Solstice Coil: "Deep Child"

Solstice Coil is an Israeli progressive rock band. You'll be hearing them soon on the podcast. For now, here's a (not quite finished, according to the notes) video for their song "Deep Child."

Episode 9: Women of Song, Part 2

I got permission from so many talented female artists whom I've met through MySpace that I had to make the Women's History Month episode TWO episodes. That's a great problem to have! The first part went up yesterday.

Here's what you'll hear today (direct download here):

A Brokeheart Pro: "You Don't Know" (from the album The Kitten Next Door)
Littlegirl: "Grandmother's Shawl" (MySpace)
Naomi Bedford: "Oh I Wish" (MySpace)
The Wailin' Jennys: "Long Time Traveler" (IODA Promonet)
Alessandra Celletti: "Raccoglici Insieme Dai Quattro Angoli Del Mondo" (from the album Chi mi darà le ali)
Sirsy: "Hostage" (from the album Ruby)



The IODA-sponsored track may be downloaded below for as long as its promotion remains active.

Download "Long Time Traveller" (mp3)
from "Firecracker"
by The Wailin' Jennys
Jericho Beach Music

• Buy at iTunes Music Store
• Buy at eMusic
• Stream from Rhapsody

More On This Album

Not a podsafe artist, but a great female talent

Emmylou Harris isn't a podsafe artist -- she's been on big labels for years, of course. But she's a phenomenal talent, whether doing her own compositions or interpreting the work of others.

Here's a video clip from a Johnny Cash tribute a few years back. Emmylou Harris joins Dave Matthews to do the song "Long Black Veil."

Sirsy: "Soul Sucker" video

Here's a video featuring the band Sirsy, whom you'll hear in tomorrow's podcast. This shows them doing their song "Soul Sucker" in concert; the notes accompanying this video say they were opening for Lifehouse at this gig.

Episode 7: The "Explicit" Tag's There for a Reason

Today's episode is built around a loosely defined theme of "storytelling." Each of these pieces tells a story, and in between, I tell you a cautionary tale from my college days.

Here's what else you'll hear today (direct download here) :

Minton Sparks: "Back of the Bus" (from the album Sin Sick)
Bazza: "King of Illegitimacy" (from the album Odd Duck)
Justin Townes Earle: "Yuma" (from the EP by the same name)
Kristin Mainhart: "Boyfriend" (from the album Stranger Things)
Josh Woodward: "Skynyrd's Number 4874" (Podshow)



Today's show has the "explicit" tag for better reason than any other episode to date: All of these, including the story I tell, either contain adult language or deal with issues you might not want the kids to hear.

The Bazza and Kristin Mainhart tracks were submitted by the artists, and I thank them.

Women's History Month episodes

Here's another video by people you'll be hearing in next week's Women's History Month-themed episodes of the podcast, the Canadian trio called The Wailin' Jennys:



As with the previous post with a video by A Brokeheart Pro, this isn't the same song I'll be playing next week.

Female artists

I haven't played as much music as I'd like by female artists. Two episodes coming up next Tuesday and Wednesday will help set that right; this is Women's History Month, after all.

Here's one artist you'll hear then, who goes by the name A Brokeheart Pro. Her style mixes country, punk and rockabilly -- with a bit of Betty Page sexiness -- though this one's mostly country in sound.



A new episode's coming tomorrow, with the theme of "storytelling." I might warn you that tomorrow's episode is the reason there's an option to tag shows as "Explicit."

This almost qualifies as a "mash-up"

The band you'll hear here is Philadelphia's King God, whom I've played previously on the podcast and will probably play again. This video -- which I found via The Alaska Podshow -- is how I first encountered them. The song and the video have nothing to do with each other, but they fit together well in an attention-grabbing way.



Scott Sloane's The Alaska Podshow is one of my favorite podcasts. In addition to hearing Alaskan music (see also The ANC Podcast by Rob LeFevre), you also get commentary on current events up there, travel advice and the occasional video episode. Some of them, like this, mix old documentary footage with contemporary music; others just show bits of modern Alaskan life, such as a moose wandering up into the front yard or salmon fishing.

Episode 6: War Requiem

Today's show marks the four-year anniversary of the war in Iraq, a war that I -- and a majority of Americans, if polls are to be believed -- feel is a horrific mistake. I do support the troops, and that's why I think we should bring them home as quickly as possible.

Here's what you'll hear today (direct download here):

The Majestic Twelve: "American Rage" (from the album Schizophrenology)
The Nashville Session Players: "Some Soldiers Come Home" (Podshow)
R-Three: "The Wolf I Feed" (from the album Perceptual Distortion)
Terry Prong: "Can't Have Peace" (Podshow)



The passages from Paul Robeson and Archibald MacLeish come from the 1993 edition of Singing the Living Tradition, the Unitarian Universalist hymnal.

And if you're as concerned by the war and the treatment of our wounded veterans as I am -- or about the lack of armor that leads to some of the shattered lives -- visit the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America site to see how you can help.

To really support the troops...

The next podcast will go live on Tuesday, March 20, the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war. If we really support our troops, we'll get them out of there as soon as possible, resolved to never again misuse our military for unjustified wars, to better arm and protect them in justified conflicts and to make sure they're well cared for when they come home wounded.



Visit the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America to learn how you can get involved.

Episode 5: Getting Your Irish Up

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here's what's on the show today (direct download here):

Martin Toal: "Danny Boy" (IODA Promonet)
Minton Sparks: "Her Purse" (from the album This Dress)
Pallor: "Lies Lies" (artist submission)
Tribal Machine: "One More Time" (artist submission)



The IODA-sponsored track may be downloaded below for as long as its promotion lasts.

Download "Danny Boy" (mp3)
from "Aria Celtica"
by Martin Toal
Campion

• Buy at iTunes Music Store


• Buy at eMusic


• Buy at Rhapsody


• Buy at Napster


• Stream from Rhapsody


• Buy at Navio Download

More On This Album

Spoken-word poetry with a Southern gothic twist

There's a new podcast coming tomorrow, and in it, you'll hear a piece by spoken-word artist Minton Sparks. Her work has to be heard to be believed, and I've been lucky enough to see her live once in Nashville.

Here's a promotional video for a DVD she released last year:



You can find out more at her site, obviously.

Episode 4: What the Heck Is a "Mental Nomad?"

Today's episode is less music, a bit more talk, as I answer the question at least one listener was asking: "Who are you?" So I'll tell you as much as I can tell you without losing my day job.

It turns out that's not a whole hell of a lot, so I also toss in the story of the single worst experience I've ever had on a date.

Here's what you'll hear today (direct download here):

The Perfects: "Shipwrecked" (from the band's self-titled EP)
King God: "I Will Not Be a Fool" (from the album Is That Blood on Your Sleeve?)
Noam Weinstein: "When I Get My..." (from the album Probably Human)



All today's songs were played with the permission of the independent artists in question -- in fact, the first one was e-mailed to me by the band.