So, I'm back in Aloha Land (I arrived at HNL on 10 November) after a 6 month stint on Mainlandia working for one of the government's various branches of the great and grand Alphabet Soup. Now that I'm back I'm looking to graduate from UH Manoa after the Spring 2014 Semester and then I'll be moving on to bigger and better things, namely more alphabet soup and then the French Foreign Legion. In the meantime I'll hopefully be getting a new show on KTUH which I will call USED BLUES. The name for the potential show is derived from a second hand clothing store that existed on Route 9 in the bleak downtown section of some nameless borough in Western Massachusetts in the early 2000s. I had always been amused by the word play (the sign for the store had a logo featuring a pair of blue jeans) and double meaning in a term like "used blues," and I had always thought it would be a good name for a band, a record, a radio show, or some other project and now that time has finally come to retrieve that phrase from Ye Olde Memory Banks of Doom and deliver it unto worldly prominence which it so dearly deserves. So, now at this time and place and this KTUH the time is finally right to bring Used Blues to the masses, and a more fitting time could seldom be derived.
Used Blues will be a program focusing on
Alternative Country (Alt Country for short),
New Blues, Americana, and other alternatives such as
Cow Punk, Country Rock, Blues Rock, Country Blues, and maybe even some
Indie Folk/Folk Rock and Soul. This is meant to be a modern take on Roots music and I think it's going to make a very musically interesting radio show.
Why alt country? Why not alt country? To me it seems like an under represented genre in and of itself. Alt country is to country what alt rock is/was to rock, simply stated in its title, it's an alternative to the more formulaic, mainstream commercialism that is present in pop country and rock. Alt country is a more stripped down, lo-fi, back to basics version of the contemporary version of the country genre that most people are more familiar with. It infuses elements of rock and roots music with a punk ethos that creates a totally different experience than the fare one might experience on country music radio station.
Why new blues? Well...because blues music is an American art form that is vibrant, alive, and evolving into a new 21st century sound. Modern blues is raw and powerful. The sound has evolved a lot from the traditional roots of blues music, but the depth of sound and meaning of the music continues to resonate in the same way spirit of the genre's original purveyors.
With alt country and new blues, I'm bringing modern contextualization of traditional American roots music into a textured landscape of sound of raw, powerful music that isn't being featured elsewhere. The show that I'm trying to put together should expand people's musical horizons and get them tapped into new old sounds from all around and the underground. It should be pretty interesting.
Artist - Song - Album - Label
----- 9 PM ------
Bran Nue Dae – Long Way from My Country
Willard Grant Conspiracy – Distant Shore – Let It Roll – Loose Records
The Angels of Light – Untitled Love Song – How I Loved You
Sun Kil Moon – Ocean Breathes Salty (Modest Mouse cover) – Tiny Cities – Caldo Verde Records
Ryan Adams – Wonderwall (acoustic cover)
Horse Feathers – Curs in the Weeds – House With No Home
Willy Mason – Live It Up
Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson – (Ghost) Riders in the Sky
Johnny Cash – Hurt - American IV: The Man Comes Around – American
Wilco – Sky Blue Sky – Sky Blue Sky – Nonesuch
Band of Horses – Is There a Ghost – Cease to Begin – Sub Pop
The Flying Burrito Brothers – Christina’s Tune (aka Devil in Disguise)
The Mastersons – Birds Fly South – Birds Fly South – New West Records
----- 10 PM --------
Steve Earle – Copperhead Road – Copperhead Road – Uni Records/MCA
Whiskeytown – Nervous Breakdown (Black Flag cover) – Alt. Country Exposed Roots – K-Tel
The Old 97’s – Jagged (Live in 2000 on the Late Show) – Fight Songs
GE Smith & David Lindley – Play It All Night Long (live)
Son Volt – Methamphetamine – The Search – Transmit Sound
Uncle Tupelo - Moonshiner – March 16-20, 1992 – Rockville Records
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals – What Sin Replaces Love (Live from Henry Rollins Show)
The Drones – Jezebel – Gala Mill – ATP Recordings
Dead Confederate – The Rat – S/T – The Artists Organization
----- 11 PM ------
The Tea Party – Sun Going Down – Splendor Solis – EMI
Crosstops - Old Milwaukee *
The Long Ryders – Looking for Lewis and Clark – State of Our Union – Island Records
La Plebe - Por Vida - Hasta la Muerte *
Ha Ha Tonka – Usual Suspects – Death of a Decade – Bloodshot Records
Drive By Truckers – Birthday Boy (live) – The Big To-Do – ATO
The Del Fuegos – I Still Want You – Boston, Mass – Slash Records
Cowboy Junkies – Ooh Las Vegas – Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons – Almo Sounds
Shearwater – Rooks – Rook – Matador Records
Doves – Kingdom of Rust – Kingdom of Rust – Heavenly Records
The Weight – Dragged Back In – Ten Mile Grace – Sabot Productions
* This song was played by request. :)
Download a FULL copy of the show:
https://www.mediafire.com/?h5c297wgd19dcov
Video Playlist of all songs:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCO0AncTjlJUYH27kWRzranX4_fMK16Up
