• Tag Archives realpunkradio
  • The Ledge #708: New Releases Pt. 2

    Here we go with the second part of this month’s new release series, and it’s a barnburner! Besides the usual Rum Bar Records showcase, there’s also a later set devoted to Dammit Records’ monthly Dam-Nations series. There are two full sets of ferocious female rock and roll, a ton of great submitted tunes, and all sorts of newly discovered garage rock. Oh yeah, and brand new music (as usual) from South Dakota legends Friends of Cesar Romero!

    What tracks are your faves?

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

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #707: New Releases Pt. 1

    Part one of the monthly new release series has always informally been a “friends of the show” episode, and this month these friends came through with fantastic new tunes. Miss Georgia Peach returns with an anthem for all hockey fans, The Silent Treatment’s new single is a great rant against promoters who promise exposure instead of cash, and Geoff Palmer gives a musical shout out to one of his favorite bars (where he’s also appearing this weekend).

    There’s also great debuts by the usual suspects – Numb Surprise, Brad Marino, Jim Basnight, UltraBomb, Phil Cook & The Fall Dogs, wht.rbbt.obj, and The Rockerati. The Sleeveens announce an upcoming new album with a blistering new single, and new releases by The Melmacs, Goat Yoga, Mod Lang and Twisted Teens have me already taking notes for this year’s best albums list.

    What were your favorites this week?

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

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #706: Loud Loud Loud Loud Guitars

    Everyone knows I love a good theme, and this brand new idea came earlier this month when I was playing the remastered version of Slim Dunlap’s “Loud Loud Loud Loud Guitars” on the new release episode. How about a show devoted to nothing but songs about guitars? Or even songs that mention guitars in the lyrics? This seemed to be an easy-peasy idea.

    But I wanted some input from my friends, especially for the songs that fit the theme that may not have the word “guitar” in the title. So I put up a post on Facebook, and the results greatly helped tonight’s show. Thank you to everybody who contributed to that post.

    As I was filling up the folder for this show, though, I quickly discovered that I had way more songs than I needed. This means that tonight’s show is part one of a two part series. Due to the March new release episodes, though, part two will not happen until the second half of the month. But I promise that episode will be as fabulous as tonight’s was.

    Do you have any songs to consider for the future episode? Which tracks did you enjoy the most this time around?

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

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #705: Back From The Grave Faves

    While the Nuggets sets may get all the praise (and deservedly so), I actually prefer the Back From The Grave series. It’s just that much more noisy, full of snarled vocals and fuzztone guitars. Just listen to the opening track of tonight’s show, the Swamp Rats version of “Psycho”, a song mostly known for the legendary take by The Sonics.

    Nothing against that original version, as The Sonics’ version does indeed blast away at a ferocity that influenced punk and garage bands for the past 60 years. But the Swamp Rats go a step further. No, make it two steps further. This is a truly unhinged take, and sets the stage for the next two hours of tonight’s broadcast.

    I was inspired to do this show simply because I decided at the beginning of the week to listen to all ten volumes this week. It’s been 60s rock and roll heaven for me, as these tunes truly do represent the vast majority of music I have listened to all of my life. Weirdly, though, I didn’t realize this fact for a long, long time as I never had these compilations until they appeared on CD in the early 90s! 

    What tracks worked for you?

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

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #702: Random Forgotten Gems

    I think it’s safe to say that, for the most part, I’m a forward thinking music obsessive who is always on the hunt for my next favorite record. It’s that attitude that allows for this show to constantly have two new release episodes almost every single month.

    There’s a downside to this fanaticism, though. When one collects so much music but is so focused on the future, a lot of great music is pretty much forgotten. Over the last couple of weeks, however, I have taken steps to recreate myself with some of these great releases.

    The story actually begins a few months ago when I discovered that the popular video streaming/sharing program Plex had an audio add-on called Plexamp. This simple program allows me to stream my entire master library on my various devices. 

    This has been a game-changer, although for the last few months I have primarily utilized it to stream my favorite classic records from the past. Two weeks ago, though, I decided to do a little experiment. I put my entire 160,000 tracks on shuffle, and tonight’s show consists of tracks that have sprung up over these last fourteen days.

    I must admit I’m a little surprised by what came up. Even at the number of tracks I have on my external drives, there are certain artists that dominate the proceedings. Having dozens of digitized live Replacements concerts certainly inflate the numbers, as do the entire catalogs, including bootlegs, of the likes of Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Guided By Voices, and so many others.

    Yet outside of a couple of side projects by Guided By Voices leader Robert Pollard, none of these biggies came up on shuffle. In fact, my listening was primarily the lesser known types that I was hoping to get reacquainted with. You’ll see a handful of familiar names in this episode, but even in the majority of those cases it’s not the usual songs you hear by these groups.

    What tracks did you enjoy the most?

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

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #701: Covers

    I always love when tracks show up just hours before the show, and that’s what happened with this all-covers episode. As I’ve said many times before, I have a folder on my laptop where I toss in new cover tunes whenever I come across them. When the folder is full, that’s when it’s time for a show.

    That’s exactly what happened, this time around. With this week’s release of the new album by The Damned where they remake tracks that the recently deceased Brian James loved, I saw the following post on Instagram:

    “Fret Rattles are excited to announce the release of our third full-length studio LP, titled “As the World Falls Apart.” It features thirteen tracks and comes in at the furious pace of 36 minutes. The LP was recorded in 2024 and 2025 at Flowers Studio (Minneapolis, MN) and Ecstattic Studio (St. Paul, MN) by our long-time producer Ali Jaafar.”

    A tracklist accompanied the post that indicated the new album was going to include two cover tunes, so I immediately sent a DM to requst their inclusion in tonight’s broadcast. They agreed, and in the early afternoon I received an email that included their explosive cover of “What Love Is” by The Dead Boys, where the band is accompanied by Minneapolis legend Rob Tossava.

    This tune really set the stage for two hours of fabulous revved up reamkes, including contributions from a number of Rum Bar Records acts, double shots from Eater and Pink Fairies, and a set dedicated to the recent box sets by The Replacements and Husker Du!

    What track did you dig the most?

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

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #700: Lucky Number Seven

    700 episodes of The Ledge? Who would have ever believed that to be possible? I certainly didn’t when I started this show way back in 2010. Podcasts were relatively new at this point, and I just assumed it would be a fun lark that would fizzle out within a few months. Even the format of the show was different back then. For the most part, I invited friends to pick out a dozen or so of their favorite songs, and we’d talk about them in between playing them.

    Everything changed when I linked up with RealPunkRadio. Suddenly this was a real radio show. Suddenly I had some labels and artists sending me music. These shows were primarily centered around elaborate themes, as that’s the way my mind thinks. There just HAS to be a reason to air a song.

    The themes still exist all these years later, but the concepts are much looser. Every month there’s a new release episode or two. I may celebrate certain years, or have all-covers broadcasts. But rarely do I go much deeper than that.

    Even tonight’s celebration isn’t exactly a deep thought concept. I figured pulling together over two hours of “track 7’s” would be perfect for the 700th show. Not necessarily the best track 7’s of all time, but the ones that caught my eye (and ear) when I spent hours going through my master library. 

    I hope you like what I’ve put together…not just tonight but for the previous 699 episodes and for whatever comes in the next 700. What’s your favorite track of the night?

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

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #696: Hudson’s Annual Holiday Extravaganza!

    It’s that time of year again! Yes, it’s the annual Ledge Christmas episode, and I’m so happy that this year it’s (almost) all brand new material! Even better, there’s a large contingent of friends who have supplied me with proper tunes for this broadcast. In fact, wiht the likes of Numb Surprise, White Rose Motor Oil, Geoff Palmer, Vista Blue, and close to two full sets of Rum Bar artists it’s almost like a typical New Release episode.

    No, this is not your mother’s holiday show…unless mommy is a really cool rocker! But instead of that insipid McCartney or Wham nonsense, you’ve got over two hours of quality tracks for ths festive season!

    What’s your fave track this Christmas?

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

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #695: New Releases Pt. 2

    I wanted to call this the final new release episode of 2025, but that’s technically not true as next week’s holiday extravaganza will feature almost all new tracks. But it’s the last “real” episode of this sort, and it’s as great as any show of this type we’ve put together all year.

    There’s a ton of veteran acts featured this week – The Wedding Present, Daniel Romano, Superchunk, Juliana Hatfield, and Cheap Trick. There’s also Fast Kids, the new side project by The Mystery Light frontman Mike Brandon, and the second album by Plosivs, one of many John Reis projects. Of course, I can’t forget the latest projects involving Wild Billy Childish – is own Thee Headcoats and the first album since 1999 by Thee Headcoatees!

    Of course, there’s also a Rum Bar Records segment that highights live material from The Dogs, a new supergroup called Speedtwinn, and the latest single by Girl with a Hawk. Plus, lots of the power pop and garage rock that are staples of The Ledge!

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

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #694: New Releases Pt. 1

    Here we are in the final month of the year, and we are still able to do a multi-episode new release series. Decades ago, this would have been impossible. With the exception of a title or two, all superstar releases were out by Thanksgiving (not that this fact would effect The Ledge). Not only did the physical media have to be prepared weeks or months in advance, but all publicity (press, videos, TV) had to be scheduled to coincde with the date the material was coming out.

    Obviously, non-superstar releases always had difficulties even getting noticed back then, and this fact was amplified in the run-up to the holiday season. If they were released without a label putting up comparable publicty dollars, they were usually buried. More often than not, records of this sort were just postponed until the new year.

    Because of all that, the record companies basically took December off. It was the month of schmozzing (and I’m sure quite a “pile” of substances). The stores had their stock, radio stations were certainly not adding many new songs during this period, and record stores were just praying that they could restock what they sold.

    Yes, it was a whole different world. Today, I could put a song on bandcamp just minutes after recording it in the privacy of my bedroom. (I wish I had that ability.) Elaborate publicity campaigns no longer work if your surname isn’t among a handful of household moniker. (This is why The Ledge works for those wanting to sell a few copies!)

    So this month is once again a two part series…or could one call it another three-peat? This week and next week are the normal sort of new release shows, although there are more than the usual amount of double-plays. Then the third Friday of the month (12/19) will be the annual holiday episode of the show! I’ve already come close to filling my folder full of these types of songs, primarily from “friends” of this fine show! (And yes I screwed up a bit and accidentally included one of those songs tonight!) 

    What’s your fave record of this show?

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

     

    Download MP3 here