Friday, October 31, 2014

Friday Morning Music Shuffle - Cobwebs and Twisted Dry Bones Mix



So... for those who love Halloween, you will notice the way I mashed up some song titles from today's shuffle into a Halloweeny sounding  "Cobwebs and Twisted Dry Bones" subtitle for this shuffle.  For those who dislike Halloween, there are no real Halloween-themed songs in this shuffle. 

Boo!

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle - Potential Energy Mix



Okay pre-writing disclaimer... I'm just not feeling particularly verbose today.  So, expect some short, sharp comments... but who knows what will happen when I get started... What's fun about the randomness of the shuffle process is that it often does far better than I ever could arranging a fine mixture of divergent tunes into a pattern which at once defies and expands the conscious minds ability to understand the complexity of music as a part of human interactions.  Did I say, I wasn't feeling verbose? Oh well....

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

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 -

Monday, October 27, 2014

Monday Morning Music Shuffle - Working Up a Sweat Mix



I need to give some credit where it is due....  About a year and a half ago, based upon a suggestion from the enigmatic and amazing The Danbury Lie, I began compiling a daily Video playlist based upon my daily shuffle.  Before that I just posted videos with the song, but my hope was to create an easier listening experience. 

Now, due to the newishness and/or obscurity of some of the music I feature - as well as the vagrancies of what is available on You Tube, sometimes I can find the exact song, sometimes I can find a different song from the same artist or a different version of the same song, and sometimes I just have to punt.

Anyway, I mention this today because many of videos in the playlist today are not the exact song I listened to during my morning commute.  It's still a fine video playlist, and I hope you like it. 

I should also say that we don't really do theme shuffles here at #E2TG - we used to, but whatever... still by the laws of randomness and selective playlist creation, we do have some Halloween themed songs...

Shall we...

Friday, October 24, 2014

Friday Morning Music Shuffle - Your VooDoo Mix



If you haven't already, please go "Like" the Ear to the Ground: A Music Blog - Facebook Page.  And then like, comment, and share to keep all the fun posts coming to your news feed.  Like last need, we cleared out the 10 oldest songs from our active playlist via a Facebook-only posting frenzy.  It was fun.

Now, it's Friday and we have a shuffle to end all shuffles (for the week)...

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Thursday Morning Music Shuffle - Fool Who Knows Mix



Of late, one of the musical highlights of my week has been the Wednesday night Tim Carroll/Darrin Bradbury extravaganza at Fran's Eastside Tavern.  Just having the opportunity to see this two talents in a casual/laid back setting has been amazing, and it has been fun to see this thing grow into a bit of a happening.  If you live near Nashville and can stay up late and handle a whole lot of smoke, you should come out.  Last night, those who showed up and stuck around were treated to the added bonus of a short set from David Dondero - who NPR's All Songs Considered called one of the best living songwriters.  I can tell you based on what I heard, they were not exaggerating in the least.

On to the shuffle---

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle - The Unanswered Mix



I discovered that there is another music blog out there called Ear to the Ground.  I really don't have a problem with this...  I mean for all I know they are perfectly decent folks who write about perfectly decent music.  I do worry about my readers getting confused, so as a public self-service, I would like to use today's shuffle as handy guide how to tell #E2TG from any other blogs with similar sounding names.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Monday Morning Music Shuffle - Shorter Days Mix



Welcome to Monday.  Had a great weekend, and now it's time to face up to another work week.  Here is a fine, fine collection of music graciously presented by my cell phone's music player on "Shuffle" mode.  A video representation of the shuffle is presented at end of the post...

Friday, October 17, 2014

Friday Morning Music Shuffle - What I Do Mix



It's Friday!  Good time at  Year of October's Nashville CD Release show for their new album Golden Days.  You can check it out and purchase HERE !

Let's close out this work week in proper fashion with a nifty shuffle filled with cool tunes:

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Thursday Morning Music Shuffle - Muddy Water Mix



Last night, I made my weekly pilgrimage to Fran's Eastside Tavern on a rainy Wednesday night in East Nashville. Fran's on Wednesday is a bit hard to explain unless you've been there (and maybe even if you have).  I haven't been to Fran's on any other night, so I am not able to say anything about those other nights.  Just to keep in simple, Fran's is a dive bar, smoky beyond ever what you might expect from a dive bar, with cheap beer (cash only), regulars, a pool table, and the added tension of being in the midst of the East Nashville "scene".  Most Wednesday nights, it is Tim Carroll and Darrin Bradbury holding court with original songs and a wildly unpredictable nature that has included a world-class trombone player, a Christmas Carole in early October, and the Music City Roots bus.  With Tim Carroll on tour, Zachariah Red filled in last night - not an easy task - not an easy gig.  Having missed much of Zach's set the last time I went to see him (it may or may not have involved my keys getting locked in my van) and having heard his demo EP, I was looking forward to this.

As I listened, the words understated brilliance came to my mind.  But, I think it is more unassuming brilliance. A quiet personality -  a calm, smooth delivery - definitely enjoyable. I don't know if this will make sense to anyone but me, but when Zach sang a Kris Kristofferson song, it came to me. When Kristofferson sang with the Highwaymen - Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson were such larger than life figures with legendary figures with such storied reputations for hard living... and it was not that Kristofferson wasn't larger than life and it wasn't that he didn't live just as hard... but relatively, he seemed unassuming to me. And, that is how I feel about Zachariah Red. His original songs are awesome and the brilliance hits you in subtle waves rather than in a massive attack. 

And Darrin Bradbury...  what can I say - it is fun to watch this amazingly talented guy really hit a stride and start to get some well-deserved recognition.

To the shuffle:

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle - Danglin' Mix



Yet another rainy morning in Music City USA - home of the Ear to the Ground Morning Shuffle (patent pending but not really) and some other music related stuff, I guess... ;-)

Monday, October 13, 2014

Monday Morning Music Shuffle - Ain't Nobody Mix



We are back on a rainy/overcast Monday morning here in Nashville with a short, but sweet mix of songs to get you through...

Click through the jump to the Shuffle

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Thursday Morning Music Shuffle - Smoke and Yard Sales Mix



When you find yourself smiling at the improbability of your circumstance, you know that despite everything that may be wrong in the world and in your world, that at least for that moment everything is okay.  For me, those moments seem often to be connected to music....

Click below to get to the shuffle (if required):

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle - Turtles, Roses, and Kisses Mix



I failed to post a shuffle yesterday - I listened to a shuffle and it was a good one, but time didn't allow me to post - so the songs go back into the hopper and will come out in some other interesting combination.

Truth be told - life is unpredictable and pretty darn right amazing when you stop to pay attention to the seemingly random occurrences which are going on around you every day. Truth be told - I would never have placed my self voluntarily in the situation in which I currently find myself, but since I'm here... I have to say.... I'm right in the place that I am supposed to be...

A pretty sweet evening/night of music on both side of the river in Nashville on a Tuesday in October.  Saw a song swap featuring two of my musical heroes from my college days - Bill Lloyd and Webb Wilder along with the always amazing Tim Carroll.

Crossed the river for some Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie and a Pint of fine beer to check out some amazing music including: Drew Kohl, Julie Christensen and her band, and the Dan Montgomery Band.


Let's do this shuffle thing - okay?

Monday, October 6, 2014

Monday Morning Music Shuffle - Egg Cream Mix



Some days, I like to provide a detailed and creative commentary of the connections which exist between seeming unconnected songs.  Some times, though, I just like to let these songs sit together awkwardly at the table while I sit back with a conspiratorial smile on my face (even then I have no co-conspirator).   Today seems like a good time for the latter....  enjoy the awkwardness, but remember that the connections exist even if we cannot see them....

Friday, October 3, 2014

Friday Morning Music Shuffle* - All Lies Mix



*DISCLAIMER*  This post is being written on Thursday night - I listened to the songs on my way home from work.  Tomorrow promises to be a crazy/difficult day, and I'm not sure when I am going to post this, but I wanted to have it ready,,,,

*FURTHER DISCLAIMER* Also, I discovered that part way through the shuffle, the shuffle function got turned off so a part of this so-called shuffle was actually not a shuffle.  I know. What can you believe in any more.  It's all lies...

Actually, all lies are in the title.  What follows is the truth - as I see it...

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Thursday Morning Music Shuffle - Searchlight Sneeze Mix



Last night was another typical night in East Nashville - I heard an Americana artist who likes death metal and Taylor Swift (the awesome Todd Farrell), a folk song about Lynard Skynard and Van Halen (by the amazing Aaron Lee Tasjan), plus a stirring post-midnight rendition of "Silver Bells" via Tim Carroll and Darrin Bradbury.

Our shuffle today offers a stunning departure from the norm.... not that we really have a norm here at Ear to the Ground, but we do have a lot of new (to us) music.  It's a short shuffle in terms of songs (two 7:00+ minute songs will do that), and we have two instrumentals.  Shall we?

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle - Puppies, Vultures, and Jackals Mix



We try to cover as much as we can in our all too brief time together...  Today our shuffle begins with a Hall and Oates cover, heads to a Top Peoples Health Farm, a cover of a 80s New Wave song by an 80s Punk band, some of the minor lakes of Wisconsin, a prelude, some words of wisdom (and a barn with six red stripes), some Nashville-based ska-core music from Built for BBQ, a love story straight from a shitty motel room in New Orleans, a song about Tibetan sites for above ground putrefaction of human remains as a place of spiritual practice, some early period Style Council, and a song about Fast Cars by one of my new favorite Nashville songwriters. 

Details to follow: