Who's Next

Some albums are like old friends.  This is one of them.  Played it last night because it had been awhile since I'd listened to it.  Sounded so good that I decided to make it this week's featured album. 

Enjoy...

World Beat

Thought it would be fun to explore some music from around the world.  I'll start things off with folk metal from Mongolia.  This band is a recent discovery.

Be sure to watch the video on a full screen.

Winners & Losers

Quite the news day, today. Let's play with it.

This one's dedicated to the Cave Man:

Definition Of A Circle

       Real Trance Blues...

Moongazing

Wolf Moon is the name given to the full moon in January.

A total lunar eclipse is called a Blood Moon because of the reddish tint that occurs when the Earth casts its shadows over the Moon.

When the Moon reaches its closest orbital point to Earth, it is called a Super Moon because it appears 10 to 15 times larger than is normal.

Tonight there will be a Super Blood Wolf Moon.  Moonrise is at 5:33 pm EST.  The eclipse begins at 9:36 pm EST, and last until 2:28 am EST.  Prime viewing time is from 11:41 pm EST to 12:43 am EST. 

Might have to bundle up and brave the cold tonight.  Might even do a little howling. 

We Are One

 On this day in 2009, a wide range of top musicians including Mary J. Blige, U2, Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, will.i.am, James Taylor, John Legend, John Mellencamp, Pete Seeger, Shakira, Usher and Stevie Wonder, performed at a concert in Washington, DC, to celebrate the upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States of America.

 Over 400,000 people flocked to the Lincoln Memorial and the National Mall to honor the United States' newest president, Barack Obama, at the We Are One concert celebration. Guest performers chose songs that hailed Obama's election as a positive turning point that would restore a nation crippled by war and financial instability.

 Bruce Springsteen and the Joyce Garrett Singers sang "The Rising," the Boss's post-9/11 anthem about a heroic firefighter. Mary J. Blige sang the Bill Withers classic "Lean On Me." Bettye LaVette and Jon Bon Jovi performed a duet of Sam Cooke's civil-rights proclamation "A Change Is Gonna Come," and Garth Brooks offered a trio of hits: Don McLean's "American Pie," The Isley Brothers' "Shout," and Brooks' own "We Shall Be Free." U2 took the stage with "Pride (In The Name Of Love)" and "City Of Blinding Lights."

 In between the musical entertainment, actors gave readings from historical passages, like Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" speech read by Laura Linney and a portion of historian Aaron Copland's Lincoln Portrait read by Tom Hanks.

 Shortly after Obama's speech "Voices Calling for Change," that promised hope against the hard times ahead as long as the American people stick together, Beyonce closed the ceremony with a rendition of   "America The Beautiful."

 The concert was broadcast across the globe, with HBO airing it for free in the US, and was screened at the official inauguration ceremony two days later.

On a sadder note, this is the anniversary of the death of Glenn Frey,  founder of The Eagles.

It turns out "Life in the Fast Lane" kills.

Sackcloth 'n' Ashes

I've been a fan of David Eugene Edwards since his days with 16 Horsepower.  Released in 1996, 'Sackcloth 'n' Ashes' was their debut album.

Hitsville USA

On January 12, 1959, Tamla Records was founded in Detroit, Michigan for $800.00 and change.  An old photography studio was also purchased.  The following year, Tamla was incorporated as Motown Records Corporation.  The photography studio became a recording studio called Hitsville USA.

Motown Records had quite a run until its owner decided to move the company from Detroit to Los Angeles, which led to some of its musicians leaving, hometown loyalty being what it is.  And while Motown still signed some major artists after the move, when you go from signing such amazing talents as Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder to settling for the likes of Rick James and Teena Marie, well, let's just say it was all downhill from there. Still, for those twelve years in Detroit Motown really was Hitsville USA.  Even better, no record company did more to desegregate the airwaves in this country.  That alone is reason to pay tribute to Motown Records.

Can I or Can't I?

"I can do that if I want. It's perfectly legal. But I won't. But I could. In fact, I might. But I don't want to. But I probable will.

We'll just have to see. At some point in time."

Show mw what you can do. Show me what you can't. Show me what you permit ME to do, and I'll show you what I will.

Of course, per standard rules, "Stairway to Freebird" is Verboten.

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

Yesterday was David Bowie's birthday.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of his death.

Seems only fitting to feature one of his albums today.

This one belongs on my list of Top Twenty Greatest Rock 'N Roll albums.

The Flying V

It's been sixty years since Gibson introduced the Flying V guitar.  Personally, I always thought they were kind of ugly but some people like them, including this man...

As a bonus, I'm going to post this video of a show that was recorded for Canadian TV in 1983...



                                                 Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan
                                                                    In Session

Always a good day to celebrate the guitar. 

What Part Did You Miss?

Toniught I'm gonna play tunes with body parts in their titles. Let's see what ya got.

John Barleycorn Must Die

'John Barleycorn Must Die' began as a solo project by Steve Winwood after Dave Mason left Traffic and the rest of the band went their separate ways.  Winwood, however, missed the camaraderie that came from working with a group, so he invited Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood to join him in the studio.  This led to a reunion of Traffic, minus Mason, and the release of several more albums under the band's name, this one being my favorite. 


Enjoy...