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Emma: Perfect Blue

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I’ve been kind of hibernating this month – getting used to the idea of having free time in the evenings is apparently a bit of a challenge for me – so my musical choices have been mellow.

Today I’d like to share Perfect Blue by Emma, which is the aural equivalent of a hot bubblebath and a big glass of wine:
 
Perfect Blue by Emma music
 
Emma is: Neil E Curtis, Luke Gregory, Will Moseley and Charlie Rusbridger; they are from North London; and you can listen to more of their tunes at their Soundcloud page.

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Feel Bad For You, September 2012

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I don’t have a horse in this race this month, but I can’t deprive you all of the goodness that is FBFY just because I blanked on a contribution.

“Feel bad for September? No way! It’s football and chili season! First, thanks to AnnieTUFF for the cover art. Second, for the first time in the history of FBFY mixtapes (I think) two people submitted the same track (see #7). Third, notice how loaded TinCanMan was when he submitted his track (# 14). That’s what I like to see! Let’s get some drunken commentary on this mix, pronto!”

Download

1. Title: Young Blood
Artist: Black Pistol Fire
Album: Big Beat ’59 (2012)
Submitted By: @mikeorren
Comments: Saw these guys open for The Scabs in Austin a couple months back and thought they were great. Songmanship takes a jump in their new album– first time I heard this, I swore it was an old favorite.

2. Title: Everybody’s Devil
Artist: Some Dark Holler
Album: Hollow Chest (2012)
Submitted by: Corey Flegel – This Is American Music

3. Title: One Time Thing
Artist: Michael Chapman
Album: Rainmaker (1969)
Submitted By: Truersound
Comments: Had the joy of meeting the man and seeing him perform at a private party recently. He sat on the porch with an amped acoustic, no vocals….and proceeded to blow us all away.

4. Title: Miénteme
Artist: The Moonstones
Album: Fuzz, Farfisa y Fiesta (2011)
Submitted By: BoogieStudio22
Comments: These guys started following me on twitter. I found their Bandcamp site (http://themoonstones.bandcamp.com/) and was floored by their retro 60s sound. Instant fan! About half the songs are in Spanish, the other half in English. I finally found a label in Australia where I could buy their CD (and got a couple of samplers too).

5. Title: Wanted
Artist: Town Hall Brawl
Album: demos (2010)
Submitted By: hoosier buddy
Comments: “I remember when called me up, asked me out to the laundromat, playin’ pool on the dry cycle, can’t have more fun than that. Never told anyone your secret, even though I know you told mine. I could never do that to another; some things should always be protected.”

6. Title: There’s More Pretty Girls Than One
Artist: Ricky Skaggs & Tony Rice
Album: Skaggs & Rice (1980)
Submitted By: @philnorman
Comments: Been doing more duo gigs lately, and there’s not many better bluegrass duo records to study than this one. Also, girls are pretty.

7. Title: Like A Drug
Artist: Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside
Album: Dirty Radio (Deluxe Version) (2012)
Submitted By: Bryan Childs (Autopsy IV)
Comments: Ding a ding dang my ding a long ling long.

Also Submitted By: @popa2unes
Comments: I’m Hooked

8. Title: Define A Transparent Dream
Artist: Olivia Tremor Control
Album: Music From The Unrealized Film Script Dusk At Cubist Castle (1996)
Submitted By: Ryan (Verbow at Altcountrytab.ca)
Comments: RIP Bill Doss.

9. Title: Missing You
Artist: Chris Knight
Album: Little Victories (2012)
Submitted By: Simon
Comments: Not made a bad album Mr Knight and his new one is no exception, best of the plugged in releases so far for me.

10. Title: Coax Me
Artist: Sloan
Album: Twice Removed (deluxe reissue) (1994)
Submitted By: @scratchedsoul
I loved Sloan when they first came out, but then I hated this record when it was originally released in 1994. It’s absolutely grown on me over the years. I always loved the line ‘I think Consolidated’s OK, It’s not the band I hate, it’s their fans.’ That line definitely applied to Consolidated at the time and has applied to many bands since.

11. Title: For A Time
Artist: Guster The Face Buster (G.F.B)
Album (year): G.F.B (2011)
Submitted By: annieTUFF
Comments: Well, is it that time again? September? Already? The start of fall is upon us? We could still go to the lake right now and take a dip during the middle of the hot day, but by the end of the month I bet we’ll be wearing sweaters and eating only foods made with pumpkin. Is the pumpkin thing just me? Maybe… Anyway. Back to music. Part of fall is feeling a little bummed, summer is ending, stuff is dying, its starting to get darker in the morning, but you’ve got to embrace those feelings…and then punch them in the face. So, this month I’m embracing the bummer. Next month I’ll continue my fall tradition with the punching my bummer in the face. For now, I’ll introduce you to my brother…Guster The Face Buster.

12. Title: Bible on the Dash (featuring Hayes Carll)
Artist: Corb Lund
Album: Cabin Fever 2012
Submitted By: Rockstar Aimz
Comments: Corb Lund and Hayes Carll (and Todd Snider) are among the few songwriters still following the long tradition of using humor in country music. This song is one of the highlights off of Lund’s new album.

13. Title: New York
Artist: Sex Pistols
Album: Never Mind The Bollocks (1976)
Submitted By: Bowood
Comments: this popped up on my iPod, the whole album is just a middle finger to everyone and everything.

14. Title: Best Song Everrr
Artist: Wallpaper
Album: Ultimix 181 (2011)
Submitted By: tincanman
Comments: I’m jush wanna say I love you FB…FMB…shit…FBFUCKY peoples. Yesh, I’ve had a few brwskiiiiiiiiiis ha haha, but thatsh not it. No, I shwear, I just love you. all. Video is the NSFW version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr7pEzgW_7Y

15. Title: Storms (Fleetwood Mac cover)
Artist: Matt Sweeney & Bonnie “Prince” Billy
Album: Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Fleetwood Mac Tribute (2012)
Submitted By: TheSecondSingle/Beldo
Comments: My love for soft rock is no secret to those on ACT. This earnest, stripped down cover by one of my favorite duos brings out the beauty and songwriting perfection that has made so much of Fleetwood Mac’s material age so well (and shine through the admittedly dated production). Now if Matt and Will would make a follow-up to Superwolf…

16. Title: If Money Talks
Artist: Jason and The Scorchers
Album: Rockpalast – Hamburg Germany (1985)
Submitted By: toomuchcountry
Comments: I couldn’t let the recent passing of Scorchers’ drummer Perry Baggs slip by without some sort of trib. Two songs written by Baggs – White Lies and If Money Talks – were also two of the most iconic for the band and were staples in their setlists. R.I.P. Perry.

17. Title: Take The Fall
Artist: Elliott Randall
Album: Take the Fall (2007)
Submitted By: Cowbelle www.morecowbelle.net
Comments: New favorite SF Americana artist

18. Title: Calgary (Live at Triple J Studios)
Artist: Bon Iver
Album: Live at Triple J Studios (2012)
Submitted By: Slowcoustic
Comments: I know the crowd around here doesn’t always give the time of day to Mr. Vernon but I thought I would be the softie who provided a Bon Iver track to FBFY. I like this version of Calgary as it is one where Bon Vernon uses his actual speaking voice to sing and leaves a lot of the ‘signature’ falsetto-style singing out of the equation. And I live in Calgary…so, there is that.

19. Title: I Am The Cosmos
Artist: Chris Bell
Album (year): I Am The Cosmos (1992)
Submitted By: Trailer
Comments: If you don’t like this song, I probably don’t like you (much).

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Lillian Todd-Jones: Butter Soul

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It’s difficult to gauge the quality of an artist based on one song (there’s a reason there are so many one-hit wonders), but this one moody song from Lillian Todd-Jones is very promising.

 

 

If you’re in London, Todd-Jones will be a part of the City Showcase at the Borderline on October 11, 2012.

 

Lillian Todd-Jones @ Facebook

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Friday Link Session

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I promise I am not knowingly gathering themed links for these round-ups, but like the last round-up turned out to be hip hop-themed, this one is DC hardcore-themed.

  • Journalist/writer/graphic designer and former DC hardcore zinester Scott Crawford is Kickstarting a new documentary on the DC hardcore scene of the ’80s, called Salad Days. It looks fan-freaking-tastic and will include interviews with those you’d expect (Ian MacKaye, Henry Rollins) and those you might not (Ben Harper? Fred Armisen!?).
  • The Nerdist posted their interview with Henry Rollins, and it is a great way to spend a couple of hours. I’d love to see Nerdtern (Nerdist intern) Kyle Clark start his own music discussion podcast.
  • Mentioned on the aforementioned podcast was the Rollins Archive, where you can download installments of Henry Rollins’ radio show going back to late 2004. The Ian MacKaye show from this past April is a definite highlight.
  • Ian MacKaye and Amy Farina, a.k.a. the Evens, will be releasing The Odds on November 20, their first full-length in six years. It will include previously-released single “Warble Factor”

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Bizarre Tribe: A Quest to The Pharcyde

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Gummy Soul does it again. A year after Fela Soul, an album-length mash-up of Fela Kuti and De La Soul, Gummy Soul has produced another album of chilled, jazzy hip hop, this time pairing the Pharcyde with A Tribe Called Quest.

 

“Runnin'” – Gummy Soul

 

Like Fela Soul, Bizarre Tribe is delicious from beginning to end. And like Fela Soul, Bizarre Tribe is a free download on Bandcamp. It’s a beautiful thing.

 

Gummy Soul Official Website

Gummy Soul @ Bandcamp

Gummy Soul @ Facebook

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Video: Silicon Ballet, Sunglasses

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Silicon Ballet, I thought. Hmm. Perhaps there will be dancing robots! In tutus!

So I clicked on the link.

There were no dancing robots or tutus on the other end. Instead I was rewarded with some charming dreamy pop, plus adorable children in sunglasses and multiple varieties of super-hero costumes. Check it:

 

 

Silicon Ballet is Anne-Claude Dejasse (Violin), Aurélie Potty (Cello), Katia Raffay (Violin), Didier Soufnenguel (Electronics), Christophe Danthinne (Lead vocals), Antoni Severino (Bass guitar, vocals), David Diederen (Guitars, vocals) and Didier Dauvrin (Drums), they are from Belgium, and Sunglasses is from their debut EP Utopia, released in February 2012.

There is new music on the way; their second EP, to be called Slowly Slowly, is expected in early November.

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A Good Read, a Good Listen, and a Good Drink: Shivering Timbers

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Shivering Timbers by Nate Burrell

photo credit: Nate Burrell

 

It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.

In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.

 

Life in the Shivering Timbers’ household, i.e. the home of Sarah and Jayson Benn in Akron, Ohio, doesn’t leave much time for leisurely drink while flipping through pages and listening to the hi-fi. On top of raising their four-year-old girl and the handful of jobs that Jayson works, the band just released their second, beautiful album, Sing Sing. But, fortunately for us, they did find a moment to share a few favorites for when they do have time to sit still for a while.

 

“Wayfaring Stranger/Evening Prayer” – Shivering Timbers

 

Sarah says: Free time is scarce, so a 78 is perfect for a moment of escapism, and I relish Ernie Andrews “Dream Awhile/Green Gin” (GEM records 1945). Add a tall glass of iced sweet tea, and the latest copy of Garden Design magazine, and I’m blissful for 10 minutes. On the road I have time to read, and it’s almost always some sort of world history (or music history) book, right now I’m reading A People’s History of the United States [by Howard Zinn], which I think everyone should read.

 

“Green Gin” – Ernie Andrews

 

Jayson says: On the rare occasion when I’m able to disappear for a while, I can usually be found lying on the floor in my living room, directly in front of the stereo. Lately I’ve been listening to the country gentlemen of guitar: Chet Atkins, Merle Travis, and Duane Eddy, to name a few. There is something about these old timers that has been lost on a lot of modern guitar players; they had grit, class, and knew how to make their instruments sing. My drink of choice is typically a glass of good bourbon (neat).

On the other hand, if the girls are out of town visiting family, I’ll grab a six pack of High Life and blow the speakers out with some Motorhead or Iron Maiden.

Reading while listening to music usually doesn’t go hand in hand for me. I do, however, have a couple of books going at the moment: Tom Waits – In the Studio by Jake Brown, and Speaker for the Dead, the follow-up to Orson Scott Card’s great sci-fi novel, Ender’s Game.

 

“Cannonball Rag” – Merle Travis

 

Shivering Timbers Official Website

Shivering Timbers @ Facebook

 

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Johnny and the Applestompers/The Misery Jackals/The Dad Horse Experience at Now That’s Class, Cleveland, OH, 9.6.12

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Johnny and the Applestompers

 

Many fledgling bands find that audiences respond better to their cover songs than their originals. While, sure, part of the reason for that is that people are creatures of habit who love what is familiar, another part of it is that bands in their early stages are also more comfortable with what is familiar, finding it easier to let loose on a song they’ve been listening to for years than one they wrote in the garage last week. Johnny and the Applestompers, whose singer appears to be mostly comprised of sticks and who have the gamest bass player I’ve ever seen, are one of those rare young bands who rock their originals even more confidently than their covers. While they covered everyone from Merle Haggard to Gus Cannon’s Jug Stompers, it was their originals, based firmly in Americana traditions, about drinking whiskey and pretty girls not giving them the time of day that were the most compelling.

 

 

The Misery Jackals

 

I’m going to admit right now that the Misery Jackals just aren’t my thing, but I have no problem giving them props for being a tight, hard-working band who seem like they’d fit right in with the Farmageddon Records crew. And I don’t think it’s irrelevant to add that they seem like genuinely good people. I spent some time talking with bass player Doghouse Tim, and he is such a down-to-earth, hard-working guy who genuinely and deeply loves playing in this band that he made me want to support them no matter how I felt about their music. For me, that’s what all of this is all about: people doing what they love just because they love it.

 

 

The Dad Horse Experience

 

It’s been a couple of years since German one-man band the Dad Horse Experience touched down on American soil, but judging from his grand showing at this year’s Muddy Roots Festival, he’s gained a respectable following here, and I hope it means it will be less than a couple of more years before we see him again.

When I first wrote about Dad Horse here, I noted how odd it can be for an American listener to hear this clearly American-influenced blues-folk-gospel coming out with a German accent. But what brings the listener back is the fact that this is clearly no gimmick, not a joke. Dad comes from a place of real love for artists like Washington Phillips, the Carter Family, and Hank Williams, and he pours that love back into his own music and his performance. While effortlessly playing banjo or mandolin, manning his bass pedals, and sometimes throwing in a little kazoo on top of it all, Dad sang, hollered, and bleated right from the heart throughout his set.

Between offerings like the Carter Family’s “Can the Circle Be Unbroken (By and By)” and originals like “Dead Dog on a Highway”, “Through the Hole”, “The Party”, and “Gates of Heaven”, Dad spoke to the crowd evincing a presence somewhere between friendly stranger and itinerant preacher, sharing stories and scenarios that sometimes seemed to be told with a wink and a knowing nod. And while sing-a-longs are generally cloying and uncomfortable experiences, the audience joining in strongly with Dad on the chorus of “Lord Must Fix My Soul” was a highlight of the night.

An aside: Now That’s Class has one of the best sound set-ups around. The acoustics are great, and the sound isn’t mixed for a point somewhere 20 feet behind the back wall like other venues. This is fantastic when a band is playing. But it is the opposite of fantastic when audience members forget they are in a public space and not their own living rooms. Places like Now That’s Class have two whole rooms you can be in, so if you absolutely must carry on that long conversation rightnowcan’twaitaminutelonger, show your fellow patrons a measure of common decency and take that conversation to the room where someone is not trying to perform so it won’t matter that everyone in the room can hear every, single word of your conversation. Also, asking a German performer if he is a “kraut rocker” does not make you clever and special; it just makes you obnoxious.

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The Dad Horse Experience in Cleveland Tonight

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It’s not often the surprising and enchanting Dad Horse gets to tour the United States, but he’s on our soil right now, preaching the kellergospel. Here’s a clip from his recent stop at the Muddy Roots Festival.

 

“Through the Hole” – The Dad Horse Experience

 

He will appearing tonight at Now That’s Class tonight, and it promises to be an interesting experience. There’s no telling how long it will be before he makes it back this way, so don’t miss it.

 

“Kingdom It Will Come” – The Dad Horse Experience

 

Thursday, September 6, 9 PM
The Dad Horse Experience
The Misery Jackals
Johnny and the Applestompers

$5

Now That’s Class

If you’re too far away to catch this gig, Dad has a bunch more American stops coming up with more being added all the time. Keep tabs at the tour page.

Sep.07: THE BRASS RAIL, Fort Wayne, IN
Sep.08: TIP TOP DELUXE, Grand Rapids, MI
Sep.09: WANDER INN, Mishawaka, IN
Sep.10: REGGIES, Chicago, IL
Sep.11: OUTLAW RADIO CHICAGO, living room session
Sep.12: TBA, Le Claire, IA
Sep.13: THE DUSTBOWL, Madison, WI
Sep.14: WISE GUYS, Mason City, IA
Sep.15: WILD TYMES, Saint Paul, MN
Sep.16: FLOWER SHOP, Sauk Rapids, MN
Sep.17: NORTH STAR BAR, Rochester, MN
Sep.18: ROZZ-TOX, Rock Island, IL
Sep.19: NEW HAMPSHIRE BAR, Quincy, IL
Sep.21: THE CRACK FOX, St. Louis, MO
Sep.22: NEW DAISY THEATER, Memphis, TN

 

The Dad Horse Experience Official Website

The Dad Horse Experience @ Facebook