Written about Ronald Reagan in the early 80’s by the late Blaze Foley, “Oval Room” sure is just as fitting today as it was 25 years ago, isn’t it?
Blaze Foley - Oval Room (mp3) from Oval Room [buy it]

→ 265 days left.
Oval Room
In his oval room, in his rockin’ chair
He’s the president, but I [...]

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I just watched Heartworn Highways last night. It’s a great music film, a snapshot of the mid-70’s Nashville and Austin outlaw music scene. It features Rodney Crowell, Guy Clark, David Allan Coe, Steve Young, a very young Steve Earle, and Townes Van Zandt (among a lot of others). In this clip, Townes has just got [...]

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Here’s a cool cover of Massive Attack’s “Teardrop”, courtesy of 23-year old Brit-folk-popster Newton Faulkner. Good ol’ Newt will see the release of his U.S. debut album, Hand Built by Robots, on April 29th. But a 3-song iTunes exclusive EP is available right now, featuring the first single, “Dream Catch Me”.
Faulkner has a cool [...]

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Patty Larkin has been one of the consistent, high quality mainstays of the contemporary folk-singer-songwriter scene since she emerged in the mid-80’s. Her latest, Watch the Sky, was released on Vanguard Records in January. Patty shows her guitar prowess on this record - playing all sorts of gee-tars: acoustic, electric, lap steel, National, baritone, and [...]

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There are two albums I’ve been immersing myself in lately: Los Lobos’ ‘The Town and the City‘ and Ry Cooder’s ‘Chávez Ravine‘. The Los Lobos album hasn’t left my truck’s CD player in weeks. It’s great to have one of those albums that you can keep repeating over and over, and find something new and [...]

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As I sit to type this, I’m watching American Idol contestant Kristy Lee Cook absolutely BUTCHER the Beatles song “8 Days a Week”. An uptempo, countrified version. Buhhh-leck. “Dolly Parton on helium”, says Simon. Lucky for me I don’t watch American Idol. Oh sh - -, caught!

So anyway, here’s Alabama 3 with a version [...]

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Canadian Cam is back with a look at Toronto singer-songwriter Kim Jarrett… - Pete

Kim Jarrett writes excellent songs that showcase her outstanding voice. There’s nothing fancy or pretentious about the songs, or the voice, or Kim herself.
Kim received critical acclaim for her self-titled debut album. She still receives accolades for many of the [...]

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Well, crap in a basket and call me Pappy, it’s almost Friday! And hey, Todd Snider is coming to town! If you’re in the Phoenix area, and you’re free on Sunday night (a long weekend for MLK Day), join me, the wife and some friends down at the Last Exit Bar & Grill in [...]

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Not your typical happy-go-lucky holiday tune. Rather, one that takes a gander at the world today, and unapologetically tells it like it is. This kid is refreshing.
Brett Dennen - The Holidays Are Here (and We’re Still at War) [mp3]
Links: Buy his latest, So Much More | Official Site | MySpace

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Joni Mitchell first came into my consciousness more than 20 years ago when Prince mentioned her as one of his biggest influences in an interview. He’s covered Joni’s “A Case of You” (”U”, naturally, when Prince does it) over the years, and “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker” has that Joni influence as well.
Oh, I’ve heard [...]

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