• Tag Archives power pop
  • The Ledge #665: New Releases Pt. 1

    Once again, The Ledge new release series travels the globe for the latest in quality rock and roll. From Rapid City, SD (Friends of Cesar Romero) to Sydney, Australia (Game Set Match), with various stops all over the US and Europe. There’s solo sets from High on Stress leader Nick Leet, Forty Nineteens leader Nick Z, and longtime Brian Wilson touring member Nelson Bragg. There’s the triumphant return of The Minus 5, and the latest chapter in the Viagra Boys story. Plus our usual monthly contribution from our buddies Numb Surprise. And, of course, a lot more.

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

     

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  • The Ledge #661: First Quarter Recap

    Since it’s the last episode of March, it is definitely time for first quarter recap. Over two hours of tracks from the best albums released over the last three months. There’s plenty of power pop, garage rock, psych, post-punk, punk, and even some straight ahead rock and roll. There are the usual veterans such as Bob Mould, Guided By Voices, Throwing Muses, and The Men, but there are plenty of newer bands such as Dropkick, Private Lives, Transistors, and Dead Bars. (Yes, there is also an inadvertent 2024 record included. My apologies for the mistake.) 

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

     

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  • The Ledge #632: More From The Hudson Compound

    Last week’s look at my personal home plays was so much that I carried it on this week. Once again, there were almost 60 years of rock and roll represented, from The Troggs and Small Faces to my favorite record of 2023, Scratch ‘N’ Sniff by The Whiffs. Full sets showcased the musical and personal relationship between married songwriters Amy Rigby and Wreckless Eric and the great reissue campaign of the vastly underrated Dead Moon.

    Also, please head to YouTube and subscribe to our channel – Public Domain Classics 888. We have over 500 classic films from over 110 years of releases! 

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

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #606: New Releases Pt. 2

    This may be the second part of this month’s new release series, but there is no letdown in quality. Once again, there’s an intriguing mix of styles, ages, and even home locations. There are brand new acclaimed artists such as Liquid Mike and Sprints. There’s the returns of veterans such as Paul Collins Beat, J. Robbins, and Sham 69. There’s also the usual trademark of quality from our friends at Slovenly Records and Rum Bar Records.

    Most intriguing to me, is the story behind “Get the Experience” by The Ex-Bombers. Band members Keri Cousins and S.M. Nancy Walus are “rasslin'” fans, just as I am. Many of their late night drives after gigs have found them listening to legendary wrestling manager Jim Cornette’s podcast, Jim Cornette Experience. Hearing that he was looking for a new theme song, the band quickly put together “Get the Experience”, and just this week they were informed that the song is now the official theme song of the show! Thanks to the band for not only sending me a copy of the song to air, but including a little interview segment telling the story.

    And once again, even thought the “52 Weeks of Teenage Kicks” series is officially over, I received yet another new submission. Numb Surprise is a two piece post-punk band from the Midlands in England that formed in 2023. Their new album, Introspect, was recently released and I’m so pleased they sent in their “Teenage Kicks” cover. Hey, I’ll keep the series going on an informal basis if I keep receiving new versions!

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

     

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  • The Ledge #604: Odds & Ends Again

    The “odds and ends” series is an opportunity for me to mix all kinds of material. This week’s version mixes a bunch of new releases with a ton of material I’ve been playing around the house in recent weeks. There’s also a tribute to Mary Weiss, the leader of The Shangri-Las who passed away a few days ago. Otherwise, there’s classics by The Clash, X, The Birthday Party, and The Long Ryders, along with a new discovery of The Deviants, a great old band that for whatever reason I had never checked out.

    As for that little sound sample at the beginning of the show, I must thank my buddy Kevin for alerting me to a show called The Listener. I just can’t help but include oddly-placed discussions on The Replacements. 

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

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #601: New Releases

    It may be a new year, but there’s no change to the first episode of each and every month. Once again, I present to you over two hours of brand new music. Ok, there are a handful of tracks that actually came out a few months ago, but these are new discoveries for me. So in my convoluted set of self-created rules, they’re still new releases to me. 

    But as always, this show features a great mix of punk, garage, indie rock, and power pop. There’s music from all over the world, and both brand new and veteran acts. Anybody with a hunger for new music should be able to find their own highlights.

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

     

    Download MP3 here


  • The Ledge #599: Annual Christmas Extravaganza!

    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 #597: More Replacements Tributes

    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


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

    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


  • The Ledge #583: New Releases

    The Ledge has always been known to enjoy music from all over the world. This month’s new release episode, however, goes ever further than usual. Yes, we have new tunes from many of the usual suspects – Canada, Australia, England, Sweden, etc. But this month we expand that a little bit and have tunes from Indonesia and Japan! (Ok, Japanese rock and roll is not so unusual in these parts, but you get the picture.)

    There’s also the usual mix of long-awaited returns (Uni Boys, Wreckless Eric), and new (at least to me) artists such as Hurry, Young Francis Hi Fi, and Dennis Cometti. There’s a set devoted to a trio of solo artists who have shared the stage countless times over the years (Brad Marino, Geoff Palmer, and Kurt Baker), and who always seem to have new records right around the same time.

    We also have a sneak peak of the upcoming Replacements box set, Tim: Let It Bleed Edition. The “cello version” of “Can’t Hardly Wait” was actually a Paul Westerberg demo with Twin/Tone secretary Michelle Kinney on cello. The box set comes out on September 22, and as you may imagine, I…ok, I won’t go with the obvious wordplay

    Speaking of The Replacements, this week’s edition of “52 Weeks of Teenage Kicks” is a super rare version by Tommy Stinson, recorded at the Cactus Club in Milwaukee on August 28, 2003. Super rare, as in a fan recording. Don’t tell anyone!

    As 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 information, including setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

    Download MP3 here