E2TG 12/30/2020 - The End of 2020 - Waltzing Around Mix (Cookeville Remix)

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Conspicuously absent thus far has been our usual end of year Earie awards and Golden Earie awards.  I thought long and hard about this. 2020 has not been a normal year by any stretch of the imagination. Here at E2TG we have been able to feature more music than ever before including an amazing number of new-to-us artists and bands.  In addition, it has been a busy year for music from some of our long-time favorites. 

We started the Featured Friday Playlist at the beginning of this year, and I am very pleased by the reception so far. We are consistently adding followers. I am also proud of the diversity of mostly independent music we have featured this year. 

Look, some people have definitely kicked ass this year. A unplanned break from touring has given a lot of people the opportunity to explore their heretofore unexplored creativity. Special shout out to Nashville friends like Carrus and Kurtz, Tayls, Year of October, Ghost Town Remedy and so many more who made frequent appearances in our Playlists. 

It should be acknowledged that some people have struggled in 2020 financially, creatively, mentally, and in many other ways. 

So - in that spirit - I am giving this years sole Earie Award to everyone. This is a music blog - so I will limit "everyone" in this context to everyone who has some connection to music. Artists, venue owners, bookers, managers, show-goers, door people, bartenders, promoters, publicists, my fellow music writers, photographers, sound people, touring musicians, studio musicians, and anyone I left out. This one is for you and it comes with a big wish for brighter days ahead.  I can't wait to see you all in front of the stage, at the bar, on the back patio, in line (or on line if you will), discovering great new music, seeing old friends and favorites, sweating, hugging, drinking, and laughing. 

Before we get into our final Featured Friday recap of 2020, I would like to acknowledge the unfathomable losses of this past year. It would take more time and more emotional energy than I have to name everyone and some I may not know - but you do.  For us here at E2TG, 2020 began with the sudden passing our of friend and hero David Olney. I remain humbled and grateful for the opportunities I had to work with him and hear him make his magic on stage. I will never forget his appearance at the E2TG Anniversary Residency a couple of years back. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience -and yet I hoped there would be more. 

We move cautiously into this new year knowing the pandemic is not behind us yet and knowing that some will not be joining us. But we move forward with hope, and we move forward carrying a piece of everyone and everything we said goodbye to in 2020.

Well - here we are. We started recapping this playlist back in December 18 and 61 songs and over four hours of music later, we have reached the end of our final Featured Friday Playlist for 2020. Here are the songs that will take us out - songs number 55-61:

55. "A Song to Special to Sing" by Blink

This is a previously unreleased track from the 1996-1999 era of the Irish band Blink. This our second song to featured.  A full-length release of archival recordings in scheduled for the Spring.

56. "It's Alright (10 Times Better)" by Absolute Phase

Next up, we have the lead track from The Little Black Book - the new album from this Chicago based rock band that formed in 2019. Cool sound.

57. "How Can I" by Paola Proctor

Next up, we have the new single from a Nashville based pop artist. This emotionally powerful break-up song was recorded here in Nashville.

58. "Everything Has Changed" by Souly Us

Next up, we have the new single from Australian country music duo Souly Us. The song was recorded in their home studio while on lock down. 

59. "No More Bets" by Shaking Chains

Next, we have a track from a new AA single from this Manchester art-pop band. A great sound. 

60. "Dreams of a Middle-Aged Man" by Mauri Dark

We always like to save some of the most interesting music to close out our playlists.  The penultimate track from this Playlist comes in the form of a nearly 8 minute title track to the new album by Finnish singer-songwriter Mauri Dark. The song has an epic quality and a deep emotional resonance. I love this song. 

61. "Stranger" by KissDoomFate 

And we close this long playlist out with the return of French electro-pop band KissDoomFate - and the lead track from their 3 song b-side collection called Dead of Winter Beats.  A deliciously chilly song to bring us into the heart of winter and to get us ready for a brand new year of music. 

See you on the otherside....
 

    Featured Friday Playlist

Mondo Monday Morning Shuffle - Befriending Dogmas Mix

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Well, it's Monday, the world is screw-up, life is hard, and hope is fleeting. But, it's December, and time for the 3rd Annual E2TG "Earie" Awards.  "The Earies, they sound strange but they're really not".

For the uninitiated, the "Earie" awards are my annual chance to give kudos to the musicians and others who made my year better. Unlike, the Brand X awards, at the Earies, we don't mess around with nominees, our categories are... um... non-standard, and the eligibility period is liquid and determined solely by me.

As we did last year, we are going to embed many of the awards into the shuffles.  The awards will continue throughout December and culminate in the awarding of the "Golden Earie" awards for band(s) and artist(s) of the year.

Let's get to it...

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - Time is Now Mix

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I went to see Nashville Rep's production of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson last night.  Really good!  Andrew Jackson was cast as a kind of emo rock star. The show was funny and engaging, and the music was great.  Very irreverent and kind of raunchy at times. Perfect.  It was also a great satire of populism and how it doesn't always work out like it seems like it might.


Well, it is Friday.  Another rainy, gloomy day in Nashville. It's been an odd week for me. Not sure why. I took Monday off. Haven't felt 100% most of the week.  Feeling better today.  But, it's Friday! And that means we get to delve into the Featured Friday shuffle - more songs from the "new music" playlist.

Wild Wednesday Morning Shuffle - Lost in the Shuffle Mix

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TFW the President of the United States cannot meet the basic standards of human decency let alone the qualification of the job of President of the United States of America.... when will this madness end?
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A couple of notes:

1. Even though I am focusing on the "New Music" playlist for at least the next month, I have decided to keep Wild Wednesday intact.  It is a good opportunity to dig into the subbasement of my phone's memory to pull out gems which might have slipped by.  These may be "new music" or "Nashville based" or #E2TG related, or they may be classics from my collection or unusual recent discoveries (that don't fit the other categories)

2.  My phone seems to be dying.  I have ordered a new phone which means I will be transferring the music to that device when it arrives.  In my experience, transferring the songs is fine, but I will likely lose all my playlists. If that is the case, I will begin by rebuilding my new music playlist to the best of my ability (and I may take that opportunity to thin out some older songs from that list).  If for some reason, I don't have time to set up the playlist, expect Wild Wednesday shuffles until I get that done.

Now, back behind the curtain... here's the shuffle!

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - Dr. Strangelove Dough Mix

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Americana Music Association Fest 2017 rolls on... I think my total sleep for this week is still in the single digits. Maybe the very low double digits...I'm too tired to figure that out.  But no rest for the wicked... and things roll on tonight. Once again, there is way too much going to catch it all, but there are numerous really cool things happening:

Early this evening: The Wild Ponies host their annual Happy Hour - at The Family Wash.  Three years ago, it was at that event that I first me Julie Christensen and Grant Peeples - not a bad day.

Also, Bloodshot Records is holding their party - outdoors at The Groove in East Nashville with Jon Langford and much more, Tim Carroll's Rock n Roll Happy Hour is an official AMA event, if you are from out of town, that is a slice of the real Nashville experience that you should check out, and the fine folks at Green Room Music Source are throwing a party at the American Legion in Inglewood.  Technically, it may be possible to catch at least of part of all of these... I'll leave that to you to figure out.

Later, much to be recommended... Joey Kneiser's showcase is at The East Room, India Ramey is at The Country, and The Basement East has a great lineup that includes Little Bandit, Patrick Sweany, Aaron Lee Tasjan, and E2TG Artist of the Year 2016 Brian Wright.  There is also great music at The OG Basement and other venues across the city. It is probably physically impossible to catch all of these, but you are more than welcome to.make an attempt. Better yet, pick one and then enjoy that show and don't stress over all that you are missing.

Hey - ICYMI, we have an AMA-themed guest blog post from Collins de la Cour.  I love the way she writes, and she has some good things to say.   Check it out HERE.


Well - I have managed to keep up on blog posts during AMA, and today is FRIDAY! This is the day when we post about "featured" music on E2TG.  Let's shuffle!

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - Five More Minutes Mix

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Well what the heck! It's Friday!

Next week, we will get back to the regular schedule for E2TG:

Monday - Music City Monday featuring all music connected to Nashville. Old stuff, new stuff, loose connections, maybe some connections that exist only in my head...

Tuesday - Trending Tuesday featuring songs from the "New Music" playlist.  Mostly music submitted to me - occasionally a cool newish release that I just want to highlight.  "New" is relative - although I will be occasionally taking out lingering songs that are over a year old. That being said, if it's relatively new and new to me, I will also add stuff a year or so old (or older in special cases). It is what it is okay?

Wednesday - Wild Wednesday - we go hog wild and shuffle up all the songs stored by my device. New, old, really old, well-known, obscure, weird, normal - it's all possible.

Thursday - Topical Thursday - we shuffle off a of pre-selected "Topic" playlist. For a few months, we had a unexplained topic built around the current events of the world (loosely or tightly connected), since May we have been shuffling up a special E2TG anniversary playlist - featuring one song each from 250 or so artists who have been featured in some way over the six years of our existence as a blog. This topic will continue until it changes.

Friday - Featured Friday (see Trending Tuesday - it's the same thing).


So today is Featured Friday and we have a pretty cool shuffle so let's go!

Trending Thursday Morning Shuffle - Which Way to Jump Mix

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To me the biggest danger to as the weeks and months go by, is that the insanity that we are seeing will begin to seem "normal".  It is human nature, I think, to survive regardless of the circumstances. And sometimes to survive it becomes necessary to accept the unacceptable on some level just to make it through the day.  The fact is (I must repeatedly remind myself of this) that there is so much about the current administration that is not normal, is not "okay". From the fact that white supremacists still have a seat at the table of power, to the attacks on the press, to the attacks on science... it is not normal, it is not okay.
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We have reached Thursday... and we continue to work our way through the "New Music" playlist.  Let's jump to it!

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle- Burn it Down Mix

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Okay - I need to get some things out:

Take care of those less fortunate, protecting and empowering the oppressed, having compassion for others, honesty and transparency from our elected representatives, and respecting our planet. These should not be controversial of divisive issues. But, it seems they are... and to be honest, I don't get it. When I read the comment sections on posts (which I really need to stop doing), I realize that I do not ever share the same realm of reality as some of the people making comments.  How do we resolve this?  Listen, in matters of public policy and politics (if you will) there is plenty of room for debate - even among people who fundamentally agree with one another.  But, facts should not be up for debate. But they are... we find ourselves in the era of alternative facts. How do we get out of this place?  Where is the common ground?

Another quick thought before I move on... can I treat everyone by the same standards. Especially our elected officials.  I guess bias is fairly natural.. but when I am reacting to something an elected official has done, I need to ask myself - how would I react if that official was from a different political party or philosophy?  Would I be just has pleased or just as outraged? If my answer is yes, then I need to work toward living up to that standard......
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Last night I made it out for the early show at The 5 Spot.  The Easy Leaves (a California band with Nashville's Adam Kurtz on pedal steel) were great.  Rich Mahan and The Tripmonks were wonderful. When Allen Thompson joined them for a rare cover of the Velvet Underground classic "The Gift"... I was blown away. (I captured this on video which is on my personal Facebook page).

ICYMI:  Another song premiered this morning on E2TG.  Please check out "Isle of Hope" by Jefferson Ross from his album (out today) called Live at Hillbilly Haiku.

Tomorrow - a live Double Shot is coming up on WXNA.  Later tomorrow, I will representing WXNA at Nashville Pride Festival downtown.  Stop by the WXNA tent to hear cool tunes and meet the DJs.

Well, week one of our two week mid-year  "New Music" clearance.  The playlist down below 300 songs - but I have more to add over the weekend.  Let's see what today's shuffle has in store...

Trending Thursday Morning Shuffle - Helps the Flowers Grow Mix

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ICYMI: E2TG premiered a brand new song from Flying Buffaloes earlier this morning.  You can check that out HERE.

Keep your ear to the ground for more premiere's as I begin to dig myself out from my backlog which developed during my Residency last month.

In other news, a release date has been set for Lifers - Jon Latham's follow up to Real Bad News. The album will drop on September 1 on Cafe Rooster Records. I plan to take the day off from work and listen to the album in the parking lot of a local Taco Bell.  You should make similar arrangements.

Speaking of Cafe Rooster Records, the line-up that graced us with their appearance in week 4 of the E2TG Residency will be down in Georgia on July 1 at Eddie Owen Presents in Duluth. If you are within driving range and able to make it there, it is highly recommended.

All week (and next), we have been playing songs which populate our "New Music" playlist.  These are primarily albums/songs that were submitted to E2TG for play plus some old friends and favorites that we added even if not specifically submitted.

Anyway, let's shuffle....

Manic Monday Music Shuffle - Punchline Mix

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Hello Reader!

Well - I had the realization that we have just two weeks of shuffles left and then the first half of 2017 will be over.  It's been a busy year so far. I know New Years is the traditional time to make life changes (or at least to talk about it), but I like to think of June 30 as kind of halftime for the year.  In my limited knowledge of football, it seems like teams that are good at making halftime adjustments tend to do better (overall).  Okay sports analogy over.  Anyway, as I sit here on the verge of the 2nd half of 2017, I noticed I have over 300 songs in my "New Music" playlist. All (with one or two exceptions) represent music that was submitted to me in one form or another in relatively recent months.  I also noticed that some recent additions have been underplayed - the nature of the random shuffle, and there are also some stragglers (one or two songs from albums nearly or over one year old). It seems like a good time to tidy up the playlist, but before I do, I thought I would dedicate the next two weeks to just playing songs from the "New Music" playlist to clean it out a little naturally.

This would normally be Music City Monday - but as I suspected over half of the songs in this shuffle would have fit that playlist, too.

Let's shuffle!

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - Apathy and Sentiment Mix

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Whew! I am kind of exhausted, and I am behind on about everything, but I am mostly having the time of my life.  So, excited for the May Residency at The 5 Spot which kicks off Wednesday May 3 with The Mark Robinson Band!  This is going to be a great month of music, and I know I will have a blast, and I think you will too.  If you are reading this, and you are in or will be in Nashville on any given Wednesday in May, I hope you will come on out and say hey.

It's our final shuffle of April - where did the time go!

It's Feature Friday time....

Trending Tuesday Morning Shuffle- Sacred Cows Mix

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You know, I keep saying this is not political, but until some more G.O.P. people grow a spine and speak up against the insanity, it does feel political.... And by insanity, I specifically mean gross incompetence, flagrant and unabashed corruption, just to name a couple.
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Yesterday was an eighteen plus hour day that left me more energized than tired (we shall see how I feel after lunch today) After work, I headed to Madison to record a future Double Shot show (to air May 6), then I went to Dee's where Tim Easton hosted Madison Guild Monday.  Emma Berkey, Matt Haeck, Rayvon Pettis, Ariel Bui, Megan Palmer, Jon Latham, and more. Tim Easton closed the night joined by Aaron Lee Tasjan - before ALT performed two songs to close the night. (I know I left somebody out, too.  Sorry.)  I really fun hang. For those deep into the E2TG mythology, the first time I saw Aaron Lee Tasjan (and Tim Easton - I think) was back in 2014 at a 5 Spot Residency that Tim Easton was hosting.  That was also the fateful day that I first met Darrin Bradbury in person.

It is Tuesday.... let's see what is Trending at E2TG according to the random shuffle function....