THURSDAY MORNING MIX

February 24, 2011

Scott Foley

Seems like so long ago that this fine Episode aired ... Finally have time to post it, now that I am under the weather and chained to my bedside desk.

File under "Neck Beard": The entity known as Middle Brother initially coined themselves MG&V, like the ELP for the indie alt.country scene. Now with the much more palatable moniker, McCauley, Goldsmith and Vasquez take a break from their respective day bands (Deer Tick, Dawes and Delta Spirit) with remarkably coherent results. While the three tend to trade off songwriting and vocal duties, the true surprise occurs when they harmonize. Of the trio, Taylor Goldsmith wields the most traditionally tuneful voice. Matt Vasquez's is a capable instrument, albeit pitched higher than most. I tend to gravitate more towards Deer Tick's John J McCauley, despite and/or because it sounds like a mosquito attempting Tuvan throat singing ... Who knew that as a whole they would blend together so well, like (to put into play three more important letters) a contemporary CS&N.

* Lawn Chair Kings, "Back Again" II (Self, 11)
* Jay Farrar, "Damn Shame (Memphis Mix)" Thirdshiftgrottoslack (Artemis, 02)
* Amos Lee, "El Camino" Mission Bell (Blue Note, 11)
* Low Anthem, "Apothecary Love" Smart Flesh (Nonesuch, 11)
* Lori McKenna, "American Revolver" Lorraine (UMPG Nashville, 11)
* Gregg Allman, "Just Another Rider" Low Country Blues (Rounder, 11)
* Mountain Standard Time, "Fork" Mountain Standard Time (MST, 11)
* Graham Wilkinson, "Two Days Today" Best of Times: TX Artists Performing the Music of Sara Hickman (Sleeveless, 11)
* Todd Snider, "Looking For a Job (live)" Live: the Storyteller (Thirty Tigers, 11)
* Rachel Harrington, "Here in My Bed" Celilo Falls (Skinny Dennis, 11)
* Drive-by Truckers, "I Do Believe" Go-Go Boots (ATO, 11)
* G Love, "The Road" Fixin' to Die (Brushfire, 11)
* Hayes Carll, "KMAG YOYO" KMAG YOYO (and other American stories) (Lost Hwy, 11)
* Wailin' Jennys, "Last Goodbye" Bright Morning Stars (Red House, 11)
* Tin Horn Prayer, "Call a Priest" internet single (Self, 11)
> Middle Brother, "Me Me Me" Middle Brother (Partisan, 11)
* Buddy Miller, "God's Wing'ed Horse" Majestic Silver Strings (New West, 11)
* Gurf Morlix, "Cold Cold World" Blaze Foley's 113th Wet Dream (Rootball, 10)
* Pieta Brown, "In My Mind I Was Talkin' to Loretta" Remember the Sun (One Little Indian, 07)
* Bonnie & the Clydes, "Snake Mountain Blues" Bonnie & the Clydes (Self, 11)
* Susan James, "Airstream Girl" Highways Ghosts Hearts & Home (Self, 10)
* Eddie Spaghetti, "If You Fall in Love" Sundowner (Bloodshot, 11)
* Raul Malo, "San Antonio Baby" Sinners & Saints (UMG, 10)
* Lucinda Williams, "Sweet Love" Blessed (Lost Hwy, 11)
* Grant Peeples, "My People Come From the Dirt" Okra and Ecclesiastes (Gatorbone, 11)
* Flying Burrito Brothers, "Lazy Days" Authorized Bootleg: Live at the Fillmore East (A&M, 11)

THURSDAY MORNING MIX

February 17, 2011

Scott Foley

From the Greater Longmont Metro Area, Bonnie & the Clydes perform faithful but fun versions of several familiar trad country tunes. It was their original "Make Up Your Mind" that caught my attention, though. Also new and noteworthy this week: Our first listen to the new Low Anthem CD that hits stores next week, and from out of nowhere a Hackensaw Boys EP!

* M Ward w/Lucinda Williams, "Oh Lonesome Me" Hold Time (Merge, 09)
* Avett Brothers, "Swept Away" Mignonette (Ramseur, 04)
* Jessica Lea Mayfield, "Our Hearts Are Wrong" Tell Me (Nonesuch, 11)
^ Bonnie & the Clydes, "Make Up Your Mind" Bonnie & the Clydes (Self, 11)
* Kasey Anderson, "Save it For Later" Heart of a Dog (Red River, 11)
* Trampled by Turtles, "Victory" Palomino (Banjodad, 10)
* Hackensaw Boys, "Noon or Midnight" Old Sound of Music Vol 1 (Self, 11)
* Travel by Sea, "Eventually" Two States and the Blindness That Follows (Self, 10)
* Dolorean, "The Unfazed" The Unfazed (Fargo, 11)
* Todd Snider, "Play a Train Song (live)" Storyteller: Live (30 Tigers, 11)
* Ponderosa, "Old Gin Road" Moonlight Revival (New West, 10)
* Jesse Dayton, "Good Times Are Now" One For the Dance Halls (Stag, 10)
* Jenny Lewis & Watson Twins, "Run Devil Run / Big Guns" Rabbit Fur Coat (Team Love, 06)
* Over the Rhine, "Only God Can Save Us Now" Long Surrender (GSD, 11)
* AA Bondy, "Still I Dream" Joey's Song Vol 1 (Joseph Gomoli Fndtn, 11)
* Hayes Carll, "Hard Out Here" KMAG YOYO (and other American stories) (Lost Hwy, 11)
* Halden Wofford & the Hi Beams, "Mauvais Sang" Sinners & Saints (Self, 10)
* Kim Richey, "In the Years to Come" Wreck Your Wheels (Thirty Tigers, 10)
* Eleven Hundred Springs, "This Ain't the First Time" Eight the Hard Way (Smith, 11)
* Drive-by Truckers, "Weakest Man" Go-Go Boots (ATO, 11)
* Low Anthem, "Ghost Woman" Smart Flesh (Nonesuch, 11)
* Carrie Rodriguez + Ben Kyle, "Love Hurts" We Still Love Our Country (9th St Opus, 10)
* The Bridge, "Colorado Motel" National Bohemian (Woodberry, 11)
* Chris Brecht, "Wish You" Dead Flower Motel (Dead Leaf, 11)
* Wanda Jackson, "Thunder on the Mountain" Party Ain't Over (Nonesuch, 11)
* Mt Desolation, "Departure" Mt Desolation (Island, 10)

THURSDAY MORNING MIX

February 10, 2011

Scott Foley

Sometimes the highest profile stuff really does merit its attention. Case in point might be my favorite album of 2010, Robert Plant's Band of Joy.

... or Hayes Carll's fantastic KMAG YOYO (and other American Stories). Following 2008's much lauded Trouble in Mind, Carll could have cruised on this one with an album's worth of jokey drunk Texan songs. Sure, the jokes are there, but so is the songwriting, in spades. Admitting there's nothing new under the musical sun, listeners will hear echoes of Townes Van Zandt, Roger Miller, Jerry Jeff Walker, Guy Clark and more. Still, those influences appear as more of an inheritance as opposed to a crutch, as Carll lifts it all above most others in the genre with his eclectic, honest tunes. Special recognition goes to Cary Ann Hearst, whose duet on "Another Like You" will certainly serve as a star-turn.

Speaking of meritous acts, I find it odd that I'm suggesting you don't miss the Grammys this Sunday. Word has it that the Avetts, Mumford & Sons and Bob Dylan will perform together. Almost makes it possible to sit through Cee Lo Green's performance with Gwyneth Paltrow and the Muppets ... ?!

* Ben Weaver, "East Jefferson" Mirepoix & Smoke (Bloodshot, 10)
* Supersuckers, "One Cigarette Away (live)" Whole Foods Live EP (SS, 07)
* Decemberists, "Rise to Me" King is Dead (Capitol, 10)
* David Wax Museum, "Born With a Broken Heart" Everything is Saved (Self, 11)
* 4H Royalty, "Rubber City Girl" Colossalalia (Self, 10)
* Jessica Lea Mayfield, "Nervous Lonely Night" Tell Me (Nonesuch, 11)
* Jonathan Byrd, "Wild Ponies" Cackalack (Waterbug, 10)
* Jayhawks, "Pray for Me (demo)" Tomorrow the Green Grass (remastered) (American, 11)
* Southern Culture on the Skids, "Bone Dry Dirt" Kudzu Ranch (Kudzu, 10)
^ Hayes Carll, "Another Like You" KMAG YOYO (and Other American Stories) (Lost Hwy, 11)
* Paper Bird, "Jesus and Arizona (live)" Live at Twist and Shout (Self, 09)
* Lucky Peterson, "Atonement" You Can Always Turn Around (Dreyfus, 10)
* Cowboy Junkies, "Flirted With You All My Life" Demons (Self, 11)
* Bobby Long, "In the Frost" Winter Tale (ATO, 11)
* Rodney Crowell, "Dancin' Circles Round the Sun" The Outsider (Columbia, 05)
* Jeff Finlin, "East by West" Tao of Motor Oil (Bent Wheel, 10)
* Teddy Thompson, "Delilah" Bella (Verve, 11)
* Grant Peeples, "High Fructose Corn Syrup" Okra and Ecclesiastes (Gatorbone, 11)
* Eddie Spaghetti, "Never Thought I Would" Sundowner (Bloodshot, 11)
* Wailin' Jennys, "Mona Louise" Bright Morning Star (Red House, 11)
* Asylum St Spankers, "Last Mile of the Way" God's Favorite Band (Yellow Dog, 09)
* Bridge, "Rosie" National Bohemian (Woodberry, 11)
* Kasey Anderson, "Sirens and Thunder" Heart of a Dog (Red River, 11)
* Cahalen Morrison & Eli West, "Fleeting Like the Days" Holy Coming of the Storm (Self, 11)
* Lynn Miles, "Something Beautiful" Fall for Beauty (True North, 10)
* Greg Trooper, "Might Be a Train" Upside-Down Town (52 Shakes, 10)

THURSDAY MORNING MIX

February 3, 2011

Scott Foley

"My people come from the dirt, white bread and kerosene / Catfish and flatbeds, sweat stains and retreads, okra and Ecclesiastes ..." I wasn't surprised to find Sam Baker on the recommended playlist of Grant Peeples. Sam's bare-bones and grit songwriting style came to mind when I first heard Grant's superb "My People Come From the Dirt." Brought to mind Gurf Morlix, too, who actually produced Okra and Ecclesiastes. It's all smart music; strong lyrics that mean something, and say it in a way that you haven't heard before.

We also revisit Morlix's own new CD, which pays tribute to another iconic songwriter, Blaze Foley. And we finally have the full album of Hayes Carll's KMAG YOYO, from which I have yet to encounter a throwaway cut. Looking back over the past few weeks' Episodes, I'm surprised I haven't mentioned Malcolm Holcombe's excellent To Drink the Rain, another favorite from early in the year.

* Malcolm Holcombe, "Those Who Wander" To Drink the Rain (Music Road, 11)
* Redbird, "What Made Milwaukee Famous" Live at the Cafe Carpe (Signature Sounds, 10)
* Madison Violet, "Small of My Heart" No Fool For Trying (True North, 09)
* Wailin' Jennys, "Swing Low Sail High" Bright Morning Star (Red House, 11)
* Hayes Carll, "Bottle in My Hand" KMAG YOYO (Lost Hwy, 11)
* Big Head Blues Club, "Preachin' Blues" 100 Years of Robert Johnson (Ryko, 11)
* North Mississippi Allstars, "Hear the Hills" Keys to the Kingdom (Songs of the South, 11)
^ Grant Peeples, "My People Come From the Dirt" Okra & Ecclesiastes (Gatorbone, 11)
* Cahalen Morrison & Eli West, "Lost Lovin' Gal" Holy Coming of the Storm (Self, 11)
* Robert Plant, "Only Sound That Matters" Band of Joy (Rounder, 10)
* Fleet Foxes, "Helplessness Blues" Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop, 11)
* Lawn Chair Kings, "Time Will Tell" II (Self, 11)
* Lisa Morales, "I Am the Weakest Fool" Beautiful Mistake (Zairo, 11)
* Gurf Morlix, "Clay Pigeons" Blaze Foley's 113th Wet Dream (Rootball, 10)
* Lori McKenna, "American Revolver" Lorraine (UMPG Nashville, 11)
* Only Sons, "Written Word" American Stranger (Sophomore Lounge, 11)
* Lucinda Williams, "Buttercup" Blessed (Lost Hwy, 11)
* Railbenders, "Leavin' Song" Showdown (Self, 06)
* Greg Trooper, "Might Be a Train" Upside-Down Town (52 Shakes, 10)
* Chris Brecht, "Not Where You Are" Dead Flower Motel (Self, 11)
* Wanda Jackson, "You Know I'm No Good" Party Ain't Over (Third Man, 11)
* Daniel Martin Moore, "In the Garden" In the Cool of the Day (Sub Pop, 11)
* Dolorean, "Thinskinned" The Unfazed (Partisan, 11)
* Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, "Death and Rats" III/IV (Paxamerican, 10)
* Bobby Long, "Who Have You Been Loving" Winter Tale (ATO, 11)
* Amos Lee, "Clear Blue Eyes" Mission Bell (Blue Note, 11)