It would be easy to describe the Low Anthem’s Oh My God, Charlie Darwin as ambitious. The term, however, doesn’t do it justice. It is one thing to be ambitious (right Axl Rose?) it is quite another to realize musical ambition and make it seem effortless. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Low Anthem. The mystical […]
A Fix of Social Distortion
Whether I’m in a great mood or downright angry, Social Distortion always hits the mark. Mike Ness and crew thrive on music that is mean enough to mess with the punks and melodic enough to please the twangers with a single song – the band’s cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.†Call it twang […]
The Who Lose Custody of Song
If you ever wanted to see what happens when a great song inspires and even greater performance, check out Bettye LaVette’s performance of the Who’s “Love Reign O’er Me” at the recent Kennedy Center Honors presentation to The Who. The facial expressions of Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey say it all. Sorry gentlemen, it just […]
The Gourds – Haymaker!
The Gourds new LP,Haymaker (Yep Roc) should’ve come out a few weeks ago, that way, it could’ve landed on my Top 10 for 2008. I guess it will just have to wait. Pretty gutsy statement for such an early offering of 2009, huh? In an era where most “Country Rock” consists of Rock that is […]
Top 8 Shows of ’08
I’ve seen many good posts with favorite albums of 2008, so I thought I’d change things up a bit and cover the best live sets I saw last year. First, a word to the wary. I don’t care much for shows where the artist does a greatest hits compilation or plays the new album more-or-less […]
Nine for ’09
I can’t speak for the economy, but 2009 is shaping up to be a great year for music. Pay particular attention to March. It seems that every year the stars align on a single day and we get an embarrassment of riches. This year that day is March 3rd. Here are some of the incredible […]
Celebrate the New Year with Kaiser Cartel
What better way to ring in the new year than to celebrate the seasons of the year with KaiserCartel. KaiserCartel~Season Song from LaundroMatinee on Vimeo. Audio Download: KaiserCartel, “Season Song” [audio:http://dodge77.com/SIRIUS/KaiserCartel%20-%2002%20Season%20Song%20(live%20at%20Vibes%207-15-08).mp3] [Source: Laundromatinee]
Eastwood – Everything’s Personal
I have made no secret about being a proud Texan, and to be even more specific, a proud Dallasite. What is also anything but a secret is the sizable amount of emerging and quality Folk, Country (“Alt” or otherwise) and even Bluegrass acts that are coming from the D/FW area and it’s neighbor to the […]
Best Songs of 2008, Mayer’s Picks
It would be easy to mine my top album list for the best songs of the year. But why take the easy road? Here then are the top songs that aren’t represented on the top album list. The World Should Revolve Around Me, Little Jackie (from the S-Curve release The Stoop) This song is an […]
Mayer’s Playlist for December 2008
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: City Lights, by Javier Escovedo Ironically, we finish the year with an album that arrived at the year’s start. The Escovedo name may sound familiar. Brother Alejandro gets most of the attention but City Lights proves Javier to be equally talented. Escovedo is clearly a student of classic rock, filling his […]