• Tag Archives scott hudson

  • The Ledge #602: 2023 Runners Up

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    Two weeks ago, I counted down my 40 favorite records of 2023. This week’s broadcast is a showcase for 35 other records that just barely missed the cut. There’s no letdown of quality, though, as each and every one of these picks could have easily made my main list. But combining the two shows, you now have my official list of the 75 best albums of the year. Think of these shows as a master shopping list, as I’m sure that any fan of punk, indie, power pop, and garage rock can find a record or five worth owning from tonight’s show.

    For more info, including setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

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  • The Ledge #600: Hudson’s Best of 2023

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    Choosing my favorite records of the year is always a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it’s great fun for a music nerd like me to revisit the hundreds of releases I’ve checked out the last twelve months. But it’s also frustrating trying to thin down those picks into a list that truly represents the past year. Many records that initially seemed a lock are suddenly eclipsed by new records that I simply can’t ignore. Other albums that I had prematurely set aside have revealed themselves to be chock full of fabulous tunes that I can’t imagine living without. 

    Overall, this is another great year for music. I’ll never understand the mindset of people, especially those around my age, that complain how there’s no great bands or records these days. Sure, the pop charts are primarily filled with garbage, and one does have to spend more time than ever finding new artists. But the search has always been a great part of the fun of being a collector, and my main reason I’ve now put together 600 episodes of this show is to share my findings with others. I’m always thrilled when I hear that someone has bought a record due to my recommendation. So please let me know your thoughts on this countdown of my picks for the 40 best records of the year!

    Please head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com to read the countdown of these albums.

     

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  • The Ledge #599: Annual Christmas Extravaganza!

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    Every year I spend the last few weeks of the year searching for new holiday songs for The Ledge’s annual Chirstmas special. Inevitably, every year I find more than enough songs to fill over two hours of broadcast time. This is the perfect soundtrack for this year’s festivities. A little bit of punk, a lot of power pop. Some veteran acts return with new tunes (Brinsley Scwarz, The Sensible Gray Cells, The Dollyrots), mixed in with plenty of brand new discoveries whose future releases I’ll definitely be investigating. 

    Just because it’s a Christmas special doesn’t mean we’re ignoring the “52 Weeks Of Teenage Kicks” series. This week’s version is truly a Christmas present, as Dos Enchiritos is a collaboration between my friend of almost 50 years, Craig Stenseth, and a previous contributor, Brent Dowell. It’s a great version that I can honestly say is unlike any I’ve played the previous 50 weeks. 

    Obviously, next week will be the conclusion of this series, but I’m still in the hunt to round out the year with yet one more new take on the tune. Please contact me if you are looking at contributing!

    For more info, including setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

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  • The Ledge #598: Best Reissues, Compilations, etc. of 2023

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    It’s the time of year for everybody to unveil their various lists of the best records of the year, so here is the unveiling of the first part of my lists. This week’s show features a countdown of my 20 favorite reissues, box sets, live albums, compilations, and tribute albums of 2023. Look for a similar countdown of my 40 favorite new albums of the year in two weeks.

    But that doesn’t mean we’re ignoring the “52 Weeks of Teenage Kicks” series. Once again, we’re opening and closing the show with covers of the classic. The opening version is by Superchunk leader Mac McCaughan, recorded live on May 16, 2015. The closing remake is by a Canadian band called 63 Monroe who released a couple of EP’s and singles back in the early 80’s.

    Like I do every week, however, I must again plead with y’all for more versions of “Teenage Kicks”. If you are a musician, or have any contact with artists that could record their own take on the classic, please contact me!

    To see the actual countdown, please head to https://scotthudson.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-ledge-598-best-reissues.html

     

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  • The Ledge #597: More Replacements Tributes

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    Two weeks ago, I put together a show centered around seven different tribute records celebrating The Replacements. A couple of days after that episode was released I was contacted by a fan who noted that I had missed a couple of these sorts of records. After a bit of scrambing, I discovered that indeed I forgot all about some great fan-based compilatons.

    Yes, that’s the beauty of tonight’s selections. These three records were unofficial collections of musicians that had come together via online fan boards. The first such set, Cover Me Impressed – Alt.Music.Replacements Tribute, is pretty self-explanatory collection of tunes compiled by a popular usenet group in 2002. The other two tributes, Bring Your Own Lampshade (2005) and Dead Man Fake: Bring Your Own Lampshade 2 (2009), came together through contributors on the wonderful Man Without Ties message board, and include both solo and band tracks written by Paul Westerberg. Highlighting both of those compilatons are tracks by our old friend Jeremy Porter. 

    Besides a handful of recently acquired tunes, the rest of tonight’s show features tracks from two fabulous new Cherry Red Records box sets, Looking For The Magic: American Power Pop In The Seventies and Into Tomorrow: The Spirit Of Mod 1983-2000. Cherry Red always excels at these types of compilations, and these two are no exception.

    As for this week’s “52 Weeks of Teenage Kicks”, I’ve again opened and closed my show with entries. The show commences with a version by the veteran Irish band The Frank and Walters, and closes with UK pop-punkers Busted. 

    Like I do every week, however, I must again plead with y’all for more versions of “Teenage Kicks”. If you are a musician, or have any contact with artists that could record their own take on the classic, please contact me!

    For more info, including setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

    Download MP3 here


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  • The Ledge #595: Replacements Tribute Albums

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    As one of those lunatics who tends to collect anything and everything asoociated with artists I love, it’s probably no surprise that I have quite a few tribute albums devoted to The Replacements. When Let the Bad Times Roll (a Tribute to The Replacements) was released earlier this month, I did a deep dive in my archives and discovered that I actually owned seven of these types of records.

    With that in mind, it was a no-brainer to do a show devoted to nothing but Replacements tribute albums. The seven records represented tonight have been released throughout the last three decades, and include releases originating in Australi and Italy. There’s a few semi-big names but there are as many, if not more, bands whose career I know nothing about.

    I also made myself a challenge that I would try not to duplicate any songs…and I succeeded! There are 35 different Replacements tracks covered by 35 different artists. Ok, there is one artist who appears twice – Mikey Erg’s band, Ergs, covers “I’m in Trouble” while as a solo act he performs “Wake Up”

    Just because the overall theme revolves around The Replacements doesn’t mean that I’m ignoring the “52 Weeks of Teenage Kicks” series. In fact, you get a double dose of covers tonight to open and close the show. The first version is by an L.A. band called Kolars. They’re a duo that features a drummer that tap dances rhythms with her feet atop a bass drum while simultaneously playing a stand-up kit. The version that closes the show, Freddy Lynxx and the Jet Boys, is led by a Johnny Thunders fanatic who actually allowed his hero to choose his band’s name. 

    As I do every week, however, I must again plead with y’all for more versions of “Teenage Kicks”. If you are a musician, or have any contact with artists that could record their own take on the classic, please contact me!

    For more info, including setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

    Download MP3 here


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  • The Ledge #594: More From The Hudson Compound

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    This week’s episode is a little peek into the day to day picks I make to get through my day. A few old favorites (ok, quite a few), some fantastic discoveries at the used record store, and some fabulous new vinyl reissues. The main highlight this week is the brand new reissue of Twin/Tone’s Big Hits of Mid-America, Vol. 3. Long out of print, Back Groove Records has just put out a limited edition set remastered by Justin Perkins at Mystery  Room Mastering, Milwaukee, WI with vinyl mastering by Jeff Powell at Take Out Vinyl, Memphis, TN. This is one of the great landmarks of late 70s Minneapolis underground rock.

    As for this week’s edition of the “52 Weeks of Teenage Kicks”, I’ve got a recent discovery by The Main Grains. Led by former Wildheart bassist Danny McCormack, the track can be found on their Don’t Believe Everything You Think EP. Like I do every week, however, I must again plead with y’all for more versions of “Teenage Kicks”. If you are a musician, or have any contact with artists that could record their own take on the classic, please contact me!

    For more info, including setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

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  • The Ledge #592: New Releases (Pt. 1)

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    Once again, there’s so much great music being released each and every week that this month’s new release show is a two-part extravaganza! Part one is admittedly heavy on the power pop – Uni Boys, The Speedways, The Len Price 3, and many others. There’s also twin blasts from rock and roll buddies Geoff Palmer and Brad Marino, along with tracks from their friends in the Rum Bar Records family. I could go on and on about what’s included in this episode, but why don’t you just dive in and discover your new faves!

    As for this week’s “52 Weeks of Teenage Kicks” segment, I have another unknown treat that I discovered on YouTube. This version is from “The Pauline”, and about all I have found out about this artist is that they hail from Indonesia. I’d love to know more about this musician!  Like I do every week, however, I must again plead with y’all for more versions of “Teenage Kicks”. If you are a musician, or have any contact with artists that could record their own take on the classic, please contact me!

    For more info, including setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

    Download MP3 here


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  • The Ledge #591: Halloween

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    It’s become a Halloween tradition for this show to celebrate the holiday with over two hours of spooky music. As it is the ultimate rock and roll holiday, it’s never hard to find enough new tunes to fill a show, and this year is no exception. This is a show that should be the soundtrack to your Halloween party, or give the trick or treaters a real treat by blasting this at your front door. After all, they need to be “Ledge-ified” at an early age.  

    Even this week’s entry in the “52 Weeks of Teenage Kicks” fits the spooky theme. Well, at least band’s name does. Ghost Of An American Airman was a Belfast band that formed in the mid-80s, and released a handful of records over the next decade. Like I do every week, however, I must again plead with y’all for more versions of “Teenage Kicks”. If you are a musician, or have any contact with artists that could record their own take on the classic, please contact me!

    For more info, including setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

    Download MP3 here


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  • The Ledge #590: S.W. Lauden Takeover!

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    A few days ago, power pop expert S.W. Lauden reached out to me to see if I’d be interested in helping promote his new book, Remember The Lightning – A Guitar Pop Journal, Vol. 2. Duh, of course as a big fan of Lauden’s writing I was honored at the request. But I had a better idea. I asked him if he’d like to take over the show for a couple of sets. So tonight’s episode includes eight tunes from bands covered in this fabulous book, along with Lauden’s commentary.
    But obviously that’s not tonight’s entire show, and honestly I had to do a quick change after news came out earlier this week that power pop legend Dwight Twilley had passed away. A big fan of is first hit, “I’m On Fire”, along with his comeback albums of the early 80s, I quickly put together some originals and covers to help tell the story of a man who deserved a better fate in the record business.
    It’s also story time on this week’s Ledge, as I recently attended the South Dakota Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Not only was I honored to be a part of the induction of the publication I wrote for in the 90s, Tempest, but I became acquainted with a surprisingly great record from Randall Zwarte, the former leader of a pretty big 80s/90s biker band, Zwarte.
    Of course, there is also the continuing “52 Weeks of Teenage Kicks” series, and this week we head to Germany for a 2018 cover by Muff Potter. Like I do every week, I must again plead with y’all for more versions of “Teenage Kicks”. If you are a musician, or have any contact with artists that could record their own take on the classic, please contact me!

    For more info, including setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

    Download MP3 here


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