ickmusic » Country Rock

January 12th, 2005 by Pete

Led by Murry Hammond and Rhett Miller, the Old 97’s have been putting out their Texas brand of super-charged country punk for the better part of twelve years. Last year, they released their sixth album, ‘Drag it Up’. The album wraps up with a - well - it can be best described as a dirge.

Tsunamis, the horrible mudslides in California, and of course, the ongoing living Hell that is Iraq… I figured this song fits the bill right about now. I’ll be back at ya with some more high spirited, up-tempo selections, but this song seems appropriate at the moment. May all those poor souls rest in peace…

Cherish every moment of life and count your blessings.

Hillbilly Heaven

January 10th, 2005 by Pete

“Mmmmm-mmmm-mmm-mmm-mmmmm”. You’ll understand after you hear the first 5 seconds of this song. Now, I’ve always liked Dire Straits, but I had no clue, until I heard this song a few years ago, that Mark Knopfler had a little side project called the Notting Hillbillies.

He formed this band after the smashing success of Straits’ ‘Money for Nothing’ album in 1984. He pulled a few fellas together: Brendan Croker, Steve Phillips, and Guy Fletcher, and hit the road in 1986. Their only album, ‘Missing…Presumed Having a Good Time’ wasn’t released until 1990. I was in college at the time immersed in my studies (*cough cough*), so I guess I totally missed it. But I’m glad I finally found it, especially this song, which is a cover of a Delmore Brothers-penned tuned originally done by Les Paul & Mary Ford back in 1952. Since then, a whole laundry list of artists have covered this song, from Jeff Beck to The Band, the Everly Brothers, NRBQ, and Sleepy LaBeef. Damn, I like saying Sleepy LaBeef.