Out the Other

Happy 86th, Grandpa!

I'm sure I've already spoken many times about the influence my parents had on my music taste growing up, but I'd be remiss if I didn't discuss the impact my grandparents had on how much I love music as well. 

Growing up, I was fortunate enough to have an incredibly close extended family that I spent a great deal of time with (aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents), and most of that time was spent together at my father's parents' house, which was as cool as any kid could hope for.  The summers were spent in the backyard, where they had a huge in-ground pool with a diving board, and the rest of the time was either spent in the family room (I can still vividly imagine the sound the toy cupboard under the television makes) or down in the basement, which featured a bar (our only interest was the bar stools and little straws - I don't think they even kept booze down there), a pool table, and the absolute greatest thing in the world - a jukebox.  My sister, my twin cousins and I spent hour upon hour taking turns dropping in nickels and punching in the numbers of our favorite songs - occasionally stopping to holler for someone to come unlock the change door to fish out the nickels we had spent so we could spend them all again.

So incredibly early on, I learned my grandpa's favorite song - Glenn Miller's "In the Mood," my grandma's favorite song - Bobby Darin's "Splish Splash," and spent hours twisting in the basement to Chubby Checker or "Hot Diggity." Oldies were my absolute favorite when I was a kid, and I have a sneaking suspicion that the jukebox sparked that love, or at least fueled it.  And that love certainly led to the way I feel about music now.

Today is my grandpa's 86th birthday, and talking to him this morning made me want to listen to a little Glenn Miller.  About thirty seconds into "In the Mood," I could close my eyes and swear I was back in that basement, dancing around the pool table in slippered feet with my sister and cousins (one of whom would insist on playing "The Chipmunk Song" next - regardless of the time of year).

So happy birthday, Grandpa, and thanks for introducing me to your favorite song. And thanks for helping me love music so much.

Glenn Miller - "In the Mood"

Playlist - November 16

Now that we're coasting towards the end of the year, and good new releases are pretty few and far between, I'm going to be spending the last few Monday nights of 2009 focusing on bands coming through Nashville, as well as bringing guests onto the show.  Last Monday, I was delighted to bring Thomas and Dabney of Tallest Trees on the show, to chat about what they're up to and listen to some of the tunes I've been falling in love with for the past couple of months.

Stream the November 16 edition of Out the Other

A while back, I caught a Tallest Trees show at Mercy Lounge and had my figurative socks knocked off - not only can I not remember the last time a band impressed me THAT much with a live show, but I certainly can't remember the last time a local band pulled it off.  They're doing something no one else in Nashville is doing right now, which is exciting and interesting and 100% the reason I wanted to have them on the show.  Hopefully we'll be hearing a lot more from them in 2010 (they're finishing up a full-length album right now), and stay tuned right here on OtO, because I'll certainly be letting you know what they're up to.

1.  Tallest Trees - All My Fears (Hey There Little Nebula)
2.  White Denim - I Start to Run (Fits)
3.  White Denim - Mirrored and Reverse (Fits)
4.  Brazos - Tell (Phosphorescent Blues)
5.  And the Relatives - Animals (Animals)
6.  Slowmotions - 1000 Hurts (Potions)
7.  Slowmotions - Birthing a Stone (Potions)
8.  Sonny and the Sunsets - Too Young to Burn (Tomorrow Is Alright) (mp3)
9.  Elvis Perkins - 123 Goodbye (Elvis Perkins In Dearland)
10.  A.A. Bondy - I'm On Fire (unreleased) (mp3)
11.  Bowerbirds - Northern Lights (Upper Air)
12.  Mountain Goats - Dance Music (The Sunset Tree)
13.  Final Fantasy - Song Song Song (He Poos Clouds) (mp3)
14.  The Black Hollies - Paisley Pattern Ground (Casting Shadows)
15.  Tallest Trees - Learn (Hey There Little Nebula) (mp3)
16.  White Flight - Death Hands (White Flight)
17.  Blur - Good Song (Think Tank)
18.  Le Loup - Beach Town (Family)
19.  Tallest Trees - Alouette (Hey There Little Nebula) (mp3)
20.  Kate Bush - Cloudbusting (Hounds of Love)
21.  Ruby Suns - Tane Mahuta (Sea Lion)
22.  Tallest Trees - Skinny Little Wrists (Hey There Little Nebula) (mp3)

White Denim, Brazos and And the Relatives @ The Basement TONIGHT!

Back in August, I got a super exciting message from Mike Grimes over at the Basement - "you heard of White Denim?"  YES, I replied - because not only had I heard of White Denim, over the course of several trips to SXSW, they had become one of my recurring Texas favorites.  From the first Wild Turkey-fueled St. Patrick's Day set I saw them play in 2007, I knew the Austin band was something special - they were like this three-piece ball of frenetic energy, teetering on a balance beam of awesomeness that they somehow managed to never topple off of into certain disaster.  I've seen them several times since then (not hard, since they play like a gagillion shows at SXSW), and I've been hoping that their increasing success and popularity would one day bring them on a tour through Nashville. Today happens to be that day.

It's hard to put into words just how freaking fantastic White Denim is live, so I'm just going to give you some tunes and the promise of greatness tonight at the Basement.  The greatness is further cemented by the phenomenal additions to the bill - Brazos, another Austin band, who I've been falling madly in love with for the past two weeks via their new album Phosphorescent Blues, and Out the Other local favorites And the Relatives, who are working on a new album and sounding absolutely incredible these days.  Tonight's cover is $10, which is a bargain when you realize it's three dollars and change per each kick-ass band.

Me? I'll be there for sure, most likely shake-shake-shaking it since I had the foresight to take tomorrow off from work.  A show like this is certainly going to require a day of recovery.

White Denim - "I Start To Run"
White Denim - "Shake Shake Shake"
Brazos - "My Buddy"
And the Relatives -"Dixie Cups"

Playlist - November 9

Have you listened to last week's show yet? You still have until tonight's show airs, so do it:

Stream the November 9 edition of Out the Other

And here's the playlis:

1.  Local Natives - Shape Shifter (Gorilla Manor)
2.  Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - 40 Day Dream (Up From Below)
3.  Generationals - Nobody Could Change Your Mind (Con Law)
4.  The Nobility - Halleluiah Chorus (The Mezzanine)
5.  King Khan and BBQ Show - Invisible Girl (Invisible Girl)
6.  And the Relatives - Be Here To Love Me (Townes Van Zandt cover)
7.  Brazos - Day Glo (Phosphorescent Blues)
8.  White Denim - Shake Shake Shake (Workout Holiday)
9.  White Denim - Darksided Computer Mouth (Workout Holiday)
10.  Local Natives - World News (Gorilla Manor)
11.  Tallest Trees - Learn (Hey There Little Nebula)
12.  Sleep Whale - We Were Dripping (Houseboat)
13.  Ola Podrida - Sink or Swim (Belly of the Lion)
14.  Wilco - Forget the Flowers (Being There)
15.  Wilco - I Got You (At the End of the Century) (Being There)
16.  Bobby Birdman - Only For a While (New Moods)
17.  Vampire Weekend - Horchata (Contra)
18.  Little Girls - Growing (Concepts)
19.  Eureka Gold - I Go To Sleep (Kinks cover)
20.  Local Natives - Airplanes (Gorilla Manor)
21.  Langhorne Slim - Be Set Free (Be Set Free)
22.  Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes - Home (Up From Below)
23.  Cheap Time - Woodland Drive (Woodland Drive 7")
24.  Shoot the Mountain - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (Neutral Milk Hotel cover)
25.  Local Natives - Warning Sign (Gorilla Manor)

Armistice Day

Paul Simon - "Armistice Day" (from Paul Simon)

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Look at all those skeletons running from their closets

Cloud Cult - "Take Your Medicine" (from The Meaning Of 8)

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We're taking all our myths to the bank

Andrew Bird - "Banking on a Myth" (from The Mysterious Production of Eggs)

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Meet: Generationals

The comic (can I call it a comic?) above is from one of my fave websites, A Softer World, which alternately cracks me up and depresses the shit out of me (which I guess is something all good websites should do). I saw this one a month ago but didn't actually realize what it means to me until right now. Being a music fan means I'm going to keep falling in love forever.  And the latest object of my affection is the New Orleans band Generationals, who I caught after my radio show this past Monday night.

Playlist - November 2

There are a bunch of great shows going on this week that we talked about on Monday's show, so I thought it might be a good idea to get this playlist up in a slightly more timely fashion (I already missed the opportunity to give another plug for last night's Non-Commissioned Officers show, but you went, right?).  Go ahead:

Stream the November 2 edition of Out the Other

We played a lot of great tunes on Monday night - from the new stuff (Jookabox, On Fillmore, The Lower 48, Molina and Johnson, etc) to bands who are hitting Nashville this week.  Pay particular attention to the brand new Non-Commissioned Officers track we got to premiere - "Hide To Hell" - and this week's featured album, James Wallace and the Naked Light's I Smile All Day I Smile All Night.  As we said a bajillion times on the show, James is playing the Basement on Saturday night with Coolin' System and Gabe Vitek and the Ivory. If you liked what you heard, please go check him out.

The playlist:

1.  James Wallace and the Naked Light - The Bench (I Smile All Day I Smile All Night)
2.  Molina & Johnson - Twenty Cycles To the Ground (Molina & Johnson)
3.  The Lower 48 - Transmissions Pt. 1 (Everywhere To Go)
4.  Devendra Banhart - Goin' Back (What Will We Be)
5.  Generationals - When They Fight, They Fight (Con Law)
6.  Spinto Band - Crack the Whip (Nice and Nicely Done)
7.  Michael and the Mumbles - Need Your Love (Michael and the Mumbles)
8.  Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Home (Up From Below)
9.  The Non-Commissioned Officers - Hide To Hell (unreleased)
10.  The Non-Commissioned Officers - Ride (Make-Out With Violence Soundtrack)
11.  The Non-Commissioned Officers - Sweet Eleanor (Make-Out With Violence Soundtrack)
12.  De Novo Dahl - Under the Hood (City Driver)
13.  James Wallace and the Naked Light - Killing the Dog (I Smile All Day I Smile All Night)
14.  Yeasayer - Ambling Alp (Ampling Alp 12")
15.  Julian Casablancas - 11th Dimension (Phrazes For the Young)
16.  Jookabox - You Cried Me (Dead Zone Boys)
17.  The Whigs - In the Dark (In the Dark)
18.  The Features - Thursday (Lake Fever Session)
19.  James Wallace and the Naked Light - Dancing Star (No Naked Light) (I Smile All Day I Smile All Night)
20.  Neutral Milk Hotel - Holland, 1945 (In the Aeroplane Over the Sea)
21.  On Fillmore - Master Moon (Extended Vacation)
22.  James Wallace and the Naked Light - Colors (I Smile All Day I Smile All Night)

Holly House + American Songwriter = <3

Back at the end of September, my friends in the Holly House collective - And the Relatives, Caitlin Rose, Eureka Gold, Shoot the Mountain and Tristen - got together at Eastwood Salon to record a series of covers and a few original tunes for a project with American Songwriter. For the magazine's "On My Deathbed" series, they asked each of the Holly House performers what song they would like to hear on their deathbed.

The results, unsurprisingly, are phenomenal.  And the Relatives - with a little help from Caitlin Rose - pulled out a staggeringly beautiful Townes Van Zandt cover, and Catlin - with a little help from Jordan Caress - recorded a version of "You Are My Sunshine" that I wouldn't mind hearing on my own deathbed.

And the Relatives - "Be Here To Love Me" (Townes Van Zandt cover f. Caitlin Rose)
Caitlin Rose - "You Are My Sunshine" (Jimmie Davis cover)

You can listen to the rest of the covers (including Shoot the Mountain's noteworthy take on Neutral Milk Hotel) along with a few originals over at American Songwriter or the Holly House website.

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