GoodTimeTonight

Looks like Wilco has released a new song based on Woody Guthrie lyrics, the Jolly Banker. Head over to wilcoworld.net and download the track for an optional donation (to the excellent Woody Guthrie foundation).

Wilco World.net - The Jolly Banker

http://www.woodyguthrie.org/ - Foundation and Archives

And here’s my favorite photo of Woody, just because.

Tags: Wilco, Woody Guthrie

I’m a musician and a programmer so this was kind of interesting. I think there’s many ways of approaching music, and in the one for me at least, there’s a pretty clear overlap between the thought processes of these worlds. This i’s kind of out of scope (ha) for the blog. But oh well.

• The One Thing Programmers and Musicians Have In Common - Codinghorror.com

Though I think Jeff is wrong on one point, they have many things in common.

Instrumentalists in particular (guitar players for example) make great programmers. It’s not just about math and music being similar, or the fundamentals vs the art. Instrumentalists have to zoom in to work with very repetitive technical details, and so become very focused - like a guitar player practicing a piece of music at a slow speed.

Yay.

Tags: Bruce Springsteen, Obama, Pete Seeger

Hey, look at that, the Woody Guthrie article is the featured article of the day over on wikipedia today, Saturday Jaunry 10th. I worked extensively on this article way back when it got promoted to featured, which is a huge headache of a process. I think it came out great, so go read it today. And congrats to all the folks who worked hard researching and maintaining this.

• Woody Guthrie on Wikipedia

Tags: nerdy researchers, self onanism, wikipedia, Woody Guthrie

 

 BubsandFriends: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

A Christmas Spectacular…

The Pickin’ Bubs and a bunch of special guests played at the Grafton Pub in Chicago just before Christmas. They recorded it and it came out pretty great. Check it out.

Tags: Don Weber, Marge Weber, Maria McCullough, Mark "Louie" Mitchell, Mark Dvorak, Maura Lally, Peggy Browning, Pickin' Bubs

So you may have noticed that the iTunes podcast isn’t working. When we moved the server I needed to update the iTunes store address but this didn’t happen correctly. For now the short solution is to update your podcast link to the RSS feed button to the left. Here’s how, if you would like to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes you can follow these steps too:

1. Open iTunes, Click Advanced from the toolbar and select “Subscribe to Podcast”.

2. iTunes should give you a URL box, in here paste this link (this is the same link as the RSS button on the right): http://feeds.feedburner.com/Goodtimetonightpodcast

You should See the listing for Good Time Tonight on the podcast page in iTunes. You can always come here to listen to the podcast directly on the site or subscribe in any rss reader of your choice. Hope this helps. I’ll send out a note when the itunes listing is updated, but this link should work going forward.

Tags: headaches, iTunes, news, podcast

Elvis Perkins is a songwriter that I like. I played his first album Ash Wednesday a lot and I saw him when he was in chicago last time. He’s got some new tracks streaming on his site and looks to be releasing a new album in the spring.

http://elvisperkinsindearland.com/

Tags: Elvis Perkins

Holiday Music is a collaborative music group that only exists in December of each year. Founded by Barry Phipps (The Coctails, Tight Ship Records) and Mark Janka and Tim Joyce (The Lesser Birds of Paradise), Holiday Music has been recording music every December since 2001. About two weeks before Christmas, the core group of Barry, Mark and Tim drop by North Branch recording studio and make up songs on the spot that are about, or inspired by the Holiday season. Some songs are funny, some are instrumental, some are old standards reworked into a new arrangement. The Holiday Music sessions have an open door policy. Any friends of the group are invited to drop by and contribute to the collaboration. Close to fifty musicians have become part of the Holiday Music collective over the years, including Edith Frost, Kelly Hogan, Thax Douglas, The Like Young, and many others. Our 2008 release features Azita, Ryan Neuschaefer, Emily Hurd and Charles Kim.

Holiday Music 2008… For Free!

Click Here to download a free copy of the music and artwork.

Holiday Music is a a band of talented folks from other chicago bands, I saw them a couple of years ago at the Hideout and they play some interesting holiday inspired music. Check them out.

• Tight Ship Records

Tags: Holiday Music, Tight Ship

So other sites may have their 2008 best of lists but I’m certainly not hip enough to rank anything and truth be told I spent more time this year listening to things that were released before my parents were born than anything that came out this year. But still I’d like to make a list of some stuff I listened to this year that may or may not have come out in 2008 that you should all check out in no particular order. In many cases you will be supporting some great Chicago artists.

• The Butcher’s Boy - Skin and Bones, These guys have been around Chicago for a bit and have gone through a name change, but they finally got their debut album together this year. I think it has a great sound and is a great mix of Byrds country and rock and folk and blues and lots of stuff. Buy it here from GrapeJuiceRecords
• The Floorbirds - Field Recordings, the Floorbirds are a folk duo from Minneapolis, they sound great and sing lovely songs. I am jealous of their talent. You can buy this from their myspace page.
• Rachel Ries - Without a Bird, I am totally a sucker for 180 gram vinyl and hand written thank you notes. Both of which I got when I bought Rachel’s album Without a Bird. She has a new EP out too, but I spent a good part of this year listening to this one. She has a great voice and I love the song Chicago. I talked about her here earlier when she played at the Hideout. If you get a chance, go see her live and definatly listen to this one.
• Joe Pug - Nation of Heat, Joe is a good guy, I’ve been going to see him for a while now so it’s great that he’s starting to get national attention, and rightly so as his album is quite good. Joe’s music is hard to pin down, I say I think he likes to write about pairs and colors. Anyway check out this album you’ll like it. I like the track “I do my father’s drugs”. And if you get a chance to see him live do it quick before you’ll have to pay more when he’s huge and playing at the Riv.
• Laura Gibson - If You Come to Greet Me, Laura Gibson is a singer songwriter from Oregon. I saw her when she was here in Chicago opening for Colin Meloy and I snatched up her album at the show. It’s great, she plays these lovely fingerpicked melodies on her sweet sounding nylon string guitar. Technically this album came out in 2006, but it was new to me..
• Bonnie Prince Billy - Lie Down in The Light, Wil Oldham has been making great music for years. This years Prince Billy release is another great relase of minimal folk tinged songs. He gets a little more ambitious with each release and it shows here. I can remember the first time I heard his band Palace Brothers album Days in the Wake and how it just blew me away. Check this one out.
• Fred Holstein - Live at the Earl of Old Town, I spent a lot of time listening to Fred this year. He’s a big part of Chicago music tho I never got to meet him his shadow looms large at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. This is a great recording put out this year of a show Fred did at the Earl of Old Town in 1969, a bar in Chicago where he played often.
• Mavis Staples - Live Hope at the Hideout, Mavis Staples is a staple (ha!) blues and gospel singer. I wanted to go see her record this album at the Hideout but I missed out, too bad for me. But the album that came out from that night is a great set of Freedom songs.
• King Kahn and BBQ Show - Self Titled. These guys. They’re kind of punk, kind of soul, kind of blues. They are loud, and wailing blues guitar and crazy surf. I dunno what to call them but they are all kinds of awesome. I think this album came out in 2005 and 2007 in the US (!, ha, yeah I know), but somebody gave me this album this year and I listened to it a ton. Check it out.

And the more obvious must haves.

• Pete Seeger - at 89, at 89 years old Pete Seeger is still going strong with this new album. I liked it, but I loved the film The Power of Song, don’t miss either of these.
• Neil Young - Live at Cantebury House 1968, this is the newest release from the Neil Young archives. It’s great for Neil’s banter between songs and his fiddling on melodies like ‘Winterlong’ when we know how great these songs will sound.
• Bob Dylan - Bootleg Series 8, Outtakes from the Last three albums including 3 takes of Mississippi? Yes thank you. These bootleg releases are usually pretty good, this one is great too.

Other stuff

• Good Time Tonight podcasts! Seriously the music I’ve heard live this year has far outshined anything I’ve heard in albums, I’ve spent a lot of time recording and posting the best of the grafton and Mike Alberts One Mic Stand series here on the goodtimetonight podcasts, these guys are all great and you should listen to them over and over.
• Mississippi Records, I’ve picked up a couple archival releases from this Portland Record label, they put out some great anthologies of old blues, folk and gospel. I spent a lot of time listening to their excellent Life Is a Problem anthology of rock gospel, and their other folk and pre-blues anthologies.

Friends

The movers and shakers of Good Time Tonight have weighed in, here are their recommendations. thanks guys:

• Mike Alberts, “Well,  I was just thinking that I listen a lot to James McMurtry’s Live in Aught Three and Just Us Kids too.  Good stuff.”
• Mark Dvorak,  “I listened a lot to Neil young’s LIVE AT MASSEY HALL while traveling. and Coleman Barks’ reading the poetry of RUMI. Can you dig it?”
• Peggy Browning, “I listened to the Goldmine Pickers new cd Lonesome Gone.  Mark is on that cd too.  I also have been listening to Mark Dvorak’s What a Wonderful World“
• Lizabeth MacDonald, “I was listening to the year end round up on Sound Opinions the other night, and other than Brittney Spears, I had no idea who the other people were. “
• Dennis Harpole, “I am no help, cause I never listen to current music anymore. In the car, I’ve been listening to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Will the Circle be Unbroken album from 2002, a CD from an old Gram Parsons tribute that somebody made for me, and Diana Krall’s Live in Paris CD from 3 or 4 years back.”

Tags: 2008, BBQ Show, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Prince Billy, Fred Holstein, Goldmine Pickers, Grape Juice Records, James McMurty, Joe Pug, King Kahn, Laura Gibson, Mavis Staples, Mississippi Records, Neil Young, One Mic Stand, Pete Seeger, rachel ries, RUMI, The Buthcher's Boy, The Floorbirds

So here’s another great out of print album from Chicago’s Win Stracke. Long before The Offspring were tearing up the crummy mid 90s-alterna-pop punk charts, Win released his album Americana. Win’s booming bass voice make this album seem much fuller than the liner notes lead you to believe. The album has a the Big Rock Candy Mountian and Dinks Song tracks that are among Win’s most famous. The album features accompaniment by the excellent guitar player Richard Pick.

Americana

1. Paul Bunyan’s Manistee
2. Single Girl
3. No Irish Need Apply
4. Duncan and Brady
5. Wanderin’
6. Debate - Cold Water versus Rye Whiskey
7. Big Rock Candy Mountain
8. Dink’s song
9. Acres of Clam
10. Venuezla
11. the Colarado Trail
12. Ladies Man

Click here to download the mp3s as a Zip archive: Americana.zip

See Also

• Win Stracke’s Songs of the Old Town

Tags: Dusty Grooves, richard pick, the Offspring, Win Stracke