Spleen – Nocturne

It’s Halloween & hump day – a perfect combination for this dance on your grave tune with the lyrics repeating “The moon is a-risin’.” The spooky guitars and steady bass keep the thrills comin’ at a pace that resembles the children knock knock knockin’ in full costume dress. Yes. Shoutout for Pointless Satire. Spleen

Digby - New America

“You don’t give any direction, you just create demand.” What a wonderful, coincide definition of a greed-orientated capitalistic society. No allowances for creativity or thought. Create a demand and fill it. But, it’s also true of abstractions, such as war. We created a demand for war that wasn’t there (remember it was Saudi Arabians and Egyptians in the planes on 9/11 – not Iraquis or Afghanis, so a story was invented about invisible weapons of mass destruction). “We’re selling lies. It’s just like Halloween, everyone’s completely disguised.” Fun song, lots of energy with a wake-me up beat. “In your highest Cabinet, there’s nothing on the shelf.” LOL! It’s either laugh or cry, and I choose to laugh. Don’t get me wrong, the music is serious, and it isn’t presented lightly. It’s just the way I choose to hear these truthful indictments about my country. Very cool guitar playing. Shoutouts for the completely different musical flavors of Bad Swing and How Long Digby

The Eric Dodd Band - 1 Night (Undercover Angel)

It’s Monday! Wake up! And there’s no better way to wake up than with rock and roll blasting “Woke up this morning, you were lying in my bed!” Hard driving, wake me up, with a good time vision to go along with it. “You turn to me and say, oh my, what a night!” The band calms down for a few seconds as she whispers “in my ear”. Nice touch. Shoutouts for Welcome Back and Heal, which show off the versatility of the band. The Eric Dodd Band

The Histrioniks on MTV

Hey Rich,
How you be?
I wanted to tell you The Histrioniks had a song selected by MTV. A new reality show called "Pageant Place airs this Wednesday at 10:30 EST and our song "Saints in Atticus" will be played in whole or in part.
Hope all is well with you,
Larry

FileFactory.com

Patti Scialfa - 23rd Street Lullaby

“It takes more than clean hands to catch angels as they fall.” The lyrics wanders around the avenue in the evening, but fits well with any good Sunday afternoon listening party, slightly hungover maybe, but still able to enjoy the organ fuzzing along with the bass player and sha-la-las in the background while the narrator is “high on faith.” Shoutouts for Rose, a fully developed song story, and Stumbling To Bethlehem, a seeker’s party song. Patti Scialfa

Patti Scialfa - City Boys

A few weeks ago I slobbered all over myself talking about Patti’s new album. At that time I also made a promise (mostly to myself) to dig out the album I never listened to. Well, I dug it out, and it’s definitely an improvement over her very first album. While definitely a transition album, this one, which includes the shout-outs Romeo & Lou Reed flavored You Can’t Go Back, is another very fine listen. It’s just been released overseas because of the strong current album, so you’ll find it around for over $50 with import fees. Save yourself, and buy it straight from Amazon for around $12. Tasty Saturday night on the streets rock and roll. Patti Scialfa

Robert Plant & Justin Adams - Win My Train Fare Home

Slow burn Friday night blues with intriguing flavors floating around the background. This is a featured cut from a free CD compilation that comes inside of Uncut magazine. This was originally issued 5 years ago on a covers album that Robert Plant released, but is just as powerful today. The voice, of course, supplies some of the emotion, but the guitar is no shy flower on this cut – digging deep through the bloodstains left lying on the floor. Other shoutouts on the Global-a-go-go album are Manu Chao with Mama Cuchara, Ry Cooder & Ali Farka Toure with Diaraby, and Ali Farka Toure with Penda Yoro. Uncut Magazine

Martyn Joseph - Things That We Have Carried Here

“Beautiful. We can be beautiful.” A few guitars, a bass player and a thoughtful song with a vocalist intent on sharing his passion with a solo violin player. “Freedom needs a volunteer.” Works wonderfully for me – carries me over the wind so I can float lovingly in the thought streams of my life. “If loved ever kissed you, if your face ever cried, well maybe then my hope is justified.” Exquisite. Shoutout for I Have Come To Sing. Martyn Joseph

LeAnn Rimes - Nothin' Better To Do

A hump day dance that makes my feet travel willingly all around the floor. It’s easy to forget all my past experiences with this artist, she has won me over all again with a spirit of down-home boogie movement. The band deserves a ton of credit, however that voice is definitely a solo instrument worth grasping a hold of and keeping it playing all night long. Shoutout for the slow-down soul spirit of One Day Too Long. It’s scary to say this, but I’ve allowed my brain to think this is where Janis was heading with her voice on any future albums she would have produced – it’s there, it’s tough, it’s tender, it’s pained, it’s torn apart, it’s a pleasure to hear. LeAnn Rimes

Will Hoge - The Highway's Home

“Beat up and kicked around, I pick myself up off the ground.” It’s a life that works for the narrator in this song “with a suitcase full of empty dreams.” Country all the way to open this hump day party on a steady note, complete with a nod toward Hank Williams. Slow moving but steady, no surprises, yet the performance draws my ears close and encourages a smile from my lips. “A guitar with broken strings and a busted heart that longs to sing the blues.” Will Hoge

Colbie Caillat – Capri

“She’s got a baby inside, and holds her belly tight all through the night just so she knows she’s sleeping sound, safely, to keep her growing.” Very tasty guitar work keeps this beautiful song floating. “Things will be hard at times, but I’ve learned to listen patiently.” Shoutouts for The Little Things with its slow dance flavors, Bubbly plays happily just like it sounds, and Midnight Bottle with an island blues flavor. “Kissing me carefully on the corner of my sleeping eyes.” Colbie Caillat

Annie Lennox - Dark Road

A different sort of Monday song. One longing for escape, but thoughtfully and longingly. There’s no rash decisions going on here. “I look at that open door, I’m going to walk there by myself.” The voice is familiar, yet seems more alive without the throbbing 80s synthesizers that placed it deep in my memory. “Maybe I’m still searching, but I don’t know what it means – the fires of destruction are still burning in my dreams.” Beautiful intro to a powerful album. Shoutouts for Lost and Fingernail Moon. Annie Lennox

Gwyneth Herbert - Lay You Down

The bass sets the lenses widely open. “Snapshot of heaven, warm paradise. Frozen sunlight – just pretend to kiss me twice. Cold winter morning way up on the ground, I lay you down. Holes in my stocking, snack in your smile. Stay forever, I would go the extra mile. Hide from the bright lights, far away town. I lay you down. ” I get the picture of a couple sneaking away from town in the winter to be together, possibly in the woods based on the line “freckles of daylight”. What is most impressive is the movie-like quality of Gwyneth’s stories. Visual, complete short stories with the rhythms varying in the story in much the same way a film would change tempo when there’s a switch of mood. “They can’t touch us here. They come and go outside their sad and busy lives. The time is different here, it flows against the tide and gently takes it’s time. It’s captivating here, we talk about it all and try to understand.” The flavor is jazz with just a sprinkle of folk seasonings. Shoutouts for Woman Meets The Wiseman, Morning After, and Sweet Thing.
Gwyneth Herbert

Mary Gauthier – Snakebit

I often have to listen to teachers complain about things like “The parents won’t even sign their children’s homework – it only takes 5 seconds – shows how little they care.” It hurts me to hear grown adults speak this way because they have absolutely no concept of the poverty and pain around them. The parents of these children are both working two and three jobs just to pay the rent each month. Time? What does that mean when a parent is working 18 hours a day and can’t afford food for their children? Does it mean they love their children less because they’re willing to scrape together something that resembles a meal and do not find the time and energy to scribble on a piece of paper?

I love this song.

“The children are crying, they never got their supper
Where would you run to, in the darkness of the night?
Even shadows fear to wander
They gather round me in the candlelight

Your crucifix lies broken, bloody, sharp and shattered
I smashed it to pieces on the bedroom floor
Pain and prayers and promises scattered
Then I pulled the pistol from the dresser drawer

Oh Lord, Oh Lord,
Oh Lord, What Have I Done?
Everything worth holding slips through my fingers
Now my hand’s wrapped around the handle of a gun.”

Desperation. Sure, there’s a truth that we all live lives of desperation; but this is the desperation of poverty in a society that prides itself in “only 5% unemployment”. The figures do not take into account how many people are living on sub-standard wages and what the heck are those 5% supposed to do? Plus, there are the hidden folks that can no longer collect unemployment because their allotment has run out. They don’t work and don’t collect unemployment, so they’re officially no longer a statistic.

My own daughter gets paid $2 an hour at a restaurant here (Applebee’s in Uvalde). They legally get away with not paying minimum wage in Texas because waitresses receive tips. Ha! She sometimes gets a nickel, and relishes the occasional quarter. The government allows some classes of worker to get much less than minimum wages based on theory (people pay tips), not facts (most people do not tip). And the boss says, with a wonderful grin, “You don’t get tipped because of your service” to all his employees. Using the profits they make by not paying employees, Applebee’s is able to open 2 new restaurants a week (100 a year according to their website).

So, my daughter’s working her tail off, but cannot afford to live on her own. She’s in the process of moving back home because she cannot afford rent, much less food. She works at a restaurant and can’t afford to eat. Something’s wrong with this full employment picture.

Sure, we can judge the narrator of this song. We do not know exactly what she is contemplating. Should one shoot the children to save them from the pain caused by society, or just shoot oneself and pray the Lord will forgive the broken crucifix and take care of the children better than he took care of this mother? I enjoy contemplating questions like this on Sunday afternoons while my fellow 'Christians' wallow in church pleased with the lives they lead while children in their neighborhood go to bed hungry 3 or 4 nights a week.

I love this song because it offers no easy answers and fits the life here in rural Texas with such clarity. I have a trust that this song fits life in many other places in these here United States also, and more likely than not, its anxieties are true around the entire globe.

“The chair that I sit in I got from my daddy
Carved from the hard wood of a bitter tree
When he was alive he used tell me, kid
I knew when you were born you’d end up snake bit like me.”

Powerful music, powerful lyrics, and powerful singer. Thanks, Mary for giving me time to pause and reflect. Shoutout for Before You Leave: “The darkness that shadowed you was mine, it was never yours at all”. Mary Gauthier

Deborah Harry - Two Times Blue

The dance beat is familiar and infectious, and the voice starts with depth and grit that only comes from maturity. “When you tell me that I’m a double-timer, well to me this doesn’t add up. You can call me miss calculation, but I won’t give up, I love you through and through.” I admit it doesn’t read as good as it sounds, so it’s important to remember this is a musical composition. The younger voice returns with and confession of sorts, one you wouldn’t expect from a punk weary world traveler; “Well, maybe I could have been better.” Then the full 80’s sound of Atreyu riding Falkor fills the air and the never-ending-story continues with a retro sort of timelessness. “When the taste is too hard to swallow, well, that’s what the sugar’s all about.” Shoutout for Necessary Evil, with a hilarious story (“Well, I beat up Miss Fortune, told her to get out. I sold the last things on Ebay. I was without doubt.”); and some huge shoutouts for the Saturday night rockers Whiteout and You’re Too Hot. Deborah Harry

Siouxsie - One Mile Below

“You and I know sometimes you lose when you win.” Another Saturday night dance beat, this time the beat is from Texas pop rock king Buddy Holly. Take Not Fade Away and add some top-notch guitar work that bring the beat up to date and I’ve found a classic song that takes me time traveling through 5 decades of music without a struggle. “I gotta know how far below can I go?” Siouxie’s voice, like Deborah Harry’s, has matured wonderfully – deepened, but still contains the youthful angst that makes the song wonderfully current for 2007. “You get so low, only one way to go.” Siouxsie

Cindy Alexander - This Is What You Get

The drummer sounds almost ominous, then the guitar sorta falters in until the groove starts. And, it all fits wonderfully with the lyric. “I pull my license from my wallet, it expired today. I don’t need it just to drive you and everyone insane!” Great fun, a wonderful anecdote for a stress-filled day is to listen to someone else’s stress. “Okay, I know, I dramatize.” Sure, but the music helps to make the drama fun. “My doctor Sherry doesn’t care what the excuses may be. No walking sideways ‘stead of head-on towards transparency. I know the source for the solution for the problem at hand, understand that I should maybe get away with it. Okay? I know. I criticize. But this is what you get for standing way too close to me. This is all that’s left when you pick me apart.” There’s more, but you’ll love hearing it first-hand. Shoutout for Normal. Cindy Alexander

Speed Of Life - Water Planet

The sky is dark, beautifully ready for this lyrical instrumental to soar through the air looking for the autumn insects breathing through the night sky. We have this one moth that is nearly the size of a bat that transverses the air currents in a manner that dances with the music breathing from the speakers. I’m wondering if the waves of music are affecting the air currents, but it doesn’t matter when I get lost in the sounds of the synth flavored guitar. Shoutout for Father's Daughter A soft, lovely coming of age song; “He swims into her stare. She takes him to her eyes. Fingers through her hair, reflections of her sighs.” Speed Of Life

Beyoncé - Amor Gitano

The tune starts us in Northern Spain, but quickly takes us around the world for a hump-day dance full of pure hip-shaking joy. A stop in Northern Africa as we head toward Brazil then back to Europe for a string quartet, then over to the US for some soul based vocals. Beautiful depths of emotion fill the air as we circle one another on the floor, which is exactly what this music is for, sin fronteras. Shoutout for Beautiful Liar. Beyoncé

Filewile - Stamp Your Feet

The dance continues with an obviously titled dance tune. This is hip-hop reggae at its best, keeping my feet moving while filling my heart with joy with the vocal gymnastics jumping over and through the percussionists. Shoutout for Weatherman. Filewile

Yoni - Being 13

“Close your eyes, come for a ride as I take you back in time to an age in every boys life when you feel like a man and it all seems right.” Tough picking a song from this excellent album to represent Yoni. This guy is musically eclectic and fill my ears with many aural pleasures. Straight rock or rocking jazz, serious to simply hilarious, a fun ride. I picked this particular song for no other reason than it rocks out in a close-to-garage band way about some of the things kids do at 13, although the narrator is looking back at it from 10 years later. “Late at night we’d all sneak out – never knowing why – we just had to be out.” Shoutouts for A Lesson In Freud and Maybe This Time. Yoni

Alabama 3 - Lockdown And Loaded

“I’m gonna put another dollar in the jukebox, baby. You ain’t coming home. Woop woop woop is the sound of the police, blue lights in a red light zone.” It’s not the music that wakes me up, it’s the voice. The music is fine, don’t get me wrong, but as the song opens, it’s simply setting a mood for the first minute or so. Then the whole band joins in and the party starts. There’s no way I can lie in bed following the story – I’m up and dancing like any decent crazy man. I’m not going to try to describe this, except there’s lots of horns with a definite rock & roll mentality. Lots of celebration going on here – and I really get excited when the chorus joins in towards the end, and the key changes keep moving upward toward to higher reaches of consciousness. These guys would be welcome at any gathering of one or more people. Preferably 350,000. Shoutouts for Monday Don’t Mean Anything To Me, Middle Of The Road, and Work It All Night Long ("she shoke it and now she's shaking that tail feather down and she ain't committed no sin."). Alabama 3

Edit: I enjoyed reading the essay these guys wrote up about themselves on myspace.

Ayo - Down On My Knees

The narrator is begging her baby not to leave her for another person. “I don’t believe you’d really leave me just because of her.” Despite her baby’s infidelity, she sings, “I love you unconditionally.” Okay, so why am I so joyful and pleased to tell you about the tune? Obviously it’s not the words. It’s the performances, both by the band and the singer. This album is definitely eartastable and despite the bluesy quality of the words, guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Pure, gentle pleasure. The band is subtle, with just the right accents to make this meal completely satisfying. I’m also pleased to say this album will be available here in the US in about a month, which means with a bit of patience you can get this jazzy folk flavored album at a pretty decent price. Shoutouts for Without You, And It's Supposed To Be Love, and Help Is Coming. Ayo

CD Sampler #4 Released

Standing Souls, Abigail Hopkins, Seth Swirsky, The Arms Of Kismet, Smug, Brothers Dimm, Tim Ratcliff & Ken Bailey, Fjord Rowboat, Sean Wiggins, Tony B, Mike Mangione, Wildphyr, Fil Campbell, Kinion, Satellite State, Brokenkites, Elkano Browning Cream, Standing Souls, The Proper Authorities, Pocket Gods, and Nataliya Medvedovskaya will turn your wildest dreams into a musical extravaganza designed especially for your hungry ears. SEE MORE INFO.

Patti Scialfa - Town Called Heartbreak

Patti returns for the third time this week with a soul song that grooves the leaves of the trees in the backyard. As the trees dance, the birds echo “gotta work” in the background. I am having the time of my life dancing on the tops of the trees. The music has that effect on me. “They say love has it’s very own light that can shine through the darkest night.” The band never stops the dance as the singer pours every drop of her inner being into remembering the paradise of “when the world was young.” Classic performance, a full meal easy that satisfies and makes me want to ask the chef for the recipe so the groove will keep playing all night. Shoutouts for Like Any Woman Would and The Word. Patti Scialfa

Ian Gillan - I'll Be Your Baby Tonight

Take an old chestnut and put some new life into it? I’m talking both about the singer and the song. Wow! Must be at least 300 performances of this song around, and just when you think a song has been done to death and old guy comes around to give it life it never had before. A lot of the credit goes to the band, of course, but Ian’s vocals are superb. British Cajun flavors abound for this brilliant Friday night dance. Shoutout for No Worries & Hang Me Out To Dry. Ian Gillan

Patti Scialfa - Play It As It Lays

A slow drum introduces a guitar, bass and organ leading to the narrator listening to a “sad song on the radio.” She’s out on the road, with the past echoing the “windshield wipers slapping time” bringing thoughts of Janis and Bobbie and Kris to mind as the narrator goes deeper into her own story. “It woke up something that was below the skin. Want to tell you so much, but where do I start, where to begin? Let’s start with how I lost my kindness and how I found it once again, and I’m gonna play it as it lays.” As the story continues we hear of a long term relationship and all the ups and downs involved with that. “Say a prayer for the broken-hearted, say a prayer for love.” Wonderful poem, excellent music. Shoutouts for Play Around, Bad For You and Black Ladder. Patti Scialfa

Bruce Springsteen - Your Own Worst Enemy

“You can’t sleep at night, you can’t dream your dreams. Your fingerprints on file left clumsily at the scene. Your own worst enemy as come to town.” A slow rocker that has the narrator looking deep into himself for answers and ending up with anxiety. Very interesting narrative with some interesting band interaction makes for a rock ballad that hovers on the edge of sadness (singer) and joy (band). Very cool combination, which gives lots of tickles to the aural cavities of this eartaster. A shoutout for the title tune, Magic – “Trust none of what you hear and less of what you see” and the single, Radio Nowhere – “I was driving through the misty rain searchin’ for the mystery train, boppin’ through the wild blue trying to make a connection with you.” Bruce Springsteen

Patti Scialfa - Looking For Elvis

Whew, wipe the sweat off my brow with the blues licks that introduce this powerful tune. I have to admit this album has slapped me in the face and knocked me sideways and inside out. Confident, purposeful, truthful, and a rocking voice that hypnotizes every aural fiber of this eartaster. I listened to Patti’s first album many times trying to find purpose and eventually gave up and didn’t even take the shrink-wrap off her second CD, which I plan to dig out and try out for size in a few weeks. It’s going to take a lot to want to take this CD off the turntable. I guess we can still call it a turntable. Anyway, earlier this year Rickie Lee was driving around heaven in Elvis’ Cadillac, and now Patti is out in the streets looking for the man himself – with a hot band backing her up.

I’ll admit I opened this only because I knew hubby’s album would be coming out, and now I’m not so happy with myself – I pre-judged that this would be just another pleasant album. I truly had no expectations for such a powerful and rich variety of music. I’m so glad I opened this - there’s not a stinker cut anywhere to be found here, and I have grown to love every song and every emotion that cuts deep in my soul. Danceable, singable, and rocking. No higher honor is possible around here than to have those three adjectives in place. While I’m dancing around my living room looking for Elvis, I’d also like to send some shoutouts for Run Run Run and Rainy Day Man. Patti Scialfa

John Fogerty - Long Dark Night

John shouts out a lotta people in this song, with real spirit and love for the common folks who enjoy waking up on Monday to rock and roll with a message. I really love the way he’s able to use the power of dance to allow the thoughts and reflections of the past to renew the future. For example, “George is in the jungle” recalls Run Through The Jungle. Elsewhere we hear that George is one of the Fortunate Sons that Fogerty spoke about some many years ago. Lots of shoutouts on this CD – the entire CD is a classic. Specific shoutouts for It Ain't Right and I Can't Take It No More which have energized me to enjoy this entire week! John Fogerty

Joni Mitchell - Strong and Wrong

It’s always good to hear a familiar voice on a Sunday afternoon, an old friend who comes in once in awhile with some new news. Nothing a whole lot has changed, but it’s still good to touch base and see that they are well and still thinking rationally. There are many good strong poems on this album, so many quotable lines which are a joy to read. This song hits me the hardest because of my penchant for listening to our current leadership in the US. This week the dude actually vetoed a health bill for underprivileged children. Strong and Wrong. He’s so sure he’s right, and it hurts me to see that he can actually do this without an uproar from citizens. Anyway, that’s not what this song is about, it’s just letting you know where my head is.

A piano strolls into the scene, along with some strings. “Strong and wrong you win – only because that’s the way it’s always been. Men love war! That’s what history is for. History . . .a mass murder mystery…his story.” That’s how the song starts out, slow, emotive, and authoritative. On this day that we meditate on our humanity and purpose, Joni adds to the meditation with “Strong and wrong, what is God’s will? Onward Christian soldiers. . .Or thou shalt not kill. . .men love war! Is that what God is for?” She reminds me that the church I loved 40 years ago has turned into a place that no longer believes in the truths and commandments. When did the church begin preaching hatred of fellow man, and murder? I read a sermon this morning by McQuaid that suggested that just as Jesus spiritually conquered Satan on the cross that Christians must now physically conquer Moslems around the world. What??? How can a man who says stuff that like even pretend to represent Christ? But he does, and so do the Dobsons and others of that Ilk that say they are speaking for true believers. Makes me wonder, as usual, what to call myself. I’m not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, but I am ashamed of the church that claims to believe in Him. “Thousands of years here we are still worshiping our own ego. Strong and wrong.”

The shoutout tune, This Place, has Joni returning to another common theme of hers – the rape of the land by “big money” that “kicks the whole wide world around.” She prays “give us all the courage and the grace to make genius of this tragedy unfolding, the genius to save this place.” A second shoutout goes to One Week Last Summer, a rare instrumental from a favorite musician. And for those who wonder, yes – the entire album works as a whole unit. Joni Mitchell

The Smith Bros - How Wrong You Are

“I’ve always said that you’re headstrong.” Well, they say that the best way to get people to listen to you is to start off the conversation by insulting them – LOL!!! Anyway, the music starts with a power chord and doesn’t let go of the excitement. “I tried to tell you how wrong you are. You didn’t listen at all!” The narrator may want to read some books on effective communication if he wants people to listen to his complaints. Don’t let his abrasiveness lyrically stop you from listening to the music! Lots of ear pleasure and plenty of bass and drums accompany the guitar work. A very tasty shoutout, Lost. The Smith Bros

The Spoon Benders - Making My Name

“Come on and feel!” It’s Friday night. No moon to speak of. It’s dark, lots of stars and a meandering guitar floats through the backyard around the picnic table, through the compost pile piled between two trees, beautifully sending sparkles of fireflies into streams of lightshows only dreamed about by stage designers. As I’m enjoying the scene a soulful feeling throbs the blood throughout my senses while a voice pours into the drama, “Electricity is pulsing through my brain at 400,000 miles an hour.” Whew! You probably had to be there, but these guys really know how to start an album! “There are angels in the air tonight. I can see their shining black wings swoop and glide.” The production quality on this CD is top-notch. Every guitar lick is clear, the vocals are clean and understandable, and the bass player and drummer are in perfect synch with a totally live feel. “This magic that makes me remember how good it feels just to be alive!” The shoutouts tonight go to the bluesy I Fell Out Of The Van This Morning and the mellow story about Saturday Afternoon. This album shows these guys can handle any emotion in music, from joy to blues, to nostalgic. Very cool. The Spoon Benders

Alex Arrowsmith - Gas Station Jacket

“Are you ready to start a revolution?” Well, it’s Thursday, why not? Alex returns to Eartaste with another wild, woolly and completely joyful dance CD that’s guaranteed to turn your ears into marvelous music eating apparatuses. Wasn’t even sure that was a word, but spell check accepted it. “Gary keeps staring at my gas station jacket – Rich kid, bad, and he’s pining for Sarah.” Gary is also wanting to play in a rock band, but “he’s never heard of Iggy Pop or Velvet Underground.” But, we find this out in a very non-judgmental way. Cause, why after all, doe a guy join a band? To get Girls! And, Sarah is a Girl! You have to listen to the song to find out what Sarah feels about all this adoration. Thanks, Alex, for keeping my ears full of desserts! Shoutouts for Verb Unit and the marvelous song completed in two takes, Wolverine Trapped In A Safe Deposit Box. My life is richer for having learned how to change keys like a locksmith. And if you want to know why and how the Wolverine got stuck in this predicament, you’ll just have to visit CDBaby and get your own copy of this fun-filled 31 song CD. Alex Arrowsmith

FileFactory.com

The Payola Reserve - Portrait Society

A good, story based rock song that introduces characters and tells how their lives interweave in the space of less than 4 minutes. Call it a short story, call it a story poem. Whatever you call it, it’s literature to a dance-rock beat. “Sophie isn’t a working girl, she’s just a little too much in the world.” Sophie is the first person we meet. Than we meet Steve, who is “out on a work detail.” The setting is Charles Street, where the narrator keeps “coming back” to. The guitar playing is superb, with the bass player and drummer keeping the story going. “Don’t you even dare reveal what it was that keeps everybody still here.” Shoutout for 200 Years. Payola Reserve

Olivea Watson - Let Go

“Show me a sign. Give me a little of your light ‘cause I’m down here walking aimlessly wondering what you’re trying to tell me.” A very tasty version of a ‘wonder if I’m loved’ song. Olivea’s voice is the star here, but would not be worth listening to over and over without the fine group of musicians she’s assembled to tell her story. The shoutout tune may be the end of the story, or just another song – Goodbye. Fine hump day music to make me look around for another beer to savor all the depths of emotions Shared by Olivea. Thanks! Olivea Watson

Greg Roth - I've Only Got A Minute

I really enjoy the conceit of this song – I’ve only got a minute, so I’m going to say everything I can in sixty seconds. And, it works! “Well, I’ve only got a minute, I’m really running late. What you want to tell me? And you better get with it. Is it really that important? I’m sure that it can wait. Think I’ve got the picture, but I’m not a clairvoyant.” I won’t spoil the rest, suffice it to say this is a fun song and it made my life richer for listening to it so many times. Of course, the best part is if the narrator wasn’t rambling on like this, he may have heard what the other person had to say. Fascinating how much real depth can fit into a short minute. Thanks, Greg! Shoutouts for Your Providence & Healthy Wealthy Wise. Greg Roth

Fell Far Behind - Old Too Soon, Smart Too Late

Wonderful wake-me up on Monday loud guitar based music – love all the sounds bursting through my ears and bringing me out of my colorful dreams. “As we speak of broken dreams, do you recall five young New Jersey hopefuls?” The song is a kind of pessimistic hope for the best future tale of a young five piece band out to try to make it in the big bad world with some excellent lead guitar flavoring. “We were only in it to save ourselves, to feel alive!” Autobiographical you say? Maybe. The main thing is the sound is full of just enough anxiety to get me up dancing and ignoring the song title, LOL! My body is, as they tell me, older than dirt; but my mind is fresh and hopeful and glad to welcome in this Monday with all the volume my speakers can handle. Scrumptious tune. With a shoutout to Close For Comfort, “A broken record stuck on those words heard again inside my head.” Fell Far Behind