Showing posts with label Karen Mav. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Karen Mav. Show all posts

Friday, December 23, 2016

Feliz Navidad Friday Morning Shuffle - Comfort and Joy Mix



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


Merry Christmas Eve Eve.  As I muddle through my last day of work for a few, and as the year winds down, I have been reflecting on all that I am grateful for in my life.  I know I may sound like a broken record, but E2TG has been one of my life's great blessings (behind my family and maybe one or two other things), and that is because of the incredible people I have been able to get to know because I decided to start writing this thing about five and half years ago.

Today for my first batch of Earie Awards, my thoughts turn toward people who are not specifically musicians that I have featured on E2TG but people who have been a integral part of this whole thing.

I am calling this one (just because I couldn't think of a better name) the "TYFBAFOE2TG" Award - which stands for "Thank you for being a friend of E2TG".

The award goes to Sue Havlish, Mary Sack, Karen Leipziger, Jill Kettles, Gina Frary Bacon, and Gina Sigillito.  Each of these people in their own ways have helped to make E2TG what is today, and I am very grateful for that. I think they each know what they have done, and I wanted to acknowledge them in these few lines. A ton of good things happened in 2016 (and some bad stuff, too) and I am looking forward to what 2017 has in store.  Good or bad (and there will be bad), I know we will get through it together.

Well, I started today with 39 songs left in my Christmas playlist and since this is the last shuffle before the man in the red suit shows up, I thought I would shuffle a few more.

I will see you next week with the last three shuffles of 2016 and the rest of the "Earie" awards including the Artist of the Year award.

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Wednesday Special Red Cup Morning Music Shuffle - Oil Up a Snake Mix



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

Wednesday!  Well, thanks to about 500 of you, The Ear to the Ground Facebook page reached the 500 "Like" milestone late yesterday.  It really means a ton to me.  I promise bigger and better things for 2016.

I am running a bit short on time, but The "Earies" 2015 do continue on...   I decided to call this one the "Dirty Rice" Award - aka - the "Land of my People" Award. 

The premise:  Although, I was born in Tennessee and have lived all but about one year in this state, my roots are in the bayous of Louisiana, and I still feel a deep connection to that very unique and colorful state.  This year, I have been fortunate enough to write about two artists and albums with connections to Louisiana.  This seemed like as good a reason as any to link them for this award.

The Awards: 

Kevin Gordon - is one of the most respected songwriters around.  He has released a number of excellent albums, and his album Gloryland definitely raised the bar. In 2015, he released Long Gone Time, and with it, he managed to raise the bar even further.  Kevin Gordon is an incredible live act, and his music really captures the complicated realities of the post-Civil Rights era deep south.

D.L. Duncan - A well respected blues musician and songwriter, D.L. "Dave" Duncan, released a self-titled album in 2015 that really captured the essence of the what the blues are all about. The album was partially produced in Lafayette, Louisiana which happens to be where my parents lived when they were first married.  Featuring an all-star cast of musical talent, the album has some of the most infectious blues grooves I've heard in a long time.


On to the shuffle: I have not downloaded a ton of Christmas/Holiday/Winter music this year, and so I had intended to wait until next week to break into that list, however, I did download a few more song last night, so I decided to kick things off today.  As I mentioned before, I struggled with what to call this playlist.  As creative as I can try to be, my playlist names are pretty unimaginative.  The main playlist from which most shuffles are drawn, is just called "E2TG".  The Featured Friday playlist is called "Featured Friday". When it came to this one though... I just was not sure.  I have not problem with Christmas, however, for the sake of accuracy, I knew that the list might included some songs some of the other holidays celebrated at this time of year.  I could have called it "Holiday Playlist" but I know the term, "Holiday" bothers some people.  Some songs are not about a holiday, but rather are just about the season of Winter.  Again, Winter playlist didn't seem to work, because while the winter songs might be appropriate for a couple more months,  I really don't want to hear about mangers and Santa and elves in February.  In the end, I decided to call this playlist the Red Cup playlist, because, who in the world could be offended by red cup?  Am I right?