E2TG 12/9/2020 - The Best I Can - No Good Fool Mix (Minor Key Remix)

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We have reached the penultimate Featured Friday Recap Post - Songs 36-45:

36. "Oh Oh Oh" by Eckhardt And the House

Up first today, a great new single from The Netherlands. The music is meant to have a late 70s - early 80s vibe and was inspired by a documentary about Edward Snowden and a German film set in 1984 East Germany.

37. "harlem" by small dogs

Up next, we have the latest single from New York based and recent transplant from London - George Barnett who records as small dogs. Digging this. 

38. "Dance in the Rain" by James Burt

Next up - the first of two songs about rain. First up, we have the debut single from a UK based pop artist. Pop music has and still does mean different things. I like this song quite a bit. An impressive debut.

39. "Rainy Day" by Murdocco

More rain... this track comes from Mariana Murdocco who was born in Uruguay, got her musical start in Barcelona, and is now based in London. The inspirational track features piano and a heavy bass line. 

40. "Stay in Bed" by Julia Van Daam

Stay in Bed is the latest single from Providence, RI native and Boston based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Julia Van Daam. The song delivers a powerful message and asks hard questions about the state of our nation.

41. "Going Down - Ferry Corsten Remix Edit" by Kosmonova

Shifting gears dramatically, we have a pounding, electronic dance number from German DJ Kosmonova - who had some chart hits in the 2000s.

42. "Criminals, Cannibals, and Animals" by Sam Seibert

Up next, some hard rock via Delaware based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sam Seibert. 

43. "County Lines" by Ventrelles

Up next, we have a new single by the Manchester band Ventrelles - led by Phil Knox who formed the band after returning to Manchester after living in Chicago for a time. 

44. "End is Near" by Ferko, Rostany, Vic Villian

Next - we have our second track in this week's playlist which came to us via The Eastern European Music Academy. Ferko is based in Glasgow but originally from Budapest, Rostany is a three-piece EDM band from Belarus - their band member Vic Villian contributes to this track which like the track we featured yesterday from Karo Glazer and Zsud - is featured on  2020 Compilation put out by the Eastern European Music Academy.  

45. "Season's End" by Facing Mountains

And finally, we have a track from the debut EP by Dutch composer Xander Slikker who is performing as Facing Mountains.  Currently based in North Macedonia, the music here is a lovely mix of chamber-pop/folk and indietronica/folktronica. This was a direct artist submission, and I was pleased that Xander actually listened to an earlier playlist and dug the music of my friends The Smoking Flowers. Great stuff. 

Tomorrow - we wrap up this very long and very diverse Playlist with songs 46-55
 

    Featured Friday Playlist

E2TG 9/24/2020 - Penultimate - Sleep of Reason Mix (All the Way Remix)

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I continued to be overwhelmed by the constant terrifying news that dominates my social media feeds and headlines. Injustice, rising tide of fascism (this is not hyperbole - they are not even trying to hide it any more), division, anger, fear, death... I am missing the solace of seeing my friends almost every night and hearing live music while seeing said friends. I fear for the future, but I know that fear is not a place to rest. Anger is an energy, but it is up to me to focus my anger.  In the meantime, I have always believed in the power of love to conquer hate and fear and evil. It is a hard belief to cling to when it is so tempting to answer hate with hate - and mind you - anger is not the antithesis of love - hate and fear are the antithesis of love. Anger can be an expression of love if channeled properly. 

At the same time as all of that, I need to acknowledge that despair and hopelessness are reasonable feelings these days. For me, though, I can't afford to stay there. I also do not have the capability to stay serious and focused and angry 24/7 and I do not think I am alone. I can either choose to shame myself or others for needing a break or I can accept it, take the break, and come back stronger. 

Last thing:  I have to find my own voice and my own outlets of action.  What is the right action for someone else may not be right for me - and that can be for numerous reasons. I just need to say that because I have a bad habit to looking at others' actions and judging myself for not measuring up. It is good to take stock of my abilities and resources (time and money) and ask myself if I am doing enough, but to judge my own work by what someone else does - without taking into account differences in time and money etc is unfair. 

TL;DR: I choose to attempt to manifest love in all I do. Love can be expressed by anger. 

Today, we wrap up the Featured Friday Playlist as we prepare the way for a whole new Playlist debuting tomorrow.  As always, we saved some great stuff for the end of the playlist. We finish up with songs 24-28:

24. "Room 33" by Mcclendon

We kick things off with the title track from the debut EP by Nashville based singer-songwriter Mcclendon.  After playing in country/folk bands beginning in his native Oklahoma - with his brother, Mcclendon decided to go his own way and pursue his own music. I am digging this.

25. "Blur" by Dark McGwire; Focus3Dots

Next up, we have another solo debut. Dark McGwire is the alter-ego of Dame Crawford of The Wylde Bunch - a Grammy award producer/artist. The music runs the gamete from funk to folk and many points in between. The name of the album is Wyldebunch Presents Dark McGwire. Check it out. 

26. "A Girl Too Far" by Red Eye

Red Eye is an Anglo-Spanish songwriter. This new single is amazing. When I say I save some good stuff for the end of the Playlist... I mean it. This sounds like a cover - in that it has a familiarity that many great songs have upon first listen. 

27. "Moving Tangle" by Outwave

Italian alternative rock band Outwave just released their debut album, "The Storm". This was the lead single. I'm digging this.

28. "You Don't Know" by ASM
 

We close out this week's playlist with the latest single - from the forthcoming (Friday) album Blue Cocoon by the European trio ASM (A State of Mind). The cinematic hip-hop, soul, funk band members met in high school - one is Candaian, one German, and one English.  We have previously featured them on an earlier playlist. 
 

    Featured Friday Playlist

Topical Thursday Morning Shuffle - Just Like a Nitwit Mix

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No shuffle yesterday.  I blame Trump... No, seriously...

Appropriately enough, we return with a Topical Thursday Shuffle - continuing our broadly defined and unspecified Topic.

So, basically, in some cases the songs fit my topic - at least in my mind. In others I imagine some person or group of people saying the title in a specific context that would fit my topic.

As always, I am not ascribing any belief or opinion to anyone but myself...   Meanwhile, some cool music for a very cold Thursday morning commute.

Wild Wednesday Morning Shuffle - Pieces of Paper Mix

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Big things happening all around.... Record Story Day 2016, the recently announced Bob Dylan Birthday Tribute at the Ryman, the forthcoming line-up reveal for the E2TG Anniversary Extravaganza at The 5 Spot, and the just announced news that Double Shot with Joe & Sue, my forthcoming radio show with Sue Havlish on WXNA-FM has been moved to Saturday at 11:00a.m. and expanded by one hour! 

We hope to have a start date announced soon, but we are both excited to have 2 hours each week to bring you a constant variety of music. See you on the radio!

Upcoming (as in tonight): Jesse Lafser is in the midst of a residency at The 5 Spot and that continues today with special guests Kevin Gordon and Lauren Shera. 6:00p.m.  Later, Jon Latham, Bill Eberle, and Chris Watts (with a full-band) will be at MadDonna's Loft for what should be a pretty righteous night of music.

Meanwhile - it is the time of the week when we get wilder than usual at E2TG... I mean really crazy! I mean songs played in a random fashion kind of crazy... woah!

Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle - denigrate obtuse mix

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Hope everyone is doing well...

Let's jump straight into the Shuffle....

E2TG at Americanarama VI 9/21/2013

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Grimey's know how to through a party.  Their annual Record Store Day event is always awesome, and Saturday wasthe sixth installment of the original Americanarama - a free day of music in the middle of the Americana Music Association Conference.


Grimey's which began in a small shop in the Berry Hill section of Nashville and blossomed into one of the best and most respected record stores in the world. They are a magnet for musicians and music lovers.  Metallica recorded a secret show at The Basement located below the shop but named the ensuing record "Live at Grimey's".  Just about every cool band that comes through town, does an in-store at Grimey's.  In addition, they are champions of many of the great up and coming bands.

Believe it or not, this was the first year that I was able to make it out for Americanarama, and I think I picked a good year.

The day began with The Reneaus who are either from Bowling Green, Kentucky or Nashville depending on who you ask.  Regardless, I was not familiar with The Reneaus for this performance, but I now consider myself a fan. 

Steelism were next, and although I was already familiar with them, this was the first chance I had to see them live. Steelism is the brain-child of Spencer Cullen Jr. and Jeremy Fetzer (Caitlin Rose).  They have an amazingly original sound. Fronted by a Pedal Steel Guitar and featuring two drummers... favorite quote of the day, "I'm still hung over and the stage is leaning..."



Next up were The Dexateens. I've liked their music for a long time, but seeing them perform live was revelatory. I now count myself as a huge Dexateens fan. This was one of the most fun and energetic shows I've seen in a fair bit of time. The band's extensive and entertaining bio on Facebook mentions that they began as a punk band, and this spirit shows through.



After The Dexateens set, I decided to go inside to Howlin' Books and Grimey's, Too, and then I grabbed some lunch from Mas Tacos. Somehow,  I made it back in time to introduce myself to a couple of The Dexateens and then to see Daughter play their set.  I had ever heard of Daughter, but they have almost 300,000 likes on Facebook. They are from the UK.  They played a stripped down set due to their regular instruments already being at the Exit/In where they were playing that night. They had a awesome atmospheric, moody sound which I really liked.  Quite a transition from The Dexateens, but it was good.  After their set, they were surrounded by hordes of young people (and by young people, I mean people younger than me which was I guess about half the crowd - give or take a few dozen).



Next up was T. Hardy Morris who is in the band Dead Confederate. We've played a few songs from his solo album Audition Tape, so it was good to see him live. I enjoyed the music, and I'm not sure if it's a persona or a personality but there was a bit of aloofness which I found a bit off-putting. Maybe especially after the complete openness of The Dexateens. But, I do know it's dangerous to compare bands, and like I said, the music was great.



Next up was The Autumn Defense featuring John Stirratt and Pat Sansone of Wilco. This was just some amazingly glorious music. Some delicious melodies and classic sounding vocals.  Just brilliant. The inclusion of The Troggs classic Love is All Around Me underscored the classic sound that this band has captured.



Next up was one of most anticipated sets of the day.  British Folk/Punk legend Billy Bragg took the small, slightly sloped stage and for about thirty minutes spoke truth and held court. After playing a few songs from his latest album including a Woody Guthrie cover which he introduced by referencing the brilliant Mermaid Avenue albums and acknowledging the presence of John Stirratt who along with the rest of Wilco played on those records, Bragg acknowledged that it was the 30th Anniversary of the release of his first album, Life's a Riot With Spy Vs. Spy.  He said since the album was only 17 minutes long it was not worth renting out the Ryman or hiring symphony and that he could play the whole album as an encore and that he actually had enough time left to play it, and thus he launched into a blistering song by song cover of that masterpiece.  There was a palpable energy running through the crowd.   



After Billy Bragg headed inside to sign autographs and meet and greet, the ones of us who remained heard a couple of songs from the soon to be released High Cotton: A Tribute to Alabama. T. Hardy Morris came back from a ragged yet somehow brilliant version of the title track, and then the always amazing Amanda Shires (joined by Rod Piccott) performed her contribution to the record as well as one song from her new album.  To be honest, I expected more from this set, but hey, I got a free t-shirt and seeing Amanda Shires perform is always a plus.



As the sun began to descend, the crowd thinned a bit, which is a shame because those who left, missed out on the final set of the day. Willie Sugarcapps is the new project (supergroup really) featuring Will Kimbrough, Greyson Capps, Sugarcane Jane, and Corky Hughes. They play a break amalgam of traditional music from the South. Folk, Blues, Country,  what have you, and they have a whole lot of fun doing it.  I've been a Will Kimbrough fan since his days leading the Bushmen, and I thoroughly  enjoyed this set.  Their new album is out now. Check it.

 

It was truly a great day of great music. Special thanks to all the staff of Grimey's for putting this thing on. And a shout out to Sandy - a long time Billy Bragg fan for buying me a beer.

Stay tuned for a quick run down of our normal shuffle in a bit...

I created a You Tube Playlist to commemorate the day...





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