Whatever Happened to You and I?

So tonight we're celebrating $5.99 Burger Monday at a local establishment near TWDQ HQ and we hear something we don't think we've ever heard before:  Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes on a restaurant sound system.

As such, we paid a little more attention than usual, bringing us to This Week's Discussion Question:

Why do I give Johnny a pass on a grammatical error in a chorus, but not the BoDeans?

Please keep the discussion civil and feel free to wander off into "That's Steve Van Zandt getting the pass, actually," or "YouTube is awesome."

Discuss.

The Wall Street Shuffle

Good on both of the local dailies for carrying the Times' story on commodities manipulation. The west side of the river had it on the front page and their counterparts to the east had it on page 2.  Charlie Pierce has it absolutely right about Occupy Wall Street:  They may not have a coherent message, but they're yelling at the right buildings.

That brings us to This Week's Discussion Question:

Where the hell is my pitchfork?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Hey Detroit ought to at least get a cut of this action!" or "Torches! We're gonna need torches, too!"

Discuss.

Sunday Random 10

Wonder if the little green Nano can pull up some tunes to melt the snow that's gotta go.

Let's...Hit...Shuffle!


Adele - I'll Be Waiting
The Rascals - It's Wonderful
Mavis Staples - Wonderful Savior
Alice Cooper - Elected
David Bowie - Valentine's Day
Dan Zanes - The E-Ri-E Canal
Jeremy Messersmith - Repo Man
U2 - All Because of You
Dar Williams - Are You Out There
The Magnetic Fields - You're My Only Home

The Zanes tune is most definitely NOT the "Erie Canal" they taught you in school. Can't find the Zanes version on YouTube, so this'll have to suffice. And if you don't have Dan Zanes' wonderful Parades and Panoramas album, what are you still doing here? The Bowie tune's from the new record, which is quite good.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question ("Really, Sixth District? Really?"), already in progress.

Sunday Random 10 (x4)

Whoosh! Where did that month go?

Let's...Hit...Shuffle!

02/24/2012
Eddie Cochran - Boll Weevil
Steve Winwood - Higher Love
Shawn Colvin (with Mary Chapin Carpenter) - One Cool Remove
The Jayhawks - Bottomless Cup
The Rolling Stones - Get Off Of My Cloud
The Gaslight Anthem - Mulholland Drive
Aimee Mann - Christmastime
This Train - Who's Stopping You
Tom Waits - Shiver Me Timbers
Professor Longhair - Bald Head

11. Stevie Wonder - You Are the Sunshine of My Life

03/03/2012
The Rural Alberta Advantage - Drain the Blood (Live)
Wilco - Black Rose (Alt)
The Rascals - People Got To Be Free
The Wild Tchoupitoulas - Hey Mama (Wild Tchoupitoulas)
The Gin Blossoms - Hey Jealousy
The Beatles - The Ballad of John and Yoko
Lucinda Williams - Changed the Locks (Live)
Erik Brandt - Anywhere But Here
Loudon Wainwright III - Daughter
Patty Griffin - Getting Ready

03/10/2012
Tracey Thorn - Maybe This Christmas
Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds
Van Morrison - Mystic of the East
The Beatles - Baby's in Black
Otis Redding - I've Been Loving You Too Long
The Bangles - Going Down to Liverpool
Mavis Staples - You Are Not Alone
Fountains of Wayne - Fire Island
Lost Dogs - Precious Memories
Bruce Springsteen - The Promise

11. Alice Cooper - School's Out

03/17/2012
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers - Don't Do Me Like That
Faces - Angel (Live)
Professor Longhair - Big Chief, Pt. 2
The Beatles - It Won't Be Long
Wilco - You and I
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers - Even the Losers
Bill Staines - Symphony of Gold
John Wesley Harding - Sweat Tears Blood and Come
Wilco - Heavy Metal Drummer (Live)
Van Morrison - Queen of the Slipstream

11. The Who - The Dirty Jobs

A few bonus elevens in there to make up for our tardiness. One of 'em contains the quintessential rock 'n roll verse:

Well we got no classAnd we got no principlesAnd we got no innocenceWe can't even think up a word that rhymes

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question ("Aren't this moron's fifteen minutes up yet?), currently in progress.

Sunday Random 10 (caught up!)

Let's see what the little green Nano produced while we were blogging the last two weeks' worth.

Let's...Hit...Shuffle!

Beach House - Myth
Fleetwood Mac - Don't Stop (Live '77)
The Bangles - Be With You
Menahan Street Band - The Contender
Arcade Fire - No Cars Go
Johnny Cash - Rock Island Line
Los Lobos - I Can't Understand
The Beatles - Glass Onion
Ian Hunter and the Rant Band - Comfortable (Flyin' Scotsman)
Van Morrison - Full Force Gale

Bonus 11:  Beki Hemingway - Make You Proud

The live Mac tune is from the 3-disc Rumours reissue that's well worth your dough even though everyone already bought it in the 70's. Picked up the Menahan album for a buck at Half-Price last week and it's nice stuff. And boy, oh boy, we hope we can still rock like Ian Hunter when we're in our seventies.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question ("Couldn't they resolve another schism by naming Rowan Williams pope?"), already in progress.

Sunday Random Ten (Catching up)

While we're in the middle of this week's shuffle, let's see what the little green Nano offered up in the first half of February.  Let's...Hit...Shuffle!


02/03/2012
The Ventures - Wipe Out
The Who - Drowned
Van Morrison - Real Real Gone
Wilco - I Might
The Beach Boys - Psycodelic Sounds:  Brian Falls into a Piano
Dan Penn - The Dark End of the Street
The Ike Reilly Assassination - Holiday in New York
Beki Hemingway & Jonathan Rundman - Hometown
XTC - Books Are Burning
The Oneders - That Thing You Do!

Bonus 11:  Wilco - Can't Stand It

The juxtaposition of "Wipe Out" and "Drowned" is kind of creepy now that we think of it. "Real Real Gone" is a wonderful 90's Van Morrison song, to which we owe a great debt to the terrific Twin Cities-based Van cover band The Belfast Cowboys. And "Hometown" came up on a Sunday when the lectionary contained the reading about Jesus' less than well-received preaching in Nazareth, making us think--once again--that this Nano knows way too much.

02/10/2012
Billy Bragg - Lay Down Your Weary Tune
Nate Houge - Take Your Time
Dr. John - Tipitina
Dawes - Fire Away
The Kinks - Muswell Hillbilly
Van Morrison - Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)
Todd Rundgren - Bread
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Heart on a String
Bobby Whitlock - Standing in the Rain
The Who - How Many Friends

Bonus 11:  Buck Owens - I've Got a Tiger by the Tail

Continuing the "knows way too much" idea, here's Dr. John a couple of days before Mardi Gras. "Jackie Wilson Said" remains our all-time favorite Van Morrison song. "Bread" is from the brilliant Hermit of Mink Hollow, which you really really ought to hear.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question ("Where's Sister Joan Chittister?"), already in progress.

TWDQ QOTW

TWDQ's Quote of the Week comes from Charles Pierce:

...if equal protection under the secular law is really a threat to your religious liberty, then both your religion and your liberty are made of spun sugar and you should shop around for a most robust variety of both of them.

Tell us again why George Will's on our teevee every Sunday morning and this guy isn't.

Sunday Random 10 (Friday Edition)

Busy week again, so let's see what the little green Nano offered up on Sunday.

Let's...Hit...Shuffle!


The Ventures - Pipeline
Randy Newman - I'm Dreaming
Kaivama - Sulo
Dan Penn - I'm Your Puppet
Nick Lowe - I Live on a Battlefield
Bob Dylan - Long and Wasted Years
Chuck Prophet - Emperor Norton in the Last Year of His Life (1880)
Tracey Thorn - Snow
Muddy Waters - Walkin' Thru the Park
Tim O'Reagan - River Bends

Randy Newman's terrific election year tune shows up. If you haven't seen the video or heard the song, GO! Love the jangly version of the hit Dan Penn penned for the Purify Brothers. Tracey Thorn's voice makes us melt, and The Jayhawks need to let Tim O'Reagan sing more leads.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question (Jeez, when you've lost Rambo, it's over, right?), already in progress.

Sunday Random 10

Let's see if Little Feat's "Cold, Cold, Cold" comes up on the little green Nano this week.

Let's...Hit...Shuffle!


Jonathan Rundman - What Wondrous Love Is This
The Avett Brothers - I Killed Sally's Lover (Live)
Mavis Staples - You Are Not Alone
The Beach Boys - I'm In Great Shape
Los Lobos - I Got Loaded
Professor Longhair - Bald Head
Bessie Banks - Go Now
Kaivama - Viitaniemi Mix
The Avett Brothers - Slight Figure of Speech
The Beatles - All My Loving

The Nano was into the Avetts this week apparently. The Moody Blues covered Ms. Banks' "Go Now" when they had future Wings guy Denny Laine but no Mellotrons yet.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question (Again? What the hell is wrong with these people?), already in progress.

History Never Repeats

So last week, this happened:

Larry Ward, chairman of the national Gun Appreciation Day gun rights advocates have planned for the weekend of President Obama's second inauguration, told CNN Friday that there never would have been slaves in America if black people had guns.

"I think Martin Luther King, Jr. would agree with me if he were alive today that if African Americans had been given the right to keep and bear arms from day one of the country's founding, perhaps slavery might not have been a chapter in our history," Ward said.

Yeah, he said that out loud on teevee.

This morning, Melissa Harris-Perry's opening segment described what really happened when African-Americans started bearing arms in public.

Republicans in California eagerly supported increased gun control. Governor Reagan told reporters that afternoon that he saw “no reason why on the street today a citizen should be carrying loaded weapons.” He called guns a “ridiculous way to solve problems that have to be solved among people of good will.” In a later press conference, Reagan said he didn’t “know of any sportsman who leaves his home with a gun to go out into the field to hunt or for target shooting who carries that gun loaded.” The Mulford Act, he said, “would work no hardship on the honest citizen.” 

Yep, Saint Ronald Wilson Reagan signed off on a Republican-drafted, far-reaching gun control bill, bringing us to This Week's Discussion Question:

History's a beeyotch sometimes, ain't it?

Please keep the discussion civil. Seriously. Civil.

Sunday Random 10

Cold, cold, cold in TWDQ land today. Let's see if the little green Nano warms things up.

Let's...Hit...Shuffle!


Brendan Benson - Pretty Baby
Elvis Presley - I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine
Joan Osborne - Broken Wings
Kirsty MacColl (w/The Pogues) - Miss Otis Regrets
Dwight Yoakam - Waterfall
Van Morrison - Queen of the Slipstream
Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Good Year for the Roses
Old 97's - Victoria
Arcade Fire - Half Light I
Daryl Hall & John Oates - When the Morning Comes

And eleven, because we're on time again this week:
Ry Cooder - 3rd Base, Dodger Stadium

Elvis ain't afraid of no Seasonal Affective Disorder. Speaking of which, this mid-January shuffle wrapping up with songs about half light and morning coming makes us think Apple knows more than it's letting on. We're less than a month away from pitchers and catchers reporting, so that extra track sure warmed us up. Also, if you're not familiar with the late, great Kirsty MacColl, well, there's a new compilation coming soon.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question (no, really), already in progress.

Sunday Random 10

Happy New Year! Did this morning's random ten while waiting in line to wash the road salt off one of TWDQ's fleet vehicles.

With the NHL lockout ending, we're no longer sad to type this play on the Minnesota Wild's traditional game opener:

Let's...Hit...Shuffle!


The Suburbs - Monster Man
Jeremy Messersmith - Breaking Down
Crowded House - Pineapple Head
Buddy Miller - My Love Will Follow You
The Clash - The Card Cheat
Joe Henry - I Flew Over Our House Last Night
Hank Williams - I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love with You)
Wilco - I'm a Wheel
World Party - Strange Groove
Yes - I've Seen All Good People:  Your Move/All Good People (live)

Bonus 11:  The Who - Baba O'Riley

The fine new album from Suburb Chan Poling's new band, The New Standards, arrived in the mail last week. We got into Jeremy Messersmith's brilliantly-crafted pop last summer. Bunch of solid country in this, between the criminally-underrated Buddy Miller, Joe Henry covering Tom T. Hall, and ol' Hank himself.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question ("Is there a bigger bag of hammers in sports than Gary Bettman?"), already in progress.

Sunday Random 10 (December)

Okay, it's not like there's nothing else going on in December, but we have to get better at this next year.

Let's...Hit...Shuffle!


12/02/2012
The Beatles - Sea of Monsters
Rufus Wainwright - Respectable Dive
Fountains of Wayne - Someone's Gonna Break Your Heart
The Kinks - Wonder Boy
Freddy Fredrickson - Mr. Downtown
Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds
Fountains of Wayne - Troubled Times
Chris Bell - Look Up
The Beatles - All My Loving
Iron & Wine - Naked As We Come (Live)

Multiple Beatles and Fountains of Wayne? Who knew? "Mr. Downtown" is from the Bobby Darin-ish crooner in the great That Thing You Do and "Suspicious Minds" the best thing Elvis did after getting out of the Army.

12/09/2012
The Avett Brothers - Shame
Rhett Miller - I'll Cry Instead
The Decemberists - The Wanting Comes in Waves / Repaid
Peter Case - Entella Hotel
Rhett Miller - Singular Girl
Wilco - Comment (If All Men Are Truly Brothers)
Gary U.S. Bonds - I Want You (Live)
The Avett Brothers - Paul Newman vs. the Demons
Kopecky Family Band - Are You Listening
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers - Listen to Her Heart

11. Steve Dawson - Obsidian

We continue to be baffled by why Rhett Miller isn't a household name. Got a double shot of the Avetts this week as well. The Bonds tune (not the Dylan song) is from a gritty little King Biscuit Flour Hour live CD from 2000. The Kopeckys' lead singer went to high school with our youngest. They're mining a similar vein to the Lumineers and Edward Sharpe, only we think they do it better. Dawson was the kid's songwriting teacher at Old Town School of Folk Music and this is the terrific lead tune from the fine I Will Miss the Trumpets and the Drums.

12/16/2012
Patty Griffin - Rain
The Avett Brothers - Colorshow
Joe Henry - Stranger
Fountains of Wayne - Please Don't Rock Me Tonight
Elvis Presley - I Love You Because
Over the Rhine - Days Like This
Johnny Rivers - Mountain of Love
Gary U.S. Bonds - Murder in the First Degree
Wilco - California Stars
Michael Kiwanuka - Always Waiting

Robert Plant's in a band with Patty Griffin and Buddy Miller, which is a pretty damned good excuse to not rehash Zep's glory days. "Mountain..." is our favorite Johnny Rivers tune and the Bonds song is from the aforementioned disc.

12/23/2012
The Beatles - And I Love Her
Crowded House - I Feel Possessed
Rosanne Cash - The Wheel
The Pretenders - Stop Your Sobbing
Rhett Miller - Lost Without You
The Belfast Cowboys - Wild Night
The B-52's - Deadbeat Club
The Avett Brothers - I Killed Sally's Lover (Live)
Dwight Yoakam - Little Ways
R.E.M. - Shiny Happy People

Not much to say except, we don't think there's ever been a mix like this with nothing but favorite artists.

12/30/2012
Them - Baby Please Don't Go
The Band - I Shall Be Released
Steve Dawson - Worry Worry Worry
The Shins - The Rifle's Spiral
Rosanne Cash with Johnny Cash - September When It Comes
The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver - Sailing
Old 97's - Won't Be Home
John Wesley Harding - Poor Heart
Bob Mould - Silver Age
World Party - Vanity Fair

11. Kopecky Family Band - She Is the One

Van the Man leads off, there's a Sutherland Brothers tune that Rod Stewart had a big hit with (check out Lifeboat, which features this and their terrific minor hit "You Got Me Anyway"), some Wes (whose debut novel, Misfortune, we're currently reading), the title tune from Mould's fine new record, and some bonus Kopecky Family.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question ("So was Santa good to you?"), already in progress.

Happy New Year!

Sunday Random 10

Hey! Where did November go? Holy cow, we're three weeks behind again! 

Let's...Hit...Shuffle!


11/11/2012
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Tears of a Clown
Paul Simon - Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War
The Silos - I'm Over You
The Turtles - You Know What I Mean
Old 97's - Timebomb
The Avett Brothers - Salvation Song (live)
The Beatles - Wait
Jonathan Rundman - I Thought You Were Mine (remix)
Muddy Waters - Sugar Sweet
Los Lobos - I Got to Let You Know (live)

"Just like Pagliacci did" is a terrific line in a terrific song. "Timebomb" is the killer lead track from the reissue of the Old 97's Too Far to Care 15th anniversary reissue, which is well worth your time. Cool to have The Silos and the Rundman tune (written about a Silos show) in the same mix!

11/18/2012
Dawes - Time Spent in Los Angeles
The Bad Plus - Layin' a Strip for the Higher-Self State Line
Rodney Crowell - Closer to Heaven
Simon & Garfunkel - I Am a Rock
This Train - I Don't Mind
The Beatles - Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Faces - Angel (live)
Old 97's - Old Familiar Steam
Dolly Varden - Done (Done)
The Beatles - The End

The Dolly Varden track's from the album to be released in January, but you can get it now if you're on the mailing list. The Crowell tune is the nice closer from the fine Sex & Gasoline. And, once again, if you're trying to explain to a disbelieving under-35 that Rod Stewart was once a critically acclaimed and respected artist, play 'em this Faces cover of Hendrix.

11/25/2012
The Beach Boys - My Only Sunshine (The Old Master Painter/You Are My Sunshine)
Fountains of Wayne - Small Favors
The Bee Gees - For Whom the Bell Tolls
The Beatles - Paperback Writer
The Ventures - Pipeline
Son Volt - Atmosphere
Golden Smog - V
John Wesley Harding - Burn
Over the Rhine - The Laugh of Recognition
Bettye LaVette - I Guess We Shouldn't Talk About That Now

11. Bruce Springsteen - Badlands

All the major "B" 60's bands represented here. The bonus is one of the songs we heard the E Street Band play a few weeks back at a terrific, energetic show at the Xcel Energy Center. 

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question, already in progress.

Sunday Random 10

That extra hour of sleep worked miracles! We're posting on Sunday Random 10 on the actual Sunday!

Let's...Hit...Shuffle!


Sam & Dave - Soul Man
The Twilight Hours - Forgot Me Now
Beki Hemingway & Jonathan Rundman - List of Things to Do
Joe Henry - Struck
Southside Johnny with La Bamba's Big Band (feat. Tom Waits) - Walk Away
Girlyman - Caroline
Eddie Cochran - Teenage Breakdown
Wilco - I Am Not Willing
The Kinks - A Well Respected Man
Kirsty MacColl - They Don't Know

And a bonus eleven, since you've all been so patient, 

The Band - Up on Cripple Creek

Rest in Peace, Levon.

The Twilight Hours is gorgeous pop from former Trip Shakespeare bandmates Matt Wilson and John Munson (see also, Semisonic, The New Standards, Wits), which you can hear (for free!) here. To pick up on another thread, if you don't own Joe Henry's Scar, what are you waiting for? Southside and Waits pop up again this week, as do Girlyman. And if you only know "They Don't Know" from Tracey Ullman's cover, well, you don't know. Click that link, then go here.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question ("Why the hell wasn't Kirsty MacColl an international megastar?"), already in progress.

Sunday Random 10 (Catching up - October)

Almost caught up...

Let's...Hit...Shuffle!


10/07/2012
Wilco - Comment (If All Men Are Truly Brothers)
Brian Wilson - Love and Mercy
This Train - Like It or Not 
Gear Daddies - Minnesota Polka
Neil Young - Southern Man
Patty Griffin - Flaming Red
Lost Dogs - No Ship Coming In 
Girlyman - The Person You Want
Peter Gabriel - Family Snapshot 
Lookbook - Real Love

We have the lead tracks from Brian Wilson's first solo record and the Lost Dogs' second (and best), a tune from This Train, one of our very favorite bands (Please, please, please make that threatened new record, guys!), and the Gear Daddies goofing around in the studio. Once again, if you don't own Flaming Red, go get it! The kid turned us on to Girlyman and their wonderful vocal harmonies.

10/14/2012
Marshall Crenshaw - Monday Morning Rock
Crowded House - Into Temptation
Crowded House - Twice If You're Lucky
Nate Houge - Redemption
The Del Fuegos - Fade to Blue
Jonathan Rundman - Little Bible
Dar Williams - Teen for God
The Decemberists - Dear Avery
Southside Johnny with La Bamba's Big Band (feat. Tom Waits) - Walk Away
Girlyman - Break Me Slow

A tw0-fer from Crowded House (we'll come back to them later in this post), then the religious themes kick in this Sunday, with Houge, Rundman and Williams. That spectatular Southside/Waits duet has some hints of repentance, as well. Enjoyed seeing the Del Fuegos' play that song at their reunion tour back in February. More Girlyman, too!

10/21/2012
Yes - And You and I
This Train - Jazz
The Beatles - Two of Us
Arcade Fire - Une Annee Sans Lumiere
The Rolling Stones - Good Times, Bad Times
The Replacements - Achin' to Be
Bettye LaVette - It Don't Come Easy
Wilco - You Are My Face
Fountains of Wayne - Cold Comfort Flowers
Shawn Colvin (w/Mary Chapin Carpenter) - One Cool Remove

After 10 minutes of classic Yes, we get This Train's stream-of-consciousness minute-and-a-half rant, then some Beatles and Stones. Saw the terrific Bettye LaVette at the Minnesota State Fair this year, and yes, that's a Ringo Starr cover.   

10/28/2012
David Bowie - Five Years
The Cure - Friday I'm In Love
Stevie Nicks - Stop Draggin' My Heart Around
Dar Williams - Better Things
Wilco - Outta Mind (Outta Sight)
Daniel Amos - (What's Come) Over Me
Daryl Hall & John Oates - Las Vegas Turnaround (The Stewardess Song)
Dan Zanes - Blow Ye Winds In the Morning
Los Lobos - Wicked Rain (Live)
The Baseball Project - The Closer

Dar covers a Kinks song that should have been a huge hit, Daniel Amos channels "I Should Have Known Better", a tune from Abandonded Luncheonette, an album you really need if you all you think of is "Maneater" when you hear "Hall & Oates" mentioned, and we close with a Baseball Project song on the same day Sergio Romo closed out the Detroit Tigers to complete a sweep and make the Giants the World Series champs again.

Whew! We're all caught up!

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question ("Why the hell isn't Neil Finn a huge international megastar?"), already in progress.

Sunday Random 10 (Catching up - September)

Continuing with the catching up...

Let's...Hit...Shuffle!


09/02/2012
Old 97's - Wish the Worst (live)
Solomon Burke - Can't Nobody Love You 
The Beatles - She Loves You (mono) 
Tom Waits - Somewhere 
U2 - Beautiful Day 
Steve Winwood - Higher Love 
Feist - Caught a Long Wind 
The Beatles - Paperback Writer 
The Beatles - Act Naturally 
Crowded House - It's Only Natural 

Major Beatles thing going on here. As with last month, it's not a surprise, since there's a lotta Beatles on the Nano. Didn't hear "Beautiful Day" enough at Target Field this year. (They play it after every Twins victory.)

09/09/2012
Drive-By Truckers - Self Destructive Zones
Beki Hemingway & Jonathan Rundman - Consolation Prize
The Capitols - Cool Jerk
Elvis Costello - Accidents Will Happen
Tom Waits - Burma Shave
Dolly Varden - Forgiven Now
Split Enz - I Got You
Patty Griffin - Goodbye
The Stone Roses - This is the One
The Beatles - All My Loving

Again, if you don't own Patty Griffin's Flaming Red album, what are you waiting for?

09/16/2012
Glen Hansard - Trying to Pull Myself Away
The 4onthefloor - Why Don't We Do It In the Road?
Toad the Wet Sprocket - Fall Down
The Lovin' Spoonful - Coconut Grove
Wilco - Art of Almost 
Uncle Tupelo - No Sense in Lovin'
The Replacements - I'll Buy 
Paul McCartney - The Inch Worm
Fountains of Wayne - The Valley of Malls 
Patty Griffin - Up to the Mountain (MLK Song) 

This is the third cover of "The Inch Worm" I've heard in the last five years (The New Standards and Dan Zanes are the others) and my least favorite of the three, but McCartney's Kisses on the Bottom is still a fine little record.

09/23/2012
Jonathan Rundman - Get Behind The Wheel
Mavis Staples - Eyes on the Prize
The Who - There's A Doctor
Tom Waits - Tom Traubert's Blues
Adam Again - So Long
Erik Brandt - Thoughtless 
Mason Jennings - Child Of Nature
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Learning To Fly
Craig Finn - Jackson
World Party - Way Down Now

That Mavis album (We'll Never Turn Back) is the best thing Ry Cooder's done in the last five years.

09/30/2012
Lucinda Williams - Buttercup
Buddy Miller - Worry Too Much
The Pogues - The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
The Coasters - Shoppin' for Clothes
Stevie Wonder - You Are the Sunshine of My Life
Elvis Presley - I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')
Wilco - Why Would You Wanna Live?
Dwight Yoakam - Trying
The Who - Pure and Easy
The New Standards - I Will Dare

Nice Pogues cover of Eric Bogle's fine song about an Australian WWI veteran. The new Dwight Yoakam record's quite nice as well.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question, already in progress.

Sunday Random 10 (Catching up - August)

Continuing with getting caught up.

Let's...Hit...Shuffle!


08/05/2012
The Decemberists - Grace Cathedral Hill 
Lost Dogs - Jimmy 
The Decemberists - Down by the Water 
Erik Brandt - Anywhere But Here 
Simon & Garfunkel - Homeward Bound 
Paul McCartney - Brown Eyed Handsome Man 
The Avett Brothers - Ill with Want 
Tom Waits - Last Leaf 
Elvis Costello and The Attractions - Miracle Man (Live)
The Civil Wars - Birds of a Feather 


Got a Decemberists thing going this week. "Jimmy" reminds me of how much I miss Gene Eugene's voice.

08/12/2012
Joe Henry - Heaven's Escape 
Brian Wilson - Child Is the Father of the Man
Daniel Amos - (What's Come) Over Me 
Allen Toussaint - Solitude 
The Beatles - Don't Let Me Down (from Let it Be...Naked) 
The Avett Brothers - The Perfect Space (Live) 
Jonathan Rundman - Tired Tired Tired 
Marshall Crenshaw - Little Wild One (No. 5) 
Boiling Point - Thanks & Praise 
Jonathan Rundman - Meeting Nixon 


Got a Rundman thing going on here, which is not surprising, since there's a lotta Rundman on the Nano.  

08/19/2012
Tom Petty – Free Fallin’
Robert Plant – Angel Dance
Lucinda Williams – Tryin’ to Get to Heaven
The Shins – A Comet Appears
Major Lance – The Monkey Time
Beki Hemingway – My World
Elvis Presley – I’ll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin’)
The Beatles – P.S. I Love You (mono)
Carrie Newcomer – We Were Sleeping
Miles Davis – So What


"The Monkey Time" is one of my favorite songs to play. Nice juxtaposition of "Angel Dance" and "Tryin' to Get to Heaven".

08/26/2012

Vince Guaraldi - Treat Street 

The Avett Brothers - One Line Wonder
The Neville Brothers - Hercules
Shawn Colvin - The Dead of the Night 
Dan Zanes - Railroad Bill 
Peter Case - Travellin' Light
Laura Nyro & Labelle - The Monkey Time/Dancing in the Street
Beki Hemingway - Simplicity 
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Even the Losers
Bob Dylan - When the Ship Comes In (demo) 

And "The Monkey Time" shows up again! And once again, if you don't own Laura Nyro and Labelle's Gonna Take a Miracle album, what are you waiting for?

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question, already in progress.

Sunday Random 10 (Catching up - July)

Been way too much going on lately, so let's get caught up.

Let's...Hit...Shuffle!


07/15/2012
Jonathan Rundman - Dialysis Carpool
Jars of Clay - Sunny Days
Elton John - Rotten Peaches
The Who - I Can't Explain
The Who - There's a Doctor
John Lennon - Jealous Guy
Neville Brothers - Every Day
Lucinda Williams - Awakening
Jonathan Rundman - Little Bible
Glen Hansard - Fallen From the Sky

The little green Nano had a Who thing going this day. The Elton tune is from Madman Across the Water, which I picked up in a used vinyl bin after meaning to buy it for about forty years.

07/22/2012
Solid Gold - Love You To
Elvis Presley - Mystery Train
Erik Brandt - Hanna Marie
The Wonders - Dance With Me Tonight
Jonathan Rundman - The Sound of the Cicadas
The Decemberists - One Engine
The Who - Imagine a Man
The Soggy Bottom Boys - I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow
The Beach Boys - Heroes and Villains (Part 1)
The Lovin' Spoonful - Didn't Want to Have to Do It

Wonder if anyone has video of the Blaine UMC Variety Show from the year the kid and I did "Man of Constant Sorrow" with Kermit, Fozzie, and Animal as the Froggy Bottom Boys. From holding puppets up for four solid minutes, we both gained new appreciation for Fred Rogers's upper body strength.

07/29/2012
Bruce Springsteen - This Depression
Joe Henry - Civil War
Boiling Point - Stars Are Falling
The Beatles - Don't Bother Me
Rockpile - Let It Rock (Live)
Crowded House - Private Universe
Rhett Miller - Like Love
Joe Henry - One Shoe On
Dusty Springfield - You Don't Have to Say You Love Me
Stevie Wonder - My Cherie Amour

That's a pretty nice mix there.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question, already in progress.

Sunday Random 10 (x2)

Been a busy week what with Independence Day and staying cool in the hundred-degree temps.


Let's...Hit...Shuffle!


07/01/2012
Gear Daddies - Dream Vacation
Talking Heads - Heaven
Crowded House - Into Temptation
Joe Henry - Curt Flood
The Beach Boys - California Girls
Joan Osborne - Champagne and Wine
Ry Cooder - Smack Dab in the Middle
Tom Petty - Don't Come Around Here No More
The Clash - Lover's Rock
The Del Fuegos - Don't Run Wild


Dream Vacation is the lead track on the great Gear Daddies compilation Can't Have Nothin' Nice on St. Paul-based Crackpot Records, the founder of which you can hear here (for another week or so). The Osborne track is from a fine new collection of R&B covers.


So that was Sunday morning. After that, we piled in the car and headed for Duluth to see another wonderful Wilco show at Bayfront Festival Park on the shore of Lake Superior. (Unlike the previous wonderful Wilco show at Bayfront the day after Labor Day 2007, our teeth weren't chattering.)


07/08/2012
Wilco - One by One (live)
Brinsley Schwarz - Surrender to the Rhythm
Allen Toussaint - Day Dream
The Pogues - Fairytale of New York
Jonathan Rundman - Grace Is Crying Her Eyes Out
Elvis Presley - Kentucky Rain
The Shins - Girl on the Wing
Wilco - Everlasting Everything
Wilco - In a Future Age
Gary U.S. Bonds - New Orleans


Okay, so the little green Nano knows we saw Wilco last Sunday and knows that none of the three tunes it offered up this week were in the set list. The Pogues tune, of course, is from one of our Desert Island discs. 


We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question ("Is there anything less like a Springsteen song than a David Brooks column?"), already in progress.