Now Playing on Festival Radio
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
State of the Union Drinking Game
It's State of the Union time again, and that means it's time for the State of the Union Drinking Game. Play at your own risk with the beverage of your choice. If you're lucky, you'll be insensate after 15 minutes and won't have to hear the rest of the speech.
It's nukular party fun!
It's nukular party fun!
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Paul Kelly
I found out last week that Paul Kelly put out an album in 2005 and somehow I completely missed it. Media Play, a music/DVD/books selling superstore-type chain is closing down and liquidating, and my girlfriend and I visited one of the locations on our way somewhere else, and lo and behold, there was Foggy Highway by Paul Kelly and the Stormwater Boys.
In Australia, Paul Kelly is a household name, often referenced as "the Bruce Springsteen of Australia." It's not a bad comparison for several reasons. His music seems to tap into something unique about being Australian. Some of his best songs are about distinctly Australian experiences. On "Forty Miles to Saturday Night" his narrator talks about it being the weekend and driving forty miles to town for the chance to hang out for the night at a bar. In "From Little Things, Big Things Grow," the story is told of the first Aboriginal land rights case. Like Springsteen, Kelly is a provocative story teller, not afraid to take on a wide variety of tales and narrators, including, unlike most male singer/songwriters, female narrators. Another one of his best tunes, "Sweet Guy," is from the perspective of a woman trapped in an abusive relationship.
Another way Kelly and Springsteen are similar is their connection to folk music. Springsteen is known for his bombastic anthem rock story songs, but has always had a soft spot for Woody Guthrie. His stripped down acoustic albums (Nebraska, The Ghost of Tom Joad and Devils and Dust) are some of his best. Kelly's folk roots have always been a little more evident, as his best work with his band the Messengers are best categorized as folk/rock or Americana. Even so, stylistically Kelly has been all over the place since beginning his solo career, as his solo albums are more highly produced and venture further into pop, rock and even blues. Side projects include jazz, bluegrass and soundtrack efforts.
Kelly's folk influences are clearly evident on the release I stumbled across (for 60% off!) at Media Play last week. Foggy Highway, recorded with an all-star band of Austalia's best bluegrass pickers, features some of Kelly's early works in a bluegrass, as well as a few newly written tunes and a Louvin brothers cover ("You're Learning," a duet with Kasey Chambers). A bonus disk contains four additional tunes, including a cover of "Rank Stranger." Kelly's tenor voice is perfect for bluegrass, and the resettings of his early tunes are all strong, particularly "Rally Round the Drum", the story of a traveling show boxer, and "Cities of Texas." However, it is the new songs which steal the show, particularly because one would not expect Kelly to write two killer bluegrass gospel tunes. Both "Passed Over" and "Meet Me in the Middle of the Air" sound like they have been reverberating around the hills of Kentucky for over a century.
If I had found this album earlier, it would have been on my Top 10 of 2005. It's that good. And if you are not familiar with Paul Kelly, this is a good one to start with, though it's not truly indicative stylistically of much of what he's done. For a good introduction to his early stuff, start with his best-of compilation, Songs of the South or Comedy, which is I think his best with the Messengers. If you like a more folk/pop sound, try his solo CD Nothing But a Dream.
In Australia, Paul Kelly is a household name, often referenced as "the Bruce Springsteen of Australia." It's not a bad comparison for several reasons. His music seems to tap into something unique about being Australian. Some of his best songs are about distinctly Australian experiences. On "Forty Miles to Saturday Night" his narrator talks about it being the weekend and driving forty miles to town for the chance to hang out for the night at a bar. In "From Little Things, Big Things Grow," the story is told of the first Aboriginal land rights case. Like Springsteen, Kelly is a provocative story teller, not afraid to take on a wide variety of tales and narrators, including, unlike most male singer/songwriters, female narrators. Another one of his best tunes, "Sweet Guy," is from the perspective of a woman trapped in an abusive relationship.
Another way Kelly and Springsteen are similar is their connection to folk music. Springsteen is known for his bombastic anthem rock story songs, but has always had a soft spot for Woody Guthrie. His stripped down acoustic albums (Nebraska, The Ghost of Tom Joad and Devils and Dust) are some of his best. Kelly's folk roots have always been a little more evident, as his best work with his band the Messengers are best categorized as folk/rock or Americana. Even so, stylistically Kelly has been all over the place since beginning his solo career, as his solo albums are more highly produced and venture further into pop, rock and even blues. Side projects include jazz, bluegrass and soundtrack efforts.
Kelly's folk influences are clearly evident on the release I stumbled across (for 60% off!) at Media Play last week. Foggy Highway, recorded with an all-star band of Austalia's best bluegrass pickers, features some of Kelly's early works in a bluegrass, as well as a few newly written tunes and a Louvin brothers cover ("You're Learning," a duet with Kasey Chambers). A bonus disk contains four additional tunes, including a cover of "Rank Stranger." Kelly's tenor voice is perfect for bluegrass, and the resettings of his early tunes are all strong, particularly "Rally Round the Drum", the story of a traveling show boxer, and "Cities of Texas." However, it is the new songs which steal the show, particularly because one would not expect Kelly to write two killer bluegrass gospel tunes. Both "Passed Over" and "Meet Me in the Middle of the Air" sound like they have been reverberating around the hills of Kentucky for over a century.
If I had found this album earlier, it would have been on my Top 10 of 2005. It's that good. And if you are not familiar with Paul Kelly, this is a good one to start with, though it's not truly indicative stylistically of much of what he's done. For a good introduction to his early stuff, start with his best-of compilation, Songs of the South or Comedy, which is I think his best with the Messengers. If you like a more folk/pop sound, try his solo CD Nothing But a Dream.
Labels: Reviews
Friday, January 13, 2006
New Dave Carter Song Released
Jim Henry has recorded "Quickdraw Southpaw's Last Hurrah", a previously unrecorded song by the late Dave Carter, on his new album One-Horse Town. The album is an acoustic duo album recorded with Carter's partner, Tracy Grammer.
Henry and Grammer will be touring together this year, so be sure to catch them live if they come near your town. Henry also played on Grammer's recent releases and is a widely-respected guitarist.
For more information on Jim Henry or to buy the CD, visit Jim Henry's website at http://www.jimhenry.net/index.html
You can, of course, hear this tune and others from the album on the Online Folk Festival.
Henry and Grammer will be touring together this year, so be sure to catch them live if they come near your town. Henry also played on Grammer's recent releases and is a widely-respected guitarist.
For more information on Jim Henry or to buy the CD, visit Jim Henry's website at http://www.jimhenry.net/index.html
You can, of course, hear this tune and others from the album on the Online Folk Festival.
Monday, January 09, 2006
Recent Adds (mid-October 2005 - today)
Once again, as seems to be ever the case, it's been way too long since I've blogged new adds. So, here they are.
Donal Hinely - Giants
#3 on my Top 10 of 2005, this is a great folk/Americana album. It is political without being preachy, nostalgic without being treacly, and filled with songs with hooks. "Shock and Awe" is the best political song I've heard all year. "Giants", a yearning for a leader with character worth believing in, is a close second. Other highlights included the nostalgic "Before Music Was a Product" and "Talking Cheap Trick Blues."
Great Big Sea - The Hard and the Easy
It's really nice to hear these talented folk rockers make a great album of some of the traditional Newfoundland tunes that have inspired them.
Joel Mabus - Parlor Guitar
Guitarist extraordinaire Joel Mabus performs pieces from the ealy 1900s on a "parlor guitar."
Odetta - Gonna Let it Shine
Backed by the Holmes Brothers, Odetta shows she is still at the top of her game and a compelling performer on this holiday concert mixing traditional gospel and spirituals. Her explication of the references on the classic tune "Midnight Special" gave me a whole new appreciation for the song.
Tom Paxton - Live in the UK
I was pleased to find out that this CD was nominated for a Grammy under Best Traditional Folk Album. Leaving aside whether this is really a traditional folk release (it's not), it is a live recording of a recent Tom Paxton concert, where Paxton, backed by Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, does an engaging mix of new tunes and classics.
Other recent adds on the Online Folk Festival or Online Folk Christmas*:
Donal Hinely - Giants
#3 on my Top 10 of 2005, this is a great folk/Americana album. It is political without being preachy, nostalgic without being treacly, and filled with songs with hooks. "Shock and Awe" is the best political song I've heard all year. "Giants", a yearning for a leader with character worth believing in, is a close second. Other highlights included the nostalgic "Before Music Was a Product" and "Talking Cheap Trick Blues."
Great Big Sea - The Hard and the Easy
It's really nice to hear these talented folk rockers make a great album of some of the traditional Newfoundland tunes that have inspired them.
Joel Mabus - Parlor Guitar
Guitarist extraordinaire Joel Mabus performs pieces from the ealy 1900s on a "parlor guitar."
Odetta - Gonna Let it Shine
Backed by the Holmes Brothers, Odetta shows she is still at the top of her game and a compelling performer on this holiday concert mixing traditional gospel and spirituals. Her explication of the references on the classic tune "Midnight Special" gave me a whole new appreciation for the song.
Tom Paxton - Live in the UK
I was pleased to find out that this CD was nominated for a Grammy under Best Traditional Folk Album. Leaving aside whether this is really a traditional folk release (it's not), it is a live recording of a recent Tom Paxton concert, where Paxton, backed by Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, does an engaging mix of new tunes and classics.
Other recent adds on the Online Folk Festival or Online Folk Christmas*:
- Abi Tapia - One Foot Out the Door
- Adrienne Young - The Art of Virtue
- Austin Echo - Austin Echo
- Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys - Live at the Mechanics Hall
- Bryan Hayes - Just a Man
- Cherryholmes - Cherryholmes
- Corinne West - Bound For the Living
- Craig Sonnenfeld - Storm Clouds Rising
- David Kleiner - This Human Heart
- David Williams and the Flatirons - Jopin, MO
- Doug Spears - Truth and Lies
- The Dreamsicles - Luv Songs for Grownups
- Enya - Amarantine
- Ernie Hawkins - Rags and Bones
- Fred Moolten - No Other Prize
- Freebo - Before the Separation
- Greg Winkler - Laugh a Little Larger
- Harvey Reid and Joyce Anderson - Christmas Morning*
- Jamie Byrd - Garden of Days
- Jim Henry - One-horse Town
- Judy Collins - "Saints and Angels in New Orleans" (CD single)
- Karen Matheson - Downriver
- Kathy Mattea - Right Out of Nowhere
- Ken Waldman - All Originals
- Mark Stepakoff - There Goes the Neighborhood
- Mary Sue Twohy - Songs to Hang on Stars
- Mick McAuley and Winifred Horan - Serenade
- Neil Jacobs - Secret Places
- Newgrange - A Christmas Heritage*
- Paul Michel - Our Last Goodbye
- Possum Trot Orchestra - Possum Trot Orchestra
- Rachel Bissex - In White Light
- Ray Korona Band - The Safe Thing to Do
- Rod MacDonald - A Tale of Two Americas
- Tish Hinojosa - A Heart Wide Open
- Various Artists - Acoustic Rainbow 23
- Various Artists - Azalea Sampler I
- Various Artists - Bluegrass Hits, Twenty TimelessFavorites From Yesterday and Today (Rounder)
- Various Artists - Hands Across the Water, a Benefitfor Children of the Tsunami
- Various Artists - Oasis Acoustic Samplers and Oasis World Samplers
- Various Artists - Raise the Roof - A Retrospective Live From the Barns of Wolftrap
- Various Artists - Ten in Texas
- Winterpills - Winterpills
- Zoe Lewis - Small is Beautiful
Labels: New Adds, Online Folk Festival
Friday, January 06, 2006
Happy Epiphany, everyone.
It's the 12th day of Christmas today, aka Epiphany, the day that the church celebrates the arrival of the Wise Men with gifts for the Baby Jesus. It also marks, at least in my estimation, the end of the holiday season, and thus I feel it necessary to announce the end of broadcasting for my Christmas station, Online Folk Christmas.
I'd like to thank all of those who listened to Online Folk Christmas. I hope it brightened your holiday season and entertained you. I'm still somewhat overwhelmed by its success - the station capped out on the number of listeners throughout the late holiday season, and in just over a month achieved a monthly total listener hours total (TLH) of over 16,000 at one point, about 4 times larger than anything the Online Folk Festival has achieved in its 5+ years of broadcasting. Much of that success can be accounted for by the fact that the station was listed during the weeks before the holiday on iTunes, which is like winning the lottery for Internet broadcasters. Since I don't have iTunes installed on my computer (it's a system hog of gigantic proportions for my "little computer that could"), I found out when someone posted a list of stations on iTunes on his website and posted it to the live365.com broadcasters message board.
The station is paid for through January 8, and I think that it will only be available to VIP members of live365.com until I re-activate it next holiday season. It's been a fun ride.
I'd like to thank all of those who listened to Online Folk Christmas. I hope it brightened your holiday season and entertained you. I'm still somewhat overwhelmed by its success - the station capped out on the number of listeners throughout the late holiday season, and in just over a month achieved a monthly total listener hours total (TLH) of over 16,000 at one point, about 4 times larger than anything the Online Folk Festival has achieved in its 5+ years of broadcasting. Much of that success can be accounted for by the fact that the station was listed during the weeks before the holiday on iTunes, which is like winning the lottery for Internet broadcasters. Since I don't have iTunes installed on my computer (it's a system hog of gigantic proportions for my "little computer that could"), I found out when someone posted a list of stations on iTunes on his website and posted it to the live365.com broadcasters message board.
The station is paid for through January 8, and I think that it will only be available to VIP members of live365.com until I re-activate it next holiday season. It's been a fun ride.
