Can't decide between Yeasayer and Divine Fits tonight? Or either already sold out? Or just want something more rootsy than indie rock? Head over to Nectar in Fremont this evening to catch the banjo-weilding Danny Barnes pick his way through his new album, Rocket . The Austinite turned Seattlite is a veteran if not pioneer of the country punk scene - check out Bad Livers' albums dating back to their 1994 debut, Delusions of Banjer , produced by the Butthole Surfers' Paul Leary - and since his move to the NW over a decade ago, he's [...]
According to Wikipedia, 80% of the world's major earthquakes take place in the Ring of Fire , a volatile region of the Pacific that spans a 40,000 kilometer horseshoe of coastland and island nations from New Zealand and Japan to Alaska, Mexico, and a huge swath of the American continents. Last night, for example, an 8.8 earthquake hit Chile , killing hundreds, and leaving as many as half a million people homeless. The resultant tsunami activity - earthquakes move water like a kid rising out of a bathtub - is bearing down on the [...]
...it is a merry life. That fado about Portuguese sailors in the post below made me think of other songs about that romantic but slowly disappearing profession. So while it seems that everybody else is busy blogging Christmas ditties (I won´t, promise...) here´s a sixpack of delicious sailor songs for you. All hands on deck, lift the anchor, and hoist the main sail. The Titanic sails at dawn. The alternative bluegrass trio Bad Livers tells all about Pee Pee The Sailor , in a hilarious Butthole Surfers cover. Anyone got the original btw? [...]
Remember my gushing about the wisdom of Danny Barnes a ways back? Well, he's not the only ridiculously erudite member of the Bad Livers. Mark Rubin holds court at his blog Chasing The Fat Man , which is stacked to the rafters with good music and scholarship. (I'm going to try to tackle this one - maybe a little more coffee first...) He's devoted his life to folk/traditional music - not only American, but also Yiddish and Lautari (less-prejudical terms for Klezmer and Gypsy), and is passionate about how [...]
A wonderful cascade of covers from a friend has turned my thoughts to covers of punk music this week. As Katie noted in her send-along, much of which appear below, "the thread that runs from folk to punk seems such a vibrant and easily spotted one to pull at", and that sounds just about right; I'd even go so far as to suggest that, like folk in the generation before it, Punk both served and sprung from the hearts of a discontented youth counterculture, and - as I noted about Rap rather tongue-in-cheek last year - [...]
Champion of the banjo and preacher of the Good News of music Danny Barnes has a new record out on ATO Records called Pizza Box . Stream it all here, then go to dannybarnes.com to download "Caveman" for free. And while you're at it, read what this man has to say! He's incredibly warm and astute, knows tons and tons of stuff about music and making a living as a musician , and he's been freely sharing his knowledge on dannybarnes.com since before you knew [...]
Playlist: True Blood - Episode 2.07 1. "(There Ought to Be a) Moonlight Savings Time" - Guy Lombardo : Bill & Lorena flashback 2. "Day Too Soon" - Sia : Jessica & Hoyt at Hotel Carmilla 3. "Release Me" - Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn : Lafayette on the phone selling 'V' again 4. "Sadie Don't Throw Me Over" - James Combs : Andy at Merlottes 5. "Bleeding Love" - Leona Lewis : Hoyt sets the mood 6. "Death Trip" - Bad Livers [...]
Today's free and legal mp3 downloads: Backyard Tire Fire : 2009-07-18, Elgin [mp3,ogg,flac] "Crack Alley" [mp3] other Backyard Tire Fire posts at Largehearted Boy Bad Livers : 2009-07-17, North Plains [mp3,ogg,flac] "Dallas, Texas" [mp3] other Bad Livers posts at Largehearted Boy Blitzen Trapper : 2009-07-18, Iowa City [mp3,ogg,flac] [...]
A friend whisked me off into the woods south of Portland this evening for something called The NW String Summit and we had all access passes and I got to see The Bad Livers address a crowd of friendly hippies and their children. A very, very drunk seeming woman made me a pulled pork burrito for my dinner. And then I got to meet Dan Barnes, who could not be nicer. I am ready now, having dipped my toe in, for full summer music fest madness. All hail Bad Livers. [...]
Over the years, Jesus has made his way into a ton of songs, many of which are on my i-pod today. Here's the official STWOF Jesus mix: 01. Talladega Nights – Baby Jesus Grace ( buy ) 02. Ernest Tubb - What A Friend We Have In Jesus ( buy ) 03. Tom T. Hall - Me And Jesus ( buy ) 04. Kinky Friedman - High On Jesus ( buy ) 05. Paul Newman - Plastic Jesus ( buy ) 06. The Bad Livers - [...]
I grew up in a house of music. This is the 60's, so you have to realise the my parents were born into the depression and grew up during war. Dad loves big band and jazz music. Mom is a range of jazz to Johnny Cash and Tom Jones. The first album covers I remember seeing were a bunch by Benny Goodman and Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass " Whipped Cream and Other Delights " as a kid I always thought this was really cool. But the first music I remember, for some [...]
First Muzak and now this news; Touch and Go Records is shuttering its distribution arm and laying off staff in response to that economic crisis thing. Perhaps it's not surprising given that most labels have been absolutely decimated not only by the economy but by the sea change in music consumers' purchasing behavior. The major labels have long operated based on a 'swing for the fences' business model with the presumption that pouring enough money into a release can somehow strongarm it into being a hit. But despite the deep pockets, majors have historically released 9 [...]
We've got a brand new weekly feature for you, starting today. Here's what it is: a list of FREE and LEGAL MP3s and albums (or EPs) that have been sent to us, or have come to our attention, in the past week. Click the band name for the band's site, song name for the MP3. For this week only we've got song selections in honor of everything that Touch and Go Records has done for indie music over the past two-plus decades. They're not closing their doors entirely, but they've recently announced major cutbacks and changes [...]
Today's free and legal mp3 downloads: Bad Livers : 2008-10-04, San Francisco [mp3,ogg,flac] "Jesus on the Mainline" [mp3] Bad Livers : 1993-04-11, New York [mp3,ogg,flac] "Ghost Train" [mp3] other Bad Livers posts at Largehearted Boy Hamell on Trial : 2008-11-14, Syracuse [mp3,ogg,flac] "Television" [mp3] other Hamell on Trial posts at Largehearted [...]
I'm gazing out the window across the street at my neighbors' windows, which are displaying an Obama poster and a scary bat cut-out, and wondering what kind of song I could post that could express my Election Day confusion at having to decide which four people deserve my vote for Community College Board. I know it's important! That's the problem! But I can't find a song that fits, so I'm going to go with an platitude that is appropriate every dang day. Chilluns, you gotta get it while you can. [...]
Today's free and legal mp3 downloads: Bad Livers : 2008-08-02, Happy Valley [mp3,ogg,flac] "Two Headed Dog" [mp3] other Bad Livers posts at Largehearted Boy Cowboy Junkies : 2008-07-27, Londonberry [mp3,ogg,flac] "The Girl Behind the Man Behind the Gun" [mp3] Cowboy Junkies : 2008-06-22, Vancouver [mp3,ogg,flac] "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (Hank Williams cover)" [...]
There's a particular sort of sorrow that's expressed so perfectly in this song. One of my very favorite Bad Livers tunes, and that's saying something. Those within reach of San Francisco and Oregon will get a chance to see the newly reunited Livers (the Bob Grant version - sorry, fellow Ralph White fanatics) at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and Pickathon . Hopefully they'll spread the love around a little bit more than that. Bad Livers - How Dark My Shadow's Grown from Delusions Of Banjer [...]
I woke up this morning and started humming this song about chicken pie. I don't know why. Check it out: The Bad Livers - Crow Black Chicken (mp3) ( buy album ). This tune comes from the Bad Livers' 1992 debut album, Delusions of Banjer , which is a one-of-a-kind, irreverant bluegrass record. The Bad Livers weren't your typical bluegrass band. They had a "punk" attitude and innovative musical stylings. For more info, read the AMG review , with which I am [...]
KEXP Blog
Cover Lay Down
For The Sake Of The Song
Hello Vegetables
thus spake drake
largehearted boy
Go West Young Tex
Setting The Woods On Fire
Oreo Cookie Blues
The Decibel Tolls
EAR FARM
Feed Me to ‘stop’ DJing ‘for a while’
Daft Punk sponsor a Formula 1 racing car
Haerts - All The Days
