Playlist

Flashlite #21

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All The Saints We welcome you to a new epsode of The Little Lighthouse with several new interesting tunes. We have a brand new band from Atlanta GA, All The Saints with their own twist on psychedelic rock. The Service Industry were around for quite some time with their songs about survival in the working class, but this is their debut at the Little Lighthouse. Diplomats of Solid Sound is a new retro band from Iowa, drawing on soul and funk sound patterns from the golden era of 60s and 70s. Also, check out two new tunes that we dug out for you – one by Ray Mason and other by The Moaners.

Also, from now on, we will have two new bonuses (bonae?) per week, the usual Down on the Corner and a new one – Mystery Train, another good show prepared weekly by Zikica Simic.

The Fuzztones – Bad News Travels Fast;
Screaming Trees – Transfiguration;
Rain Parade – One Half Hour Ago;
Pink Floyd – Astronomy Domine;
All The Saints – Papering fix;
The Service Industry – They Fired Me;
Eddy Current Suppression Ring – which way to go;
King Khan and The Shrines – Sweet Tooth;

Diplomats of Solid Sound – Budget Fro;
Miss Alex White and the Red Orchestra – Submarine;
Tralala – Dark Things;
The BellRays – One Big Party;
Petula Clark – Dans Le Temps;
Voice Of The Beehive – I Say Nothing;
Madness – Burning The Boats;
Ray Mason – I Wanna Be A Holiday;
The Moaners – Raggedy Tune.

Reviews

The Moaners – Blackwing Yalobusha

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The MoanersSecond effort for the two rockinest ladies on contemporary music scene. The new album is stretching beyond the neo-blues genre, with “When We’re Dead And Gone” having a melody of a 60s girl group hit and a nod to blaxploitation in “Foxy Brown”. In addition, Melissa and Laura are capable of pulling the most exciting live show you can imagine. This was my favorite album in 2007, during the hiatus of the show.

Bands

Ray Mason Band

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(Written long time ago for my old website) Ray Mason is from Haydenville, Massachusetts. This middle-aged gentleman has been around with his guitar for some twenty years now, and it looks like people in the local scene know him and respect him very much, as he was already an object of a tribute album. In his lengthy career, Mason left handful of cassette tapes in the eighties and five cd’s in last five years. He recently compiled his early cassette work on a cd called Square Crazy. That disc includes an interesting collection of great pop tunes with a twist, recalling NRBQ’s sense of humor. All those early tunes are recorded on a simple four track tape recorder, and the sound has a wonderful lo-fi charm. His two last regular issues came out in just a year span. One of them in early 2001 with a great rock’n’roll title When the Clown’s Work is Over. The other one came out in May 2002, Ten Dollar Man.

When the Clown’s Work is Over is full of nice guitar music and some of the songs are written in a righteous rock’n’roll style, and they’re worth of any Dylan’s, Young’s or Wynn’s tune. One can easily see how his style matured from his early tapes without dropping down in quality. My personal favorite is Up But So Loose which in just two minutes tell us a great rock story spiced up with a very creative riff. So you thought that the guitar rock is dead, huh?

Ten Dollar Man is the newest Ray Mason’s Work. He gathered his band again and recorded an album with just 10 songs, filling out just a small fraction of what can be fit on a cd, but all songs are really nice which makes up for the quantity. It’s a collection of tunes all enriched with a fine sense of humor. Similar usage of humor is also done by NRBQ. But what takes this issue a little bit farther is that there’s a special personal seal that all of the tunes carry. The album is very consistent in its quality through all 30 minutes of its lenght.

Mason also has a band Lonesome Brothers that he runs parallel to his solo career together with his friend Jim Armenti. Lonesome Brothers just came up with the new album called Swamptown Girl, which is a little more acoustic than Ray Masons’ solo work, but it’s still filled with cool songs. And what a suitable name for the band! Lonesome is probably the most frequently used name in country and brothers – well I guess Jim and Ray are some kind of creative brothers…

Website: www.raymason.com

Playlist

Flashlite #20

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T Bone Burnett There are two central blocks in todays show. One is about T Bone Burnett and the other is about his ex wife Sam Phillips. Burnett has a new album Tooth of Crime and we sample one song from it together with three older Burnett’s songs. Sam Phillips also has a new album Don’t Do Anything which she recorded without Burnett’s help for the first time. Some of the songs on it seem to be about their divorce.

Los Straitjackets – Theme From Midnight Cowboy;
The Mojomatics – You Are Not Me (Unfortunately);
The Queers – Surf Goddess;
Nervous Eaters – Just Head;
Charlie Feathers – Can’t Hardly Stand It;
T Bone Burnett – Zombieland;
T Bone Burnett – Sweet Lullaby;
T Bone Burnett – Hold On Tight;
Alpha Band – Interviews;

Sam Phillips – Circle of Fire;
Sam Phillips – No Explanations;
Jonathan Richman – Our Drab Ways;
Vinegar Joe – It’s Gettin’ To The Point;
The Cookies – They’re Jealous of Me;
Evie Sands – Angel Of The Morning;
Jadranka Stojakovic – Prica o nama;
Dusty Springfield – If You Go Away;
John Barry – Midnight Cowboy Theme Score.

Playlist

Flashlite #19

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Jayber CrowToday we start off with a few upbeat classic songs and then we check out the new Modey Lemon lp called Season of Sweets. Then we dwell into a jazz moment when we check out television actress Marla Gibbs as a singer and then classic British acid jazz from the eighties – Working Week. Jayber Crow is a new Minneapolis duet obsessed with Midwest folk mythologies. We end the show with a live version of The Magnificent Seven Theme from the new live album for the Nashville instrumentalists Los Straitjackets.

The Last – The Other Side;
Violators – NY Ripper;
Fall-Outs – Here I Come;
The Brats – First Rock Star On The Moon;
The Rolling Stones – Wanna Hold You;
Little Richard – Lucille;
Jody Reynolds – Tight Capris;
Modey Lemon – Become A Monk;
Modey Lemon – Crows;
Ofege – Adieu;

Marla Gibbs – Alone Together;
Working Week – Venceremos – We Will Win;
The Replacements – Treatment Bound;
Jayber Crow – O City!;
The Fire Escapes – Long Distance Call;
Indexi – Sedam velicanstvenih;
Los Straitjackets – Theme From Magnificent Seven.

Obituaries, Playlist

Flashlite #18 – Bo Diddley

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Bo DiddleyBo Diddley’s gone. He died at the age of 79 at his home in Florida. He was battling heart disease for quite some time and he knew it was coming. The news reports say that his entire extended family was at his house at the moment of his departure from this ugly world. Apparently, he died while the choir of family members were singing gospel tunes. Grand exit for a grand rocker. His signature rhythmic groove that he invented back in the eighties will stay a foundation of rock’n’roll forever. Paired with that goes his unprecedented, wonderfully ego-centric lyrics, which defined what takes to be a rock personality once and for all. So in today’s Little Lighthouse we celebrate Bo Diddley and his legacy. I prepared a two hour tribute with Bo Diddley tunes interleaved with covers by other great rock’n’rollers who were deeply influenced by Diddley. We will miss you, Mr. McDaniel!

The Animals – The Story Of Bo Diddley;
Bo Diddley – Bo Diddley;
Bo Diddley – Hey Bo Diddley;
Bo Diddley – The Story Of Bo Diddley;
Bo Diddley – Bo Didley 1969;
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers – You Don’t Love Me;
Bo Diddley – You Don’t Love Me;
Bo Diddley – Road Runner;
Thin White Rope – Road Runner;
Oblivians – Road Runner;
The Pretty Things – She’s Fine She’s Mine;
Bo Diddley – she’s fine she’s mine;
Bo Diddley – Diddy Wah Diddy;
Lydia Lunch – Diddy Wah Diddy;
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Before You Accuse Me;
Bo Diddley – Before You Accuse Me;
Bo Diddley – Pills;
The New York Dolls – Pills.

Bo Diddley – Crackin’ Up;
Cheater Slicks – Crackin’ Up;
Bo Diddley – I Can Tell;
Dr. Feelgood – I Can Tell;
Bo Diddley – Who Do You Love;
Thee Headcoats – Who Do You Love;
The Yardbirds – Who Do You Love;
The Woolies – Who Do You Love;
Bo Diddley – Mona (I Need You Baby);
Rolling Stones – Mona;
The Rolling Stones – Diddley Daddy;
The Rolling Stones – 19th Nervous Breakdown;
Bo Diddley – Diddley Daddy;
Bo Diddley – Gun Slinger;
The Meters – Bo Diddley;
Bo Diddley – Bo Diddley’s Dog;
Bo Diddley – Diddling;
Bo Diddley – Bo Diddley Is A Lover;
Bo Diddley – Bo Diddley Is Loose;
Bo Diddley – Bo’s Blues.

Playlist

Flashlite #17

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John Hiatt The new Laura Cantrell’s album deals with means of transportation. Trains, boats, planes… One of the songs on it is Merle Haggard’s Silver Wings and we check out several versions of it in today’s show. We also make two quick runs through the John Hiatt and Hold Steady songbooks, including their brand new albums. The show ends with Danish band Cola Freaks that I saw live last year. They Will be coming back to the USA (and Cleveland) in August.

Thee Oh Sees – Two Drummers Disappear;
The New York Dolls – Babylon;
John Hiatt – Perfectly Good Guitar;
John Hiatt – Cherry Red;
John Hiatt – Memphis in the Meantime;
The Hold Steady – Sequestered In Memphis;
The Hold Steady – Same Kooks;
The Hold Steady – Banging Camp;

Voodoo Lounge – Tumbling Dice;
Laura Cantrell – Silver Wings;
The Knitters – Silver Wings;
Merle Haggard – Silver Wings;
Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham – A Woman Left Lonely;
Eva Braun – Evergrin;
Living Stereo – No Life Crisis;
Cola Freaks – Keder mig.

Playlist

Flashlite #16

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Willie and PetraX lead us into today’s episode of the Little Lighthouse. I finally saw them live in Cleveland after a failed attempt due to the sold out club in New Orleans and it was unforgettable. We also have some new stuff – The Old 97’s are back with a very good album Blame it On Gravity and Willie Nelson has an amazing box set out, One Hell of a Ride, that reminded me how great he really is. Not that I ever doubted! We also introduce Heartbreak Willie (actually Luka from My Buddy Moose) and Petra, brother and sister from Rijeka who made some nice demos in their home studio.

The Replacements – Johnny Fast;
X – We’re Desperate;
X – Johnny Hit And Run Paulene;
Husker Du – Gilligan’s Island;
Red Cross – Annette’s Got the Hits;
The Lovedolls – Beer & Ludes;
The Old 97’s – Four Leaf Clover;
The Old 97s – Early Morning;
The BellRays – That’s Not The Way It Should Be;
Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – So You Think You’re In Love;
Robyn Hitchcock – So You Think You’re In Love;

Daniel Johnston – Grievance;
Heartbreaking Willie – Grievance;
Petra – Four Strong Winds;
Ian & Sylvia – Four Strong Winds;
Bruce and Terry – Four Strong Winds;
Terry Melcher – Down In Mexico;
Roy Acuff – Pins and Needles (In My Heart);
Willie Nelson – Pins And Needles (In My Heart);
The Mojomatics – Hole In My Heart.

Playlist

Flashlite #15

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Drazen Vrdoljak with ZappaSad news from Zagreb, folks! Drazen Vrdoljak, one of the most memorable sidemen of Yugoslav rock’n’roll scene died recently at the age of 57. The first part of the show is dedicated to the music he either liked or participated in making. In any case, Drazen Vrdoljak was one of the most enthusiastic promoters of rock music back in the country that I came from. We also have some new stuff at the lighthouse, The Mojomatics are in with the new album Don’t Pretend That You Know Me and Thalia Zedek with Liars and Prayers. Eddy Current Suppression Ring is a new band from Australia and they debut at the Little Lighthouse with Primary Colours LP.

Johnny Cash – I Still Miss Someone
Haustor – pogled u bb
Film – Neprilagoden
Elektricni Orgazam – Svaka nova noc
Buldozer – Ljubav na prvi krevet
Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention – Mother People
The Mojomatics – Clean My Sins
Eddy Current Suppression Ring – Wrapped up
Eckman, Race, Brokaw – Sun City Casino

Come – William
Thalia Zedek Band – We Don’t Go
Kamo sutra – Rodeo
The Wedding Present – Don’t Cry No Tears
Slovenly – Don’t Cry No Tears
Neil Young – Don’t cry no tears
Tim Lee 3 – The Bridge
Howe Gelb – Four Door Maverick

Obituaries

Drazen Vrdoljak 1951-2008

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Drazen VrdoljakDrazen Vrdoljak wore the most recognizable moustache on Yugoslav TV, he had the strangest accent on the entire radio scene, but those are all just small funky things about him that don’t really matter at this point in time… The news comes to me that he had passed away recently at the age of 57, leaving a great legacy of rock journalism and rock enthusiasm that is rarely seen anywhere. He started off in the late sixties/early seventies by publishing eloquent and analytic music press texts raising a bar in that branch on the local scene. He moved on to television, but his most important influence lied in his close and friendly ties with musicians. Here is the list of five greatest Drazen’s contributions that made the Yugoslav rock scene the better place:

1) His participation at Buldozer’s 1975 LP Pljuni istini u oci. This LP was by far the most unexpected, the most outrageous LP recorded in Yugoslavia before the new wave. The band was greatly influenced by US avant-garde groups such as The Fugs or Mothers of Invention. Conceptually, it was designed as a tabloid newspaper and each song was one bizarre “article” in it. The LP also caused quite a stir with a controversial cover-art. Drazen helped coming up with the ideas for it.
2) Drazen organized and announced new wave concerts at the height of the Yugoslav new wave. Two greatest live albums ever recorded in Yugoslavia, Film’s Uzivo u Kulusicu and Elektricni Orgazam’s Braco i sestre open with his unforgettable announcements.
3) Drazen made country music cool back home in several ways, he wore publicly western outfits and cowboy boots in the middle of Zagreb, Croatia, he played the coolest country acts in his shows and encouraged formation of local country bands in Zagreb.
4) He helped Haustor record one the greatest new wave singles ever recorded in Yugoslavia Moja prva ljubav and
5) He interviewed Frank Zappa on Yugoslav television back in the early seventies as if he was a regular pop star.

Every local scene needs people like Drazen!

Podcast made in Cleveland, Ohio. Syndicated by Prvi Prvi na Skali in Kragujevac, Serbia. Sponsored by Blue Arrow Records and Baby Next.