The Mixtape: The Country Western
Yeehaw. Let's get right down to the numbers, huh?
1. Last night I played the song "100 Years" by Dr. Dog. It comes from their 2008 album, titled Fate. At first I didn't think much of this album because I thought it tried too hard to sound like The Band. Now it's in my official Top 14 Fully Listenable albums, precisely because it sounds so much like The Band. Funny how music is sometimes. Here's Dr. Dog performing a track off that album, a groovy tune called From.
2. I played Jill Barber's song "Hard Line", from the album For All Time. She's a Canadian songwriter with a distinctive and easy listening voice. Here's an energetic version of her tune Oh My My, from the 2008 album Chances.
3. I can't resist posting more videos of Unknown Hinson. You may not know the name, but you may have seen him before. If you ever watched the video of Jian Ghomeshi interviewing Billy Bob Thornton on Q, you saw Unknown Hinson (real name Danny Baker) sitting off to the side with the rest of The Boxmasters (The band Billy was there to promote. Remember? No?). So I was pleasantly suprised to find out about Danny Baker's much cooler side project and alternate persona, Unknown Hinson: The King of Country Western Troubadours. Not only does Unknown know his poetry, he is also no slouch with a guitar, as he shows here on this crudely titled (but not crudely performed) Jimi Hendrix cover.
4. Here's Rick Danko singing Long Black Veil on the Festival Express Tour in Calgary.
5. Did you know that when you type the letters "h-e-s-t" into the Youtube search box, the first result is this song by George Jones, which also happens to be this week's nomination for the Saddest Song In The World? Last night I talked a little about how old country ballads often don't "sound" sad, and that they were often more about the story than the presentation. Well, not only does this performance not sound sad, it also don't look very sad. My, but those outfits are spiffy. And matching drums!
6. A fine version of NQ Arbuckle's Cheap Town, which I played last night. Luke Doucet sits in on drums, and Royal Wood plays the keys.
7. On the list of artists I would have liked to play last night except I don't own their record, here's Chris Scruggs. He is a Nashville guitar picker with a royal country and bluegrass lineage. He used to play lead guitar in a legit country band called BR549. He has just this year released a solo album, and from what I've heard, it's very good.
8. Full playlists from this show and shows previous are posted on the Facebook group. Feel free to drop me a line through Facebook or this blog if you want to recommend a favourite sad song, or maybe just a tune you've always wanted to hear streamed live over internet radio.
9. Tune in next week for the pre-Valentine's mixtape, and I'll talk to you then.
And remember: never squat with your spurs on.
Ian.
1. Last night I played the song "100 Years" by Dr. Dog. It comes from their 2008 album, titled Fate. At first I didn't think much of this album because I thought it tried too hard to sound like The Band. Now it's in my official Top 14 Fully Listenable albums, precisely because it sounds so much like The Band. Funny how music is sometimes. Here's Dr. Dog performing a track off that album, a groovy tune called From.
2. I played Jill Barber's song "Hard Line", from the album For All Time. She's a Canadian songwriter with a distinctive and easy listening voice. Here's an energetic version of her tune Oh My My, from the 2008 album Chances.
3. I can't resist posting more videos of Unknown Hinson. You may not know the name, but you may have seen him before. If you ever watched the video of Jian Ghomeshi interviewing Billy Bob Thornton on Q, you saw Unknown Hinson (real name Danny Baker) sitting off to the side with the rest of The Boxmasters (The band Billy was there to promote. Remember? No?). So I was pleasantly suprised to find out about Danny Baker's much cooler side project and alternate persona, Unknown Hinson: The King of Country Western Troubadours. Not only does Unknown know his poetry, he is also no slouch with a guitar, as he shows here on this crudely titled (but not crudely performed) Jimi Hendrix cover.
4. Here's Rick Danko singing Long Black Veil on the Festival Express Tour in Calgary.
5. Did you know that when you type the letters "h-e-s-t" into the Youtube search box, the first result is this song by George Jones, which also happens to be this week's nomination for the Saddest Song In The World? Last night I talked a little about how old country ballads often don't "sound" sad, and that they were often more about the story than the presentation. Well, not only does this performance not sound sad, it also don't look very sad. My, but those outfits are spiffy. And matching drums!
6. A fine version of NQ Arbuckle's Cheap Town, which I played last night. Luke Doucet sits in on drums, and Royal Wood plays the keys.
7. On the list of artists I would have liked to play last night except I don't own their record, here's Chris Scruggs. He is a Nashville guitar picker with a royal country and bluegrass lineage. He used to play lead guitar in a legit country band called BR549. He has just this year released a solo album, and from what I've heard, it's very good.
8. Full playlists from this show and shows previous are posted on the Facebook group. Feel free to drop me a line through Facebook or this blog if you want to recommend a favourite sad song, or maybe just a tune you've always wanted to hear streamed live over internet radio.
9. Tune in next week for the pre-Valentine's mixtape, and I'll talk to you then.
And remember: never squat with your spurs on.
Ian.
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