Wild Wednesday Morning Shuffle - Ruptured Spleen Mix

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Guess what!  It's Wednesday - time to get wild...

I am a little short on time - so let's go!

Wild Wednesday Morning Shuffle - What Becomes Mix

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It's been a rough week!  I need some music. It's Wednesday, so let's get "wild" with our shuffle!

Topical Thursday Morning Shuffle - An Artist Man Mix

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I need to start by saying cancer sucks... I hate it!  Rest in Peace to Grant Hart (Husker Du).  Along with The Replacements and Minutemen, Husker Du were part of the holy trinity of great American post-punk bands on the 1980s.

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Whew... I am somehow still functioning (at least as good as I normally function).  So far this week, I've seen somewhere close to 15 hours of live music (with 7-8 more on tap tonight), worked my regular schedule, posted my normal blog posts, recorded a radio show, run into a ton of good friends, strategically managed to drink quite a bit for a fraction of the cost ;-), posted on Instagram for the radio station, danced at 1:00am at The Family Wash, and even got to sleep - just a little.

Last night, I saw the amazing Bonnie Whitmore, K. Phillips (who co-wrote the Erica Blinn song we premiered last week), and the always enchanting Amelia White.

Tonight: As if the case almost every day/night this week, there is a ton of amazing music.  I plan to start my evening at The 5 Spot.  E2TG Favorite Mark Robinson Band.  This is Mark's fifth year running of holding down the Thursday early slot at The 5 Spot. This year, in addition to hi stellar band, he will be joined by Dave Coleman (who I saw playing with Amelia White last night), and one of my favorite local songwriters Kevin Gordon (according to my Facebook memories, two years ago, I was attending the City Winery CD Release show for Gordon for his most recent album).

Speaking of City Winery, their lineup tonight includes, Robyn Hitchcock, Dave Alvin, Tony Joe White and more.

If all goes as planned, my evening will end with North Mississippi All-Stars and Blackfoot Gypsies at The Beast.

Meanwhile, I have Shuffle to present.  It somehow is Thursday, and that means today's shuffle comes from the special E2TG Topical playlist... featuring songs from across the six year history of this blog.

Let's shuffle!

Earie Thursday Morning Shuffle - Stay Silver Mix

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So, I have come to major decision regarding the Artist/Band of the Year Award for 2016.  Basically, 2016 has been such a bad year that it doesn't deserve to know who will win the Artist/Band of the Year award.  Therefore, I will be revealing the winner(s) on Monday or Tuesday of next week after 2016 has been ceremoniously shown the door.

Also, I have so many Earies left to hand out that I probably won't have time to post those awards tomorrow... but mostly the first reason!

Just for the sake of clarification - the "Earie" Awards are not necessarily a "Best of" for 2016 nor do I choose to do a "Top Ten" or anything like that.  Basically, I decided very early on with this blog that I cannot cover all of the music released or even all of the worthwhile music released or even all of the worthwhile music of a particular style. I made the decision to seek out and work to write about a lot of under-the-radar artists - who my readers may not have heard. I mix it up with classic tracks from my formative years or old music I have recently discovered. Occasionally, I will throw in a recent more well known track, and I will continue to write about my friends even when they achieve whatever level of fame. Basically, I write about what I want to write about as I am able. Trust me, when I say, there was a ton of great music that was released in 2016 that never made it E2TG for whatever reason.  Check out all those "Top Ten" and "Best of" posts especially if they are written by people whose opinion you respect, and do yourself a favor and if a name or title catches your ear, give it a listen and if you like, shell out a few bucks to support the artist. That, in the end, is all I can expect of my readers, too.

In any event, as I look back on 2016 and think about the music that I have posted about in the last 12 months, I am heartened by the incredible artists that I "discovered" in 2016. That is, who made their way into my consciousness, and I am excited to think about the artists who will reach my ears in 2017.

Anyway, we have a bunch of "Earies" to hand out so let's go!

Trending Tuesday Morning Shuffle - May Be Strong Mix

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Man there is a lot of ugliness coming to the surface in the world today... but maybe, just maybe, it has to be sucked out in order to be expelled. One can hope. And I do... hope that is. In the mean time, I mostly stick to writing about music. I hope that is okay with you...  

Had a good time recording a Double Shot show last night which will air on Saturday October 22.  Meanwhile, our next live show is coming up with coming Saturday - the 15th.  This is on the mighty WXNALP- Nashville.

We've arrived at Tuesday.  We shuffle some tunes from our "New Music" playlist - these are mostly songs that I acquired either directly from the artist or from a publicist. Some are brand new, some are a bit older.  Once again, a pretty cool mixture of music... dig...

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - The Sun's Alive Mix

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Well - about seven and half hours of live music last night...  Mark Robinson Showband and Rhythm Revue with guests David Olney and RB Morris was as spectacular as I expected.  With bullhorns, Robinson's always amazing guitar playing, and the whole company doing "Stagger Lee"  duet style with Olney (with bullhorn) and Morris trading vocals.

After studying the schedule and weighing the options some of which involved multiple trips across the river and back, I decided to just set down roots at The Basement East for AMA night. I had a little time before that, so I joined some friends to catch Tim Carroll, Luella, Cameron Carrus, with David Strayer on drums.  It was like a partial reunion of the old Fran's Eastside days.

When I finally made my way to The Beast, I ran into more friends and got to meet the one and only Mojo Nixon!  I have heard at Americana to enjoy what you decide to do and not overthink the things you are passing up.. so in that spirit.... Bottle Rockets were incredible and they brought out special guest Eric Ambel for a couple of songs.  Next up was Grant Lee Phillips who I had never seen live before.  I really dug his set.   Next was John Paul White with special guests The Secret Sisters.  I have not really had the chance to dig into White's recent work, but I was really impressed by this set.  I was starting to fade a bit during his set, but it did not have anything to do with the music.

I managed to drink some water and move a little and then moved closer to the stage for Brian Wright's night closing set.  He had Aaron Lee Tasjan playing guitar and a great band backing  him, and it was every bit as good a set as I could ever imagine. His special guests were Ladie Gun Club, and the sit included the band gathered around one mic - like they do on the Opry...  Wright's set closing, "Glory Hallelujah" was everything you want a closing number to be.

So, tonight... I am trying to wrap up things at work - so the shuffle post may be quick... Jill Kettles and Rodney Metroyer are hosting  an unofficial AMA event this afternoon with Marvin Etzioni, Brian Langlinais (remember that name as the shuffle proceeds) and more.  Bloodshot Records is throwing a party in the back yard of The Groove record store - with Lydia Loveless, Bottle Rockets, Robbie Fulks, and Cory Branan.  Plus, Tim Carroll Rock and Roll Happy Hour has been moved up one hour.  But, my night will be centered on The Station Inn. WXNA is hosting tonight's AMA showcases (and tomorrow night, too). Tonight, I will be hanging out with Richie Owens and Howard Yearwood from Wagon Wheel, and one of my tasks is to get to introduce Syd Straw! and talk about WXNA!

Also, Aaron Lee Tasjan is at Cannery Ballroom, Zach Schmidt is at ACME, and and and....

Featured Friday shuffle ahead...

Trending Tuesday Morning (and Afternoon) Shuffle - 5 Long Years Mix

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Reporting in late with a shuffle that began this morning and stretched into this afternoon.

First, some reminders.  Tomorrow do not miss Amelia White with special guests Megan Palmer and Don Gallardo - The 5 Spot at six pm.  Thursday: Mark Robinson Showband with Davis Raines and Tiffany Huggins Grant - same place and same time.  Some alternative suggestions for Thursday:  If you are down Franklin way, be sure to check in to the Legendary Kimbro's Picking Parlor to see a superb line-up with Ben de la Cour and Marvin Etzioni (The Mandolin Man, Lone Justice).   If you are not at Mark Robinson's show or down in Franklin at Kimbro's, I hope it because you at the O.G. Basement to see Beau James and J.R. Wyatt.  Later on, you can head (or stay) at The 5 Spot for Sara Syms, Bird and Bear, and a new band debuting called Bell Dive. Alternatively, you can head over to Phat Bites in Hip Donelson and check out Furious Primates and others for a show that had to be moved due to the surprising and sad news of the abrupt closing of FooBar. Friday: After Tim Carroll Rock and Roll Happy Hour - head up down Main Street to The Family Wash for a triple bill that features E2TG favorites BARK along with Ned Hill of Ned Van Go, and Alvin Youngblood Hart's Muscle Theory.  Whew!  Is the weekend yet?

Let's get to that shuffle....

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - What They Call Punk Rock Mix

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Whew! It is FRIDAY!  I have to say, I have had a pretty difficult week - only partially due to coming back from a week off last week.  I am happy for the weekend to be here, and I am really looking forward to getting back on the radio with my dear friend Sue Havlish.  Tune in tomorrow from 11-1pm (Central Time) on WXNA (101.5FM in Nashville and streaming live at wxnafm.org world-wide.
Our theme this week in "Animal Kingdom", and you can expect to hear some music by some E2TG favorites as well as other great songs.

I caught a super hot show last night at the original Basement (located four flights of stairs below to WXNA studios).  When I say it was hot, I mean both the music and the temperatures. Darrin Bradbury opened with some favorites and some sneak peaks of an album is currently working on.  The stars of the night were definitely Andrew Leahey and the Homestead who are releasing their new album Skyline in Central Time today. Leahey and his excellent band sweated through a rocking set. Singer songwriter, Bill Eberle closed the show with an excellent set.  Eberle was backed by a stellar band that featured Dave Coleman on guitar as well as members of Sad Baxter.  I think we all lost about ten pounds in the sauna, but it was totally worth it.

Onward, to a week-closing Featured Friday shuffle

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - Hipster Girl in the Old City Mix

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There are two parts of everyone of us.... well maybe more than two...

At this point, I can't see beyond this moment... one more time, one more time... it really makes no difference where or why.  There is an ugliness - I guess it has always been there... That ugliness does not discriminate. It really doesn't! Even though it may seem like it does.  The personifications of that ugliness - they discriminate - it is what they do... but the ugliness deep inside does not.  What I mean is that we all have some of the ugliness inside of us - the hate, the fear, the selfishness, the judgments.

Here's the thing... there is much beauty in the world... not just in special places or certain people. It is everywhere.  We all have the beauty inside of us - the love, the courage, the selflessness, the compassion.

The choice we have each day, each moment is to decide which of those we want to show to the world and more importantly which we want to manifest in the world.  Speaking for myself, I make those choices many, many different times every single day. Sometimes, I make what I think is the right choice and I show the world the beauty and I try to manifest that beauty.  Way too often, I fall short and little bits (or more) of the ugliness comes out.

So, today I am thankful when I allow the beauty to be what the world experiences.  But, I also have to thankful when I reminded that the ugliness is there, too.  Because, I  think that forgetting that I have that ugliness inside of me is far more dangerous than those moments when I show the world that ugliness.

Be good to one another -  I will try.

Anyway, I like sharing beautiful music of all kind.

Quick recap, I had a nice evening at The Country.  I was great to see Russell Thompson play for the first time in several months and to be reminded the beauty of his wonderful songs.   It was also great to experience Maynard and the Musties for the first time.  Really loved their sound and their songs.

Now, it is Friday and we shuffle songs from the Featured Friday playlist on Fridays.  Enjoy!

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - This One Last Hope Mix

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These are hard times. These are tense times. These are scary times. These are sad times. These are disheartening time.  The issues are systemic and complicated and cannot and should not be reduced to memes. But that is what we do.  This is not a political blog or a social issues blog. This is a music blog, but I am a human being writing this and I notice things.  I do not propose solutions to all of the world's ills. But I do have a modest proposal..

STOP! RIGHT NOW!  Stop treating everything as an either/or, black/white, pro/con issue. My opinion is that very few things in this world work this way.  There is a philosophy that I used to be a proponent of (and sometimes still am) that our choices are either love or fear. In other words, in any given situation we can choose to react out of love or react out of fear. Honestly, I think as a way for me to evaluate my own reactions, it is a good philosophy. The problem is when I start using that to evaluate another persons motives is where I get into trouble. It's where I fall into that either/or trap.

I don't think either side is exempt from falling into this trap and it cuts across just about every issue. Guns, abortion, gay rights, police shootings, terrorism, even silly things like the Beatles vs. the Stones.   This idea that if I concede even a small minor point that I am now an enemy of a cause I consider myself a supporter of... It is how "Gee, maybe we might want to consider looking into how this thing is being done" is interpreted "so, you want to scrap the whole way of doing things?"

Or more pointedly, "There is a systemic problem of how some law officers interact with people of color." is heard as "So, you hate all cops?"

On social media, this attitude just creates fruitless and frustrating flame wars.  In life, it has deadly consequences as we have seen over the last couple of days.  So, I think we all need to STOP.  It is possible to support the good work that law enforcement officers do on a daily basis AND to demand that when one or some of those officers do wrong that they not be given a pass.  And to realize/admit that those bad apples are more than just aberrations (even if they may be in the minority), to realize that there are systemic and societal issues of race that we need to have honest conversations about. But, we cannot have those vital conversations if we approach it from a position of protecting our view of either/or.  Being willing to listen and to try to understand another viewpoint is not the same as agreeing with or giving into that viewpoint. But, it does, I think, demand a willingness to concede small points while standing firm on others.

I have no idea if any of what I have said makes any sense. I am frustrated and sad and scared and disheartened. I just feel like in our discourse we need to find some small point of agreement and build from that.  Sadly, I do not think this happens very often in our world.

But, this is a music blog.  I love music, and I believe that love is ultimately the answer to everything.  Love with hard work, love with compromise, love with actions, love with heart-felt disagreements, love in all of it's complicated versions and varieties.  As I said, I love music - so for today, I will share the love by sharing some music. Some of it you may like, some of it you may not, but I send it all out with love.

Speak powerfully against hate and fear, but speak powerfully out of love. Combat hate and fear with love not with more hate or fear.

So... music!

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - May Forever You Run and Roll On Mix

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Coming very soon!  E2TG Anniversary Extravaganza!  Click for details!

Ventured out last night to help send Darrin Bradbury out on his latest tour.  He did a very low-key show at East Nashville's American Legion on Gallatin Pike.  He pulled a few really rare, older songs out mothballs and threw in a few favorites.  A fun evening with great conversation following.

As I reflect on the first 5 years of E2TG, I have been trying to look back with gratitude - the people I have met, the music I have heard...  At it's most basic - E2TG is based upon the idea, "Hey, I heard some really cool music today, let me tell you about it."

Gratitude for today - is thinking about the fact that almost every single day, I receive music from all over the world, and a majority of it is really good. Here are some of those...

Featured Friday!

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - April Fools Mix

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ICYMI:  Read my latest manifesto here.

It's April 1 - no joke.  Today, D. Boon would have been 58 years old.  Hard to believe he had been gone for over 30 years.  The music he made in his too short life was very important to me.



We have some Featured Friday music to kick off the fourth month of 2016

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - Grand Coulee Dam Mix

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Okay... so I feel like I am limping (battered and bloody) into the weekend, but it is Friday...

Friday is the day when we randomly shuffle songs from our Featured Friday playlist which is a playlist of songs we want to feature. 

Did I mention it's Friday?  And that we have some songs to feature? I did? Good! I think that cover it.  Shuffle after the jump