• Tag Archives undertones

  • The Ledge #608: Covers

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    As I’ve said before, I have a folder on one of my laptops that I keep around just to acccumulate cover tunes for episodes like this one. Once that folder is full, it’s time to broadcast! This version of that theme includes sets devoted to primarily new versions of songs by The Clash, The Undertones, The Rolling Stones, and MC5. There’s also one-offs of tracks by a wide variety of punk, pop, garage and power pop classics, including a rather surprising remake of a tune by the world’s most popular pop star! 

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

     

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  • The Ledge #584: Birthday Week!

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    When I put together each and every episode of The Ledge, I try really hard not to repeat myself too much. If I play a new single one week, the next I’ll more than likely air a b-side or album track. Certain songs do end up appearing in multiple shows, but more than likely due to whatever themes I’ve selected.

    That fact has always been in the back of my mind whenever I put on birthday shows. Obviously, during my birthday week I want a show of nothing but my favorite songs of all time, but at the same time I don’t want to repeat that same show each and every year. But it dawned on me earlier today that repeating myself once a year is no big deal! Who remembers what I aired a year ago?

    Plus, honestly, while I have not doublechecked, I’m sure this year’s birthday celebration of my favorite songs is quite unlike previous editions. My tastes are ever-evolving. Some artists have emerged as new favorites. Others have maybe dropped down a peg or two. Plus, I’ll admit to purposely selecting different tunes by perennial favorites. Let’s be real. I can play almost any song by bands like The Clash or The Ramones…or almost every band in tonight’s show.

    As for the “52 weeks of Teenage Kicks”, I’ve got a relative rrity from Hagfish. Originally released on 1995’s Happiness EP, it also appeared on European versions of their second album, Hagfish Rocks Your Lame Ass. (And since this was my birthday show, I ended the episode with The Undertones original.  

    And 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 and setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

    Download MP3 here


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  • The Ledge #578: Covers

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     Every few months, I like to put together an all-covers edition of the show. As I’ve stated before, I have a folder all set up to toss in whatever tracks I want to later air. This edition came a little bit sooner than usual due to a couple of fabulous tribute records.

    The first release I wanted to highlight is the brand new An International Tribute To The Muffs, which features 26 fabulous covers of Kim Shattuck tunes. Proceeds from this release goes to the Team Shattuck Foundation of Kim´s Sister, Kristen Shattuck.

    The other great tribute record is Drunk Dial Fakes, Vol. 2. This ingenious set features “real” bands covering songs that were written for fictional TV and film bands. How can you not love covers from The Rutles, CHiPs, and That Thing You Do?

    As for the “52 Weeks of Teenage Kicks”, I’ve got a twofer for you this week. I recently discovered a couple of fabulous Undertones tribute records, and Teenage Hits – A Tribute To The Undertones features two wonderful remakes. And like always, 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 #566: Twofers

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    Tonight unveils a new sort of theme for a Ledge episode – Twofers! Everybody loves a twofer deal at the bar, so why not transfer the idea to rock and roll. (Yeah yeah yeah, I know radio stations have done this for decades. But it’s new to The Ledge!)

    The inspiration was a handful of great records that I’ve been paying a lot of attention to in the last few days. Last Saturday, for Record Store Day Sioux Falls (soon to be) legends Off Contact put out a few advance copies of their upcoming debut album, Pearls Before Swine. Of course I had to air some tracks off it!

    And then two days ago I received what may be my second-favorite power pop album of the year. Paint Fumes new record, Real Romancer, is chock full of great hooks accompanied by the sort of noisy guitars that everyone knows I love so much. Of course, I couldn’t resist airing tracks from the brand new albums of original punkers The Damned and former Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock.

    But it’s not all twofers on the show. There’s a “four-fer” of selections from the Record Store Day release of previously unreleased live Husker Du tracks, Tonite Longhorn. There’s five tracks from the infamous C86 compilation, picked due to my love of the new Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids? An Indie Odyssey by Nige Tassell. And there’s a lengthy set of one-off tunes by Justine & The Unclean, The Darts, The Morning Line, The Scarlet Goodbye, and Single Mothers.

    Even the latest in the “52 Weeks of Teenage Kicks” series is a twofer. When I saw that both Thee Headcoats and their all-girl cohorts Thee Headcoatees had covered the classic it just made sense to play them as a pair. Of course, I also have to remind everybody that I’m still looking for new versions of The Undertones classic. Please, please, please send them my way!

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

     

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  • The Ledge #555: This And That

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    Once again we have a show devoted primarily to material I’ve been listening to around the house. Honestly, since it was announced that Television’s Tom Verlaine had passed away on January 28, 2023, I have wanted to do a little tribute to him on The Ledge. So tonight you can hear a handful of his classic Television and solo tunes. RIP.

    There’s also a wide variety of tunes that comprise almost 60 years of rock and roll. There’s a handful of garage rock classics from the acclaimed Pebbles series. There’s a track from one of Robert Gordon’s collaborations with guitarist Link Wray. There’s also a sort of tribute to Burt Bachrach in the form of a Stranglers cover that somehow caught my ear a day or so before the announcement of his death.

    And there’s also a couple of sets of new tunes, primarily songs that were cut from last week’s new release episode, along with more cuts from recent Rum Bar Records releases. I’ve also premiered the newly reissued single from Popsicko on Big Stir Records, which was officially released today. (Look for a full album later this spring).

    Don’t think that I’ve forgotten about my yearlong sub-theme, “52 Weeks of Teenage Kicks”. This week’s submission is from a great friend who has not only been a Ledge listener for over a decade but he’s a bigtime supporter of RealPunkRadio in general. Kingbubbatruck, aka Brent Dowell, sent the show a fabulous, slowed-down version that is perfection. Thank you, Brent.

    Speaking of the Teenage Kicks theme, I was given the opportunity to be a guest writer on S.W. Lauden’s Remember the Lightning substack. The piece was publsihed this past Thursday, so please go give it a read here! Thank you, sir, for the opportunity!

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

     

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  • The Ledge #553: Miscellany

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    Every now and then it’s nice to have a show without any real theme, and that’s what we have tonight. Instead, it’s really just a collection of records I’ve been listening to over the last few weeks, and interesting collection of various genres that represent over 50 years of great rock and roll. There’s a handful of recent releases side by side with all time classics. There are veteran bands that are brand new to me, and relatively new artists that I’ve been obsessed with over the last few months.

    Of course, there’s also this week’s selection for the “52 Weeks of Teenage Kicks” subtheme. I’ve got a homegrown talent by the name of Link West, and his mainly acoustic version is a really nice change of pace. He also contributed a little piece of spoken word audio where he talks of his love of the song and his history of playing it in his original band in Columbus, Ohio. He describes the tune as “50% bubblegum, 50% booty call”. I can’t argue with that.

    Link West’s version marks a run of (at least) three straight weeks of listener contributions, but of course I always want more. Nothing would make me happier than an entire year of brand new versions of one of my favorite songs of all time. If you don’t have the capabilities to record your own cover, please reach out to any musician friends to contribute their version. If you have any questions, or if you have a version set to go, please contact me at paulisded@gmail.com

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

     

    Download MP3 here


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  • The Ledge #550: 1978

    Posted on by theledge Comment

    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 #410: UK Punk 1980

    Posted on by theledge Comment

    After quite a few shows devoted to 1979 in the last 12 months, it’s predictable that this new year will see a similar move with music from 1980. Tonight’s is the first of such a show and it’s devoted to the UK punk scene. It’s in many respects a strange year for punk. A large percentage of the original UK punk acts had broken up, and few new bands were replacing them in the charts. The music had gone back underground, which led to a new, louder sound that’s represented by a few of the tracks on this show.

    But there were still a few of the old faves hanging around, although their sound was clearly moving beyond what initially made them famous. Three of those acts (The Undertones, The Jam, The Clash) are represented by an in-depth look at their 1980 album releases. The Clash in particular completely threw away the rulebook with their landmark album, Sandinista, which not only included the usual bangers but also had high doses of funk, dub, and other R&B.

    After listening, please go purchase those tracks you enjoy!

     

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  • Live Ledge #219: Thank You Friends

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    A post-Thanksgiving episode celebrating just a few of the artists I’m thankful to have in my life.

     

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  • Live Ledge #215: Questions

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    Nothing but musical questions tonight!

     

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