Twangville

A music blog featuring Alt-Country, Americana, Indie, Rock, Folk & Blues. Est. 2005.

Mayer’s Playlist for July 2008, Part 2

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ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: Stay Positive, by The Hold Steady When Craig Finn preaches, “our psalms are sing-along songs,” in the opening track of their latest release, he might as well have revealed the band’s musical mission. Whereas previous albums have focused on the characters living in Finn’s imagination, this go-around spotlights the rock anthems […]

Todd Snider Comes Out of the Closet on August 19th

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Todd Snider is coming out of the closet as a flaming “Peace Queer” on August 19th. He’s loud, he’s proud, he’s here and he’s a “Peace Queer.” Normally when musicians get too political it annoys me. I just want to scream “Shut Up and Sing.” However, somehow Todd Snider pulls it off using his humor […]

Mayer’s Playlist for July 2008, Part 1

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ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: Low on Cash, Rich in Love, by Eric Lindell Northern California musician Eric Lindell has found a spiritual home in New Orleans and it inhabits every corner of his latest release. Opener “Lay Back Down” eases you in with a breezy R&B feel before giving way to tracks like the bluesy […]

Taylor Hollingsworth + More, Releases 7/29

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Taylor Hollingsworth live @ Bottletree in Birmingham, AL. “Assasinate the President” TAYLOR HOLLINGSWORTH, Bad Little Kitty (Mass) Official Site | MySpace | MP3* [audio:http://www.undertheradarmag.com/Track%2010_TaylorHollingsworth_Assassinate%20the%20President.mp3] Every song reminds me of someone different yet the album retains an amazing level of consistency. Listen for comparisons to Spoon, The Ramones, Guided by Voices, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jesus […]

Best of Spring 2008, Tom’s Mixtape

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With Spring dropping in recordings from R.E.M., Elvis Costello and Alejandro Escovedo you’d think that would be enough to call it a good season for music. Throw in James McMurtry, Hayes Carll, Reckless Kelly, Old 97s, My Morning Jacket, Jackie Greene, Amos Lee and Matthew Ryan and now you’ve got a whopper of a season. […]

William Bell, Stax and Soul

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“(C)2008 Jelmer de Haas” July 19th – Waiting for William Bell at an Amsterdam hotel, I was sipping on some coffee while all the classic Soul hits played in the background. The records from Stax and Motown, that once shook the world, struck me as the perfect background to interview the man who was a […]

Country with Muscle – John D. Hale Band & Back Porch Mary

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I have been very clear (or not, probably not) in the past that I have grown weary of musical-genre labels that either fail to make much sense, or simply don’t really define much (“Red-Dirt” anyone??). Having said that, I have recently began espousing a labeling philosophy that I think suits me just fine. If the […]

The New New Soul

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The past few years have seen a resurgence of soul and R&B. We’ve seen bands good (Sharon Jones & the Dap-Tones), bad (the Pipettes) and even confused (Amy Winehouse). We’ve even had the reemergence of a couple of legends – Al Green & Solomon Burke – to remind us how it’s done right. Just when […]

Wynton Marsalis & Willie Nelson – Two Men With the Blues

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It has always amazed me that Willie Nelson will record with anyone no matter their background. This eclecticism is one of Willie’s strengths but he has occasionally made questionable partnerships. However, the idea to combine Nelson with Wynton Marsalis was one of genius. These two men are living icons in their respective genres Country and […]