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You know, I am generally a pretty optimistic guy. I mean, I don't think I'm Pollyanna about it, but I do tend to look for the bright spot in things or at least the light at the end of the tunnel (that is hopefully not an on-coming train.)
Lately though, it is not easy to maintain optimism. It's not just the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue... I actually think he is more of a symptom (although a potentially fatal symptom) of a large problem. I often hear the suggestion that we are part of an empire in decline. And maybe we are... maybe we have been for some time. There were certainly warning signs at various points of my life.
As someone who is deeply passionate about music (and art and creativity of all kinds), it is very hard to see incredibly talented people - who pour their souls into their art and who make vital and beautiful things - struggle to find an adequate platform for their work. And then to read about a junk culture flash-in-the-pan figure getting signed to a record label... I just don't know. It's easy to lay blame on the record companies... or on Spotify or whatever... but I think this all goes to a deeper problem in our society - where as a whole, we don't value truth or beauty or substance...
For the most part, I try to focus upon the communities of which I am a part that do value those things... and I do my part to put truth and beauty and substance into the world...
To that end... it is Wednesday... I call it Wild Wednesday... but really it's like classic E2TG day... from the beginning, I hoped to place new and under-heard music alongside some of my all-time favorites and recent discoveries (of older music) and oddball choices that stretch and challenge genre boundaries... Eventually, things got so big that I needed to create specialized playlists for new music or Nashville music or whatever... but I am glad that I can have one day a week to shuffle all of the music I have on my phone and see what madness ensues....
"Voodoo Woman" by Low Society
To start things off, we have the return of E2TG favorites, Low Society with a track from their Can't Keep a Good Woman Down album. Low Society are from Memphis and play a rocking style of rootsy blues that I dig.
"Take Me With You (When You Go)" by The Jayhawks
I am a big fan of The Jayhawks. This is a live version of a song originally from their 1992 third album Hollywood Town Hall. The version I heard is from a Live at Belly Up release that was put out by Noisetrade a couple of years ago.
"Flood of XIV" by Sir Cadian Rhythm
Next up, we have a track from the self-titled album by this Long Island band. This was sent to me back in 2015. It somehow got buried in my playlists, but I kind of dig this... the band has some more recent music that I need to check out.
"'99" by Minutemen
Next up, a song written by Mike Watt and George Hurley from the What Makes a Man Start Fires? - the second studio album by the seminal band from San Pedro.
"Forget Me Nots" by Royal Court of China
Some of my recent conversations about Nashville's rock music scene in the 1980s brought a lot of classic music into my mind. This was has been hanging around on my phone for a little while, and it is coincidental that it came up now. This is a track from the independently released album Off the Beat 'n' Path EP that lead to Royal Court of China being signed to a major label. I could not find this song on You Tube, so I pulled up their later music video directed by Sam Raimi and starring Bruce Campbell. Royal Court of China reunited over the summer, and a little bird indicated that their may be some new music in their future...
"Dancing On the Sun" by Mind the Journey
Next up, we have a track from Color in the Gray Machine. Mind the Journey is a recording project of Spencer Sabo who is from Connecticut and based in Boston.
"Run" by Don't Believe in Ghosts
Don't Believe in Ghosts is a band from New York formed by Stephen Nathan of Man on Earth - who we featured a few years ago. This is some early music of this still relatively new project. They recently released their debut album Give It Meaning. This is another I have had on my phone for some time that just kind of got lost in the shuffle.
"Lailly and Abdullah" by Rayvon Pettis
Next, we have another track from the excellent and important Strange Freedom: Songs of Love and Protest compilation put out by Cafe Rooster Records. From my understanding this song was kind of the inspiration for Matt Haeck to put together this album which he produced. This song is also part of Pettis' Dying Light album which is still in limbo - as he tries to find a label. Full disclosure, Rayvon was one of the people on my mind when I wrote the mini-rant above. His album is beautiful, powerful, and important music that needs to be put out into the world in such a way that the maximu number of people can here it. He is easily one of my favorite songwriters working in this town full of songwriters.
"When It's Easy" by Emma Buckley/Ruby Sky
It took me a while to figure this out. On my phone, this track is credited to Ruby Sky, but on the song it says "Emma Buckley - When It's Easy". From what I can tell Ruby Sky is either the band or the recording name of songwriter Emma Buckley who is from Liverpool. I got hold of this song over a year and a half ago, but this is my first chance to hear it. I dig it, and I want to hear more.
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