This Is A Public Service Announcement

I felt the gravity pull me back to earth... Drivin' N Cryin' - R.E.M.  

I recently heard this song for the first time playing on the radio and I thought that it sounded so much like R.E.M.  Then I realized they were singing R.E.M. (not "how I am" as I first thought).  This is a really good tribute song...

Stupid Things Stuck In My Head

Nice and warm, we always wake before we fall... Yo La Tengo - Stupid Things  

Yo La Tengo's 2013 release Fade is pleasantly stuck in my head and CD player right now.  The song Stupid Things is one of those subtle songs that I can listen repeatedly.

John Prine's Around the Bend

Summer's end's around the bend, just flying...John Prine - Summer's End  

John Prine's new album The Tree of Forgiveness will be released on April 13.  This will be John's first release of original songs in 13 years and that is worth celebrating...

Something For Valentine's Day

Somewhere in her smile she knows..The Beatles  - Something 

One of the greatest love songs by The Beatles was written by George Harrision and it is Something...

OMG, YLT OHM

Sometimes the good guys lose...Yo La Tengo - Ohm  

I've just been getting into Yo La Tengo (YLT).  It's hard to understand how this band doesn't get more attention.  Anyway I have been enjoying this one from 2013's Fade.  





Also there is a good story on the name Yo La Tengo on Wikipedia...

Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley formed the band as a couple in 1984.  They chose the name "Yo La Tengo" (Spanish for "I have it", or referring to a female-gender object or person, also "I have her") in an effort to avoid any connotations in English.  The name came form a baseball anecdote.  During the 1962 season, New York Mets center fielder Richie Ashburn and Venezuelan shortstop Elio Chacon found themselves colliding the outfield.  When Ashburn went to catch, he would scream "I got it! I got It!" only to run into Chacon who spoke only Spanish.  Ashburn learned to yell "Yo la tengo! Yo la tengo!" instead.  In a later game, Ashburn happily saw Chacon backing off.  He relaxed, positioned himself to catch the ball, and was instead run over by left fielder Frank Thomas, who understood no Spanish and had missed a team meeting that proposed using the words Yo la tengo! as a way to avoid collisions.  After getting up, Thomas asked Ashburn, "What the hell is a Yellow Tango?".

Midnight Train to Kentucky?

Forty nighs to sit and listen to the midnight train to Memphis...Chris Stapleton - Midnight Train to Memphis  

Two country music throw backs, two breaths of fresh country air, two men from Kentucky on SNL:  Chris Stapleton and Sturgill Simpson ... 

U2's Get Out Of Your Own Way At the Grammy's

I could sing it to you all night...U2 - Get Out of Your Own Way  

U2 at the Grammy's... 

U2 Looking For American Soul

You are rock and roll came here looking for American soul...U2 - American Soul  

U2 sounds young and fresh as ever.... 


 

A Cold Cold Cold Nugget

I've been breathing air but there's no sign of life...Cage the Elephant - Cold Cold Cold 

How did I miss this song?  It is from 2015's Cage the Elephant album Tell Me I'm Pretty (produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys).  I heard this on the radio recently and initially thought it was an oldie from one of those 60's Nuggets album.  It sounds like a garage rock classic from that era. The video is a little weird, but what a great song!  

The Poetry of Ray Davies

Now I'm on the fire of desire and the mystery, crying, oh but I ask where is the poetry?...Ray Davies - Poetry 

A couple of classic artists, Ray Davies (of The Kinks) and The Jayhawks have teamed up for a really great new Ray Davies album, Americana.  The song Poetry is a real standout on the album.