eartaste

Vampire Weekend – White Sky

2010-01-09T19:49:00.004-06:00

Paul Simon with a few glasses of wine to loosen him up into a Dadaist mood, White Sky yodels its way into our collective hearts and ears the same way the pre-releases of Horchata and Cousins made us giggle with delight at the pure happiness. It’s easy to see that the college preppies of album one did not want to recreate the past, but I admit to missing the philosophical ironies that made the first cd vital to all music lovers. The good news is their playing this time is not with words, but with pop arrangements that stay short and alive and taste good to our ears. Other shoutouts include Run and Giving Up The Gun. Vampire Weekend

Oct Thru Dec 2009 - Singles Worth Exploring Pt 4

2010-01-06T19:32:00.003-06:00

This is the final installment. Enjoy!

Chaise Lounge – I Don’t Want To
Mike Zito - Eyesight To the Blind
Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson - Relator
Rory Block - God's Gift To Women
Steve Hackett - Ghost In The Glass
Weezer - I Want You To b/w Get Me Some
Blk Jks - Molalatladi b/w Lakeside & Skeleton
Dawn Landes - Young Girl b/w Sweetheart Of The Rodeo
I Am Your Autopilot - Think Of The Words b/w Empty Heart
Porcupine Tree - Octane Twisted
Mary Chapin–Carpenter – Violets Of Dawn
Chris Hunter – For The Children
Frank Turner - The Road
Brian Setzer Orchestra - Gimme Some Rhythm Daddy
Blick Bassy – Donalina & Sherele – Polka Dot Blues (Putumayo)
Kate Rusby – Here We Come A Wassailing (Putumayo)

Oct Thru Dec 2009 - Singles Worth Exploring Pt 3

2010-01-05T20:03:00.002-06:00

Pt 4 coming. . .in the meantime, enjoy!

Boys II Men - Cupid
Nathan James - I Don't Know It
Steve Morse Band - John Deere Letter
Tinsley Ellis - Rockslide
Yngwie Malmsteen - Sorrow
Bowling For Soup – No Hablo Ingles
Gov’t Mule – Any Open Window
Zoi Tiganouria - Lagrimas Negras
First Aid Kit - Heavy Storm b/w Josefin
Jeff Golub – Everybody Wants You b/w Nikki’s Walk

Oct Thru Dec 2009 - Singles Worth Exploring Pt 2

2010-01-04T19:37:00.006-06:00

More to come . . . enjoy these in the meantime!

Gov’t Mule – Broke Down On The Brazos b/w Forevermore
Robert Earl Keen - Wireless in Heaven
Guy Clark - Somedays You Write The Song b/w Maybe I Can Paint Over That
Kris Kristofferson – Closer To The Bone b/w From Here To Forever
Roseanne Cash – Sea of Heartbreak
Jimmy Buffet – Rhumba Man b/w A Lot To Drink About
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Good To Be Alive
Los Lobos - Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
Rickie Lee Jones – Wild Girl
Maria Teresa - Era uma Vez Um Jardim b/w O Estrangeiro & Lagrima

Eartaste 2009 Albums of the Year

2010-01-03T13:33:00.001-06:00

Randy Brecker – Nostalgic Journey
Femi Kuti – Day By Day
Skidmore Fountain - Cloudless Blue
The XX – The XX
Willie Nile – House Of A Thousand Guitars
Sarah Jane Morris
Lisa Hannigan – Sea Sew
Booker T Jones – Potato Hole
Black Lips - 200 Million Thousand
Conor Oberst- Outer South
Band Of Skulls - Baby Darling Doll Face Honey
The Oxygen Ponies – Harmony Handgrenade
Willie Nelson with Asleep at the Wheel
Maria Muldaur – Garden Of Joy

Oct Thru Dec 2009 - Singles Worth Exploring Pt 1

2010-01-02T19:20:00.004-06:00

My absence has many reasons, but the music did not stop being listened to. This is the first of several posts to catch up some of the music I wanted to share the past few months.

Bob Dylan - Must Be Santa
Eliza Lynn – Be Thou My Vision
Tori Amos – Candle: Coventry Carol b/w Star Of Wonder
Bertie Blackman - Byrds of Prey
The Eels – Paradise Blues b/w Little Bird
John Wesley Harding - Love Or Nothing b/w Sleepy People & Top Of The Bottom
The XX – VCR b/w Shelter & Stars
Music Is The Weapon - Alla maÌ ste dansa! b/w SlaÌŠpaÌ trumman & En cowboy i Holmsveden
Randy Brecker & Wlodek Pawlik - Magic Seven
Monsters Of Folk – Baby Boomer b/w Man Of Truth

Maria Muldaur – Garden Of Joy (CD)

2009-11-27T11:30:00.001-06:00

The subtitle on this CD is "Good Time Music for Hard Times," and fits perfectly. Jug bands were popular during what is lovingly called by the history books as the ‘great’ depression. I imagine our current days will be known in the history books as the ‘marvelous’ or ‘sweet’ depression. Some rich people are getting very very rich from our future taxes, while members of each of our families lose their houses. At least we have some fun music to make life worthwhile & worth singing about even while we search for a method of being sure food stays on the table. In case you’re wondering, there’s not one turkey on the CD! Total value for your bucks. Maria Muldaur

Wynton Marsalis - Christmas Jazz Jam (CD)

2009-11-26T10:15:00.000-06:00

Prepping my Turkey this morning was a great joy with the joyous New Orleans spices added by this great band. Many points of joyous laughter caused by the tremendous virtuosity creates the best holiday CD I’ve heard this year.

Wynton Marsalis - Christmas Jazz Jam

Songs Your Earbuds Will Love

2009-09-12T20:13:00.001-05:00

Between the Woodstock parties and the Beatles celebrations, it is very difficult to listen to new music and find very much melodically or poetically interesting. What follows are the exceptions – songs you should be hearing:

Flight of the Conchords - Friends
Mason Jennings - Ain't No Friend Of Mine
Jamie T - Spider's Web
Grant Lee Phillips – Seal It With A Kiss
The Robert Cray Band - Forever Goodbye
John Mayall - That Good Old Rockin' Blues
Lord Newborn and The Magic Skulls – L.I.V.E.
Bon Jovi - We Weren’t Born To Follow
Reverend Horton Heat - Oh By Jingol
Phish – Kill Devil Falls

Neil Diamond: Hot August Night/NYC (DVD)

2009-09-02T20:13:00.001-05:00

I’m intrigued by this for a lot of reasons. Sony mailed it so it would arrive here in September. So, it’s obvious they’re not out to exploit the title of the disk, even though it was recorded in August 2008. Plenty of time to prepare it for summer ’09 release. But, no sweat, we’re all about the music here. I learned a lot watching this DVD – it’s hard to even think about being a band member not allowed to explore or get involved in pushing the limits of the music – yet Neil has managed to hang onto his band members for 30 years! That’s saying something. The video was willing to show all the young fans, as well as the hundreds of 50+ aged fans – but my absolute favorite may have been something I dreamed – the little old lady 90+ with white hair boogying her butt off. The music was well performed, but predictable. I imagine that’s what Neil Diamond’s fans are looking for, so he gave it to them. I don’t regret watching the show – after all, once upon a time I was a huge fan. He still sounds good, and managed to put on a two hour show without breaking a sweat. That’s not bad for a hot august night beneath the hot lights where a mere mortal would be able to hear his sweat. Neil Diamond

John Lefebvre – Our Town

2009-09-01T19:55:00.001-05:00

A very cool song about how the media warps our view of reality. The school I work at allows us to visualize that warp. Remember how we used to walk about ¼ mile to our neighborhood school? No longer true. Parents will drive as little as a block to drop off and pick up their kids from school for fear of the child stealer. No children have ever been stolen in our small community, but the fear is ever-present. Want more? Well, try walking around a neighborhood between 4 & 6 in the evening. Or try a Saturday morning or afternoon. Kids used to play outside for hours. No longer. Same fear – learned from the TV. The video for this song portrays it with great parodic skill. Shoutouts for Independence Day, Mr. Bully Boy, and Love Comes Around.

John has decided to give away his music. When you get to his site by clicking on his name below,,push on the round white button on the jukebox twice - once to grow the jukebox, and once to open the download screen.

John Lefebvre

Woodbrain - Port Chicago Highway

2009-08-31T19:58:00.000-05:00

Rock and roll blues with guitars and harp playing swirling in loving circles wake this week up and end this month with a highway song that blasts the stage into another dimension. The party continues with full-bore power with another rocker called Northbound. These guys have got to be a blast to see live - it’s great that they managed to capture so much energy in the studio.
Woodbrain

Wild Roses On A Sunday Afternoon

2009-08-30T13:17:00.000-05:00

Willie Nelson - Superman
Aswad – What Is Love b/w Calling
Cookin on 3 Burners - Push It Up b/w Four N Twenty
Mark Knopfler - You Can't Beat The House
Smokey Robinson - Please Don't Take Your Love b/w Whatcha Gonna Do?
Mi And L'au - Bingo
Magnolia Electric Company - Little Sad Eyes
Olivia Broadfield - Don't Cry
Jessie James – Blue Jeans b/w Psycho Girlfriend
The Black Crowes – What Is Home
Hope Sandoval – Wild Roses

Easy Contest - Sleepers Awake

2009-08-30T10:33:00.004-05:00

The first two people to send me an email asking for Char Butler's new CD will recieve a code provided by Char to download her new CD, Sleepers Awake. The CD features harmony vocals with her daughter, Amber Whitworth. ***BOTH CDS WERE CLAIMED*** Thanks!

Do Ya Like Good Music?

2009-08-29T20:29:00.000-05:00

Neil Nathan - Do Ya
Catie Curtis - I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free
Rodrigo Y Gabriela - Stairway to Heaven
Jim Keaveny - Mountain Mama
IntoXication - Wasted Time
Manu Codjia - Jungle Jig Part 2
Jordie Lane - John W. Thistle
Kieran Kane - Don’t Try to Fight It
Florence & The Machine - Kiss With A Fist
Smokey Robinson - Time Flies b/w Don't Know Why

George Strait - Twang

2009-08-28T19:51:00.000-05:00

Yep, Friday night, get to the bar & what should ya do? “They got a juke box in the corner full of old country tunes. Eighty-five dollars worth of quarters, it’s the first thing I always do, ‘cause I need a little twang!” About three hours of music picked by one guy? Gotta love this bar. And love the guy who has a big enough johnny paycheck to listen to johnny cash with some johnny rodriguez and some hank and waylon along the way. “Get that foot-stomping honky-tonkin’ feeling flowing through my veins!” That one needs a whoop and a haller, you betcha! Meet me at Triple T’s tonight & we’ll see if that one’s on the karaoke list. They do the single vowel texas style – every single vowel lasts for seven syllables. Can’t sing with Twang? No sweat, just dance. Shoutouts for Same Kind Of Crazy, Hot Grease & Zydeco, and El Rey. George Strait

Loudon Wainwright III - Moving Day

2009-08-27T20:05:00.001-05:00

”Landlord said this morning to me, ‘Give me the key, this flat ain’t free. I can’t get any rent outta you, pack up your rags and skidoo.’” Leave it to Loudon to find a 100 year old song that applies to hundreds of thousands of Americans today. As I write this my sister is moving out of a foreclosed house. This topical song is great on its own, it’s just icing on the cake that Loudon has arranged this with a dance beat with some beautiful harmonies.

The title tune, High, Wide & Handsome, includes this philosophy: “Song, wine and women, they’re my three favorites. Beer, gin and whiskey, that’s five, six and four. Saturday night I like eatin’ and dancin’, and I sleep all day Sunday so’s I’m ready for more!” Shoutouts for the honky tonk smiles of Took My Gal Out Walkin’ (“she said she wouldn’t kiss me, so I kissed her instead”) & the country gospel pop of Acres of Diamonds (“you simply must have overlooked what you’ve been looking for”).
Loudon Wainwright III

Reliving 1969 - Steel Mill & Woodstock

2009-08-23T14:57:00.005-05:00

I've spent the past few weeks simply enjoying 1969. There are the 5 new Sony releases which I talked about a few weeks back - those are all eye-opening. I've also been enjoying the brand 6 CD Rhino release which includes several never-heard-before cuts, as well as the brand new Arlo Guthrie release called "Tales of '69". The Arlo release is not recorded AT woodstock, but was recorded less than a week before, so it's interesting to compare & exciting to listen to. I had actually never hear Alice Part 3, or even knew of it's existence. Fantastic.

The Ken Bielen Woodstock tapes were also released during the past few weeks. Not exactly easy listening - these are audience recordings made on a dictaphone recorder. It's a wonder this material survived at all. It manages to add 15 unique recordings to our Woodstock collection, which with all the recent "finds" has grown from 22 CDs to 24 CDs. There's still more out there, I'm sure - but it's worth the wait. The best thing about the Ken Bielen tapes is it reminds us that the experience from the ground was not as grand as the 2 hour movie could lead one to believe.

I made many sidetrips, as usual - spent 8 hours lisening to all my Jimi CD's, then turned around and did it again a day later. I pulled out all my Janis CDs and listened to those, as well as Johnny Winter. I took a few side-trips through Delany & Bonnie & Donovan simply because I wanted to hear them.

But, that's not all folks! My personal absolute favorite band from 1969 was Child/Steel Mill - mostly because I saw them live about 15 times during those years. I was a young guitar player and wuld get as close as I could to see their guitar player named Bruce play the most wonderful guitar licks - I learned by watching lots of power chords and lead playing. The band went through changes, with great organ playing by Danny along the way, and a player named Steve added in the mix to play bass. The drummer, Vini, has been busy recently - and this has me grinning from ear to ear, literally. I still pull out my live tapes every summer but Vini has been working with some players to attempt to recreate the era on CD - in the studio. A few years back he released Chronicles, and it's a blessing to hear crisp clean versions of Come On, The Wind And The Rain, Boppin The Blues, KT88 & more. This month he has released a second CD, with All Man The Guns, and a personal favorite, Resurrection. There's much more good news: Sherlock Goes Holmes is fantastic, and I love the full band version of Cowboys by the Sea. The full band version of that one I have on tape is extremely muddy, so this is a revelation - and interesting to compare with the solo demos. There's a few more that were popular in 72 - Down To Mexico, Crow Liquor, Sweet Melinda & Lady Walking. The version of the Train song included here is not as powerful as the demo or the one Robbin Thompson officially released; but it's still great that it's included. I am excited that Vini continues to mine the old tapes for these gems, and it is my prayer they continue to record crisp versions - I'm hoping next time he'll do versions of Jambalaya (Roll Over, Roll Over), Sister Theresa, and a host of others. By my reckoning, there is at least 5 or 6 more CDs of superb material to share with folks who love the power rock blues sound that Bruce and company were famous for before he went on to join a major label and turn to pop.

I'm not sure my nostalgic journey is over - you'll know when the blog returns daily that I'm refreshed and ready to start sharing new finds with you. In the meantime, "Hail Hail Resurrection!"

Notes: Arlo's CD is not yet available on Amazon, but a quick google search for "Tales of '69" will help you discover it. Vini's website for the new versions of Steel Mill/ BSB Band songs is http://www.steelmillretro.com - Long live Dr Zoom & The Sonic Boom!

Listen to "Dead Sea Chronicles" online!

Buy Dead Sea Chronicles by Steel Mill.

Buy All Man The Guns by Steel Mill.

Watch Steel Mill from 3 weeks ago:

The original line-up in San Francisco playing America Under Fire:

The "muddy version" of Cowboys of the Sea is on You Tube!

Indie Friends

2009-08-12T21:11:00.003-05:00

In celebration of our TEN-YEAR anniversary since the birth of SideCho in 1999, we would like to invite you to join us for this exclusive sale! We have 3 exclusive packages ranging from 3 CDs for $10.00, 6 CDs with a T-shirt for $20.09, and 10 CDs with 2 T-shirts for $29.99. All packages come with buttons/stickers, and posters. This will only be available for a Limited Time only! The sale ends at the end of August. For more information visit www.store.sidecho.com and www.sidecho.com

Visit & Save

Elvis Presley = The Ed Sullivan Performances (DVD)

2009-08-12T19:22:00.000-05:00

I’ve seen clips of these on documentaries through the years, but it’s quite a joy to see all three Elvis appearances in one sitting. First thing I notices was that Ed Sullivan was not even there for the first appearance – and later in one of the additional features I learned that Sullivan had been in a pretty bad car wreck. The second thing I noticed was that all those stories about Elvis being filmed from the waist up were only true about his final performance. So, some folk tales squashed, and some really fine show business moments in these appearances. It’s obvious these guys are singing live and not lip-syncing because of a few flubs on live TV. The music, of course, is great. And, maybe not so important to some, but people like me are interested in the range Elvis has, and how in the close-ups you can actually see his adam apple going through the tremendous range Elvis had as a vocalist. Great fun to watch. Elvis

Bryan Ragsdale – Modern Day Mountain Man

2009-08-11T20:00:00.000-05:00

”Living softly off the land!” Start in New York City, drive down to Kentucky to grab some of the story telling techniques of Tom T Hall, then ride through Colorado to capture some of the mountain cowboy clear vocals of John Denver, and keep heading North to Montana and you end up with Bryan Ragsdale singing songs about living life in a place he loves. Brian Ragsdale

Roger Klug - About Time

2009-08-10T20:08:00.000-05:00

”Enough to drive you crackers!” The late 70’s introduced us to “New Wave”, and Roger has captured the spirit of the era with this tune. While the spirit is not original, the energy exuded by the cut makes for a great listening experience. The silly guitar solo makes for a bopping summer radio smash. Add to that the fun oddio track Witch From Hell, which delivers the vindictive it promises, and My Life Is Sweet, which really says nothing more, but is arranged in a queenbeachboy fashion that makes it a joy to hear occasionally. Roger Klug

The Drive-By Truckers - Mama Bake A Pie

2009-08-09T15:06:00.000-05:00

The guys dug this beautiful song off a Tom T Hall album from 1970. I remember crying then as I do now 40 years later. Fine job at re-creating the song for our current crop of buddies facing the same headlines when they come home. PS – the original song is available, with 100 children, on Tom’s exquisite anthology.

Mama bake a pie (daddy kill a chicken) Tom T. Hall 1970

People starin' at me as they wheel me down the ramp toward my plane
The war is over for me I've forgotten everything except the pain
Thank you sir and yes sir it was worth it for the old red-white-and-blue
And since I won't be walking I suppose I'll save some money buying shoes

The bottle hidden underneath the blanket over my two battered legs
I can see the stewardess make over me and ask were you afraid
I say why no I'm Superman and couldn't find a phone booth quite in time
A GI gets a lotta laughs if he remembers all the funny lines

Mama bake a pie daddy kill a chicken
Your son is comin' home 11:35 Wednesday night

Mama will be crying and daddy's gonna say son did they treat you good
My uncle he'll be drunk and he'll say boy they do some real great things with wood
The letter that she wrote me said goodbye she couldn't wait and lots of luck
The bottle underneath the blanket feels just like an old friend to my touch

I know she'll come and see me but I bet she never once looks at my legs
No she'll talk about the weather and the dress she wore the July 4th Parade
Lord I love her and I don't believe this bottle's gonna get her off my mind
I see here in the paper where they say the war is just a waste of time

Mama bake a pie daddy kill a chicken
Your son is comin' home 11:35 Wednesday night

The Drive-By Truckers

An anonymous guy with heart:

Gordie Tentrees - Same Old Blues

2009-08-08T19:45:00.001-05:00

Acoustic high-steppin’ high energy lookin’ at life as a stage. “If you wanna know who I’m singin’ for? Pretty mama, anytime you want to realize – it’s you!” The recording has a great live feel & some fun lead guitar pickin’ & bass pluckin'. Gordie Tentrees

Shelley Harland - Friday

2009-08-07T19:25:00.000-05:00

“If it was Friday, I would walk out the door, strap on my wings and fly away!” Great image, and it is Friday, so the song allows us to fly. This happy summer melody overlies the worker stuck inside while the beautiful summer beaches are calling for some fun. “If it was Friday I could lose myself for a coupla days, till the Monday morning rush on the train.” Sung with excitement. “Is it me, or am I bored with the human race.” LOL!!! Shoutout for Clouds Disappear. Shelley Harland

Miss Ivy – Evil Bride

2009-08-06T19:58:00.000-05:00

“She could not change her behaviour, she is surely one of a kind.” Poetry placed to music is a different craft than songwriting. “If you could see inside her mind you’d never guess at what you’d find.” Often melody must be diminished to allow the meter to fit into a pop format. “A squandered soul may be in the bad memory of a banshee.” Miss Ivy was successful creating little musical story poems because there is melodic music pulling the ear while the stories wring the soulful tales. “Your evil bride is waiting for you outside, she dyed her seashell dress scarlet.” This is well done because it leaves me wondering who is considering the bride evil – my guess the bride herself is not thinking that way, but the community. Shoutouts for Dark Rising (“In an endless field of meadow right over the fence, there’s an old road made of cobblestone”) and Morrigan’s Curse (“I agreed in a certain way to make him pay for all the lies he said to me”). Miss Ivy

Anjulie - Boom

2009-08-05T20:05:00.001-05:00

Happy 1st hump day in August! Hot enough? Let’s dance! “Im getting off track and I can’t control a thing.” Once in awhile a dance album comes out that’s different enough to capture eartaster’s buds. Anjulie has a fine voice that pulls me to the dancefloor, but what stands out here is the production. On Boom the background allows the guitar to enter from several rooms away, and is emphasized by many percussive flavors. The tempo changes between songs, and allows for cool down in the 102 degree summer texas hill heat. Shoutouts for Rain, Crazy That Way, Jamba, Same Damn Thing, and the beautiful slow dance When It’s Love. Anjulie

Fiona Boyes - I Want to Go

2009-08-04T19:41:00.000-05:00

The guitar wakes my ears in a very happy way, and what great fun when the guitar is accompanied y the voice of Fiona. The flavors are an equal match and both perfectly complement each other. In the midsection when she plays a sensational solo shivers find my spine with no problem. It’s not easy to capture a live feel on CD, but it works here perfectly. The band is right here in my living room without the aid of any electronic tricks. A very special shoutout for Old Time Ways, which features some fine good-time piano along with some bluesy lead guitar. The video below shows Fiona is perfectly able to handle this song all by her lonesome without the great back-up musicians. Fiona Boyes

The Popes - Let the Bells Ring Out

2009-08-03T19:27:00.000-05:00

“Let the quiet shout so voices may be heard!” Notfadeaway shuffle wake-up rock and roll. Lots of great instruments backing up the excited singer – my favorite is the rock fiddler. Shoutout for the equally loud and more anthemic Shine (“one of these days you will rise up”). The Popes

Less rock and roll than the new one, but still loud!

John Zorn - Zapata Rail

2009-08-02T15:12:00.002-05:00

A rhythm fest with some fun guitar work. Think of a jazz lounge act with a vibraphone who asks a rock blues guitarist to sit in. To add to the instrumental excitement is some damn fine organ playing. Shoutout for the equally exciting Magdalena. John Zorn

A few years back:

Outside Lands Music Festival

2009-08-01T20:25:00.002-05:00

Post 1500 = The Thromboes - Don't Get Into My Head

2009-07-31T19:35:00.000-05:00

I think it’s great that The Thromboes are the subject of my 1500th post. They are a perfect example of what this blog has always strived for – interesting music that is easy to listen to over and over with a sense of satisfaction that the world of music is intensely varied.

“Don’t get into my head, girl, there’s no space for you there. Don’t have time for your pain.” Typical macho song, but worth a close look. The narrator is letting on that there’s something going on inside himself that is keeping him from opening up. The next verse says, “Don’t move into my heart, girl. Keep your blues to yourself.” There’s a hint that it’s possible for this movement into his head and heart is possible; but something’s making him beg for that not to happen. So, can we still say ‘typical macho’? Not really. The guy is opening up and admitting he has stuff inside him too.

But what about the music? Ah, pure bliss. Garage punk style guitars and drums, with the vocals sounding as if they are recorded at the same time as the rest of the noise – garage punk. Live as you can get on record. Shoutout for the hilarious Rock And Roll Rant (“look me in the eyes and tell me I can’t”).

The Thromboes

Go to folder - FileFactory.com

Trezire - Primordial

2009-07-30T20:16:00.000-05:00

This mood track set me on a walk through the hills to explore the undergrowth. The soundtrack enabled me to find living creatures beneath rocks, and I saw an armadillo either sunning himself or praying, or both. The musicians work together in this soundscape to empower the conscious mind to access deep memories and dreams. Simply beautiful. Shoutout for Raindance, which works at the same level, but moves faster. Besides, we truly need rain up here. It’s been over 102 every day for over a month, with no signs of letting up – both the wild animals and the roots are thirsty. This dance will be played often. Trezire is giving digital copies of the entire album, Anatomy, to anyone who requests one. Trezire

Robin Guthrie - Red Moon Rising

2009-07-30T20:15:00.000-05:00

Like the band Trezire, Robin works on composing soundscapes. The difference is Robin utilizes computers to fire neurons in my brain. The synthesizer brings in different layers, emoting a path that looks for dreams still to come. Robin Guthrie

Whimsical Wednesday Whirldance

2009-07-29T19:43:00.000-05:00

Courtney John - Miss You
Honey B & T Bones - Baby Don't! b/w I Could See The Door Was Open & Animal Tracks
Bahamas - Lonely Loves
Mayer Hawthorne - One Track Mind
Abdullah Ibrahim – Ishmael b/w The Perfumed Garden Wet With Rain & The Mountain
Astrid Williamson - Shut Your Mouth b/w Eve
Slow Club - Because We're Dead b/w Dance 'Till The Morning Light
Kim Hoorweg – Daydream b/w Forgot Something
Yo La Tengo – Periodically Double Or Triple
Those Darlins – Wild One b/w Hung Up On Me & Keep My Skillet Good And Greasy

Toasty Tunes To Tan By

2009-07-28T19:58:00.000-05:00

Fun. - All the Pretty Girls b/w At Least I'm Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)
Deer Tick - Straight Into A Storm
Smile Smile - Hope Avenue
Megafaun - The Process
Sarah Jarosz - Fischer Store Road
Sick Puppies - Riptide
Young Fresh Fellows - After Suicide
Motor City Women & Detroit Express - Did He Mention My Name b/w Are You Really Ready
Lightning Dust - History
Willoughby - I Know What You're Up To

The Yes Pleases - Designer

2009-07-27T15:12:00.000-05:00

“I’m alive!” This wake-up song celebrates simplicity and computer beats with choruses of voices announcing the joy of a new week. This is one of those songs that promise to do nothing else but wake you up long enough to get some cofdfee in your system, and once you’ve had a bit of coffee you put it on repeat and dance around the kitchen getting the toast and butter ready. Then leave the house bopping & holding your hands over your hear swinging and swaying and yelling along, “I’m alive!” The Yes Pleases

The Woodstock Experience

2009-07-26T15:55:00.001-05:00

An interesting concept. There are 10 CDs here, 5 of which were the original CDs from 1969, and the other 5 are the full performances of the bands at Woodstock. The 5 bands included here are Sly & The Family Stone, Santana, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin & Johnny Winter. The price for the set is fair if you catch it while it’s on sale. I’m one of those who have the original CDs already on CD, and it doesn’t thrill me that these are simply re-packaged. If I were the CEO at Sony I would have pushed harder for including 5 more Woodstock-only CDs. Of course, there’s a very good chance the CEO at Sony wasn’t even born when Woodstock happened, so there’s already a disconnect.

The great thing here is also an aggravating thing. Many of us bought the Santana Legacy CDs – which included the demos of the original CD & the Woodstock performance. Lo and behold, the Woodstock performance here includes one more unreleased song! The good news is these CDs are all available separately, so if you are a Santana completist, you will not have to purchase the whole set.

The Airplane set at Woodstock ran longer than a CD, so that one runs over into their 1969 release, Volunteers. The Janis Joplin set is exactly what’s been available through collectors for many years now. The Johnny Winter set sounds great, and has better sound than the collectors set. The true excellence here is the Sly & The Family Stone set, which has 3 songs that are not on the collectors set.

The collectors set runs 20 CDs. Many of those are just partial shows. Somewhere there’s a vault with the rest in them, and it looks like we’ll have to wait for the 50th anniversary to get more. Some that have been officially released are Jimi Hendrix, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and John Sebastian. They’re often stuck in the midst of something (for example, Sebastian’s set was stuck in a box set). Trying to put together a Woodstock-only collection has been a hobbyist’s nightmare for years. Many were hoping the 40th would see the floodgates open. There’s also the question of how many more will still be here to purchase the sets 10 years from now!

There’re some stories around, for example: “anyone who says they remember Woodstock could not have really been there.” There’re also stories about how poor the music actually was. Well, I wasn’t present at Woodstock for these performances, perhaps that’s in retrospect a good thing. But I’ve heard many performances, the present 5 sets included, and the music was/is fantastic. You will think of Joplin differently after listening to this. Picture Sly & The Family Stone in the wee hours of the morning & all the energy they are unleashing! Johnny Winter – sweet performances here. Santana was captured on film – so multiply the movie performance by several more great songs. Jefferson Airplane – no comment.

I’m thinking like this – if you are a completist, no question – good investment. If you have nothing from Woodstock, this is as good a place as any to start. If you’re simply curious, I’m betting there will be someone like me in your town in the middle of August blasting their speakers loud enough for you to hear. These 5 CDs alone run close to 6 hours. Enjoy!

Woodstock Experience

George Thorogood & The Destroyers - Tail Dragger

2009-07-25T20:08:00.000-05:00

“I get what I want and I don’t come sneaking back.” Nope, he sure ain’t ‘sneaking’ back, he’s back full force, with some good old fashioned rock and roll keeping a party shouting, dancing, and throwing back the ice cold beer to let it slide down our throats with finesse and superb technique. The best news is he still makes the old songs sound salad-fresh. Shoutouts for an upbeat version of Born Lover, and the diddley beat of Let Me Pass. Note that the second ½ of this CD is previously released. George Thorogood

The Tyrants in Therapy - Apocalypso

2009-07-24T19:24:00.003-05:00

Any good Friday night party needs humor & Tyrants in Therapy are more than happy to supply that. Sneak this cut in anywhere & you’ll have people roiling on the floor laughing for at least three minutes. Old fashioned margaritaville calypso music added to the book of Revelation. I personally can’t wait to try this one out at my next meeting with the prophecy enthusiasts at the church – this will test their sense of humor. I know Chuck Missler, my favorite end times instructor, will giggle. “When it all came down, it was a sad day indeed for every organism from billionaires to weeds!” LOL!!! “The sky overheated, and the sun got real hot!” STOP!!! You’re hurting my side! “and the earth started smoking like a rastaman’s pot!” ARRGGHHH!!! You guys are killing me HAHAHA!!! I’m laughing too hard to share the rest with you, just know if you love to laugh a lot, you’re going to love blasting this at your next party. To hear the track, select the CD entitled High Class Trash below, and it's the first cut. Enjoy!The Tyrants in Therapy

Lady Lazarus - Sister Savior

2009-07-23T19:39:00.001-05:00

“I met my sister on the bridge staring from the precipice.” The narrator shares a dream-like sequence through this CD that pulls my interest in with pure melody. There are instruments present, but they are there apparently simply to set tone. On Color Opposition Theory there is a breathing-type accordion harmonica sounding instrument that takes in air and sends it back into our habitat with a solid, steady pace through deep, colorful sleep. Master & Servant has a Lennonesque piano with ambient sounds of cars driving through the street with a harmony child angel protecting the dreamer from danger. “Lately, the Devil’s been talking to me”. The End of the Dream is exactly as described by the title. The narrator reminds me of dreams where, no matter what had happened within the dream I have no earthly intention of leaving it. The voices keep me in the dream, and they repeat even as someone attempts to wake me. The reality of the dream is much more alive and energetic than the world I wake into. I want to stay in the madness of the dream, not move on to the insanity of another day. Lady Lazarus

The Wiyos - Roll On Down The Road

2009-07-22T19:30:00.000-05:00

Spend a minute listening to these guys & you’ll want them to come play at your next BBQ because it’s easy to tell their live show must be great. The good news is a lotta people have heard them, and now they are playing at some really big bbqs, so you may be able to catch them at a party near you this summer. If not, the CD is still great fun to spin at the party. “Drive out to the west son, go watch the river run.” There are many stories about wanderin’ men headin’ down the road in the folk tradition, and the Wiyos shoot for making it fun. Like all macho traditions, when the woman kicks the narrator out, he smiles and pretends “I won’t worry when it’s over”, even while he’s kinda hinting for her to “keep my place set at your table.” Quite simply, he doesn’t believe she’s kicking him out for good. Confidence, expressed with fun. The narrator seems plenty happy with passing corn fields, roosters, barns, and rivers on his round trip. If funky country folk wasn’t a genre, it is now. Shoutout for the harmonizing jug band party of Promenade (we’ll all dance the night away”). The Wiyos

Cathy-Anne McClintock - I Wanna Live Like That

2009-07-21T19:41:00.000-05:00

What gives a normal song the oomph it takes to be noticed by the eartaster? It differs on every song, but this one was easy. I was bouncing along with the song thinking about its upbeat lyrics and low key presentation and out of nowhere two words were whispered, “trust me”. The lyrics are simple, yet within that simplicity is much wisdom. “I wanna learn from my mistakes, I wanna give back what I take.” The shout-out tune is Strong Enough. Yep, that one. When Ms Crow sings with her strong blasting voice the message is clearly ‘I’m a strong woman, can you take me on?’ Cathy-Anne has a totally different approach – she’s being extremely honest about all her weaknesses, but isn’t shouting proudly about them. She approaches them as a fact of being a woman – there’s going to be times she’s hard to live with. Knowing these truths, all she wants is consistency in her man. Cathy-Anne takes a powerful song and turns it inwards showing a completely different depth in its poetry. A quiet album, with a tasty back-up band that never overwhelms. Cathy-Anne McClintock

Larry Levy - Catherine, Catherine (Here's How I Love)

2009-07-20T19:28:00.000-05:00

Behind every great album is a group of songs which were experiments, dreams, understandings, life affirming spatial desserts floating through and beyond the goal. Usually those moments are lost in the ether. Practices, trials, mindful strivings are not usually recorded until the spirit is perfected and ready for what the artist feels others are ready to consume. While Larry was recording with the Thromboes this spring, the recorder was left on during the strumming usually heard only by God. I feel blessed to be able to hear these visions, and I’m sure if you’ve read this far that you will too. Contact Larry through his web page and offer him enough cash to buy a meal or some really good beer and I’ll bet you can get a copy of this. Larry Levy

The Silent Years – free download

2009-07-20T19:07:00.000-05:00

I talked these guys up in April, and just received the word that Eartaste fans can download the song – so hey! Go for it. Right click on the link below & listen in. The plan, of course, is to encourage you to purchase the entire CD. There’s a link for that too. And, if you can’t remember what I wrote the day after my birthday 3 months ago, well – there’s a link for that too!

Download Taking Drugs At The Amusement Park for your pleasure

Order the CD

Forward to the past! (the original review)

Putumayo Presents - Brazilian Café

2009-07-19T19:36:00.001-05:00

Lazy Sundays are easy to achieve when the weather stays above 100 degrees for an entire week. The music Putumayo serves up this time out is perfect for a Lazy Sunday, with voices floating over the clouds and instruments swimming through the humidity with pure blissful peace. Many thanks for sharing the talents of Katia B, Ceumar, y Teresa Cristina and Grupo Semente with the neighborhood today. The slower dancing possible with this CD makes for a cooler atmosphere than is possible by just sitting around complaining about the weather. I can feel the waves splashing around as I move through the shade offered by the hackberry trees. Experience pleasure – when you purchase this CD you wil be helping a children’s group in Brazil, as well as receiving a recipe for a 4-layer pleasurable dessert known as coffee pave and finally a recipe for cafezinho. The Brazilian Café is proud to serve up many different flavors for your ears, your soul, and your tongue. Brazilian Café

Putumayo On Eartaste

Splash In The Pool Saturday Singles

2009-07-18T18:48:00.000-05:00

Ana Popovic - Nothing Personal b/w Putting Out The APB
Care Bears On Fire - Get Over It b/w You Can't Make Me
Chooglin' - Hal's Haberdashery
Diesel - First Time I Met The Blues
Doll and The Kicks - Leaving The Race b/w Roll Up The Red Carpet
Drawn From Bees - Amelia
Elli – Wonderdrug b/w On My Mind
Fruit Bats - The Ruminant Band b/w Feather Bed
Lizzy Parks - Soul Bird (Acoustic Version)
Modest Mouse - Satellite Skin b/w I've Got It All (Most)
She & Him - Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want b/w Feist - Mushaboom
The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out b/w Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want
Carla Bruni - Quequ'un M'a Dit
The Campbell Stokes Sunshine Recorder - Track One b/w She Looks Good in the Sun & Feel the Sunshine
Our Lady Peace - All You Did Was Save My Life
Secret Powers - Orange Trees b/w Heavy
Apartment - Fall Into Place
The Jezabels - Old Little Girls
V.V. Brown - L.O.V.E. b/w Quick Fix & Shark in the Water

The Duckworth Lewis Method - The Age Of Revolution

2009-07-17T19:19:00.002-05:00

I already hear the complaining. You wonder why I’m slipping a song about revolution into my Friday night party. Well, there’s many types of revolutions. This one requests that you “go and get your pants on.” These guys have nothing more in mind except to accentuate our fun with slap-happy kink-smiling songs. And along with the excellent melody, these guys enjoy getting me up to dance. My DJ friends will have everyone up and dancing to this cut. Shoutouts for the equally energetic Sweet Spot (“my aim is true”) and the magical mystery kinkesque Meeting Mr Miandad (‘when we break down people tow us”). The Duckworth Lewis Method

The Peekers - Sweet Singin' Birds

2009-07-16T20:01:00.000-05:00

“I wanna be there when you wake. I wanna help you start your day. Will you breath or suffocate?” LOL! A dramatic way to say, hey, make a decision! “I’m a stranger inside of you. Someday, be a friend of mine too.” Bordering on humor, I choose to accept the narrator here enjoys her life and is looking to share it. She does a wonderful job communicating her joy of living. The band is having a great time being the canvas that the story is splattered upon. Shoutouts for the light hearted Gather It All (“who wants to stumble over love?”), the heavy depths of Meet You In Produce (“take your medicine, sing your songs to me”), the psychedelic dreamlike nature of Concrete Feet (“I’ve lost my life a dozen times”), and the psychobilly rock of Instructions (“I know what you’re thinking”). The Peekers

Marcy Playground - Star Baby

2009-07-15T19:45:00.000-05:00

Summer bubble pop. “Stargazer, dreammaker, I’m in love with you. Spin the bottle and every time it’s landing right on you.” It’s good to hear the kids still play spin the bottle. I promise – nothing deep here, just fun dance beats. And humor! Silly humor, but what the heck – it’s melodic and keeps the summer happy. Shoutouts for Blackbird and Gin & Money. Marcy Playground

Drew Nelson - Waiting For The Sun

2009-07-14T20:11:00.001-05:00

”I don’t count my blessings anymore. I just keep a watchful eye, wonderin’ if God is keeping score.” It’s easy to joke about this song – around here the sun ain’t been doing nothing but shining 107 degrees every day this week. But that wouldn’t be fair to what is going on here. This cool burner is making the humidity even worse with all the sweat coming out of my body from the way the drummer forces my feet up to move. That, plus the electrical storm blazing between the two singers toward the end of this tune. Beautiful. Shoutouts for the faster dance and sweet harmonica of the honest short story of America called Stranger (“that is how a family goes from middle class to hand-out”), the Townes-like picking of Raindance (“the raven in my dream whispers your name”), and the beautiful Hello (“of all of my problems, the least was the liquor”). Drew Nelson

Two Cow Garage - Skinny Legged Girl

2009-07-13T19:51:00.000-05:00

A Monday album that starts right off with a bass rumble to wake you up and start dancing! Complete with poetry! “Written 37 letters, none of which I’ll ever send. But I’ll write them and reread them over and over again. I have 16 that say ‘I love you’, 16 more that wish you dead, drunken Bukowski ramblings in the 5 that I have left.” I won’t go on about whether or not Bukowski wrote while drunk, because he was known to perform while drunk – and anybody trying to reach the world of stardom while roaring about Bukowski is bound to be a soul brother. The instrumentation is spare, and sounds great loud. The narrator sets the mood perfectly with his voice while the band pleasingly plays in pure pop mode. Great summer record! Shoutouts for Brass Ring, and Swingset Assassin. These tasty musical treats will lead you back to their third CD featuring Come Back to Shelby, No Shame, and Now I Know. Two Cow Garage

Soft Sunday Sounds For The Soul

2009-07-12T15:55:00.001-05:00

Buckethead – Dawn Appears b/w Four Rivers
Yoko Ono & The Plastic Ono Band - I'm Going Away Smiling
Kenyan Boys Choir - Tuli Tuli b/w Nkosi Sikelel'i Afrika & Kayra Sillo
Andrew Bird - The Nightshade Gets In It
The Clean – Loog b/w Moon Jumper
Drawn From Bees - You Can't Relax
Noah and the Whale- My Broken Heart b/w Blue Skies & My Door is Always Open
Lenny Mac Dowell – Is It Funky? b/w Bouree
Josh Tillman - Howling Light
Sarah Jarosz - Come On Up To The House

Plus one rocker:

From the Chambers to The Mountain with WWIII Between

2009-07-11T09:25:00.000-05:00

Ωmega Vibes - Ότι φοβηθείς
Kings Of Leon - Molly's Chambers
St Augustine - WWIII
Michael Carpenter - Workin' for a Livin' b/w The King of the Scene
Jenny Owen Youngs - Clean Break b/w Secrets & Last Person
The Minus 5 - Ambulance Dancehall
Myra Flynn – Feels Like Sunshine b/w Small Talk
UUVVWWZ - Shark Suit b/w Jap Dad
All Time Low - Break Your Little Heart b/w Therapy
Vetiver - You May Be Blue b/w The Mattson 2 - Longing of the Leftist
Mice Parade - Open Air Dance Pt 2 b/w Nbadva Kure - Lion Mountain

The Love Me Nots - Walk Around Them

2009-07-10T20:01:00.002-05:00

My ears are very happy tonight. My original thought was the B-52’s 25 years ago, then I remembered they were simply channeling Question Mark and the Mysterians from 20 years before that. Am I saying this group is retro? Only on the surface. There’s some clean 21st century bass lines in here that make my ears extremely pleased, and my feet even happier. I dare you to sit down with the Love Me Nots on your turntable. Perfect party platter. Shoutouts for You're Really Something, Secret Pocket, and Give Em What They Want. The Love Me Nots

Nebelhexë and Other Floating Music Dreams

2009-07-09T19:44:00.000-05:00

Nebelhexë has several CDs that stay near my player, Laguz (2004), and Essensual (2006), so it was exciting to find new sounds to devour by this artist. As I entered into the enhanced dream state produced by the aural landscapes I envisioned a show with other payers from mixed eras but similar visions, so that is the enchanted hour you’ll share if you seek out these artists with me.

Nebelhexë - Against The Wall (“No more frontiers. . .I cannot see ahead. . .The wall is painted black. . . Don't hold me down. . .I still can shout”), Dead Waters (“I won't care. . .Too self aware. . .Look behind my smile. . .Into blackened eyes”) and Beyond The Ninth Wave (“How about the ghost that sleeps with me in the dark?”). Nebelhexë

Yoko & The Plastic Ono Band - Memory Of Footsteps (“welcome to life”), Feel The Sand (“your heart is responding to the birds”) and Higa Noboru (why is this life so beautiful?”). Yoko & The Plastic Ono Band

Filmed live on a cell phone by Suzy Secret:

No words necessary for the gothic beauty of Broken Mirror, A Real Diamond In The Rough, Squid Ink, and Formless Present. Buckethead

Eyes Like Ours (“Do you recall when the world was still young? Just a small town? “) and Outside (“was afraid that you might see me”). Tiny Vipers

Adding visual depth to the earwaves, the special quality of these tunes frame a safe landing strip filled with beauty. Wish You Were Mine, As You Watch Each City Fall (Part 2), Buffalo Blues, and Time And Emotion. Robin Trower

Davide Ravera -A me resta una canzone

Femi Kuti – Day By Day (CD)

2009-07-08T19:44:00.005-05:00

From the first beats of Oyimbi to the final cymbal crash of Inside Religion, this is a party album that will create joy and tears and lots of good spiritual conversation. “All in the name of peace”. The dance flow is just right, a few fast songs, coupled with slow songs to calm the feet and heart. “Day by day by night by night we work and pray for peace to reign.” This CD will have a prominent place by my player for many parties to come. I love making people think while they dance, and Femi provides very thoughtful poetry to deeply consider. Flavors are jazz, rock, reggae, funk, soul and groove, spiced with gospel. Femi Kuti

Kaylah Marin - Loving Life!

2009-07-07T20:11:00.002-05:00

“We’re all MC’s sharing the mike’s heat.” This is a great hump-day CD, but I’m shouting it out a day early because Kaylah has me loving life too much to hold on to this knowledge till tomorrow. Kaylah manages to pull memories out of the right places “dancing in class to our own beats, raising our hands jumping out of our seats, giving our own I have a dream speech”. I did that, and my students last year did that. It’s universal – the power of music to raise us up and dream. The sooner you order this CD the sooner you’ll be up dancing and loving life right alongside everyone else lucky enough to hear this. “Everyday I’m loving my life.” Kaylah captures the power of joy in her soul and it’s great she’s willing to share this strength with all of us. Shoutouts for the dance-floor ready Everybody, the sweet flavors of Good and Bad, and the anthem sing-a-long, Driving In My Car (“oh yeah, feel so good!”). Go ahead and buy this summer CD that’ll keep you smiling for many years to come. Your ears will thank you, your feet will thank you. Keep dancin’! Kaylah Marin

Calaveras - A City And A Life And A Girl

2009-07-07T19:35:00.002-05:00

“Tuesday morning without any coffee, and too many chores to do – along came Sally, backin’ down the alley, to show me her new tattoo.” First, I have to confess that when I lived in a city I never understood language like ‘backin’ down the alley”. Up here in the hills in this small town I now know exactly what’s going on in the song. In fact, I was surprised that the narrator of this song knew Sally. Maybe every town has a Sally. But, back to the real world of music – the music has a jazzy country feel that fits comfortably in my world. The story is fun, the singer sounds like he loves tellin’ the story. They ended up in D’Hanis – you know that place behind the store – “a little speakeasy, down in the shadows, where nobody I know goes.” Well, except Andrew, but that’s to be expected – he kinda makes a living finding these places. Anyway, back to the story, “we got up and danced to an old time record, until I started to fall.” If I didn’t know better, I’d swear Calaveras was there that night, but it sounds like the narrator simply knows how it goes in real time, and these little ‘speakeasies’ must still exist here and there around the world. What’s really scary is that D’Hanis is known mostly for its brick factory – two blocks away from the hidden speakeasy - and the lyricist carefully inserts the line “fall like a brick into the mix of a city and a life and a girl”, followed by a good old fashioned Sabinal fiddle. These folks claim to be from California, but they sure have some good Texas roots showing. And, hey Sabastian, check out the title of the CD – freakout time =:-) Great fun. PS - anyone who clicked on the brick factory link might get a kick outta the link to "old D'Hanis". I challenge anyone to come on out here and find a new D'Hanis - LOL!!! Calaveras

Woodstock.com

2009-07-07T18:36:00.000-05:00

Woodstock defined something special for me – integration. It was a special time in music, and celebrated lavishly. Beautiful young multi-cultural bands like Sweetwater and Santana were playing alongside Jimi Hendrix and Sly and the Family Stone. The best part of those days is we didn’t even have terms like multi-cultural. There were simply great musicians who got together to play music based on the integrity of their ability, not the color of their skin. Don’t get me wrong, this was happening before Woodstock, but it was hidden from view. What Woodstock did, as an enterprise, was to put it in people’s faces – big time – big screen. That did several things – for some of us, it caused celebration. But for society in general it caused many changes. Music, especially radio stations, went back to racially stereotyped music. In 1969 you could hear Otis Redding, Frank Sinatra, Tiny Tim, Sly And The Family Stone, Desmond Dekkar, The Doors, Glen Campbell and Marvin Gaye all played in the same hour on the same station. The only place you can hear such variety today is on the “oldies” stations. In some respects it was because of the visuals presented in Woodstock – the people who ran the media did not ever want that repeated. So far they’ve gotten their wish, but it’s my hope that Sony making a big deal out of this 40th anniversary will start some young people to thinking and asking questions. And hopefully some of the old people – Sony is just as much to blame as everyone else – will start remembering that total, complete spiritual and physical integration of the arts and society is still an ethical possibility that we could strive for as an intellectual reality. Woodstock.com

The Cliks - Dirty King

2009-07-06T16:34:00.000-05:00

“I could do the dishes, I could climb your walls”. Bass driven energy wakes this Monday up with a howl. “I could be the motor, you be the gasoline!” Get your motors running, head out for the highway, roll the windows down and shout along! The music calls for moving around, preferably at a fast surf rock speed. The story seems to be about trying to keep up with the daily grind even while succeeding in other life endeavors. Good wake-up to the working week song. Shoutouts for Not Your Boy (“when the voices disappear there’s nothing left inside”), Henry (“Can you hear the sound of your mother calling?”), and Animal Farm (“hold onto my bleeding heart and feed it to your soul”). The Cliks

Pela - Juarez

2009-07-05T19:54:00.003-05:00

"I've got jukebox tears on the turquoise skies."

"Now my demons are counting rosaries."

Pela

Aly Tadros - Swingset

2009-07-05T16:38:00.002-05:00

“Watching you watching me in my shades, could you see my smile hiding underneath? Seems like each moment your eyes find mine, I lose a little less reason to hide.” Sunday is good for a walk in the park, and recalling years gone by when going to the park and holding hands is a perfectly good way to spend an afternoon. I dream away while a dreamy voice sings of love “swinging so sweetly on a swingset so fine.” Even as Aly sings, she recalls that “talk is overrated”. A funny thing for a poet to say, but it’s true. Shoutout for the word-filled short story called Paper Mache (“baby, don’t you let them change you”). Aly’s voice is strong and self-assured causing an instant acceptance and understanding that her voice will be one we’ll be hearing for many years to come. Make contact at Myspace & watch for the release of “Things Worth Keeping”. A huge thanks to Jeff Smith for getting the word out. Aly Tadros

Ha Ha Tonka and More for the Fireworks!!!

2009-07-04T18:06:00.001-05:00

Ha Ha Tonka - Hold My Feet In The Fire b/w Walking On The Devil's Backbone
Catherine Maclellan - Set This Heart On Fire b/w Everything'll Be Alright
Levon Helm - Stuff You Gotta Watch b/w When I Go Away
The Fiery Furnaces - I'm Going Away b/w Keep Me In The Dark
Charlie Straight – Nothing b/w She Is A Good Swimmer
Aimee Allen - Change In Weather b/w A Little Happiness, On Vacation & God Talks
Cheap Trick - California Girl
Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey – Widescreen World
Florence And The Machine - Kiss With A Fist b/w Hurricane Drunk
Ha Ha Tonka - Close Every Valve To Your Bleeding Heart b/w Thoreau In The Woods

Nuke The Soup – Yin And Yang

2009-07-03T20:05:00.000-05:00

“We moved all summer like separate spirits dancing in the sand, and we moved into another gear never knowing when we’d land.” The story moves along at a steady pace. The poetic trick is to take a word, define it in terms of the relationship the narrator is pursuing, and playing it with a medium dance beat. Very cool. The individual words could become a game – like those email games – define your relationship in terms of temptation, frustration, elation, flirtation, trepidation, and inspiration. The narrator seems confused about the reality of the relationship – on the one hand he’s saying “we fit like yin and yang”, then a line later he’s saying “but I don’t know what you want.” In other words, it sounds real – no easy answers here. Gotta work on it, no matter how good the fit.

I’m shouting out Big Green Jungle for the same reason – no easy answers. We all have to make the decision – chase the mighty dollar, or live from day to day. The narrator here is encouraged to go for the jungle, but he is quite realistic in reciting the fact that “in the big green jungle there’ll always be disparity.” It’s a daily war. The intrigue here is – either choice is a war. Survive from day to day, paycheck to paycheck – daily struggle. Go for the con game of American finance, and it’s still a daily struggle. You can’t let up because the moment you do another will be considered more fit, and in this war only the fittest survive. Sure, while you’re on top you have the nest egg and finances are not your worry; but it’s a constant stress to stay in the game. Nuke The Soup says – no easy answers, but life has some interesting questions =:-) Nuke The Soup

Ed Hale - I Walk Alone

2009-07-02T20:05:00.001-05:00

“The stars lay scattered in the open sky and these lights by the bridge shine through the night of my eyes.” The poetry is enhanced by the musicians each walking through the melody in a sparse but meaningful way. A fine composition. The heartfelt desolation is honest. “Flowers bloom in the middle of deserted lawns. When the winter comes these flowers will be dead and gone.” Ed Hale

Pama International – Happenstance b/w Dub A Dance

2009-07-01T18:51:00.002-05:00

Starting a new month on a hump day is great fun, especially when a funky dance band takes the stage with a beat that encourages sweating out a hard day’s work. The story is the story of any government – they look at the young as martyrs in a cause to make a few rich people even richer. “Don’t matter who you are, or where you land. No discrimination in their plans. Size you up, ship you out. Move along! Bullet to catch.” Is it coincidence that you can twitter this opening line? Ask a rabbi. In the mean-time, dance. I’ve learned it’s necessary because if we focus on what our governments do to young people we will forever be crying, no matter who is in charge. “For us to change, war must end.” Pama International

Pama International on Eartaste

Mams Taylor - United For Neda

2009-07-01T15:16:00.001-05:00

The Von Ehrics - A Week Of Living Dangerously

2009-06-30T20:02:00.001-05:00

“Well, I got out of work and I headed for the neighborhood beer joint.” He sure did, guitar in hand, with the crowd moving wildly despite the 104 degree heat because if they stop for even one second the electricity will catchy the joint on fire. This band is hot! And a blast to listen to. The singer could probably front a country band – but we’re sure glad he chose to hang out with some rockers. Shoutout for the story about Jimmy Blades. The Von Ehrics

Recorded live 2009 using a Flip Video:

Revolver - Balulalow

2009-06-29T20:03:00.002-05:00

The drumbeats start my week with a vision of strength. This is our final week of summer school, and the kids are ready to dance. I’m ready to dance. The beautiful harmonies of these guys take the dance to a whole new level of dancing within my head as my body moves around. It’s a fantastic experience - the physical and the mental dancing going on in two dimensions – one body. That’s what happens when you teach high school biology to one group of children for many hours every day for a month. The mind can travel and perform many marvelous acts while the body stays imprisoned in a classroom. The students feel the same way, so we can laugh together about the absurdity of the situation. So, what’s that got to do with Revolver?

I see Balulalow on an album and my mind floats to Christmas. There’s bunches of famous renditions of a Christmas carol named Balulalow. Well, this dance ain’t no Christmas dance except in the fact it fills the mind with joy. So, I looked the word up. Apparently it simply means ‘lullaby’. Huh? This is one dang modern lullaby. The drums alone will get the 2 month old up out of the crib boogieing all day long. Sure, I admit the harmonies are angelic. So what’s up? Well, it’s not easy to decipher all the lyrics, but I have the feeling the narrator is giving advice to a youngster, or a body who is still dressed in a young mind. “You go out to the river at dawn. You walk around trying to keep yourself warm until the day comes up. Go where you want to, and don’t look back.”

Birds In D Minor has a true lullaby feel, a lone guitar and voice for a verse. The band enters with a ballerina dance. “All that you say will be said back to you.” Complete with string quartet. Luke, Mike & John is a joyful tune with a friendly title (“soon you’ll forget everything you’re supposed to need”). Get Around Town brings a rock and roll guitar waking up the neighborhood, and I swear they’re singing about the “buzz countdown”. Or perhaps the “bud counts down”. Whichever, it makes me giggle in a good way – the video is funny too. Stranger has a tune and lyric that fits the title (“don’t have many friends in this town”), and is a very strong performance. “Things get always better in the past, but today tomorrow cannot pass. Anyone can see I’m a stranger here.” You Drove Me Home is a porch-strumming guitar ditty with the sons of the pioneers swaying in the non-existence 105 degree breeze swooning “you know how it feels to talk to yourself every night. And it’s alright.” Gets even deeper. “You don’t know your ma, you don’t know your pa. You don’t know your friends or yourself, and it’s alright.” Despite what sounds like sorrowed lyrics, this cd brightens my day every time I hear it. This would make a wonderful Christmas in July gift for someone you love, even yourself. Revolver

Balulalow portions:

Get Around Town:

Leave Me Alone:

A ‘wish I had been there’ lullaby party:

Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens - What Is This?

2009-06-28T17:31:00.000-05:00

Naomi has something deep in her soul she needs to share. “Whatever it is, I cannot hold back my peace! It makes me love my enemies. It makes me love my friends! It won’t let me be ashamed!” Scrumptious gospel truths couched in tasty blues power. “I just can’t hold my peace! Keep on praising God!” Naomi has the true depths of one that I know I’d spend a few hours with and come away blessed, glad to be alive and glad to know the truth of the Lord. The music feeds a hunger in this list of shoutout tunes you’ll be dancing on top of your pews singing along to - What Have You Done?, Trouble in My Way, By Your Side, and Lift My Burdens. A special shoutout for the powerful message of Am I Asking Too Much? In this song we are reminded of some simple truths that our nation has ignored for far too long. “When a child is hungry, he ought to be fed.” She chastises in a way that shames our “Christian” nation – “it don’t take a miracle to put food on the table”. She keeps the barbs coming. “They take my son and ship him off to Iraq. Am I asking too much to ask when he’s coming back?” Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens

Saturday Singles Serenade

2009-06-27T20:02:00.000-05:00

Cledus T. Judd - Christmas In Rehab
Brad Paisley - Catch All The Fish b/w She’s Her Own Woman
Wilco – You And I b/w You Never Know
The Dandy Warhols - The Last High b/w Hit Rock Bottom
The Proclaimers - Notes & Rhymes b/w Shadows Fall
Noa and Mira Awad – Nannina b/w We Can Work it Out
Elizabeth Foster - Blue Again b/w Song No One Knows
Rod Piazza – Sunbird b/w Session Expression
Badi Assad - Rhythms
Colin Hay - Freedom Calling

Rob Thomas - Her Diamonds

2009-06-26T20:06:00.000-05:00

“‘Oh what the hell’ she says, ‘I just can’t win for losing’, and she lays back down.” I have a total admiration for the ear of the poet here. We’ll probably never know if he is depressed and creating an imaginary listener, or if he is close friends with an extremely depressed person, or if he has the ear to listen to someone who is living with a depressed person. And in the end, it doesn’t matter what the situation is. He is able to capture in a few words what some live for years trying to cope with and understand and never be able to put into words the depths of the pain. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, but if she feels bad then I do too. So I let her be.” The song is uplifting because he is able to put feelings into words that many people have struggled with. The song won’t end the struggle, but will help to define the ache. When we share the word diamonds in our deeply private conversations, we’ll be paying homage to Rob. And, in case you wondered, the music is the catchy pop music that Rob is famous for, so yes, you can sing along.

In Give Me The Meltdown, the narrator gives permission to his loved one to melt down. He will accept the pain and will accept the fact that the “world is spinning round and round” and that the ‘secrets’ held deep inside the person having the meltdown may never come out. The narrator is simply willing to let the person in anguish ‘take it out on me’. Awesome. Many people take this role on and feel they’re all alone. The narrator here lets us know there are others who willingly bear the pain of loved ones. Shoutout also for Cradlesong (“love can be so cruel, but I will sing to you”) and Getting Late (“that’s the way it is, you can’t deny when it feels like this”). Rob Thomas

Rachel Taylor Brown - Susan Storm's Ugly Sister

2009-06-25T19:01:00.004-05:00

Knock knock knock. Is anyone in there? Are you listening? Wake up. The band doesn’t barge into my life to wake my body, but it’s obvious they have an intense purpose to wake up my mind. “I can go undercover. I can slap your mind!” The music is at once both relaxing and intense. The narrator makes it clear that even if I want to understand the depths of her intent I should keep some distance because she warns “I could kill you!” And that’s only the first cut. There’s more here that scratch into the depths of my ears enough to keep listening over and over. I’m intrigued by Ambush Bug/Reduviidae (“my brother precedes me, my brother’s a disgrace; no cockroach or bedbug; he chose the human race”), Lonely Galactus, The World Eater (In the interest of humanity I bring you fond regards, with infinity, oblivion and death and all infinity”), Bruce Wayne's Bastard Son (“daddy’s doesn’t know it but I’m sitting over here”), and St Fina (“Jesus love you when you hurt”). The music will challenge, but in a welcoming manner. The lyrics are a heavier challenge, but I feel it’s worth the effort to understand the poetic purpose of the narrator. The musical composition built around the meaning of the words fascinates because that means each movement in this cycle will have a different purpose for the musicians to explore. A challenge for the composer, and one that’s met perfectly here, thanks to some wonderful musicians willing to confront the dreams once held deeply within the mind of someone else. Excellent. Thanks to Alex for introducing us! Rachel Taylor Brown

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Skidmore Fountain - Cloudless Blue (CD)

2009-06-24T20:04:00.003-05:00

It’s not very often an entire album captures my imagination. Skidmore Fountain starts off this CD with two violins introducing a standard rock tune called Asylum. It’s a good tune, and one I would have easily picked for a song of the day. The violins are playing in a different time signature than a tune, but that intro soon leaves room for a standard “take no prisoners” tune that asks “are you having a good time?” I’m sucked in as an audience member & fully convinced that these guys will entertain me and I’ll be totally pleased with the experience, even as one of the characters in the song states he “lost his way.” When they ask again “are you having a good time?” I’m shouting yes!

Then the magic happens. Purple Mountain starts with a drumstick hitting 4 times, but we are not in standard rock 4/4 time. No need to bore with time signatures, etc, just know that many bands have tried this and failed. What makes this succeed? “Sweat is dripping down” is an easy answer, but for my ears, it’s the fact they can play with time signatures AND be melodic. This is not a common experience, so there’s a fresh flavor here that I can only exclaim as awesome. The rock guitar solo helps to ground the experience and enhances the overall dream. I’m impressed, but the journey is just beginning.

Drive By Reflection is a word montage that meanders around the image of a girl who becomes a playground in the narrator’s imagination. The tale in and of itself is fantasy, however, the musical arrangement is fantastic. Guitars meet violins in this symphony of visual metaphors. “Sideways with butterflies, I’m losing my grip. Everything is coming undone.” The poet character is exploring the places we seldom want to reach for, and what’s exciting me is the musicians are reaching those spaces with their personal flights into these spaces. Kudos especially for the percussionist who manages to keep the guitars and violins balanced and not smashing into each other as they do their blue angel behaviors miles above my head.
When The Sun Shines starts with vocal harmonies that perfectly suck me into a party atmosphere. “I would fly away” the narrator explains while a breath later he says “I’ll stay by this house all day”. A lesser poet would simply say “I don’t know what to do with myself”. Again the poetry becomes second to the sonic realities of the musicians. Wisely placed, this central philosophy has a music that is easy to dance to and re-center the musical neurons while still managing to sound fresh and unique.

I could keep on this mode, but I’ll stop and simply say the rest of the CD is just as powerful, and should be on your short list of CDs that you should purchase soon. Cloudless Blue (“we spill our secrets”) is a slow mental picture that approaches a psychedelic feel. Whole World Crashing Down (“we live underground”) has a powerful build, and features some pretty cool contrapuntal excitement. Sun In The Sky returns to a central image in this song cycle with beautiful 3 part harmony while the guitar slowly plucks chords. The narrator begins to sound apocalyptic and anticipates a thematic climax. “One man in charge leaves us standing, our backs against the wall” introduces Have We No Right. We’re brought back down to earth in a very interesting way with Memory. The guitars are slightly off, but so are the voices. Not off to sound bad, just off from what we think we want to hear. Masterful performance and powerful experience.

I’m most impressed by the fact these guys can’t be categorized. They work with jazz rhythms, but have a firm rock foundation. Their melodies are pure pop with story lines nearing pure poetry. I’d bet words like art and experimental follow them, and I hope this doesn’t limit their audience. It’s a music that challenges, but quickly becomes knowable and familiar. A special thanks to Laura for introducing us.

Skidmore Fountain

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CD Baby Music Discovery Podcast #39

2009-06-24T18:03:00.003-05:00

The first two acts on this weeks podcast are must-hears. The Ivys sing Never Let You In, a fun pop rock tune, and Jordan Tice has a cool instrumental he calls Salad Days. I'd definitely give them a heads-up if they thought to send CDs here. But they didn't, so head on over to http://musicdiscovery.cdbabypodcast.com/ and listen in to the first few songs on show #39.

The Lonely H - Cold Blues

2009-06-23T19:23:00.001-05:00

“H-h-e-e-e-y, hey! I never treat my body well. Spend my nights in heaven, spend my days in hell.” Take one part good doobie boogie bar band add an equal part of a frontman willing to shout out his love of living a life filled with music - shake, pour into a huge beer mug – and kick back for a great time. But don’t expect to stay kicked back long, the drummer works in tandem with the bass player to drag my feet up to move the many ways my body is capable of when it’s in full joy, especially when the back-up singers smile their harmonies above the wonderful guitar symphony. Shoutouts for another r&r dance track, Other Side Of The Water (“I’ll be gone today, I’ll be back tonight”), and the slower acoustic flavors of The River (“it’s gonna feel good as we wash our sins away and we fall back down again”). Thanks Alex, for the introduction!The Lonely H

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The Thromboes - Back To The (Concrete Pond)

2009-06-22T17:01:00.005-05:00

“I can’t hold my breath much longer! Only wish that I was stronger!” This is great! My desk is clean and I can pick anything I want to blast my Monday awake before the mail arrives with tons of new stuff. So, I choose the loudest and proudest new band of 2009 to bring my week to a blazing start! It was sorta “hard to choose” the one tune to get my week started, but since it’s been 105 degrees every day this week, I’m shouting out the coolest area I can think of. “I’m going back to the concrete pond”. I’ll even hang out with the Thromboes as they engage in the world’s favorite pastime – girl watching. The Thromboes even brought a few of those girls back to the garage to sing background on the song! Yes! Summer! “There was a fine redhead – she wore some skinny threads!” My favorite part is the rap the background singers get into.

Shoutout for Junk. A great song to play while cleaning out the garage to make more room for amplifiers and speakers. And the drummer wants a bit more space for that new cymbal he’s adding to his kit. Of, “the hoops you have me jump through.” But the garage is cleaner, so let’s get back to practicing and recording! Buy The Thromboes

The Thromboes On Eartaste

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George Harrison – Any Road b/w Marwa Blues

2009-06-21T18:41:00.002-05:00

“If you don't know where you're going. any road will take you there.” I guess this new CD is released to celebrate the 40 years since George hit the #1 spot with “Something”. The CD has 4 cuts from his first solo CD, 3 from the Bangladesh concert, and several from his last CD. As a listener who owns all the CDs, this is an odd collection, but for someone looking to taste the wonderful music of George Harrison for the first time, this is as good a starting place as any. Most of the hits are included, along with a few that shoulda been.
George Harrison

Spotify

2009-06-21T12:35:00.002-05:00

I haven't been real hot on internet radio because of the programming. They either have "all the hits" or extremely obscure, but nothing in between. I went ahead and accepted the invitation to Spotify, and I am excited. If the radio show I accepted is not set up to loop, I'll probably have Spotify on 24/7. I picked the 60's and have heard Spirit, Sly And The Family Stone, Art Blakely, Grateful Dead, Dionne Warwick, Tony Williams, Rhinocerous, Charles Mingus, Pete Seeger, Mies Davis and much much more - all great songs, but none were the "top hits", which means I'm enjoying familiar flavors, but not overly familiar. I love this type of listening because my ear stays tuned better. The overly familiar "hits" tend to make my mind wander.

Based on a few hours of joy, I will very highly recommend Spotify. They have radio stations for all eras, so take your pick and try it out.

http://www.spotify.com/

Ross Shifflett - 20 Pound Hammer

2009-06-20T18:01:00.004-05:00

“The hammer slowly takes my life.” A tale of how the rich get richer while the people who create the wealth suffer. Imagine just one of those bailed out bankers picking up a seven pound hammer, much less a twenty pound hammer. And is anyone ever going to bail out the guys who actually lift the hammer? Sounds to me like we’re being prompted by the new administration to understand and accept hammer-holders will stay unemployed for several years to come while the thieves in suits who never break a sweat get bailed out. When funds are loosed to build things, it’s not the guys building the highways who will profit.

How does that affect the music? Ross has done something really special with this tune and created a folk-flavored tone poem. Really hot guitar-picking. You can actually hear the sweat on the song, especially toward the end. The man who got rich off the labor of the hammer bearer will not appear at the funeral of the man who made him rich. Shoutout for The Charmer. Ross and the band have taken the words and created another tone poem, pulling in folk music from the middle east to flavor the ‘charms’. Very cool. Keep an eye out for the soon to be released CD - Chasing Bullets. Ross Shifflett aka Shiffy The Kid

Ross on Eartaste

Friday Singles - My desk is clean again!

2009-06-19T15:42:00.001-05:00

Diving With Andy - Kate Weal, Jonny Cale And Mister Rose b/w Silly Lulu
Johnnie Bassett - Keep Your Hands Off My Baby b/w Woman's Got Ways
The Blueflowers - Just For Show b/w I Wasn't Her
Pixie Lott - Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh)
Sarah Jarosz - Come On Up To The House b/w Mansinneedof
Hank Williams Jr - Farm Song b/w All The Roads
Spinal Tap - Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight b/w Rock & Roll Nightmare
Leeroy Stagger – Hell Of A Life
The Clarks - True Believer b/w What A Wonderful World
Sharrie Williams - I'm Here To Stay b/w Will You Still Love Me
Romi Mayes - I Won't Cry b/w Mercy on Me
Lynda Carter - Cloudburst
Lars Danielsson – Ballet b/w Melody On Wood
Ida Sand - Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further
Chris Robley - Baltimore Fugitives Buried in Brownsville, TX b/w A Memory Lost at Sea

Lynda singing the same Charlie Parker tune 30 years ago!!!

And The Living Is Easy

2009-06-18T19:43:00.000-05:00

Son Volt - Dynamite
The Lemonheads - Waiting Around To Die b/w Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye
Diving With Andy - You Don't Have To Cry b/w Sugar Sugar
Orba Squara - New Guitar b/w The Trouble With Flying & Brand New Day
The Blueflowers - Watercolor Ghost Town b/w Any Three Words
Laura Izibor – Shine b/w Mmm
Willy Porter - Wide Open Mind
Lord Cut-Glass - Big Time Teddy
Lee Harvey Osmond - Queen Bee b/w I Can’t Stand It
Elizabeth & The Catapult – Everybody Knows b/w Perfectly Perfect

When The Weather Is High!

2009-06-17T19:57:00.001-05:00

Idlewild - (The Night Will) Bring You Back To Life
JD Souther - Brown (Osaka Story)
Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit – Streetlights
Elizabeth & The Catapult - Momma's Boy b/w Taller Children
Emily Mover – Best I Know b/w Brand New & No Hill Too High
Rick Estrin & The Nightcats - Bigfoot b/w Take It Slow
Metric - Sick Muse b/w Waves & Gimme Sympathy (Acoustic)
Julie Feeney - Impossibly Beautiful b/w Mr. Roving Eye Guy & Monsters
Papercranes – Shell b/w Texas
Sad Day For Puppets - All The Songs b/w Saddest Cloud

Cure For The Summertime Blues

2009-06-16T20:04:00.002-05:00

Alex Roots - Dizzy From The Ride b/w Calorie Junkie
Demi Evans - Living Hands b/w Speak The Truth
Cherry Choke – Cheetah
Regina Spektor - One More Time With Feeling b/w Two Birds
Dala - Levi Blues b/w Lonely Girl & Stand In Awe
Jarvis Cocker - Angela
Dirty Projectors - Two Doves b/w Temecula Sunrise & Remade Horizon
The Dry Spells - Lost Daughter b/w Batwood
Sad Day For Puppets - Marble Gods b/w When The Morning Comes
Rick Estrin & The Nightcats - Walk All Day b/w Earthquake

Tiny Masters Of Today - Monkey In The Middle

2009-06-15T20:02:00.000-05:00

These folks put out one of my most favorite albums of 2007, and it’s great to hear they survived to make a second album. Since I really loved the first CD, this one kinda threw my brain in a mess – hip hop? Well, I thought it through and realized given the age of these youngsters, it’s a smart commercial move. They’re good at it, and probably unique. I haven’t heard tons of punk flavored hip hop yet, so these kids are still on the cutting edge. Harder for my ears to get used to but I hope it’s just perfect for folks their age. The Archies for the 21st century – lots and lots of sugar! A few cuts, of course, struck me as perfect for kids of all ages. Monkey In The Middle is an energetic fun summer dance song. Plan to sweat! The shoutout tune is Big Bass Drum. Tiny Masters Of Today

Carlos Núñez - Assum Preto/Asa Branca

2009-06-14T17:47:00.000-05:00

Some fine flute playing with help from some great players, el gran guitarrista Yamandú Costa y el maestro Dominginhos. The composition begins with an acoustic guitar preparing a fine meal and offering up an appetizing dream to introduce the hypnotic flute melody. Supporting the flute is a tango enhancing accordion flavor that soon comes out for his own solo. A fine addition to any meal. Half way through the composer adds dessert to the mix, and creates a mood for a sensuous glass of wine. Carlos Núñez

Beautiful Small Machines - Robots in Love

2009-06-13T20:05:00.000-05:00

I had this one all figured out before I listened to it. The lust had diminished, life was same-ol same-ol, day in day out, love was there, but robotic. Well, that’s okay I figured – as long as the music is good. The back cover on the ep warned me I’d hate this. Beautiful people dressed in white doing their best to look sad or bored, but too dang picture perfect to ever pull it off. I was all set up to dismiss this as bunk, but I did my duty ad listened. My little promise to artists is that I’ll listen to everything that comes in here at least once.

Turns out I wasn’t wrong on the pop, but this is perfectly delightful pop. Summer time blues taking away get up and dance pop music – great fun. And I was way off on the lyric. “It’s a simple computation. You take easy conversation, add erotic exploration. But when he said ‘I love you, girl,’ shoulda come with a warning.” Internal rhymes with excellent rhythm – some great pop writing. But it gets personal and dark. Before the event, the guy says “I’ve got to go, go go, ‘cause it hurts to feel.” Ouch. Pretty deep for a pop song. The short but effective guitar solo is icing on this tasty bubblegum flavored cake. The narrator later says “I’ve got to go, go, go because I need to feel.” Several shoutouts here, Superconductor is a humorous 80’s flavored joyful bouncy dance-floor beat (“I’ve got the frequency to turn you on”), and So Long 2 U shows the versatility of the Beautiful Small Machines with a slow dance (“nothing I’ve seen ever taught me how to let things go”). Beautiful Small Machines

I guess I should mention that these folks are the same ones who had us giggling way back in the day to a song called David Duchovny, and the equally hilarious Guttermouth from the infamous album called Cheap and Evil Girl by Bree Sharp. That explains why the writing is so good here – her writing was just as precise when the X-Files were still on TV.

Lone Star Pickerz - Only In It For The Music

2009-06-12T23:16:00.005-05:00

The picture's a year old, but I ain't getting any younger. Trying to teach high schoolers Biology during summer school is a gas. They can't figure out how to remember all these new terms, etc, so I explain to them pretend it's an album. How many of you know every song on the new Enimem album? They don't only already know the titles, but they know all the lyrics already. So, I explain, study it the way you do lyrics, rap it. Let's face it, the terminology sounds like it came right out of the rock & roll canon. Kreb's Cycle had a hit with Matrix of the Mitochondrion b/w Oxidative Phosphorylation. Golgi Apparatus had a big seller with Synthesis of Proteoglycans b/w Extracellular Matrix. Then I start thinking - what a brainstorm, this could be the next big thing - Science Rocks! Then I realize the heat today, well into 103 degrees, mixed with the humidity is begging me to go out for a beer at the local beer garden.

These guys don't have a CD out, but they sure are fun to watch, dance, and drink to. There's a few videos at their site to watch, along with 31 streaming songs to smile away an afternoon. It helps me to clear my brain so Monday I won't forget that Condensation Reaction does not mean running from the rain or getting out the umbrella. Just another forgotten rock and roll group with it's long forgotten oldie but goodie Diester Molecule b/w Nucleophilic Acyl Substitution. Don't worry kidz, after you graduate you can join the rest of us at the beer garden one Friday night a month to listen to Lone Star Pickerz.

Aynsley Lister – Time’s Up

2009-06-12T20:03:00.000-05:00

Tonight’s double-header Blues party starts with the wonderfully loud guitar of Aynsley Lister. “You’ve been hanging on to all my dreams way too long, now I’m breaking free.” The guitar has entered a spectacular place in my dance cells as the bass and drums support the aging bones within this human frame! Love the short, but meaningful drum solo. Aynsley Lister

Live video with not great sound, but good energy:

Shawn Pittman - Call Them How I See Them

2009-06-12T20:02:00.000-05:00

The second act for tonight continues the Friday night blues with a total Texas boogie dance floor filler. The narrator is concerned that his baby is “out all night”, with some fine r&r lead playing. Shawn does a fine job of emulating some of the best blues players, but giving it a personal flavor that lets you know he’s not just imitating the past. He’s making blues for a new generation of broken hearts. Love it - thanks! Shoutouts for My Luck Has Changed, Let's Blow This Joint & the fine instrumental which is a beautiful tone poem of a guitar turning into a wild Hurricane being pushed around by the percussion & bass. Play it again! Shawn Pittman

You Can’t Sit Down:

Shawn w/ Cricket:

Otis Taylor - I'm Not Mysterious

2009-06-11T20:03:00.002-05:00

“I’m not strange at all. I just want to follow you home.” The kind of guy we warn our kids about, but you gotta admire the narrator for being honest about his feelings. What attracts me to this song is not the creepy guy wanting to follow people home, but the music. The guitar lovingly starts off this party with a sweet intro, then as the narrator begins his story, the guitar is joined by a steady thumping bass in tandem with a fiddle, an engaging trumpet opening the heavens, and a piano player percussing the earth with power to raise dried seeds to life. Shoutout for If You Hope. Otis Taylor

Hoots and Hellmouth - Root of the Industry

2009-06-10T20:04:00.002-05:00

”What makes a man labor for labor’s sake when he ain’t even in on the take.” LOL!!! Great question. Don’t worry, there’s no answers here – just a hell-raising song about a lots of things that are more fun to listen to than think about. I really really love the way the chorus of singers hold out the word ‘foundation’! Gives the word a new, exciting appeal. There’s a bit of revolution in the air here – the whole group singing – that’s a lotta fun, and then there’s some more words that invite dancing in the streets: “Gather up your axes, forget about paying your taxes.” Shoutout for the total American acoustic rock and roll of What Good are Plowshares If We Use Them Like Swords. Takes Isaiah’s words and throws them out there into the modern world with a twist of reality. If there ever came a time when our swords would become plowshares, people would still hit each other over the head with them. That’s humanity for ya. Fun music for fun times! Hoots and Hellmouth

Different day. . .

Brendan Themes - Slow

2009-06-09T20:07:00.000-05:00

Some people have fun fooling with my head, and I love ‘em for it. For example, Brendan ends this EP with a song called Slow. That’s okay, lotsa artists end their CDs with a slow song, it’s a given. But it’s fast. And full of lyrics! They slide by so fast that Brendan sneakily makes me listen over and over. Of course by then, it’s a part of my life, and I have to keep it in my forever collection. And like everything else in my forever collection, I have to tell my eartasting friends about it. “Shut all the windows, open up the floodstream.” Brendan Themes

Brendan’s band, Karmic Whiplash on Eartaste

The Thromboes – Overture To The Sun

2009-06-08T20:11:00.000-05:00

The Thromboes play a fast and loud instrumental ode to the sun for the first Monday of summer vacation! The recording sounds perfectly live in a garage with a souped up car or two nearby. The garage door is of course wide open – you can almost hear the police car pulling up as the neighbors call about all the noise these men are managing to produce in the hood.

Larry is known here in Eartasteland as one of the writers and performers on the wonderful Histrioniks CDs. I’m hoping for more Histrioniks in the future, but I’m plenty happy with this in the meantime. A few cuts even feature cameo appearances from his Histrionik co-hort. The shout-out this week is the super-hilarious I'm On The Underground. Anyone who has been in a band in the past 42 years will be laughing along. And anyone who knows people who has been in a band will be laughing along. “I was lost and now I’m found on Little Steven’s Underground.” Again, it’s the sound bouncing off the garage walls that give this tune its wonderful ambience.

Visit The Thromboes on Myspace. Then click here to buy the CD: The Thromboes - She's Like A British Car (CDBaby).

The Thromboes On Eartaste

The Histrioniks On Eartaste

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Another incarnation (Histrioniks):

David Malmberg - Merida

2009-06-07T20:00:00.002-05:00

100 years ago, when I was 8 years old I got my first guitar, along with a book called ‘Play Guitar In 7 Days’. The frets were ¾ of an inch away from the strings, and my fingers bled a lot, but I accomplished the task by practicing every day for 2 hours a day. I sounded good enough to start playing in a band after a week. It was probably the same book all the people on the radio used, because it wasn’t hard to play along with the radio after a month or two. But that soon bored me, because I kept hearing other things. Solo guitar players, fancy little tricks, and worse – I discovered Segovia at the library. The good thing about Segovia was that he was first and foremost a teacher, so each of his albums would have easy, medium, and advanced pieces. He didn’t call them that, of course, but it was inspirational to be able to play a piece like Segovia played it after a month of practice, and the harder pieces after months of practice, and there were always the pieces that no matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t figure out. Even though as a teenager I was making money teaching guitar, it wasn’t until I reached college that I learned about technique and exercises so I could aspire to play the more difficult pieces.

Which brings us to David Malmberg. Like Segovia, he has produced some classical guitar albums that are melodically interesting and great for a listener. They are also great for guitar players because these are original compositions by David that can add to a young player’s repertoire. And, like Segovia he includes a few challenging pieces to give a young player something to aspire to. If you’re not a guitar player, the tunes will still inspire your thoughts to take journeys. Like all classical composers, David will take inspiration from popular music and make the trip a memorable one. For example, the tune Old Friends has some distinct flavors from the Paul Simon tune of the same name, but the melody takes a further reach into the depths of the themes, with some solid variations on a theme.

On the second CD, Cuentas de Hadas is a pleasant composition that invites a player to the challenge of recreating the technique David sneakily makes sound easy. That’s the best definition of a master, he makes the difficult sound simple. His long piece ‘The Fruit Of The Spirit’ is subtitled Nine Impressions for Guitar, and is a collection of tone poems called Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Gentleness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Meekness and Temperance. They are wonderful meditation pieces.

If there is a guitar player in your life, these CDs will thrill, so when buying a copy for yourself be sure to buy an extra set for them. Plus, David assured me he has scores available at minimal cost if you contact him at his website, DavidMalmberg.com.

David Malmberg - Andalusian Sojourn

David Malmberg - Reunion

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Leslie Mendelson – Hit The Spot

2009-06-06T20:02:00.000-05:00

Good old fashioned BBQ chicken with potatoes and home grown slowly sweating a nice crisp outer crust on the edge of the grill while the bass player lovingly mixes King Of The Road with These Boots Are Made For Walking up and down the neck, with finger snappin’ Leslie getting ready to ask “What’s the fuss?” The aswer to that question is easy, and I think she really knows, but she’s playing coy. The fuss is the music is fresh, the spirit is free. There’s touches of Rickie Lee Jones meeting her youthful self and shouting to Chuck E, “there’s something in the air! I used to fight it, but now I just don’t care!” Leslie has enlivened the party, and with her excellent musicians preening alongside, the music definitely hits the spot! Flip the chicken and dance along, it’s going to grill for an hour. “I never understood how further education could ever feel this good!” Give the horn players an extra beer! Shoutouts for the slow roasting dance of I Know You Better Than That, and the sultry spices of Be My Baby. Leslie Mendelson

Big Star – #1 Record / Radio City (CD)

2009-06-06T13:21:00.002-05:00

Loni from specialopsmedia let me know about this set. These two records are being re-released on a single CD. Seems like 100 years ago I bought these albums when they first came out. Later, I secured copies of the CDs when they were released in the 90’s. I still keep those handy, but I’m guessing they are no longer available. The good news is that both are available again on a single CD. So, if you don’t have a copy, this is your chance. There’s always a new generation that needs to hear folks that influenced other musicians. Big Star was never really a “big” act, but they made enough noise that other writers came to admire and/or copy them. The fact that the record company did not get behind the band in the manner that most bands of this caliber would expect had a lot to do with what eventually became the ‘indie’ scene. Why sell your soul if you couldn’t profit from it somehow? The CD includes both albums, and the mixes that made it to 45 back in the day.Big Star

High Ceiling - Reality

2009-06-05T19:51:00.002-05:00

The last thing I’d expect to see on an album called “Illusions” is a cut called ‘Reality’. Catching my eye is one thing, catching my ear is another. I’ve listened to this cut many times this week waiting for it to start boring me. Never did. Describing it is another issue. It starts off in almost a jazz mode, but it doesn’t take long for the rock to kick in. Flavored with reggae, funk, powerful percussion and outer space sounds – this cut is wild on speakers, even wilder in headphones. Definitely presents a great method to get people up to the dance floor at any Friday night party. The best thing about this cut is its instrumental energy will fit well into any genre of party you happen to be enjoying. A good one for your toolkit, my DJ friends – you’ll wild up any good times with this. Special thanks to Maria for getting this one out to Texas! High Ceiling

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Never Ending Summer 2009 Singles Part Three

2009-06-04T20:06:00.001-05:00

Headless Heroes - The North Wind Blew South b/w Just One Time
Eels - Fresh Blood b/w Beginner’s Luck & What’s A Fella Gotta Do?
Diane Birch – Valentino b/w Fools & Rise Up
Stephanies Id - Big Gray Peepers
The Veronicas - Change The World
Alela Diane - White As Diamonds b/w Dry Grass & Shadows
Tori Amos - Not Dying Today b/w Maybe California