One of our favorite labels, Bloodshot Records , recently released their fall sampler. Like their past samplers it's free (well, it'll cost you your email address) to download. The collection has plenty of 9B familiars such as Ha Ha Tonka and Whitey Morgan and it even contains a brand new track from the upcoming Scott H. Biram album, Bad Ingredients . So press play below and let Bloodshot help you get over your Monday morning sobers. Track Listing: [...]

Play Till You Die. That's Wayne "the Train" Hancock's motto. And by all appearances, he's living it. He's back on the road after having to cancel a bunch of dates this summer "to enter a comprehensive residential rehabilitation program." The last time I saw him in concert was over ten years ago, and back then he joked about his clear-headed sobriety and sang, "I'm a double A daddy / I'm sober all the time." Who knows what's changed in his personal life since then, but his music is as powerful [...]
[mp3] Wayne Hancock: "Throwin Away My Money" I've always loved this song, and there's a storm a comin' to NYC tonight. What's old Wayne up to these days anyway?

The folks over at Bloodshot Records have put together a Valentine's Day themed compilation that, "represent [their] views on love and all that mess...the good, the bad and ugly." Not only are they giving away the compilation but they're also putting all the albums the songs came from on sale . So, you know...now's your chance to make good on some of those cds you downloaded. Track Listing: Robbie Fulks - I Told Her Lies Bobby BareJr. - Valentine [...]
(artist - song - album + purchase link :: extra info) Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears - Sugarfoot - Tell 'Em What Your Name Is! Bryan Free - All Things Considered - Each Other Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - Nikorette - Outer South Great Northern - Story - Remind Me Where the Light Is Elvis Costello - [...]

There's a place in Austin, it's called Barton Springs. Even on these blistering hot days (temps in the 100s) the damn water is ice cold. You leap into this pool at your own risk because you're going from air that's around 105 degrees into water that's about 68 degrees. It may not seem so bad to you folks up in the snow belt but try it some time. I know for sure that my heart can't take it - not like it could when I was younger. Instead, my heart is definitely open to this Lone Star flavored [...]
Today's free and legal mp3 downloads: Gene Ween Band : 2009-05-30, Hunter [mp3,ogg,flac] "Mountains and Buffalo" [mp3] other Gene Ween Band posts at Largehearted Boy Gomez : 2009-05-30, Hunter [mp3,ogg,flac] "Sunset Gates" [mp3] other Gomez posts at Largehearted Boy The Gourds : 2009-05-29, Charlottesville [mp3,ogg,flac] "Mister Betty" [...]

I figured there would be no better segue from Dale Watson than the new Wayne "the train" Hancock album. Now, to be honest, most of my Hancock knowledge has been gleaned from the Hank III fan base and up until Viper of Melody I'd never owned any of his cds. That's due to change. Much like Watson, Wayne makes no effort to intermingle genres, he just pens Texas juke-joint country swing music and he does a damned good job of it. Now sometimes with ninebullets I find myself feeling the need to put more [...]
MP3: Wayne Hancock - "Throwin' My Money Away" You've gotta love Wayne "The Train" Hancock. He's like high school girls: I get older...they stay the same age. Hancock's recordings are timeless, never sound dated. It's just good, solid, undeniable honky-tonk...

Lots of great releases to be had this week, with a few in particular that I personally recommend, which are Camera Obscura's My Maudlin Career , Cryptacize's Mythomania , and Pet Shop Boys' Yes . There are some excellent songs that standout on Camera Obscura's record, but I'm still not quite sure if I enjoy it from top to bottom. Though, I've been playing that Pet Shop Boys' release almost non stop since I listening to [...]
Seeing as that it's a holiday week, it only makes sense that this week's Friday Mixtape is pretty damn impressive, or at least the perfect soundtrack for painting Easter eggs or chowing down on Matzah balls, So, enjoy this week's mix of the best new singles, covers, and remixes, along with a few mp3s from some up-and-comers you might want to check out, and have a very happy holiday! NEW Singles: "Birthday" by Awesome New Republic "Tiny Little Robots" by Cage The [...]

What are the chances that two great honky-tonk records are released within weeks of each other? How high do the odds go if both artists are from Austin, Tx? It's got to be pretty slim. Here's the two high priests of honky-tonk in their prime with relevant new records. One is a followup to an early classic in his career and the other is a continuation of stellar release after stellar release. Dale Watson's new record is The Truckin Session Vol 2 . It's out now on Hyenea (order here ). Wayne "The Train" [...]
Today's free and legal mp3 downloads: Cartright : "Curtains (live at KVRX)" [mp3] other Cartright posts at Largehearted Boy Deastro : "Parallelogram" [mp3] from Moondagger (out June 2nd) other Deastro posts at Largehearted Boy Headless Heroes (featuring Alela Diane) : "True Love Will Find You in the End" [mp3] [...]
Twin Cities: - Jen Boyles profiles Diplo in prep for his First Avenue show tonight. ( link ) - Prior to last night's show The Rumble Strips stopped by The Current. ( link ) - Roe Pressley interviews Eyedea. ( link ) - Loren Green reviews the new Mike Mictlan/Lazerbeak album. ( link ) - One-time Culture Bully contributor, Jen Paulson, has unveiled her new blog TigerBeatPoet. ( link ) (Inter)National: - VBS features a five part edition of [...]
Justin Townes Earle On today's show we feature the new album from Justin Townes Earle . His sophomore album, and first for Bloodshot , The Good Life , is out today. If you're not familiar with him, he's the son of legendary singer-songwriter Steve Earle , and that alone leaves a lot to live up to. Justin does so with an album that blends folk, old-time country, blues, and more into a great Americana record. As one that has some, but not extensive, knowledge of the classic country troubadours, the album [...]

Le 5 Août dernier la petite Julie faisait de moi un double tonton comblé ... du coup je me suis mis en tête de lui faire une mixtape qui pourrait la faire gazouiller, sautiller, sourire, rire, siffloter mais surtout peut être un jour me prendre pour le plus cool des tontons ! :D Si jamais vous connaissez des Julie ça peut servir aussi ! ... enjoy ... Crescendos - Oh Julie [...]
MP3: Wayne Hancock - "Shootin' Star From Texas" from Tulsa, out now on Bloodshot. If you love "twang" as much as you hate New Country, then you might want to check out Wayne "The Train" Hancock. This new song contains...

At some point in the next decade or two, and probably sooner rather than later, Wayne "The Train" Hancock will be one of the few true Texas swing meets honky-tonk performers around. His new record continues in the style he's known for; simple two steps, western swing and crooning country similar to what you might have heard from Bob Wills or Hank Williams. His new record is titled Tulsa and is out on Chicago's Bloodshot Records . If you've got a hankering for music about Texas, drinkin, [...]
In House Attic #2 (Random Junk) F or those of you wondering, Friday's show was pre-empted by the home station-- for no less than Idaho State Univ. Women's Soccer action. On the radio. In any case, regular shows, podcasts and the like resume next week with shows featuring the likes of Langhorne Slim , Damien Jurado , Band of Horses , Jenny Lewis , Sparklehorse , Los Straitjackets , Bobby Bare Jr. , Jerry Lee Lewis , Solomon [...]
Veering for once from my normal album-centered reviews, today I'm going to post three songs that Bloodshot Records sent out to audioblog types from upcoming albums of theirs. Wayne Hancock's new album Tulsa drops October 10. I'm a big fan of his. I reviewed a live album of his here. I'm really looking forward to hearing this whole disc. Listen: Wayne Hancock - Shootin' Star From Texas The