tense bug in the groove sandwich

It's heating up here in preparation for the big G8 march and sleepover. Midge Ure is bringing his kids along and the Dissent Group who have set up a shop on Leith Walk are telling folk to dis the official campsites and just camp anywhere...so I had better check my garden for wombles.They are expected to be at the centre of events. City leaders are calling on organisers of the "Carnival For Full Enjoyment", which is taking place in Edinburgh on Monday, 4 July, to "come forward "saying it could be the most disruptive day of the G8 protests .Billed as a "day of action against work and capitalism", "There is a tense atmosphere in the city, an atmosphere that is very reminiscent of the run-up to the year 2000 and fears of the millennium bug."so says Donald Anderson the Council Leader. Wow!! is that so?? We need a bit of a shake up every now and again...computer death or conspiracy theories about French tunnels help to make the day go a bit faster.
Let's get to the groove of the day...Charlie is a guy that always has me thinking.."here's Elvis" he sounds uncannily like him at times. He won a few awards in his time before zooming up to the big corral in the clouds.Did you know he was awarded
1973 CMA Male Vocalist of the Year
1973 CMA Album of the Year, Behind Closed Doors
1973 Grammy Award - Best Country Vocal Performance
1974 CMA Entertainer of the Year
Here is a fantastic version of a classic
Charlie Rich Ol' Man River MP3
Keeping with good tonsil ticklers, Dwight is worth another posting,this time from his 1990 'If There Was a Way'
Dwight Yoakum Send a Message to my Heart MP3
I don't think this was for Sharon Stone, whom he dated and was famously quoted as saying "Kissing Dwight was like eating a dirt sandwich."
Lastly don't forget these tracks won't be up longer than 7 days and are hopefully an intro to the music i consider parting with your lunch money for, so check out the artists and albums and treat yourself to an aural oasis.
Jesse Malin Brooklyn MP3
His love for Neil Young, Tom Waits, and Steve Earl has given his work a fresh countrified sound. It happens to them all...even those so called indie glam punk rockers..

transistor telephone in Ohio

Glad that the Allmans have proven so popular with the yousendit clicks..I remember hearing Midnite Rider on the way to my Sunday paper round in the 1970's as I listened to my kays catalogue transistor radio stuck to my ear. In those days all you could get was a single earphone, and there is no way I wanted to look like I needed a hearing aid. Funny when you're a teenager you think that everyone is noting your every move and loving all the music you listen to. On the way home from school on the bus, our gang always wished and prayed that Alice Coopers 'Schools Out' would come blasting our of our puny trannies en masse and blow the blue rinses right out the windows. It did once, we were ecstatic and of course the bus conductor told us to 'turn it down or take a hike'. We took that hike to the rebel side of the tracks and I hope Alice appreciated it as it was one hell of a hike home.
I also was listening to CSN&Y and imagining I was living in Haight Ashbury...here they are with one of my ultimate favourites that I still play on vinyl.
CSN&Y love the one you're with live MP3 from Four Way Street.
Glad the Neil Young track the other night got a good reaction, here he is again live in London in 1973 with a barnstormer that will make your hard drive bleed.
Neil Young Ohio live MP3
Steve Earle, Mary Gauthier and Tift Merritt each earned three nominations from the Americana Music Association (AMA) for the organization's annual awards show to be held Sept. 9 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.Here is Steve....
Steve Earle Telephone Road live MP3

midnite cows fall in the sand

wow...the heat...sitting out again on the deck at 10.13 at night, Had
THE ARLENES on in the background whilst cooking up a pot of pasta with great standby pesto. Anyway, glad so many of you have downloaded George J and Dwight Y, just goes to show that countrry music can give those white indie boys a run for their money. I had a look at the line up for the G8 seemingly there are a heap of bands that were told don't bother turning up. Acts such as Meat Loaf, Motley Crue and Status Quo, who opened Live Aid at Wembley Stadium 20 years ago, are among those who have been rejected by Harvey Goldsmith, the promoter. He said: "We simply don't have room for them." Yesterday their lead singer, Francis Rossi, said they were "desperate" to play at Hyde Park. "We're going to be there if they want us to," he said. "We want to make it clear we are desperate for this gig." Does it sound like they are more interested in their own career than raising the issues? I don't know but any comments would be most welcome.
Who would be at my G8 shindig?? I think I would pass on Uncle Paul and Uncle Phil for starters.....fraid they don't press my horn even if i was involved in a road kill. Here is my fantasy line up,
Ryan Adams
Ray Lamontagne
Emmylou Harris
Steve Earle
The Dixie Chicks
Oasis
Patti Smith
Lou Reed
The Mavericks
I had better stop there before I go into my ghost gig The Doors, Nico, Janis and Jimi, Kurt and Ian, Joe, Johnny and June. Elvis and Tammy....
here is one rocker very much alive...I bought After the Goldrush and played the album till it died on me. Here he is live in London with an awesome rendition of a family fave.
Neil Young Cowgirl in the Sand live MP3
I know there are lots of new bands on the block but sometimes the old stuff just hits the curves better.
One of the best outfits ever to lay down timeless tracks has to be these guys, I was having a problem picking a fave, but who could argue with this!
Allman Brothers Midnite Rider MP3
and lastly because i should be getting some shuteye and should switch this little darling off, a classic from a newer outfit that even feature on CMT get with it countrrygroovers
Old Crow Medicine Show Fall down on my knees MP3

drunk and funky swinging diamonds

Can't believe this heatwave...us Scots talk about the weather as much as the rest of our island neighbours. Went for a walk round the environs of Portobello, a dandy wee town just outside Edinburgers and admired the gardens and the beach with a few brave souls giving it laldy in the waves. Now it is 8.30 in the evening and I am still outside with a t shirt on. Had a look at my blog stats and Patti Smith is way out in the lead..interesting her and John Fogerty being the two that get the most downloads. Listening to George Jones right now on a great compilation..I always come back to country in the end...here is one of his best
George Jones Swinging Doors MP3
He would have drunk and drugged Kurt Cobain off his Cons. He woke up to a Bloody Mary and spent the rest of the day checking out the Bourbon.By the mid 70's he had added cocaine and whisky. Sounds very inventive...and it didn't seem to clog up his pipes and he still spends up to 165 days a year on the road. Now where did I go wrong??? Anyone know a good pharmacist?
Here is someone who has been definately influenced by 'No Show Jones' although I hasten to add that to my knowledge he does appear for every gig. This guy never takes off his hat and has a great leg technique that is almost as funky as The Kings. I have purchased most of his albums and I would urge you to do same.
Dwight Yoakum If Teardrops Were Diamonds MP3
This is from Population Me and gets played a lot in this house.
A live track from The New Riders of the Purple Sage makes this a hat trick. I have loved them since Panama Red and the blast off into cosmic psychedelic country folk
New Riders of the Purple Sage Watcha gonna do? live MP3

skittery fireballs shout to the sky

electronic pimp is indeed the right name for eBay for selling tickets from sellers for Live 8. I know it's not against the law here, but I wonder how much of the profits would go directly back to charity?
"What I would ask you to do tonight is to get on eBay and mess up the system," Uncle Bob told Sky News.
"Everyone should go on and pretend they have got tickets for Live 8 ... otherwise go on and bid ridiculous amounts of money for the tickets already on the site," His appeal did not go unnoticed. Within minutes bids which had been running in the hundreds of pounds jumped to a massive 10 million pounds. I totally agree and those folks would sell their granny's skittered knickers if it would make them a fast buckeroo. EBay should have taken action and had them banned from using the site...
Here is one for those greedy bastards
Freakwater Selfishness MP3
Gearing up for the G8 summit here in Edinburgers and it should be quite something with calls of course for a million people to make their way here. I guess the sale of tents will be big and of course toilet paper.

Here is countrry fireball Tanya Tucker...married to Glen Campbell she knew how to deliver soulful countrry. She was only 14 when she did her big hit Delta Dawn. In Scotland we had Lulu, who was of a similar age when she had her hit 'Shout' a raw version of the old Isley Brothers US hit of 1959, which Lulu had enthused over when she heard Alex Harvey singing it several months before. Lulu's own version moved one rock journalist to write: "It is still probably the best rock 'n' roll performance by a woman in the history of British pop." .I don't have any Lulu so Tanya will have to give it laldy for both. One of my faves from her album 'Soon'released in 1993
Tanya Tucker Silence is King MP3
Alan Jackson has also been playing a lot...I seem to be going more for the melodic sound these days..what with Toby Keith and Travis Tritt gracing the deck alongside the Ramones, Dick Dale and lots of mashups. Here he is with a track from Drive..still one of the best albums iI have in my collection...yeeha big hats rule this month...

Alan Jackson Bring on the Night MP3

shortbread in the accordian

well i just checked out that Michael Jackson has been found innocent on all counts...I don't know what I feel about that yet... however I do know what i feel about the following tracks ..so get a load of this for your music players ...
listening tunes today
Gillian Welch Tennessee Stud MP3
I got Johnny's Behind Prisoner Bars for my birthday last week and although there is not enough of the Man in Black on it , I enjoyed his and Roy Clarks performance.
A band that has long been a favourite
Courage of Lassie This side of Heaven MP3
a band that have a fab accordian that transcends the usual indie folkie twaddle. This band would be allowed to crash at my flat no sweat
and lastly on this very short blog where music is king queen and the wee servant lassie that brings in the shortbread is
Johnny Cash and June Carter Jackson MP3
a desert island disc for sure..I like the way June tells it like it is..I have been way too busy to visit here this week, but hope these three little ditties will keep you happy till next blogtime

jerk the diamonds through your anorak

listening to good ol boy Toby Keith...the album is well fantastic..why does the devil always have the best tunes??? Politically we should be on different sides of the cowboy hat rack..but hey he can hold a tune and that duet with his daughter when they go head to head with Mocking Bird gets me every time. Another guy that tugs the heart strings and is probably way over on the other side of the voting booth is Travis Tritt I even have the dvd and watch it after a few glasses of vino for the full on tear jerker effect.
Travis Tritt is known for his long-time association with the armed forces. He also served for three years, from 1993 to 1996 as spokesman for the Disabled American Veterans.So he kinda redeems himself for me.
Travis Tritt Anymore MP3
If you like strumming a geetar late at night and know 5 chords but only ever feel the need to use three, check out this link with all Travis' songs and these all important show you know chords.
I was checking out a few folks blog ettiquette. seemingly the suggestion is to put the mp3's up at the top of the post, so you can minesweep more efficiently..well i am sorry guys..you are going to have to wend your way through the narrative to mine my diamonds...this is not an online record store...this is supposed to be an intro to music old new punk and blue that i think is worth a few minutes of your time..so sorry no go. you will have to continue to weave your way through my meanderings to get to the honeypot.Here is one for your patience nothing obscure or lost in the attic kinda thing. I post stuff that i love and that is the bottom line. The music tells the story and ferk the anoraks...off to look round the garden at night with a wee port and dolly on the deck. The pansies look fan ferkin tastic at night with the deck lights on. So, have a listen to travis and here is take two for you folks out there in sweeperville, might ferk up your stats.... how about the fabulous Cher and a song about Jesse James.Keeping the countrry theme intact y'all. Yeh you know the one now sing along...
Cher Just like Jesse James live MP3 rock out cowgirl......
i used to spend all my spare change on a juke box that was in a cafe on the same street that Thomas Hamilton had a hardware/joiner shop on. This was the Dunblane shooter, of course if he had wandered across the road for an ice cream and a bit of Scott Mackenzie and the fab Sony and Cher life might of taken a different turn.As it was he did his number and killed himself. I bet the guy that wrote the ticket for his gun wishes he had taken a few more minutes to check out whether this crazy should have had a gun license. .He entered Gwen Mayor's classrom at Dunblane High School and killed her and sixteen kids, . Hamilton then killed himself. Wow !!!!!!!how tough and what a big statement to the world. I hate you all and you're all going to be punished for my sad but inconsequential life...don't get me started folks...... anyway...lets have a bit of a light relief just kidding!
Nico One of These Days MP3

travellin on the floor with lupin tattoos

First record I ever bought from my own paper round wages?? Actually it was pretty cool..
Creedence Clearwater Revival and the fantabulous Travellin Band.
I played that 45rpm to death at full volume, encouraged by my mum who loved them too. We both would have been issued with an ASBO (anti social behaviour order) and found ourselves on the wrong side of the jail bars. I was listening to John Fogerty tonight in the kitchen and it fairly skelped along.He has a voice that always zapps the hairs on my neck and this track is no exception.In 1972, he began a solo project in which he recorded all the instruments and vocals under the pseudonym "Blue Ridge Rangers", with the material comprised of country and gospel. It provided two hit singles in 1973: remakes of Hank Williams' country "Jambalaya" and Otis Williams and the Charms' doowop hit, "Hearts of Stone". Released on Fantasy this is one of my favourites.
John Fogerty and the Blue Ridge Rangers Working on a Building mp3

Went to Floors Castle today. This is well worth a visit. lots of fabby flowers and green things as well as a mean cafe. Have just kind of got into this gardening thing , this is one thing that us Brits love..tramping round garden centres and big houses with plant nurseries with wisteria, apple trees and lupins.
Second up is a band that needs more exposure and if you like bluegrass these are your guys.
This is Corn Shellin' music"-Art Stamper
County Farm Coal Tattoo MP3
I heard this originally on a coal mining album and it's good to hear another rendition of it.
Watching Law and Order out of the corner of my eye on Channel 5. It looks nae bad, but it aint no match for the maestro Ricky Skaggs. He can still recall when he first heard Bill Monroe "The excitement that Bill could create onstage--there isn't anything better. I've got tapes from '45 and '46, when he had Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatts in his band. I'm telling you, when Earl and Bill came walking onstage, it was like the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. The crowd was screaming. When they'd take a solo on 'Mighty Dark To Travel' or 'Molly And Tenbrooks,' the reaction was unreal. No other Opry stars got that kind of reaction."
Ricky Skaggs Sally Goodin MP3
Lastly for this short post as I do indeed now have two eyes on this tv prog and it is drawing me in big style..is
Willie with one of the young upstarts...not really so young , but I guess against Willie who is pure Mt. Rushmore he is a wee laddie still in short chapps.
Toby Keith and Willie Nelson Beer for my Horses MP3
Yeah, I know everyone will have it, but it's worth another airing out on the webwaves.

a million coaches long at the G8

The G8 heads this way soon...maybe a million folk in Edinburgh and Gleneagles Station with a few extra guests. The founder of Live Aid has urged a million people to descend on this fair city to campaign against world poverty as G8 leaders meet at Gleneagles. Bob Geldof and Midge Ure want people to get to this rally in Edinburgh on 6 July. with the intention of working towards'making poverty history'
"What's better - two days of work? Two days of geometry? Or participating in something you will remember all your life," Geldof asked.He says to the world leaders "If they don't want to change the world just that little bit - so that a continent eight miles from Europe, the poor people of that continent don't have to die, live on our television screens every night for ever - if they don't want to stop that, if they don't want to do what they've always promised, don't come."
I see that kids are being told to 'log on, not bunk off' However, I don't think putting your email and comments in a box is quite the same somehow.
I have been listening to a few more black artists this week as a consequence of a fab programme on the TV about the history of soul music . It was frightening to hear all those stories of segregation and racism and it ain't that long ago. Here is a great song that kind of sums it all up.
.In 1970 he signed with Reprise Records and had a minor hit with "Freedom Blues."
Little Richard Freedom Blues MP3
I came across this article The BIRTHING LITTLE RICHARD Reflections on the Rise of Rock-n-Roll, Los Angeles, 1950-7
by Charles Deemer
(originally published in Oregon Magazine) whilst looking up stuff on him, it's well worth the read.

Moving swiftly on here is another artist that I play from time to time. Elvis said if he could play the piano like that, he'd quit singing. His early billing was Jerry Lee Lewis and his Pumping Piano. Despite the personal problems, his musical talent is unquestioned. Nicknamed The Killer for his forceful voice and piano production on stage, he was described by Roy Orbison as the best raw performer in the history of rock music
Jerry Lee Lewis There Stands the Glass MP3

Last in this run down memory lane is Little Junior Parker's original Mystery Train and the one Elvis would do. Here you can compare the lyrics and see how they change from one artist to another. For anoraks only.
MYSTERY TRAIN
Elvis Presley version
Train I ride, sixteen coaches long
Train I ride, sixteen coaches long
Well that long black train carried my baby from home
Train, train, coming on round the bend
Train, train, coming on round the bend
Well it took my baby, it's gonna do it again
Train, train, coming on down the line
Train, train, coming on down the line
Well it's bringin my baby, 'cause she's mine oh mine

Junior Parker version
Train I ride, sixteen coaches long
Train I ride, sixteen coaches long
Well that long black train got my baby and it's gone
Train, train, coming round the bend
Train, train, coming round the bend
Well it took my baby but it never will again
Train, train, coming down the line
Train, train, coming down the line
Well it's bring my baby, 'cause she's mine oh mine

Little Junior Parker and the Blue Flames Mystery Train MP3