• Tag Archives the ledge
  • The Ledge #727: Even More From the Hudson Compound

    One of my favorite occasional theme for this show is the “Hudson Compound” series, where I play nothing but tracks from records I’ve been listening to in my humble abode. It’s been awhile, so I figured it was the perfect time to do this again.

    The core of this week’s tracks comes from a little personal theme I’ve been following for the past week, where I have been playing almost nothing but great Minneapolis rock and roll that I’ve otherwise ignored in the last couple of years. There are great bands that should be much more recognized (Crash Street Kids, Loose Rails). There are original Twin/Tone Records legends (Suburbs, Magnolias, The Phones, Curtiss A, Soul Asylum). And there’s a few artists that rarely are far from my turntable (Paul Westerberg, Husker Du, The Hypstrz). 

    Besides those two sets, there are sections devoted to 60s legends, garage rock bands whose albums I’ve acquired in recent months, and a few odds and ends. It’s the perfect weekend listen!

    What’s your favorite Minneapolis band or album?

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

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #724: New Releases Pt. 2

    Before we get to a description of this week’s episode, I received a wonderful notification earlier this week that this show had hit #31 on MillionPodcast’s Best 100 Midwestern Music Podcast chart! Wow! This is quite an honor. 

    If I’m going to be honest, I believe it’s these monthly new release episodes that have helped get this sort of attention. What other radio show features around four hours of new releases each and every month? Tonight’s show, like volume one last week, may be a little shorter from a typical episode but it’s jam packed with wonderful tunes.

    As usual, there’s a set devoted to our friends at Rum Bar Records, including Songs From The Film, the new project of Chazz Matthews of the Cheap Cassettes. The Amplifier Heads once again hit it out of the park, and how can I not love the Paul Westerberg-ish tones of Tad Overbaugh’s “July” (plus it features Dave Minehan).

    Elsewhere, there’s a twofer from a debut album by Taxi Girls that’s definitely bound to hit my top ten of the year. There’s the return of The Bobby Lees, a couple of fabulous Bob Dylan covers from an upcoming Jem Records tribute to the legend, and plenty more rock, punk, power pop, and Americana. Oh yeah, and I’ve found yet another new version of “Teenage Kicks”. 

    What is your favorite new release?

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

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #723: New Releases Pt. 1

    It’s that time of the month once again! It’s another set of new release episodes, and this one includes a lot of familiar faces. There are the usual submissions by the likes of Numb Surprise, Phil Cook & the Fall Dogs, Ricky Rochelle, and others, but there’s also some great covers from The Routes and the latest Drunk Dial Records’ Fake series. There’s also strong new stuff from Jon Spencer, The Jukeez, and The Paranoyds, along with a wonderful compilation of bands playing this month’s Punk Rock Raduno festival in Italy. 

    But I’m especially happy to once again premiere some new local music. Off Contact’s new album, Cab You?, is set to be released in a few weeks, and this Sioux Falls-based post-punk outfit deserves plenty of attention. I also have a couple of tracks from Chicago’s Trash Kickers, who I highlighted last week as my favorite new record of the month. I can’t wait for the vinyl version to be released later this year.

    What’s your favorite new release?

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

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #722: Second Quarter Recap

    With tonight’s show the final episode of June, it’s time to look back at the new music released over the past quarter year. These three months have been simply fantastic. There’s been followups to records that were at the top or near the top of previous year end lists (The Sleeveens, Memo PST, The Bevis Frond, etc.) There’s surprise albums by veteran bands (Eddy Current Suppression System, Natural Child). There’s the returns of longtime fave bands (Social Distortion, Oddfellows, High On Stress, etc.)  And there’s plenty of brand new bands, including a kickass Chicago group, Trash Kickers, that I just discovered a few days ago. What’s especially great is that these 40 albums are just a fraction of the fine tunes that have been released in recent weeks.

    What’s your favorite album of the last quarter? 

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

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #721: More Big Ten Inch Records

    A little over two years ago, I put together a show based only on songs released on the ten inch EP format. I’m still wondering why there aren’t more ten inchers released these days. It’s the perfect format for the EP’s that waste way too much space on most twelve inch releases. 

    Anyway, since that previous show, I’ve not only acquired a few more of these type of records, but I’ve expanded my knowledge of the format. For new titles, there’s the live Replacements EP that accompanied preorders of the box set reissue of Let It Be. There’s also a couple of Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs EPs, and a reissue by The Delmonas. 

    For older titles, I must give a bit of praise to my record collecting geek friend Phil. Over the years, he’s handed me a few titles that he knew that I’d enjoy. One of those was a record by a 90s band called Speedway. As I was looking at it the other day, I was pleasantly shocked to see that this was an early band by Miss Georgia Peach! I definitely needed to air a couple of tracks off that.

    Phil also alerted me to a various artists ten inch that featured legendary South Dakota punkers Dissent, who went into our state’s Rock and Rollers Hall of Fame two years ago! Along with those tracks are a ton of records put out by Sympathy For The Record Industry, SST, and Estrus Records.

    What’s your favorite 10″?

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

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #720: New Releases Pt. 2

    The second part of the monthly new release series is generally dominated by the latest records Malibu Lou has put out on his legendary Rum Bar Records label. This month is no different, and it’s a perfect kick off to over two hours of great new tunes. The Hollywood Stars, The Amplifier Heads, Stop Calling Me Frank, Gene Champagne and Girl With a Hawk are this month’s Rum Bar representatives, and they’re all fabulous. There’s also a sampler of tunes from the lastest Dam-Nations compilation series.

    The rest of the show is a battle of sorts between veterans and noobs. On the veterans side, there’s great new music from the likes of Guided By Voices, Social Distortion, Dwarves, Die Toten Hosen (their final album!), Nashville Pussy, and the Real McKenziess.

    On the “noob” side, there are acts sucks as Irked, Taxi Girls, Cable TV, Hoaxxers, and so many more that once again proves there will always be great new rock and roll bands!

    What’s your favorite new album?

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

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #717: 70s Punk Debut Albums

    With this being a holiday weekend, I was determined to do a very listener-friendly “fun” episode. Of course, when I say listener-friendly, I’m not talking about the sort of nonsense on commercial radio. Not, what that means for The Ledge is the sort of legendary bands and songs that all Ledge listeners enjoy…or should.

    The actual theme came together this past Sunday when I was listening to the first Stiff Little Fingers album, Inflammable Material. It was at that moment that I decided that I was only going to listen to debut albums this week. That idea naturally transformed into a theme for tonight’s show. There’s nothing but the first full-length releases of 70’s punk rock bands. These are primarily records that impacted me in a way that few records of the next 45 years would. From that first Ramones album that arrived at my house when I was suffering from the chicken pox through not only the true legends of that era to a record I purchased simply because I loved that the band was called The Drones.

    Obviously, this is a theme that I will return to quite often in the next few months. I mean, come on, every band has a debut album! What’s your favorite of tonight’s picks?

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

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #716: Covers

    The “covers” folder is full. Overfull, to be honest. So tonight’s show is a supersized show of great remakes, and many of them are quite surprising. The Tubs covering Metallica? Social Distortion doing Chris Isaak? White Fence remaking Simply Red? The Hollywood Stars retaking their own song back from Kiss? Hell, even Ty Segall’s version of The Doors could be considered a surprise.

    There are also quite a few more conventional remakes here tonight, but each and every one is what the kids today call a “banger”. (Oof, remind me to never use that term again.) I’m sure any Ledge listener will find a favorite. What’s your highlight?

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

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #715: New Releases Pt. 2

    On last week’s new release episode I highlighted an entire section to the new album by The Sleeveens. This week I do the same thing to my good friends High On Stress, but instead of adding my own description of how great they are I’m going to leave it to the legendary Twin/Tone Records founder Peter Jesperson – “With album #6 – Still Here – Minneapolis band High On Stress deliver their finest work yet. Full of tightly written, smart songs that stick in your head. It rocks like mad, sounds great, and when it’s over, I just want to play it again.”

    The High On Stress segment is just the tip of the iceberg for this month’s Rum Bar Records segment, as there’s another entire set of fantastic new rock and roll from that fabulous label. There’s also some tracks from the latest Dam-nations compilation, and a few tunes from our friends at Stardumb Records and Spaghetty Town Records. There’s the latest covers project from Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin. Plus all kinds of punk, power pop, and good ol’ fashioned garage rock!

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

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #712: New Releases Pt. 2

    Yes, it’s a typical second part of the monthly new release series. And by second part, I obviously mean it’s fantastic! There’s the usual set devoted to our friends at Rum Bar Records that includes brand new tunes from Ledge favorites High On Stress and The Peppermint Kicks. There’s a full set devoted to the latest monthly compilation from the fine folks behind the Dam-Nations series. There are two full sets devoted to female-led rock and roll, including one of my new favorite discoveries, Gladie!

    Plus, so many bands I love have new albums out. Power pop heroes Uni Boys, psych-rock veterans The Bevis Frond, the Medway garage rock of CTMF & Wild Billy Childish, and so much more.

    What is your favorite new release?

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

     

    Download MP3 here