It takes an incredible songwriter to succinctly condense a lifetime into a five minute song. Paul Kelly is that type of songwriter.
Mayer’s Picks – Best Songs of 2024, Part 2
I posted my list of favorite from the first half of 2024 back in June (here). Rather than replicate that list for my full year review, consider this a continuation — the best songs from the second half of 2024. Rosemary and Thieves, Garrett Owen (from the self-released Memoriam) Owen’s tale of fractured relationships is […]
Mayer’s Picks, More 2024 Favorites
Here, in no particular order, are more favorites from 2024.
Mayer’s Playlist for Fall 2024
Give It To Me One Last Time, Jeremie Albino (from the Easy Eye Sound release Our Time in the Sun) Canada’s Jeremie Albino traveled to Nashville to record an album steeped in Memphis and Muscle Shoals soul. In Nashville, Albino teamed with Dan Auerbach to create an outstanding album that has a retro feel without […]
Paul Kelly on Writing Songs and His “Anti-Career”
Legendary Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly talks about working as a “dish pig” and describes time spent in a rental van at the beginning and the ending of tour.
Mayer’s Playlist for Fall 2020, Part 1
Remember It, The Northern Belle (from the Die With Your Boots On Records release We Wither, We Bloom) You’d never know from their music that The Northern Belle hails from Norway. Their brand of Americana is bathed in Southern California sunshine in more ways than one. This is music warm and lavish, not to mention […]
Monday Morning Video – Paul Kelly’s Gravy Recipe
I’ve posted this song before but, hey, it’s a classic. How do you not appreciate a holiday song without a chorus that tells the tale of a man spending the holidays in jail and includes a gravy recipe. The song “How to Make Gravy” appears alongside many other Paul Kelly gems on the upcoming Songs […]
Monday Morning Video – A Paul Kelly Mother’s Day Celebration
Mother’s Day was yesterday but we’re celebrating today with this incredible new track from Australian legend Paul Kelly. The song, a collaboration with singer-songwriter Dan Sultan, is another instant Kelly classic. The song was written for the soundtrack for the forthcoming documentary about Australian Football League star and Indigenous Australian leader Adam Goodes. It reflects […]
Monday Morning Video – A Keen and Kelly Holiday
Here’s a soundtrack for those final hours of shopping – Paul Kelly’s “How To Make Gravy” and Robert Earl Keen’s “Merry Christmas From the Family”. Two holiday classics.
Mayer’s Playlist for Fall 2018, Part 3
Little Red Hen (With Apologies to Chicken Little) , Kirby Brown (from the self-released Uncommon Prayer) A sense of restlessness permeates Kirby Brown’s Uncommon Prayer. The album documents a quest to find happiness and one’s place in this world, a topic that brown tackles with music that is intoxicating and lyrics that are both creative […]