Just Jack - I Talk Too Much

“Sometimes I don’t say the right things to make you love me even more than you do. Though I try, I just can’t apologize for all the things I’m putting you through.” I know what that feels like - it’s possible to apologize for all the things I remember doing wrong, but I’m real good at forgetting. The beat is pure, unabashed, beautiful Stevie Wonderful, so expect to be dancing tonight! “Some things are better left unsaid. My evil tongue seems to run with a mind of it’s own.” Fun psychedelic guitars and trumpet-like flavors over the bridge give this tune many flavors for my ears to enjoy. Nice harmony work enhances the total experience. Shoutout for Mourning Morning. Just Jack

Mavis Staples - 99 And 1/2

“I’m running for freedom - 99 ½ won’t do.” A 50 year old gospel truth song by Dorothy Love Coates- the power of this truth is even more evident today. There is no such thing as 99 ½ percent freedom, or truth. Mavis is bringing back songs that should be “oldies” and songs from the past. They aren’t - all the same prejudices are still at work in our society, folks have simply learned methods of being much more subtle. The words are powerful throughout this album, and Mavis adds a lot of herself to the stories, which only makes them more powerful. The reason its being talked about here, however is the mighty and vigorous arrangements that emphasize the meaning while getting my body, mind and soul up and moving. This Little Light spins me around in praise while contemplating the many places I need to sing this freedom song. “I ain’t gonna fight no rich man’s war, that ain’t what God’s gonna use me for. Killing folk ain’t in my line, sure ain’t no way to let my little light shine.” The entire album is a shoutout, but I’ll specifically mention two more faves, In The Mississippi River and Jesus Is On The Main Line. This album is a must-have for all collectors of fine music. Mavis Staples

Beverley Knight - Ain’t That A Lot Of Love

This Wednesday party continues with another great gospel soul voice keeping a rock steady dance beat while my mind floats happily on clouds of worldly themes. “I know the desert can hold all the love that I feel in my heart.” Stax power. Funk power. Love power. “Ain’t that a lotta love for one love to hold?” Piano, guitar and vocals mix with horns to a climax worthy of a repeat performance of my booty shakin! Shoutout for Sweet Black Butta & Rock Steady. Beverley Knight

Johnny J Blair - I Like The Street

“The hustle and the bustle and the people that I meet. The grifters and the starstruck, the poets and the drunks, the PhDs and jailbirds, the models and the punks.” Lotta people, lotta rhythm, lotta beat. This acoustic composition is electric with contagious energy. “Dancing with the asphalt as it rises to my feet.” The tambourine is a perfect touch. “There are people who know many tongues there are people who always lie. Now we know why Jesus went up on the hill to cry.” Shoutout for Somebody Loves You & Music Up Inside Of Me. Johnny J Blair

Casey Abrams - The Times They Have A-Changed

“Your nights are as blue as a homemade tattoo.” Fun wake-up Monday song, with some acoustic guitar that sneaks in some virtuoso work without being overwhelming. There is great fun in the echoes of the past. “Somewhere things got strange, for the times they haven’t changed. Stand in the doorways and block up the halls, for the times they haven’t changed. Don’t even try to make sense of it all, for the times they haven’t changed.” Okay, so he’s making fun of a favorite song, but it gets me up and on my feet. Besides, the truth is the folks that used to be thoughtful and ready to move the world in a new direction have grown up and have more concern for their personal posterity than world peace and the environment. So, much as I hate to admit it, Casey is singing a truth. “If the phone doesn’t ring, I’ll just figure it’s you.” The song is an omelet with lots of spicy salsa. Shoutout for Ghost Story. Casey Abrams

Deviations Project - Toccata In Fog

With the weather keeping us indoors, it’s great fun to dance to something completely different. Classical with a beat. Well, that’s nothing new, but the violin soloist here, Oliver Lewis, is obviously real, not the typical synthesized steady beat classical. Highly enjoyable composition by Dave Williams. The shoutout goes to Deviations, originally known as Caprice 24 by Paganini. Deviations Project

Sucka Brown - Guinea Pig

“You look so scared like a guinea pig.” Yeah, well. The vocalist is intense, the music tries it best to stay intense, and the lyrics let loose with the truth that we’re supposed to be having fun dancing while listening to this retro-flavored 1980s power rock. So, let’s do it! Perfect with home-made enchildas smothered in chili. The shoutout tune - No Tell Motel - keeps up the 80’s feel, but sneaks in a bit of psychedelic 60s, complete with “you might look good with flowers in your hair”. Sucka Brown

May 25 Eartaste Podcast Ready For Download

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Woody Bradshaw - Friction

It’s Friday with a vengeance in this bar tale. “I knew she was a handful the moment that I met her, when I tried to buy her drinks she just rolled her eyes. We argued ‘bout the Bible, politics and football, she wouldn’t give me her number - made me give her mine. I said to myself. ‘I don’t like this girl at all.’ Then I thought, ‘who’s kidding who? Man, I hope she calls.’ She rubs me wrong, but I can’t get enough. She wears me down, but that’s when things heat up. I swear she drives me crazy, she’s a constant contradiction. But if you want a spark you gotta start with a little friction.” Complete with fiddles, steel guitars and a rock flavored organ and lead guitar. Scrumptious! Shoutouts to Don’t and White Cotton Dress. Woody Bradshaw

Private Eleanor - Consider the Archer

A slow dream that helps to alleviate the constant lightening and thunder going on outside. “Tonight feels like home.” A good reminder that although the storms are outside raging, I’m here with my family with candles flickering and warm music surrounding us thanks to the power of batteries. Light piano with acoustic guitars are the main flavors with a wonderfully harmonized vocal. A synth and a drum sneak in, but are mixed in a way that do not distract. The shoutout tune - Vladimir and Gabriel - moves a bit quicker, but keeps the same tasty dream-like quality.
Private Eleanor

Arms Of Kismet - Alive And Awake

“If we go broke in Kansas City, in Akron or Des Moines, we can jump into a fountain - go swimming with the coin.” Fun, hump-day optimism! The steady rolling guitars get me off my seat onto my feet really quick, cause this one right away calls out - dance with me, partner! “If we get heat-stroke in Diego, we can sleep beneath a tree.” The narrator is ready, with an answer to any adversity. “If we get sick in San Francisco, queasy from a quake, we can move the ocean inland - to the great Salt Lake.” The optimism stays while we’re moving from town to town, because where he’s living is not satisfied. “Baby, let’s go anywhere but here and maybe this world will disappear.” It’s okay with me as long as this song & it’s fun guitar work keep my ears smiling. Shoutout to Hang. Arms Of Kismet

Liz Carlisle - Hey California

“Raised up here in the Montana mountains back when a family could afford the houses. Now the rich folks move in every June and July, property taxes are soaring sky high.” Been watching this situation my whole life. It’s easy to blame the rich folks, but there’s something else involved in this deceit - the local real estate agents who live off commissions. Hey, I see it around here where I live. Prices have more than doubled in les than 4 years. Greed is the answer. Hey, but we’re not here to talk about the greed that runs our nation, we’re here to talk about the music. Ah. This is a winner. Good, old fashioned country guitars start the beat, and the country vocals make this a boot-scooting fun dance time. And the lyrics drip deep with sarcasm. “The locals get the last laugh every late fall.” Why. Ah, the rub. “I’m sorry your Ferrari got stuck in the snow. I’m sure they’ll treat it gentle when you get it towed.” Wink. Wink. LOL!!! Fun stuff. Thanks Liz! Liz Carlisle

Fall Out Boy - The Take Over, The Brakes Over

“Seasons change but people don’t.” I got that part of the story. The music is what carries this tune through my taste buds, because I honestly can’t figure out this story. Best I can figure is the narrator is trying to tell of someone he thinks doesn’t even want to be married to him anymore. The coolest line is where the narrator claims “your head could be a prison,” which is a fascinating line, but then makes it even more interesting by stating that their continued existence together “are just conjugal visits.” Okay, so I may have the story completely wrong, I admit that, but the music is great fun to listen to and dance to. Shoutout to another dance tune, Don’t You Know Who I Think I Am? I’m thinking this is about a band who simply won’t quit despite all the fall backs. This fun line slips out, “We only want to sing you to sleep in your bedroom speakers.” Fall Out Boy

Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent

Dance rock with an intriguing story. Monday wake-up rock and roll is always great fun. The music has many flavors by itself worth checking out by any music lover. But having a fun lyric only makes this get-ready for a great summer song stand out and smile. The lyric is one we always hope is wrong - the young radical growing into a old smouldy bore.

“You used to get it in your fishnets
Now you only get it in your night dress
Discarded all the naughty nights for niceness
Landed in a very common crisis
Everything’s in order in a black hole
Nothing seems as pretty as the past though”

It’s never the end, tho. Not in real life. “You took a left off Last Laugh Lane” J

Shoutouts for Do Me A Favour (and stop flattering yourself!) & 505 (I’m always just about to go and spoil a surprise”) Arctic Monkeys

Christy Moore - Sixteen Fishermen Raving

Traveling through the central Texas hills while listening to this CD is a fantastic Sunday. The CD rolls over and over as we decide which town to stop at eat in. Somehow we want seafood, but that’s not well done up in any of these country towns which all specialize in bbq. “Don’t eat too much you'll never get enough when you're flying into mystery.” Flying, driving, don’t be so persnickety. As long as Christy's voice is guiding me, I’m flying. “When fishermen are feeling good they feel it musically. They go down singing shanties to the dance floor.” My mysterious dream is to have these musicians join us in the hills the way bands did just 40 years ago. There’s no place for dances anymore, except in the larger towns. “Run out the jib, rig the boom, step back reality.” Reality is not where I wanted to come back to, but I do want to shout out the fine version of Richard Thompson’s Beeswing and Phil Ochs’ Changes. Both songs I’ve spent hours with and yet find them filling me with new strength as I listen to Moore’s interpretations. Beauty filled cloudy Sunday afternoon. “Wander in my world, dream about the pictures I play of changes.” As the clouds burst this line comes thundering, “Like water in the wind we are puppets to the silver strings of changes.” Christy Moore

Crawdaddy Returns More Interactive Than Ever

Crawdaddy has returned from the crypts, with new material and archives. Very cool. An old quote from the current issue:

“For me the greatest pop music was music of liberation: Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, James Brown, Public Enemy, the Clash, the Sex Pistols. Those were pop groups that liberated an enormous amount of people to be who they are. That connection, I always thought, was the essence of the great bands that I loved – that they did that for people. It was the spirit of popular music that courses through everybody from Woody Guthrie to Hank Williams, the great Robert Johnson, all the way on, you know. I wanted to be a link in that chain. I wanted to just come and do my part as best I could.” - Bruce Springsteen

It was also interesting to read the Simon & Garfunkle review from the very first issue: "minstrelsy is still the best means of communication". Also worth sharing is the true remark about rock and roll journalism by a reader named Paul Williams (lol): "This magazine continues to be about making it up as you go along. The rock snd roll experience, even in this new age, demands to be shared. With honesty and passion."

Hillary Duff - Dreamer

Get up and dance! “I’m at the grocery store and there you are just watching me. Pick up my clothes from the cleaners, and look who I see. I try to lose you in the car but you won’t go away. Come on buddy, don’t you think you’ve overstayed your stay.” The words are scary and fun at the same time. The person the fun music is about is basically a stalker that’s scaring the narrator. But the put-downs the narrator comes up with are fun to taste. I like the way she uses words to try to get the creep off her back. “Don’t you have better things to do with your life than hang around and stare at me and complicate mine?” Good, honest confrontation. Shoutout for Play With Fire. Hillary Duff

May 18 Eartaste Podcast Ready For Download

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Ben Mills - Nothing But The Truth

The guitar starts this slow, elegant dance. “I walk alone. The street’s just a little bit crowded. No faces I know, no voice is a little familiar.” Well, with my margarita set up on the table and my dreams dancing around the room tonight, I am feeling very familiar with the voice of Ben Mills. Easy on the ears, with a story to tell. And his invitation to listen is just subtle enough to win me over without a struggle. “Where do I turn? It’s a road so long, everything I used to know is gone. In a world of lies and alibis it’s hard to tell a hero from a fool.” There is a happy ending, Ben has one person to reach for a solid foundation. “With you, there’s nothing but the truth.” Shoutout for the wonderful fun of “I don’t wait for love, love waits for me.”
Ben Mills

Joss Stone - Proper Nice

Proper slow dance beat, with emotive voices singing “Catch me catch me I’m falling, I’m falling in love with you.” The flavors that the instrument named Joss Stone brings to this simple tune makes for a wonderful meal for my ears. Shoutout for the additional depths Joss reaches for to bring me to the meditative places I go when I’m dancing to What Were We Thinking? Joss Stone

Julie Fowlis - Hug Air A Bhonaid Mhoir

It’s not everyday I think about music in the afterlife. But this tune has me there. When I frequent churches I always wonder if the music in the presence of God is really going to be that boring. I’m one of those folks that actually reads the Bible and does not believe the traditions of the church. Yep, I not only picture Jesus at weddings, I picture him dancing at weddings. David danced before God. So, yes, I truly believe the music in church is not the music of God. Julie, however, develops a knowledge of the truth of God within me that is fully and deeply satisfying. My feet are moving all across the floor and if I could do it, I’d be dancing on the ceiling. Thanks, Julie! Shoutout for Mo Ghruagach Dhonn, which changes the dance from full-bodied to full soul. Amen. Julie Fowlis

Lisa Knapp - Dew Is On The Grass

I have been transported. I am on a hill filled with beautiful wildflowers watching a young woman and her friends singing. The year is somewhere around 1050 a.d. A beat later I’m at 1350 a.d. I guess what I’m feeling is timeless. The fiddle and the drum along with the joy of a young woman’s voice. There’s only me here and there’s 10,000 others and we’re all dancing in the dew of the morning. The power of that dance transports us to the stars with the shoutout tune Wild & Undaunted. The food of heaven has visited my home tonight.
Lisa Knapp

Patti Smith - Are You Experienced

The guitar sneaks in and Patti sings “If you can just get your mind together.” At once new and familiar, it takes awhile to recall this classic song is being re-done with a new flavors. Delicious taste, by the way. Patti doesn’t try to outdo or replace Jimi’s work, but adds her own depths to the tune that make it a fine listening encounter. “Not necessarily stoned.” Shoutouts for Within You Without You and Soul Kitchen, both re-workings that do not distract from the originals, but add new aural delights to my ears. Patti Smith

Joan Armatrading - Liza

“I see you looking at me” she says, then the guitar rambles in from a different side of town. “Let the good times roll!” Absolutely. Wonderful wake-up tune, perfect for a Monday morning. Don’t let that description fool you tho, ’cause I suspect highly that I’ll drag this album out on hump day and my Friday dance night. I really really love the way the beat twists into a full-body movement in the middle. “If you make friends with a girl like that, well then, it’s really a big disgrace.” In the community, maybe, but Joan wisely says in her well-lived life way, “I’ll make up my own mind.” My ears are pleasantly full. Shoutout for Secular Songs, There Ain't A Girl Alive (Who Likes To Look In The Mirror Like You Do) & Baby Blue Eyes. Joan Armatrading

Holly Golightly - Clean In Two

“These days are longer than they need to be.” Classic blues circa 1907, but with untamed non-inhibited 2007 vocal gymnastics and simply feral slide guitars that my grandfather only dreamed of. “These nights are lonely and they’re sleepless, too.” Tonight I fried up some catfish with some salsa – way too much actually. Will be having catfish sandwiches all week I suspect. Came out good, but the wow to this meal was some garlic shrimp sautéed with green beans. My belly is full, but my mouth is watering still as I write these words. And that’s the way this tune is – familiar, yet mouth watering and ear-filling. Holly Golightly

Roy Davis - Hard Decline

“Honestly, times have been tough. Break out the bottle, drink till tomorrow. It’s that easy.” The liquor, of course, leaves sticky fingers, so the sound here is perfect while being tasty as brown sugary jack daniels sliding down smooth and dizzyingly. “If I sleep until the afternoon, I’ll be up to see the glowing moon.” The music is pure here, and wonderfully attractive, but I am even more drawn to the words because they begin to get deeper and deeper, almost the way a hangover can teach you about things you never wondered about. “Oh Holy Father, your sons and your daughters do not believe. They want to be kings and queens. Born into sadness, riches to daggers in shame. If I sleep until the Son shines through, I’ll be up in time to not know You.” Shoutout for Anywhere With You. Roy Davis

May 11 Eartaste Podcast Ready For Download

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Vince Bell - Done That Too

“I talk that talk ‘cause I walk that walk and it’s who I am. I stared into the face of God and he blinked. I bumped my head against the sky, but I’m still standing.” A strong declaration from a strong, independent man who is willing to face the world determined and completely free from caring about the thoughts of others. “If I had ever learned to follow, I’d probably have done that too.” Love those important two letter words, like “if”. And, in case you have any doubt, Vince is willing to admit that he’ll “prob’ly never change.” I love the voice and guitar smiling so deeply on this tune – beautiful job. Shoutout for Labor Of Love Vince Bell

Sound Of The Blue Heart - I Cannot Look Away

“Your eyes fill the room with sorrow.” I love this concerto. Imagine this assignment from your professor - take a string quartet and create a rock song out of it. And to make an “A” in the course you will need to add a woodwind counterpoint that harmonizes. “You are what I’ve been running from. I know this, but I cannot look away.” Sound Of The Blue Heart succeeds not only in passing their master class with an A+, but creating rock that everyone will enjoy listening too. Wonderful compositional skills – that often spells death for musicians, but these folks also have wonderful entertainment skills. A must taste! Shoutout for The Great Escape, which presents a completely different flavor with more familiar rock instruments. An extremely versatile group of musicians. Sound Of The Blue Heart

Second Dan - Love And Innocence

“I used to think that people were my enemy.” I’m starting off this hump day full of electrical storms above us with pure, unexpurgated rock and roll for my hungry ears. The electricity keeps going on and off, so I dug around and found some batteries. Second Dan was worth the search. “All I want is what you’re doing!” What we used to call a pogo dance beat. “Alright!” Second Dan

Truckee Brothers - Planning For The 21st Century

The drums kick in as I smile at this song title while my electricity is going on and off. “Who needs yesterday? Don’t know tomorrow.” I think they’re telling me to live for now. No prob – these electrical storms send off some crazy sounding thundercracks that have the flavor of doomsday. While the metallic flavor of the lightening fills the air, I understand it also fills the ground with nitrogen. Better the ground than my house I guess. “I spray weed killer on my hotel roots.” Very cool harmony, then a device that works well here – both voices singing different melody lines. A bit later the beats change, so my ears are constantly taking in new flavors. Nice composition. Shoutout for Double Happiness.
Truckee Brothers

OTT Band – You, Drugs and Booze

Dance beat keeps this one playing on my turntable. I’m not sure what the song is about. “Well I got a question for you if you have to choose between the two. You. Where are you? You. Drugs and booze.” There’s no answers, not to sure of the question. Guess it’s a good question to ask a potential friend. I’m not real keen on too much of either, so I guess I have an answer. But I also know there’s all kinds of drugs – caffeine being one that has sent me through some extremely awful withdrawls from time to time. And I’m saying this as I drink some coffee spiked with chai tea – double whammy. I’m no stranger to addictions, and as much as I hate the withdrawals – here I am again. Of course my favorite addiction is dance and music and the OTT band supplies both in ample supply. OTT Band

tvfordogs – Drive

Slowing down the evening so we can hear the thunder better. “I hope that this will be the town where you and I will finally settle down. But there’s no welcome in their eyes, something’s churning deep inside, so I guess that we should just keep moving on.” Probably a wise decision. I’ve tended to ignore the churning eyes, and am not always sure I should be doing that. Ahh, another thundercrack – this one shook the house! Anyway, the narrator is driving and says, “You think that you can take a turn? Cause when I close my eyes, they start to burn.” Again, the wise person. Where does all this wisdom come from? And more importantly, will I learn anything from it? Ah! The secret to wisdom comes up – we learn by living our own lives. “There’s a light that isn’t far, but tonight we should just sleep in the car cause we’ve run out of things to pawn and we should really leave by dawn and maybe find a place that looks like home.” Beautiful guitar break. Shoutout for Roller. tvfordogs

Psychotherapy + Melanie

I have just read and signed the online petition:

"Induct Melanie Into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame"

Check it out - if you know her music, I know you'll consider signing it also.

Elastic No-No Band - Nobody's Listening

“You get up in the morning. Head down to the subway to give those folks a piece of your mind. You get out your guitar and sing your own songs about how the world is so unkind.” A song about a guy whose craft is writing songs. Okay, I hear about 20 of these songs a week, but this one stands out. It doesn’t make me dance, but the voice invites me in to listen to the story called Nobody’s Listening. I’m suckered in, and feel good because of it. “Your rhetoric’s so thick it’s hard to care about who died.” That line throws me, because I’ve never heard rhetoric that thick. Each day I grieve because of what our country is doing, and perhaps subconsciously I have a desire to be served up a rhetoric that thick. When he switches to first person the story thickens – self analysis about how he sings in nightclubs about girls he knew in his teens. Excellent story line that allows the listener to think about life choices. Shoutout for (Everywhere I Look) I See your Face. Elastic No-No Band

Jared Colinger - Awkward Social Graces

“There’s a part of me that I cannot face and it keeps me distant from others.” Talk about self-knowledge. This guys been doing some deep analysis. So, whatdyado with the knowledge? Write a song! Yep, and dance to it while “contemplating my place in life”. The coolest part of this song is that there are no easy, preachy answers. The conclusion is “I never get it right.” Jared Colinger

Alex Arrowsmith - Alien Jump Rope Party & Surgeon

These two songs do not remind me of zappa except in the aspect that to describe the songs will not ever do them justice. Even sharing the lyrics could give away the whole party. Okay, I’ll share a bit – Alien Jump Rope Party begins with a warning of “Siesta and a fiesta on an alien mother ship.” All the things that happen on your regular alien mother ship journey happens here, including the dreaded probe. Anyone who has taken one of these trips will not be surprised, but the rest of us are in for a true joy ride. The best I can say is you can “party hardy” to this, even dance for short bursts, much like your favorite alien. Surgeon. Well, what can I say? Let’s just say the surgeon forgot to wash his hands. The rest you absolutely have to hear for yourself. What? You’re waiting for the inevitable shoutout? Why? Wasn’t that enough? Okay, to be honest, the entire album is a shoutout. But that doesn’t work too well for my autistic friends who read this every day, so since you insist, I’ll shoutout the oddio dance tunes that’ll keep your party smiling – Rap How I Wanna Rap & Who Got The Huh? Alex Arrowsmith

FileFactory.com

Yoko Ono & The Brother Brothers - Yes I'm A Witch

“I’m not gonna dance with you. You might as well face the truth. I’m gonna stick around for quite awhile.” Love it! Rock guitars with a great rock voice fronting the show. “Each time we don’t say what we wanna say, we’re dying.Each time we close our minds to how we feel, we’re dying.” Yoko is always experimenting, and rather than put together a “greatest hits” albums for fans who probably already own all her albums, she put together this intriguing collection by giving current musicians access to her vocal tracks and allowing them to re-create the songs in their style. I’m always trying to mix my recipes and create new flavors to please my tongue, so I know the power of failure. This album is not one of those failures, it ranks it’s 5 stars easy. As with most of Yoko’s work, to listen to the entire album requires intensity, but the two tracks I’ve selected with please any listener’s ears – the title track will have you up and dancing even more than the original version. Shoutout for Yoko Ono & The Porcupine Trees - Death Of Samantha. “When I’m with people, I thank god I can talk hip when I’m crying inside.” Yoko Ono

May 4 Eartaste Podcast Ready For Download

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Avril Lavigne - Everything Back But You

Pounding rhythms to dance my Friday night away. Extra poppy flavors, fun and filled with lollypop sugars to add even more colorful energy. No need for deep thinking “Today is the first day I went through hell, I wish I could delete it from my mind.” I’m guessing this super energy is a fantasy of anger. Okay, perhaps the anger of a junior high schooler – I’d buy that. Avril sure is having a lotta fun being angry! And the musicians are keeping the notes happy! Shoutouts to Girlfriend, I Can Do Better and The Best Damn Thing because I feel like dancing and not thinking about life this first Friday in May. Thanks!Avril Lavigne

The Histrioniks - Anger Cherry

“I got my anger cherry popped.” The voice on this song does carry anger, and a righteous sounding anger at that. The drums, bass and guitars are working to keep the energy high and danceable as the lead guitar reaches back to a pounding surf sound to round out a perfect pop record. Not much in the way of lyric, the voice is simply one of the lead instruments that drive this Friday tune to a powerful pogoing rage. Shoutout for the psychedelic flavored My Name Was Yes. The Histrioniks

FileFactory.com

Willy Mason - Oxygen

“I wanna speak louder than Ritalin for all the children who think that they've got a disease.” Well, keep on speaking – I am one who feels your message is long overdue. I’m involved in a field that actively promotes the drugging of young children (education), and I am one who feels that often what we are dealing with is a child who simply learns differently than other children. These children are not diseased. In many many cases they have extremely high intelligences. So, thanks for speaking out for them, Willy!

However, I find he is not only speaking out for the children of this country. He’s talking directly to me also. He’s bringing me back to my core, to some of those dreams I’ve forgotten in the midst of the chaos our country has created world-wide. “We can be stronger than bombs if you're singing along and you know that you really believe. We can be richer than industry as long as we know that there's things that we don't really need .” A dreamer? I wish not. “Do you remember the forgotten America ? Justice, equality, freedom to every race?” Where have those ideals gone? The truth is that today patriotism is preached much more than justice and equality. Patriotism, of course, means just the opposite – keeping the “other guys” out.

“I know it sounds like a dream but it's the only thing that can get me to sleep at night.” All I can say to that is thanks for sharing the sounds of your dream because it gives me hope that the darkness we now live under is not permanent. “I know the future looks dark but it's there that the kids of today must carry the light.”

Shoutout for Gotta Keep Moving “with a troubled mind a-following”. Willy Mason

Koko Taylor - Piece Of Man

“Hey y’all listen to me!” Well, if you put it that way on heavy duty rockin’ hump day, you know you have my ready ear. Especially with a voice as commanding as Koko’s! “I want to tell you a thing or two. You can believe that I know what I’m talking about. Every word I say is true.” With my body twisting this way and twirling that way my hands up in the air then down by my side then pointing in four directions enough I don’t even think about eating dinner with all this dessert entering my bloodstream at one time. The band is blowing their hearts out, and Koko, as always, satisfies every type of hunger a man like me has with a voice that crawls out of the speakers over every inch of my soul. Shoutout for You Ain't Worth A Good Woman. Koko Taylor

Little Barrie - Pretty Pictures

“You want to know the future.” That’s a hump day statement, not a question. Well, I think the future is holding a big bowl of chili smothering a bunch of chopped up French bread that’s 3 days old and starting to get a bit stale. The taste is simply superb. I also am pretty sure the future holds a lot more Little Barrie music in my life. This guy manages to get me up and dancing with a bowl of chili in my hand. Luckily the bread is soaking up the liquid, so it isn’t sloshing all over the floor. The peppers are especially tasty this year. “I’m just search for – for action!” Extra kudos for the cool guitar work. The bass and drums keep up with the vocalist just fine – probably difficult to do in a live situation. Sounds like this would be a great show to witness. Shoutout for Why Don't You Do It? Little Barrie

Dead Rock West - Rocket From The Crypt

“Is there a place we can stay for awhile?” Sure, you’re welcome to stay on my CD player for awhile. Good, bouncy drums and everything else fits the dancing mood just fine. “Our heads are burning fire.” With this energy, it’s no wonder. I had some salsa Tlaquepac poured over my dinner this evening & the spices have me up and smiling with the song. Fun bass playing. This band has a lot of versatility, so they are receiving a double shout-out tonight for Highway One and All I Know. Dead Rock West

Power To The Motown People: Civil Rights

It’s International Workers Day, and this new album is appropriate to talk about. It contains songs from 1967-1985 that explore oppression, war, and the way people treat each other. What’s interesting in retrospect is the power of these songs to observe, not preach. What’s scary is how contemporary many of the observations are. Marvin Gaye singing “war is not the answer,” for example. This collection goes beyond the hits and we hear the Temptation’s take on “War, what is it good for”, and Edwin Starr tackling Cloud Nine. 30 cuts by the very very best Motown artists, all focused on one theme, they are extremely tasty all together in one package. It is, perhaps, instructive that this album is only available by import. The Undisputed Truth’s “Unite The World” sounds contemporary, but is not a message that is heard well in the United States in the way they are stating. Contemporary United States believes that Unity means making everyone in the whole world American. Too bad. This music is well worth hearing by all US citizens. Excellent collection!Power To The Motown People