THURSDAY MORNING MIX
February 11, 2010
Scott Foley

O what a bounteous year for our kind of music (so far)! Just a couple steps into a young 2010, and we already have a handful of releases that I can imagine may show up in my year-end favorites list. Ray Wylie Hubbard, the Crazy Heart soundtrack, Blue Rodeo, Amy Cook, Will Kimbrough, Joe Pug, Patty Griffin, not to mention a few of this week's debuts: Kasey Anderson, Clem Snide, and Mumford & Sons. I just began previewing a seemingly tremendous new Deadstring Brothers, too. The gods of americana are good.

An unprecedented number of covers on today's Episode, too; I count 7 of them from here. As previously mentioned, I happen to be a big fan of unexpected americana covers of pop and rock songs. Some day this year, I shall appease those gods of americana with a full slate of the best of these, as I did a couple years ago at KRVM in Oregon. In the meantime, we've got these:

* Earl Pickens & Family, "Running To Stand Still" Joshua Tree (Self, 09)
* Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore, "Dear Companion" Dear Companion (Sub Pop, 10)
* Billy Joe Shaver, "Live Forever" Greatest Hits (Compadre, 07)
* Brandi Carlile, "Us Again" XOBC (Sony, 10)
* Clem Snide, "WalMart Parking Lot" The Meat of Life (429 Records, 10)
* Kasey Anderson, "Bellingham Blues" Nowhere Nights (Red River, 09)
* Drag the River, "Fleeting Porch of Tide" You Can't Live This Way (Suburban Home, 07)
* Have Gun Will Travel, "Paperback" Postcards From the Friendly City (Self, 10)
* Calexico, "Love Will Tear Us Apart" Sweetheart 2005 (Hear, 05)
* Joe Pug, "How Good You Are" The Messenger (Lightning Rod, 10)
* Suzi Ragsdale, "Less of the Same" Best Regards / Less of the Same (Stark Raven, 10)
* Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez, "Let's Leave This Town" Let's Leave This Town (Train Wreck, 02)
* Caroline Herring, "Dixie Darling (w/Cary Hudson)" Silver Apples of the Moon EP (Signature Sounds, 10)
* I See Hawks In LA, "Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulet" Shoulda Been Gold: 2001-2009 (American Beat, 09)
* April Smith & the Great Picture Show, "Terrible Things" Songs for a Sinking Ship (Self, 09)
* Johnny Cash, "Ain't No Grave" American VI: Ain't No Grave (American, 10)
* Avett Brothers, "I Love" Sweetheart 2010 (Starbucks, 10)
* Jon Dee Graham, "PopSong" Not As Bad As It Looks (Freedom, 10)
* Blackie & the Rodeo King, "Tie Me At the Crossroads" BARK (True North, 03)
* David Hidalgo & Louie Perez, "Till the Hands Fall Off the Clock" Long Goodbye (Gonzolandia, 10)
* Elliot Randall & the Deadmen, "Good Love" Caffeine & Gasoline (Self, 09)
^ Mumford & Sons, "Little Lion Man" Sigh No More (Self, 10)
* Dog Roses, "Kit's Song" Just Another Saturday (Self, 09)
* Patty Griffin, "Little Fire" Downtown Church (Credential, 10)
* Michael Perry & the Long Beds, "Alice Mayhew Jackson" Tiny Pilot (Amble Down, 10)
* Devotchka, "Hot Burrito #1 (I'm Your Toy)" Sweetheart #3 (Starbucks, 09)
* Over Mountainmen, "Rembrandt" Glorious Day (Ramseur, 09)
* Yardsale, "Fencepost" Knock Alley West (Self, 09)
* Barton Carroll, "Past Tense" Together You and I (Skybucket, 09)