Thursday Morning Music Shuffle - Enough is Enough Mix

Tweet #E2TG

Be sure to "Like" Ear to the Ground on Facebook!

First of all, let's all try to be good to one another...

Second, The "Earies" continues.  I call today's award, "So You Think Joe Can Dance??? Really???" award. 

The premise: I mean c'mon, I'm a fighter not a dancer... or something like that. I mean, sure I will flail around sometimes in a crowd in front of the stage, but when it comes to spontaneous dancing, it does not happen that often... however....

The Winner:  As I have said before, The Mark Robinson Band is one of the best and most entertaining live acts in Nashville. They do not play in town super often, and so when they do, it is Must See Live Music.  Mark Robinson is a stellar guitarist and his rhythm section (usually Justin Amaral and Daniel Seymour) are simply the best (at the most recent show, Rick Schell filled in for Justin and he's not slouch either.... ahem*Pure Prairie League*ahem).

So at the tail end of this years Tomato Fest in East Nashville, it came about due to the infectious grooves and some instigators, I found myself dancing not once but twice.  I figured that deserved an award (not my dancing!!!).  By the way, many of the awards are directly or indirectly going to be related to albums released in 2015.... because I hate doing Top 10 lists - basically.  Mark Robinson and his band did not release a new album in 2015 (expect one next year), but Robinson has been busy producing other folks and he did release a two-sided single, "Gone South" (both an Electric Rock and Acoustic Folk version).  

Congrats to The Mark Robinson Band with a hat tip to the instigators Mary Sack, Karen Leipziger, and Mark Robinson's lovely other half, Sue Havlish.  Let's Dance!

Third, I am emerging for my self-imposed exile from live music beginning tonight.  Over the next three days, I expect to see the following artists on Nashville stages:  Fats Kaplin, Red Collar, Two Cow Garage, Austin Lucas, Jon Latham, Malcolm Holcomb, Sadler Vaden, and Drivin' n' Cryin' with Warner E. Hodges.  Whew!  Other cool stuff that I will have to miss, too.

Fourth, we have a very cool shuffle this morning... so jump to it!

Friday Morning Music Shuffle - Questionable Mix???

Well, there is nothing questionable about the songs in today's shuffle. Once again, I did not have to walk up the hill into the office, hence I did not actually get to listen to today's shuffle... I decided to hit up my kind of Hall of Fame playlist again today.  Yesterday's shuffle had a decidedly political theme to it.  I'll leave it to you to extract a theme from today's shuffle.  Theme or not, though, it's a truly great mix which will hopefully lead some readers to discover or rediscover some great songs. 

First up is the opening track from Minneapolis post-punk/alt-rock band Soul Asylum's major label debut, Hang Time. Down On Up To Me remains a personal favorite.  I had the good fortune to see Soul Asylum twice in the early 90s.  

 
I can't believe I couldn't find Down on Up to Me on YouTube,  but here is another song from Hang Time:

Next up we have a Traditional American Folk song which was made famous by the iconic Lead Belly in the early part of the 20th Century.  The version of Goodnight, Irene in today's shuffle is by Les Paul (the inventor of the solid body electric guitar) and his then wife and collaborator, Mary Ford.  ""sometimes I take a great notion to jump in the river and drown" 

 

Here is Deer Tick's version of the  song

I don't know how many time's this song has come up in shuffles since I began writing Ear to the Ground, but don't expect me to stop featuring it anytime soon.  Son of a Preacher Man  by Dusty Springfield from her amazing Dusty in Memphis album.

Next up we have a 1993 cover of a 70s era Village People song, Go West. Pet Shop Boys recorded the song for their 1993 album, Very. We have the Pet Shop Boys version in the shuffle today.

 

Here is the original version

Finally we have another cover, that many people do not know is a cover. Lost Highway which reached my teenaged, punk rock brain via Jason and the Scorchers' version from the 80s.  The song's most famous version (and the one often credited as the original was recorded in 1949 by Hank Williams.  Leon Payne actually wrote and first recorded a year earlier.


 

 

=====================================================================

Thursday Music (On the road...)

Here are some heroes....

Friday Morning Music Shuffle - Storms approaching Mix

Time to batten down the hatches here in Tennessee. Call it Stormpocalypse 2012.  

I have to be quick before I get blown away - so prepare to be blown away by an awesome shuffle! See what I did there?

<<<<<---------VOTE NOW FOR ONE OUR GREAT BANDS OF THE WEEK FOR FEBRUARY. JUST PICK THE BAND OF YOUR CHOICE AND HIT VOTE (1 VOTE PER IP ADDRESS - I THINK) VOTING ENDS NEXT TUESDAY OR SO.

Here is the shuffle:

<-------- Tom Tom Club -  Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom

Tom Tom Club - Shock the World - Chris and Tina (from Talking Heads) and friends get their groove thing on.  Shocking!

<----------Kort - Invariable Heartache

KORT (Kurt Wagner from Lambchop (not the X-Men) and Courtney Tidwell) doing their best Conway and Loretta on Picking Wild Mountain Berries.

<-----The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang 

New Brunswick, New Jersey's The Gaslight Anthem have The Spirit of Jazz.


<--------The Tourists - Should Have Been Greatest Hits

The Tourists featured Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart before they formed the Eurythmics.  They cover Dusty Springfield on a lush, new wavy version of  I Only Want to Be With You.


<-----------The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground

We close out this morning shuffle with the opening track from The Velvet Underground's third album. Candy Says was written about Candy Darling who was the Candy who came from out of the Island in Lou Reed's Walk on the Wildside

Thursday (Covers) Morning Music Shuffle - Golfball-sized Golfballs Mix

First off, I have to say that the votes are pouring in for the Band of the Year.  Overnight or early this morning we had a lead change - so keep voting.  You can vote here

 

It's Thursday which means we take a randomish shuffle through our growing list of cover versions of songs.  We have a good list so let's get started:

 

The Players:

 

Coverers:

1.

2.

3.

4.

 

Coverees:

1.

2.

3.

 

4.

 

The Covers:

1.  In 2010 Jason Mraz recorded a cover of Norman Greenbaum's 1960s classic Spirit in the Sky as part of the Levi's Pioneer Sessions.

2.  Alternative Super Cover Group Me First and the Gimme Gimmes did what they do to Hall & Oates first #1 song (1977s Rich Girl)

3.  Bruce Springsteen got all rootsy and stuff and covered the Blind Alfred Reed folk song originally recorded in 1929.  How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live was on 2006s We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions - American Land Edition.  Springsteens version includes verses about Hurrican Katrina and owes more to the 1970 Ry Cooder version than Reed's original.

4.  Dusty Springfield covered Carole King's Tapestry song - made famouser by James Taylor - You Got a Friend is on her classic 1971 Dusty in Memphis which was actually recorded before Taylor's version.