Todd Snider "Stuck on the Corner"

(Video contains explicit lyrics)

For too long now, the airwaves have been filled with the ratcheting up of the political rhetoric. It is force-fed to us by the 24 hour news cycle on TV and radio, and foments an 'us against them' mentality. I am a news junkie, so I watch all this in stunned silence. It seems to me that most people are not aware of this battle raging; that most are living their lives in blissful innocence of this daily media diatribe; that they are not glued to TV the way I am. And that is a good thing. After the Tucson tragedy, leaders have called for a tamping down of the dialog, a return to civility in the discourse. At the beginning and the end of all this, it seems to me that we are all Americans first, and that Democracy is about compromise. No one side has all the answers, and the First Amendment offers us a wide open window to express what we are feeling and thinking. And that is a precious thing.

Why am I laying down this preamble to today's video? Because it might just offend. And if it doesn't, something else on Todd Snider's new CD just might! Tuesdays are release days, and today is the debut of the long awaited double CD Todd Snider Live: The Storyteller. Todd is a funnyman, a tunesmith, as well as a latter day folkie protest singer populist. He spends a lot of time in the crafting of this stuff, as artists are supposed to do. They reflect the society they live in, and cast the image back for our perusal. Todd does that brilliantly. Catch him if you can as he kicks off a string of dates tomorrow with two nights at Joe's Pub in New York. From the new CD, here is "Stuck On The Corner."

- Jessie Scott

Band of Heathens "Hangin' Tree"

We got started recording at MusicFest in Steamboat Springs on Thursday, January 6, 2011. The day was bookended by some dear friends stopping by, as we started midday with Cody Canada and Seth James. Then the last entry for the day was Band of Heathens. When we talk about how lucky we have been as Music Fog gets an intimate view of watching some mighty special careers unfurl, BOH is in those rarified straits. It has been a blast to witness them continue to percolate. Their new album, Top Hat Crown and The Clapmaster's Son is due out on March 29th. Yippee! Their last, One Foot In The Ether, wound up at #7 on the Americana Airplay Top 100 Albums of 2010 (click here to download the list in .xls format). Band of Heathens were also nominated for the Americana Honors & Awards in the Best Duo or Group category this past year. Of course the year before, in 2009, they had been nominated for the Emerging Artist award.

Photo Credit: Steven Bush

In 2006, a long time ago in another galaxy, Austin mover and shaker David Cotton sent me the Band of Heathens Live From Momo's CD. As I checked today, there are two used copies of the physical album going for $139.29 each on Amazon! Now THAT is a nice round number! Of course you can still buy it digitally, too, for a more reasonable $7.99. But that collector's item first number speaks to a campaign well executed, and a career in blossom. All I know is that every time we see them, they just keep getting better and better. So on Day One of our Music Fog sessions, Ed Jurdi, Gordy Quist, and Colin Brooks shared their music with us once again. And let us revisit the Momo's CD as Colin takes the lead on "Hangin' Tree."

- Jessie Scott

Update on 2011-11-05 02:56 by Music Fog

The Music Fog version of this song is now available to download at either of the stores below:

The SteelDrivers "Good Corn Liquor"

The life of an A-list Nashville musician can be quite satisfying for the diversity of opportunities it provides. And members of the SteelDrivers exemplify that with an astounding list of collaborative efforts: Richard Bailey, on banjo, has recorded with Al Green, George Jones, Kenny Rogers, Michael Martin Murphey, Johnny Cash, Tammy Wynette, and Ronnie Milsap. Mike Fleming is a 'recovering banjo player' who is on bass here, and whose credits include Holly Dunn, Joy Lynn White, and David Olney. Mike Henderson is on masterful mando, and has been heard on the recordings of Waylon Jennings, Emmylou Harris, Mark Knopfler, Albert King, Hank Williams, Jr., Jonny Lang, Peter Rowan, Guy Clark, John Hiatt, Sting, Delbert McClinton, Bob Seger, Bo Diddley, Faith Hill, Lucinda Williams, and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Gary Nichols plays guitar, and has been performing since the age of six, emerging out of the musical hotbed and legacy that is Muscle Shoals. Tammy Rogers is on the sweet fiddle, and her credits include Neil Diamond, Wynonna, Rodney Crowell, Radney Foster, Bill Anderson, Iris Dement, Randy Scruggs, Patty Loveless, Buddy & Julie Miller, and Jim Lauderdale. That is a broad swath through the musical landscape, indeed!

Being a studio musician can also afford you the path to your own salvation. The SteelDrivers walk it brilliantly. Dang, we tried to hook up at the Americana Music Festival while we were in Nashville, but unfortunately, we missed them back in September. Not to worry, because they filmed some video in the studio last June. The SteelDrivers' "Good Corn Liquor" comes from their latest Reckless album, the follow up to 2008's self-titled debut from this veteran Nashville based quintet. "It'll get you there quicker, with a fruit jar full of that good corn liquor!"

- Jessie Scott