Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle - Los Angels Mix

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Welcome back.  Well, this should be the last late post of the week.  Plus, my new bluetooth earphones came in today. So the shuffle will be continue onward unabated.

So some of you have asked about the integrity of the E2TG "Earie" Awards.  The ballots are stored in a secret and remote location watched over by a team of trained seals. Unlike some of the fancy awards, we could not afford a Certified Accountant to monitor our processes, so we went with a certifiable accountant.  Did I ever mention that I am an accountant.  Seriously though, the whole process takes place inside my head, and that is as remote and secret as it gets.

Today's award:  I'm calling it the "Mott the Hoople" Award aka the "All the Young Dudes" Award.

The premise:  No premise really, just an award to some of the young dudes who made cool music in 2015.  (keep in mind, I'm getting up there in age so "young" is a term that is more broadly defined everyday, but these dudes qualify by my standards...

The Award goes to:

1.  Josh Morris - When (former E2TG Featured Artist) And the Giraffe parted ways, Josh Morris turned his attention to his solo work.  Green Fields was released early in the year,  Morris has new music in the works that promises a change in direction from Green Fields.  In addition, Morris is quickly making a name for himself as a go-to producer.

2.  James Tomberlin - When James Tomberlin left town to return to school, he left a unique but significant hole in the Nashville songwriting community.  Fortunately, before he left town, he recorded a album, Still Life With Orange which by the way was produced by Josh Morris.  I, for one, though, miss his arcane and sophisticated sense of humor.

3.  Patrick Kinsley - For a Thousand Miles is flat out one of my favorite albums of 2015.  It is an excellent showcase for the mass of contradictions that is Patrick Kinsley.  Earnest heartland flavored rock and roll music with simple but intelligent lyrics and a deep emotional resonance.  The album is a journey.

4.  Zachariah Red -  The new Zach Red album is due out just after the first of the year, and I can't wait.  But, his single, "40 Miles" was released just in time for the totally fictional "Earie" deadline.  Bringing the wisdom and work ethic of a Wisconsin carpenter, the energy of a former punk rocker, and songwriting chops, Zachariah Red plays real country music effortlessly.

(There a couple of other people who might qualify for this award, but I may have something else in mind for them)....






To the shuffle:

Friday Morning Music Shuffle - Heck of F-f-friend Mix

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After Tennessee's Icepocalypse kept me in for most the week, I ventured out into the cold last evening to check out a new consignment store called Hang the Moon in East Nashville and to hear some of my favorite people play music. I just caught the tail end of the set by Tim Carroll and Luella Wood but what I heard was (as usual) awesome.  The Western Shore were next delivering an awesome set of their unique style of Americana music, and the night wrapped up with the super-duo of Lindsay Ellyn and Taylor Alexander doing a set of some of Lindsay's great songs augmented by some classic country songs.  These two voices are amazing together.

Meanwhile, more snow and ice are on tap followed by heavy rain tomorrow... joy!  What the hey, we have music to present!

Thursday Morning Music Shuffle - Seems Like Incongruity Mix

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So, I've been thinking a lot about the concept of incongruity, and I have this theory that incongruity is a concept made up by those who cannot or will not see that everything and everyone is connected.  And that what we experience as an incongruity means that we cannot presently see the way things are connected.  Sometimes, it helps me to think that I am the one thing that connects these seemingly incongruous things.  Hint: that thought though helpful is not the truth.

Keep this in mind (or don't) as you experience today's shuffle

Friday Morning Music Shuffle - It's Up to You Mix

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Well, well, well... with just a couple of days left to vote, we have a dead heat between The Great American Novel and And the Giraffe. This one will truly go down to the wire.  Exciting...

We have pretty cool shuffle today, so let's jump to it...


Daddy from the album, For a Second Time with I Went to Heaven in a Dream Last Night. "God said everything's gonna be all right."  Daddy is Will Kimbrough and Tommy Womack and friends. Great song.

 

Next, we have Oh My Sweet Carolina from Ryan Adams' debut solo album, Heartbreaker. Emmylou Harris sings on this track, which is a sentence I always like to write.

 

Finally, Never Mind the Bollocks...  What's a Friday morning without a little Sex Pistols.  New York was playing as I reached the building this morning.  Ready to jump to it.

 

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Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle - Off Kilter Mix

Well no doubt about it, the week is in full swing.  Hope everyone is having a good one.  If not, I hope my merry band of tunes will help turn things around or at least brighten your journey just a bit.

My poor brain has been hatching a scheme, and I really want to make it a reality.  I've got some time, but I have the feeling I need to start working on details soon. I'll be sending some direct messages soon asking for advice etc. And rest assured when the time is right, you my faithful readers will be among the first to know.

In the meantime, this being the first Tuesday of the month, we have loaded up the old MP3 player with a fresh batch of tunes.  The August playlist starts now with what could be a record, 50 songs!  The songs run a pretty wide gamut (is wide gamut acceptable or is it redundant? Oh well...) with music dating from the 50s to the present day with stops in the sixties, the eighties, the 2000s and the 2010s - and perhaps others... in addition, we have covers, live bootlegs, big hit songs and brand spanking new tracks and everything in between.  Here is our first taste:


We begin with a song from the late, great Eddie Cochran. 3 Steps to Heaven was released on his 12 Greatest Hits album which was released just days before his untimely death in April 1960.  

 

 

Next up,we have a track from a bootleg of a 1967 live performance by The Velvet Underground entitled Psychedelic Sounds From the Gymnasium.  The track, Guess I'm Falling in Love, appeared surfaced in Instrumental form on the 80s compilation, Another View.  Check out the bootleg here. (via captainsdead)

White Chalk is the first taste of a forthcoming album (Ark - out 10/15) by the British Producer who works under the name, Halls. It's a spare, murky bit of pop.  Here's some info on the track.

Next up we have To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High) from Ryan Adams' 2000 solo debut Heartbreaker.  The album, made just after the demise of Whiskeytown, features Dave Rawlings, Gillian Welch, Kim Richey and Emmylou Harris among others.  Have at it for $6.99 from Amazon - using the pic/link below.

 

And finally, we'll close things out today with a song we featured over the weekend. It's Nashville's own Natural Child with the song Mother Nature's Daughter which will be released as a 7" on August 21 via Jeffery Drag Records.

 

 Here's an older video by Natural Child

 

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Friday Morning Music Shuffle - Chauldron Mix

Man, we are just having stellar weather here in Nashville (even if it is way too hot for the season).  Save the date: April 21st is Record Store Day.  Visit your local brick and mortar record emporium.  Here in Nashville, Grimey's always puts on a great show.  Even if you aren't a vinyl junkie - ready for this years cream of the crop RSD releases, you should still get your butt to support real world stores. You know, I love the convenience of download sites like Amazon or iTunes, but it's hard to throw a bash on either of those sites like they do at record stores across the country on Record Store Day.

Here we go with a wild and crazy list:

1.  Black Hippy - is kind of a hip-hop supergroup of sorts. They've put our a number of singles on various solo projects of the band members, and they are prepping their first album.  The collective recently appeared at South by Southwest.  Zip That Chop That was posted just before SXSW over at Stereogum - here


Here is another track, Rolling Stone, from Black Hippy member,  Schoolboy Q's solo album.

 

And finally a video of today's track:

My daughter wore this song out when she was little. Perspective #1 - it's a catchy, innocuous pop song - just sit back and remind yourself of the early 2000s.  Bye Bye Bye - N*Sync
Perspective #2 - Ear to the Ground, N*Sync, really!?  Perspective #3 - Justin Timberlake is a talented guy, Peter Case once posted  an unironic (I think) defense of N*Sync on Facebook (or else his account had been hacked...

Delta Spirit have been appearing quite frequently.  Today we have a mellower side of the band with My Dream from 2010's The Waits Room EP.

 

 

And finally, Ryan Adams is tearing it up with his latest release Ashes & Fire ($5 from Amazon - as of 3/30/2012) using the link below.  Today's song is Chains of Love:

 

 

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Links of Interest:

Schoolboy Q We believe it is important to preserve what makes music special, and make it easy to craft listening experiences. At MOG, browse millions songs and play them instantly. Or just turn on radio where you can stop and replay songs. You can also create playlists for any occasion, and even download songs to your mobile. We are dedicated to employing the cleanest but most powerful technology so you can enjoy music as much as ever.

An Off the Record Guide to Boy Bands: New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys and 'n Sync Read about the most popular boy bands of the 1990's - New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync. Learn about each member in those bands and what they are doing today.This book was created and put into distribution by a team of dedicated editors using open source and proprietary publishing tools. One of the advantages to the way we publish books is that our content is up to date and written by dedicated subject matter experts from all over the world. By adding a layer of screening and curatorial attention to this material, we are able to offer a book that is relevant, informative and unique.

Middle Brother - Middle Brother - MP3 Download This Middle Brother download is available in DRM-free, MP3 256kbps format. Middle Brother MP3's will play on iPod? and all MP3 players. Individual tracks and samples of the songs from this album are available by clicking on the product image on the left. Need help? Click here and search for "downloads" to learn more.

Music in High Places: Ryan Adams - Live in Jamaica The Music in High Places series of videos combines travel footage with music. Each edition in the series follows a music star traveling to exotic locations, learning about the place, and then performing. This chapter finds alt-country star Ryan Adams as h

Thursday Morning Music (Covers) - Pride & Joy Mix

Day 3 of no morning music: the crisis continues.  Today is  the day, I would normally be presenting some interesting covers songs, and  but so, I was thinking about Covers on my way in to work - what makes a great cover, a good cover, a failed cover or a pointless cover.

Of course it is all subjective, but here goes my take on that subject at least for the time being:

A great cover can happen when a great artist takes on a great song and owns it.  In many cases, over time, some people may even forget that the song is a cover - take Janis Joplin's definitive version of Kris Kristofferson's Me & Bobby McGee.  Or this cover:




Another situation which can produce a great cover occurs when an artist you love deconstructs some over-produced popular song of the day.  I recently heard Ryan Adams version of the Ratt song Round and Round.  But, one of my all-time favorite examples is this track:




Of course,there are also some really cool deconstructed versions of some really cool songs.  Case in point, Grant Lee Phillips outstanding album nineteeneighties which features tracks like this one:






Here are some tracks mentioned or referenced in today's post:














___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Affiliated Links:

The Best Cover Songs The Best Cover Songs

Under The Covers: Classic Lookout! Records Cover Songs Under The Covers: Classic Lookout! Records Cover Songs