A Truer Sound has again posted the compilation of Feel Bad For You - July edition. Popa2unes (Twitter) designed some hilarious artwork for this month's edition.
With much of the country enduring insufferable heat and humidity this month, perhaps these tunes will provide some soothing, ointment relief ... to your ears. Listen to it here (or click here to download the compilation).
Incredibly, 2011 is already half-way done. As a result, I submitted a song titled The Fifty Percenter by Rich Hopkins and Billy Sedlmayr. For several years, Hopkins was lead guitarist for the Tucson, AZ based band The Sidewinders. (The band later changed its name to the Sand Rubies after an unfortunate, ridiculous lawsuit over the Sidewinders name by another band.) Today, Hopkins records and plays more often with his band The Luminaros.
This video will give you a second helping of Hopkins' music - the great, title track of an album he did with The Luminaros: Dirt Town.
I'm pretty sure I forgot to blog about the May and June editions. So take a listen those compilations at the FBFY site as well.
Stay cool. Drink plenty of fluids. Stretch your mind. Enjoy different music.
July 4, 2011 - The 235th birthday of the most incredible, liberty-filled, freedom-rich nation on the earth. I'm immensely grateful to the founding fathers, the Continental Army, and the military branches of the United States for visioning it, declaring it, earning it, and defending it.
This week's City Songs Saturday focuses on some of the key cities at the flashpoint of the revolution then and at the epicenter of government today. As has been the pattern, I've included 5 songs. But to be honest, it was a bit of stretch to go with five and still cover multiple cities. Songwriters haven't exactly been forthcoming with songs about places like Lexington, Concord, Saratoga, and Valley Forge. Perhaps I could have included one about Quebec, but I've tried to focus this series on U.S. cities. So away we go...
I'm Shipping Up to Boston - Dropkick Murphys - I'll lead with this one because (1) the song is short but fun to scream and (2) I'm giving a nod to fellow blogger - the music diggin', straight shootin' Rockstar_Aimz - who currently claims Boston as home.
I'm a sailor peg / And I lost my leg Climbing up the top sails / I lost my leg!
I need to create a "to do" to blast this song later this September on Talk Like A Pirate Day.
Brasilia Crossed With Trenton - Bob Mould - I have no idea if Mould's Trenton is meant to be about the New Jersey city. But in this case, I'm going to make it so.
I see buildings / With laundry hanging out of the window Never in my wildest dreams would I think I'd see Brasilia crossed with Trenton
Streets of Philadelphia - Bruce Springsteen
Philadelphia Freedom - Elton John
The Ghost of Old D.C. - J.B. Beverly & The Wayward Drifters - This one was a stretch for me. I didn't have what I believed to be a blog-worthy song title about Washington, DC. But in searching around for one, I found this band. From what I've heard of this video and other song samples, I'll be listening to them more ... a lot more.
...well, there is a patch of train tracks outside of Silver Spring it used to be the freight line right into old DC...
Happy Independence Day folks. Never - ever - take your freedoms for granted.
Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. That should be plenty of territory of border states to explore a few city songs. Right?
Spokane Motel Blues - Tom T. Hall
El Paso - Marty Robbins
Saginaw, Michigan - Lefty Frizell
Brownsville Girl - Bob Dylan
Helena, Montana - Terry Allen - Strong song...even if the video isn't
More than twenty years ago - seriously? can it really have been that long ago? - I picked up the debut release by a band called Semi-Twang. I don't recall exactly how I learned about Salty Tears. It was likely a review in Rolling Stone or Pulse, the Tower Records magazine.
I had already latched onto my share of twang by getting into artists and bands such as R.E.M., Blue Rodeo, Joe Ely, E.I.E.I.O., The Rainmakers, Lone Justice, The Silos, etc. No question the band's name caught my attention. If twang was involved, I was convinced it would align nicely with these other artists I'd really begun to enjoy.
It turns out the first half of their band name was the part I underestimated. The band was only kind of ... that is, semi ... twangy. But that was OK. I really enjoyed the CD - and still do to this day. I enjoyed it enough that I kept my eyes open in the store bins and in magazines for info about a follow-up release. But it never came.
Over the years, I've pulled Salty Tears off the shelf and listened to it many times over - not something I can say about everything in my collection. (Click here and scroll down about half-way to listen to a couple of band-provided tracks from their debut.) In the pre-web days though, it was weird not knowing how this talented band could end up as a one-and-done.
Then the e-mail arrived several weeks ago. I'm not sure if the publicity folks found me through this blog, tracked me down through my monthly contributions to Feel Bad For You, or what other sources they used. Either way, the news was so surprising I had to read it a couple of times. After a 23-year absence, sure 'nuff Semi-Twang was back with their second release, Wages of Sin.
As was the case 20+ years ago, my attention was snagged. One, because after a 23-year absence, I was floored to realize a second album was actually here. Two, Wages Of Sin was also a song title by The Rainmakers - so the hook was set.
You might think after a two-decade pause between recordings, a second release might move Semi-Twang to Fully-Twang. Listen to a few of their tracks, however, and I think you'll find Semi is the part they continue to embrace best. Some bluesy riffs, a nice dose of organ without going overboard, and generally a mature sound and vocals - to be expected from performers who have added a good bit of gray to their look. Yet, there is enough distortion, fuzz, and nasally tone to qualify for the twang portion. Musically, the band is very tight as a unit while still playing a bit loose for their style.
Doubting Thomas - Guilty as charged. Never thought I'd see another release by these guys - maybe they didn't either!
When My Angel Smiles - the longest track of the album at 4 minutes even with somewhat of a haunting-sound.
As is common with many folks, I generally learn the names of band members whose albums I listen to over the years. With Semi-Twang's single release, however, I never really took the time to learn about the individual members. I just listened to the CD, shelved the jewel case, and didn't think much more about it.
This time, though, I tried to dig around a bit more about the band. Lo and behold, Mike Hoffman who was and still is in Semi-Twang was in E.I.E.I.O. back in the day - one of the bands that helped cement my interest in twang. Tonight, I pulled their 1988 CD Land of Opportunity off the shelf, opened the liner notes, and ta-daaa there he was.
Furthermore, Hoffman has contributed recently to Florizona, the latest album by The Silos. Walter Salas-Humara has been known to change the members of the The Silos over the years about as often as I change socks. But it was cool to learn yet another connection between multiple bands I enjoy.
My suggestion? Go ahead and get both Semi-Twang so you can be fully twanged. Besides, I'm not sure any of us can wait another 20 years for release number 3.
Without a logical theme coming to mind for today, I figured I'd stick with the simple. Here's a sampling of city songs from the "A" states of the good ol' USA.
Alabama: Angel From Montgomery - John Prine
Alaska: Anchorage - Michelle Shocked
Arkansas: Little Rock - Hayes Carll
Arizona: By The Time I Get to Phoenix - Glen Campbell
Arizona Bonus: Goin' Back to Tucson - Supersuckers
With all the drama surrounding [snark] The [/snark] Ohio State University, Jim Tressel, Terrelle Pryor, tats, weed, jerseys, and cars, I thought a Big Ten edition of City Songs Saturday might work.
Before anyone unleashes on me, yes I realize these cities aren't the homes of Big Ten universities. I'm just trying to get in the general vicinity of the states.
Detroit Rock City - KISS
Cleveland Rocks - The Presidents of The United States of America
One year ago this morning - June 3, 2010 - I was at my parents' house. Their suitcases were packed, and we were about to leave for the airport. I'd booked seats on Southwest to fly them to Jacksonville to visit my sick uncle, my mother's youngest brother.
As we finished a cup of coffee and finished loading the trunk of the car, the phone rang. Too late. The battle was lost. He had died in the early morning hours. Flights and hotels were canceled, and the bags were unloaded. That day sucked.
Its hard to believe a year has passed. I miss conversations and visits with him immensely - even though I know his absence to me pales in comparison to what it means to my aunt and my mother.
One habit I developed the last 2 or 3 years of his life was to call him as I grilled steaks. Every few weeks, it was just a neat opportunity to talk with him from my deck for 20 minutes or as I sipped a beer and waited for medium-well.
A memories have popped back in my head in recent months. I started a draft of this entry months ago when the first one hit, and I continued to add to it with a target publish date of today. Here are a few stories that still make me smile.
In spring 1984, I needed to land a summer job between college quarters. My uncle said he could arrange a job in the accounts receivable department with his employer. Because I was an accounting major, this would be great practical experience - plus give me the chance to live in Florida for the summer. I quickly accepted and quit looking around Nashville. With about a week to go before the spring quarter ended, he called to say that because he was in sales, the company's nepotism and other control policies prevented me from working in receivables. Instead, he offered me the chance to work in the warehouse loading trucks in non-ventilated trailers. What could I do? So I went from having an air-conditioned desk job to working in trailers that seemed hotter than the seventh level of hell.
July 4, 1984. My aunt's boss was retiring, and she was about to be promoted to his position. She and my uncle scheduled a retirement party/picnic for him and a ton of co-workers at their house. I offered to help - mow the grass, man the grill, refresh ice on the beer, whatever. A day or two later, my uncle admitted he'd had two tickets to the Firecracker 400 NASCAR race in Daytona. He knew he couldn't go because of the gathering, but he didn't tell me about them because he didn't know if I'd want to go alone. It turns out it was no ordinary race as my racing hero Richard Petty won his 200th career race. Instead of my being there, the tickets went unused on his night stand.
My uncle, a long-time friend of his, a long-time friend of mine, and I went to a local beer joint in Jacksonville the night before the Daytona 500 in 1994. A table of girls had their eye on my uncle's friend and got him to dance. The others were okay from a distance - but we just kept our seats, drank our beer and continued our conversation. A few songs later, another one claimed my uncle and it was down to my buddy and me. As the two of us continued to talk, we kind of just forgot about the two of them. Let 'em have a good time. Whatever. But then suddenly, my uncle grabbed me by the neck and dragged me to the dance floor. He had recruited a midget - I'm telling you a MIDGET - to dance with me. Now I'll never be mistaken for an NBA player, but I'm hardly in the midget category. But he and his friend were doubled over in laughter while I had to figure a way to wrangle myself out of this awkward situation.
One of the neatest phone calls I ever received was in summer of 2000. I answered and heard the following challenge: "Hey, guess where I went last night." Now how am I supposed to answer that? So I immediately gave up with "I dunno. Where?" He excitedly said "the Billy Graham Crusade!" He talked a lot that night and much more in the years to follow how his faith was strengthened beginning about that time. He eventually started a men's small group Bible study class on his screened-in porch. He told me they had a great core of guys who enjoyed wrestling with scripture and drinking beer as they discussed it.
He was a huge sports nut. Lifelong Celtics fan - including sitting 2 rows behind the bench at the old Boston Garden as a 40th birthday gift to himself. Season ticket holder of USFL Jacksonville Bulls and NFL Jacksonville Jaguars for many years. Played fantasy baseball before it became the rage. He attended MLB, NFL, NBA, NASCAR, 'wrasslin', and just about everything else in professional sports - except hockey. I'm glad to say I took him to his one and only NHL game - the Tampa Bay Lightning vs. our Nashville Predators - about 5 or 6 years ago. Unfortunately, the Lightning mopped the floor with the Preds that night. But we had a great visit, shared a number of brews at the game and at a few of the lower Broadway honky-tonks after the game, and he crossed the NHL off his list of sports events to see.
