Greg Cartwright has grown into one of the most skilful songwriters today. This year, he put his main band Reigning Sound on a break, reunited with The Oblivians for a few shows, and formed a new band Parting Gifts with Coco Hames of The Ettes. The resulting album, Strychnine Dandelion is a rousing pile of basic rock’n’roll fury with Strange Disposition standing out as an obvious favorite.
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19. Steve Wunn And The Miracle Three – Northern Aggression
Steve Wynn’s band Miracle Three has became a steady line up of four musicians who breathe together. This is the most immediate thing you get when you hear them live or when you listen to the new album Northern Aggression. Tight musicianship and solid songwriting on this album received a lot of attention this year. The idea was to return to Richmond VA studios (the same place where the great Gutterball records were made), and let the Northern sound take over the lazy atmosphere of the south. The amalgam of sound is captivating. The cover of Death of Johnny B, which appeared originally in an old 70’s anti-drug documentary, is a perfect example.
20. Nobunny – First Blood
This record comes from the reliable Goner kitchen, so although the artist comes from California, you can expect that great Memphis garage sound. The guy behind the bizarre bunny mask is Justin Champlin. On First Blood Champlin delivers cathcy and loud rock’n’roll/pop tunes and it is fun to listen. They are stripped to the bare bones and Nobunny knows well how to avoid any abstractions, although absurdity is no stranger to him.
Flashlite #106 – People who died in 2010
The last Little Lighthouse for 2010 is dedicated to wonderful rock musicians and rock personalities that left us in the past year. We have a practice at the show where we give small tributes whenever someone leaves this ugly world we live in, but we missed to pay a proper tribute to Andy Hummel, bass player of Big Star who had died in the summer while the show was on the break. We correct this omission now with two Big Star songs that Andy wrote. Of course, Alex Chilton from Big Star also died this year, which leaves the drummer Jody Stephens as the only surviving original member of this amazing band. Then we go on and pay tribute, one by one, to the other great musicians who died this year: Bobby Charles, Jay Reatard, Mark Linkous, Kenny Gethway, Captain Beefheart, Ari Up, Solomon Burke, Vic Chesnutt, Predrag Ivanovic and two rock’n’roll sidemen: Malcolm McLaren and Billy Ruane. To all of them, rest in peace and to all of us – happy new 2011.
Bobby Charles – Laura Lee;
Jay Reatard – Before I Was Caught;
Big Star – Way Out West;
Big Star – The India Song;
Alex Chilton – All Of The Time;
Sparklehorse – Hammering the Cramps;
Monstrous – Abby;
Captain Beefheart – Gimme Dat Harp Boy;
Jay Reatard – Oh, It’s Such A Shame;
Monstrous – Thumbsucker;
Sex Pistols – Pretty Vacant;
The Slits – So Tough;
Jay Reatard – Searching For You;
Solomon Burke – Home in your Heart (aka Find Me a Home);
Tommy McLain – Before I Grow Too Old;
Vic Chasnutt – When I Ran Off And Left Her;
Alex Chilton – I Remember Mama;
Varsity Drag – Billy Ruane;
Vic Chesnutt – Shippin’ Out;
Vokalni Kvartet Predraga Ivanovica – Niko ne zna moj bol;
Captain Beefheart – There Ain’t No Santa Claus On The Evenin’ Stage.
Flashlite #105 – Tribute to Captain Beefheart
Sad news came on December 17th this year. Don Van Vilet, better known as Captain Beefheart passed away after a long battle with various kinds of complications due to multiple sclerosis. This disease was also one of the reasons for his withdrawal from rock’n’roll scene and the whole world for the most part in the eighties. In those “retirement” days, he lived alone in a desert, mainly concentrating on painting. But before that, Captain redefined rock’n’roll, blues and avant-grade music the way nobody saw it coming. Recently, radio show Down on The Corner (Dole na uglu) pronounced Captain Beefheart as the greatest American blues rocker. You may think that this is an odd title in company of more conventional blues rockers that we know. But still – when you think about it harder, Beefheart took the good old blues format and stuck to it, but he also took it where the idiom never went before. And it will remain in that place. Bands like Endless Boogie, Black Keys, Dirtbombs, Mark Lanegan, Electric Six, Gori Usssi Winnetou… know where that place is and they call us from there every now and then. But now it’s time to say goodbye to Don Van Vilet, Captain, blues rocker, painter and magician…
Captain Beefheart – Sure ‘Nuff ‘N Yes I Do;
Captain Beefheart – Zig Zag Wanderer;
Balancing Act – Zig Zag Wanderer;
The Roger Sisters – Zig Zag Wanderer;
Captain Beefheart – Dropout Boogie;
Captain Beefheart – Electricity;
Sonic Youth – Electricity;
Captain Beefheart – Safe As Milk;
Painted Willie – Clear Spot;
Mark Lanegan – Clear Spot;
Captain Beefheart – Clear Spot;
Captain Beefheart – Abba Zaba;
Captain Beefheart – Plastic Factory;
Blacktop – Here I am I Always am;
Captain Beefheart – Here I Am I Always Am;
Captain Beefheart – Obeah Man;
Captain Beefheart – The Buggy Boogie Woogie;
Captain Beefheart – I’m Gonna Booglarize You Baby;
Captain Beefheart – Frownland;
Captain Beefheart – Moonlight on Vermont;
Captain Beefheart – Sugar ‘n Spikes;
Captain Beefheart – Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles;
The Black Keys – Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles;
Buckwheat Zydeco – Too Much Time;
Captain Beefheart – Too Much Time;
Captain Beefheart – You Know You’re a Man;
Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart – Debra Kadabra;
Captain Beefheart – Magic Be.
Flashlite #104
One of my favorite rock’n’roll genres is paisley underground where a bunch of 80s bands revisited the sound of the 60s. I keep hearing and reading lately how there are new bands that embrace these bands as huge influences. Basically, we have bands that revisit the 80s bands who revisited the 60s sound. I think that’s wonderful! Today we represent three such bands, two of which are brand new. We have Brooklyn ladies The Girls At Dawn and The Parties from San Diego for the first time at the show. Third band is not a stranger to us, it’s La Fleur Fatale from Sweden. In the mix, we also hear some classic paisley recordings. Talking about paisley-power-pop, Paul Collins from The Nerves and The (US) Beat is back with a new record. Two excellent records that came out earlier this year, but we never got a chance to play them are here also: Nobunny with First Blood and Demon’s Claws with Defrosting. And Kurt Vile’s War on Drugs are also here with a new record, although with Vile out of the band for this particular release…
Ducks Deluxe – Too Hot To Handle;
The Girls At Dawn – They’re Waiting;
The Parties – Catastrophic Storm;
The Nashville Ramblers – The Trains;
The Wind – Wake Up;
La Fleur Fatale – Last Ride;
Steve Wynn An The Miracle 3 – Cloud Splitter;
Felt – Apple Boutique;
The Nerves – Working Too Hard;
Paul Collins – You Tore Me Down;
Pete Townshand – Circles;
The Greenhornes – Saying Goodbye;
Nobunny – Live It Up;
Nobunny – Ain’t It A Shame;
The Parting Gifts – Strange Disposition;
Susan Cowsill – River of Love;
Endless Boogie – Mighty Fine Pie;
John Fred and His Playboys – When The Lights Go Out;
Demon’s Claws – Anny Lou;
The War On Drugs – Comin’ Through.
Poetry Music Scene Chicago #1
The Little Lighthouse introduces a new show today: PMS: Poetry Music Scene Chicago. The founders, based out of Chicago, will present contemporary poetry and music from Chicago and beyond. Some of the featured artists (poets and musicians) are brand new on the scene, others are already established. Our goal is to create an open forum and event space where artists will be welcome to present their ideas and experiment with their art form. The first podcast will feature the three founding members—Dubravka Juraga, Snezana Žabić and Philip Lisiecki. They will be reading their own poems, and will be presenting music by various bands. Come, listen in and tell us what you think.
Posted by Dubravka Juraga
DOWNLOAD: pms1.ogg
1) Dubravka Juraga, “Chicagoâ€
2) Bob Rok, “Muchoâ€
3) Phil Lisiecki, “Horrible Morningsâ€
4) D-Nick the Microphone Misfit, “One Dayâ€
5) Snežana Žabić, “A Narrative With the Doesâ€
6) Green Grocer, “Always Somewhereâ€
7) Phil Lisiecki, “Anxietyâ€
8 ) Good Apples, “Spectacleâ€
9) Dubravka Juraga, “Nowâ€
10) Sweet Apple, “Flying Up a Mountainâ€
11) Phil Lisiecki, “Oscarâ€
12) Greg Spero, “Autumn Leavesâ€
13) Dubravka Juraga, “Iron Queenâ€
14) Good Apples, “She Crashed My Carâ€
15) Snežana Žabić, “Newspeakâ€
16) Jodoh, “Second Gradeâ€
17) Snežana Žabić, “Translation Manualâ€
18) Greg Spero, “Stella By Starlightâ€
19) Dubravka Juraga, “Pannier of of Soul Foodâ€
Flashlite #103
Today’s show is mix and match. We have three new albums for three wonderful ladies and the rest of the show is mostly 80s vinyl records I got/renewed recently. Juliana Hatfield has a new solo album, mostly lo-fi and acoustic. There’s a song about Evan Dando on it. And since we know It’s About Time was for her, we play both songs today. Shannon McNally from Memphis has a new album out called Western Ballad. I was lucky to see her live in Chicago and it was awesome. Anna McCue is the new name in the Little Lighthouse. She’s from Nashvlle TN (but born in Australia) and has already 7 albums out. The newest addition to the roster is Broken Promise Land.
Jeff Beck Group – Let Me Love You;
The dBs – Love Is For Lovers;
The Blazers – Country Girl;
Bodeans – Try And Try;
Shannon McNally – Bolder Than Paradise;
Shannon McNally – True Possession’
Anne McCue – Don’t Go To Texas (Without Me);
Anne McCue – Bright Light Of Day;
Beat Rodeo – Falling Out Of Love;
The Godfathers – Love Is Dead;
The Beat Farmers – There She Goes Again;
Evan Dando – It’s About Time;
Juliana Hatfield – Evan;
Ike And Tina Turner – I’ll Never Need More Than This;
Bob Mould – Heartbreak A Stranger.
Flashlite #102 – Vinyl Junkyard 1
Today we have a special dedicated to one LP album. In fact, I will try to make this somewhat of a series whenever I stumble on an LP that sounds great and that I found sitting somewhere completely forgotten in a bargain bin of a record store. This is precisely what we have now. Peter Isaacson Sings is a completely strange folk album that gathers songs by Dylan, Donovan, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchel and others covered by some mysterious singer. On the record that I have, the mysterious singer is Peter Isaacson. On a different release that people mention here and there on the Internet, his name is Greg Lee. In any case, we have no clue who that person is and what is his real name, but he has a very beautiful voice and guitar style, all recorded what appears to be a single microphone. His voice is somewhere between Gordon Lightfoot at its weakest places and Sid Selvidge at its best parts. I am completely fascinated by this beautiful and mysterious record, and in this show we will hear nearly all cuts from it, along with the originals not just for comparison sake, but also because it makes one really rich playlist!
Joni Mitchell – Both Sides Now;
Peter Isaacson – Both Sides Now;
Peter Isaacson – Blowin’ In The Wind;
Bob Dylan – Blowin’ In The Wind;
Peter Isaacson – Lalena;
Donovan – Lalena;
Peter Isaacson – Trouble In Mind;
Lightnin’ Hopkins – Trouble In Mind;
Peter Isaacson – Threw It All Away;
Bob Dylan – I Threw It All Away;
Cher – I Threw It All Away;
Peter Isaacson – Ribbon of Darkness;
Peter Isaacson – I Shall Be Released;
Bob Dylan – I Shall Be Released;
Peter Isaacson – Black Sheep Boy;
Tim Hardin – Black Sheep Boy;
Peter Isaacson – Catch The Wind;
Donovan – Catch The Wind;
Peter Isaacson – Affair On 8th Ave;
Gordon Lightfoot – Affair On 8th Ave.
Flashlite #101
UK label Acid Jazz has started re-issuing rare ep records and demos of the garage rock legends from England. In today’s show we represent two of those eps, both dealing with the past of Small Faces – Ian McLagan’s Muleskinners and Steve Marriot’s early solo work. Another cool reissue is the legendary Gibson Bros. LP from 1986 Build A Raft together with a busload of extras. Loretta Lynn has a new tribute album that gathered a mottle crew of artists. Logically, the tribute’s title is Coal Miner’s Daughter. Our good friends from the early days of the show, San Francisco duet ing, is back after a few years of silence with a luxurious CD/DVD release of Dial which is a musical that in parts deals with a loss of Mark Smotroff’s life partner Jack. John Wesley Coleman, a singer-songwriter from Austin is busy lately with putting out albums quite frequently. This time we listen to a track from his latest album Bad Lady Goes To Jail. And we also have one brand new band today, they are very loud and their name is Bottle Up And Go. So let’s go!
Iron City Houserockers – Rock-ola;
John Wesley Coleman – Bad Lady Goes To Jail;
John Wesley Coleman – Liquor Store;
Steve Wynn And The Miracle 3 – We Don’t Talk About It;
Steve Marriot – Money Money;
The Muleskinners – Need Your Lovin;
Eamon McGrath – Land of Dogs;
The Bevis Frond – The Daily Round;
The White Stripes – Rated X;
Black Dub – Surely;
Trixie Whitley and Daniel Lanois – Surely;
Bottle Up And Go – These Bones;
Gibson Bros. – 16 Tons;
Vanilla Fudge – Take Me For A Little While;
ing – Springfiled Avenue;
ing (with special friends) – Drop;
Mike Watt – Hollowed Out-Man.