The worst Christmas song.....EVER

So far, the worst Christmas songs ever, in my opinion, are "Last Christmas" including it's many, many covers and "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer". But now we have a new winner: "Shake Up Christmas" by Train. I was blissfully unaware of this, until I accidently heard it during the Holidays. I actually thought it was a joke. It's not and the joke's on us. Watch this video at your own risk:

'Nuff said

Happy New Year!!

Oh, please..... Revised 12/31/2010

This is an attempted reply to the comments regarding this post: First of all to Bill Smith, sorry that my new posts don't quite meet your satisfaction. I feel that I'm allowed to rant about things I am frustrated or angry with, specifically the current, sad of the music business today. Yes, I'm "mid-aged" but I don't think that I'm a "whining sissy". Again, I'm extremely frustrated and angry at current performers getting gobs of unearned money, exposure, ticket and album sales thrown at them when the artists that I feel are better have to load up the car or van, drive several hundred miles to put on a show for a few hundred (or less) dedicated fans (like me) and then drive on to the next show or back home, only to start all over again. If I had talent (a big IF) and the ability to write and sing a song, I probably wouldn't last a year in the music business. Maybe, I am a bit thin-skinned after all. And a Happy New Year to you, ALSO. See, I'm not really such a bad guy after all!

And to our frequent reader and commentator, oldfolkie, thanks for calling our attention to 2 great artists, Shotgun Party and Leela & Ellie Grace. I'm already familiar with Shotgun Party. I have most of their stuff and I like them, a lot. I'll check out the Graces soon as I get a chance. I just "discovered" a group that I also like a lot, Christabel and The Jons. Good stuff! Again, thanks for your input. Always appreciated!

PS - One more rant coming up about some horrible Christmas music I heard over the holidays that just makes me shudder. Stay tuned!



Sorry, gang but I only made it to track 09 from the post below this one. How many times can you haer about "songs I wrote in my bedroom" and high school life and tween crushes and teeny-bop heartbreak and all the boys I dated who treated me badly so I wrote a song about them? Track 08 is some sort of interview of Tay-Tay with Oprah (maybe? I don't know and I don't want to know)

PLEASE, I gotta play some Eilen Jewell or Red Molly now (you know, grown-up and intelligent music)before I become physically ill.

Remember: “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public.” - H. L. Mencken. " A nation of sheep, 'nuff said.

Merry belated Christmas!

Taylor Swift March 4, 2010 St Pete Times Forum Tampa, Florida

Since we're between holidays, I thought I'd give you all a special treat. I found this at one of my "secret" sites and I JUST had to share it! I even listened to some of it just to see how bad it really is (for the same reason people watch car accidents and buildings on fire). Seriously, this is the stuff they should play at maximum security prisons, at the highest volume possible, to keep the prisoners in line ("We'll be good, just don't play THAT again"). Well, buckaroos and buckarettes , here it is:
http://hotfile.com/dl/92804886/33cd666/swiftie.rar.html
track list
01 intro
02 You Belong With Me
03 Our Song
04 song intro
05 Tell Me Why
06 Teardrops On My Guitar
07 Fearless
08 song intro
09 Forever And Always
10 song intro
11 Hey Stephen
12 song intro
13 Fifteen
14 Tim McGraw
15 White Horse
16 Love Story
17 The Way I Loved You
18 You're Not Sorry/What Goes Around Comes Around
19 Picture To Burn

encore
20 Today Was A Fairytale
21 Should've Said No

And if any of you suffer any adverse effects form this, don't blame me. You stand forewarned!

"Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown"

"Happy XMas (War Is Over)"

So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear ones
The old and the young

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Christmas War is over
For weak and for strong If you want it
For rich and the poor ones War is over
The world is so wrong Now
And so Happy Christmas War is over
For black and for white If you want it
For yellow and red ones War is over
Let's stop all the fight Now

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Christmas War is over
And what have we done If you want it
Another year over War is over
And a new one just begun Now
And so Happy Christmas War is over
I hope you have fun If you want it
The near and the dear one War is over
The old and the young Now

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

War is over if you want it
War is over now -
John Lennon

The Two Man Gentlemen Band

Prime Numbers


Button Up Your Overcoat

The Good Lovelies 'Lie Down' music video

Here's a comment from "Anonymous" that I received about The Good Lovelies and Red Molly (two of my absolute favorites (tied at #1 1/2) performing together. One of the things I hope to see in this lifetime is to see Red Molly and The Good Lovelies together. I can just imagine what that show would be like. I may have done "Anonymous" one better. I've already seen Red Molly from the front row, and, in about a month, I get to see The Good Lovelies also from the FRONT ROW. Can't wait! Go here for more info: http://www.goodlovelies.com/

Anonymous said...
Oh yeah, As I was raving about Red Molly the other day, I forgot to mention this group the Good Lovelies. They played the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival along with RM and shared a lot of the same stages, sometimes together with RM. They are the Canadian version of Red Molly and every bit as good. They had a good time with RM and their rapport was awesome. Well worth listening to live and on their cds. Oh yeah, the 6 part mix of harmonies and instruments were just great when the groups were on stage together.

My number 1 1/2 - Red Molly

I have to squeeze Red Molly in between Eilen Jewell and a bunch of artists tied at number 2. I saw my second Red Molly show a few weeks ago and I got the pleasure of meeting the newest member, Molly Venter ("Molly Molly"). I still miss Carolann Solebello, though (it's only natural). Anyway, here's a few pics and I'll probably make a new Red Molly post tomorrow.

"May I Suggest" the highest point of a night of all high points


Another high moment was their cover of "Fever" (yes, the Peggy Lee "Fever")

More CDs

A few days ago, I received 2 CDs in the mail and today I received 4 more. I'm getting a pretty good assortment already. Here the latest batch:

Emily Elbert - signed & personalized "Proof" and "Bright Side"

Anne & Pete Sibley - signed & personalized "Think Of This River" and "Will You Walk With Me?"

Cats & The Fiddler - signed "Down The Fast Lane" and "Come Back To Me" (just released)

Lots of great music. Thanks to everyone!
More to come. Stay tuned!

Newgrass Generation - Fox on the Run

Cats & the Fiddler - Will the Circle Be Unbroken

Cats & the Fiddler - Orange Blossom Special

The Good Lovelies 'I Want'

DeaconBlues1103CW+ - No more!

The answer to my lamentations, cynicism's, bemoanings, etc. regarding the sorry state of popular music today (especially Country music) is so obvious that I looked right at it and didn't see it (the forest and the trees). This makes if official: I do NOT like Country music anymore (so there)! I should climb to the top of the highest mountain and shout it as loud as I can. There, I feel better already! The next thing to do is to change the above banner to something more generic. That's a shame, because someone in one of the forums that I used to participate in designed that banner for me. But all good thins must end, so here it goes. The words and initials Country, Country/Western, CW+ will no longer apply. I've found that in order to get the type of music that I prefer I have to go to Americana, Roots, Folk, Singer-songwriter, Alt-country and Bluegrass. You know, the REAL country music. I've listened to some really great music, and met some really nice people along the way. These people pour their heart and soul into every song, every note, every string that gets plucked, and I, for one, greatly appreciate their efforts. Otherwise, I'd have to listen to music that The Powers That Be tell me that I like. I'd rather decide for myself, thank you. Oh, enough ranting for now. I'm headed over to blogger to change my banner. See ya!

Gold Heart performing "Blues won't you go away" at WDVX

My New Project Pt. 2....

Some more personalized CDs poured in. This is cool!

Bonnies Music Live - Signed EP and her new CD "Shiny Lights & Limousines" and a 4x7 color promo photograph.

Cindy Woolf - Signed "Simple and Few" and "Before Daylight" CDs.

Molly Venter - Signed "Love Me Like You Mean It" CD. Signed at a Red Molly show.

Red June - Signed "Remember Me Well" CD.

Sara Petite - Signed "Lead The Parade" and "Tiger Mountain" CDs.

Check out these artists for great sounds! More CDs, etc. are on the way.

Thanks, Triggerman!

Saving Country Music
is an amazing website that I stumbled across today. The Triggerman seems to have the ability to read my mind and write almost exactly how I feel about our beloved Country Music. I've already read some of his posts and I plan to read almost all of them. He goes beyond the Taylor Swift bashing, which I've done here on more than one occasion (we can't help ourselves, she makes it so easy). He takes shots at other "Country" stars such as Sugarland, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flats and Lady Antebellum among others and then he gives us a transcript of his interview with Ruby Jane, a 16 year old fiddle phenom. I must admit that this was my introduction to Ruby Jane, but rest assured, I want to find out more about her and her incredible sound. Thanks, Triggerman, for introducing Ruby Jane to us! More to come.....

Sugarland - Worst song ever?

Is this the worst "Country" song ever written, recorded and performed? I've listened to a lot of crap in my time, but this...........(and what's with that guy with the stupid hats?)

Red Molly on YouTube

She's Got You

Foreign Lander

Jolene

May I Suggest

Eilen Jewell Shakin All Over

My #1 - Eilen Jewell (& the Band)

Well we might as well start with my favorite, #1, greatest of all artists, Eilen Jewell and The Eilen Jewell Band. I might as well say, that although EJ is at #1, about half of my music library is tied for #2, and the other half is tied for #3. And that ain't bad.
Check out EJ's website here , buy some CDs, look at some images, listen to some music, send Jason (her/manager/drummer/husband) an email telling him how much you like the music, go to a live show (trust me, well worth the price and effort) and enjoy! Speaking of Jason, I hope I don't get in trouble with him, but, man, I just LOVE her!
Here's a few MP3s from selected albums. This is by no means a complete discography. There's more stuff out there.


MP3 - Don't Come Home A'Drinkin'
MP3 - You Ain't Woman Enough

Boundary County
Back To Dallas

Heartache Boulevard
Blue Highway

Sea Of Tears
Codeine Arms

Found on Amazon

I found this little blurb on Amazon as part of a biography, and I think it says a lot:

(artist name) is one of those musical treasures that lurk beneath the popular "culture" radar and we ignore at our own peril lest they get discouraged and disappear, only to be "discovered" by Sweden or somewhere. (No offense, we love you Sweden!) Then we are left to scratch our heads and say "Hey, why didn't WE love her/him/them first?"

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Great Website

Here's a great website that I found over at totallyfuzzy. I plan to spend a LOT of time there, exploring the music. This guy is doing almost exactly what I want to do here. Alert you to great artists, listen to a few tracks, expose you to music that you might not find on your own, and to provide a link to the artist's web-site or MySpace page. I'm going to try to get in touch with him and ask him how to play selected music through links provided by me. Meanwhile, have a look around here:
Beat Surrender
I'll get back to you

My new project....

There's a little project I started a few weeks ago, and it's progressing nicely, with a few surprises. I'm starting with the artists I REALLY like and I'm emailing them and asking if I can buy a signed and personalized CD through their website. What better way to support the artists? Here's a list of the signed CDs (or otherwise) that I've received so far:

Carolann Ames: Signed "So Long Abilene" and "Shades of Indigo" CDs PLUS 2 8 1/2x11 color photos, also signed! I wasn;t expecting the photos. Thanks, Carolann!

Derrick Jensen: "The Other Side of Darkness" CD plus several books.

Gold Heart: Signed "My Sisters and Me" and "Never Let Go" CDs. These sisters are awesome!

The Honey Dewdrops: Signed "If the Sun Will Shine" and "These Old Roots". Laura and Kagey are really GREAT people. I'm so glad I found them (through eMusic)!

Jubal's Kin: Signed "Jubal's Kin" CD. Great and highly talented young artists.

Lynda Kay: Signed "Dream My Darling" CD. I'm a BIG Lynda Kay fan!

Pat Wictor: Signed "Living Ever Lovin' Live" and "Waiting for the Water" CDs. I met Pat at a Red Molly show. Really great guy!

Red Molly: Signed "James" and "Love and Other Tragedies" CD. AND Abbie Gardner "Honey on My Grave", Carolann Solebello ""Glass of Desire" and Laurie MacAllister ""The Things I Choose To Do". Everyone knows that I'm a HUGE Red Molly fan. "Nuff said!

Shannon Wurst: Signed "What's More Honest Than a Song" CD. Shannon is REALLY cool!

Stephanie McMillan Several books signed and personalized

The Vespers: Signed "Tell Your Mama" CD. I found these guys at the Woodsongs site, and I really like them. Another young group.

Here's a few that I'm waiting to hear from;
Marian Call
The Wrights
The Secret Sisters

I'm going to email some more in the next few days.

Here's a thought...

If Tay-Tay was short, fat & ugly, who would be getting all this media hoop-la? Who would be on the front page of the Entertainment section of a major city newspaper? Who would be on the cover of People magazine? You see, we need her!! 'Nuff said!

She is soooooo cool!

1verycoolguy said...
I, personally, like Taylor Swift because she is absolutely gorgeous and so sexy. Not that I like her style of music but I just enjoy seeing her.


DeconBlues1103...
OMG I know exactly what you mean, you must have read my mind! She is sooooo cool and like, REAL.
I just love her clothes and she has great hair and she is like, so pretty. I didn't even know she could sing until now. Now, it's like, OMG, I just HAVE to see one of her shows or like, I'll just DIE. I didn't even know that I, like, like country music until I listened to her. She is like, super-cool.

More Swiftie...

oops - Try this link instead. When you get there, just do a search for "Taylor Swift":
http://metamorpheusmp3.net/forums/index.php
Never mind, my post got edited.

I should say that I have nothing against her, personally. I just don't like it when it's already decided by TPTB that this is what the public wants. The public has no idea what it wants, that's the problem. And they will accept anything if they're told that they like it.
(Somebody help me, I'm becoming a curmudgeon before my time!)

A Rhetorical Question.... (see comments)

http://www.docs4you.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=41118&hl=
OK, here's a question that I haven't received an acceptable answer to: Is she extremely popular because the mass public really likes her and idolizes her OR is it because she is shoved down the public's throat by TPTB (the powers that be)? And it's not just her, it's the Jonas Brothers, Lady Antebellum, The Band Perry, etc etc etc. If I were a young, talented but overlooked artist in the music business and I was good (and knew it), I would be so pissed off at TPTB (remember them?) that I would seriously think about quitting. Example: as I type this, I have Shannon Wurst on Winamp right now, and if anyone out there says "who?" you make my point, and I'm going to reach through my computer and smack you upside the head. Maybe it's better this way. The artists I mostly listen to and follow are virtually unknown. I can send emails to them, tell them how much I like their music, buy their CD's personalized to me, etc. Just ask Swiftie here for a signed CD and see how far you get. I leave you now, 'cause it's time for my morning walk and maybe I'll get rid of some of this negative energy. I'll be back!

The Vespers FREE CD!

In case y'all didn't see the comment about The Vespers CD, here it is:
J.T. said...
The Vespers are so cool. Their full length album is available for free download at their site, but hurry it won't be up much longer!

I found their web-site through the Woodsongs site and I immediately downloaded the CD (absolutely FREE). After listening to it, I felt really bad about not leaving a tip (recommended $8.00 and well worth it!). I went back to their site and bought the Tell Your Mama package, which can be found here:
http://thevespers.portmerch.com/stores/product.php?productid=17346&cat=0&page=1&featured

Go for it, gang (You'll thank me later)! These 4 young people are very fresh, very talented and very real.
Go here for the free CD:
http://thevespersband.com/blog/full-album-for-free/

Oops! I forgot this one....

Shannon Whitworth
http://shannonwhitworth.net/index.html

and thanks to a comment by "anonymous"
Brennen Leigh
http://www.brennenleigh.net/

I'm sure there's (many) more to come. Watch this space!

Help support these artists (they deserve it)

Hey, gang, here's a list of artists that I've "discovered" recently that I really like. I've changed my attitude lately towards supporting these and similar artists. I actually go to their websites and BUY the CD's, t-shirts, etc. I will NOT give away those CD's etc. for free. These people need our money and support and they well deserve it. If you want free music, feel free to download all the Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, etc. stuff you can find. They're not going to miss a few bucks. Support your local (or not so local) artist! Buy their stuff, send them an email telling how much you love their sound, go see them in person if you can, and generally be supportive of them. Good music is out there, you just have to look a little harder for it. Here's my list: (additions/revisions, no doubt, to come)

Eilen Jewell and her band
http://www.eilenjewell.com/

Red Molly
http://www.redmolly.com/

Riders In The Sky
http://ridersinthesky.com/index.htm

Sunny Sweeney
http://www.myspace.com/sunnysweeney

Sara Petite
http://www.sarapetite.com/fr_home.cfm

Josie Kuhn
http://josiekuhn.com/

Annie Lou
http://www.annielou.ca/

The Quebe Sisters
http://www.quebesistersband.com/QuebeSistersHomepage.html

The Vespers
http://thevespersband.com/

Hot Club Of Cowtown
http://hotclubofcowtown.com/index.htm

The Secret Sisters
http://www.myspace.com/thesecretsisters

I'm going to load my MP3 player with music from these artists. I will probably continue to post VA albums here since I don't think that's hurting anybody.

Pert Near Sandstone Live at Concord House on April 25, 2009

(1) ?
(2) Okanagen Valley
(3) ?
(4) Just One Day
(5) Lazy Man’s Load is a Heavy One
(6) ?
(7) Raleigh and Spencer
(8) Liza Jane
(9) Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss
(10) Little Maggie **
(11) Always Been a Rambler**
(12) No Rest Till I Die**
(13) Give the Fiddler a Dram **
(14) Stay All Night**
(15) festival banter
(16) Black Eyed Suzie
here

Abalone Dots 7/19/09 Northwest String Summit North Plains, OR

01 Intro, [0:42]
02 Speak, [6:01]
03 Little Sparrow, [4:14]
04 The Ballad Of Lee McKay, [3:17]
05 Lonely Road, [4:21]
06 Over Georgia, [4:24]
07 Under The Rain, [3:44]
08 The Trip, [5:09]
09 Break The Silence, [3:37]
10 A Simple Song, [4:37]
11 Lorraine, [4:23]
12 Slavonian Land, [4:56]
13 Devil's Blues, [4:25]
14 Solo, [3:23]
15 Traveler, [6:02]
16 E: Man Of Constant Sorrow, [5:01]
here

Sierra Hull & Highway 111 7/18/09 Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, Oak Hill, NY

1. Tuning, Intro
2. Two Winding Rails
3. Little Girl Of Mine In Tennessee
4. Just When I Needed You
5. That’s The Way Love Goes
6. Secrets
7. Road To Columbus
8. Pretend
9. That’s All I Can Say
10. From Now On
11. The Hard Way
12. Thanks, Band Intros
13. Smashville
14. crowd
Encore:
15. You Don’t Know My Mind BLues
16. outro, stage announcements
here

VA - Girls for Merle 4/26/2008 live at MerleFest

What a line-up!
Alison Brown – Banjo
Sierra Hull – Mandolin
Laurie Lewis – Fiddle, Guitar
Claire Lynch – Guitar
Sally Van Meter – Dobro
Missy Raines - Bass
Rhonda Vincent - Mandolin

1. Stage Announcements, Intro
2. // Eight More Miles
3. Birmingham Turnaround
4. My Florida Sunshine
5. Blow Big Wind
6. Hummingbird
7. Southbound
8. Daybreak In Dixie
9. Just When I Needed You Most
10. Way Downtown
11. outro
here

Happy B'day EJ!!

Today's Eilen Jewell's birthday. Happy Birthday. EJ, and many more to come!!

The Lovell Sisters - Live recordings from Live Music Archive

The Berkeley Cafe on 2009-09-03
Disc 1 - (33:16)
01 tuning
02 Ichetucknee Chutney
03 In My Time Of Dying
04 talk
05 Teardrop
06 talk
07 My Home
08 talk
09 I Belong To Love
10 talk
11 Choctaw Hayride (Jerry Douglas)
12 talk
13 Hey Joe (Billy Roberts)
Disc 2 - (54:04)
01 ??
02 talk
03 The Summer When I Was Five
04 talk
05 Take One Moment
06 Paulita Maxwell
07 talk
08 Subway Song
09 talk
10 Distance
11 talk
12 Time To Grow
13 C # Blues (Jimi Hendrix)
14 Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash)
15 applause
16 One Day I Walk (Bruce Cockburn)
link

Telluride Bluegrass Festival on 2009-06-18
01 instrumental
02 Teardrops
03 In My Time Of Dyin'
04 talk
05 My Home
06 talk
07 Shadows (?)
08 talk
09 Polita Maxwell
10 Hush Child Hush
11 talk
12 Distance
13 talk
14 Blood Is Thicker
15 talk
16 The Principle Of Sliver Lining
17 talk
18 Choctaw Hayride
19 talk
20 One Day I Walk
21 talk
22 Time To Grow
23 talk
24 Bleeding Heart
25 applause
26 Folsom Prison Blues
link

Sarah Jarosz - 2 live shows

Greyfox on 2009-07-17
1) Intro
2) Tell me true
3) ?
4) Grandma's hands
5) Can't hide
6) Life is a dream
7) Broussard's laments
8) Fischer's Ford Rd
9) ?
10) ?
11) Songs up in her head
http://rapidshare.com/files/346772718/Live_7-17-2009SarahJ.rar

Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival on 2009-07-18
01. tuning / intro
02. Rock Of Ages
03. Red Prairie Dawn
04. Song Up In Her Head
05. The Holy Well
06. Deep River Blues
07. Shankhill Butchers
08. Little Song
09. I Can’t Love You Now
10. Left Home
11. band intros
12. Meet Me In The Morning
13. Tell Me True
14. outro
http://rapidshare.com/files/346772721/Live_7-18-2009SarahJ.rar