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Between Satan, St. Paul and St. Louis--John Fullbright at Knuckleheads KC
Last night, John Fullbright played a beautiful show to a packed (albeit small) room at KC's Knuckleheads. Alternating between guitar and keyboard (harmonica with both), he vamped and improvised more...
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To Set Our Souls Free, RRC 229
ROCK & RAP CONFIDENTIALNo. 229 Please feel free to forward or post this issue widely. We only ask that you include the information that anyone can subscribe free of charge by sending...
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You Wanted a White Flag, Right? The Brannock Device Refuses to Let Up
The only moment I sense hesitation on The Brannock Device's EP Into the Witness Chamber comes at the beginning. Marco Pascolini's guitar tries out three chords, lingering on doubled notes, shimmering....
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Home Makers: The Lower Ninth Ward, Daniel Wolff's The Fight for Home and...
When I think of Daniel Wolff’s new book, The Fight for Home: How (Parts of) New Orleans Came Back, one moment stands out. Ninth Ward resident Carolyn Parker is struggling to get in a...
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Midwestern Audio Vol. 1--The Opening Salvo
Last weekend, with 16 hours of solo driving ahead of me, I got a chance to play the new Midwest Music Foundation compilation, Midwestern Audio, Vol. 1, straight through. Well before I reached Tiny...
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Midwestern Audio Vol. 1, Part 2--The Horns, The Beat and the Jagged Grain of...
The next movement starts with Grand Marquis'"The Jungle," shifting to a thematic focus on getting out from under that carries through Hearts of Darkness's "Debt on Me" and Reach's "Move." All three...
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Midwest Audio Vol 1, Part 3--Red Wind Nights and Lonely Company Racing...
It’s a musical sound—a shining woman’s voice and a sparkling guitar, little more than a whisper over snare and brushes and a low, searching bass.I’m following it, but I’m not close enough to fully pick...
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Midwest Audio, Vol 1, Part 4--Deals with the Devil, Holidays in Our Heads,...
Midwestern Audio, Vol. 1’ssecond disc starts with a ten song run as coherent as if these (all previously released) cuts were all meant to be played together. (Actually, in the old days, that would have...
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Previously Unpublished 2012--Amy Cook, Lupe Fiasco, Ian Hunter and Santigold
Summer Skin, Amy Cook (Thirty Tigers) Robert Plant and Patty Griffin lend guest vocals while Me’Shell N’Degeocello plays bass, all of which hints at the way Amy Cook manages to balance rock and roll...
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Midwestern Audio, Part 5--Beating Multitudes of Devils and Chasing Lots of...
In more ways than are probably worth counting, the devil’s admirably present in the details 11 songs deep on the disc that begins with “Diablo Diablo.” Dollar Foxes’ petal-to-the-metal country rocker,...
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Weathering the Starkblast--Why I Love Stephen King, #19
My enthusiasm over Stephen King’s new book, The Wind Through the Keyhole, added one more file to the very tall stack of books I’ll most likely never write…but if I lived on an island…....
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Some Thoughts To the Wonder
I've just spent three hours in my hometown, sitting in the dark in the prairie breeze, talking about urgent things going on in people's lives right here, right now. But somewhere in the back of my...
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RRC 231: The Best of Our Summer Downloads
No. 231Please feel free to forward or post this issue widely, in whole or in part. We only ask that you include the information that anyone can subscribe free of charge by sending their email address...
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Live to See the Morning Come--Chuck Berry's Birthday and the Del Lords in St....
Born in 1963, I'm just finishing my 50th year. That's a big number. There's no way to call yourself a young man once you've been here half a century. Last night, a dear friend asked me to say three...
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Folk Alliance Calling, "Na Na Na Nananana Na Na"
There was a moment watching Vancouver raised singer-songwriter Jenny Ritter's set when I felt, "This is it." This is what the folk alliance is about; this is what music is about, and this is what much...
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Rock & Rap Confidential No. 232--Sly Stone, Janelle Monae, Donna Summer,...
ROCK & RAP CONFIDENTIALNo. 232Please feel free to forward or post this issue widely, in whole or in part. We only ask that you include the information that anyone can subscribe free of charge by...
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Article 8
RRC Extra No. 47: Mary J. BligePlease feel free to forward or post this RRC Extra widely. We only ask that you include the information that anyone can subscribe free of charge to Rock & Rap...
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All Saints Day Thoughts on My Halloween Mix
Seven days ago, I wrote a piece on Halloween records for Cuepoint at Medium.com. All week long, while I waited for it to run, I thought about what's wrong with it (of course), but more importantly, I...
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My Two Cents On Ferguson (In the Wake of the Grand Jury Decision)
About twenty years ago, I was leaving a Westport club with two friends when we witnessed a shoving match between two young men, one white and one black. Within moments, the always everywhere Westport...
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Working on a Building and Thinking about Shame
There's a lot of shaming that takes place on the Internet. Some of it is deserved, but I don't think most of it is. I don't think putting potential allies down does much good. I want us to find more...
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