E2TG 9/8/2020 - The Return - Plea Insanity Mix (Two Slugs Remix)

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Well, I am back after the long holiday weekend (Labor Day for those out of the US).  Below, we continue our Featured Friday review - with a double dose - since there was no post yesterday and we still have to finish by Thursday. Plus a shuffle below the jump. 

COVID-19-wise I am struggling. Numbers are looking better locally, but I am concerned about a long-feared second wave - especially if people slack off on precautions - which seems to be happening. Meanwhile, I am coming to terms with the fact that "normal" as I knew it before the pandemic may not exist whenever this thing does end.  Some venues have closed and some friends are moving away (back home). Meanwhile, a lot of people are "getting back to normal"... but I am not able to visit my mother in her independent living facility, but as long as everyone can party and hold mass gatherings on Broadway, I guess every thing is okay... *sarcasm*.  

I am struggling to find peace and direction and meaning, and for that I am relying - as I tend to do on music. 

With the holiday, we need to get back on schedule - so we will cover songs 9-18 today! There are some fantastic songs in this segment of the playlist. Check it out!

9. "I Love You (Don't Laugh)" by Andre Salvador and the Von Kings

Next up, we have a track from the self-titled album by the Brooklyn based indie rock combo led by Tim Cheplick. Really digging this album so far. Check it out. 

10. "Me and These Jeans" by Becky Warren

New music from Nashville singer-songwriter Becky Warren is a reason to celebrate. The military veteran's breakout 2016 debut War Surplus lead to a stint opening for The Indigo Girls. She followed up with Undesirable in 2018.  This is the first taste from her new album The Sick Season which is available for pre-order now. 

11. "Heavy Load" by Great Peacock

Next up, we have another single from the forthcoming Forever Worse Better (October 9) by one of Nashville finest bands. 

12. "Shine Like a Friend" by John Calvin Abney

Tulsa singer-songwriter John Calvin Abney may be known to some for backing John Moreland, but don't sleep on his incredible songwriting. This is the first taste from his forthcoming Familiar Ground album which is due out November 20. 

13. "Nyack" by Annie Dressner

Next up, we have a track from the brand new album by UK-based, NYC raised singer-songwriter Annie Dressner. The album, Coffee at the Corner Bar, is excellent. She has a large following in the UK, and I am happy to have this song in my weekly playlist. Check her out. 

14. "Stitch in Time Saves Nine" by Parker Lee

We previously featured the track "Drunk" by this band from North Yorkshire.  Now their EP Scrundle is out, and we another track from that release. Great stuff.  

15. "Big Big Bad Bad John" by Rob Clarke and the Wooltones

Next up, we have a track from this band from Liverpool. The album is called Putting the L Back in Wooltones. It is out on the Kool Kat label. I am hearing some wonderful Brit-pop sounds here -with a little psych. Really enjoying this. 

16. "Love After Midnight" by Jonathan Plevyak

Next up, we have the new single from Nashville based pop-rock singer-songwriter Jonathan Plevyak. The Baltimore native evokes nostalgic memories of summers past in this cool song. 

17. "Frantic Mind" by The Star Prairie Project

Next up, we have a new single from the mind of Nolen R. Chew Jr. - who hails from Star Prairie, Wisconsin and who works with producers and musicians from LA to London.  Really digging this track. 

18. "Happening Now" by Social Gravy

We close out this long segment of music with a track from this Los Angeles based alt-rock duo. The duo features Belarusian musician Vee Borduokov and British producer and songwriter Brad Kohn.  A nice way to close out this segment of music. 

Tomorrow songs 19-22

 

    Featured Friday Playlist

Wild Wednesday Morning Shuffle - You Can Call Me Bob Mix

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Counting down!  We are less than a month away from the first night of the E2TG 7th Anniversary Residency at The 5 Spot!  I am super-stoked to have Clark Paterson playing a full-band set to open the night.  Then, The Big Dumb and Rayvon Pettis are cooking up something special.  This will be a night you do not want to miss!   It's going to a jam-packed night of music so make plans to get there early so you don't miss a minute.  Doors should open sometime around 5:30-5:45pm and the music should get going around 6:15.

This amazing night is just night one of four - every Thursday in June.  Ted Drozdowski's Psychedelic Circus, The End Men, Brian Milligram, Microwave Mountain, The Coal Men, Eli Cook, Bee Taylor, Joanna Barbara and more are all on-tap for this residency.  I am hoping to have a few copies of my novel The Drift to sell. 


It is Wild Wednesday - a virtual potpourri of musical selections....  Let's shuffle!

Wild Thursday Morning Shuffle - Going Nowhere Mix

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As we continue to ease into 2018 with a few days of "Wildcard" shuffles, I am excited about some of the new (and new to me) music that I will be bringing you all in this new year. Some of that new music may be leaking out in the next couple of shuffles. Stay tuned.

I was thinking this morning how our perception of temperature is kind of relative. I mean, at the beginning of fall/end of summer, the first time temperatures fall into the 50s, many of us reach for jackets. Meanwhile, at the end of winter/start of spring, when it gets up to the 50s, people can usually be seen in short sleeves and even shorts.  Anyway, right now, I would love to be putting on short sleeves or even shorts, but it is pretty darn cold.

Sending warm thoughts to everyone dealing with the snow storms. No snow in Nashville to speak of. Windchill was  below zero on my walk in though, and these are the tunes that kept me warm....

Wild Wednesday Morning Shuffle - Off the Beat 'n' Path Mix

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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....