“The Star-Spangled Banner”, performed by Jose Feliciano

This way: Star-Spangled Banner

“The Star-Spangled Banner”, performed by Jose Feliciano at the fifth game of the 1968 World Series, unaccompanied by Merl Albi’s band.

Prior to October 7, 1968, the National Anthem was intoned at baseball games; after that date it was interpreted.  Feliciano's take on the song paved the way for others like Marvin Gaye, Jimi Hendrix and Whitney Houston to try out more personalized versions. [Gaye had performed a ‘straight’ version of the song before the previous game.]

In a 2019 interview for WBUR, Roger Weber asked Feliciano why he sang the anthem the way he did.

"Because I was sick and tired of hearing it the old way and the audience, kind of, not being into it," Feliciano said. "Get to the end of the song, and the audience would start clapping as if to say, ‘Thank God this thing has passed.’ And I got tired of that. I did. I really, really did. And I said, ‘I'll fix it.’ "

"You sure did," Roger said. "Well, it fixed me for a while," he said. "You know, my records were stopped. People at radio stations stopped playing my records. They wanted to deport me. But you can't deport a citizen of the United States. But it was funny to me. I thought, ‘Where the hell am I going to go?’ "

The live recording was released as RCA Victor -47-9665, a vinyl 7-inch 45rpm single. You can hear a mix of cheers and boos at the end.  A listener of today wonders why the controversy? It sounds soulful, bluesy, reverent, even prayerful.

The prayer must have worked, because the Tigers roared back to win Games Five, Six, and Seven. They became only the third team in MLB history to rally from a 3-1 deficit. There have been numerous documentary analyses of the controversy in the past 57 years.  Here is a link to one of them:

 

[Spotify] Star-Spangled Banner 

“The Sidewalks of New York”, composed by Charles Lawlor, lyrics by James Blake

This way: The Sidewalks of New York

Jeff still with all the answers and some of the questions. The Sidewalks of New York”, composed by Charles Lawlor, lyrics by James Blake

First recorded by George Gaskin on October 29, 1895, and released in 1896 on Berliner Gramophone 959Z

After one of their World Series victories in the 1920s or the 1930s, the Giants or the Yankees gathered up in the clubhouse and sang “The Sidewalks of New York”.  It is a popular song about life in New York City during the 1890s. It was composed in 1894 and became an immediate and long-lasting hit.  It is often considered a theme for New York City. Many artists, including Mel Tormé, Duke Ellington, Larry Groce, Richard Barone, The Grateful Dead, and Blondie have performed it.  --Wikipedia

 

[Spotify, Duke Ellington version] The Sidewalks of New York 

[Charming Cover] The Sidewalks of New York 

"Sleep", by Max Richter

This way: Sleep

Jeff Twiss baseball week continues into its second week with this homage to the 18 inning game the other night . . . .

Max Richter has released an album that contains musical compositions designed specifically to help calm the nervous system and make it easier to fall asleep.

The total duration of the album "Sleep" is eight hours, which, according to Richter, provides listeners with a calm and deep eight-hour sleep. For two years, while composing music, the composer consulted constantly with an American specialist in neurology and neurobiology, David Eagleman, from Baylor College of Medicine.

Max Richter is a German-born British composer and pianist. He works within postminimalist and contemporary classical styles. Richter is classically trained, having graduated in composition from the University of Edinburgh, the Royal Academy of Music in London, and studied with Luciano Berio in Italy.  Richter arranges, performs, and composes music for stage, opera, ballet, and screen. He has collaborated with other musicians, as well as with performance, installation, and media artists. He has recorded eight solo albums, and his music is widely used in cinema.

--notes adapted from YouTube and Wikipedia

 

[Spotify] Sleep 

“Hank Greenberg and Jackie Robinson”, The Tinklers

This way (full LP link): Hank Greenberg and Jackie Robinson

Jeff keeps it going and as some games never end baseball songs are also endless (apparently) . . .

The Tinklers are a band from Baltimore who have been together since 1979. The group consists of Charles Brohawn and Chris Mason, both of whom sing, play guitar, and percussion instruments of varying degrees of quality (including cigar boxes, spoons, and other types of junk). Both members are also actively engaged in creating art in other mediums including visual art and books. Their music can be characterized as outsider music due to its lack of traditional musical skills and abilities including proficiency at their instruments and the ability to sing in tune. Their performance method and practice eschews conventional standards of skills thought necessary for making music and can be historically placed with other acts such as Jad Fair and Half Japanese, Daniel Johnston, and many more obscure musicians.

While the band's roots are in the mid-70s Baltimore art scene, they did not release a proper record until 1990 when the band caught the attention of legendary producer Kramer. They were promptly signed to Kramer's record label Shimmy Disc and released their first LP, Casserole. The band would release two more LPs on Shimmy Disc - Saplings and Crash - all of which contain similar material.

While The Tinklers have not disbanded, since 1993 the band has released only one full-length album, Slowpoke, and made a few other compilation appearances. Live performances are infrequent.

This account of Jackie Robinson's collision with Hank Greenberg is from the SABR website:

Jackie Robinson's collision with Hank Greenberg: Collision

As it happened, the most significant part of Jackie Robinson’s Dodgers’ debut in Pittsburgh was not reflected in the statistical ledger. When Greenberg reached first on his fourth inning walk, an inning after his accidental collision with Robinson, he asked Robinson if had been injured and offered words of encouragement. “I know it’s plenty tough,” Greenberg said. “You’re a good ballplayer, and you’ll do all right.” It was a moment of warmth for Robinson, as his pioneering season marched on. They remained friends for the rest of Robinson’s life; Greenberg attended Robinson’s funeral in October 1972.

“He helped me a lot by saying the things he did,” Robinson said of Greenberg after the game. “I found out that not all the guys on the other teams are bad heels. I think Greenberg, for instance, is pulling for me to make good.”

“Class tells. It sticks out all over Mr. Greenberg.”

 

[Spotify] NO!

“Ted F*cking Williams”, The Baseball Project

Jeffs reign continues as does the baseball season . . . 

  This way: Ted F*cking Williams

"Ted F*cking Williams"

By The Baseball Project

from the album Vol. 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails

The Baseball Project plays nothing but songs they wrote about America’s pastime: The players – mostly old, a few new, some famous, many obscure – the legends, the eccentricities and the intricacies of the game.

Singer/songwriter/guitarist Steve Wynn said, “I think our best songs are metaphors for those same things that all songwriters write about…Take for example, ‘Ted [Expletive] Williams.’ When I write about Ted Williams, I’m not just writing about Ted Williams, saying ‘What a dude, he had a lot of home runs.’ No, I’m writing about a guy who sees that he’s not appreciated as much as other baseball players, just because he won’t play the game of trying to be well-liked.”

--comments adapted from an article published in The Jewish Journal, September 18, 2025.

 

[Spotify] Ted F*cking Williams 

[Charming Live version] Ted F*cking Williams 

“D-O-D-G-E-R-S Song (Oh, Really? No, O'Malley)”, Danny Kaye

Jeff Twiss Baseball Song of the Day is here today.“D-O-D-G-E-R-S Song (Oh, Really? No, O'Malley)”, Danny Kaye, with orchestra, arranged and conducted by Pete King. Lyrics co-written with Sylvia Fine and Herbert Baker. 

This way: D-O-D-G-E-R-S Song

Danny Kaye (stage name of David Daniel Kaminsky) was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 18, 1911.  He was a multi-talented actor, comedian, singer, and dancer, equally at home on Broadway, in a recording studio, on the silver screen, or in a Las Vegas nightclub.  His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire novelty songs.  A lifelong Dodgers fan and a good friend of Leo Durocher's, Kaye often traveled with the team.  He possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of the game and was an accomplished second baseman.  –biographical notes adapted from Wikipedia.

Kaye’s “D-O-D-G-E-R-S Song (Oh, Really? No, O’Malley)” was released in 1962 on a seven-inch, 45rpm vinyl recording, catalogue #R-20, 105 on Reprise Records, a label founded by Frank Sinatra in 1960 in Los Angeles.  Kaye recorded the song on August 18, 1962, but had already been performing it on stage during his July 23-August 4 engagement at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. “The D-O-D-G-E-R-S Song” was written for Kaye by his wife, Sylvia Fine, and her occasional collaborator Herbie Baker, to celebrate the fierce 1962 pennant race between the Dodgers and the hated San Francisco Giants. The Dodgers would lose the crown to the Giants in a season-ending, best-of-three playoff series.

A description of a fictitious encounter with the San Francisco Giants, “D-O-D-G-E-R-S” is one of the rare baseball songs which could be depicted on a play-by-play scoresheet.  It features high drama by the likes of Dodgers speedster Maury Wills, power hitter Frank Howard, and eccentric coach Leo Durocher; and the Giants’ Willie Mays and Orlando Cepeda. The highlight is a tongue-twisting finale, as the ball flies between Miller, Hiller and Haller (Giants pitcher, infielder and catcher), reminiscent of the best of Danny’s famous patter songs.

Listeners of today may be puzzled by the parenthetical addendum to the “D-O-D-G-E-R-S” song title, but it would have made perfect sense to Danny Kaye fans in the 1960s.  It was derived from a running gag on Kaye’s 1940s radio show which featured weekly variations on an old joke:

 “My sister married an Irishman.” 

“Oh, really?” 

“No, O’Riley.” 

In “D-O-D-G-E-R-S”, it became “Oh, really? No, O’Malley.”  This variation of the joke gave Kaye an opportunity to take a jab at Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley, reviled in Brooklyn for moving the Dodgers to Los Angeles in 1958. The enduring popularity of the song resulted in its inclusion on the “Baseball’s Greatest Hits” CDs released by Rhino Records.   –notes adapted from David Koening’s ‘Danny Kaye Show’ blogspot dated November 19, 2012.

 

[Spotify] No!

Thanks to Jeff Twiss for these rousing Baseball numbers!

“Hells Bells” AC/DC

This way: Hells Bells

Why wait 'til next year? Jeff Twiss Baseball Song of the Day is here today. Also, being a baseball fan is a lot like eternal damnation.

“Trevor Hoffman's entrance before save number 479, an MLB record at the time. That roar of the crowd as soon as the first bell rang.  Every closer needs a dangerous walk up song like this. To be an elite closer, you need a kickass entrance song.  This is the most badass entrance song ever!  This entrance not only is still awesome to witness over 20 years later, but it inspired other teams to create their own entrances for their closers.”  —adapted from fan comments at YouTube. "Hells Bells" was the entrance music for Major League Baseball pitcher Trevor Hoffman at home games from 1998 to 2010. "Everyone in the ballpark will turn their attention to the center field gate that will swing open." Hoffman trots onto the center field warning track as "Hells Bells" begins with the slow, funereal tolling of a one-ton bronze bell, manufactured by John Taylor & Co Bellfounders in Loughborough, in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. The business originated in the 14th century, and the Taylor family took over in 1784. The sound of the bell was recorded by Tony Platt using Ronnie Lane's mobile studio inside the bell foundry. It's late in the afternoon and late in the season…the shadows are lengthening…dust has settled over the field. The funereal tolling continues every five seconds, as Hoffman runs toward the pitchers mound. Between the fourth and fifth peal, the guitar begins a bloodcurdling riff that is implacably repeated twelve times. The riff ends with three descending chords that make you feel like you're being taken down to hell.

On the seventh peal the cymbals begin sizzling quietly. On the ninth peal Hoffman reaches the mound, begins his warmup pitches, and the drums begin pounding. After the twelfth peal the sound of the bell is lost in the roar of the band and the crowd. But ten seconds later the bell is heard for the last time…the 13th peal. Seventeen seconds after that the vocalist begins: “I’m a rolling thunder pouring rain...” A fan said, “You guys have no idea how much I thought he was saying ‘I’m an undertaker...’ at first as a kid. This actually got me into baseball the most.”

"Hells Bells" is the first track of ‘Back in Black’, the seventh studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC and their comeback album after the death of lead singer Bon Scott. The album was released by Atlantic Records on July 25, 1980. “Hells Bells” was released as a single on October 31, 1980.

 

[Spotify] Hells Bells 

[Fan video of Trevor Hoffman entering a game on September 24, 2006,
to the sounds of Hell’s Bells:] Hells Bells 

“Baseball Boogie”, Mabel Scott, with orchestra

This way: Baseball Boogie

Do you know how to play the game? Jeff Twiss Baseball Song of the Day will show you the way. Infact we can arrange for lessons if needed. Although from personal experience I know this involves a grapefruit. 

Mabel Scott’s “Baseball Boogie” was released in 1950 on a ten-inch, 78rpm shellac recording, catalogue #4368-AA on King Records, a label that operated in Cincinnati, Ohio from 1943 until 1968.  It’s a double-entendre ‘baseball’ song written and composed by Bill Williams.  The enduring popularity of the song has resulted in reissues on numerous compilation albums including the soundtrack for Ken Burns’ 1994 baseball documentary.

Mabel Scott was born on April 30,1915, in Richmond, VA, and raised in New York City. She developed her singing voice in the Metropolitan Baptist Church and led her own all-girl gospel group, the Song Cycles.  In 1930 the 15-year-old Scott began singing at Harlem's Alhambra Theater.

This led to a 30-year career in musical performing, recording, and touring.  ‘Baseball Boogie’ was preceded by four other boogie recordings: “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B”, “Elevator Boogie”, “Boogie Woogie Santa Claus”, and “Googie Woogie (Jungle Boogie)”.

Biography compiled from Wikipedia and Marv Goldberg’s R&B Notebooks website. 

 

[Spotify] Baseball Boogie 

“Joe DiMaggio done it again”, lyrics by Woody Guthrie, music by Billy Bragg and Wilco

This way: Joe DiMaggio done it again

Jeff Twiss baseball songs takeover continues: Woodrow Wilson Guthrie was born on July 14, 1912, in Okemah, Oklahoma. Over the decades, his songs have run around the world like a fast train on a well-oiled track. They've become the folk song standards of the nation, known and performed in many languages throughout the world. He wrote over 3,000 songs in his lifetime, hundreds of which have become staples in the canon of American music. He inspired several generations both politically and musically with songs such as "This Land Is Your Land".  – from the Woody Guthrie Publications website.

Billy Bragg was born on December, 20, 1957 in Barking, Essex, England.  He is a singer, songwriter, musician, author and political activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His activism is centered on social change and left-wing political causes.  –biographical notes from Wikipedia

For 30 years, Wilco has been a pioneering force in independent music. Evolving from a rough-and-tumble alt-country act into a mature and eclectic indie rock ensemble, Wilco have become critical favorites and cult heroes on the back of a stylistically diverse body of songs from founder Jeff Tweedy. 

The Chicago rock band has released 13 studio albums and won multiple Grammy Awards. They have founded their own record label, dBpm Records, and renowned Solid Sound festival. The sextet comprised of Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, Glenn Kotche, Pat Sansone, Nels Cline, and Mikael Jorgensen—continues to be regarded as a live powerhouse.  –biographical notes from Spotify and The Factory music club.

Billy Bragg joined with Wilco in 2000 to perform ‘Joe DiMaggio Done It Again’, a baseball song written by Woody Guthrie in 1949. It is an upbeat song about an old-timer keeping up with the kids. British musician Eliza Carthy joined the fun on fiddle. The recording was included on ‘Mermaid Avenue Vol. II’ and released on the Elektra label. It was an album of previously unheard lyrics by Guthrie, put to music written and performed by Bragg and Wilco. It continued the project originally conceived by Guthrie's daughter Nora Guthrie, which resulted in the release of Mermaid Avenue in 1998. Both volumes were collected in a 2012 box set along with volume three as Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions. – notes taken from Baseball Reference Bullpen Blog and the Wikipedia article on the album.

[Spotify] Joe DiMaggio done it again 

“Harvey Haddix”, The Baseball Project

This way: Harvey Haddix

Jeff Twiss baseball songs takeover continues: 

An alternative rock supergroup united in their love of the Great American Pastime, the Baseball Project features members of a handful of celebrated bands who write and sing songs about baseball. Playing smart, energetic rock with pop accents and a rootsy feel, the group features members of R.E.M., the Dream Syndicate, and the Minus 5, and their material focuses on the outsized personalities and legendary tales of the great game's history. The act started after a casual conversation backstage at a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame event in 2007, and within a year they put out their debut album on Yep Roc Records.  It was entitled ‘The Baseball Project, Vol.1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails’, and includes the song “Harvey Haddix”. “The facts themselves are simple enough: Harvey Haddix of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitched a perfect game for 12 innings before giving up a hit in the 13th and losing the game. But singer Steve Wynn is a storyteller, and knowing how to tell a story is the key to the success of ‘Harvey Haddix.’ 

Without pushing too hard, Wynn sets the scene and then ratchets up the tension as much as the light, freewheeling folk-rock backing allows. As the pressure mounts, Haddix — let down by both his teammates' inability to break through the opposing pitcher's shutout and his own physical endurance — finally hits a wall when the crushing weight of a 0-0 tie becomes too much.”  —Marc Hirsh, NPR Fellow baseball fan David Letterman invited the group to appear on his Late Night chat show, and they played a handful of live dates in support of the LP. In 2010,the cable sports network ESPN invited the band to do a "real time commentary" project where they would write and record songs relating to that year's baseball season. The songs were made available as downloads on the network's website. The ESPN tracks and some outtakes from the band's studio sessions were issued on a digital EP, 2011's ‘The Broadside Project’. The same year a second proper album appeared, ‘The Baseball Project, Vol. 2: High and Inside’. It included more baseball-centric tunes done in an alternative rock and roots fashion. The group's post-release touring included a string of dates in cities that were hosting major league spring training camps, as well as a performance at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

[Spotify] Harvey Haddix 

“Brooks Robinson (Grandpa's Dream #5)”, The Drovers Old Time Medicine Show

This week we have a special guest contributor to SOTD. My esteemed baseball loving' pal Jeff Twiss, who has assembled a weeks worth of tunes in honor of  one of the great passtimes: Baseball. The World Series is staring in just a few days. So hang on to your hats.

This way: Brooks Robinson (Grandpa's Dream #5)

The Drovers Old Time Medicine Show was officially formed in 1987 and has been playing hard-charging hillbilly music with a good dose of country humor ever since. The band started out as a kind of back porch honky-tonk band, but over the years with the lineup and instrumentation shifting here and there, has become a bare knuckles bluegrass band with a good dose of country humor.  The Drovers are based in Praters Creek, South Carolina.

“Brooks Robinson (Grandpa's Dream #5)” is the Drovers tribute to the greatest third baseman of all time.  It is on ‘Dreamland’, their self-released second album and CD from 2007.  The song is archived in Cooperstown, and you can see the autographed picture Brooks sent the Drovers as a surprise.

 

[Spotify] Brooks Robinson (Grandpa's Dream #5)

“Stop Go”, Peter Astor

This way: Stop Go

Peter Astor (born 13 August 1960) is an English songwriter and solo artist, known for his work with The Loft, The Weather Prophets, The Wisdom of Harry and Ellis Island Sound.

Pete Astor was born in England, in 1960. The Loft formed in 1983, and signed to Creation Records to release two acclaimed singles, "Why Does the Rain" and "Up the Hill and Down the Slope". They split at the Hammersmith Palais in 1985. Astor then formed The Weather Prophets, continuing to be managed by Creation founder, Alan McGee, and signing to his short-lived Elevation label under the auspice of WEA4 releasing the album Mayflower in 1987. Returning to Creation for Judges, Juries and Horsemen, the band split in 1989.

Astor then undertook a solo career with the albums Submarine (1990) and Zoo (1991) on Creation. Finding success in France, Astor moved to the Danceteria label to release Paradise (1992, as Peter Astor and the Holy Road), and God and Other Stories in 1992. 

 

[Spotify] Stop Go 

“Dark Companion”, 6 Finger Satelite

This way: Dark Companion

Six Finger Satellite (a.k.a. 6FS) is an American rock band from Providence, Rhode Island. Described by former member John MacLean as "a post-punk band utilizing dance music elements", Six Finger Satellite's eclectic sound is driven synthesizers as well as more traditional rock instrumentation.

The band formed in 1990 around a line-up of J. Ryan (singer/keyboards), John MacLean (guitar), Peter Phillips (guitar), Chris Dixon (bass), and Rick Pelletier (drums). They infamously submitted an "alternative rock"-styled demo to Sub Pop Records, who subsequently signed them under the impression that this represented the band's musical intentions. The demo was the four-song Weapon EP in 1992. 

Six Finger Satellite's first full-length album, The Pigeon Is the Most Popular Bird, was released in 1993, with Kurt Niemand replacing Dixon on bass. The record more accurately represented the band's vision of noisy, cyborg-esque post-punk, and was recorded by Bob Weston, whose band Shellac named their 1994 single, The Bird is the Most Popular Finger in tribute. In 1994, 6FS released the Machine Cuisine EP, which was recorded entirely with synthesizers, suggesting the band's future direction. Their 7" single supposedly recorded "live at the A.C.I." was not actually recorded live at the Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institute prison, as purported in its tongue-in-cheek liner notes.

In the meantime, Phillips had left the band and Niemand had died of a drug overdose. James Apt (bass) joined for the 1995 album Severe Exposure, which represented a fusion of their synth- and guitar-driven sounds. It was during this time that the band began using their advance money from Sub Pop to buy recording equipment and build their own studio called The Parlour. Over the course of the next 3 years, the studio underwent a few physical renovations and upgrades in recording gear. The band became adept at recording and Ryan, Pelletier and MacLean were involved in recording projects with local Providence bands; Les Savy Fav, Astoveboat, Landed, Men's Recovery Project, flicker, The Olneyville Soundsystem, to name a few. The low-budget music video for the song "Parlour Games" from Severe Exposure (directed by Guy Benoit of Thee Hydrogen Terrors) was featured in an episode of Beavis and Butt-head.

 

[Spotify] Dark Companion 

“All That's Solid Melts into Air”, Devon Church

This way: All That's Solid Melts into Air

'Is there no alternative, is this how we were meant to live? A price on every molecule and subatomic particle…’

On his forthcoming album, ‘All That’s Solid Melts Into Air’, Devon Church (ex-Exitmusic). Taking its title from a famous Karl Marx quote - ‘All that is solid melts into air, all that is sacred is profaned’ - Church’s third album contemplates the corrosive effects of 21st century capitalism - impending climate doom, skyrocketing wealth inequality, and their hallucinatory effects on our collective and individual psyches. 

Based in New York City since 2009, Devon Church co-founded the critically acclaimed (now disbanded) dream pop duo, Exitmusic (Secretly Canadian, Felte). Since 2018 he has been releasing solo music, marrying a love for thoughtful, poetic songwriting to his textural, idiosyncratic DIY production style.

 

[Spotify] All That's Solid Melts into Air 

“Uh-Oh Plutonium”, Anne Waldman

This way: Uh-Oh Plutonium

Anne Waldman (born April 2, 1945) is an American poet. Since the 1960s, Waldman has been an active member of the Outrider experimental poetry community as a writer, performer, collaborator, professor, editor, scholar, and cultural/political activist. She has also been connected to the Beat Generation poets.

Born in Millville, New Jersey, Waldman was raised on MacDougal Street in New York City's Greenwich Village, and received her B.A. degree from Bennington College in 1966.

Waldman has been quoted, describing growing up in Greenwich Village in the early 1960s: "we benefited from the trials of young women who had struggled to be creative and assertive before us, and we were certainly aware of the exciting artistic and liberal heritage of our New York environs and yet many of us fell into the same retrograde traps. Being dominated by relationships with men— letting our own talents lag, following their lead — which could really result in drug dependencies, painful abortions, alienation from family and friends… I knew interesting and creative women who became junkies for their boyfriends, who stole for their boyfriends, who concealed their poetry and artistic aspirations, who slept around to be popular, who had serious eating disorders, who concealed their unwanted pregnancies raising money for abortions on their own, who put the child up for adoption, who never felt like they owned and appreciated their bodies. I knew women who lived secret or double lives because love and sexual attraction to another woman was an anathema. I knew women in daily therapy because their fathers had abused them, or women who got sent away to mental hospitals or special schools because they'd taken a black lover. Some ran away from home. Some committed suicide."

  

[Spotify] Uh-Oh Plutonium 

“I Want to Die Easy”, Weirs

This way: I Want to Die Easy

Traditional/experimental music group, Orange County, NC. The group plays a reverent yet deconstructed take on traditional folk and gospel music, blurring the old-time sounds with experimental noise. 

  

[Spotify] I Want to Die Easy 

“Artist of the Month”, Nathan Roche

This way: Artist of the Month

September 3, 2014, a 24-year-old Australian arrives in Paris, accompanying a punk band on a European tour.

He decides not to go home. Since then, everyone knows Nathan Roche. If you haven’t seen him haranguing the crowd on a festival stage with Le Villejuif Underground, then you’ve come across one of his hallucinated noise performances within CIA Debutante in a squat in Poland .

Like Kevin Ayers in Montolieu or Robert Crumb in Sauve, Nathan has chosen the heart of the Roya Valley.

Thus, he perpetuates this tradition of the uprooted freak that we sometimes come across on the terraces of cafes in the South of France which, like a storyteller, make you escape with crazy stories.  

 

[Spotify] Artist of the Month 

“Supersonic”, Paddy Merritt

This way: Supersonic

Bringer of musical merriment.  

 

[Spotify] Supersonic 

“More Than Human”, Doll by Doll

This way: More Than Human

Doll by Doll were a British rock band based in London. The band was formed by Jackie Leven in 1977. They came to prominence during the new wave period but were largely ignored by the music press of the time – their emotional, psychedelic-tinged music was judged out of step with other bands of the time. The original line-up was Jackie Leven – vocals and guitar, Jo Shaw – vocals and guitar, Robin Spreafico – vocals and bass, and David Macintosh – vocals and percussion. This lineup only recorded one studio album Remember before Spreafico was replaced by Tony Waite (1958–2003). In this configuration they released the albums Gypsy Blood (produced by John Sinclair) and the eponymous third album, Doll by Doll, before the band split up.

 

[Spotify] More Than Human 

“Adult World”, Perfect Pussy

This way: Adult World

Perfect Pussy was an American rock band from Syracuse, New York. The band consisted of vocalist Meredith Graves, guitarist Ray McAndrew, drummer Garrett Koloski, bass guitarist Greg Ambler and keyboardist Shaun Sutkus. The band was known for its "frenetic brand of punk and raucous live shows"[1] and has been described as "the most important punk band to come out of Syracuse since Earth Crisis."

Prior to the formation of the band, the lead singer Meredith Graves performed folk music under the name Mouse and the Love & Light Orkestra, then subsequently was a member of the Syracuse-based noise rock trio Shoppers.

 

After Shoppers broke up, film director Scott Coffey approached Graves, asking her to perform with a band for his 2012 movie, Adult World. She assembled a "fake band," consisting of her, drummer Garrett Koloski of the rock band Sswampzz and bass guitarist Greg Ambler of SoreXcuse, and wrote the song for the film. In the aftermath of the filming, they kept performing together and were joined by Sswampzz guitarist Ray McAndrew and keyboardist Shaun Sutkus.

 

[Spotify] Adult World 

“Motor Marriage”, The Newz

This way: Motor Marriage

The Newz (Origianally Bon Marche) were a New Zealand band who were very active on both the New Zealand and Australian pub circuit throughout 1980-1981, with them clocking up scores of gigs over that time.

Their only album Heard The Newz was released on the Music World label, a budget imprint whose catalogue was otherwise made up of local small-time Country acts, else oddities with titles like 40 Accordion Pops / Yamaha Organ Greats / 20 Classical Songs in Moog / and Ivy's Old Time Dance Band's Old Time Dance Favourites ... that sort of thing.

Aside from local country singer Suzanne Prentice, The Newz were the only 'proper' act (as it were) that Music World ever had on their books, probably because both the band and the label were based in Christchurch, which was at the time a musical backwater. But the label had achieved a massive international success in 1978, selling nearly 600,000 copies of a stylish easy-listening album titled Golden Saxophones - 22 All-Time Favourites, and so were perhaps looking to expand their stable of artists into the potentially lucrative pop/rock market, and as they were now well-placed financially to take a punt on a local act, they chose The Newz.

Bass, Vocals – Bryan Colechin, Drums, Percussion – Allan Cattermole, Guitar – Phil Jones, Guitar, Vocals – Tony Rabbett, Keyboards – Brad Coates, Vocals – Simon Darke

[Spotify] Motor Marriage 

“Half Price Drinks”, Mick Farren

This way: Half Price Drinks

Mick Farren (3 September 1943 – 27 July 2013) was an English rock musician, singer, journalist, and author associated with counterculture and the UK underground, who had a significant influence on the development of British proto punk garage rock music.

Farren was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, and after moving to Worthing, Sussex, attended Worthing High School for Boys, which was a state grammar school. In 1963, he moved to London, where he studied at Saint Martin's School of Art.

Farren was the singer with the proto-punk garage rock R&B band The Deviants between 1967 and 1969, releasing three albums. During 1970 he released the solo album Mona – The Carnivorous Circus, which also featured Steve Peregrin Took, John Gustafson and Paul Buckmaster, before ending his music business to concentrate on writing. Vampires Stole My Lunch Money is a 1978 album by the UK underground artist Mick Farren.

Farren had left music performance after his 1970 album Mona – The Carnivorous Circus to concentrate on journalism and writing. However, in 1976 he had the opportunity whilst in New York to record the single "Play With Fire"/"Lost Johnny" reigniting his interest in performing again. The Screwed Up EP followed in 1977, recorded for Stiff Records and featuring Larry Wallis, Paul Rudolph, Alan Powell and Andy Colquhoun.

Newly formed Logo Records approached Farren with the possibility of re-releasing some of his material but were delighted when he expressed a preference for recording new material. Retaining his band, minus Rudolph who had returned to his native Canada, the group recorded this album which featured guest appearances from fellow NME journalist Chrissie Hynde, Curved Air singer Sonja Kristina, former Dr. Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson and harmonica player Will Stallibrass.

"Half Price Drinks"/"I Don't Want to Go This Way" was released as a single from the album, followed by the non-album single "Broken Statue"/"It's All in the Picture".  

 

[Spotify] Half Price Drinks 

“Police Car”, Larry Wallis

This way: Police Car

Larry Wallis (19 May 1949 – 19 September 2019) was a British rock guitarist, songwriter and producer. He was best known as a member of the Pink Fairies and an early member of Motörhead.

In 1968, he formed a band called The Entire Sioux Nation with Terry Nolder on vocals, Tim Taylor on bass and Paul Nichols on drums (born in 1949). The band split up in late 1969.

Shagrat (Steve Peregrin Took - first time) Steve Peregrin Took and Mick Farren formed Shagrat with Wallis and his ex-Entire Sioux Nation bandmate Taylor in February 1970. Previously, Took and Farren had been with Twink and girlfriend Sally "Silver Darling" Melzer in a prototype Pink Fairies line-up in 1969. Twink and Melzer left the band and Twink formed Pink Fairies Mark 2 in February 1970 with Farren's former bandmates from The Deviants. The Deviants had just returned to Britain after having previously sacked Farren in Canada in late 1969, leaving Farren bandless and then found themselves stranded in North America for several months. Very soon though, Farren left after having a falling-out with Took.

Shagrat thus became Took's band outright. Took, Wallis and Taylor were joined by drummer Phil Lenoir, formerly of Black Cat Bones. This line-up recorded three tracks at Strawberry Studios in Stockport and played one gig at the Phun City Festival in July 1970 before Taylor and Lenoir left. Took and Wallis carried on with drummer Dave Bidwell and in early 1971 the trio recorded four acoustic Took songs. All seven tracks were released in the early 1990s on limited edition vinyl and were later compiled together on the CD Lone Star in 2001 by Japanese label Captain Trip Records,[4] later re-released in 2016 on Cleopatra Records with bonus tracks from the 1972 sessions described below.  

 

[Spotify] Police Car 

“The Fish Poison Con”, William Burroughs

 This way: The Fish Poison Con

William Seward Burroughs II (February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist. He is widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced both underground and popular culture and literature. Burroughs wrote 18 novels and novellas, six collections of short stories, and four collections of essays. Five books of his interviews and correspondences have also been published. He was initially briefly known by the pen name William Lee. He also collaborated on projects and recordings with numerous performers and musicians, made many appearances in films, and created and exhibited thousands of visual artworks, including his celebrated "shotgun art". 

Burroughs was born into a wealthy family in St. Louis, Missouri. He was a grandson of inventor William Seward Burroughs I, who founded the Burroughs Corporation, and a nephew of public relations manager Ivy Lee.

Burroughs attended Harvard University, where he studied English, then anthropology as a postgraduate, and went on to medical school in Vienna. In 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Army to serve during World War II. After being turned down by both the Office of Strategic Services and the Navy, he veered into substance abuse, beginning with morphine and developing a heroin addiction that would affect him for the rest of his life.

In 1943, while living in New York City, he befriended Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. This liaison would become the foundation of the Beat Generation, later a defining influence on the 1960s counterculture. 

 

[Spotify] The Fish Poison Con 

“LOVE&JETT”, Guitar Wolf

This way: LOVE&JETT

Guitar Wolf (Japanese: ギ タ ー ウ ル フ) is a Japanese garage rock power trio founded in Tokyo in 1987. They coined the phrase "jet rock 'n' roll", which they use to describe their musical style. The band is signed to Sony Music Japan's Ki/oon Records division.

Guitar Wolf has released thirteen studio albums internationally as well as a live album, numerous singles, and a retrospective compilation called Golden Black. The band members have also been featured in two B-grade science fiction horror films: Wild Zero and Sore Losers. A collection of Guitar Wolf's most popular videos and live performances have been compiled into a limited-edition DVD titled Red Idol.

 

[Spotify] LOVE&JETT 

“Increased Resistance”, Gerry And The Holograms

This way: Increased Resistance

Gerry And The Holograms was the creation of Christopher Paul Lee who worked as C.P. Lee (19 Jan 1950 – 25 July 2020) and John Scott. The former had previously created the dada comedy group Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias which spawned a short lived Pythonesque TV series called Teach Yourself Gibberish; the latter, as 48 Chairs, had provided the musical backing for John Cooper Clarke's Psycle Sluts.

The eponymous song was from the fourth release for their own Absurd Records which was collectively entitled Meet the Dissidents after The Residents album Meet the Residents. The next, The Emperor’s New Clothes (1979), was described as a conceptual ‘anti-record’ as the disc was glued into the cover thus rendering it unplayable.

C.P. Lee later worked as a writer and broadcaster. In 2003, he presented a radio documentary for BBC Radio 4 on Lord Buckley.

 

[Spotify] Increased Resistance 

“A Way it Goes”, Amanda Shires

This way: A Way it Goes

Amanda Rose Shires (born March 5, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and fiddle player. Shires has released seven solo albums starting in 2005, her most recent being Take It Like a Man in 2022. In 2019, she founded a country music supergroup called The Highwomen alongside Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris and Natalie Hemby and has also performed as a member of the Texas Playboys, Thrift Store Cowboys, and Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, as well as in a duo with Rod Picott. Along with Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Shires won the Grammy Award for Best Americana Album for their 2017 album The Nashville Sound.

 

[Spotify] A Way it Goes