Featured Blog Posts – May 2010 Archive (103)

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Standing in the Shadow of The Blue Shadows

On June 15, Bumstead Records releases a two-disc deluxe edition of The Blue Shadows’ debut record On The Floor of Heaven. It is, quite simply, an album every alt country fan should have and it is particularly satisfying to see it available again after falling out of print in the 1990s. Fellow ND blogger Jeff Burger recently gave the reissue a… Continue

Added by Paul Cantin on May 31, 2010 at 5:30pm — 3 Comments

The "Field Notes" Nashville homage

Mysterious things have happened to my last two blogs. Which is to say that I hit "publish" and they vanished, except that the software here seems to remember their names. I am not competent to guess at such mysteries, but I am grateful that the source materials remain accessible. Depending on memory...not so good, eh?



Anyhow. I'd meant to post this the day before the next segment of the deftly named "Grant Alden's Field Notes" aired on WMKY (and the first time I even put a… Continue

Added by Grant Alden on May 31, 2010 at 11:27am — 1 Comment

Ridin' the Hound with the Wynntown Marshals

Hailing from Edinburgh, Scotland, the Wynntown Marshals mix country-twang and roots-rock on their debut full-length disc Westerner (Charger). They aren't afraid to acknowledge their debt to Uncle Tupelo and the Jayhawks and Keith Benzie's voice bears more than a passing resemblance to Mr. Tweedy. As much as I like Wynntown Marshal's sound it is the songwriting that elevated this disc to a lock for my "debut disc" of 2010. The band stays away… Continue

Added by Hal Bogerd on May 30, 2010 at 7:00pm — No Comments

The Blue Shadows' On the Floor of Heaven (Bumstead)

The press release that accompanied this album sure seemed heavy on the hype. The record, it claimed, represents “one of the great unheralded achievements of the alt-country movement”—a “lost Americana classic” that came out in the “legendary” Blue Shadows’ native Canada in 1993 but went unreleased and consequently mostly unheard south of the border. I grew even more skeptical after I read that one of the quartet’s singer/guitarists was the late Billy Cowsill, who started his career as leader of… Continue

Added by Jeff Burger on May 30, 2010 at 6:51pm — 9 Comments

With Babies on Board, Tift Merritt is Ready to Entertain You

She’s the Tift that keeps on giving.



In the middle of promoting the release of her fourth studio album, See You On the Moon, Tift Merritt is preparing to go on tour, editing The Spark, the monthly interview radio show she hosts, and moving to another apartment in New York City with Zeke Hutchins, her… Continue

Added by Michael Bialas on May 30, 2010 at 3:30pm — No Comments

Music Saves Mountains

Music Saves Mountains - You might ask yourself, “well, how is that, and why do they need saving?”



The “How”, began at The legendary Ryman Auditorium, in Nashville, Tn, this past Wednesday, May 19, 2010. I am a huge music fan, and just seeing the lineup of artists, just as legendary as the venue itself, that were donating their time, talents and voices was enough for me. Emmylou Harris, Dave Matthews, Alison Krauss, Big Kenny (of Big and Rich), Patty Griffin, Patty Loveless, Kathy… Continue

Added by Diane Nickerson on May 30, 2010 at 12:00pm — 9 Comments

The Wynntown Marshals "Westerner"



I get a real buzz when I get to listen to British band who've soaked up the influences of American roots music and formed into something that… Continue

Added by simon2307 on May 30, 2010 at 8:24am — 4 Comments

CNN contacted me regarding my songs about Gulf Oil Spill

I got a surprise media enquiry from reporter Derrick Ho of CNN.

He had heard my song Drill Baby Drill about the Gulf Coast oil spill and wanted to know if I had more songs. Apparently he is working on a story for next Tuesday.



He asked me several very detailed questions and I wrote him detailed responses.

Have not heard back yet but having dealt with reporters before I know they always wait until last minute.

The fact that my Drill Baby Drill song showed up on CNN's radar… Continue

Added by Gil on May 30, 2010 at 3:53am — 3 Comments

RIP Slim Bryant

Slim Bryant died yesterday at the age of 101.



More photos and info here.



Here's a short bio from his My Space page where you can also check out some of his music:



Thomas Hoyt "Slim" Bryant is a country music singer/songwriter and guitarist born in Atlanta, Georgia,… Continue

Added by Kyla Fairchild on May 29, 2010 at 4:00pm — No Comments

The enduring appeal of John Doe and Exene Cervenka

Videopoem John Doe and Exene Cervenka at the City Winery from robert dene on Vimeo.

There’s a reason that John and Exene are playing sold out shows thirty years after hitting the music scene. They just keep getting better. After the glow of their youthful punk days waned when they were the king and queen of the Los Angeles punk scene, the foundation upon which… Continue

Added by Robert Dene on May 29, 2010 at 9:55am — No Comments

Buddy Holly v. Decca

Buddy Holly phones Decca Records to request that the label return masters of some songs the label chose not to release so he can shop for a new label. There is some poignancy in how earnest and reasonable Buddy sounds, contrasted with the incredulity of his label correspondent. The phone call took place in 1957, but presumably this same phone call could have taken place between artist and label yesterday. Except today, the label would ask for a 360… Continue

Added by Paul Cantin on May 29, 2010 at 6:58am — 8 Comments

Shall We Gather In Brooklyn?

New York may be America's biggest city but it lives like a collection of villages that shelter those with the same passions, daily pursuits, or simply the love of their particular corner of the metropolis. The city's musical history is written into those neighborhoods: the jazz clubs and dance halls of Harlem and Midtown; Broadway's musical theater; the punk beachhead on the Lower East Side. The folk revival of the early '60s brought a second wave of enthusiasm midwifed by the populist singers… Continue

Added by Bob Moses on May 28, 2010 at 1:00pm — 5 Comments

Becoming Bettye LaVette: an interpreter of the highest order tackles the British Songbook



There are two kinds of people: those who love Bettye LaVette and think she is one of the greatest interpreters of song in our time, and those who are so tragically un-hip that they haven't yet heard her music.



The number of unenlightened dropped dramatically on a cold January 18th in 2009 when Bettye performed Sam Cooke's classic "A Change Is Gonna Come" at the Inaugural Celebration for President Obama. The sprawling masses were… Continue

Added by J. Hayes - music writer on May 27, 2010 at 7:24pm — 4 Comments

Peter Wolf and the Company He Keeps

by John Milward



I attended a recent Peter Wolf concert in Albany, but this is not a concert review. I did plenty of those during decades of work as a full-time rock critic, years that left me hopelessly spoiled with free records and primo tickets; those days are over, and now I choose my shots, and was happy to plunk down $35 to see an old favorite at the intimate (and not quite sold-out) Swyer Theatre. Still, I owe you a bit of critical info: Wolf is touring behind his terrific new… Continue

Added by John Milward on May 27, 2010 at 1:30pm — 8 Comments

On Exxon, BP, and the efficacy of my private protests

(Note: This appeared a few days back on dailykos, where it went the way of all my blogs there. I have amended it some. I tried to post it here a day or so back, and it seems to have gotten lost. My ineptitude knows no bounds.)



If memory serves, and it is an imperfect agent in these matters, I have purchased gas from an Exxon service station exactly twice since the Exxon Valdez began spewing oil all over Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989.



In both cases, I was at the… Continue

Added by Grant Alden on May 27, 2010 at 12:33pm — 12 Comments

Music from the Other Canada - New Canadian Roots releases beginning with “W”

Reviews by Doug Heselgrave



I didn’t plan it this way, but the three Canadian CDs that crossed my desk this week all feature songs by bands whose names begin with “W” Although each of them ostensibly falls under the category of roots music, they couldn’t sound more different from each other if they tried. New music from The Weakerthans, The Wilderness of Manitoba and the incredible Wintersleep continue a creative renaissance of music from Canada that hasn’t been equaled since… Continue

Added by doug heselgrave on May 27, 2010 at 10:00am — 1 Comment

Folk Alley's Cooking with New Releases (Better Read This Before You Order)

NATALIE MERCHANT ~ Leave Your Sleep



Most of us remember when our parents read to us. Many parents choose to read nursery rhymes or less serious (if only on the surface) examples from literature. Natalie Merchant had an enriching experience reading to her daughter for six years but still felt that in many cases "the dried yellow parchment" needed a spark. Defining that spark led to… Continue

Added by Folk Alley on May 27, 2010 at 9:29am — 1 Comment

Preservation: An Album to Benefit Preservation Hall

PRESERVATION: A LANDMARK COLLABORATION BRINGING TOGETHER LEGENDARY AND EMERGING ARTISTS INCLUDING PETE SEEGER, TOM WAITS, MERLE HAGGARD, JIM JAMES, ANDREW BIRD AND MORE FOR A CELEBRATION OF NEW ORLEANS MUSIC



Over the last year, more than 20 of American music's most exciting artists traveled to Preservation Hall in New Orleans to collaborate with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band on classic New Orleans repertoire. The end result is a timeless and joyous… Continue

Added by Craig Young on May 27, 2010 at 8:30am — No Comments

the alphabet project returns...where the 'ell did i put the H?

Going through the library and sharing things I like, and things you might. If you missed the earlier posts, find them on my page by clicking on my name or avatar, and then find my featured blogs. (To answer the questions as to why I'm not providing links, clips, videos or pictures...it takes too long and I figure if you want to know more, you'll find it.)



Headwater is a Vancouver based band that's been recording and touring for almost ten years now. They have a couple of… Continue

Added by Easy Ed on May 26, 2010 at 4:15pm — 3 Comments

Freight Train Boogie podcast #72

The new CD by JIM LAUDERDALE called Patchwood River is featured on FTB podcast #72. Also new music from DOUG WAMBLE, LES SAMPOU and CARRIE RODRIGUEZ. The full playlist is… Continue

Added by Bill Frater on May 26, 2010 at 2:37pm — No Comments

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