ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Late Music, by Dennis Diken with the Bell Sound Who knew? After nearly 30 years sitting behind the drums with the Smithereens Dennis Diken emerges as a pop maestro. Diken and collaborator Pete DiBella shine with an album that brims with echoes of the Beach Boys and the Who, circa the […]
Mayer’s Playlist for June 2009, a Video Companion
We kick the June video companion off with selections from this month’s spotlight artists: Missouri’s Ha Ha Tonka and Athens, Georgia’s Patterson Hood. From there we get a bevy of performances from Rhett Miller, Amy Speace, Crooked Fingers, A Camp, Andrew Ripp, The Roadside Graves, Pete Yorn and Matthew Grimm (covering Billy Bragg). We finish […]
Mayer’s Playlist for June 2009
ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Murdering Oscar (and Other Love Songs), by Patterson Hood Patterson Hood’s last solo release was a somber acoustic affair. This one ain’t. In fact, this collection of songs from Hood’s archives is not dissimilar from a Drive-By Truckers release. Sure, I miss Cooley’s guitar and the Truckers triple guitar interplay. But […]
Springsteen Gets Socially Distorted
Bruce Springsteen unleashed his inner punk with special guest and Twangville fave Mike Ness of Social Distortion last week in L.A. This is the sound of four guitars a blazin’. Click here for a bigger fix of Social D. Thanks to Between Love and Like for the tip-off.
The Legacy of Townes and Sir Douglas
Spring brings us two phenomenal releases honoring the legacy of Texas music pioneers Doug Sahm and Townes Van Zandt. The recently released Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm (Vanguard Records) pays tribute to San Antonio native Doug Sahm. Sahm established himself in 1965 as leader of the Sir Douglas Quintet, a band whose […]
Joe Purdy’s Tribute to Danny Federici
Longtime E Street Band organist Danny Federici passed in 2008 after a battle with cancer. Before he died, Federici and his family established the Danny Fund to educate people on the dangers of sun exposure and melanoma. The organization is also raising funds to support research in search of a cure. Los Angeles musician Joe […]
Mayer’s Playlist for January ’09, a Video Companion
What’s a playlist without a video companion? We kick things off with Otis Gibbs and Miranda Lee Richards, our featured artists this month. From there we’ve got live clips from the Gourds, Gary Louris & Mark Olson, Joe Ely and A.C. Newman, plus videos from Frank Turner and Bruce Springsteen. We close out this month […]
Mayer’s Playlist for January ’09, Part 1
ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Grandpa Walked a Picketline, by Otis Gibbs Otis Gibbs is an American original, a gruff musical journeyman who is unafraid to tell it like he see’s it. With a matter of fact lyrical style, he spins tales of the back roads and the folks that wander them. “Caroline,” for example, tells […]
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 […]