Chris J. Norwood has been known to tackle some serious and personal topics in his songs. He takes a slightly different tack on the latest single from his forthcoming I Am Not Cool. Well, sort of. “I Need You (To Quit Breaking My Heart)â€, a duet with his wife Carrie, captures the back and forth […]
Monday Morning Video – Bill Withers
Let’s start the week with some classic soul, courtesy of the late, great Bill Withers. This 1973 performance for the BBC includes “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Lean on Me”.
Monday Morning Video – Shooter Jennings “4th of July”
Sure, the holiday weekend is behind us. That doesn’t mean we can’t still enjoy this Shooter Jennings holiday gem.
“Don’t See The Light” – A Premiere from Kevin Daniel
After a number of years spent living in New York City, singer-songwriter Kevin Daniel decamped for Asheville last year. One listen to his forthcoming album Been Here Before and one can hear the influence of both locations. The collection of songs combines the rootsy mountain air of Asheville with the gritty edge of NYC, with […]
Monday Morning Video – Hothouse Flowers “Give It Up”
Long-time readers may recall that I like to listen to my iPod on shuffle. I love the surprise when it randomly reminds me of a favorite song from years gone by. Last week it pulled out this gem from Ireland’s Hothouse Flowers. I’m particularly enamored with this live version circa 2014, complete with a horn […]
Monday Morning Video – Smokey Robinson
Artists who cover Smokey Robinson’s “The Tracks of My Tears” have a tendency to slow it down. I’m partial to the more upbeat original, which more accurately captures the song’s tale of hiding heartbreak behind a veneer of happiness. People say I’m the life of the party‘Cause I tell a joke or twoAlthough I might […]
Monday Morning Video – Ben de la Cour
Ben de la Cour’s 2020 album Shadowland overflowed with stark tales and flawed characters, none the more so than “Anderson’s Small Ritual”. De la Cour has just announced a planned follow-up, no doubt as dark – and wonderful – as the last. Learn more about the album here.
Monday Morning Video – Amy Ray
Our recent interview with Amy Ray sent me back into her solo catalog. Here’s “Sure Feels Good Anyway” from 2018’s Holler.
Mayer’s Playlist for Spring 2021, Part 2
The Wind’s Just Gonna Blow, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall, and Jack Ingram (from the Vanner Records/RCA Nashville release The Marfa Tapes) Lambert, Randall, and Ingram. Kind of sounds like a law firm, doesn’t it? In this case it’s a trio of songwriters who have just released some intimate recordings from their writing retreats in Marfa, […]
Monday Morning Video – Goodnight, Texas “Dearest Sarah”
Back in 2014, Goodnight, Texas released the album Uncle John Farquhar, a series of stories set in the Civil War era. Among them was a song based on a letter that soldier Sullivan Ballou wrote to his wife Sarah shortly before his death at the Battle of Bull Run in 1861. Sarah my love for […]

