Lynn Miles "Save Me"

One day last week on the road: Breakfast in Nashville. Ran into Jason Boland at the airport, flying back to Austin. Landed, drove west into the Hill Country at sunset, a long golden glow that lasted for almost an hour, as my car was winding through hills and dales to see Brian Langlinais at the Waring General Store for Steaknite. Drove back under cover of the night through San Antonio, which shimmered ahead like the proverbial Emerald City. Then up through Austin to the Continental Club for a bit of Susan Cowsill's performance, before I surrendered to the weight of the tired. But I have to say, I find traveling enriching. Logging those miles, seeing people and places. It keeps you on your toes. And I think it resonates the universe when you are out there, it rattles the cage. No emotional baggage, just keep moving.

Lynn Miles stands as one of Canada’s most accomplished singer/songwriters with five albums under her belt. Her CD Unravel, won a 2003 Juno Award for Roots & Traditional solo album of the year, and 2005's Love Sweet Love found favor with two Canadian Folk Music awards: Best English Songwriter, and Best Contemporary Singer. She has a brand new album that just released in Canada and Europe, called Fall for Beauty, which is her first studio album since 2005. It comes out in the states on January 8th, 2011, and you can pre-order it directly from True North Records. You can also stream the album on that page, while you're waiting for your copy to arrive!

Lynn is a woman of the world, a true observer of life's tribulations. Her music presents a startling sincerity, a gritty realism; and that coupled with the command of her delivery, brings grace to the subject matter notwithstanding the hardship. The cliff awaits. "Save Me" renders it as a fait accompli. It is a song with a brooding sexual tension that contemplates that relationship that just isn't such a smart idea. Lynn Miles performed it for the Music Fog cameras during our 2010 SXSW showcases at Threadgill's in Austin, Texas.

- Jessie Scott

Elvis Costello "National Ransom"

Interesting times we live in...coming off the questions asked in this past election, and for me, coming off enough travel around the United States this year for an eyes wide open assessment of how America is doing. Now I know about the rust belt, and white flight, and regentrification, and center cities trying to bring people back to work, shop and play. But there is fear creeping around every corner these days. There are storefronts empty in places one wouldn't expect, like Telluride. There are new ghost towns forming when business gets closed down, and outsourced to another shore. And the debt, the debt just keeps growing. One would hope some sanity ensues, that someone just might heroically swoop in with a plan to fix the mess that isn't draconian, and that society can still function. One can wish! We are in the midst of a seismic shift. Fasten your seatbelt!

Elvis Costello's second CD working with T Bone Burnett is called National Ransom. It was recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles over an 11 day period earlier this year. It just hit the street a few weeks back, and features contributions from The Imposters and The Sugarcanes, along with Vince Gill, Marc Ribot, Buddy Miller and Leon Russell. There is a wonderful short film about the making of the record online at his website, just click on the "Flick-a-Tron" header. I think it's great that Elvis gets to make different sounding records, different moods to explore, with different statements to make. Here is one, "National Ransom," the title track, recorded at WNYC in New York.

- Jessie Scott

Over the Rhine "The Laugh of Recognition"

They are a storied duo, Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist, and have been around for 20 years at the core of Over the Rhine. OtR began in 1990, starting band life as most do; with four pieces as a rock outfit. "I was continuing my education, considering my masters degree, when this tall, lanky fella approached me about singing lead for some rock band in Cincinnati," recalls the classically trained Bergquist. "I didn’t just jump at the chance. I lunged."

The name came from the gritty neighborhood Over-the-Rhine, which the band first called home base. They found local success, and started to attract a wider audience with the release of two indie, and beautifully packaged, records. Then they signed to IRS, which re-released their second record Patience with its original artwork. I can tell you that the packaging caught my attention first when I was a radio programmer, and a listen proved that their art wasn't just skin deep. Their catalog is impressive, abundant, and artful.

We all just missed their train trip into the Southwest with Lucy Wainwright Roche, Mickey Grimm, Swan Dive, Michael Wilson and Lynn Neal, as it wrapped up on November 10th, but there are shows ahead that will drench you in sonics and wonder.

And REJOICE! There is a new CD on the way, The Long Surrender, set for release on February 8th, 2011. No need to fret, though, as Music Fog was given the opportunity to record the band in preparation for the new album to come out. Here's an exclusive from Over the Rhine, filmed during our sessions at Americana Fest in Nashville this past September. From the forthcoming CD, enjoy "The Laugh of Recognition." Yum!

- Jessie Scott