Wilco & Popeye "Dawned On Me"

This diatribe is for anyone who has had their stuff in storage for an extended period. It has been two and a half years for me, and I had conjured up an overwhelming amount. I have been living with a minimum of “things” for the last couple of year. Not wanting for anything mind you, but a really spare and somewhat utilitarian existence. It has been freeing to know you can survive with so few material pleasures. It has been reassuring knowing where everything is. I am about to take delivery of my 8’X16’ POD. Virtually half of what is on it is music; CDs, vinyl, assorted boxes of tapes from reel to reel, to cassettes of my radio shows from different cities. I am excited. I reconnoitered today, and there was no boogie man to be found when I opened the door of the POD. It is good to be reuniting with the artifacts of the different eras, and I can’t wait to start digitizing the music.

Today I unearthed an old Philco table top radio from the 40s, a set of carved stone ‘see no evil,’ ‘hear no evil’ and ‘speak no evil’ monkeys, and some drum sticks from a Steely Dan concert in the mid-90s. So while I wax nostalgic about my immersion in the land of possessions, let’s do an animation today that revisits the Popeye era, well sort of, anyway. It is a new video from WILCO, and features the whole gang; WILCO as cartoon characters, and Wimpy, Bluto, Swee’ Pea, and Olive Oyl, who somehow winds up holding hands with Jeff Tweedy, much to Popeye’s chagrin. The song is one of the tracks from the album Whole Love, here is “Dawned On Me.” Oh yeah, check out the WILCO Spinach Can at the end. I want that!

- Jessie Scott

Keep The Light Alive "Weight of the World"

Wow. The year is off to a very fast start. January is almost gone, and I have two quick trips coming. First up is the Bastrop Wildfire Benefit on Monday night at Hill Country Barbecue Market in Washington, DC with Sons of Bill. The Deep Dark Woods, Dallas Wayne, Chris Berardo and The DesBerardos and Ruthie & The Wranglers. Then coming up the next weekend, I head to Corpus Christi, Texas for a Wounded Warrior benefit, as The Pear Ratz will be performing. You will be able to watch that on their website. Later in February, I am contemplating trips to New Orleans, and then maybe Memphis for Folk Alliance.  It is certainly hard to return to these events that were once attended by Music Fog’s whole crew, but I carry on.

One of my primary reasons for going is to this year’s Keynote Speaker, Bob Lefsetz. He is a brilliant observer and acerbic critic of today’s music landscape, and it will be a fired up speech, for sure.  So for today, we take you back on the Music Fog bus from Folk Alliance 2010 for a song from Dan Navarro, Freebo, and David Glaser in salute to Eric Lowen, Keep The Light Alive, Celebrating The Music of Lowen & Navarro. On the album, the song “Weight Of The World” is performed by Jackson Browne, for the Music Fog version, we  were honored to have Dan, Freebo, and David. Eric, as you probably know, retired in 2009 because his ALS made performing and travelling too much for him, but I am happy to report his kids just celebrated their 18th birthday, and he was there to share it. With love to carry on, here is the Music Fog recording of “Weight Of The World.”

- Jessie Scott

The Black Lillies "Catherine"

I am reading a really cool book called The Mojo Triangle, which talks about the geography between Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans, the area that spawned the great American genres of Country, Blues, Bluegrass, Rock and Roll, and Jazz. It was the confluence of five national traditions: African American, Native American, British, Spanish and French. It was a potent mix to throw into the pot, and is one that keeps giving, as it drinks from the deepest possible well. And it is one that continues to manifest it’s gumbo in the music of today.

The Black Lillies are proponents of the echoes of the past brought forth with today’s freewheeling energy. They keep the spirit fresh in the tale of “Catherine,” done in the story song tradition of the British Isles. Cruz Contreras, Tom Pryor, Jamie Cook, Trisha Gene Brady and Robert Richards continue rolling down the highway on the heels of their most recent release, 100 Miles Of Wreckage. Tomorrow night finds them in Whitesburg, KY.  If they come to your town, promise me you will go to see them for a rousing evening’s rave up.

- Jessie Scott