THURSDAY MORNING MIX

September 2, 2010

Scott Foley

My wife has been feeling down of late. In a temporary funk. Because she's a good friend of mine, I decided to use my radio pulpit as a way of cheering her up. I wanted to express my concern and my care.

I texted her from the KRFC parking lot, "First two songs are for you this morning."

First song: REM's "You Are the Everything," as administered by Redbird, a singer-songwriter supergroup boasting the talents of Kris Delmhorst, Jeffrey Foucault and Peter Mulvey. The song has been in our repertoire since our early years together. "The stars are the greatest thing you've ever seen / And they're there for you / For you alone you are the everything."

Imagining my wife driving to work, wiping away a tear, I slipped my second CD into the player and dialed up the track. I wanted her to hear Bob Schneider's tremendous "40 Dogs (Romeo and Juliet)." I wanted her to hear Schneider's brilliant lyric, "You're the color of the colored part of the Wizard of Oz movie." Or, "I can tell you where we're gonna be / When the whole world falls into the sea / We'll be livin' ever after happily."

I'm not a bad husband. Maybe just a careless programmer. Instead of Schneider's mile-a-minute ode to the impossible dream, the button I chose gave me, "And me / I cried when I told the truth / I cried when there was no use / 'Cause I still had to leave." Larkin Poe's "Long Hard Fall" is a heartwarming song. One of the best of the year. Nevertheless, I didn't want my wife to think this packing-my-ol'-suitcase song was my message to her.

Of course, I grabbed my cell, texting her that no, this second song wasn't for her (unless she liked it), but that the third song would be (I hope).

Anyhow, all three great songs, indelibly etched into my music mind after listening to them repeatedly on my drive home. My work is done here ...

* Redbird, "You Are the Everything" Redbird (Signature Sounds, 05)
^ Larkin Poe, "Long Hard Fall" Spring an EP (DefPig, 10)
* Bob Schneider, "40 Dogs (Romeo & Juliet)" Lovely Creatures (Kirtland, 09)
* Doug & Telisha Williams, "Kitchen Light" Ghost of the Knoxville Girl (No Evil, 09)
* Jeff Black, "Noah's Ark" Birmingham Road (Arista, 98)
* Dovekins, "Walks So High" Assemble the Aviary (Self, 10)
* Carl Broemel, "Life Leftover" All Birds Say (ATO, 10)
* Ryan Bingham, "Direction of the Wind" Junky Star (Lost Hwy, 10)
* Kingsley Flood, "Stoop Cats" Dust Windows (Self, 10)
* David Wax Museum, "Donkey In My Soul" Carpenter Bird (Self, 10)
* Kim Richey, "Wreck Your Wheels" Wreck Your Wheels (Thirty Tigers, 10)
* Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore, "Only a Song" Dear Companion (Sub Pop, 10)
* Iguanas, "If You Should Ever Fall On Hard Times" If You Should Ever ... (Yep Roc, 08)
* Chase Fifty Six, "Ready Tonight" Allatoona Rising (Dirt Leg, 10)
* Infamous Stringdusters, "In God's Country" Things That Fly (Sugar Hill, 10)
* Barefoot Surrender, "Raven" Barefoot Surrender (Self, 10)
* Reed Foehl, "Stoned Beautiful" Stoned Beautiful (Red Parlor, 07)
* Robert Plant & Band of Joy, "Harm's Swift Way" Band of Joy (Rounder, 10)
* Caleb Klauder, "Worn Out Shoes" Western Country (Quicksilver, 10)
* Nathaniel Rateliff, "Once in a Great While" In Memory of Loss (Rounder, 10)j
* Sahara Smith, "Are You Lonely" Myth of the Heart (Playing in Traffic, 10)
* Mic Harrison, "Glass Bones" Great Commotion (Real Much, 10)
* My Morning Jacket, "Lullabys Legends & Lies" Twistable Turnable Man (Sugar Hill, 10)j
* Max Stalling, "Saddest Song Ever" Home To You (Self, 10)
* Reckless Kelly, " Pure Quill" Somewhere in Time (Yep Roc, 10)
* 30Db, "Susanah" One Man Show (SCI Fidelity, 10)