Unless you're living totally off the grid, it's hard to ignore the signs. Church Christmas bazaars and crafts fairs pepper the New England landscape, their wreaths and wraps and wooden ornaments a constant temptation. Television relationships get warmer by the fire; the commercials all begin to come in red velvet and white fur trim. Even the older family down the street has gotten into the act, draping the gutters with fauxcicles, topping the old stump with a glittering wire angel, trimming the lawn with white plastic snowmen and skeletal reindeer that blink furiously into [...]
Christmas gives me the crazyhead. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the baby Jesus, it's just all of the expectation, commercialization, greed, neurosis, travel nightmares, and terrible, god-awful music that gets me down. What happened to peace on earth and good will towards men and all of that crap? Bah humbug. Here are some good blues, punk, country, and rock songs about having the Christmas doldrums. Zippity-do-dah . 1. The Legendary Tiger Man - Fuck Christmas, I Got the Blues.mp3 From : Fuck Christmas, [...]
Spinner/AOL: SXSW David Davison- Cast Spells. Super good. Kidding! I really wish I were going. But you know, my friend Brandon says there are some pretty cool shows going on this week in LA too, like Best Coast , Choir of Young Believers and Surfer Blood . I did want to share some cool stuff with you guys- I got a chance to interview a few of the bands that will be out there this year through Spinner/AOL's SXSW project . [...]
Filed under: Concerts and Tours If you're going to call yourself "God's favorite band," you better be prepared to deliver the kind of musical divinity required to start a soul-shaking musical revolution. If any band is up for the challenge, it's Austin's Asylum Street Spankers . Started in 1994 by Wammo and Christina Marrs, the band have been resurrecting the sounds of 1920's and '30s blues, gospel, swing and country with their unique multi-layered instrumentation, blazing humor, social commentary and 30-something member changes. Their ninth album, [...]
...like I'm Sittin on Top of the World. Here's Doc and Merle Watson Here's a Western Swing version featuring Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. I'm running with this groove now, friends...here's the Asylum Street Spankers. Oh yes. Last one now...Les Paul and Mary Ford.
The Asylum Street Spankers ( official Myspace wiki AMG ) are an Austin-based group of bluesy, folkie swingers. This track uses each verse of the song to highlight a different side of their musical versatility. Besides the country verse I excerpted as a hidden mystery track here , they also take on lounge crooners, oldschool ska, and Mr. Tom Waits. And they acquit themselves admirably in each style. The whole album is, yes, this good. Make sure to click on the buy link down there -- if you like this track, [...]
Yesterday's post was from forty years ago. The music for today's post is from this year but sounds like it was recorded a hundred years ago. Go figure! The Asylum Street Spankers' new record God's Favorite Band is a live concert recording of mostly gospel inspired music. But as you can see from the photo above this is not your grandpa's gospel group. To celebrate the new record the band is going out on a tour called Salvation and Sin . The first half of the show will [...]
With the Asylum Street Spankers' sole female member Christina Marrs currently taking a little maternity leave, the fellas in the band have decided to soldier on in fine Spanker-style by dubbing their current tour of shows Sausage Fest 2009 . The musical meat wagon from Austin, Texas rolls into Charlottesville later today as the Asylum Street Spankers perform at the Outback Lodge Down Under for an early show that begins at 6pm. Barling and Collins open. $15. [ Ticket info [...]
Free music has been a rising theme in the world lately - at least the one i live in. Bands have been experimenting with giving away creations in order to simply get their music out to more people. And what better time of year for this generosity than the Christmas season. i got a few leads in my inbox the other day that lead me to some free holiday downloads: Frontier Ruckus - Driving Home, Christmas Eve and a video [...]
To suggest that all true Christmas music is kidsong is only a slight oversimplification. Put aside the tales of holiday romance and heartbreak, allow for the minor exception of a few overly religious holiday hymns, and a surprisingly large percentage of the melodies in the frosty air this time of year is kidmusic. And why not? We are, after all, products of a culture which weans its adults on a steady diet of commodification fetish through childhood tv. Religious or secular, Christian or otherwise, the way we come to Christmas springs - at least [...]
What a weekend! Tonight alone has a week's worth of great music. Here are a few of the many noteworthy shows in town, but there are plenty more to choose from. Please add your own picks in the comment... Continue reading "Good Friday: The Theater Fire, Asylum Street Spankers, Stumptone, Rock n' Roll Bake Sale, Sparrowbox, Holy Moly" >
My interest in Harry Nilsson came through coversong, most specifically 1995 covers album For The Love Of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson , which I picked up when it was new in order to gain access to otherwise-unavailable rarities from Marc Cohn, Aimee Mann, and a solid roster of other perfectly tuned oddities (like, say, Fred Schneider of the B-52s doing a pitch-perfect version of Coconut , or the infamous nasal harmonies of The Roches applied to a space-age Spaceman ). Purchasing the album was a revelation: here was a set of tunes that [...]
My interest in Harry Nilsson came through coversong, most specifically 1995 covers album For The Love Of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson , which I picked up when it was new in order to gain access to otherwise-unavailable rarities from Marc Cohn, Aimee Mann, and a solid roster of other perfectly tuned oddities (like, say, Fred Schneider of the B-52s doing a pitch-perfect version of Coconut , or the infamous nasal harmonies of The Roches applied to a space-age Spaceman ). Purchasing the album was a revelation: here was a set of tunes that [...]
There was a whole crapload of Christmas releases that I took the liberty of deleting. If you really care about those, you can look them up yourself. I'm always ready for a new Ben Folds release. Anberlin has released the same album four times now. The Nightwatchman (a.k.a. Rage Against the Machine 's Tom Morello) has a new album that's sure to be protest-a-licious. And I'm admittedly a fan of Joshua Radin 's Zach Braff-core. Other than that, maybe I'll check out the new [...]
One more belated entry for Muppet Covers Week... this should've gone up yesterday, but churning out these daily posts was wearing me out. A quick round-up of last week's posts: Day 1: It's Time to Play the Music... Day 2: The Muppet Movie Day 3: Songs From the Street Day 4: Covers by Muppets & Friends Day 5: The Batman Connection Day 6: Pinball Number [...]
After 3 straight gigantasaurus uber-posts, my brain needs to be coaxed back into regular activity. Therefore, I'm keeping this one short and sweet. I will warn you, though. This sucker is an earworm. You may find yourself humming it all day if you're not careful. And if you let your kids hear it ... fuggedaboutit. Here's the acoustic hipster version, courtesy of Austin's own Asylum Street Spankers . Lots of cool references in this one, how many can you name? Speaking [...]
Tom Waits & Kronos Quartet ∞ Way Down In The Hole (live) Asylum Street Spankers ∞ Way Down In The Hole (live) The Five Blind Boys of Alabama ∞ Way Down In The Hole Steve Earle ∞ Way Down In The Hole Mike Babyak's Triple Fret ∞ Way Down In The Hole (live) Which version do you prefer? or did I leave about your favorite? Leave a hullabaloo. More: [...]
Apes : "Beat of the Double" [mp3] from Ghost Games (out February 19th) other Apes music blog posts: @lhb @hype @elbo.ws Asylum Street Spankers : 2007-11-21, Minneapolis [mp3,ogg,flac] "My Baby in the CIA" [mp3] other Asylum Street Spankers music blog posts: @lhb @hype @elbo.ws Botticellis : "Old Home Movies" [...]
School's been out for days, and I'm already exhausted. But after a whirlwind tour of relatives and sled runs, Sturbridge Village sleigh rides and Santa stocking mornings, the kids are sugared up, full of pep and peppermint. What to do with a case of the sillies? What better time for another round of Covered in Kidfolk? Last time on Covered in Kidfolk we brought you a sweet set of lullabies and softsongs ; songs in that post are still live, just in case today's songs tire [...]
Cover Lay Down
Cover Me
Rockstar Aimz
Friends With Both Arms
Spinner.com
SqueezeMyLemon
She'll Grow Back
songsillinois
the velvet rut
This Mornin' I Am Born Again
DC9 At Night
BUZZGRINDER
Fong Songs
The Adios Lounge
The Late Greats
largehearted boy
Download: Drake feat. The Weeknd – Crew Love (Shlohmo Remix)
No Title
Skrillex Uses Satanic and Homosexual Influence to Win Grammys
Banger of the Week 76: Milk N Cookies – Heavyweights (Original Mix)
