The Swamp

I haven't heard much music that I like that was produced in the past 30 years or so. Certainly not compared to the Golden Age of the 50s (largely jazz and bluegrass) through the 70s. But I do like this.

imho, that video with Taylor, Little Walter and Koko Taylor is particularly good.

Three legends with such unique sounds, playing fluently together. I didn't expect this.

Years ago, Alligator put out a Hound Dog Taylor tribute album.

These things are usually pretty lame, but this one is highly recommended.

This track is smoking!

Nice.

There are a lot of great guitarists, in many genres. Tony Rice, Doc Watson, Richard Thompson, and Duane Allman are my personal faves.

Here's a live performance of a similar line-up led by Rice in the same year as the tune above. My how they can play! Of course, this is the ultimate bluegrass venue.

Tony Rice actually grew up in LA. Not the typical back story for bluegrass icons of his generation. Every bluegrass player in California that I knew was aware of this. It was seen as somehow legitimizing playing Appalachian music way out west, which was seen as freakish in the '70s.

But by the time he was 20 he had moved to Kentucky. Here's Tony with legendary mandolinist Sam Bush around 1971. This is just before Tony made the move to play with banjo player J.D. Crowe, creating a super-group that initiated "progressive bluegrass." Check out 2:07. I don't think he's ever played a bad solo in his life.



This one always gives me a chuckle. It's like Yo Yo Ma playing Taylor Swift. But they actually turn this tune into some pretty good music.

I had been to a few fiddle and bluegrass festivals on the east coast in the early 1970s. I liked the music. But I was busy failing to make it as a jazz trombonist. I didn't think of playing that style.

In 1976 I went to a Ralph Stanley concert. Having failed enough in the dying jazz field, I bought a cheap guitar and started playing bluegrass. I liked the traditional sound, represented so well by Stanley's band. But it was progressive bluegrass that blew my mind.

Here's Tony Rice with The New South in 1975. To me, this was The Beatles.

It's been 31 years since Steve Earle's first major label release, "Guitar Town". This is my favorite song on that album. It vividly encapsulates the desire of a small-town kid to get out of dodge and see something else.

Pretty song. I have the nitty gritty dirt band version on an album.

Chris Thile (Punch Bros) hosts the Prairie Home Companion now that Garrison Keillor's retired.

Here he is with the Prairie Home Companion Band (which has members of Punch Brothers), with Trey Anastasio from Phish.

sancarlos wrote:It's been 31 years since Steve Earle's first major label release, "Guitar Town". This is my favorite song on that album. It vividly encapsulates the desire of a small-town kid to get out of dodge and see something else.

Earle is one of the greats in my view. Amazing how far down he fell, and then recovered to do some fine work afterwards. Still doing it.

EnochRoot wrote:Chris Thile (Punch Bros) hosts the Prairie Home Companion now that Garrison Keillor's retired.

Here he is with the Prairie Home Companion Band (which has members of Punch Brothers), with Trey Anastasio from Phish.

I'm a big Thile fan. Can't wait to see what he does with this show. It's a big platform for acoustic music in this country. I remember watching Johnny Cash's TV show with excitement over who he'd have on. I expect Thile's show will do the same for me.

In the mid-60s Motown was producing hit after hit. A record company owner in Philadelphia decided he wanted some of what they had going. He matched novice producer Thom Bell with unknown singing group The Delfonics. The result was the Philly Soul sound. Silky lead singing -- Will Hart -- combined with ethereal harmonies and lush arrangements. Magic. If only for a few golden years, per my ears.

You can easily hear where Hall & Oats were coming from. Listen a little harder, and you can hear what Todd Rundgren found so compelling.

You said it, Mr. Forster. Black's fine.



The Stylistics, O'Jays, Spinners, Teddy, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Plus, no TheSoundOfPhiladelphia, no theme song for this show:



(yeah, whenever I decry the kids these days, with the hair and crazy clothes and that noise they call music, just cue this up.)

This hear is a monster remix of an all time classic!

Pam Grier is sexy.

howard wrote:You said it, Mr. Forster. Black's fine.

I spent the whole movie muttering to myself "Don't blow this, Forster."

(yeah, whenever I decry the kids these days, with the hair and crazy clothes and that noise they call music, just cue this up.)

Yeah, but.

Music 101: How to rock

Heard this a bunch as a Colorado kid. The pride of Denver, Jerry Corbetta and Sugarloaf, 1975.

Considered a one-hit wonder, they were actually one of the great unknown rock bands of the era.

I remember hearing "Don't Call Us" the first time on Casey Casem. At the time I was messing around with the xylophone/glockenspiel, didn't turn up in top 40 radio tunes very often.

time to be pedantic. two-hit wonder. Loved both of these in middle school.

eta: that keyboard man, Jerry Corbetta, could really play. He is another rock and roll victim of 2016

That is one great pop song. It's got a unique sound, and these guys play all the notes the way a strong prog rock band should.

This is a fine country song. Even in the conventional wing of this genre there are songwriters who can deliver the goods with punch and economy. And of course there are some musicians in Nashville who can play.

Lee Ann with Buddy Miller backing her.

Nice! Lee Ann Womack has always been underrated.

A modern country duet classic. Always brings my thoughts back to when I lived in Mendocino. To my surprise, Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics.

Willie Nelson you say? Now you are talking. You're talking Texas.
A tribute to the recently departed Merle Haggard as well.

Pure classic.

So, I'd like to spend a few minutes in tribute for one of my old favorite bands, the Beat Farmers. They never really made it commercially, but they were the funnest band I've ever seen live, and I saw them about 10 times in the late 80's/early 90's. Record companies didn't know what to do with them, because they were all over the map musically with four different guys who sang lead. Roots rock music predominated for them, but lots of country and punk influences, plus the incredible crazy drummer/showman Country Dick Montana. People talked mostly about their wild shows and the stuff Dick did, but they were a tight musical unit with excellent guitarists, too. Dick usually did jokey songs, but he was a fine drummer and a crazy entertainer. You had to be there. Often, he'd take a mic with a long long cord and go into the audience, sit down and have a sing-along. Once I saw, during an instrumental break he climbed on the bar at a club, pulled down a bottle of tequila, told the bartender, "put this on my tab" (I was right there), proceeded to take a long chug himself, then told the audience to open their mouths, poured out the bottle on a number of different faces, then rejoined the song to sing the last verse. Nothing seemed to be off limits at a Beat Farmers show. Perhaps apropos, in 1995, during a live show in Whistler, British Columbia Canada, Country Dick Montana suffered a aneurysm/heart attack onstage. He died later that night, and the band ceased to exist. Here are a couple examples of the what the Beat Farmers were:

Thanks to an episode of "You're The Worst" putting this into my head.

I guess this qualifies now. Pink Floyd released Animals 40 years ago today.



I listened to a lot of Floyd in high school and college. I'd guess that I listened to Animals the most of all of them. Such a fantastic album (and mellow enough to be great music while you work or study). I suppose it never got much attention outside of Floyd fans, because none of the songs are radio friendly.

Shirley wrote:I guess this qualifies now. Pink Floyd released Animals 40 years ago today.



I listened to a lot of Floyd in high school and college. I'd guess that I listened to Animals the most of all of them. Such a fantastic album (and mellow enough to be great music while you work or study). I suppose it never got much attention outside of Floyd fans, because none of the songs are radio friendly.

That's a fantastic LP.

Have you heard the news?
The dogs are dead!
You better stay home
And do as you're told
Get out of the road if you want to grow old. [cue stupidly amazing, signature-worthy Gilmour's guitar hook here]

We're the sheep led astray, btw...

That's the only Pink Floyd album I downloaded (used to own them all on vinyl and many on cd).

And I remember my older brother buying that album. 40 YEARS AGO! I feel very old right now.

Big man
Pig man
Ha Ha
Charade you are

What do you get for pretending the danger's not real
Meek and obedient you follow the leader
Down well trodden corridors into the valley of steel
What a surprise!
A look of terminal shock in your eyes
Now things are really what they seem
No, this is no bad dream.