The Stanley Brothers : Meet Me Tonight [ purchase ] [ purchase "on Radio" ] Back in the old days, radio was an important way for old-time and bluegrass musicians to get heard. Radio provided much needed exposure, publicity and income. Bristol's WCBY was located on the Tennessee/Virginia state line. Every day around noon, folks would stop whatever they were doing to tune into WCBY's "Farm and Fun Time" for the latest music and news. The Stanley Brothers first appeared on the show on December 26, [...]
With Christmas out of the way, and the year almost over, it's time I finally get around to compiling my Top 20 albums of the year of 2011 (in fact, there are 21 entries). Each album is represented on the mix with a song, and each entry has a link to the artist's homepage or other outlet where the album can be ordered from. Because this list is intended not only to show off my impeccable taste, but also to showcase artists, all data files in the mix have been downscaled to 128kbps. This is not really a chart, but [...]
Discover the real Florida music!
In Volume 9 of the country history series, we look at the glory years of country, a time when the genre was at its most self-confident and profitable. It was still a vibrant genre, as this collection shows, though the crooners were already beginning to define the genre, a situation that would give rise to the outlaw movement, the protagonists of which were inspired by several of the artists on this mix. It's difficult to say who was the biggest star in 1950s country. The crooner likes of Eddy Arnold were immensely successful, but in terms of sales [...]
For me they are bigger than the individual camps of vernacular North American music such as bluegrass and country, more of a bridge to a more old time form of communication and song traveling, what they used to call 'folk' in the 1940's, before it became 'country'. Carter and Ralph Stanley always stuck with a clean, simple, not so testosterone-driven style as what became bluegrass, partly because they were less an intrumental band than a storytelling one. As I delve deeper and deeper into the past recorded history of 'country' music forms, their work seems more and more [...]
One good thing about playing crappy dives: lots of interesting stories for the grandkids.
From left to right: Weatherman, Mullin, and Dean. Pic courtesy C.O.C. C.O.C. is not only one of the best bands to come out of the old-school 1980s hardcore movement; technically, it's at least five of the best groups to emerge from the scene. Over 28 years, every release – and later, every other album – [...]
Some Japanese wiseguy named Hokekyo Sho once proclaimed that ´at the third cup, wine drinks the man´. He got pretty famous with that one, and he just may have been right, too. Which hardly ever stops me from pouring said cup, but that´s another story... Here´s a grand cru , slightly country-flavoured tenpack with a velvety aftertaste about a mighty fine drink. "Strawberries, cherries and an angel´s kiss in spring, my summer wine is really made from all these things..." Salud ! Charlie Walker - Who Will Buy The Wine MP3 [...]
Stu Smith, 1936-2009 My dad passed away on Christmas Eve. He was a great guy who always got the most out of life. He loved his old sailboat and his old cabin in the north woods (even though it lacked indoor plumbing). He also loved a cold beer and a good tune. To honor his memory I decided to resurrect this blog and post a few of his favorite songs here. Those of you who have spent time with Stu will remember hearing many of them on the boat, by [...]
When in doubt: Minutemen. That's a personal code and I'm passing it along to you free of charge. Don't forget it. Etch it in your brain. Not many people got a code to live by anymore. To that end, I've found that playing Double Nickels On The Dime at least once a month is an excellent way to combat the effects of suburbansuckrockitosis. And if you're older than 35, doubling your dosage is highly recommended. However, before you start cueing up Double Nickels ... [...]
My only visit to the "Bluegrass State" was on a whim. Joanne and I went to Tennessee last year on our honeymoon. Before we left Jo read about the Wigwam Village motel in Cave City, KY. The opportunity to stay in a concrete tepee built in 1937 for just $50 a night was all the incentive we needed to make the 100 mile drive north from Nashville. The motel had seen better days and for a state famous for its whiskey it was disappointing to discover that you couldn't buy booze in the appropriately [...]
The Stanley Brothers – Rank Stranger ( buy ) In this gem, our narrator has wandered back to his mountain home, after some years gone, and can't find any familiar faces—no mother or dad, not a friend in sight, everybody a rank stranger. Finally, one of the strangers explains that his friends and family have long since gone, all moved on to "a beautiful home by the bright crystal sea." This one gives a new meaning to that high lonesome sound.
Mick Jones of The Clash once sang, "I wasn't born so much as I fell out", which is a notion I can get with, since my family isn't very emotionally demonstrative. That's not as bad as it sounds, since we all love each other, so I was surprised when out of the blue, my mom started letting me know that she cared for me. I was pretty perplexed and answered with eyes arched as she was waited for a response that wasn't soon forthcoming. After a few more tries, there was an explanation that she'd read in my blog how [...]
Dan Auerbach "My Last Mistake" 2/10 - Nonesuch So we just happen to be on a major soul music kick recently. We've been rocking some Staple Singers, Betty LaVette and numerous Eccentric Soul records. Not to mention, we've been spinning the Stanley Brothers' Sweeter Than the Flowers pretty hard of late as well. So when we read the PR about the new Dan Auerbach record Keep It Hid , we were psyched. While we're checking the box every [...]
Talking Points Memo has a new Obama Radio Spot in Virginia: Howdy, friends. This is Ralph Stanley, and I think I know a little something about the families around here. Barack'll cut taxes for everyday folks — not Big Business — so you'll have a little more money in your pocket at the end of the year. I also know Barack is a good man. A father and devoted husband, he values personal responsibility and family first. Thanks Ben. [...]
The summer after high-school I played drums in a band called Vladband with two guys named Aaron (bass) and Vlad (guitar, vocals). The name was not a result of ego on the guitarist's part, almost the opposite - Aaron and I thought it was funny and Vlad couldn't think up something better. We rehearsed in [...]
I first heard the Infamous Stringdusters in 2006 at the Joe Val Bluegrass Festival , when they were asked to fill in for bluegrass supergroup The Grascals at the last minute -- a lucky break for a sextet of relative unknowns who had yet to release a single recording. But my disappointment at missing The Grascals didn't last long. The Infamous Stringdusters turned out to be my favorite kind of bluegrass band: young folks with high energy, incredible skill, and a tight yet easy newgrass sound, who lean towards fast-paced songs performed gleefully [...]
1960 Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, Finger Poppin' Time. The Stanley Brothers, Finger Poppin' Time. Syd Nathan, owner of Cincinnati's King Records, was one of the United States' secret integrationists from the late '40s through the '60s, mixing white and black popular music together--mainly for the cash, certainly, but creating some essential records in the process. Nathan's King Records,
Shifting gears again. While it may seem to some of you that these rapid genre shifts here in Fluville are extreme, they are indeed not. Basically, most everything here is 20th century American music, which means to say it is all in some way derivative of the blues. So, with that being said, it doesn't really matter if it's Benny Carter or Carter Stanley. Today, it's The Stanley Brothers, from 1953. This music is so good it hurts. Ralph Stanley is playing tonite at the Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn. [...]
Star Maker Machine
Any Major Dude With Half A Heart
Music @ Blogcritics.org
WFMU's Beware of the Blog
MetalSucks
For The Sake Of The Song
Setting The Woods On Fire
The Adios Lounge
Carnival Saloon
Groover's Paradise
snuhthing/anything
Stark Online
Cold Splinters
The Stranger Dance
hahamusic
Cover Lay Down
Locust St.
Boogie Woogie Flu
Neutral Milk Hotel- Aeroplane Over the Sea
Bison - Quill
SABRINA JOHNSTON + TIEFSCHWARTZ
THE SINGULAR ADVENTURES OF EDWYN COLLINS (Part 9)
