• Tag Archives ramones

  • The Ledge #633: 1984

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    1984 was a magical year for your favorite podcast host. It was my senior year of college, and I had worked my way up the ranks to be the music director of KAUR. This was the perfect gig for me, along with the record store job I had in my spare time.

    Of course, gigs like this would mean little if the music business was in a bad way. But it wasn’t. It was one of the greatest years ever for the sort of material I loved. College rock was more popular than ever. British pop had moved away from the “New Romantics” garbage, and guitars were once again popular. Australia was again pumping out energetic rock and roll. And here in America, there was a grass roots movement that saw the beginnings of what would eventually become Americana, along with two labels, SST and Twin/Tone, that were regularly releasing classic records.

    It’s a holiday weekend, so why not celebrate the material that changed my life 40 years ago? These are all records I loved then, and still love today!

    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

     

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  • The Ledge #621: Another Tuneless Racket, Vol. 1

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    Anyone who has listened to recent episode of The Ledge has heard me wax (somewhat) poetically about Steven H. Gardner’s four-part series of Another Tuneless Racket – Punk and New Wave In The Seventies books. They are quite possibly the greatest documents of late 70’s punk and new wave music. Gardner is a master at combining strong (at times atypical) opinions with deep, deep research.

    Volume one of this series is subtitled “Origins”, and deals with artists that had their first records out by 1976. Tonight’s show includes one or two tracks by the 18 artists he profiles, along with snippets of his commentary on the bands and/or the individual tracks. Admittedly, most of these acts are no stranger to this show, but there are a handful of groups who I had to research to put this broadcast together. (Later volumes include a plethora of performers I had no knowledge of prior to reading about them, which for me is the greatest treat with books of this sort.)

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

     

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  • The Ledge #617: Record Store Day

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    I know the event has plenty of naysayers, but I absolutely love Record Store Day. I love the ritual of standing in line with other record nerds of all ages, and discussing exactly what treats we’re looking for. Even standing in line to pay, a task I generally dread at any retailer, is full of great chats.

    And then there’s the actual music. As somebody who loves vault material – demos, outtakes, live recordings, early mixes, etc. – it’s a day of treasures. There’s also a ton of records you never expected to see reissued, and there is always a number of 60s garage rock compilations.

    This year was no exception, and tonight you see the results of last Saturday’s early morning search. What did you guys find? Let me know what treats you picked up!

    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 #567: New Releases, Pt. 1 (RSD Edition)

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    Thanks to last week’s unseasonably chilly weather, I found myself hooking up a turntable to my podcast mixer. Over the course of the next few hours I dgitized the pile of records I had picked up on Record Store Day a few weeks ago. (Why do they no longer include download codes?)

    Once finished, I decided that this wonderful pile of music deserved it’s own show, and since the start of every month commences with a “new release” episode (or two), why not spotlight this music? Technically, these are all new releases as they came out on the same day, even if some of the music dates back sixty years.

    So that’s what we have tonight. Two hours of Record Store Day highlights. From garage rock compilations to long out print albums to live recordings to specially recorded rarities, tonight’s show is varied in not only years but genres. There should be something for everybody. But true new music fans should not worry, as next week’s second part will be a more traditional “new release”, and I have a ton of great material set aside for the show.

    Of course, the one non-RSD track is this week’s edition of the “52 Weeks of Teenage Kicks” series. I’ve selected one of the more popular versions of the tune. The Northern Irish rockers Ash released it as a b-side back in 2001, and reportedly still ocassionally pulls it out in concert.

    And once again, I must reiterate that I’m looking for brand new recordings of The Undertones’ classic. If you have the capability, or you have friends in a band, please submit a version. BTW, in two weeks I will be premiering a brand new version by a band that all Ledge fans are familiar with.

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

     

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  • The Ledge #550: 1978

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    Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been hinting that I’ll be starting 2023 with a big announcement. Well, tonight’s the night!In my eyes, “Teenage Kicks” is a perfect pop song; the greatest punk-inspired single of all time. Two minutes and 27 seconds of rock and roll at its finest. The sentiments are the same youthful expressions of the original rock and roll explosion of the 1950s. Instead of Little Richard or Jerry Lee Lewis boogie woogie piano, it’s buzzsaw guitars that accompany Undertones vocalist Fergal Sharkey’s desire for that “girl in the neighborhood” that he wishes “was mine she looks so good”. It’s the musical template later utilized by Husker Du, Pixies, Green Day, and hundreds of other pop-punkers for decades to come (for better or worse).Since I love the song so much, I have found myself collecting all kinds of versions over the years. In fact, a little glance at my master iTunes library a few months ago showed that I owned over 30 covers of this tune. Just two weeks ago, I discovered that a Minneapolis band I loved in the 90s had released a remake as a now rare b-side (more on that next week). With that in mind, I decided that The Ledge broadcasts of 2023 are going to include a sub-theme called “52 Weeks of Teenage Kicks”. Every show this year is going to kick off with a version of this wonderful tune, and I want to include my musical friends in this adventure. I’m sending out a plea to labels and bands to submit new versions that I will definitely fast track onto the playlist. Don’t worry about the musical style. Want to record a solo acoustic version? I’ll take it. Want to somehow transform it into a screeching death metal rattle? Go for it! Add some loops. I’ll even accept autotune!Tonight’s first episode of 2023 is going to begin at the source. The Undertones’ original classic kickstarts two hours of legendary tunes from one of my favorite years of rock and roll – 1978. It was the year I discovered Elvis Costello, Wreckless Eric, Boomtown Rats, Devo and so much more! The “normals” may have been somehow grooving to Kansas and Head East but I was jumping around in my bedroom to The Clash and The Jam!

    To submit a version of “Teenage Kicks”, please email it to paulisded@gmail.com

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

     

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  • The Ledge #518: Record Store Day

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    I have a few friends who are no fans of Record Store Day, but I love it. Yes, everyday is Record Store Day for me, but it is one of the few days of the year that I’m a social butterfly. I absolutely love the bonding of music geeks in the lines outside stores, and over the years I’ve actually made some friendships out of these same people who brave the elements on this day. We actually kind of look out for each other. If one of us is looking for something quite rare, it’s not unusual for another one of us to grab it for that person. I had that happen just this last week when I arrived a few minutes later than usual, but really needed to get a copy of a certain release.

    For me, this year’s version of the holiday may have been the best ever. I’ve never had a list so long of titles that I “needed”. Plus, my name is on one of them (the Jay Bennett two-record set that included Gorman Bechard’s “Where Is Jay Bennett” on DVD). Besides the obligatory Replacements live album, guitarist Bob Stinson saw the release of a record he recorded with the Bleeding Hearts shortly before his death. The late Kim Shattuck of The Muffs saw a collection of demos. Lou Reed’s first solo studio session hit the shelves. There was another great compilation of rare punk tracks in the Soul Jazz series “Punk 45”. 

    Of course, there was also the usual pile of live releases this year, including sets by Stiff Little Fingers, Reigning Sound, Pixies, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Roky Erickson, and so many more. Ramones albums that have not been available on vinyl for 20 years were collected in a relatively cheap box set. The list goes on and on, and tonight’s episode samples a wide variety of these records.

    I would love it if every listener bought at least one record I played on either of these shows. These great artists deserve to be compensated for their hard work, and every purchase surely helps not only pay their bills but fund their next set of wonderful songs. And if you buy these records directly from the artist or label, please let them know you heard these tunes on The Ledge! Let them know who is giving them promotion!

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

     

    Download MP3 here


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  • The Ledge #513: 1977 (US Version)

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    A few weeks ago, I put together a show featuring nothing but UK rock and roll from 1977. Well, here’s the US counterpart, two hours of some of the greatest records ever produced. And this show jumps around through genres quite a bit more than the UK episode, with not only some blistering punk rock but power pop, classic rock, and even some more experimental material that greatly influenced bands that came years and decades later.

    What’s also remarkable is just how much material some of these artists created in this fabulous year. Cheap Trick, Iggy Pop, and The Ramones all put out two full albums during these twelve months, while others followed up with another new album at the beginning of the next year. It was certainly a year of creativity.

    I would love it if every listener bought at least one record I played on either of these shows. These great artists deserve to be compensated for their hard work, and every purchase surely helps not only pay their bills but fund their next set of wonderful songs. And if you buy these records directly from the artist or label, please let them know you heard these tunes on The Ledge! Let them know who is giving them promotion!

    For setlists and other information, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

    Download MP3 here


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  • The Ledge #485: New Releases (Pt. 2)

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    Part two of this month’s new release series carries on from the excellence of last week’s first show. There are great tribute records to John Prine and The Ramones, along with some other fabulous covers of the Flamin’ Groovies, T. Rex, The Beatles, and The Blasters. There’s the returns of the Descendents and Pearl Harbour. There’s also new bands (at least to me) such as Vacation, The Umbrellas, Liquid, and a few others. And to top things off are some more tracks from the brand new FREE “XOXOXO Volume One ‘the nice price'” compilation.

    I would love it if every listener bought at least one record I played on either of these shows. These great artists deserve to be compensated for their hard work, and every purchase surely helps not only pay their bills but fund their next set of wonderful songs. And if you buy these records directly from the artist or label, please let them know you heard these tunes on The Ledge! Let them know who is giving them promotion!

     

    Download MP3 here


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  • The Ledge #476: Happy Birthday Bobby D!

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    Putting together a Dylan tribute show for this week was clearly a no-brainer. After all, he turned 80 years old this past Monday! Of course The Ledge would celebrate!

    It actually wasn’t until the day of his birthday that I decided on this theme, though, and I have to give special thanks to Lydia Loveless. To help raise money for NIVA (National Independent Venue Association), Lydia and a dozen other artists were a part of Happy Birthday Uncle Bob! A Dylan Tribute.

    That release is just one of many recent releases that are the focus of the first half of the show. Daniel Romano, Billy Childish (as The William Loveday Intention), Lucinda Williams, and others have full-length albums of Dylan remakes, and the second half of the show consists of some old favorites such as Paul Westerberg, Jason & The Scorchers, Mike Ness, and many others.

    After listening, please go purchase those tracks you enjoy! These great artists deserve to be compensated for their hard work, and every purchase surely helps not only pay their bills but fund their next set of wonderful songs. And if you buy these records directly from the artist or label, please let them know you heard these tunes on The Ledge! Let them know who is giving them promotion!

     

    Download MP3 here


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