E2TG 3-4-2022 - Featured Friday - Take Your Medicine Mix (Oceans Remix)

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It is Friday, and time for another Featured Friday Playlist.  I am still looking to move the playlist over to Tidal.  So, stay tuned for more about that. 

 

    Featured Friday Playlist

E2TG 2/1/2022 - February - Magma Mix (Unseen Remix)

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Today's Ear to the Ground radio show is up on the WXNA Archive - HERE. 

6:00am Sonny Boy by Owsley on Owsley (Giant)

6:01am I’m Catholic Again by Mr. MPH on Mr. MPH (Mr. MPH)

6:02am Tiny Fires by Jason Erie on Tiny Fires – Single (Wirebird Records / Erie St. Music)

6:06am Big Heart Sick Mind by The Whitmore Sisters on Ghost Stories (Red House Records)

6:08am Low Side by Zach Wilson on Priors (Devil’s Tower Records)

6:13am Never Forget by Lee Oskar on Passages Through Music: Never Forget (Dreams We Share / Lee Oskar Productions)

6:15am Find My Way by Julie Christensen on 11 from Kevin: Songs of Kevin Gordon (Wirebird / JTMMusic)

6:19am Tom Tom by The Long Ryders on Tom Tom – Single (Prima Records Ltd.)

6:26am Oceans by The Sea at Midnight on Oceans – EP (The Sea At Midnight)

6:31am Near Me by 1st Base Runner on Ellis – EP (Souvenir Sound)

6:34am Mr Weak by Matteo Palermo on Mr Weak – Single (Be NEXT Music)

6:38am Bloody Shores by Datura on Arcano Chemical (Sell The Heart)

6:43am I Can Tell By The Way You Dance (You’re Gonna Love Me Tonight) by Rodney Collins on I Can Tell By The Way You Dance (You’re Gonna Love Me Tonight) – Single (Rodney Collins)

6:46am All Rise, The Sneaky Snakes of Kudzu by Lolas on All Rise (1627354 Records DK)

6:50am Ich möchte Dinge bauen by EL/NeUe on Ich Möchte Dinge Bauen – Single (Mingo)

6:56am The Underwater Supermarket by Roman Angelos on Music for Underwater Supermarkets (Happy Robots Records)

Today's shuffle is below the jump. 

 

    Featured Friday Playlist

E2TG 3/17/2021 - St. Middle Name Day - Coyote Mix (Delta Woman Remix)

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We move on into the home stretch of our Featured Friday Recap... songs number 25-30:

25. "La tête pleine" by Kaky 

French rapper Kaky just released the Room 404 EP.  This is the lead track.  We previously featured a single released ahead of the EP.  I really love the sound of this music. Great stuff. 

26. "Falling" by Jordy Benattar; Tyler Simmons

Next up, we have the breezy new single from Canadian actress and musician Jordy Benattar. Really nice. 

27. "Stay (It Will Get Better)" by Bonsche

Next up, we have a single from German EDM musician, producer, and audio engineer. The song is dedicated to the LGBQIA+ community.  

28. "Weather the Storm" by Kaleigh

Los Angeles based actress, model, and musician Kaleigh just released her debut full-length.  The theme here is coming of age. Cool tune. 

29. "Salami" by Pretty Happy

Next up, we have a recent single from this post-punk band based in Cork. I dig this a lot. 

30. "Talledega" by Ventruss

We close this segment with a recent single from this metalcore band based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. You can almost smell the engines and burning tires. 

 

    Featured Friday Playlist

E2TG 2/16/2021 - Ice and Snow and Life - Long Time Gone Mix (Liverwurst Remix)

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I have always tended to like snow and icy weather. When I was a kid, it meant we were out of school and I loved playing in the snow. I guess, overall, I still do like snow- at least in theory and at least when I can stay warm inside and watch it... but I really don't like the cold or the inconvenience of it all - places closed, roads dangerous, people dangerous.  But, lately, here in Nashville, we don't get much snow, so it is kind of exciting - at least at first. 

This particular winter weather event is, I guess, a little more annoying that usual. This is supposed to be my week to "get on with life" and the snow and ice makes it feel like I am being hampered from getting on with life... 

Featured Friday Playlist (Songs 12-15)

12. "Better Days" by Jennifer Tefft

The new single from this singer-songwriter based in New England. Tefft is a cancer survivor who underwent an unexpected divorce and was just emerging into a new life of teaching music and touring around New England when the pandemic hit. This beautiful song is her response and it offers hope to many of us who have faced our own versions of her story. 

13. "Waiting on You Tonight" by Beth Lee

The debut solo album from this Austin, Texas based singer-songwriter who has released albums previously with Beth Lee & the Breakups.  This album was recorded in the East Bay area of California. Wonderful stuff. 

14. "Stars" by Brian Falduto

Next up, we have a recent single from NYC based queer country singer-songwriter Brian Falduto. A great introduction to this artist. 

15. "WFTWTE" by Arrlo

 We close out this segment of music with a recent single from this Riverside, CA indie band which is fronted by transgender male singer-songwriter Sunni Suede. An awesome song and a great way to close out this part of the playlist. 

 

    Featured Friday Playlist

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E2TG 8/20/20 - Something to Say - Life's a Beach Mix (Birmingham Remix)

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I feel like I should always say something...But, I played Benchmark's new song "Our Finest Hour" this morning on my radio show, and one line stuck with me - "Right now, I know I still need to listen, before I speak."  It seems like there is a lot of talking and a lot of shouting and not nearly enough listening.

Look after nearly four years of the Trump regime, I think it is clear to most sane people, that he is an existential threat to this nation. I am not saying I need to listen to MAGA heads to see if they will convince me of anything. I guess I am thinking of some of the more nuanced debates (or which should be nuanced debates) between different factions of the left side of the proverbial aisle. I think social media SEEMS TO demand that everyone jump into every conversation and contribute something - so you see at lot of posts like - well, I don't know much about that but, here is what I think... 

Anyway, we have a Featured Friday Playlist to wrap up and a shuffle to get to... let's go... 

Today, we wrap up this week's Featured Friday Playlist, and we prepare the way for a whole new list. Here are the final four songs, and as usual, we save some good ones to wrap up the list.. songs 18-21:

18. "How to Fall in Love - Take 7, Acoustic" by Michael McArthur

Florida singer-songwriter Michael McArthur makes a return visit to the Playlist with the title track of his brand new EP. We previously featured his stunning cover of "Purple Rain" - here he is singing his own songs and the results are equally stunning. The plaintive opening harmonica and sparse acoustic instrumentation catches ones attention, and then his rich vocals come in and carry the listener away.  

19. "Dark Slopes Away" by Mt. Doubt

Next up, we have the new single from Scottish indie rock band Mt. Doubt. It is the first taste of their new album Doubtlands due out September 25. The song has a cool vibe that I really dig. 

20. "Firewood" by Saronde (Feat. Idd Aziz)

Next up, we have some wonderful Afro-funk - via Saronde - a Kenyan duo who founded Beating Hearts Music. The track borrows from a 50’s Kikuyu all female acapella sung by young unmarried girls as they collect or carry back home firewood and features noted African singer and musician Idd Aziz. As someone who has a deep - if shamefully underexplored affinity and connection to African music, this track struck a chord with me. Wonderful!

21. "Sauce (Took Off)" by SLiCE Bellefante 
 

We close out this segment of music and this week's Playlist with a little bit of hip hop from New Jersey. I don't have a lot of information on the artist, but I dig the vibe and I'm happy to have this track closing out our playlist. 

By way of a preview-  The new Featured Friday Playlist is already at 15 songs and over an hour of music and there are several new releases scheduled for tomorrow. So, look for the list to be much larger than this week's list. Already, I am digging the variety of the music, and we already have some favorites on board. Until then... we have another daily shuffle down below....  

 

    Featured Friday Playlist

E2TG 7/16/2020 - In the Time of COVID - Say What! Mix (yue Remix)

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Crazy week - here, I am very short on time today, so I will be quick. I was thinking last night about mental health and COVID-19. First of all, I think mental health issues affect many people and are not talked about enough.  There are a variety of mental health issues that affect a sizable portion of the population.  Fortunately, in many cases, these issues are mild, and the people experiencing them are fully functional. However mild, though, the effects are real, and I believe what we have collectively experienced in 2020 has brought this to light for a lot of people. In some ways, when the shutdowns and stay at home orders hit, we were collectively forced to slow down and many of us lost one or more of our distractions.

For me, here is one example of how mental health issues can manifest.  Let's say, I have a period of free time. I am off work, I can't go out to live music, can't visit friends or family... so my mind begins assembling a list of things I need to and want to do. Then, my brain gets overwhelmed and I partially shutdown.  I may sleep a lot or I may binge watch Netflix shows or whatever, and I tell myself I deserve a break.  Then what happens is the slow period ends. I have to back to work or I have something else to occupy my time. And my brain recovers, and starts thinking about those things that I want and need to do. And, I begin to silently berate myself for my lack of productivity during my downtime. Which further damages my mental health.

It is a cycle. And, I must find a way of out the cycle while being gentle and patient with myself, but it is not easy and I may need help -which means I have to fight off the stigma for asking for help with mental health issues.

Keep in mind, my issues are mild (I think), and for some people they can be debilitating.  So, we all need to be gentle with each other and with ourselves. We are going fine, and even if we are not, we can and will do better with help, and there is nothing wrong with asking for help.


Our recap of this week's Featured Friday Playlist concludes with songs 21-24. We end on an extremely diverse and pretty awesome note.  Please be sure to check out this week's entire list while there is time and give the list a follow on Spotify.  A new list will be live sometime around midnight.

21. "Platinum" by Fintan McKahey

Fintan McKahey is a bedroom pop singer-songwriter/producer from West Cork, Ireland.  He is from a family of musicians - his father was the drummer for the 80s band Stump and his uncle was the singer of the band CousteauX. The new single is filled with magical references, and I love it. 

22. "Yesterday's Makeup" by Jackson Capps

Up next, we return back to Nashville with a new single from country singer and songwriter Jackson Capps. It is a song about the destructive patterns in relationships. It was recorded live in the studio. 

23. "Lazy Boi - Black Star Liner Remix" by Felixity

Felixity is a pop/neo-soul singer-songwriter from London.  This is the title track from the remixed version of her debut album. She enlisted several top producers on this remix album.  For this track, we worked with the Leeds band Black Star Liner. Cool stuff.

24. "Sick" by Shatterglass

And, we close out this week's playlist with some straight-ahead hard rock from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This is the title track from the band's brand new EP. 

    Featured Friday Playlist