E2TG 6/16/2020 - California Darkland Twilight Moon - Green Mix (Odyssey Remix)

Tweet #E2TG

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


You know what I hope for from the next President. Sure, to begin to undo some of the damage that has been done and to move us back in the right direction, but more than all that, I want a President who won't be saying and doing stupid and dangerous things EVERY SINGLE DAY.  I want a President that at least pretends to speak to all Americans. A President who rebuilds our ties with our allies and not with corrupt dictatorships.  I want a steady hand.  I expect that there will be times I will not agree with the next President and will need to speak up, but I want to go back to a time when upheaval and turmoil were not daily reality.

I got to spend some time outdoorts hanging out with some good friends (at a distance), the first time I had just hung out like that in a good while. The weather was perfect and it was wonderful. I see that I need to start coming out of my comfort zone (safely).

I am still concerned about the return of live music as I knew it - when it will happen, how it will happen, and if I will feel safe enough to go.  It still seems surreal that so much was stripped away in such a short period of time.

BUT, COVID-19 is not over, we haven't beat it.  In some places, we are seeing a spike in cases, and in my observation many people are acting like it is over. Wear a mask, stay in when you can, avoid crowds.

We have four more songs to feature from this week's playlist!

Featured Friday Recap Part II (Songs 5-8)

5. "Our Future is California" by Cursive is Code

I am fortunate to get to feature a lot of music here on E2TG - and to get to hear music that I might not otherwise get to hear.  And every once in a while, I come across music that just connects to me in a way that it hard to explain and even harder to write about. I remember the first time I heard Grimm Generation.  It was music that sounded like what music I might make might sound like - if I made music.  I got to know Jason P. Krug through writing about that band. Then, when Grimm Generation imploded, Krug released an amazing solo album, and I knew I had to name him E2TG Artist of the Year. He was the one that inspired me to create Artist of the Year Nashville and Non-Nashville. Things have been quiet music-wise since that 2016 album The Zen of Losing, and that is why I am so excited that Krug has a new band - along with his significant other Julie Kay and some other Connecticut musicians - and some new music. We featured an earlier single a few weeks back. This latest single really connected with me, and it reminded of why I fell in love with Krug's music in the first place.  

6. "Darklands" by Tayls, Heaven Honey

Tayls has been on my radar for awhile, but I feel like I just recently really started to connect. They have been releasing some single collaborations with other Nashville bands, including this one with Heaven Honey. I didn't know much about that band before hearing this track, but I want to know more now. I am very excited about the variety of music being made in Nashville these days. While I am tempted to say that this doesn't sound like Nashville music, the fact is - more and more (at least in my orbit)- music that doesn't sound like Nashville is becoming the norm. Which is not to suggest that there is anything overly familiar about this music - on the contrary - I would say that it is the uniqueness of Tayls' music - and I'm guessing Heaven Honey as well - that makes it distinctively Nashville (circa 2020).

7. "Magic Moon" by Eric Bolander

The last few years have definitely marked a renaissance of sorts in Kentucky music. Sturgill lead things off for sure. The exciting thing is that in his wake has come a line of unique and talented musicians carving their own path. This is the brand new single from Eric Bolander from Lexington, Kentucky.  It is the first single from his forthcoming third album (due in August). I love this song, and I can't want to hear more from him, and I want to go back and check out his first two albums. 

8. "Perpetual Twilight" by Crooked Heart

We close today's recap with the title track from the new album by Grand Rapids, Michigan based post hardcore/alternative band Crooked Heart. This is a sprawling, noisy soundscape. A great addition to the playlist. 

(Tomorrow songs 9-11)

    Featured Friday Playlist

Wild Wednesday Morning Shuffle - Life's on that Phone Mix

Tweet #E2TG

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



In this day and age, I am always happy when things in the news inspire me and give me hope. That is happening today, and just for this moment, I am pleased.

Remembering Stephen Hawking who is now up in the stars.

*********************************************************************************

In case you missed it:  #E2TG premiered a new song by Lottie this morning.  Check out "Pretending" HERE 

Meanwhile, the week reaches its mid-point, and that means it is time for Wild Wednesday Shuffle... reminder, this is where we shuffle all the songs in my phone memory and see what transpires...

Topical Thursday Morning Shuffle - With Exceptions of Course Mix

Tweet #E2TG

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

Farce: a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay and typically including crude characterization and ludicrously improbable situations.

I will just leave the definition here... and only add that farce is far more fun to watch than it is to live.
*********************************************************************************

It was really great to drag myself out of my air conditioning to check out Ben de la Cour and Tommy Womack at The 5 Spot last night.  Ben de la Cour (who I first discovered through Couch by Couch West) is a relative newcomer to Nashville (well with the rapid influx of people, he maybe not be considered a newcomer) and Tommy Womack is a long-standing member of the Nashville music community.  I love it when the best of "old" and "new" Nashville share a bill.  As a bonus, I got to hang some with Too Much Country - a fellow music blogger/fan (who also writes about NASCAR and Schaefer Beer.

Tonight, a full-plate.  Kristen Englenz and Sean Quinn are at The 5 Spot early along with Lady HD from Philly.  I managed to snag a ticket to the Sold Out Oh Boy Records presents The Songs of John Prine at the Basement East.  If you didn't get tickets to that event, worry not, Jon Latham and Andrew Leahey are wrapping up their residency at The Family Wash - beginning around 9.

Don't forget Mark Robinson is having his CD Release Party at The 5 Spot on Saturday.

Well... we've sweltered through this hot week and made it to Thursday.  We call it Topical Thursday, and of late, that has meant that we delve into the music that has made E2TG what it is over the past six years.  We have a great mixed bag today, so let us dig in...

Monday Morning Music Shuffle - Something to Chew Mix

Tweet #E2TG

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

Nashville really is a beautiful wonderful city for live music.  There is way too much awesome stuff for one person to see anywhere near it all.

Friday evening, I hung out the WXNA folks.  They are working a really cool thing. 




Then, I spent a rare evening in Midtown and saw Taylor Alexander and Lindsay Ellyn, The Gasoline Brothers, and Richie Owens and the Farm Bureau and hung out with friends.

Saturday night, I went to The Basement for Pony Boy's CD Release Show - her new album Blue Gold is amazing by the way. Lilly Hiatt opened the show and was awesome.  Pony Boy was spectacular and Robyn Hitchcock joined to play harmonica on Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue", and yes, I did get to introduce myself as the goofy guy who made the Soft Cell joke. :-)  Justin Collins and the Cosmics closed the night with some really great high energy rock.  Justin and Adam Landry produced Pony Boy's new album. They are the duo behind Deer Tick and Diamond Rugs and Black Vincent (who we have been featuring here of late). I got to meet Adam, too. 

Sunday night, a great night at Bobby's Idle Hour on Music Row.  Julie Christensen and Patterson Barrett performed some of Julie's awesome songs.  Russell Thompson played with Megan Palmer, and then Megan did her own set and reminded me again of just how awesome she is.  For the last song, she and a chorus of great female singers (Julie Christensen, Ariel Bui, Nellie Clay, and more) closed the night with a rip roaring rendition of Palmer's "Knife Twister".  Oh and Victoria Williams was in the audience, too.

Tonight, I am going out to see my friends Zach Red Stacy and Taylor Alexander playing 8 off 8th at Mercy Lounge.

Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle - Pretty Vacant Eyes Mix

Tweet #E2TG

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

Okay... so I'm running late with today's shuffle, but I have a good reason.  At lunch, when I usually finishing writing this thing and get it posted to the Ear to the Ground Facebook Page (which you should "Like" if you haven't but I digress), I went to the Downtown Public Library to see a songwriting round with Marshall Chapman, Mary Gauthier, and Malcolm Holcomb - because that is what we do at lunchtime in Nashville....

Onward, I have to be quick - I'm heading out in a bit to see three people I've featured on Ear to the Ground at $2 Tuesday at The 5 Spot in East Nashville - Joe Nolan, Angela Easterling, and Carl Anderson are all on the bill.  Did I mention it's $2 Tuesday?