Jerry Lee Lewis - Travelin' Band w/ John Fogerty

The 50’s return with a vengeance. One of these guys has been performing over 50 years, and the other dude has been performing about 40 years. Put them together and you have a coupla 15 year olds traveling around the world keeping other youngsters on their feet – you’ll really want to move when you hear the piano here followed by a sax right outta 50 years ago!!! Juicy Fruit in my mouth and Brylcreem on my hair – I gotta move! Jerry Lee Lewis

Click Five - Good Day

Cymbals begin by sprinkling accent over this meal – “you’re looking for something you can’t find/if you give up you’ll lose your mind/there’s always something in your way/but what can you say?/You’re gonna have a good day!” Positively optimistic – and with this kind of beat, why not? The couplets are hilarious – with extra spice added by the guitar followed by a twist of synth. And the dancing doesn’t stop here – loosen your belt up to “Just The Girl” for dessert – she’s bittersweet but just the taste I’m looking for. Click Five

Hot Club De Paris - Snitches Get Stitches

Popcorn. Bouncy, buttery, tasty, quirky and fun. Perfect for summer – especially these special December summers. Just for a bit of extra slavor, they added a slight bit of cheddar with a snitch of Silent Night. Not too sure what all they’re singing about – something about burning the disco down, but each refrain ends with a big Smile. Cool drums, by the way. Another tasty morsel on the album is called Bonded By Blood. Hot Club De Paris

Luna - California All The Way

An old tune re-released on a greatest hits album gives it a new lease on life – a fine California Sauvignon Blanc aged to perfection – light on the tongue, but takes the brain to other worlds of fine remembrances. “And if you’re going to read your poetry aloud to me/I’ll have to show you to the door.” The fun flavor is the garage-band lead guitar. Luna

Bluetones - Wasn't I Right About You

“I hate to be wrong. So lucky for me I’ve always been spared that particular indignity. It’s kind of a gift, and kind of a curse – but it’s the single certainty in a random universe.” What can one add to such universal feelings? Except, of course, to mention that the music is as hilarious as the music. Excellent touches of perfectly placed garnish. Bluetones

Freestylers - Hard To Stay

Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, let’s dance all night to young Aretha flavored vocals with pots and pans with covers taken from every hidden cul-de-sac in the kitchen! Fun rhythms, perfect angelic voices. What a night for sunshine! “Leaving you’s the best thing I’ve ever done – feeling kind of free now my life has just begun. Doing it my way and heading for the sun or being caged in your arms – there ain’t no comparison…” Freestylers

New Podcast Is Available

Another marvelous treat for hungry ears: Nov 24, 2006

Trivium - The Crusade

Okay, so I’m not too sure what this crusade is so I’ll guess - it’s a crusade to travel through my brain and revisit some really great instrumental guitar playing with a glass of tang in my hand. Why tang? Well, it was the drink of astronauts when I was a kid, and this exploration through my universe is quite a tour-de-force. The guitar player skillfully keeps me excited, and the drummer works with the bass player to keep the ship that carries this passenger from ever wishing this track was over. In fact, as it fades off I can only wonder where the space capsule will end up – I’m kind of sad realizing that it actually returned to earth. Fun track that runs a bit more than 8 minutes, but is worth drinking many many glassfuls. Trivium

Cinematic Underground – Bullet

Are you ready to party??? What a great traveling vision through the mind. This one makes me dance AND tries to make me think. There must be 10 people in this band (as mentioned in my very first post – I don’t investigate bands – I just listen to music). Lots and lots of rhythm accented with trumpets, synths, and I’m assuming guitars. The music is so exciting it’s difficult to consider the words – having too much fun listening to think although I want to think – that’s the kind of song this is. Like razzleberry pie. You want to consider what it’s made of, but at the same time it’s too much fun to eat to really think about, and by the time you start thinking it’s all gone. And like razzleberry pie, I’m ready to jump right back and have another slice! Great party song. Cinematic Underground

Chris Nesbitt - Your Song

A simple song of praise – but that’s the best kind when singing in the shower. No deep thoughts, no great deepness to marvel at to keep me distracted from cleaning behind the ears. Just a swaying, hypnotic beat to make the smiles that consume love even happier. The best part is some of this doesn’t even make sense (“sing over me”)– great pop! Chris Nesbitt

Sonia V. - Tell Me

“I’ve got a funny way of thinking and going about things. I’m not an ordinary girl – I’m just a little extreme.” Well, I, for one, am glad Sonia is extreme in the music field. Great fun to listen to. Loud, fluffy pop with plenty of beat. Not a full short story – there are no problems – just full-fledged throwing food in the cafeteria fun. Sonia V.

Muffy Nixon - On Top Of The World

“Get ready” for a great dessert! You’ll be dancing with me on top of the world for 3 minutes with this treat in your ears. “If you’re looking for a drama queen you better find somebody else.” Love the horn arrangements, but the vocals rule in this full-bodied pudding. Muffy Nixon

Neal Fox – Pigeonholes

OMG!!! LOL!!! This has got to be the funniest song about the music industry – ever! Talent is simply not enough. “Along the way we lose our souls – stuck in a pigeonhole.” This has everything – Billy Joel, Dire Straits, Bjork, Eurythmics, a great Dylan joke, a joke on the whole industry, really. Love it!!! This is an entire Smorgasbord – though the laughter may help you lose a few calories. Great job, Neal! “The kid is good/he’s another Barry Manilow/Just get him to change the words/and the melody and the chords must go.” ROTFL!!! Neal Fox

Milburn - Cheshire Cat Smile

“Pass me the book and I’ll read you a sonnet.” With a beat – “here we go again” – mango peach yogurt with whipped cream – “you’ve got to realize that she’s indifferent” – the guitars yumming up the dance – “just want love!!!” – wake up, dance and keep on swinging with a spoonful of fruit flavored sweetness – “here we go again!!” Another cut worth savoring on this album is Showroom.Milburn

New Podcast Is Available

Hear small tastes of the songs that were eaten this week: Nov 17 Podcast.

XPress 2 - Witchi Tai To

“Water spirit's feet are swinging 'round my head.” Definitely bubblegum, the good old-fashioned double-bouble kind. I loved this song way back when I was 14. I probably heard it first by Harper’s Bizarre, who had a single out of it. The group Everything Is Everything first released it as an almost reggae single, which I didn’t hear until after the Harper’s version, but loved just as much. It’s funny dancing to songs we danced to with a different beat 40 years ago, but at the same time since I love this new version just as much I am feeling younger now than I was then. There was a funny version put out by Brewer & Shipley a year or so later – funny because it was a folk version done to the chord changes of Sweet Jane. In other words, this song a a perennial goodie and if you ain’t up and dancing within 20 seconds you’re much older than I am. The whole album is fun – another stand-out cut is Light My Soul. XPress 2

God Is An Astronaut - Fire Flies And Empty Skies

An instrumental dance through many spheres of whipped cream sandwiches – just the right amount of psychedelia for the ears to remain good friends with the brain as I swirl and swirl and swirl – feels like a starry night with the moon just coming over the horizon – the dream keeps dreaming on it’s own. God Is An Astronaut

Finn Coren - Riverboatman

A guy and his piano with some violins smattering little pieces of licorice on top of this plain lettuce salad. A good combination. “Riverboatman - row me over to the times when the world was not crazy”. Not easy to find, but worth the trouble. You may have to order this CD directly from Finn Cohen.

Lloyd Cole - Anti Depressant

This song is definitely an anti-depressant – lots of good fun. “With my medication I will be fine.” The story is about a coupla friends, and I love the honesty between them. “You’re doing nothing, I’ll come over, we’ll watch 6 Feet Under & then we’ll maybe get around to your condition.” Another songs worth wallowing in is Young Idealists. Lloyd Cole

I’m From Barcelona - Rec & Play

“Please press my rec & play/Cause I want to save this moment/This will be my favorite song/This will be my favorite album.” What can I say? I was hooked by the music, the words turn out to be prophecy. Go through 20 albums a day and have something as fun as this pop out – makes all the wading worthwhile. This is definitely a dairy queen flavor – a twirly vanilla cone with pure chocolate sprinkles – fun worth savoring. I'm From Barcelona

Ray Lamontagne - How Come?

“How come I can’t tell the free world from a living hell?” “How come all I see/the child of God in misery?” “Man killing man killing man killing man killing man – I don’t understand it” “Love can be a liar and justice can be a thief” I’m not giving away everything. The steady rhythm digs the words deep into the heart & soul of these ears beautifully. My questions are the same as Ray’s and I have as many answers as he has. A cut that will stay right alongside Fisherman on my player for many months to come. How come? Because the music works for the ears that understand. Ray Lamontagne

Sophia Ramos - Girlfriends Ghost

The voice is the great flavor here. The powerpop guitars just adds a dessert to a great meal. “I want love, I want laughter, I want you to recognize divine in me.” This voice keeps my ears very very pleased throughout the album. Hard driving voice that has blood pouring out from the well-singed outside by merely touching it lightly with a fork. No light fluffy potatoes here. Esperanza is another standout taste treat. “Time will hold me still and stern while my skin melts as I start to burn.” Sophia

The Eartaste Podcast

Now ready for your listening pleasure, so you can taste with me. These are tiny tastes - about 30 seconds each song:

From the week ending Nov 3, 2006
The Mars Volta - Vicarious Atonement
Pama International - Fisherman
The Panic Channel - Lie Next to Me
The Motorettes - Baby Come Home
Some Girls - Social Control
Brother Luke - Amplifier
Transplants - Gangsters And Thugs

From the week ending Nov 10, 2006
Azure Ray - Sleep
Charlie Fletcher - Angry Now
New Found Glory - Too Good To Be
Babybird - Lighter N' Spoon
Scott Andrew LePera - In Harm's Way
Day Traders - Out Of My Head
Crud - Reality

Crud – Reality

“Your mind is not your home/And it’s such a thrill to be a stone cold killer/Are you surprised?/This is not reality.” Maybe not – but the sound sure has a lot of rare steak flavor bbq’d to perfection with just the right mix of 120 proof rum. Twist and turn that steak, mix it with the rum-flavored sauce and try to keep the rest of your body from moving. Impossible. Great ear dreams for a bright sunny day or a dark night threatening hurricanes – or anything in between. A meal that fills in a brief 2 minutes and 43 seconds! Crud

Day Traders - Out Of My Head

“I’ve been to hell and back - I just can’t cut the cord/And all the crap and pain it was enough to make me mostly okay bored.” Fine. Wear your heart on your sleeve. “I want you far away/And please don’t ever call.” Cut out our hearts – just try. Ain’t going to work with this cool music. The flavors here keep my heart happily not worried about this guys angst. Happy poppy taste that will keep these ears happy for hours after hearing it. Thanks guys! “I don’t really know if I’m going to try to get you out of my head!” Day Traders

Scott Andrew LePera - In Harm's Way

Starts off with a neat little slide through the brain – love that sound. He speaks of danger with such love that I’m hypnotized out of fearing the peril ahead. “You’ve been this way since the day that you could walk/You put your ear to the ground to hear the insects talk/So unsteady, yet so eager to try/Put your fists up in the air to catch a bird flying by.” The best part about this song is it can’t be categorized – folk, easy, adult, Americana? Does it matter? Scott Andrew

Babybird –Lighter ‘n’ Spoon

“Lying here complaining that nothing’s ever changing/Can’t get off my butt to save my life”. Complaining - with a watermelon bubblegum dance beat. “Half alive on the sofa/Like a hungry little gopher/swallowing all the stuff I know isn’t true”. A lighthearted sound all the way through the album, even with titles like Divorce Song. Other pieces to chew on with gusto are “Dive” & “Too Much”. Babybird

Promoting Your Music:

I found all the places that reviewed my personal indie releases in "The Indie Bible" edited by David Wimble. Some of those reviewers have become personal friends. It's difficult to tell whether or not it affected sales deeply. I do mention the reviews in ads for live gigs, so it's very possible that draws a few more people than would have otherwise showed up. Most sales are made at live gigs, though I made several interesting sales in Europe thanks to the reviews.

New Found Glory – Too Good To Be

Melodies are all over this album – very singable, but this one stands out on this cake because of the acoustic guitars and hand-clapping. The garage-band lead guitar is just icing on the cake. It may keep the happiness off the radio, but it will keep it adding flavors to my ears. Another cut that’ll stay on my player for awhile reminds me of the way her hair swings over her eyes while she’s bouncing to a record from a late 70’s group that emulated the sex pistols playing buddy holly (it’s called Hold My Hand). New Found Glory

Charlie Fletcher - Angry Now

I feel like I just read a good book. This story about a neighborhood, anywhere USA – big city, small town, doesn’t really matter – includes characters we all know or are. “neighbor Harry doesn’t like neighbor Malcolm – plays his music much too loud.” Intelligent writing alone would make this worth hearing, but the ear is also pleased with the melody and harmony that seems to fulfill the promises made by artists like Michael W. Smith back in the early 80’s. While Michael stopped playing interesting stuff in the mid-80’s to lean over toward the more wealthy over 40 crowd, Charlie hasn’t become that cynical yet and let’s hope he puts out a few more this flavorful before turning it all in for a few bucks. Charlie Fletcher

Azure Ray – Sleep

Cool song on The Devil Wears Prada Soundtrack. It’s a tiny tone poem lullaby. The narrator can’t sleep, but puts you to sleep while saying this. Well, I guess that makes it sound awful, but if you’re like me and you just like tasty little ear nibbles, check this one out. It’s on the self-titled 2001 record if you don’t like soundtracks. Azure Ray

Transplants - Gangsters And Thugs

Jake and Erin had a wedding in California. We traveled ½ way across the country to watch this beautiful day. We heard this song on the radio. Richie and I were so happy. We were singing at the top of my lungs while on the road to Lake Tahoe. There’s no radio stations in this part of Texas that play anything near this cool. Finally found the album – and found some other songs that I’ll listen to over and over: What I Can't Describe and Doomsday. The rest of the album is fine, but these are definitely stand out ear pleasers. “Some of my friends sell records/Some of my friends sell drugs”. Transplants

Brother Luke – Amplifier

This one has been around, but it’s still worth talking about because it's still exciting these ears. The noise level is energetic, the song fun & the overall spirit is spin around and around for 4 minutes and 20 seconds. The singer will be the president, a beauty queen, or the homeless man sleeping on my streets – he’ll even be the ring around the bathtub that I don’t want to clean as long as I let him sing. And, I’ll let him. Over and over. He’ll be my peace of mind or my tattooed ass. In other words, let’s have a good time! Brother Luke

Some Girls - Social Control

The runaways still have a spirit in the night. And my hungry ears are happy for that. “Free people need social control/and I’m trying to teach it to him”. Cool. Want more? He “spilled beer in my cleavage/so I slapped him in the face”. This will be on my player for a long time. There’s some dessert on this one called Stars In My Dreams – “she loves motorcycles/she loves open water/she loves the wind in her hair//crawling around in the grass/I will defend our freedom.” The cherry bomb is a small pleaser called Rock or Pop “are you writing for an audience/or are you writing for yourself”. We don’t care as long as it sounds this good. Some Girls