Thursday Morning Music Shuffle – I Forget What Eight Was For Mix

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Ah, Thursday!

Last night was the opening night of the Jason Ringenberg residency at The 5 Spot in East Nashville.  Ringenberg is the Jason from Jason and the Scorchers (the seminal Nashville band beginning in the early 1980s).  He is also the Jason from Farmer Jason (host of a PBS kids show and creator of albums for children).  His special guest for week 1 was Webb Wilder (another quintessential figure on the 80s Nashville music scene).

Playing to a pretty packed house, Ringenberg and Wilder really seemed to be enjoying themselves. Jason opened with “Halcyon Times” – the title track from a Scorchers album before turning the stage over to Webb Wilder who moved through a set that encompassed his long career. Including, classic Webb Wilder songs like “How Long Can She Last” and “Human Cannonball”. 

Ringenberg’s set included several classic Scorcher’s songs as well as songs from his solo albums, and a cover of “Trail of Tears” by the great Georgia band, Guadalcanal Diary. 

Wilder then joined Ringenberg to close out the night by each singing a song by the other.  Jason sang, “Sitting Pretty” from 1991’s Doo Dad and Webb sang “Shop it Around” from the first full-length Scorchers album Lost and Found.  They then performed a Farmer Jason song before closing the evening with a really awesome version of Buddy Holly’s “Rave On”.

Tonight, I am going to check out Joey Kneiser and his band at The East Room.  His new album, The Wildness is getting rave reviews.

“Mary” by Brian Wright and the Waco Tragedies

East Nashville songwriter Brian Wright is one of those rare performers who when you hear them for the first time, you think, “Who is this guy? Why did I not know about him before now? and Why doesn’t everyone know about him?”  He’s that good.  I have been fortunate enough to see him perform live several times over the last year or so, and he never, never fails to impress.  He recently made a bunch of his music available digitally.  This song is from an album called Dog Ear .  If you don’t know Brian Wright’s music.  Make yourself a New Year’s Resolution to fix that right away.

“Hot Rod Lincoln” by Bill Kirchen

A classic rock and roll car song. The original version of this song was released in 1955 by the writer of the song Charley Ryan with The Livingston Brothers.  It has been covered several times, notably in 1971 by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen.   Kirchen was the lead guitar play for that version. His version of the song is notable for including a tribute to several of the great rock and roll guitar players – as imitated by Kirchen.  Check it out  – played live in the Video playlist.

“Every Road” by The Transcendents

We wrap up the EP Lay Where You Collapse which was released last July.  The follow up, Common Ground was released in October. I really love the unique sound of this band from New Zealand – which is experimental but firmly grounded.  This track is very evocative and the lyrics are top notch. At one point, the lyrics reference Bob Dylan’s album Blood on the Tracks and Eleanor Catton’s 2013 novel The Luminaries in the same stanza.  (a silly but kind of cool aside, when I was tagging The Transcendents, I typed The Tr and among the suggestions offered was Blood on the Tracks.)

“Dark Angel” by Gretchen Peters

A gorgeous song from Peters’ 2012 album Hello Cruel World.

“Kiss Off” by Violent Femmes

The self-titled Violent Femmes album played such a important part in my younger days and to be honest, I never get tired to revisiting it.  The teenaged angst here is so palatable.  I don’t know how many times I sang along to this at top volume just to try to express what was for me at the time so inexpressible.

“Lost to the Deep” by Simon Fagan

Singer, songwriter Simon Fagan was one of the earlier artists I covered on Ear to the Ground.  I always dug his songs, but I had kind of lost touch for a while.  Toward the end of 2015, though, I got this track from his new album Gilded Bird.  I look forward to hearing the whole thing.

“To the Kill” by Violent Femmes

We close out the shuffle with another from Violent Femmes.

VIDEO PLAYLIST

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Another Random Mix of Great Music – April 4 Edition

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Friday 4/4/2014

Still irregularly posting, but working hard a number of fronts.

Here’s my latest collection of music that has crossed my ears and/or mind since we last visited.

No rhyme or reason… never that…

THE PLAYLIST

1. “Gimme the Car” by Violent Femmes (This was a Bonus Track when the CD version of the Femmes self-titled debut was released.  I always dug this song.)

2. “Heavy Metal Boyz” by Gear Daddies (Back when I first started posting “Shuffles” on Facebook – even before the launch of Ear to the Ground – it seemed like there was a time when a Gear Daddies’ song showed up on my list almost everyday.  This song was always one of my favorites – along with a number of others…)

3. “No Depression” by Uncle Tupelo (If I have to explain why….)

4. The Rollins Band Live in 92 (News of a forthcoming Black Flag show in Nashville made me remember seeing The Rollins Band at 328 Performance Hall back in 1992 – the same year this video was made. Corrosion of Conformity was also on the bill.  At the time, I lived a few blocks away and actually walked to this show)

5.  “Chains” by Soul Asylum (somebody posted Whipped Cream and Other Delights by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.  For some reason, it made me think of this…)

6. “Alabama Pines” by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (heard this on the radio… such an exquisitely beautiful song)

7. The Bisquits partial reunion 2005 (So The Bisquits were a Nashville band that featured Tommy Womack, Will Kimbrough, Michael Grimes, and  Tommy Meyer.  Just last week, when I was at The Basement seeing Miss Shevaughn and Yuma Wray, I showed them a picture of The Bisquits which hangs on the wall between the two restrooms. About a week later, I hear that The Bisquits are reuniting to play Music City Roots on April 16. Coincidence or something more mysterious???)

8.  “Emotion Sickness” by Will Kimbrough  (speaking of Will Kimbrough – one of the busiest men in music – his latest solo album Sideshow Love has been climbing the Americana charts. Check it)

9.  “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple (a heard this on the radio, too.)

10. “Somebody to Love” by Queen (ditto)

11. “99 Luftballoons” by Nena (I got this song stuck in my head the other day for no reason.  Passing it on…)

12. “My Hometown” (Bruce Springsteen cover) by Jason Ringenberg (just surfing around You Tube… here you go)

13. Pujol at Grimeys for RSD 2012 – (Just heard Daniel Pujol will be playing Record Store Day at Grimey’s again this year.  Found this video from two years ago.)

14. “Solsbury Hill” by Peter Gabriel (“My heart going boom, boom, boom.”)

15. “Superman’s Song” by Crash Test Dummies (another ear worm from me to you)

16. “Sweet Virginia” by Rolling Stones (Exile on Main Street ya’ll.)

17. “Layne Montgomery is Bad at Girls” by The Great American Novel (In honor of the band’s final show :,-( which is going on tonight)



 



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Thursday Morning Music Shuffle – Angels Fall Like Rain Mix

There are ghosts and spirits that haunt the dark corners of our lives and minds

A well-worn melody re-purposed and sold and still….

Transportation – like a city bus that’s has no fixed route, but takes you to random spots from your life

Even those out-of-the-way places where you’ve forgotten you’ve ever been…

Time is a bastard of the young, time marches on, time really flies….

But and so, I always write about time when my mind is stalling for a better idea…

 Time is a lie… 

Good morning – walk up the hill was in a pissing rain… Last night, I heard a Pogues’ song in a commercial for a mini-van and recently (and again) I’ve heard the Violent Femmes’ ode to teen-aged hormones being used to hawk (computers, tacos what’s next bed linens and laundry and stain removers?)

Honestly coincidentally, after musing on those things, this delicious mix of classic songs from my youth and young adulthood came up on my morning shuffle:

(Murmur @ Amazon)

Gothic and Southern and covered in kudzu, Radio Free Europe, was an anthem for all us disaffected Southern boys and girls coming of age in the 80s.

(Flood @ Amazon)

Come on we’ve all met this person and been in this situation.  I remember a Waffle House in the wee morning hours, and you aren’t looking for an argument, but…. Your Racist Friend by There Must Be Giants They Might Be Giants.

(Mirror Moves @ Amazon)

Richard Butler (along with Bryan Ferry) was our Sinatra. So smooth and yet, he was all our own as he and the P-Furs (as we called them because it was before spell check and we really didn’t want to look stupid and misspell Psychedelic now did we?) were sophisticated and yet not at all content or safe. If my youth was a movie John Hughes and Louis Malle would co-direct and there would be a Psychedelic Furs song on the soundtrack.  The Ghost in You would be a good choice. 

(Ghost in the Machine @ Amazon)

I’ve had a couple of old Police songs make their way to my ears recently, and I was reminded again of what a great band they were. As the 80s progressed, they got to be more and more popular and then Sting went on to doing that awful song with Bryan Adams and Rod Stewart. But and still, the Police, in their day, made intelligent music that stands the test of time. Spirits in the Material World speaks to a spirituality which was way beyond my ability to comprehend when I first heard this song, but it was cool music with a good beat.

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Radio Free Europe We believe it is important to preserve what makes music special, and make it easy to craft listening experiences. At MOG, browse millions songs and play them instantly. Or just turn on radio where you can stop and replay songs. You can also create playlists for any occasion, and even download songs to your mobile. We are dedicated to employing the cleanest but most powerful technology so you can enjoy music as much as ever.

They Might Be Giants : Here Come the 123’s [CD/DVD] They Might Be Giants : Here Come the 123’s [CD/DVD]

The Psychedelic Furs: Live from the House of Blues [DTS] The Psychedelic Furs were one of the many alternative semi-avant British groups who began the 1980s with a devoted cult following and ended it with a huge popular following as well as a number of hit songs (see: The Cure). Pushed over the top by the release of the John Hughes film PRETTY IN PINK, which borrowed its title from an older Furs song in the soundtrack, the band scored their biggest hit the following year with Heartbreak Beat. This performance from House of Blues was part of the Furs’ reunion tour in 2001 in support of their greatest hits compilation.

Spirits in the Material World: A Reggae Tribute to the Police In a way, a reggae-themed Police tribute seems like kind of a strange idea — many of these songs were either reggae numbers to begin with, or were so close to being reggae that straight-up reggae arrangements run the risk of just sounding like cover vers