E2TG 2/25/2020 - Mardi Gras - Boy Sit Down Mix (Hey You Remix)

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Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Lent, and all that....

Growing up Catholic, I remember the big deal of deciding what to "give up" for Lent. You wanted to pick something hard, but not too hard to give up for 40 days. It seemed like it was generally something not so good for you - like sodas or chocolate. I also remembered the debates - so Lent represents the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday, but it is only technically 40 days if Sunday's are excluded, and if Sundays are excluded that meant you could partake in our chosen sacrifice on the Sundays in Lent. It seemed like it was always our Protestant friends who scoffed at this "loophole".  

But, in my (albeit) limited understanding - the sacrifice - and indeed any fasting - is supposed to serve a spiritual purpose - to clear away things that keep you from focusing on what is important. And I do think such time is vital and sadly often neglected (present company definitely not excepted). Whether the thing you are focused on is the pending death and resurrection of a savior or something else, I am of a mind that there has to be more meaning to this life than just base survival and the quest for material comforts. 

So, I am not sure that I am going to "give up" anything this Lenten period - except maybe negativity or something like that, but I do hope to spend this time reflecting on what is important to me. As for how any of this relates to E2TG, well, E2TG is important to me and music is important to me. I guess I want to reflect on how I can best reflect those loves in how I conduct myself through this blog every day. 

Pre-Lent Thoughts: 

 Yesterday, after work, I was listening to some music from my phone - and the thought occurred to me that I really want E2TG to be more spontaneous and natural. I don't yet know what that means or what it looks like, but I will let you know.  Nevertheless, I heard a track from Hey Tom - the Tom House Tribute album by Brock Zeman, and I was reminded of what an amazing album it is and what a wonderful songwriter Tom House is.  I also heard a track from the forthcoming Chris Moyse album - which is fantastic, and I was struck about the amazing work being done by so many of my friends. 

    Featured Friday Playlist

E2TG First Impressions 2020 - Part 1

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Brock Zeman - Hey Tom (a collection of Tom House Songs) (LP) - Released 11/20/2019

A collection of songs written by E2TG Favorite Tom House and performed by E2TG favorite Brock Zeman. Zeman has produced Tom House, so this is not far-fetched, but I am digging what Zeman is doing with Tom's songs. In one of  those weird E2TG coincidences, I noticed that Raphael Weinroth-Browne plays cello on the record. You may recall Weinroth-Browne from The Visit. We originally connected with in indirectly through Valued Customer, and I can honestly say I never expected such a direct line between Tom House and Ugggy and Pat Power, but then again, they are all wonderfully creative and weird. Frequent Zeman collaborator Blair Hogan is here. My first impression is that Zeman does Tom House's wonderful songs justice and gives them his own unique spin. 

 Palm Ghosts - "Wide Awake and Waiting" (single) - Released 1/10/2020 

Nashville band led by Joseph Lekkas and featuring E2TG Favorite Benjamin Douglas. Sounds unlike almost anything else happening in Nashville. This track really sounds like a 80s goth/new wave song that you just can't place, but you know you love. My first impression is that I cannot wait for the February 7th EP of the same name. 

Strange Majik - "Lo-Fi Hi" (single) - released 1/10/2020

Long-time E2TG favorite Strange Majik - aka David Pattillo (who we first met as part of the powerhouse The Dead-Exs), is back with a vengeance. This new single rocks hard and has a deep groove with some killer horns. This is from his forth-coming 20/20 album due in March. I've had a chance to preview the album, and the opening track rocks hard - while later tracks just go deeper into the groove. It is a sonicly diverse album with an underlying feel. At time it reminds me of World Party at their best, at other times, it harkens back to the initial Dead-Exs tracks I first heard - almost eight years ago. My first impression: it is great when early E2TG favorites keep doing great things. 

Ubiquity Machine - Where We Want to Be (LP) - release date ??

It doesn't get much more "early E2TG" than Ubiquity Machine. The D.C. area band features Howard Rabach and Dan Marsh. Rabach was most likely the first person I didn't know who read E2TG (and I am talking about in the earliest and most embarassingly awkward days. I remember my initial first impression of Ubiquity Machine was that it sounded like a weird and wonderful mix of all the music I had ever loved growing up. I finally got to meet Howard Rabach in 2014 when he came to Nashville with The Grey A (he plays bass in that band).  This is a compilation of sorts -a limited-edition vinyl release of many of Ubiquity Machine's great songs. It includes "A Beautiful Girl" which appeared on the first and so-far only E2TG compilation. My first impression is that I am glad to own this fine collection of music, and I know the effort that went into it, and I grateful for the first of many fine friendships I have forged by this silly music blog I write. 

 Them Airs - Union Suit XL (LP) - Released 1/17/2020

The latest release from New Haven's Them Airs. The band features Cade Williams who we first met via his experimental project Smokey the Firebear and Evan Nork (of the Foresters and all those other side-projects). Hayden Nork sometimes joins in. Digging the progression of this band since their last release. They seem to be really finding their voice as a band. The album is delightfully noisy at time. In other places, I hear the angular sound of early Talking Heads. My first impression is that it is fun following young and talented musicians and they explore possibilities and discover themselves through music. In my initial listen, I hear how some of the most experimental and challenging Smokey the Firebear pieces inform this new music, and I also hear other influences. 

 Merrill Beach - "Geen"/"Marimba" (single) - Released 1/19/2020

Speaking of Hayden Nork. Merrill Beach is current solo project. He is and has been in a ton of bands. Batkhi Dahn is his band that features his brother Evan and their Foresters bandmate Luke Slomba (of Sonic Reducers). Digging on the moodiness of "Green" with some backwards vocals, a strumming guitar, and dream-like quality. "Marimba" starts with a groovy beat that sounds like it could be the intro to a really cool hip-hop song (I wonder if his brother Liam's work has inspired him), but the beat just continues. It is hypnotic. Their is some ambient noise. I can't tell if the beat varies or if it is my mind playing tricks on me. About two minutes in, and the sound does begin to vary. I do hear the title instrument. My first impression is that Hayden is doing some wild experimentation - musically - I won't speculate otherwise, And, having watched him from his days as a Green Day obsessed pre-teen to this has been a pleasure. I can't wait to see where he goes from here.  

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Wild Wednesday Morning Shuffle - Necessary Girl Mix

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All of this happened a long time ago when the world was a very different place. Of course, none of us knew that at the time.
(From The Drift - A Novel by Joe Wolfe-Mazeres) Available at Amazon.com (Kindle edition also available)

I am continuing to work on my Spotify playlists for E2TG.  So far, I have completed seven - January - July2018.  These are meant to be a cross-section of music I featured during those months - not necessarily music released in those months.   If you are interested, you can check out the playlists (links below)  and follow my personal profile to find out when new playlists are created.

E2TG January 2018
E2TG February 2018
E2TG March 2018
E2TG April 2018 
E2TG May 2018
E2TG June 2018
E2TG July 2018
E2TG August 2018 (coming soon!)
E2TG September 2018  (coming soon!)


I have often written about $2 Tuesday hosted by Derek Hoke at The 5 Spot. It is consistently great fun and even you don't know the performers, it is consistently great music. In case you are wondering, I am not getting paid to say this, but they do let me pay just $2 admission to see 4 or 5 quality bands/artists, and pay $2 for Yazoo beers.   Last night, started with Ryan Sobb (I'm going to see saying it), he is one of my favorite "new" songwriters in Nashville. Next was Lauren Anderson (with Taylor Kropp playing guitar) - I had never heard Anderson, but I really dug it.  Next was Derek Hoke himself - as always a solid set of music with the rhythm section of Mark Robertson (Legendary Shack Shakers, Eskimos, and Prayer Flag) and Steve Latanation (Agent Orange, Stone Cupid).  Next was Austin based, south Louisiana born Rod Melancon with great band.  I've been following his music closely and it was great seeing him live and in person.  I was tired and didn't get to see much of the late night band, Truett, but what I heard sounded great.  As always, DJ Tim Hibbs kept the music going between live acts.

It's Wednesday, and I'm a bit tired from last night, but I must push on.  As we do on Wednesdays, we have a shuffle from all of the songs saved to my phone. We call it "Wild Wednesday" - let's shuffle!

The Ubiquitous Howard Rabach

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(Howard Rabach with The Grey A. Nashville CD Release Show at Stone Fox 9/12/2014)

When I started writing Ear to the Ground in the spring of 2011, I didn't know what to expect. I did not know if anyone would ever read it, I didn't know how long I would keep it up -heck I didn't even know what it was going to be....  At the very, very beginning, the blog was posted on a now extinct site called Posterous.  Unless you count the hundreds of hits from Russia, the first person who ever read and responded to E2TG was Howard Rabach.  He was about my age with very similar musical interests.  We connected in that weird internet way through music.  He was an educator and a musician. He had a band called Ubiquity Machine which seemed to distill so much music that I loved in a very interesting way.  They were one of my early "Bands of the Week" (which was a feature I had at the beginning of the blog).

At the end of 2011, I decided to do this massive on-line poll to the select a "Band of the Year" and included all of the "Bands of the Week" in the poll.  Ubiquity Machine lead for much of the polling period only to fall to second place after what was surely widespread voter fraud.  Still, I has happy that the finished so high in the poll.  When I made my first (and so far only) Ear to the Ground Presents compilation, I included a song by Ubiquity Machine (that song is embedded below).

Fast-forward a couple of years to the fall of 2014, and Howard decided to pursue music full-time and he had joined a band called The Grey A.  I reviewed the band's album and posted the review on No Depression, and that review made it onto the home page of the site. The album was recorded in Middle Tennessee and featured some local musicians, so they had a CD Release show here in Nashville.  So, I finally got to meet Howard and see him work his bass magic.

So, I hear Howard is rapidly approaching a landmark birthday. Therefore, it seemed like a good time to tell him how important he is to me and to E2TG. I have no doubt he will ROCK this new decade of life!

Monday Morning Music Shuffle - A Few of My Favorite Things 2013 Mix - Pt. One

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It's here... time to begin our look back at the year which was 2013.  In true E2TG style, for the remainder of 2013 we will shuffling up a special playlist which includes some of our favorite songs from the past year.  I'll let the song speak for themselves, but we will be highlighting some of our favorite E2TG related albums of the year as we move along.

About Band of the Year.  After two successful Band of the Year polls (by page view numbers, Band of the Year and Band of the Month polls dominate our statistics page for most viewed), so it is only after careful consideration that I've decided to forgo the Band of the Year poll for 2013.  Basically, it comes down to the fact that I would rather see independent bands cooperating and collaborating than competing.  We had some memorably good fun with some of our polls - especially the first annual Band of the Year poll and the legendary February 2012 Band of the Month poll that came down to a dogfight between MAKAR and The End Men.  As time went by, and I began featuring more and more bands, the idea no longer seemed to be in the spirit of this site.  

I will be naming the third annual Band of the Year within the next couple of weeks.  Meanwhile, enjoy yourself as we relive this year that almost was.  If you feel so inclined, share some of these posts with your friends near and far.


Before we jump into the first of our Favorites' shuffles for 2013, I need to rectify something....


#E2TG Hall of Fame (Notable Omissions):

More names will be added to the Hall of Fame in early 2014 - and my progress on the completion of the Hall of Fame page has hit some unexpected delays, but I've became increasingly uncomfortable knowing that two of my favorite E2TG artists have not been added to the Hall as of yet. 

1.  Ubiquity Machine/Howard Rabach  - In using the tagging feature to determine our Hall of Fame, one thing I failed to take into account were the many fine bands/artists you came to prominence in the months when E2TG was still housed on the now defunct Posterous site.  Howard Rabach was one of the first readers of the blog to step out of the shadows.  His band, Ubiquity Machine, was one of our early Bands of the Week. The band finished second in our first annual Band of the Year poll, and he has remained a good friend of Ear to the Ground ever since.  UM has been kind of dormant of late, as Howard has been doing some freelance stuff.  Check out his Facebook page here. So it is with great pleasure, that I usher in UM/HR to a spot of honor in our Hall of Fame.



2. The Grimm Generation - Another thing I failed to take into account in my tagging system of Hall of Fame eligibility is the variant tagging which sometimes occurs. Blogger places a 200 character limit on tagging so sometimes I have to shorten band names - like leaving the "The" off.  That is the only explanation I have for The Grimm Generation not being in our top 20 tagged artists. Still this unique and frankly awesome collective from Connecticut (headed up by the amazing Jason Krug and Carmen Champagne), are well deserving of a prime spot in our Hall of Fame.  Hell their latest album, The Big Fame even has "fame" in the title. They have consistently made music which I love and which seems timeless in its wonderfulness.



Now... let the 2013 Shuffles begin

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...

-->

Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle - Stumble Mix

Mid-week and it all goes by too slow and too fast at times and here we go....

SONG #1: Okkervil River - Wake and Be Fine from I Am Very Far

The Austin, Texas based band with a song from last spring's album. 

Someone said to me, "I'll come into your dream and speak it to you." I already knew. I found her in the attic where, dramatically, she leaned into me, and she whispered these lines: "Wake and be fine. You've still got time to wake and be fine."

  

(I Am Very Far by Okkervil River - Amazon)

(Wake and Be Fine via Youtube)

SONG #2:  Ubiquity Machine  -  A Beautiful Girl 

Our good friends Ubiquity Machine with their stellar track, A Beautiful Girl

"God gave me knowledge to open up my mind, but the devil gave me loneliness so I'd leave it all behind."

(A Beautiful Girl via Soundcloud)

SONG #3: Joe Jackson - Look Sharp! (Title track to album of the same name)*

*redundancy intended... :-P

A legendary performer, a classic album, a great song!  

Okay, what you say
Tell me what they're wearing this year
Go on and laugh at me cause you don't see
That I got something going right here
Say I'm just a dreamer
Say I'm just a kid
Well ace, shut your face
Maybe you will see or hear 

 

(Look Sharp! by Joe Jackson - Amazon - Dig those shoes!)

(Look Sharp! live via Youtube)

BONUS SONG:  

I'm in love with the girl who works at the store
where I'm nothing but a ...

(Customer live via Youtube)

==========================================================================

Affiliated Links:

Okkervil River - Wake And Be Fine b/w Weave Room Blues - MP3 Download This Okkervil River download is available in DRM-free, MP3 256kbps format. Okkervil River 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.

Joe Jackson: Steppin' Out - The Videos - The Very Best of Joe Jackson Pop star Joe Jackson has perfected a polished sound that alternates between ska, swing, cabaret, and straightforward pop. STEPPIN' OUT is a compilation of Jackson's music videos and concert performances. All digitally remastered, the videos for Jackson hits including Is She Really Going Out With Him?, Steppin' Out, and I'm the Man. The two live performances included were filmed in 1986 at a New York venue.

Friday Morming Music Shuffle - ♂ ♀ Mix

Yesterday was a good day for driving with the windows down and blasting tunes just up to the point where the sound begins to distort. 

We've reached the end of another week. I know this is a symptom of old age, but man, time sure is flying.  It's almost March.  Later today or tomorrow, I will be unveiling our 4th and final Band of the Week for February, and next week sometime, we will begin the task of naming our Band of the Month.

Before we get to today's shuffle, I had a treat in my Inbox this morning - a freshly minted track from Band of the Year Runner-Up Ubiquity Machine - the first from a forthcoming EP.  I can't wait for all of you to hear it.

To the Shuffle-------->

♫♪ #1 - It ain't no big thing... Do flip out... sweet, sweet beats - It's Just Stuph from Hayden Coleman Music - check it out!

♪♫ #2 - It seems like it's been forever since we've had The End Men show up in a morning shuffle, whatever, it's been too long.  Build It Up is the title track from the band's excellent EP, and it is the song, I first heard, and I was reminded how, when I heard the first few bars, I KNEW that I had just discovered a new fave!

<-------Built It Up (EP) by The End Men - on Amazon.com

♪ ♫ #3 - I heard a couple of reports on NPR this morning about difficulties in other countries over elections.  Here is the US - voting tends to divide us.  But, here at Ear to the Ground we march to the beat of our own drummer(s).  Less than a month ago, The End Men and this next band were engaged in a bitter, hard fought vote to be named Band of the Month, but at the end of the day, once all the votes had been counted and all the challenges and protests had been heard, the two bands were able to put aside their differences and come together....(I'm tearing up now which you can't see so it loses it's effect).

Belong Here  comes from the Funeral Genius album by February Band of the Month MAKAR.

<------------Funeral Genius by MAKAR - on Amazon.com

♪♫ #4 - Finally - we go to the first EP  of the Accomplices series by recent Band of the Week, The Gypsy West.  Accomplices I and II are available from Bandcamp and volume III is coming soon. The  concept series tells a story and amazing enough the first volume contains two covers which contribute to the overall tale being told.   Today we have one of those covers - Richard Cory was originally on the Simon and Garfunkel album Sound of Silence - based upon the Edwin Arlington Robinson 1897 poem. Here the band makes it their own.







----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Support your favorite music blog - visit our affiliates:

Richard Cory and Selected Songs "By Frederic Prokosch E.A. Robinson. For Piano, Voice. Masters Collection. Piano reduction/vocal score. Standard notation. 144 pages. Published by Carl Fischer"

Collected Poems by Edwin Arlington Robinson This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.

Ear to the Ground Presents - Band of the Year - Runner-Up

Ubiquity Machine (website) has been a long-time supporter of Ear to the Ground, and the feeling is mutual. If you have been a fan of alternative music over the past couple of decades, you can't help but fall in love with Ubiquity Machine. Here is a track called A Week Away For Slim...



Week Away (For Slim) by Ubiquity Machine


UM are hard at work on a new EP which should see the light of day early in 2012??? I hope.

The band lead for several days in the middle of polling and up until Tuesday, I thought they were going to pull it out. Nevertheless, I am happy for their strong showing and I urge you to check them out:

FACEBOOK, TWITTER, SOUNDCLOUD 


 

Bands of the Week 2011 - A Recap - Part 1 - Weeks 1-8

Here is more information about the Bands of the Week for 2011:

Week 1:  Maxim Ludwig & the Santa Fe Seven - California based Rock band  - Appeared at this year's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco and has earned a spot at this years SXSW Festival in Austin. Check out the video of a song we like, Stacy C'mon:


Week 2: Stomacher - is a San Francisco based Rock band. They play atmospheric, sometimes dark yet melodic music. They recently had a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund their next album which is currently in production.  Check out the video for Untitled/Dark Divider from their Sentimental Education album:

Week 3: Redding Brothers - is a Nashville based indie band. Unlike the Doobie Brothers or Cary Brothers, The Redding Brothers are actually brothers named Redding. The band once wrote, recorded and released a song a week for one whole year.  Check out a live video of their song  Solid :

Week 4: World Service Project - is a London based - Jazz/Experimental/Punk Band. Here is a recent video of their performace at the London Jazz Festival:



Week 5: You and Me - are Val and James from Montreal Canada.  They have been making music for 10 years.  They play Folksy, Pop, Bluesy, Rock music.  Here is a widget with their self-titled album:

Week 6: The Alternates -are a Los Angeles based indie rock band.  They are an exciting band that I expect to hear much more from.  Front man, Spencer Livingston recently released a song called Occupy Wall Street.  Here's a track we like called The Modern Way.



Week 7: Ubiquity Machine - hail from Arlington, Virginia.  Back when I named them band of the week, I didn't know anything about them except that I really liked some of the music I was hearing.  They list their genre on Facebook as: AltIndiePopRockSkronkDeathPolkaDancercize which I love.  Here is their sublimely lovely international smash hit, A Beautiful Girl:
01 A Beautiful Girl by Ubiquity Machine

Week 8: Inner City Elegance - are Canadian with a connection to Brazil.  They are a honest to f**k ROCK band.  Don't believe me? Check out their latest video - just released November 13.  It's called Swearing Like a Sailor:


MORE TO COME.

BE SURE TO CAST YOU BALLOT IN OUR FIRST ANNUAL BAND OF THE YEAR READER'S SURVEY.

Monday Morning Music Shuffle - Bowl of Cherries Mix

So, I tuned into the AMA's last night, and I have to say, I was confused... until I realized that  it was not the Americana Music Awards. But, I pressed on because I heard that KMFDM was doing to close the show, and that seemed such a weird left field kind of thing that I had to watch.  Needless to say, I need to pay more attention to what I hear....
Rainy Monday here in Nashville. I overslept, came home after dropping my daughter off and decided to nap because I had a dentist appointment at 8:00.  Set my phone alarm for 7:26p.m. and my wife woke me up at 7:55. Got to my 8:00 appointment at 8:15.

Got to the work parking lot around 9:40 - had to park in the far lot - which I expected and by this time, I was in serious need of good music.  I shuffled a quick and dirty and random playlist I had created last week and once again randomness paid off...

First off was Something I Don't Know by Band of the Week alumnus Simon Fagan.

(Click on album cover to purchase and download the song)
Next up, the shuffle spit out the lovely A Beautiful Girl by the ubiquitious Band of the Week alumni Ubiquity Machine. Check out and download the song below.




01 A Beautiful Girl by Ubiquity Machine

Song #3 comes from the our neighbors to the North. Bruce Cockburn has been making music for a long time, and Wondering Where the Lions Are is one of this best.
(Click on album cover to purchase and download the song)

The final song comes from Nashville, TN based super-couple Buddy and Julie Miller. God's Wing'ed Horse is a heavenly bit of music.
(click on album cover to purchase and download the song)

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Buddy & Julie Miller Earthy husband and wife singer/songwriters Buddy & Julie Miller offer more rootsy, countrified folk music on their self-titled 2001 release, this time with a full, more rock-influenced sound. While the two have made involved appearances on each others' al