• Live Ledge #397: New Releases

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    Tonight’s new release show is the broadcast that was planned for last week. In fact, it’s the exact set of songs that were put together before the shocking news about Kim Shattuck caused me to quickly put together a tribute to the fabulous Muffs leader.

    So this month’s new release show includes a lengthy set of Americana-ish veterans (Charlie Parr, Pernice Brothers, The Figgs, Wilco), Suicide-esque atmospheric punks (Atom, Rocket 808), female rockers (Baby Shakes, Paranoyds, Sweet Knives), covers (Dirty Nil, The Pretty Flowers, Das Clamps), and lots of good ol’ rock and roll from new and veteran artists.

    I also talk a little bit about the great show I saw earlier this week. The Cowboys made a stop at Total Drag Records, and as I’m known to do at these types of shows I purchased their entire discography. Or at least what they had with them. Great band and a fun show.

    After listening, please go purchase those tracks you enjoy!

     

    Download MP3 here


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  • Live Ledge #396: RIP Kim Shattuck

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    When news came out this past Wednesday that Kim Shattuck had passed away after a two year battle with ALS it was immediately clear that the planned “new release” episode for this week needed to be postponed. Kim Shattuck has always been one of my favorites. She had the greatest scream in all of rock and roll, whether it was with The Pandoras, The Muffs, The Beards, or The Coolies. From all accounts she was also one of the good people in rock and roll. A badass for sure, but the nicest badass you could find.

    Tonight’s show celebrates her entire career, from early recordings as bassist in The Pandoras up to a track from a brand new Muffs album, No Holiday, that Omnivore is releasing in two weeks. There’s also segments dedicated to her work in The Beards and The Coolies, collaborations with other artists, covers of her favorites that she recorded, and a few Muffs songs covered by other artists.

    After listening, please go purchase those tracks you enjoy!

     

    Download MP3 here


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  • Live Ledge #395: Dead Man’s Pop

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    I’m sure it’s to nobody’s surprise that the new Replacements box set, Dead Man’s Pop, is the featured release on tonight’s show. Obviously this would be the case no matter what the quality of the music on said box, but in this case a close look is definitely warranted. It’s everything a Replacements fan could desire.

    This week’s show features set focused on each of the four discs of the box. Disc one is the new mix of Don’t Tell a Soul, and it’s such a sonic upgrade. It actually sounds like a Replacements album after all the studio gimmicky that cluttered the initial album is given the heave ho. To contrast the original with the new versions, I’ve included snippets of the Don’t Tell a Soul versions before each track. I’ve also utilized Color Me Obsessed director Gorman Bechard’s full-length interview with producer (and new mixer) Matt Wallace to get even more in-depth in the what he and the band originally wanted with this record.

    But that’s not all. Other bands released box sets this week, and a few other records of “vault” material has seen its way to the stores. A little band from Liverpool is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the last record they recorded, and it’s almost as good as the box sets for the White Album and Sgt. Pepper. And for the 40th anniversary of the legendary It’s Alive recordings, The Ramones have put out a box set of four shows from that infamous 1977 run of UK shows. Add to that new Peel Sessions from Billy Bragg and Echo & The Bunnymen, along with sneak previews of upcoming R.E.M. and Kinks box sets, and you have a fantastic show!

     

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  • Live Ledge #394: New Releases

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    I’m here tonight to officially designate September of 2019 “Dead Man’s Pop” month. Even though the box set containing four discs of previously unreleased Replacements material won’t be out until the end of the month it’s certainly going to be the focus of my life.

    Unfortunately, not much has leaked out so far to air on the new release episode, but just today the live version of “Alex Chilton” showed up on various music sites. Yep, I’m ready for the whole package. But that’s only the first five minutes of this month’s collection of new tunes. There are tracks from longtime faves such as Matthew Ryan, The Hold Steady, Jesse Malin, Redd Kross and so much more. There’s the return of 80’s faves Dogmatics. There’s new bands such as Les Grys-Grys, The Gotham Rockets, and so many others. There’s something here for every fan of garage rock, power pop, or punk-influenced rock and roll!

    After listening, please go purchase those tracks you enjoy!

     

    Download MP3 here


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  • Live Ledge #393: PW & Friends

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    This week’s show came about partly thanks to a Juliana Hatfield tweet of an old article about The I Don’t Cares, her 2016 collaboration with Paul Westerberg. Remembering how much I was charmed by that record, I spent the afternoon reacquaintancing myself to that release.

    Then it suddenly hit me. If I went through all the various names that Paul and the rest of the Replacements had used for their various projects I should be able to fill a full Live Ledge episode. It was actually much easier than I expected. In fact, we even went a few minutes over our usual two hour timeslot.

    I also tried to shy away from the obvious tracks. For the Replacements and even the solo Westerberg material I picked mainly some somewhat rare live tracks. Tommy Stinson’s set includes a little known Clash cover he did for Uncut Magazine. This show is meant to just be fun and not a representation of the musician’s greatest moments, together or solo.

     

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  • Live Ledge #392: Covers

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    Not long after the last time I did a show of nothing but cover tunes, I started a folder just to collect these kinds of tracks as I discovered them. The plan was that as soon as I acquired enough it was time for a show of these types of tracks.

    Well, this is the week that the folder came close to overflowing, thanks to a couple of emails from two of my favorite labels, Slovenly Recordsings and Spaghetty Town Records. So tonight I present to you two hours of revved up tunes originally recorded by the likes of Tom Petty, The Clash, The Replacements, Material Issue, Pretenders, Rockpile, and so much more!

    After listening, please go purchase those tracks you enjoy! It’s that simple.

     

    Download MP3 here


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  • Live Ledge #391: Songs About The Ramones

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    Earlier this week I noticed that over the last few weeks I’ve acquired a handful of brand new releases with songs about The Ramones. Knowing that I had quite a few more on my master library, this became the quest for the week. Then I discovered a site that in 2014 had compiled 400 different songs about this fabulous band. Ok, that filled a few holes in the playlist!

    This is obviously a fun show that takes a few surprising twists and turns. Who would have guessed that singer/songwriters such as Leeroy Stagger and Jesse Malin had songs about “da boys”? Or that a band like Latte+ has had such tributes on more than one record?

     

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  • Live Ledge #390: RIP David Berman

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    The bad news came just a few minutes before I was going to once again put the needle on the record. David Berman, former leader of Silver Jews who had just reemerged after ten years with the excellent Purple Mountains, had died. One of rock and roll’s most unique songwriters, it was an obvious decision to make the first half of tonight’s show a tribute to him. Thanks to Dan Nissen of Total Drag for a few song selections to help tell the story of this gifted artist.

    After that there’s an hour of some great recent used record finds, including old favorites by The Undertones, X, Old 97’s, and many others.

     

    Download MP3 here


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  • Live Ledge #389: New Releases

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    I’m back! Yes, I had to cancel a couple of Live Ledge shows due to a little bb-sized stone that decided to mess with my kidney. Two ER visits and lots of pain meds later, I’m here with another new release episode!

    And it’s a great collection of brand new tunes. Tons of garage rock and power pop. Some fantastic releases on Rum Bar, Spaghetty Town, and Stardumb. Big names and brand new acts. It’s a great summer listen!

     

    Download MP3 here


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  • Live Ledge #388: From The Archives

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    Despite what you may believe, archive releases come out throughout the year. It’s not just for the Christmas holidays or Record Store Days. During the year there are tons of compilations, live records, remasters, and other odds and ends.

    Tonight’s show collects a number of these. Acoustic versions of classic Graham Parker and Superchunk albums. A collection of acoustic covers recorded by Buffalo Tom’s Bill Janovitz. Live albums by Johnny Thunders, Die Toten Hosen, Paul Kelly, and so much more. A riveting triple-disc compilation of Billy Childish’s 40 year careeer. All these and more!

    Listen and then please go purchase those tracks you enjoy! It’s that simple.

     

     

    Download MP3 here


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