LouieB

Yea, really?? I have tons of Pete on Folkways. I buy them too. Some are kind of beat up since they were pretty popular in their day. The not going out of print is only semi true. You can request the files I guess, but not all the artwork. I think this is the way it works. Somewhere along the way I ended up with a bunch of Ella Jenkins Folkways records.... LouieB

It Makes no Difference - the Band. LouieB

Never seen Lucero, so I have no idea, but Neko is very good live, funny banter and a great band. LouieB

Oh yea, that is a weird one....when I got that my kids refused to listen to it. LouieB

Oh yea.....that's right.....I will have to tune in for a change. I could only think of WCCQ which is out of Joliet and is not something you can get in Chicago. (As I recall US99 has more commericals than music.) Cue the Robbie Fulks song "Countrier Than Thou" followed by "Roots Rock Weirdos". LouieB

Interesting..... I do believe Chicago no longer has an actual country station. I think the closest one is in Joliet. But leave town and you can find tons of stations that play this music. LouieB

Neko covers Nilisson on her new album..... Nilisson sings Newman is really not that great. Better to stick with the real Randy Newman. I have a copy of that album, but I remember listening to it the first time way back when trying to figure out what the fuck.....but it is an early example of someone paying tribute to a fellow songwriter and that is kind of cool. I do like the piano on it which happens to be Randy himself. Slight edit - I listened to this today while I was working at home. I still don't think it is that great, but it isn't bad. I just think Randy does his songs better h

Well not you in particular, but it is easy to fall back to the country-rock/alt-country artists because there are lots of them we all like (me included), but it is really hard to find who of the radio fodder group actually has something going. Every time we talk about this people start talking about the Byrds/Gram Parsons, etc. who are rock artists first with some country aspects. It is harder to figure out who in Big and Rich land is also worthy of anyone's time and money. LouieB

Alot of the artists mentioned here don't get played on commercial country radio. Justin Townes Earle is great, but not a commercial artist by any stretch of the imagination. Does anyone have favorites that actually DO get played on mainstream stations. Despite listening to country I never really pay attention to who is played, because I don't really care to buy any records by such artists, even though occasionally I hear a decent song or two. LouieB

This is a very cool idea. I have not signed up for this, but the material sounds worthwhile. Larry Gray is an excellent bass player, as is Steve Hashimoto, who actually played my wedding.... LouieB

Jerry has done well for himself too. I am sure he is pleased with anything Faith Hill does. She sells boatloads of records. LouieB

My point exactly... Thanks for pointing this out.... I didn't bother to pull my copy of Big Brother to check out the actual writers, but the fact that Janis was singing a song by someone else brings up a pretty large topic about songwriters and singers and how they work hand in hand. Thanks for the heads up on this......so Jerry and Bert are making and money and good for them. I am sure (if they are still alive) don't care how badly Faith Hill fucked up their song. She sells a goddam ton of albums and that's good enough for them I am sure. LoueiB

How about two recent redos.... Van Morrison Astral Weeks and Lou Reed Berlin...?? LouieB

At the risk of total ridicule, as shitty as county music is, at least they try to tell a story and carry a tune, something that most rock (and to an extent R& doesn't any longer. I have said this before but when a rock number actually has a hummable tune it is like water in the desert. I am constantly amazed that I actually like Viva la Vida by Coldplay because otherwise I couldNOT stand them and it is no wonder that Crazy by Gnarls Barkley is still played on every radio station; it has a great tune and fun (if slightly disturbing) words. Meanwhile country musicians, as overblown and un

Sweet.... LouieB

There was a nice article in The Reader this week about the local band Vee Dee, which had their record release party at the Empty Bottle last night and have released a very cool double LP album. The lead singer and guitarist of this band is a clerk at Lauries and a genuinely nice guy, who along with his bass player comrade have soldiered on in the Chicago music scene for a decade and maybe can actually see some rewards at this point. The show last night was a gas and the album is really great. I am sure if you contact Laurie's they can get a copy to you. It is a sort of punky psychedlic

Maybe...but also the faster the more information that can be in the groove. That's why 78s sound better than anything else. I hear the new Wilco is going to be in a big old album with a whole bunch of records.... LouieB

Okay............... LouieB

What's crazy? LouieB

I used to go see Otis Rush all the time back in the 70s at blues joint in Uptown called the Peanut Barrel Pub. Those were the days. One of the great advantages of CDs was the wealth of blues reissues (and reissues of jazz and traditioinal country as well.) When I was a mere lad there was far less material on LP than there is now. There were also far fewer record labels reissuing material even then. Columbia did a reasonable job around the time of the first Robert Johnson reissues and Yazoo also reissued material that had been on 78s, but now just about every obscure artist is easily av

REally cool...that made my morning. LouieB

I actually saw Richard Marx last night. I friend works for an organization (Zacharias Center) that put on a benefit and I went. He was not bad, but barely broke a sweat. Except for a few hits that I recognized it was like taking a trip back to an earlier time that I didn't remember, which was fine. I didn't stay for the entire 90 minute set, but it was fun to be at the HOuse of Blues without a crowd. I don't go there if I can help it, but it is a nice place. LouieB

Mississippi John Hurt could certainly be considered a blues singer (no point it bringing up the term songster here...). There are lots of interesting blues type figures still to be mentioned. I alluded to Louis Jordan, who is more or less blues as well and a seminal figure of the 40s. Mississippi Fred McDowell of course, Blind Blake, Blind Boy Fuller, Blind Lemon Jefferson (to catch up on all the blind figures since someone mentioned Blind Willie McTell) and of course slightly more modern Chicago figure Blind Arvella Gray, who influenced Bob Dylan. (How about the always fun Clifton Chen

Rosie is playing songs with women's names tonight.....still on until 12 Central at WDBX.com LouieB

Most LPs are still 33 1/3 although there are some at 45. There is a whole series of audiophile Blue Note releases that are a ton of money that play at 45. There are certainly 12 inch singles that play at 45, but your standard LP is still 33. If the grooves are further apart it plays faster that's all or else there is just alot of dead wax at the end of each side. LouieB