This video would be worthy of posting based on the song’s merit alone. Paul Kelly’s melancholy ode to Christmas is a masterpiece. Hearing Kelly tell the story behind the song is a bonus worthy of sharing. “I’ve got a Christmas song, but it doesn’t have a chorus and it’s set in prison.”
Mayer’s Playlist for December 2012
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH Love and Dirt, by Session Americana A cocktail table provides the key to understanding Session Americana. It is so much a part of the band’s experience that they typically travel with it when they tour. The table is a centerpiece, of sorts, around which the musicians gather. Sitting there, they often […]
Monday Morning Video: Paul Kelly’s “Deeper Water”
There are still two more days to enter our Paul Kelly box set give-away. Click here for more details. Here’s a personal favorite from the Kelly catalog and yet another example of his songwriting prowess.
Win (Really) Big: Paul Kelly Box Set
If ever there was a Twangville give-away that I would want to win, this would be it. Several years ago Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly began playing multi-night shows during which he performed songs from his catalog in alphabetical order. The shows begat plans for a box set; the planned box set begat a book. Although […]
Win Big: Paul Kelly
What is it about Australia and New Zealand? Per capita, they’ve got some of the most talented and enjoyable musicians in the world. Neil Finn and Tim Finn (from Splitz Enz to Crowded House and the solo stuff in between) to Kasey Chambers to You Am I. And then there’s Paul Kelly. Kelly himself best […]
Happy Holidays from the Twangville Posse
Our gift to you is a pair of holiday selections from two of our favorite artists. It’s better than a pair of socks and, really, did you expect anything else? (Yea, it’s only half the song but it clearly illustrates why we’re big Willie Nile fans…)
Twangville Recommends: Paul Kelly in Song
A tour through Paul Kelly’s catalog is a musical journey filled with sharp themes, clever lyrics and engaging melodies. Here are a few choice selections. Everything is Turning to White (from 1989’s So Much Water So Close to Home) A woman’s spine-tingling tale of her husband finding a young woman’s brutally murdered body on a […]
Twangville Recommends: Paul Kelly
“I’m a legend not a star,†sang Australia’s Paul Kelly on 1998’s Words and Music. It is an apt description for one of the world’s most distinctive songwriters. With a career that dates back to the late 1970’s, Kelly displays a songwriting capacity that crosses numerous boundaries. His base is pop and rock but he […]
Mayer’s Playlist for March/April, Part 1
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: Traveling and Unraveling, by Steve Poltz Poltz proves himself to be a genuine musical instigator across two concurrent releases, blending a comedic wit and biting lyrics with instantly hummable acoustic melodies. Who else would react to life’s frustrations by asking the semi-serious question “What would Ghandi do in this situation, go […]
SXSW 2008: The Scene
I’m delirious from lack of sleep, I can barely stand due to the soreness burning through my legs, I’ve got a blister raging on my big toe and a small scratch has mysteriously appeared on my left hand. Ahh, it must be another Sunday morning at SXSW. Now, many of our colleagues in the media […]