Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Turn To White” by She & Him Music critics crack me up. They’re always looking for something to dis about a record in order to validate their jobs as critics. And, I suppose at times I am no different than the rest. Nothing is ever just great, some fault must be found in order to have something to say. I guess without criticism, you’re just not a critic. The rap critics usually give Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward every time they release a new She & Him record is that the music is too lightweight and twee with no heft whatsoever.  And to this, I find myself asking what exactly do...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Undo The Right” by Willie Nelson “If you can’t say you love me say you hate me / And that you regret each time you held me tight, If you can’t be mine forever then forsake me / If you can’t undo the wrong, undo the right.” Totally brilliant in its simplicity! And so is this demo recording made for Pamper Music, the music publishing company owned by Ray Price and Hal Smith. Only Willie Nelson could put this song over so matter of fact, and that’s why he is not only considered one of the greatest songwriters of all time, but also one of the greatest song stylists bar none....

  Phil Lucafo’s One Block East, the first solo album from one of the founding members of the legendary country-rock band Heartsfield is finally here! Phil was responsible or partly responsible for many of Heartsfield’s better known songs such as “The Only Time I’m Sober Is When You’re Gone,” “Pass Me By,” “Gypsy Rider,” “I Like It A Lot” and “Rock and Roll Farm.” “The Only Time I’m Sober Is When You’re Gone” was just recently covered by a new band called Buck Satan and the 666 Shooters featuring Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen and Ministry’s Alain Jourgensen. Yes, all these years later and Phil and co-writer Perry Jordan’s song is indeed still relevant. One Block East  features some Indie Folk-Rock/Pop songs...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Never Run Away” by Kurt Vile (Matador Records) Kurt Vile’s lo-fi bedroom records from the past have given way to a more produced sound on his latest record called Wakin’ On A Pretty Daze.  While some of the edges have been smoothed out production-wise, the songwriting is as sharp as ever on his most assured collection yet, as he comes to terms with balancing life on the road and raising a family at home. Vile is married and has two young children and more than on any of his previous albums, the overriding theme of homesickness pops up time and time again. Both “Pure Pain” – “well I want to be...

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Pocket Full Of Rain” by Steve Earle & The Dukes (& Duchesses)  Steve Earle is an American Storyteller, poet and novelist, and his brand new album is certainly his best and most varied since Transcendental Blues, which came out almost 20 years ago. Recording with his crack live band, The Dukes (& The Duchesses) consisting of Chris Masterson on guitar, Eleanor Whitmore on violin, Kelley Looney on bass, Will Rigby on drums, singer Allison Moorer on piano and Siobhan Kennedy on vocals, makes all the difference in the world here. There’s an electricity that crackles through the grooves on The Low Highway that could only come from a group of musicians...

  I love Todd Rundgren. I’ve been a fan since the early 1970s, and at this point I don’t see that ever changing. Like Neil Young, Todd is one of the most mercurial artists who still makes interesting records in all sorts of genres mainly to please himself. That’s made for lots of experimentation along the way resulting in all different types of records like Beatles sound-alikes, samba reworking of older material, a record of Robert Johnson covers (called Todd Rundgren’ s Johnson, no less), rap and disco. So even when Rundgren doesn’t hit the ball out of the park, say on records like (re)Production and One Long Year, you can always count on at least taking an interesting...

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#856 in the Series) is Walker Lukens, Devoted.  If Harry Nilsson, Paul Simon, and Warren Zevon had a love child, his name would be Walker Lukens. This Austin settled, by way of Houston and New York City musician is that good, and with his new album Devoted he has managed to combine the raw, vulnerable musings of Nilsson, the pop sensibility of Simon, and the “on the edge” coolest guy in the room vibe of Warren at his Excitable Boy peak. With the current Mumford-ization trend that is so popular in today’s musical landscape, it is somewhat of a refreshing change to find a record that is equally, if not more enjoyable than...

  Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#854 in the Series) is Old Man Markley, Down Side Up (Fat Wreck Chords) There is an interesting thing happening in the pop music world these days. The more things change, the more they stay the same….and yet they still keep changing. Not entirely sure what that means, but this much is true: traditionally defined genres are blending, sometimes being deconstructed altogether, and new fusions are emerging. Especially in the Nashville/ACM scene, groups like Gloriana and Lady Antebellum have managed to get mass market crossover appeal while still winning several critical accolades with a not-exactly-country, not-exactly-pop, just pretty-darn-good sound. Enter Old Man Markley, with a style dubbed “newgrass.”.Energetic without being overly gritty...

  Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Devil And Jesus” by Eric Burdon While the world gets ready to get their ya-ya’s out over The Stones’ 50th Anniversary tour another legendary British Invasion hero just released a new album that stands head and shoulders next to much of his material from is glory days with The Animals. Eric Burdon seemingly all but disappeared from the musical landscape until last year’s South By Southwest gathering where Bruce Springsteen talked about the profound influence Burdon had on him during his keynote speech. Later that evening, Burdon joined Springsteen and The E Street Band on stage for a rousing version of “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place” reintroducing him...

  Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#852 in the Series) is Josh Ritter, The Beast In Its Tracks I have come to expect great things from Josh Ritter over the handful of years that I’ve been a fan of his. And were it not for my pawing through a friend’s estate sale and picking up Animal Years because he swore I’d like it, I’m not sure how or when I would have found Josh Ritter. But man, now three LPs and two EPs since that career-defining release, am I ever glad I did. When I heard about the scheduled release of The Beast In Its Tracks  I went all out. I pre-ordered the 180-gram vinyl (with free CD album...