The Big Fame even has “fame” in the title. They have consistently made music which I love and which seems timeless in its wonderfulness.




Now… let the 2013 Shuffles begin


“When I Cry” by Jeanette Lynne (from You’ve Got Me)


“Infatuation” by Dog Without Warning (from Bark)


“Temporary Thought Exchange (AKT A Cappella) by Its Teeth (from Divided)


“Goodbye Summer” by Jonny Fritz (from Dad Country)


“Spittin’ Lies” by Nikki Sue and the Bad News (from Nothing Gold)


Highlights:  Of note, in our first shuffle of the year end playlist, we have a couple of talented female artists from the Northeast who came my way directly or indirectly via the visionary music guru Popatunes.  Jeanette Lynne is from Philly and Nikki Sue is from New Jersey.  They both write great songs that fall into the Americana/Countryish/Folk-like genres (if you are into genres).  The important thing is that make great music and they both had releases which were among my favorites for 2013. 

Dog Without Warning hail from the greater bay area of California.  They came to my attention via CXCW and I featured some music off their indie flavored concept? album Go Girl.  The follow up was released as an EP earlier this year, and it was a revelation. Bark uses acoustic arrangements which serve to highlight the songwriting skills and humor of this band.  Bark quickly moved into my favorites category and has stayed there as the year has progressed.

We recently featured the Its Teeth track which features Gabriel from The Gabriel Construct as well as the Jonny Fritz track from the fantastic Dad Country album.

SHOP

 
 


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Thursday Morning Music Shuffle – Maybe Partying Will Help Mix

Cold wet weather has descended on Nashville (after a near record high yesterday).  A good day to stay inside and listen to a long set of music.

Jump to it….

BONUS TRACKS:

“Pussycat” by Moovalya    “Winter Wonderland” by Annie Sellick    “Mississippi” by The Griswolds    “Can’t Hurt” by Framptons   “The Glory of Man” by The Minutemen    “Before I Commit a Crime” by Howlin’ Wolf   “Fairytale of New York” (Pogues cover) by Paleface    “Maybe Partying Will Help”  by The Minutemen    “Walk With You” by Something Like Kites    “Come On” by Green River Ordinance    “Pilot” by Cloud Gavin    “Marbles” by Swear and Shake     “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness” (John Prine cover) by Alabama 3 

Transition Track:  “Temporary Thought Exchange (AKT A Capella)” by Its Teeth featuring vocals by Gabriel of The Gabriel Construct”

Shuffle:

“Rainbow in the Dark” by Bhi Bhiman (from Substitute Preacher. Dio Cover.  Yep.)

“Loneliness and Alcohol” by Jars of Clay (from Noisetrade Eastside Manor Sessions. Original version was on the bands 2012 album Inland)

“MoneyGrabber” by Fitz and the Tantrums (from Pickin’ Up the Pieces. A fun song that to me sounds like it should have always existed)

“Let’s Get Stoned and Go to the Zoo” by  Darrin Bradbury (from NEW!!!! The Almost Great Crepe’s (Demos).  Ya’ll, I can’t stress enough how much I’m digging these songs.)

“Wish That It Would Stop” by Umbrella Bed (from Refill EP. More Ska for you from this veteran band)

“Agenda Suicide” by Bird by Bird (from Decades EP. A cover of a song by The Faint.  This EP is all covers – one song each for the past 5 decades.  This one represents the ’10s)

 
 
WATCH

 
 


Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle – Foggy Notion Mix

For me, the thing about Lou Reed’s music that is most significant is not that it made me fall in love with Lou Reed’s music, it is that it opened up my mind to the possibilities of what music could be.  It started this life-long quest for what is next and what else is there.  Certainly, I did fall in love with Lou Reed’s music both in and out of the Velvet Underground, but I didn’t stay there.  I don’t know how many posts I say in the hours after the news of his death broke about Lou Reed being the doorkeeper or gatekeeper. It was also so gratifying to see a very diverse list of people who acknowledged the influence that Lou Reed had on their music.

See, I don’t write Ear to the Ground to make money – I would have quit long ago if that were the case, and I don’t write to make friends with so many cool artists – although that it is a pretty nifty side-effect. I write Ear to the Ground (and I keep writing on those days when I am not sure anyone is reading) because music moves me.  Lou Reed’s music moves me and the band who you’ve never heard about – there music moves me.  And the music that is being made somewhere in the world that I haven’t heard yet – that moves me. See, I’m passionate about music. I write Ear to the Ground because even if I stopped writing this blog, I would still be thinking about music and wondering what was next and what else was out there waiting for me to hear.



Let’s Shuffle

“Lillian, Egypt” (LIVE) by Josh Ritter  (from Live at the Iveagh Gardens. I dig Josh Ritter.  He writes cool songs and he has a great voice. That’s pretty much enough for me sometimes.)

“Desperado” by Linda Ronstadt (a cover of a then still recent Eagles song from her fourth studio album, Don’t Cry Now. I’m honestly not a huge Eagle’s fan – but to tell the truth, Linda Ronstadt could have been singing the phonebook, and I would be listening. Beside, while listening to this song I found my self staring into the horizon like Karl Farbman on Seinfeld.)

“May the Road Rise to Meet Your Face” by James Crawford (from his self-titled debut.  I think this is a traditional Irish Toast. I have to say it is really cool when some you have known for a long time makes a truly great record.)

“Temporary Though Exchange (AKT Vocal Version)” by Its Teeth with Travis Orbin and Gabriel from The Gabriel Construct (from Divided – which you can get  here   – CD Sold out digital still available – One of the reasons I stay open, not only to genres and styles of music but to the various ways that music reaches my ear holes, is that I never know…  Earlier this year I was introduced to The Gabriel Construct by a music promoter – one of the best in my opinion and thus discovered one of the best, most challenging albums of the year.  Gabriel recommended this album which includes his collaborator Travis Orbin and on which Gabriel contributed vocals to this track. I never know… if I had dismissed the submission for The Gabriel Construct because it had come from a promoter – not only would I have missed out on that album, but more than likely I never would have heard this amazing record either.)

“Dixie Fried” by The Howlin’ Brothers (from The Sun Studio Sessions.  Nashville’s own, The Howlin’ Brothers start off their album recorded at the famous Sun Studios in Memphis with a cover of a song by one of the legends who came out of that storied, tiny building on Union Avenue – the late great Carl Perkins.)

“New Boy” by The Connells (from New Boy. The title track from the Mid 90s EP by this great and perhaps underrated band from North Carolina.)

 
 
WATCH
 
 
 


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Monday Morning Music Shuffle – 99 Mix

Earlier this year, E2TG featured several songs by Christian Robins from his debut mixtape called KidGrownUp.  At the time, he didn’t have any videos for us to feature.  However, he just dropped the Official Video for his song “Suburban Trap Rap”.  So we thought we would post it now.




Now, let’s get into today’s shuffle —- you know the drill – JUMP

We are back with our first Shuffle since last Thursday.  Let’s ease into the week with a nifty little mix of songs…  99…

“CKW” by ItsTeeth (from the album Divided.  This one came to us from our friend Gabriel Lucas Gitin Riccio of the Gabriel Construct.  Its Teeth is an (mostly) instrumental Post-Rock project. Primarily Jacob Belcher. On Divided, Belcher teams with Travis Orbin who was part of The Gabriel Construct album.  And… Gabriel himself contributed vocals to one track on Divided – but not this one.  Anyway, it’s cool stuff – check it out.)



“November” by Grace and Tony (from November.  Tony is the brother of The Civil Wars’ John Paul White.  They call their music Punkgrass. Their debut album is due out next month. Grace and Tony were married in July. So congrats to them.  Check it out!)

“Jesus” by The Velvet Underground (from The Velvet Underground.  “Help me find my proper place”)

“99” by Sonny Boy Williamson (from A Ray of Sonny.  “You asked me for one hundred dollars, and I didn’t have but ninety nine”)

“Easy Easy” by King Krule (from 6 Feet Beneath The Moon. This track is currently free from Amazon.  The description is “Rock and Soul with a Voice like Joe Strummer.”  You be the judge.)

 
Here is today’s Video Playlist (99)
 


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Friday Morning Music Shuffle – The Simple Joys Mix

I have to be very quick…. Please take a moment to check out all of our great artists

“A Good Man Know” by Black Jake and the Carnies

“Subway Dwellers” by The Gabriel Construct

“All the While” by James Crawford (from his forthcoming self-titled album)

“Mental Trapeze” by The End Men

“Remedy” by False-Heads

“Queen of Imperfection” by Marla Mase

“Whenever You Call” by McNary

“Ravens in the Night” by The Britanys

“Angel of Mercy” by Mark Robinson

“Vaya” by EdTang

“Bela” by McNary

“July” by Prattle On, Rick

“Sleepwalk” by Mark Robinson

“The Final Thread” by The Danbury Lie

“The Letter” by The Box Tops

“House of Love” by Susan James

VIEW TODAY’S DAILY PLAYLIST
 


HERE IS OUR WEEKLY STORE
 


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Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle – Say Hello to Never Mix

Rejoice! Yes, it’s back to work after a long weekend.  Work. A four letter word if I ever heard one, but there is cause for celebration.  Our friends, Matthew and Livia, aka The End Men, have unveiled a brand new song accompanied by a stunning music video.  The song is called “Work”.  You can grab the single of “Work” featuring an unreleased b-side called “Ratking” along with a download of the Video -right now at the band’s Bandcamp page:





 
Let’s get to today’s Shuffle now! (Jump)

 


Music for going back to work:

“Nothing Gold” by Nikki Sue and the Bad News from Nothing Gold (2013)

“After Hours” by The Velvet Underground from The Velvet Underground (1969)

“A Path of Footprints Forged in the Midnight Sun” by Liquid Casing from A Separate/Divide (2013)

“When We Were on Fire” by James Bay from The Dark of the Morning (2013)

“Defense Highway” by The Gabriel Construct from Interior City (2013)

A nice mix of some of excellent new music plus a classic Velvet Underground song sung by drummer Maureen Tucker.  Includes a couple E2TG favorite artists (Nikki Sue and The Gabriel Construct)

 
 
Get featured songs on Amazon (Visit Our Store)
 
 
Get Nothing Gold by Nikki Sue and the Bad News (via Bandcamp)

Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle – Well Trained Badgers Mix

Busy, busy…. busy as a well trained badger.
Music – after the JUMP

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Pre-Shuffle and Shuffle combined for your enjoyment….
 “You Know, I Know, You Know” by Bleu <!– google_ad_client = "ca-pub-5465441380757075"; /* E2TG #2 */ google_ad_slot = "6306625404"; google_ad_width = 728; google_ad_height = 90; //

–> (From Redhead)

“True North” by Sam Morrow (Title track of his recent EP)
“Church Kids” (Poem by Jordan Gaines) by Christian Robins (from KidGrownUp)
“Ghost of Virginia” by Justin Townes Earle (American Songwriter Sessions version)
“Bread or Wine” by Heath McNease (from Thrift Store Jesus)
“Oh Well, My Love, Farewell” by Brad Jones (Nashville based singer-songwriter)
“Second Moon” by Valued Customer (the first release from their new album Kalpa)
“My Alien Father” by The Gabriel Construct (just featured by Huffington Post! After making a comparison, I get to hear Valued Customer and The Gabriel Construct back-to-back. Sublime!)

“Jennifer” and “W-O-E” by Little Comets (British Alt-Pop band)

“This Song Will Make You Love Me” by The Great American Novel (an early treat from the forthcoming record. This song will make you love The Great American Novel.)

“Funny Heartbeat” by Kisses (LA band. Kind of digging it)

“You’ve Got Your Head on Backwards” by The Sonics (from 1966 – one of the predecessors of punk)

PLAYLIST

Friday Morning Music Shuffle – Bleu Blue Blues Mix

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I’m gonna make this fast.  Very good mix today.  Check out the Playlist below (most of the actual songs with a few substitutes).  Pre-Shuffle and Shuffle up after the JUMP


PRE-SHUFFLE

“Mama’s Boy” by the Ramones (from Too Tough to Die)
“The Same Old Ground” by He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister
“Retreat Underground” by The Gabriel Construct 
“All We Make Are Work Tapes” by The Choir at Your Door
“Control” by Marques Toliver
“My Angel” by Jeanette Lynne
“Learning to Let Go” by Bombadil
“Dirt” by Andre Williams
“Shake, Shake, Shake” by Bronze Radio Return
“So Many Ways to Die” by Bombadil

SHUFFLE

“Somebody Else” by Bleu from Redhead (2003)


 

Boston area Singer/Songwriter/Producer, Bleu is a Berklee trained musician who has written pop songs for the likes of The Jonas Brother, Demi Lovato, Hanson, and Selena Gomez.  He’s also made a string of excellent Indie albums of his own.  Today’s track goes back ten years to his major label debut.

“Rainy Day” by Blue Mountain from Midnight in Mississippi (2008)


 

The pioneering Alt-Country band Blue Mountain just broke up at the end of June of this year. They formed in 1993 and returned in 2007 after a six year hiatus.  Rainy Day could only have been more perfect if it had been raining today.

“A Question” by Bombadil from All That The Rain Promises (2011)


 

Our third song of the day from this North Carolina band who are getting ready to release their new album later this month.  This one comes from their previous studio full-length.  The song is about the sweetest, cutest song I’ve heard in a long time.

“Are You Sure You Don’t Want to Hang Out?” by The Great American Novel from Kissing (2012)

 
 Somehow I think Layne Montgomery is writing songs about my young adult life.  We continue to await the new The Great American Novel record. We have a couple of tracks from the new album in our queue and are just waiting for the shuffle gods to pull them up.

“Ragtime Annie” by Katerine Moller from By Request (2010)

 From our Twitter Account to you in a matter of hours.  Katherine Moller is a Celtic Folk Fiddle player.  She is offering a five track fan pack for signing up for her Fanbridge account.  I love Celtic folk music – among the many other types of music I love. 

PLAYLIST

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Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle – Treat Me Like a Bum, Don’t Wear No Tie Mix

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 “Doctor Visit” photo collage by JWM 6/27/13

 Tomorrow is the Fourth of July here in the USA.  For the rest of you, well it’s the Fourth of July, too unless you are across the International Date Line in which case tomorrow is the Fifth of July.  In any event have a great Fourth (or Fifth) of July.

Today’s music next



PRE-SHUFFLE: 

“Wonder No More” by Bronze Radio Return (Indie Roots Rock from Connecticut)

“Ranting Prophet” by The Gabriel Construct (We continue our song by song extended review of the phenomenal Interior City album. The progressive/jazz/classical riffs with Gabriel’s incredible vocal embellishments make this an irresistibly complex and powerful collection of music.)

“Cherry Tree” by The Blind Owl Band (These CXCW alums from New York state are getting ready to release their brand new 12-song release. ‘The Train We Ride is Made of Wood and Steel’ is due out July 10. Today we feature a song from that album – the first of many.  The makes modern music using traditional instruments, and they are a whole lot of fun.  If you’re a fan of Imperial Rooster and/or Black Jake and the Carnies, you will probably like this band.  If you dig traditional bluegrass and old timey Country music, you will probably like this band.  If you dig good music, well played, you will probably like this band.  You will probably like this band.  h/t to Popa Tunes – as per usual)

“Project” by Canopy Climbers  (we continue to feature songs from this Arkansas/Tennessee band who recently released their latest album Miles.  Great sounding Indie/Pop)

“Waitress in the Sky” by The Replacements (hum this song the next time you get bad service on a flight.)

“The Fold” by Ivan and Alyosha (More good stuff from this Washington State band)

“Holly” by The Great American Novel (we continue to get hyped for the new album from this incredibly awesome New York band)



SHUFFLE:

“Planet Telex” (live) by Radiohead from PASTE.COM Presents: Radiohead Live at Tramps June 1, 1995 (2013)


Another track from this recently released set brought to you by Paste.com and Noisetrade.com. It’s Free but 100% of “Tips” go to Amnesty International

“A Grief Observed” by Heath McNease from The Weight of Glory: Second Edition (A Hip Hop Remix Inspired by the Works of CS Lewis) (2013)

Some powerful lyrics and some wicked beats. It’s also available via Noisetrade.com

“Cretin Hop” by Ramones from Rocket to Russia (1977)


It’s been a blast having a Ramones’ song or two in the shuffle almost every day.

“Layne Montgomery is Bad at Girls” by The Great American Novel from Kissing (2012)

A first. I’ve been posting Morning Shuffles since before Ear to the Ground came into existence. It began as Facebook status updates when I listened to a particularly cool mix of music. Some where along the way, it became a daily thing and eventually transferred to the blog when I started writing it.  During that time, I have had numerous occasions to feature songs by people on my Facebook Friends List (including irl friends, musical heroes kind enough to accept my friend request, and new friends I’ve made via the blog). However, today (to my knowledge), we feature the first song whose title includes the name of one of my Facebook friends.  Bonus: Layne Montgomery’s mother was a top ten finalist in Nick @ Nite’s Funniest Mom in America Contest. As for the song, it’s either deeply revealing or self-deprecating or both. Whatever, it’s typically killer stuff from this amazing band.

PLAYLIST

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