Today we have two new names at The Little Lighthouse. Pissed Jeans – a neo-grunge band from Pauline, SC. They’ve been a Sub Pop attraction for a few years now, but we have them here for the first time with their new album King of Jeans. We also have Glossary, a new band in and around the Memphis rock’n’roll scene. Beck and Wilco united last summer for a session where they re-recorded the entire Alexander Skip Spence album called Oar. This album is weekly uploaded track by track on Beck’s web site, and there’s one track left to go. Drive By Truckers recorded a new 45 and it is a tribute to Eddie Hinton. Besides Hinton’s great song Everybody Needs Love, the b-side of that 45 contains a wonderful cover of a lesser known Hinton’s song Where’s Eddie. The song and the new version are simply perfect. We also have in this show the new one-off record by Giant Sand called Off Ramp, which is a collection of out-takes and snippets from the recording session that gave birth to their 1991 masterpiece called Ramp.
Eric Burdon And The Animals – Good Times;
Giant Sand – Romance of Falling;
Giant Sand and Victoria Williams – Love;
Victoria Williams – Love;
Eddie Hinton – Everybody Needs Love;
Drive-By Truckers – Where’s Eddie;
Lulu – Where’s Eddie;
Patterson Hood – Pollyanna;
Glossary – No Guarantee;
Jon Dee Graham – Beautifully Broken;
John Wesley Coleman III – Where Did My Friends Go;
Pissed Jeans – False Jesii Part 2;
Bassholes – Don’t You Look Sideways At Me;
Kurt Vile – Hunchback;
Mama Rosin – Le Pistolet;
Beck and Wilco – Little Hands;
Skip Spence – Little Hands.
Today’s editions brings you the newest album for The Kropotkins, band fronted by Lorette Velvette and Dave Soldier. This is their third album, and listeners of this show their two first albums very well if they followed our past episodes. We also have A. A. Bondy with his new album Daytrotter Session volume 2, Suzanne Vega with her new album Close-Up Vol. 1 Love Songs. Jon Dee Graham is also here with his brand new album It’s Not As Bad As It Looks. We know him previously as the member of The Skunks, True Believers and The Resentments. He recently had an accident that nearly took his life, and we’re glad to see him back raging full on. John Wesley Coleman III is the new name at the Little Lighthouse. In this show you can hear a tune from his new album called Steal My Mind, Coleman’s version of Warren Zevon’s Lawyers, Guns And Money.
Today’s highlight is definitely the new very special tribute to Jim Dickinson, created by his sons, friends and sons of his friends entitled Luther Dickinson & The Sons of Mudboy. Listeners of The Little Lighthouse are very well familiar with Jim Dickinson’s ad-hoc supergroup called Mudboy and the Neutrons – one of the best bands that ever came out of Memphis, well known for their chaotic covers of standards and traditionals. Now, using the same idea but with a layer of sorrow surrounding the passing of Jim, Luther Dickinson and the Sons of Mudboy put out an excellent album called Onward and Upward. This record is a magnificent farewell to the imposing figure that Jim Dickinson used to be on the Memphis rock’n’roll scene. We also check out the newest album for the Swiss zydeco band Mama Rosin (Black Robert) and the new album for the singersongwriter Freedy Johnston (Rain On The City). Also, please check out our new bonus podcast below that we will receive weekly from Igor Mitic in Pancevo. Look for the panther logo and title Sympathy for Rock’n’roll!
Today we say goodbye to the rock’n’roll pioneer Bobby Charles who died on January 14. Bobby Charles is one of those authors that kick-started the entire rock’n’roll, the way we know it today. After Bill Haley with his Comets recorded Bobby’s See You Later Alligator rock’n’roll ghost was out of the bottle forever. In 1972, Bobby Charles resurfaced and recorded a masterpiece record with Rick Danko and The Band. Songs that Bobby wrote will stay forever. This show is dedicated to him. We also presented some new records here at The Little Lighthouse. Miro Kusacic of Messerschmitt is back with a new band Junkers 5, fronted by the new name on the scene – Elizabeta Petric. Sarah Borges covered Clive Gregson’s Yesterday’s Love and Javier Escovedo had a really great new record in 2008, but for some reason, it fell through the cracks and I only got a chance to hear it now. It’s called City Lights and it’s truly exceptional.
Today’s show is dedicated to Jay Reatard and Vic Chesnutt. These two important characters on the modern rock’n’roll scene died recently. Jay Reatard died in his sleep on January 13 this year and Vic Chesnutt died from a muscle relaxant overdose on December 25. Jay was 29 and Vic was 45. We lost much more than just two rock’n’roll musicians. We lost leaders of the scene, relevant guys who moved and shook things around with every record they put out. On the other hand, the two are diametrically opposite. Jay wrote short, loud songs, did great singles and recently injecting some healthy dose of reformation of the rock album format. On the other hand Vic was a leader of the loose pack of new folk authors and singer songwriters, finding a new way to tell the old stories of despair and pain. They left shoes that will be impossible to fill in.
We begin today’s show by listening to Kurt Vile from Philadelphia who had a very good album called Childish Prodigy last year. The rest of the show is filled with our favorite short forms of 2009 (eps, singles, single downloads…) and compilations.
Our award for the best musical Internet project in 2009 goes to the Australian singer songwriter Paul Kelly. Throughout 2008 and 2009 he ran a continuous Internet project in which for each month of the year he posted several songs re-recorded in the “unplugged” variants. Each month, one letter of the alphabet was covered (except V and X). This was a wonderful project in which Paul Kelly recorded over 100 hundred songs and posted them for free download at http://www.paulkelly.com.au/. In todays show, we cover at least one song for each letter of the alphabet, and for the other 80 plus songs, visit Paul Kelly’s website. Happy New Year by the way!
 Here we are at the end of another year in rock’n’roll. It’s behind us… We entered it hoping it would be an exciting one, and for the most part, musically, it did bring a few exciting moments. We’re taking time right now to rediscover these moments in our year end list of best albums in 2009 at The Little Lighthouse. Chris Cacavas took the cake this year without too much contemplation, at least in this microcosm that we call The Little Lighthouse. Take a chance to review the rest of the list, read my reviews and of course – take a listen at the show. Exit 2009, enter 2010…
Keyboardist of Green on Red and a solo artist for twenty years, Chris Cacavas is definitely left a huge mark in rock’n’roll. But Love’s Been Discounted is likely his crowning masterpiece when at least in the solo period. I don’t know much about the events that happened in Chris’ life that fueled this record with inspiration, but record seems like a break-up record, a serious redefinition of the term “love” for sure. Musically, it’s a soft record with wonderful guitar solos, songs that dramatically build up. Incredible background harmonizing that takes you by surprise at the most unsuspecting moments often constitute the most dramatic places of this record. 
A close second on this list. Former Husker Du drummer is back with a new solo record after 10 years of putting it together over in Twin Cities. The opening rocker You’re The Reflection of the Moon On the Water starts from a big fat 10 second fade in as if Grant is a bit shy to start with a full blast after 10 years of silence. But Grant Hart quickly draws you into his world with nine flawless tracks, done in the style of 60s psychedelic records. Lots of Hammond-style organs, hand claps and whirling psychedelic instrumental passages. California Zephyr stands out as an incredible road story of a man who settles down in San Francisco and then left out of there when people started dieing. Life and death playing a clinching game that binds us all. Tonight.