Thursday, February 15, 2018

Trending Thursday Morning Shuffle - The Nothing Party Mix




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My two cents... actual value may vary... End Citizen's United (doublespeak if I've ever heard doublespeak - and I have).   Vote against any candidate who accepts money from the NRA or the gun lobby. Pass and enforce common-sense gun control.  Increase funding for our children. More teachers, more counselors.  Begin to have conversations about the role of guns in our society. The change in culture will take time and it will not be easy.

If you want to offer "thoughts and prayers" for the victims and their families, that is fine, but add some thoughts and prayers for effective and meaningful change in law and attitudes.

These are just ideas. What we are (and are not) doing is clearly not working. Shouting at each other on social media every time there is a mass shooting is clearly not working.   Protecting the lives of our children should not be partisan or divisive issue. How we go about doing that may be, but surely there is common ground.

I don't know... I'm once again heartbroken and numb and angry and frustrated. I've read that 80% of Americans - across party lines - support some kind of reform of gun laws. But our lawmakers ignore the 80% in favor of large donors who represent the gun lobby. That's why I think electoral reform - beginning with an end to Citizen's United is the place to start. Corporations are not people. People are people.  People are fallible, flawed entities, but in the end, I think most people want to keep our children safe. Corporations, by definition, only want to increase the profits of the corporation. That is their purpose.

Okay I'm done....
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It's Thursday - Let's see what's "Trending" at E2TG. As I left for work, I hit shuffle on the "New Music" playlist of my phone's music player. Here is what happened next...

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Wild Wednesday Morning Shuffle - Super Awkward Mix



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Had a good night out seeing live music last night.  Starting at The Local to see a Ben de la Cour plus a wonderful set from the legendary Jon Dee Graham. I picked up a copy of Graham's CD Knoxville Skyline which features E2TG favorites Tim and Susan Bauer Lee.

After that, I headed to $2 Tuesday at The 5 Spot. I usual, I stayed up too late and had a very good time. Also as usual, I saw some great bands.  First up was Nashville band Volk - that I saw for the first time and really enjoyed.  Next was E2TG favorite Andrew Adkins with a superb band. As always it was a treat.  Next was Derek Hoke playing as a trio with Mark Robertson of the Legendary Shakeshakers and great Nashville drummer Steve Latanation (formerly of the band Agent Orange). One of my favorite local songwriters, Chris Moyse, closed the night with a band that featured Sean Quinn and Erin Nelson of Nelson, Zimmerman, and Quinn.

So, I guess it's Happy Valentine's Day or Singles Awareness Day, if you prefer, or Happy Wednesday, if you prefer that.  It is Wednesday, and every Wednesday, things get a little wilder than usual here at E2TG. We call it Wild Wednesday, and it is the day we shuffle up all the songs currently saved to my phone and see what comes up.

Only six songs in today's shuffle... the last track is over 9 minutes long. Let's shuffle!

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Trending Tuesday Morning Shuffle - To Good to Be True Mix



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Moving along.  In case you missed by Facebook post, the #E2TG Facebook Page (see link above), just reached 1,200 "Likes". I'm grateful for everyone who reads E2TG. You are reading this and are not yet following us, I would like to personally invite you to hit that "Like" button.

Anyway, it's Tuesday and time to shuffle up the "New Music" playlist. I have a ton of new music I still need to add to my phone memory, but I also have a ton of music already in the "New Music" playlist.

Let's shuffle:

Monday, February 12, 2018

Music City Monday Morning Shuffle - In the Mail Mix



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Okay! It is Monday, and it's time for the first Music City Monday in a few weeks. Since it has been a while, I'll explain.  Unlike the other shuffles I post (which come from music saved to my phone0, Music City Monday comes from a constantly in progress  Spotify Playlist that I created. The purpose is to showcase music from Nashville's past and present, and to cover the many genres and styles of music that have originated in Nashville. It is not at all complete, and I am regularly making additions to the playlist.

If you want to check out the playlist for yourself, HERE IS A LINK

Let's just get to the music....

Friday, February 9, 2018

Featured Friday Morning Shuffle - Mother Earth Mix



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I feel like the week is just starting and now it is over. :-)

I still have a ton of submissions to dig through, but I already have a large "New Music Playlist". So, let's knock some songs off that list.

Just some housecleaning/reminders:  Most days, the shuffle comes from MP3s of songs I have saved on my phone. It's what I listen to on my way to work.  (Monday - I used a special Music City-centric Spotify playlist.

Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday are dedicated to featuring songs from my "New Music" playlist. These are almost always music that was sent to me through various channels (directly from artists, through publicists, etc).

I do not often do album reviews (I would love to, but time ends up being an issue).  By featuring music like I do through shuffles - it gives me a chance to write about albums in-depth over time. It's kind of my thing.

I do, on occasion, do video and song premiers - when opportunities and time allows.

I'm not super picky about submission methods. I accept CDs and/or downloadable links/files. MP3 (320) would be my preference for electronic submissions.  The problem I have with WAVs is that either have to convert them to MP3 or I don't have complete meta data, and I end up with files I can't identify.

I am located in Nashville, Tennessee - and in recent years, there is a definite Nashville leaning but I welcome submissions from anywhere, and I try to be as diverse as possible - so I have no limits on genres or styles. Over the years, I have covered about every genre I know of and a few I didn't even know about. And I love hearing new things.

Here you will find a fair amount of "Americanaish" music - roots-influenced, blues, folk, country. But, you will also hear punk, metal, experimental, hip-hop, shoegaze, shitgaze, power pop, rock (of various flavors), electronic music, instrumental music (of various flavors), and more.

I believe in connections - both obvious and obscure.  I tend to focus on more under-the-radar type artists. Lately, I have had the good fortune to get some new music from higher-profile artists (at least in my limited realm).

Oh, and I create a YouTube playlist to match each day's shuffle.  The purpose is not specifically to showcase music videos, but it provides a simple for readers to stream the music they are reading about.  I used to be able to embed the Video Playlist directly into my post, but You Tube "improved" that feature away, so now I provide a link.

When I cannot find a video for the specific song featured, I try to substitute a relevant video by the same artist.  When possible, if a video for the song is not found, but I can find a link to stream the song being featured, I will include that in my post (like I did today) 

That's enough... let's shuffle!

Thursday, February 8, 2018

Trending Thursday Morning Shuffle - Duplex Castle Mix



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I AM  BACK!  Thanks everyone for your patience.  I should be back to a normal posting schedule now.

I am a bit behind on adding new music to my playlist and answering e-mails, but we'll get there. 

In the meantime, after today's post, there are still 428 tracks in my New Music playlist including some awesome songs that haven't popped up yet in a shuffle- so stay tuned! 

Last night, at Dee's Country Cocktail Lounge - the amazing Kevn Kinney (Drivin' n Cryin') played a awesome set of music backed by the equally amazing Laur Joamets (aka Little Joe - previously from Sturgill Simpson's band and currently of Drivin' n Cryin').  As an added bonus/surprise, due to Mr. Kinney being delayed by car troubles, Jon Latham played a set that included two covers - "Thirteen" by Big Star and "My Hometown" by Springsteen.  Plus of course, some of his great songs from Real Bad News and his current album Lifers.  Dee's co-owner, Daniel Walker led a wonderful house band who rounded out the night.

Now, let's jump right into this Trending Thursday Shuffle!

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Rare Saturday Shuffle - Heart of a Saturday Afternoon Mix

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Well, it's been a little while. Thanks for bearing with me during my brief time away. I will be back to regular posting on Thursday, but I thought I would take a few minutes on this Saturday to listen to some songs from my "New Music Playlist".  I shuffled up the playlist while I did some errands, and I ended up with 17 tracks. I will be rather brief, but if you hear or read about something you like - be sure to dig deeper and shoot me a line if you have any questions.