Paulisded's Pity Palace

Live Ledge #112: Love Is the Law

Fri, 17 May 2013 21:32:21 -0400

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

Live Ledge #111: Jukebox

Fri, 10 May 2013 23:20:00 -0400

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

Rural Ledge-ucation #100: Season Finale

Sun, 05 May 2013 12:35:56 -0400

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

Live Ledge #110: May Finds

Fri, 03 May 2013 21:39:29 -0400

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

Rural Ledge-ucation #99: Cowpunk

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 12:38:02 -0400

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

Live Ledge #109: George Jones

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 21:30:42 -0400

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

Rural Ledge-ucation #98: Record Store Day

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 12:30:09 -0400

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)

Live Ledge #108: Dear Boston

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 22:49:00 -0400

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

Rural Ledge-ucation #97: More 1982

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 12:48:16 -0400

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

Live Ledge #107: 1982 (Again)

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 21:36:05 -0400

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

Rural Ledge-ucation #96: More New Finds

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 12:36:08 -0400

Like always, when Friday night’s Live Ledge is new releases and blog finds, the Sunday show follows the same format. There are two tracks from Steve Earle’s upcoming record, The Low Highway, along with tunes from brand new albums by Billy Bragg, The Wonder Stuff, House of Love, and many others.

There’s also a big announcement about the future of Rural Ledge-ucation. Partly because of my new gig with the local paper, along with a few other factors, the Sunday morning show will be going on a hiatus in a few weeks. The current plan is to shut it down after the 100th episode, and bring it back in September. Friday’s Live Ledge will carry on as normal, though.

Download this episode via the various online spots, or…

DIRECTLY DOWNLOAD/STREAM BY CLICKING HERE!!!

1. Jake Bugg, Two Fingers

2. Steve Earle & The Dukes (and Duchesses), Calico County

3. Steve Earle & The Dukes (and Duchesses), Love’s Gonna Blow My Way

4. Billy Bragg, January Song

5. Billy Bragg, I Ain’t Got No Home

6. The House of Love, Money Man

7. The Wonder Stuff, Save It for Later

8. Edwyn Collins, Too Bad (That’s Sad)

9. Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine, Burgers of Wrath (Slight Rural Extension)

10. Dawn McCarthy & Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Somebody Help Me

11. The Hillbilly Moon Explosion, Drive This Truck No More

12. Pickwick, Halls Of Columbia

13. Nouvelle, Guns of Brixton

14. Gene Clark, White Light

15. Tim Christensen, Too Many People

Live Ledge #106: New Finds

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 21:43:00 -0400

It’s become a monthly ritual to have a show devoted to new releases. Tonight is the night, as Live Ledge premieres brand new tunes by Jello Biafra, Limozine, Mudhoney, The Hillbilly Moon Explosion, and many more. Plus, there are a bunch of “blog finds”, including some great garage/power pop tracks by The Yum Yums, Messerschmitt, Dogs, and The Spoons.

But that’s not all. There’s a tribute of sorts to commemorate the 19th anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death, and the recent posting on Dangerous Minds of isolated tracks from The Clash’s “Safe European Home” are played and discussed.

Grab this show in iTunes (and please leave a review), Stitcher, my Ledge app, or…

DIRECTLY DOWNLOAD/STREAM BY CLICKING HERE!!!

1. Keith Richards, Can You Hear Me Knocking (Guitar Only)

2. Nouvelle, Teenage Kicks

3. Nouvelle, Too Drunk To Fuck

4. Kate Nash, Sister

5. The Chevelles, Angelina Jolie

6. The Men, The Seeds

7. The Thermals, Born To Kill

8. Telekinesis, Empathetic People

9. Thee Oh Sees, Toe Cutter - Thumb Buster

10. Titus Andronicus, Breed

11. Surfer Blood, Territorial Pissings

12. Deervana, Been A Son

13. The Clash, Safe European Home

14. Messerschmitt, Jumpin Jack Flash

15. Milkshakes, Hippy Hippy Shake

16. The Mummies, I’m Down

17. The Spoons, Have Love Will Travel

18. Rivals, Here Comes the Night

19. Dogs, (I’d Go the) Whole Wide World

20. Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine, Werewolves of Wall Street

21. Wire, As We Go

22. Mudhoney, I Don’t Remember You

23. Limozine, Balls Hot Mamma

24. The Great Dismal Swamis, Painting with the Missing Eyes

25. Dead Ghosts, I Want You Back

26. The Peacocks, It’s All a Lot of Bollocks

27. The Hillbilly Moon Explosion, Motorhead Girl

28. Wavves, Gimme A Knife

29. Sweet Talk, Put You Right Back

30. The Yum Yums, Be My Baby

Rural Ledge-ucation #95: More Then And Now

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 18:19:10 -0400

It’s pretty self-explanatory. This morning’s show is a continuation of Friday’s Live Ledge. Two tracks per band; one old and one relatively new. The only difference is the Sunday morning show is MUCH quieter than Friday’s.

The highlight is the debut of a brand new track from Steve Earle’s upcoming album, The Low Highway. Set to be released on April 16, in my opinion it is his best album in over a decade. Expect to hear more from it next week on the new release episode of Rural Ledge-ucation!

Turn off your TV, and listen to this fun show as you devour your Easter candy. You can nab it in the iTunes store, Stitcher, or…

DIRECTLY DOWNLOAD/STREAM BY CLICKING HERE!!!

1. Son Volt, Lookin’ At The World Through A Windshield

2. Son Volt, Wild Side

3. Steve Earle, You’re Still Standin’ There

4. Steve Earle & The Dukes (and Duchesses), Burnin’ It Down

5. Dale Watson, Down Down Down Down Down

6. Dale Watson & Lone Stars, I Lie When I Drink

7. Billy Bragg, Greetings to the New Brunette

8. Billy Bragg, No One Knows Nothing Anymore

9. Josh Rouse, Dressed Up Like Nebraska

10. Josh Rouse, Simple Pleasure

11. Eels, Dirty Girl

12. Eels, Kinda Fuzzy

13. Phosphorescent, I Gotta Get Drunk

14. Phosphorescent, Song for Zula

15. Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians, Tell Me About Your Drugs

16. Robyn Hitchcock, I Love You

Live Ledge #105: Then And Now

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 21:34:51 -0400

It’s such an obvious topic, why didn’t I do it before? Take a band that has a current (or semi-current) album out, and play a track not only from that record but from another older album. “Then And Now” may have been the easiest show to ever put together! Some of the tracks differ by decades (Bad Brains, Bowie); others by just a couple of years (Biters, Telekinesis), but the concept is the same.

Plus, I babble about a couple of topics, including the exciting news this week from Tommy Stinson. When asked by Melissa Locker about how much he enjoyed recording the tracks for the Songs For Slim EP, he had this to say:

It was so much fun that we talked about doing it again with some original material. In fact, when I get done with this GnR tour, I’m booking a flight to Minneapolis and doing that. Putting some songs down, but not getting stuck on making record — seeing what comes out of it. Neither one of us feels the pressure to become the Replacements again, although we talk about it.

Great news, right? Let’s hope it actually works out.

Find this fun show at the usual spots, or…

DIRECTLY STREAM/DOWNLOAD BY CLICKING HERE!!!

What did you think of tonight’s show? Was the concept worth doing again? Do you have any ideas for future shows? Comment away, bitches!

1. Guided By Voices, I Am A Scientist

2. Guided By Voices, She Lives In An Airport

3. David Bowie, Life On Mars?

4. David Bowie, The Stars (Are Out Tonight)

5. The Strokes, Last Night

6. The Strokes, All The Time

7. Redd Kross, Linda Blair

8. Redd Kross, Researching the Blues

9. Telekinesis, Look To The East

10. Telekinesis, Power Lines

11. Chris Mars, Popular Creeps

12. The Replacements, Radio Hook Word Hit

13. The Replacements, I Hate Music

14. The Replacements, I’m Not Sayin’

15. Hüsker Dü, Chartered Trips

16. Bob Mould, The Descent

17. Soul Asylum, Chains

18. Soul Asylum, Let’s All Kill Each Other

19. Pedal Jets, A Certain Sunday

20. Pedal Jets, Terra Nova

21. Biters, Hang Around

22. Biters, Oh Yea(The Bitch Wants More)

23. Dinosaur Jr., Freak Scene

24. Dinosaur Jr., Don’t Pretend You Didn’t Know

25. Mudhoney, Touch Me I’m Sick

26. Mudhoney, Douchebags on Parade

27. Bad Brains, Pay To Cum

28. Bad Brains, Youth Of Today

29. U.K. Subs, Tomorrow’s Girls

30. U.K. Subs, Las Vegas Wedding

31. Wire, Ex Lion Tamer

32. Wire, Adore Your Island

33. Bad Religion, White Trash (Second Generation)

34. Bad Religion, Past Is Dead

Rural Ledge-ucation #94: Country

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 12:39:59 -0400

With Friday’s show being nothing but songs about rock ‘n’ roll, I attempted to do a similar thing today with country. A companion piece of sorts. Unfortunately, my library didn’t completely accommodate this idea. Yes, there were a ton of songs with the word “country” in it, but not that many were really about country music.

That means today’s show is not only a bit shorter than usual, but also contains some songs that don’t completely fit the format. This doesn’t mean it’s not a worthy show to check out. It’s actually one of the most varied Sunday morning shows in a long, long time, with tracks that date all the way back to the 20’s, along with some current alt-rock, Americana, and singer-songwriter tracks.

This show can be found in the usual online spots, or…

DIRECTLY DOWNLOAD/STREAM BY CLICKING HERE!!!

1. Neil Young, Are You Ready For The Country?

2. Lloyd Cole & The Commotions, Why I Love Country Music

3. R.E.M., Country Feedback

4. The Bottle Rockets, Lawd I’m Just A Country Boy In This Great Big Freaky City

5. Pastor Dean, Country Song

6. Hank Williams III, Country Heroes

7. The Mekons, Country

8. JD McPherson, Country Boy

9. Josh Ritter, A Country Song

10. The Rolling Stones, Country Honk

11. Glenn Reeves, Rockin’ Country Style

12. Johnny Otis, Crazy Country Hop

13. Jimmy Swan, Country Cattin’

14. Henry Thomas, Old Country Stomp

15. Dock Boggs, Country Blues

16. Neil Young, Get Back To The Country

Live Ledge #104: Rock

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 23:43:00 -0400

Talk about an obvious topic! Why in the world didn’t I do a show like this before? The concept is simple - nothing but songs about rock ‘n’ roll! One caveat, though. There are no songs that substitute the word “rock” for “fuck”. That’s such a terrible cliche that was a staple of 80’s FM playlists. It was terrible then and it’s terrible now. Nope, tonight is nothing but songs that celebrate, denigrate, deny, and/or castigate that niche of music that has made me the madman that I am today.

You can find this show in iTunes, Stitcher, my Ledge android/iPhone app, or…

DIRECTLY STREAM/DOWNLOAD BY CLICKING HERE!!!

1. The Ramones, Do You Remember Rock ‘N’ Roll Radio?

2. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Anything That’s Rock ‘N’ Roll

3. The Rubinoos, Rock ‘n’ Roll Is Dead

4. Tommy Conwell with Dipsomaniacs, Long Live Rock

5. The Velvet Underground, Rock & Roll

6. The Jesus & Mary Chain, I Hate Rock ‘n’ Roll

7. The Jesus & Mary Chain, I Love Rock’n’Roll

8. The Fortunate Sons, Let Me Rock

9. The Flamin’ Groovies, Sweet Little Rock ‘n’ Roll

10. Young Fresh Fellows, Rock ‘n’ Roll Pest Control

11. The Beat, Rock N Roll Girl

12. Wreckless Eric, Roll Over Rock-Ola

13. Stoneage Hearts, Rock ‘n’ Roll Boys Rock ‘n’ Roll Girls

14. Vince Taylor, Twenty Flight Rock

15. The Rolling Stones, If You Can’t Rock Me

16. The Loud Family, Rocks Off

17. Al Bundie’s Army, It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me

18. The Weirdos, Jungle Rock

19. Urchin, Rock’n’Roll Ghost

20. The Replacements, Rock and Roll All Night

21. The Nomads, Rockin’ All Through The Night

22. The Supersuckers, The Evil Powers of Rock and Roll

23. The Cavestompers!, Rock’n’Roll

24. The Soft Boys, Rock ‘n’ Roll Toilet (Mark 2)

25. Hasil Adkins, Rock’N Roll Tonight

26. Crazy Cavan & The Rhythm Rockers, Well I’ll Keep Rockin’

27. Levi & The Rockats, Room To Rock

28. The Jim Jones Revue, Rock n Roll Psychosis

29. The Bobbyteens, Rock’n’Roll Show

30. Sleater-Kinney, You’re No Rock ‘n Roll Fun

31. The Eyeliners, Rock-N-Roll Baby

32. Vice Squad, Rock ‘n’ Roll Massacre

33. The Vapids, Dee Dee King Of Rock

34. The Dictators, Who Will Save Rock And Roll

Rural Ledge-ucation #93: St. Paddy's Day

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 12:39:03 -0400

I’m not known as a traditionalist, so the concept of doing a traditional Irish show for St. Patrick’s Day was a challenge. Since only a fraction of my bloodline comes from that wonderful country, I don’t have the sort of romantic view of most of those tunes from the old country. Most are kind of “schlocky”, in my opinion.

I did my best today, though, to compile a somewhat old-school show. There are some of the classic groups from the 60’s (The Clancy Brothers, Dubliners, etc.) along with quieter moments from more current acts (Flogging Molly, Mahones, etc.). There’s also a couple of semi-novelty tunes to lighten the mood.

Overall, this should be a fun show for those who celebrate the big day on the actual date it should be celebrated! Who started this trend of having the festivities on the closest Saturday? My favorite St. Patrick’s Day of all time was on a Tuesday!

Anyway, grab this from the usual online spots, or…

DIRECTLY STREAM/DOWNLOAD BY CLICKING HERE!!!

1. John Lennon & Yoko Ono, The Luck Of The Irish

2. The Irish Rovers, Whiskey On A Sunday

3. The Dubliners, Nancy Whiskey

4. The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, Whiskey You’re the Devil [Live]

5. Van Morrison, Moonshine Whiskey

6. Ewan Maccoll, Dirty Old Town

7. The Pogues, The Irish Rover

8. Shane MacGowan & The Popes, Victoria

9. Adrian Edmunson & The Bad Shepherds, Humours Of Tullah/Teenage Kicks/Whiskey In The Jar

10. Jonathan Richman, Just Because I’m Irish

11. Flogging Molly, The Worst Day Since Yesterday

12. The Mahones, Girl With Galway Eyes

13. Tony Duggins, I Wish I Was Back In Liverpool

14. Mighty Stef, Romantic Ireland Is Dead And Gone

15. Black 47, Danny Boy

Live Ledge #103: Dave Pirner

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 21:39:11 -0400

What a fun show tonight! When I discovered that Soul Asylum was hitting town on March 22, I knew I would have a possibility to chat with lead singer Dave Pirner. I also knew it was imperative that I arrange it so that it could happen during a Live Ledge episode.

Pirner was a real treat during our half hour talk, talking not only about the current status of the band but reliving a bit of the glory days of Minneapolis rock ‘n’ roll. Listening to his praise and awe of current drummer Michael Bland (formerly of Prince and Paul Westerberg fame) showcased an artist still enthused about his music career.

Besides the chat with Pirner, we also debuted the latest Songs For Slim tracks. As I walked into my house, I was thrilled to see that my Steve Earle/Craig Finn single had arrived, so it was natural that I gave both tracks a spin.

There was also a tribute to Alex Chilton, commemorating the third anniversary of his death that occurs this Sunday, and an almost full hour of great Irish rock ‘n’ roll.

Grab this wonderful episode at the usual online spots, or…

DIRECTLY STREAM/DOWNLOAD BY CLICKING HERE!!!

1. The Box Tops, Soul Deep

2. Alex Chilton, With a Girl Like You

3. Big Star, September Gurls (Live)

4. Alex Chilton, Bangkok

5. Craig Finn, Isn’t It

6. Steve Earle, Times Like

7. The Replacements, Lost Highway

8. Paul Westerberg, Don’t Cry No Tears

9. Soul Asylum, Sometime To Return

10. Soul Asylum, Take Manhattan

11. Hart Lake Mystery, Wrote You Off

12. Torpedohead, Rock N’ Roll Satellite

13. The Nips, Fuss & Bother

14. The Pogues, Streams Of Whiskey

15. The Pogues, I Fought The Law

16. Shane MacGowan & The Popes, Hippy Hippy Shake

17. The Jesus & Mary Chain, Ghost Of A Smile

18. The Stitches, That Woman’s Got Me Drinking

19. Mr. Irish Bastard, Anarchy In The UK

20. The Bad Shepherds, Ramones Medley

21. The Tossers, Where The Beer And Whiskey Flow

22. The Mahones, Ghost Of A Whiskey Devil

23. The Skels, Whiskey You’re the Devil

24. The Cherry Coke$, Rainy Night & Whiskey

25. Dropkick Murphys, The Irish Rover

26. The Sharks, Luck O’ The Irish

Rural Ledge-ucation #92: Daylight Savings Time

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 12:27:52 -0400

We all hate daylight savings time. Seriously, I don’t know anybody who has anything but pure hatred towards the gaining/losing an hour gimmick we endure every six months. It’s actually more annoying these days, as every amateur comedian on social media has lots of HILARIOUS jokes about it!

At least it had a purpose in my life this year, as it was an obvious podcast theme. So here it is - nothing but songs about clocks and time. Original, right? At least there are some wonderful tracks aired today, from the garage rock of Cheap Trick and The Replacements to the jingle-jangle sounds of The Byrds and Tommy Keene.

Have a lazy Sunday afternoon with this show, which you can find in iTunes, Stitcher, or…

DIRECTLY STREAM/DOWNLOAD BY CLICKING HERE!!!

1. Cheap Trick, Clock Strikes Ten

2. The Byrds, She Don’t Care About Time (Version 1/Take 2)

3. Uncle Tupelo, Wipe the Clock

4. The Bottle Rockets, Kit Kat Clock

5. Vic Chesnutt, Where’s The Clock

6. The Boomtown Rats, Like Clockwork

7. The Jam, Just Who Is The 5 O’Clock Hero?

8. Elvis Costello, Man Out Of Time

9. The Stems, You Can’t Turn the Clock Back

10. Rank Strangers, Daylight Savings

11. Gear Daddies, Time Heals

12. The Jayhawks, Bad Time

13. The Phones, Back In Time

14. The Replacements, (We’re Gonna) Rock Around The Clock

15. Tommy Keene, Don’t Sleep In the Daytime

16. The Jesus & Mary Chain, I Can’t Find the Time for Times

17. Paul Westerberg, Time Flies Tomorrow

Live Ledge #102: Songs For Slim

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 21:32:08 -0500

Earlier this week, The Replacements released their first recordings in over 20 years (outside of a couple of bonus tracks in 2006). What brought them together, though, is a tragedy. Just over a year ago, former Replacements guitarist Slim Dunlap had a massive right brain stroke which has left him likely needing 24-hour care for the rest of his life.

Tonight’s show not only airs the entire Songs For Slim EP, but also the original versions of the five songs. Rounding out the show are a few other ‘mats oddities, plus songs from other artists that will be participating in the monthly Songs For Slim 7” releases. For more info on Slim, and also these auctions, please go to SongsForSlim.com.

To hear tonight’s show, subscribe via iTunes, stream through Stitcher, or…

DIRECTLY STREAM/DOWNLOAD BY CLICKING HERE!!!

1. The Replacements, Hey Good Lookin’

2. Slim Dunlap, Busted Up

3. The Replacements, Busted Up

4. Slim Dunlap, Radio Hook Word Hit

5. The Replacements, Radio Hook Word Hit

6. Steve Earle, Here I Am

7. Craig Finn & The Baseball Project, Don’t Call Them Twinkies

8. Lucinda Williams, Real Live Bleeding Fingers & Broken Guitar Strings

9. Tommy Keene, Places That Are Gone

10. Nico, I’m Not Sayin’

11. The Replacements, I’m Not Sayin’

12. Leon Payne, Lost Highway

13. The Replacements, Lost Highway

14. Joe Henry, Good Fortune

15. The Jayhawks, Big Star

16. Deer Tick, Let’s All Go To The Bar

17. Deer Tick, Mister Cigarette

18. Frank Black, Los Angeles

19. The Suicide Commandos, Complicated Fun

20. Curtiss A, Land of the Free

21. Paul Westerberg, I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face

22. Ethel Merman, Everything’s Coming Up Roses

23. The Replacements, Everything’s Coming Up Roses

24. The Minus 5, Revolution Blues

25. Young Fresh Fellows, Taco Wagon

26. You Am I, The Cream And The Crock

27. The John Doe Thing, Too Many Goddamn Bands

28. The Replacements, More Fun In The New World

29. X, I Will Dare (Demo)

30. Lucero, That Much Further West