Monday Morning Music Shuffle - Can't Honestly Say Mix

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 Well, here we go... This is going to be a big week for me personally and for Ear to the Ground.  Musically speaking the highlight is the Americana Music Fest which hits Nashville this week.  Expect much Americana news, highlights, pics? and who knows.  This will be my first foray into the Americana Music Fest and there are some epic moments coming up.

I've been working on plotting out my showcase plan and Thursday night I seem to have every spot booked from about 6:30 when the Dunwells open Live on the Green until whatever time The All-Star Big Star tribute show wraps up at The Rutledge. In between? Delta Spirit, Angel Snow, Mary Gauthier and Richard Thompson.  That's all. And that's just one night.

Kicking things off, will be E2TG favorite Jo Wymer who will be part of a pre-Americanafest in-the-round on Wednesday night.  There are some great AMA Fest showcases on Wednesday, but I won't be able to attend those.  

More great music Friday and Saturday...

But more on that later, it's Monday and we have an honest to goodness Music Shuffle to present:

First up is a fun Nashville band called Cheer Up Charlie Daniels. Bunsen Burner Baby Blues is a cool rave up from the band's debut release, Live in 79'. I've had this band in heave rotation lately, and I hope you enjoy.

 

Next up is the second song we've featured from Thurston Moore's exceptional new band Chelsea Light Moving. This was actually the third song released by the band, who have been releasing one song at a time.  Originally our song today, Empire of Time , was released under the title Frank O'Hara Hit by mistake. That song, was released a week later and the error was explained.  

Here is the link to Empire of Time.

Next up we have another great song from the Nashville area super-group, The Bluefields. Flat Out Gone is a nifty rocker off the Pure album with Joe Blanton delivering his always solid vocals backed by Dan Baird and Warner Hodges doing what they do best.

Next we have a track from current Featured Artists Grounded (who are from Tallahassee, Florida).  Glimpse Of comes from the band's demo available on Bandcamp:

 

Here is Grounded's Steven Perez playing with another band Clouds

And finally, Dan and Warner from the Bluefields are back with the lead track off of the eponymous 2008 album by Dan Baird and Homemade Sin.  Damn Thing To Be Done.  Dan Baird was the front man for The Georgia Satellites and Warner Hodges was/is the lead guitarist for Jason and the Scorchers.  That may give you a clue as to what to expect from Homemade Sin (hint: this ain't dubstep).

  

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Friday Morning Music Shuffle - Questionable Mix???

Well, there is nothing questionable about the songs in today's shuffle. Once again, I did not have to walk up the hill into the office, hence I did not actually get to listen to today's shuffle... I decided to hit up my kind of Hall of Fame playlist again today.  Yesterday's shuffle had a decidedly political theme to it.  I'll leave it to you to extract a theme from today's shuffle.  Theme or not, though, it's a truly great mix which will hopefully lead some readers to discover or rediscover some great songs. 

First up is the opening track from Minneapolis post-punk/alt-rock band Soul Asylum's major label debut, Hang Time. Down On Up To Me remains a personal favorite.  I had the good fortune to see Soul Asylum twice in the early 90s.  

 
I can't believe I couldn't find Down on Up to Me on YouTube,  but here is another song from Hang Time:

Next up we have a Traditional American Folk song which was made famous by the iconic Lead Belly in the early part of the 20th Century.  The version of Goodnight, Irene in today's shuffle is by Les Paul (the inventor of the solid body electric guitar) and his then wife and collaborator, Mary Ford.  ""sometimes I take a great notion to jump in the river and drown" 

 

Here is Deer Tick's version of the  song

I don't know how many time's this song has come up in shuffles since I began writing Ear to the Ground, but don't expect me to stop featuring it anytime soon.  Son of a Preacher Man  by Dusty Springfield from her amazing Dusty in Memphis album.

Next up we have a 1993 cover of a 70s era Village People song, Go West. Pet Shop Boys recorded the song for their 1993 album, Very. We have the Pet Shop Boys version in the shuffle today.

 

Here is the original version

Finally we have another cover, that many people do not know is a cover. Lost Highway which reached my teenaged, punk rock brain via Jason and the Scorchers' version from the 80s.  The song's most famous version (and the one often credited as the original was recorded in 1949 by Hank Williams.  Leon Payne actually wrote and first recorded a year earlier.


 

 

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Thursday Morning Music Shuffle - Arithmetic Mix

Due to circumstance beyond my control, I didn't have to walk up the hill to work today, so I didn't get to listen to my Morning Shuffle.  I decided to do a hypothetical shuffle of some of my favorite songs.

First up.  Canadian singer, songwriter has been active musically since 1967.  His first studio album was released 42 years ago. Our song today is If I Had a Rocket Launcher from 1984's Stealin' Fire.  By the way, during a 2009 trip to Afghanistan to visit Canadian troops including his brother, Cockburn performed this song and was temporarily presented with a real rocket launcher. No sonofabitch died.

 

Next, we have a song which dates from the time of Mr. Cockburn's first album.  The Revolution Will Not Be Televised by the late poet, artist, author Gil Scott-Heron reflects the turmoil of the times and despite some dated references is still relevant today.

Next, we take a one-song break from political posts to feature a song from 1969.  The most famous version was recorded during Johnny Cash's February  1969 performance San Quentin prison.  A Boy Named Sue was Cash's biggest hit on the Pop Charts spending three weeks at #2.

And finally, we have the hip-hop classic from 1982 - The Message by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five (Featuring Melle Mel and Duke Bootee).  "Don't push me 'cause I'm close to the edge..." try not to get that legendary line stuck in your head.  I distinctly remember hearing this song on the radio while on a family trip during the summer of 1982, and it was a transitory experience.  There is a chance it was not the summer of 82 (which would have been very shortly after the song was released), but I know I heard it during a summer family trip.

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Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle - Line, Lion, Lyin' Mix

So - have you checked out our featured artist's for September?  There is a link over =====>

Or you can click HERE

These next couple of weeks are going to be pretty exciting here at Ear to the Ground.  A week from tonight E2TG favorite Jo Wymer is playing a solo set here in Nashville.  She's coming into town for the Americana Music Fest and Conference as is our friend Sloane from Country Fried Rock. If anyone else is going to be at the Americana Music Festival let me know.  And the following week current Featured Artist Man on Earth is playing here in Nashville.  Which provides a neat segue into today's Shuffle:


The aforementioned Man on Earth is up first with A Birthday Song from their 2008 album A Time Spent Wondering.

Here is a pic/link to Amazon, but it does not appear the album or song are available there.  To purchase the CD use the linked album title above.

   

Here's the video for All We Want from the same album

 

Next we have another of our fantastic featured artists for September.  The Great American Novel released You and I (which is not to be confused with our good friends Val and James  aka You and I) in September 2011.  The lead track from that album is Vonnegut and Morrissey.  The album is available for Name Your Price at Bandcamp.

Here is the video for another song from the album
 

Next, breaking up our run of Featured Artists is one of our all time faves. We dig deeper into Damien Jurado's latest Maraqopa with a song called Museum of Flight.

And finally, we get back to a September Featured Artist.  We have a track from The Grimm Generation from their 2011 release The Last Record Party and a song called The Definition of Love which feels to me like walking into a smoky cabaret and finding that the house band is original and talented.  Ordering a drink of your choice and just sliding into the groove.

 

  

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Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle - Trippin' Mix

Well here we go... it's been a week since we had a Morning Music Shuffle - late summer cold/whatever... but we are back and got to shuffle up a brand new playlist of songs:

Let's get to it!

First up, we have the opening number from the first new album in 25 years from seminal North Carolina band The Db's.  Falling Off the Sky also marks the first album in 30 years featuring the band's original line-up.  That Time Is Gone shows that the band has not lost a step.  Check it out:

 

Next up, we have In My Mind by Dresden Dolls singer, pianist Amanda Palmer along with The Grand Theft Orchestra. The song is available on a Noisetrade Sampler for the forthcoming Theatre is Evil due September 11.

  

And finally, this month I front loaded the monthly playlist with some great tracks from our Featured Artists of the Month - and one came up today.  Survival Guide is the b-side to the 8th Level single from Sad Baby Wolf - a band from New Mexico featuring former members of The Shins.

 

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Featured Artists for September 2012

I am pleased to present Ear to the Ground's Featured Artists for the month of September 2012 You can visit the page to learn more: HERE

We have also created a Facebook Interest Page so that you can keep up with all of these create artists.  Visit the Facebook Interest Here 

 Finally, we have a Twitter List you can follow - use the widget below.  A feed from the list is up and running below and on the Featured Artist Page.

Without much further ado here are the Featured Artists for September 2012:

Alex Bennett

And the Giraffe

Friday Night Music Club

The Great American Novel

The Grimm Generation

Grounded

Korby Lenker

Man on Earth

Sad Baby Wolf

True Mad North

 

Band of the Month August is....

We had a great set of artists this month, and a final reminder to check them all out! Here

I am pleased to announce that our Band of the Month for August 2012 is 

Loners Society from Charleston, South Carolina.  Please check out their website and Facebook Page.

Remember, Loners Society have now earned an automatic position in our Band of the Year poll which should be an epic event.  That poll is coming in December 2012.

Be on the lookout for our September Featured Artists which I will unveil after the holiday weekend.  We have some more awesome artists to feature.

Here are some videos from our August Band of the Month: