Wild Wednesday Morning Shuffle - 56 Trees Mix

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The truth about writing a daily blog for six plus years is that you have to do it sometimes when you just don't feel like it. I have only had one significant time of not posting regularly during the entire six years of the existence of E2TG, and that was due to some significant life circumstances which forced me to take a break - and even then I tried to make some periodic posts to keep things going.  The internet is littered with blogs of all kinds that just stopped at some point.  No final post - just stopped.  Chances are the blogger thought they would post again soon and it just never happened. I get it.  I had a blog before E2TG (not a music blog - actually I'm not sure what it was) I wrote in it periodically and then at some point, I just stopped and after a time I realized it was dead.

I don't know why I am writing all this except that the past couple of weeks have been pretty stressful on several different fronts and levels, and I haven't always felt like blogging, but I have kept on. I figure, I force myself to get up and go to work, I listen to music (pretty much a given) so why not write about it. Also, I know if I give into the temporary apathy or whatever you want to call it, then I will likely start making that a habit and then one day, I will realize that E2TG is dead.

I assume that at some point I will stop writing E2TG, but I hope when I do that it is intentional and that I will go out in a blaze of glory.  Anyway, that day is not today.

Meanwhile don't even get me started on the latest from the Twit in Chief.

It is Wednesday. A day when we open up the barn doors and let all our horses run free... or to put it another way, we shuffle up the entire Song list in my phone and see what happens.  We call it Wild Wednesday - because things sometimes get wild and because it is like a "wild card" - it may be anything.

Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle - Tender Mercy Mix

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Well, well, well... we managed to stir up some controversy with yesterday's Hall of Fame inductees due to our blatant omission of the Latin American singing group Menudo.*

*True except for the controversy and the fact that our omission of Menudo was not blatant.

As we prepare to induct the next three E2TG favorites into our HofF, we still do not have Menudo, but we do have a boy band of sorts to head today's list.  (A Hall of Fame page is still in the works)

 







4.  Valued Customer (Toronto, Canada)
5.  The Dead Exs (New York, NY)
6. The Imperial Rooster (Espanola, NM)

Welcome to the E2TG Hall of Fame!

Shuffle begins in 3....
2....
1....
JUMP

Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle - I See Red Mix

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Let's get going... We have a most excellent Pre-Shuffle today featuring old friends, new friends and a special guest appearance....

"Planet of Women" by Sonny and the Sunsets

"Her Changes" by Frank Ryan

 "Shooting the Moon" by Ben Shive

"Fox in the Hen House" by The Quaker City Night Hawks

"Get Over" by The Dead Exs (Note: since I couldn't find a video for "Get Over" we included the video for the title track for their latest album Relovolution. The fan sourced video includes a very special Cameo appearance by the one and only Popa Tunes who've excellent blog recently celebrated its Fourth Birthday!)

 "Spittin' Lies" by Nikki Sue and the Bad News (Note: since I couldn't find a video for "Spittin' Lies", I included a video of Nikki Sue covering one of my all-time favorite songs, Folsom Prison Blues)

"Beware the Grackle" by The Peculiar Pretzelmen

  

 SHUFFLE UP NEXT

Ear to the Ground _ 2+

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May 15, 2011

This is my very first post, and I don't know exactly how this is going to work.  A more informative post will follow, but I want to see how this works.

If you are reading this, it worked just fine.  If not, well - it didn't.  Or something....

- Work-in-Progress



Somehow, I missed that this past Wednesday marked the two year anniversary of Ear to the Ground.

I just want to give a huge shout out and thanks to ALL the awesome people I've met as a result of writing this. Blogging can at times feel like shouting into a void, but what has kept me going besides all of the great music I've "discovered and uncovered" are the new friends I've met along the way.  

As I've often said, I'm all about looking ahead while carrying forward the legacy of the past. Okay, I don't know that I've ever said that, but I'm saying it now.

So... no big to-do.  How about some music...

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Monday Morning Music Shuffle - Death-Defying All Odds Mix

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I hope you haven't forgotten to check out Couch by Couchwest, but if you have, no worries. Unlike that other festival, you can go right now and get caught up. In a day and a few hours, we've already seen our friends: The Foresters, Kassy Key and the Raindogs ,and Cupla. Plus tons of bands who are new to us, but who we are digging on big time.  We hope to have some highlights up soon.

Today was a rainy day, a Monday and it was the first work day after Daylight Savings Time began. How do you improve on that? How about a killer playlist of cool music.

Today's pre-shuffle shuffle included: The Avett Brothers, a triple shot of classic Elvis Costello, Delta Spirit, and The Dead Exs.  All of these songs are included (or represented in the You Tube Playlist embedded below. We have four songs in our actual shuffle today.  Check those songs out - after the jump:

Ear to the Ground Presents: A Heapin' Helpin' of Music News

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While we were busy writing and posting our 4-part review of  the new album by  The End Men and then being sick, a whole bunch of stuff has been happening musically from some old and new friends of ours.  Some of this "news" is no longer new, but in case you've missed it here is a quick survey of what's been hitting our News feeds, In-Box and how ever else we've heard about this stuff. News after the jump:

Thursday Morning Music Shuffle - Gold Rush Mix

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So much going on, and yet I find myself constantly pressed for time.  So here is a quick and dirty, non-complete run down of some things which have crossed my mind, my desk or my social media filters....

1. RIP Patty Andrews - the last surviving member of the Andrews Sisters.

2.  The Great American Novel have released a new single...

 

3. Couch by Couchwest is about a month and a half away.  Bands: Submit your videos to Couch by Couchwest - "Where the beer is cheaper and the only hipster is you."


After the jump; a shuffle:

Monday Morning Music Shuffle - Stereotypically Stereotyping Mix

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I try hard not to stereotype and I also try not to fall back on tired old clichés... however, then it comes to be a Monday Morning and it's raining and the car won't start, and I find myself understanding why people strereotype Mondays as bad and begin to hear in my head, that song about rainy days and Mondays....

We are back.  Friday didn't go as planned, and we didn't have a shuffle.  I can't believe we are already to the 10th of December.  I have to say, I am going to have to say no to any new major undertakings until after the first of the year.  The exception, obviously, is the 2nd Annual Band of the Year Poll.  We are hard at work rounding out the last couple of "wildcard" spots - and the poll should be open to receive votes by the end of this week.  As way of a preview, today's Shuffle comes from a playlist I'm creating with all of our Band of the Year candidates.  Shuffle after the jump...


2012 has been a big year for our friends The Dead Exs.  They released a fabulous new album called Relovolution and spent part of the fall playing some shows in the Longhorn State including some dates with the legendary Ray Wylie Hubbard.  Today we have the cautionary song Don't Mess With The Girl from Texas from the new record.  Let's hope The Dead Exs took their own advice.  The Dead Exs finished a close second in the Band of the Month poll for December 2011 (which we rolled into 2012), and they were an easy pick for a wildcard spot in the BOTY poll.

     

The California band Sci-Fi Romance also had a big 2012 and they, too fell just short in their BOTM competition in May.  The band released their ambitious and awesome album The Ghost of John Henry in May. From that record, which is a retelling of the story of the steel driver facing the possibility of obsolescence at the hands of modern machinery, comes the heartbreaking Steam Drill Blues.

 

Here is a CXCW performance of another track from The Ghost of John Henry

 

The Great American Novel are a great American band and Kissing is a great American record and by the way American Weekend is - you guessed it - a great American song.  The band ended up as co-Band of the Month is September when voting ended in a tie.  

 
We have a video of a different song from Kissing.

The upstate New York band Skeletons in the Piano were our Band of the Month in June and they currently have a Kickstarter deal going to get support for pressing vinyl for their forth-coming album.  Check out that information here.  Only a few hours to go and they are on the cusp of reaching their goal.  You could put them over the top.  In the shuffle we have the lead track from the band's 2011 album Stranger on a Damned Staircase. The song is called The Old Hound Dog.

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Ear to the Ground: The Unheard Music - Vol. 2

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(Kissin' Antonio - Tom Tom Club)

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Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle - Meet me Tonight Mix

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Continuing to send the love and to hope everyone along the East Coast is safe and sound.  We have a jam packed shuffle that ebbs and flows and cross borders and back and forth and builds and lifts and rises.... Higher....


I happened to catch Frank Ocean on SNL this past weekend (I had missed it the first time he was on), and I was stuck by the stunningly beautiful song Thinkin' Bout You from Channel Orange. The song of unrequited first love and loss and regret is so emotionally raw and honest. It's a good reminder of how far the hip-hop genre has come.

 

We can't stop listening to The Dead Exs raucous newish album Relovolution.  Another song from that album made an appearance in today's shuffle. White Collar Crime is more hard blues-rock goodness from the New York band.

 

Here are The Dead Exs from their Texas run of shows

Ain't had a enough blues? We continue the raw two-man blues band sound with Husky Burnette from Chattanooga, Tennessee. Coming from the musical lineage of Johhny Burnette and Dorsey Burnette and with experience playing with the likes of Roger Alan Wade and Hank Williams III, Husky Burnette as set out on his own and recruited drummer Tony Jones to join him.  Today we have Mile Marker 68 which comes from Burnette's 2011 album Face Down in the Dirt.  Check it out.

 

Coming full circle, we close out today's shuffle with some more contemporary West Coast hip-hop with a new non-album track from rapper Kendrick Lamar called The Heart Pt. 3 which features Jay-Rock and Ab-Soul.  Lamar's new album good kid, m.A.A.d. city dropped last week.

 

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Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle - This is a Mix Mix

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We've arrived at  the mid-point of the week. Busy, busy...  Let's get to the awesome shuffle we have for today:

First up, we have another song off the fantabulous newish album by our good friends, The Dead Exs who are back in New York after conquering the hell out of Texas.  The new album is called Relovolution and today's song is the scorching Get Over.    By the way, David Patillo of the band has created an app for Spotify called h1tcher which is pretty cool.  If you Spotify, check it out.

Here's another Relovolution song from the Texas tour

Chicago-based Joe Pug writes great songs.  His album, The Great Despiser came out in April on Lightning Rod Records, and today we have Hymn #76 from that record.

American Football was an Illinois-based band active in the late 1990s to 2000.  They are described as an emo band.  The song we have today is called Never Meant which was on their self-titled album but which we culled from a Polyvinyl Records compilation.  By the way, you know how Europeans and others get irritated when American's call their football, soccer? Why don't they turn around and call American Football soccer?  Just curious....

I've just recently been introduced to the New York duo Walking for Pennies.  They are self-described as folk americana/pop with bluegrass and motown influences. I have to say the whole bluegrass and motown thing grabbed my attention, and I'm glad it did.  Walking for Pennies has some really great music, and I am looking forward to hearing and sharing more of it in the weeks to come.  For now, we'll start off with a song from their album Forget About Wonderland which just came out at the beginning of this month, and a song about my town - Nashville.

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Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle - 47 Percent Elegance Mix

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Man you guys, I think I need an intern or something.  I mean if Kramer could have an intern, I could - right?  So much goodness going on - Our good friends, The Dead Exs dropped their sophomore album, Relovolution, while we were AMAing, and we are going to have a lot to say about this one.  Cosmonauts are just a week away from unveiling the video to the song they recently debuted and which we had in the shuffle yesterday, Cold Harbor. The Disappointment have a new video, we just heard a killer new song from Dogs of Oz. There is new music out or coming soon from The Avett Brothers, Mumford and Sons, Band of Horses, John Hiatt and just about everybody else.  We made some good contacts at the Americana to-do, and some big things are coming for little ole us.  So of course, by nbl (non-blogging life) is also exploding and time become a precious commodity, but it's all good.

Our shuffle today features two artists we saw live last week plus a song from the early 2000s and a relatively new song that sounds like an old song...  Let's jump into the shuffle:

First up we have Leeds' own, The Dunwells, who we saw last Thursday at Live on the Green with I Could Be A King off of their debut record, Blind Sighted Faith.

 

 

Up next, we have a retro-sounding fuzzy guitar-driven, Garage Rock song called Driven by Love from the band 45 Spider which comes from Supercharged Sounds (the 8th Volume of the Best of GaragePunk Hideout) which came out in July. 

Next, we have the debut single by California ska-punk band OPM from way back around the turn of the century. Heaven is  Halfpipe promises skating after death. The debut album was called Menace to Sobriety (see what they did there?)

And finally, we have another song from the fantastic Marvin Country! album by Marvin Etzioni who at The Station Inn in Nashville along with his Marvin Country! String Quartet. I had the chance to talk briefly with Mr. Etzioni, and hope to have the opportunity to have a longer chat with him soon.

Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle - Daredevil Guy Mix

Good morning! Remember, keep voting in our current Band of the Month Poll. Voting is going strong.  In the past twenty-four hours, Loners Society has increased their lead, but as we have seen in the past, it can all change in no time flat.  

Be sure to come back here around 5:00pm Central Time (6:00 Eastern) (Tuesday August 21, 2012) - The rest of you are on your own - as we will present an interview with Cosmonauts and a chance to preview their brand new song, Cold Harbor.

Let's get into the music shuffle for the day:

First up, we have a New York band who came to our attention via The Dead Exs.  The Great American Novel will be playing a show with The Dead Exs and others next Monday at the Mercury Lounge.  If you're in that area, be sure to check it out.

The Great American Novel are a fun band, and I'm looking forward to hearing more from them.  Today, we have American Weekend  (which seems a bit like a taunt since it only Tuesday) from their recent release, Kissing.

 

(Couldn't find a video for American Weekend, so here is another track from Kissing)

Keeping it in New York area, we have a band called The Dukes of Brooklyn with a track called White Lightnin' which you can check out here.  It's some awesome Blues-based stuff which I really dig.  

Next, we have a second track from Scissor Sisters Ta-Dah album - I Can't Decide.  We recently picked up this CD at our local Goodwill, and it's a great record.  Danceable music that doesn't suck.  By the way, not that we're keeping track, but Scissor Sisters are a NY-based band as well.

And finally, we leave off from New York and drive south to Charleston, SC for a fantastic singer-songwriter named Joal Rush.  Another Lover Song was released in 2010 on his Wares album.

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Today's Deal from Amazon MP3s - You can get Rocket Man - Number Ones - featuring 17 hits from Elton John for just $3.99:

Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle - You Say You Want Mix

As of this morning, I had 119 songs in my July 2012 Playlist which I have not yet had the chance to present to you.  Today, I will knock that down to 115.  I was reflecting on the added music for this month - an eclectic mix of old and new music - spanning a geographic and musical landscape that can only be called spectra-normous. I just made that word up - by the way.  Interestingly enough, today's random shuffle of those 119 songs yielded three songs from the same band. More on that later.

First up, we have our good friends and sure bet for a wildcard spot in our Band of the Year poll, The Dead Exs.  They have a new album set to drop soon.  A couple of weeks ago, we introduced a new song they released around the 4th for July. The song recently, reached number 3 on the Hype Machine's Twitter chart.  It's called Relovolution and it shows off this hard working band's dirty blues-rock style in fine fashion.  It was an excellent way to jump start my day.  You can get a free download below:


And while you are waiting for the new record - go buy their last record Resurrection by clicking the image below (Amazon.com). Also, The Dead Exs really want to come to Nashville and play Grimey's - so if you're in Nashville - spread the word!

 

And here's the band's classic from Resurrection - "More Stuff"

Now, settle down and let me tell you about the band that shows up three times in a row on today's shuffle.  The Ratz were, are and ever shall be trailblazers in the Nashville Rock world.  The band formed in 1979, played some legendary gigs and Nashville Rock landmarks Phranks n' Steins  and Cantrells, recorded a single, played with R.E.M. and The Brains among others and then disbanded in 1981 with it's members going on to play in such bands as Factual, Raging Fire, The Enemy, Go Jimmy Dub and Royal Court of China. The band, older and wiser but still Ratz, reunited in 2009 and have since recorded some new and old songs. They have a gig coming up on August 11 at The End (which was once the legendary Elliston Square).


So here are the songs by The Ratz in today's shuffle:


Drop to the Ground (New Song and Recording from 2010)

My Baby Don’t Love Me Cuz I Won’t Cut My Face For Her (Vintage Song, New Recording)
and
She Shaved Her Head and She's Crazy 

Go grab some music and check out Nashville80srock.net.

You can also check out The Ratz and other great Nashville Rock from back in the day on this must-have compilation:

 

 Couldn't find a You Tube clip of The Ratz (so go check them out live on the 11th) so here's a vintage clip from Raging Fire.

   


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