Tag Archives: Uncle Tupelo

Flashlite #334

Chris SquireWe start off with the new Spanish duet called Los Bengala. They have a new album called Incluso Festivos. Zach Jones is a new name from Portland, Maine. Rolin comes from Cleveland and runs a cool band called Nowehere. We also have some good old familiar faces – Rickie Lee Jones and Richard Thompson. His new album is produced by Jeff Tweedy and his old band Uncle Tupelo saw a release of an interesting tribute recently. We cull out Leeroy Stagger from that tribute. Today we say goodbye to Chris Squire, the bassist of Yes and The Syn.

Los Bengala – No Hay Amor Sin Dolor;
Zach Jones – Some Other Day;
Warm Soda – Young Wreckless Hearts;
Nowhere – Anxiety;
Nowhere – Dead Alive (Live in CLE);
The Syn – 14 Hour Technicolor Dream;
Yes – Roundabout;
Junior Wells – Junior’s Wail (Blues Alphabet);
Richard Thompson – Good Things Happen To Bad People;
Richard Thompson – Patty Don’t You Put Me Down;
Leeroy Stagger – Train;
Uncle Tupelo – Train;
Rickie Lee Jones – Weasel And The White Boys Cool;
Rickie Lee Jones – Jimmy Choos.

Flashlite #161

Davy JonesInteresting premier in this show is the New Multitudes album, which marks this year as a 100 years from when Woody Guthrie was born. It’s another project where the Guthrie’s estate hands out his old unseen lyrics to modern day artists to write new tunes to the old words. First project like that was back in 1998 when Jeff Tweedy and Billy Bragg joined forces on Mermaid Avenue. It’s interesting that the Guthrie’s estate approached old Tweedy’s friend from the Uncle Tupelo days, Jay Farrar. He then also approached Will Johnson from Centro-matic, Yim Yames from My Morning Jacket and Anders Parker from Varnalinen to help him out in the completion. The whole thing turned out very well, Farrar’s singing wasn’t this good in ages and tunes fit the lyrics like a glove. Starting with this show, we will begin with a new segment, Live in Cleveland, which will feature live recordings from various bands on their Cleveland shows. We start with a new song for the Cleveland roots rock band Jack Fords, the band which also premiers at the Little Lighthouse today. Whitehorse is a duet from Canada that consists of singer-songwriters Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland and we feature them for the first time at todays show. Their self titled album is full of well crafted songs. Today we have John Wesley Coleman again, this time with a new solo album Last Donkey Show. Chrome Cranks are back with the new album Ain’t No Likes In Blood. And sadly, today’s show is dedicated to Davy Jones, one of the Monkees, who passed away on February 29 this year after a sudden hear attack.

Bootsy’s Rubber Band – Vanish in Our Sleep;
The Monkees – Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow);
The Monkees – Star Collector;
Whitehorse – Broken;
Jay Farrar, Yim Yames, Will Johnson and Andreas Parker – V.D. City;
Billy Bragg and Wilco – California Stars;
Green On Red – This I know;
Jack Fords – Covers Blown;
Jack Fords – Turn It Up Louder;
Smrts – Balga Promenade;
Endless Boogie – Pack Your Bags;
John Wesley Coleman – Misery Again;
Gibson Bros – Lone Wild Bird;
The Chrome Cranks – Way-Out Lover;
The Chrome Cranks – Living Dead.

25 Years of “Tajanstveni voz”

On November 6 1985, exactly 25 years ago, one tradition started to take shape. Zikica Simic in Belgrade (Yugoslavia), decided to start a radio show featuring “the new American rock music” called Tajanstveni voz (Mystery Train). Zikica was featuring bands of the 80s rock’n’roll scene that was impossible to hear anywhere in the world except on college radio stations in the USA. He recognized the respect that these bands had for traditional rock’n’roll and persistently for the next 25 years (and hopefully more) he followed this musical genre as it transformed throughout the years: Husker Du, Green On Red, Violent Femmes, Giant Sand, Tav Falco then a new injection of power with Uncle Tupelo in the nineties and now with Endless Boogie, Phosphorescent, Black Keys and Kurt Vile. He introduced a small army of listeners to the true rock’n’roll sound, including myself. To be perfectly honest, influence of Zikica’s radio show is so enormous on me, that I can easily say how Little Lighthouse is a pale copy of Mystery Train, and still consider it an understatement and a compliment to my show. In the latest installment of his show, Zikica Simic re-played his very first playlist and also threw in a few songs from todays moment in between. A great way to mark quarter of a century of one helluva show.

Playlist 25 years ago…

Violent Femmes – Add It Up
The Long Ryders – I Had A Dream
Beat Rodeo – Without You
R.E.M. – Driver 8
The Del-Lords – Mercenary
Dream Syndicate – Medicine Show
Husker Du – Books About UFOs
Beat Farmers – Bigger Stones
Green On Red – That’s What Dreams
X – What’s Wrong With Me
Minutemen – Cheerleaders
Guadalcanal Diary – Ghost On The Road.