Who would have guessed that an almost-forgotten (but not by me) track by The Suburbs would become an anthem of sorts almost thirty years later? It’s pretty amazing that as Minnesota’s Marriage Equality bill started to gain traction that this wonderful song received a bit of the spotlight.

Tonight’s show celebrates the passing of that bill, with nothing but songs and/or artists that express individuality. There’s quite a few songs one would expect in such a show, but there are admittedly others whose connection probably only exists in my mind. Even without the message, it’s a fun two hours that jumps around from genre to genre.

Grab this, as always, in the iTunes store, stream it via Stitcher, or…

DIRECTLY DOWNLOAD/STREAM BY CLICKING HERE!!!

1. Suburbs, Love Is The Law  

2. Joan Jett, You Don’t Own Me 

3. The Lemonheads, Big Gay Heart  

4. R.E.M., Life And How To Live It (Live in Greensboro 1989)  

5. Tommy Keene, Love Is the Only Thing That Matters 

6. The Replacements, Androgynous  

7. The Queers, Unsatisfied 

8. The Chesterfield Kings, I’m Not Like Everybody Else 

9. Billy Bragg, Sexuality  

10. Tom Robinson, 2-4-6-8 Motorway 

11. New York Dolls, Looking For A KIss  

12. The Heartbreakers, I Wanna Be Loved (mix 2) 

13. Lou Reed, Vicious  

14. David Bowie, Watch That Man  

15. The Jim Carroll Band, Catholic Boy 

16. Bob Mould, See A Little Light  

17. Grant Hart, Think It Over Now 

18. HÜsker DÜ, Love Is All Around 

19. The Phones, Modern Man  

20. Siouxsie & The Banshees, Bring Me The Head Of The Preacher Man

21. The Breeders, Do You Love Me Now? 

22. The Vaselines, Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam 

23. Bikini Kill, Rebel Girl  

24. Babes In Toyland, Swamp Pussy  

25. Sleater-Kinney, The Ballad Of A Ladyman 

26. Vice Squad, Stand Strong Stand Proud 

27. Pansy Division, I’m Gonna Be a Slut 

28. Against Me!, Unprotected Sex With Multiple Partners  

29. Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Ballad Of The Sin Eater  

30. Circle Jerks, Put A Little Love In Your Heart 

31. Patti Smith, People Have The Power 

It’s one of the most beautiful combination of noises a music fan can experience. Standing in front of the ageing monstrosity of a machine, the quarters are dropped. Cling! Cling! Cling!

The credits roll up as you take a look at the seemingly endless possibilities. Wait, THAT song is available? No fucking way! You quickly are down to one last choice, but you’re torn three or four different ways. You haven’t heard this one in forever, yet this other one is your favorite song in the world. Or…if you pick this one certain track that you would never otherwise even consider, maybe just maybe a certain person will reward you with a kiss. Or more.

Of course, that’s the song you go with, and the noisy mechanism under the glass starts sliding over to your selection. The way it makes the entire machine shake indicates that this machine means business. It suddenly stops, causing one last massive wobble, and you hear the squeak as the arm pulls the record out of the library.

A low hum is the next sound you hear as the motor that powers the turntable comes on. The record is already spinning as you hear the thud of the needle touching the record. A crackle or two is also present as the needle searches for the groove.

Then it begins. Those with superior ears may wince as they hear the flaws in the vinyl, the lack of stereo separation, or the missing sound frequencies, but it sounds like heaven to you. All of those instruments and voices that can be individually heard on a modern surround sound system merge together into one giant Phil Spector-ish cacophony of noise. 

Yet the song has never sounded better to you. It moves you in a way that you feel not only in your ears but your gut and heart. Even the most romantic ballad has balls, and the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in the world could recreate the power of the more upbeat tunes. (Yes, even the Stones at their 1973 finest.) You want the moment to last forever, and for a few seconds you even forget that girl that inspired you to pick this track. Yet you are now ready for her. More ready than you ever have been before.

Tonight’s show is all about those sounds, feelings, and even that smell. Trust me, there are only a couple of fragrances greater than a jukebox whose inner electronics has been smoldering for the last two hours. Instead of an iTunes playlist or another sort of computerized broadcaster, my Seeburg jukebox provides tonight’s soundtrack.

It could have easily been a technological disaster, as I had to navigate multiple mics that I prayed were set and pointed at the correct spots. Yes, some records sound better than others, especially given the fact that many of tonight’s selections originated at garage sales and Goodwill. Others came from buddies by the names of Craig, Jim, Jon, Drazzle, and Mikeyboy. Some have never been played, while overplay has created flaws in others.

Honestly, though, tonight’s show sounds better than it has any right to sound. I was pleasantly surprised as I did a touch of editing. Grab it now and I almost guarantee that you’ll now understand why this fifty year-old machine was my best purchase in years.

DOWNLOAD/STREAM BY CLICKING HERE!!!

1. Bobby Fuller, I Fought the Law

2. The Undertones, Teenage Kicks

3. Jesus and Mary Chain, Head On

4. The Stooges, No Fun

5. Black Keys, No Fun

6. The Replacements, Can’t Hardly Wait (Drazzle request)

7. Grandpaboy, I Want My Money Back

8. Spooks EP (featuring Curtiss A and Slim Dunlap)

9. Suburbs, World War III EP (King Bubba request)

10. Husker Du, Statues

11. Grant Hart, So Far From Heaven

12. Sugar, A Good Idea

13. Myron Lee & The Caddies, Homicide

14. No Direction, Where’s the Beach

15. PIL, Public Image

16. Ramones, I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend

17. Dogmatics, Gimme the Shakes

18. Plimsouls, A Million Miles Away (King Bubba request)

19. The Real Kids, All Kindsa Girls

20. Tommy Keene, Back to Zero now

21. Big Star, September Gurls

22. Cramps, Can Your Pussy Do the Dog?

23. Sonics, Have Love Will Travel

24. Supersuckers, 400 Bucks

25. Black Flag, TV Party

26. Bad Brains, Pay to Cum

27. The Jam, Going Underground

28. The Kinks, I’m Not Like Everybody Else

As announced a few weeks ago, the Sunday morning show is taking a summer hiatus. With this episode being number one hundred, it seemed like a perfect spot to stop the show. The reason for the hiatus is simple - time is tight these days, especially with the new writing gig, and I need a little bit of the weekend to myself. The show will return in the fall, and there will undoubtedly be a special broadcast or two throughout the summer.

If this is the last one, though, I needed something special. What better way for me to end then with an all-bootleg, all-acoustic show devoted to Paul Westerberg? This morning’s show goes all the way back to his first solo performance at First Avenue in 1982 up to one of his last public performances at the same venue for a Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame filming. The sound quality varies, but I love every second of these performances.

Grab this one via iTunes, Stitcher, or…

DIRECTLY DOWNLOAD/STREAM BY CLICKING HERE!!!

1. If Only You Were Lonely

2. I’m In Trouble

3. Nobody

4. Love Untold

5. Things

6. It’s a Wonderful Lie

7. I’ll Be You

8. I Will Dare

9. Skyway

10. Here Comes a Regular

11. Everyone’s Stupid

12. Born For Me

13. Crackle and Drag

14. Waitress in the Sky

15. Treatment Bound

Another month has commenced, so it is once again time for a new release/blog finds episode. Today’s show is extremely varied, and includes novelty tunes, covers, indie, punk, and so much more. We discuss (and dismiss) the new Black Flag tune, express joy over the new Songs For Slim tunes, and also include new releases by Guided By Voices, Iggy and the Stooges, The Melvins, and Frank Turner.

You can find this show, and the rest of The Ledge catalog, in the iTunes store, Stitcher, The Ledge android/iphone app, or…

DIRECTLY STREAM/DOWNLOAD BY CLICKING HERE!!!

1. Elizabeth R, God Save The Sex Pistols 

2. The Monks, Johnny B. Rotten  

3. Paul Jones, Pretty Vacant 

4. The Vacants, Beat On The Brat 

5. The Water Pistols, Gimme That Punk Junk  

6. Ian Rubbish, Maggie Thatcher  

7. Ian Rubbish, Living In the Gutter 

8. Frank Turner, Losing Days 

9. April March & The Makers, Try to Cry  

10. Tommy Keene, Nowheres Near (with R. Walt Vincent)  

11. Lucinda Williams, Partners In Crime  

12. Tim O’Reagan & Jim Boquist, Cozy Songs  

13. The Minus 5 feat. Curtiss A, Rockin’ Here Tonight  

14. Black Lips, Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys  

15. Art Brut, Her Majesty  

16. Man or Astro-Man?, Communication Breakdown Part II  

17. The Del Lords, When the Drugs Kick In 

18. Black Flag, Down In the Dirt 

19. Sloan, Nervous Breakdown  

20. Sloan, Catalina  

21. AM Stereo, Any Enemy  

22. Iggy and The Stooges, Sex & Money  

23. Melvins, Attitude  

24. Guided By Voices, Xeno Pariah 

25. Deerhunter, Leather Jacket II  

26. The Cramps, Twist And Shout 

27. The Lyres, Have Love Will Travel 

28. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Rebel Rebel  

29. The Vice Principals, Glad All Over  

30. The So So Glos, We Got The Days  

31. Zero Boys, Livin’ In The 80’s  

32. Dodge Main, I Got A Right  

33. The Suburbs, Memory 

34. The Vertebrats, Diamonds In The Rough

The death of George Jones has led to a weekend of heavy thinking. Scary, I know. His death, combined with quite a few recent interviews with musicians who found new inspiration in “looking back”, caused me to think about my own musical timeline. How did I go from the Ramones and Sex Pistols to George, Johnny, and Merle?

Like too much of my musical heritage, it all dates back to my 80’s college radio days. Along with the typical mainstays of that era were a number of bands attempting to bridge the gap between punk rock and country music. Some of these bands were called “cowpunk”; others were connected to the L.A. “paisley underground” scene. Many were just not afraid to show their supposedly uncool roots.

Today’s show gathers a number of bands that loosely fit these descriptions. Beginning and ending with tracks from Elvis Costello’s most “shocking” album, Almost Blue, this morning’s show meanders around the country, including Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and even Missouri. 

As announced a few weeks ago, this is the second-to-last Rural Ledge episode before the summer hiatus. Next week’s “season finale” may shape up to be an all-request show. If you have something you’d like me to play, leave a comment or head over to my Facebook with your suggestion. Until then, download this episode via iTunes, Stitcher, or…

DIRECTLY STREAM/DOWNLOAD BY CLICKING HERE!!!

1. Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Good Year For The Roses  

2. Jason & The Scorchers, Broken Whiskey Glass 

3. Rank And File, Amanda Ruth 

4. Camper Van Beethoven, Ambiguity Song 

5. X, The New World  

6. The Knitters, Call Of The Wreckin’ Ball 

7. The Blasters, Long White Cadillac  

8. Los Lobos, Shakin’ Shakin’ Shakes  

9. The Long Ryders, 10-5-60  

10. The Beat Farmers, Powderfinger 

11. Dream Syndicate, Slide Away 

12. Green On Red, Keep On Moving 

13. The Jayhawks, Falling Star 

14. Tex & The Horseheads, I´ll Quit Tomorrow  

15. Uncle Tupelo, Whiskey Bottle  

16. Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down 

Music fans woke up to tragic news this morning as word came out that iconic country singer George Jones had died at the age of 81. While there is no official cause of death at this time of writing, he had been admitted to the hospital last week with fever and irregular blood pressure.

I could attempt to wax poetic on George’s great life, but many others have been doing a wonderful job today that I could never come close to matching. There will also be more ahead in the days to come.

Instead, I did the only thing I could do in his memory. The first part of today’s show was devoted to George, and included a couple of his early rockabilly recordings under the name of Thumper Jones. There’s also a whole set of cover tunes by the likes of the Nervebreakers and Jason and the Scorchers.

Besides the tracks devoted to Mr. Jones, the rest of the show primarily dealt with various birthdays and anniversaries in music history. We celebrated the birthday of Replacements’ drummer Chris Mars, and the 37th anniversary of the first Ramones album. We had a tribute to the 22nd anniversary of the death of legendary guitarist Johnny Thunders. Besides many other sets of that sort, there’s also quite a few Record Store Day tracks that didn’t fit last Sunday’s Rural Ledge-ucation.

Download this one now! It may be the most varied show of the whole catalog! Grab it from the usual sources, or…

DIRECTLY STREAM/DOWNLOAD BY CLICKING HERE!!!

1. Elvis Costello & George Jones, Stranger in the House  

2. Thumper Jones (George Jones), How Come It 

3. Thumper Jones (George Jones), Rock It 

4. Jason & the Scorchers, Why Baby Why 

5. Waco Brothers, White Lightning  

6. Meat Puppets, Burn The Honky-Tonk Down  

7. Nervebreakers, The Race is on 

8. Chris Mars, Bullshit Detector  

9. The Replacements, Radio Hook Word Hit  

10. Brother Brick, Color Me Impressed  

11. Public Image Ltd., Public Image 

12. Superchunk, Void  

13. Misfits, Skulls 

14. Lemonheads, Skulls  

15. Chris Bell, I Am The Cosmos (Movie Mix, 2012) 

16. R.E.M., Strange  

17. Titus Andronicus, (I’ve Got A) Date Tonight  

18. The Fall, Sir William Wray 

19. Babyshambles, Fuck Forever 

20. The Libertines, Boys In The Band 

21. The Rolling Stones, Sway (No-Overdubs) 

22. Iggy and The Stooges, Burn 

23. Sex Pistols, (I’m Not Your) Stepping Stone 

24. The 101’ers, Keys To Your Heart (Version 1)  

25. The Small Faces, Watcha Gonna Do About It (Saturday Club 23-8-65)  

26. New York Dolls, Looking For A KIss 

27. Johnny Thunders, Pills (Live) 

28. The Heartbreakers, Born to Lose 

29. The Ramones, I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend 

30. The Ramones, Judy Is A Punk  

31. The Ramones, Let’s Dance 

32. Toxic Candy Bars, Dancing Barefoot 

33. Shark Week, Be My Baby 

34. Tied For Last, Pleasant Valley Sunday 

For the third straight year, I have gathered together some of my Record Store Day finds to create a show that samples the good side of this biannual event. Not that everything is peachy with this day, though. There are some issues that Record Store Day board members need to discuss to ensure that those who truly desire a RSD release actually can get their hands on one. You can find more on that rant by heading over to my Argus Leader blog. 

Today’s show also includes the latest installment of the Songs For Slim benefit series. Instead of an ebay auction, this release was timed for Record Store Day, and select stores in Minneapolis received signed copies. It’s also one of the best releases of the series, featuring The Minus 5 and Curtiss A covering Slim’s “Rockin’ Here Tonight”, with a b-side of Tim O’Reagan and Jim Boquist (plus some special help from Paul Westerberg) performing an exquisite version of Dunlap’s “Cozy”.

Record Store Day shouldn’t just be a one day event. Support your indie stores all year long! Now download this show from the usual online spots, or…

DIRECTLY STREAM/DOWNLOAD BY CLICKING HERE!!!

1. Bob Dylan, Thirsty Boots

2. Tim O’Reagan & Jim Boquist, Cozy  

3. The Minus Five Feat. Cutiss A, Rockin’ Here Tonight 

4. Old 97’s & Waylon Jennings, Iron Road 

5. Elliott Smith, Alameda (alternate version) 

6. Shearwater and Sharon Van Etten, Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around 

7. Ty Segall, The Motivator 

8. Sonny & The Sunsets Imagine  

9. R.E.M., So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry)  

10. The Rolling Stones, Around And Around 

11. Calexico, Fortune Teller 

12. Superchunk, Faith  

13. The Thermals, The Sword By My Side (demo)  

14. Best Coast, Fear My Own Identity 

15. Big Star, September Gurls (Movie Mix, 2012) 

After the events of this past Monday, putting on a show devoted to Boston’s music scene was a no-brainer. At the time, it was meant to be a love letter of sorts, celebrating 50 years of seminal rock, garage, punk, and college rock.

The chaos and violence of last night, combined with Wednesday’s tragedy in Texas, put a different spin on tonight’s show. Suddenly, the mood was part anger, part resignation. Was the world coming to an end? 

To add to those conflicting feelings, shortly before the show started it was reported that the second suspect had been discovered hiding under a boat. Throughout the show, I was checking on traditional and new media sources as to what was going on.

Then it happened. Just a few minutes before I was to go into a set consisting of the Dropkick Murphys, Street Dogs, and Mighty Mighty Bosstones, word started filtering from those listening to police scanners that the suspect had been caught. This news brought a new meaning to the airing of “Dear Boston”, and the mood was much lighter for the remainder of the show.

In fact, the mood had lightened enough that I decided to go long tonight, so this show is a 2 1/2 hour extravaganza featuring forty different  Boston bands. Well, truthfully, 39 of them are from Boston. The 40th, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, was included because of their cover of the traditional Red Sox anthem, “Sweet Caroline”.

Download this special broadcast, and pour yourself a nice strong drink as you rock along with that legendary city. Grab it at the usual spots, or…

DIRECTLY DOWNLOAD/STREAM BY CLICKING HERE!!!

1. Me First And The Gimme Gimmes, Sweet Caroline  

2. The Standells, Dirty Water  

3. Dick Dale & His Deltones, Jungle Fever 

4. The Ramrods, Night Ride 

5. The Remains, Don’t Look Back  

6. The Barbarians, Are You A Boy Or Are You A Girl 

7. Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers, New England  

8. The Cars, Just What I Needed (Demo)  

9. Aerosmith, Come Together  

10. The J. Geils Band, Looking For A Love  

11. Pernice Brothers, One Foot In The Grave 

12. Galaxie 500, Fourth Of July  

13. Scruffy the Cat, My Baby She’s Allright

14. Bill Janovitz, Rounding Third  

15. Pixies, Wave Of Mutilation 

16. Throwing Muses, Bright Yellow Gun

17. Juliana Hatfield, My Sister

18. The Lemonheads, Luka 

19. Gang Green, Voices Carry 

20. Big Dipper, She’s Fetching 

21. The Del Fuegos, Nervous and Shakey  

22. The Cavedogs, Tayter Country  

23. The Real Kids, Can’t Talk To That Girl  

24. Soccer Mom, A Canoe Shy  

25. Young Adults, College Rock 

26. AM Stereo, That’s High School  

27. The Dirty Truckers, Feedback  

28. Shepherdess, Blackout  

29. The Neats, Another Broken Dream

30. The Dogmatics, Gimme The Shakes 

31. Volcano Suns, Polythene Pam/Greasy Spine  

32. Mission Of Burma, Anti Aircraft Warning 

33. Dropkick Murphys, For Boston 

34. Street Dogs, Punk Rock And Roll 

35. The Outlets, Best Friends  

36. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, This List  

37. Dinosaur Jr., The Wagon  

38. Sebadoh, Gimme Indie Rock

39. The Neighborhoods, No Place Like Home

40. The Lyres, Don’t Give It Up Now 

Yep, it’s another continuation of Friday’s show. Nothing but tracks from 1982 that didn’t get aired or didn’t really fit that show. There’s some jangly pop, synth-ish so-called “new wave”, and even a “divorce” track. The chat seemed to enjoy it, so you should also check it out!

Grab it via iTunes, stitcher, or…

DIRECTLY STREAM/DOWNLOAD BY CLICKING HERE!!!

 1. The Clash, Straight To Hell

2. Cheap Trick, She’s Tight 

3. The Producers, She Sheila  

4. The dB’s, Amplifier 

5. Wire Train, She Comes On 

6. Jason & The Scorchers, Broken Whiskey Glass  

7. Dream Syndicate, Tell Me When It’s Over 

8. X, The Hungry Wolf  

9. R.E.M., Gardening At Night 

10. Richard Hell & The Voidoids, The Kid With The Replaceable Head  

11. Devo, Peek-A-Boo 

12. XTC, Senses Working Overtime 

13. The Monochrome Set, Fun For All The Family 

14. Graham Parker & The Rumour, Temporary Beauty 

15. Dave Edmunds, From Small Things Big Things Come 

16. Nick Lowe, Heart  

17. Squeeze, Annie Get Your Gun 

18. The Spongetones, She Goes Out With Everybody 

19. Richard & Linda Thompson, Shoot Out The Lights

Ok, I’m an idiot. We can all agree on that. Tonight’s theme, though, may have been one of my most idiotic…but I have an excuse, and it turned out for the better. 

Earlier this week, Slicingeyeballs commenced on a poll to come up with the best album of 1982. I immediately jumped straight out of my chair and decided that this would be a perfect format for a show!

Sure it would be…last year. Which I did. To do a 1982-themed show in 2013 is idiotic, though. Unfortunately, that lightbulb didn’t come on until after I had pulled 40 or so potential songs for the show. So I decided to go with it anyway. I also didn’t take a peak at last year’s version of the show. I’m sure there are a few duplicates, but I think I can get away with repeating a few tracks once a year. Right? Tell me I’m ok with doing this!

The show ended up being fun, and after a week of falling trees and power lines, it was a nice release. I do talk about the inferno of ice that fell on our city this week, along with a few other topics. 

Next week I will have a more properly-timed theme - songs from 1983!!! Contact me with suggestions!

So get this from the usual channels, or…

DIRECTLY STREAM/DOWNLOAD BY CLICKING HERE!!!

1. INXS Don’t Change  

2. The Cure, One Hundred Years  

3. Bauhaus, Third Uncle  

4. The Psychedelic Furs, President Gas 

5. The English Beat, Save It For Later  

6. Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Man Out Of Time  

7. Lords Of The New Church, Open Your Eyes 

8. The Jam, The Bitterest Pill  

9. The Fleshtones, The Girl from Baltimore 

10. The Nelsons, Sister Sister  

11. The Beat, The Kids Are The Same 

12. Translator, Everywhere That I’m Not  

13. Holly and Joey, I Got You Babe  

14. Josie Cotton, Johnny, Are You Queer? 

15. The Plimsouls, A Million Miles Away  

16. The Replacements, Go 

17. Husker Du, Everything Falls Apart 

18. Crash Street Kids, Little Girls  

19. The Suburbs, Waiting  

20. The Business, Get Out While You Can 

21. Crass, The Greatest Working Class Rip-Off  

22. The Adicts, Shake Rattle Bang Your Head  

23. Zero Boys, Livin’ In The 80’s  

24. Fear, I Love Livin’ In The City  

25. Bad Religion, Fuck Armageddon…This Is Hell  

26. Angry Samoans, They Saved Hitler’s Cock  

27. Dead Kennedys, Bleed For Me  

28. Descendents, Bikeage 

29. Mission Of Burma, That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate 

30. Circle Jerks, Just Like Me