Category: WWJRD Playlist

The process of creating these playlists is kind of an intuitive process that I just have to let unfold. My first attempts didn’t really work and I realized I was thinking about them to much. Trying to be to clever. Now these things are as much a journey for me as they are for you. May be even more so since I’m drawing you this map after I finally get back home.

All of this is to say that this one took a quick turn early and led me off somewhere I didn’t expect. That’s my explanation for that little shift between the second and third song. I thought about smoothing that out a little, but decided it was part of the process and so I’ll leave it in. It made sense at the time, though now I’m not sure why.

Track List/Show Notes

1. Revival– The Allman Brothers Band – Idlewild South
2. Mercury in Retrograde– Sturgill Simpson – Sound and Fury
3. Cheap Silver– Mike and the Moonpies – Cheap Silver And Solid Country Gold
4. May Your Kindness Remain– Courtney Marie Andrews – May Your Kindness Remain
5. When Doves Cry– Sarah Jarosz – Spotify Singles
   A little set of three covers. I found this track on a exclusive Magnolia Record Club album that collected about a dozen covers that had been recorded for Spotify. There were several that I thought about including here, but in the end I went with this one because I liked how stripping the song down to it’s bones really brought out how solid a song this is.
6. Rockin In The Free World– Larkin Poe – Kindred Spirits
   The sisters behind Larkin Poe have been releasing little videos for awhile now where they cover different songs, just the two of them. In the beginning of 2020 they announced that they were going to collect several of their favorite covers and release them as the album Kindred Spirits. What drew me to this song in particular is the same thing that grabbed my about the previous track. By stripping out the noise and fury the words that Neil Young wrote are front and center. And that trash can haunts my dreams.
7. Standing on the Moon– Molly Tuttle – …but i’d rather be with you
   Here we have one of my favorite Robert Hunter/Jerry Garcia tracks from the Grateful Dead. And again, the stripped down nature of the performance really puts the spotlight on Hunter’s words and reminds us of the poetry that came out of that man.
8. Take Me Away– Morgan Wade – Reckless
9. I Could Have Been an Angel– Sean McConnell – Secondhand Smoke
   My first exposure to Sean was when this album popped up in my mailbox as the Magnolia Record Club Record of the Month. I remember listening to it, thinking it was ok and then shelving it away. Flash forward to the next summer and I’m sitting in the beer garden at Floyd Fest on a beautiful day, drinking blackberry wine and listening to Sean’s set. The album has been a favorite ever since. A perfect example of the role that Set and Setting play in music and why I do not understand people who listen to an album once or twice and then write it off. Some of my favorite artists took me years to get into.
10. When You’re Ready– Brian Fallon – Local Honey
11. Be More Kind– Frank Turner – Be More Kind
12. Half Alive– Hey King! – Hey King!
    Then there are people like Hey King! Wannabe posted the video for thier song Road Rage on Facebook in advance of his review of the album. I watched the video once, per-ordered their debut album and then went and listened to anything else I could find from them.
13. Giant– ZZ Ward – Giant
    I don’t remember how I first found ZZ Ward, but it was sometime between her first and second albums. She dropped three singles before the shut down (and before she had her first kid) and I have to admit I’m really intrigued with where this is going. It’s still ZZ Ward, but there’s a maturity to the song writing that feels really fresh and interesting. Giant is a good example of this and why I’m looking forward to seeing where she goes.
14. Crowded Table– The Highwomen – The Highwomen

Once again, thank you for listening. If you’re enjoying this little project I’d love it if you can leave a comment. Is there a track that you really dug? Something that you think I should check out? I’d love to hear it, thanks.

Continue reading “WWJRD 02: Lazy Sundays”

It all started as an idle thought, what would it sound like if Columbia had its own radio station? This lead to the follow up question, what kind of show would I do for this station, if given a shot? I mean, what’s the point of a music fan inventing a hypothetical radio station if not to give themself a show on that station? Fast forward through a couple months of quarantine and the idea morphed into something different. Just because Columbia doesn’t have a radio station, doesn’t mean I can’t do a radio show. Inspired by music podcasts like Nine Bullets Radio, I started putting together playlists with the plan of eventually doing a little radio show podcast thing to keep from going crazy. Then work got in the way and another project came up. I kept making playlists, but I didn’t have the time to record breaks and edit it all together. So I came up with WWJRD as a way to get the idea out there and not die on the vine while I work on other things.

The idea is to release new playlists on Spotify and 8tracks. I have three playlists done already and those will be going up soon. After that, I need to figure out how often these go out. Show notes will be released here when they do go out, so this will be the place to check if something has been dropped.

If you enjoy this please leave a comment. I’m just doing this as a hobby to occupy myself, but I’d still appreciate any comments folks have.

FAQ for a project that no one knows about yet

1. I figured the station would be a cross between 90s WAMU and 70s WHFS, though I confess I’m not sure exactly what that would sound like.
2. WWJRD stands for What Would Jim Rouse Do? It seems to be the question that defines Columbia more then any other.
3. These playlists will likely lean heavily on a broad definition of Americana. Some country, some folk, some retro r&b and soul, etc. Most of the songs will be newer tracks, but older stuff will be peppered through out and may get more prevalent if I can remember more of them.

WWJRD Episode 01: Beginnings

Track List/Show Notes

1. Love Like There’s No Tomorrow – The War and Treaty – Healing Tide
   I feel like if we’re going to do this, this is an appropriate place to start. Consider it a mission statement of sorts, or may be a goal is a better term. Something to strive for, if not always achieve.
2. O Be Joyful – Shovels and Rope – O’ Be Joyful
3. Ancestors – Miko Marks and the Resurrectors – Our Country
4. The WS Walcott Medicine Show – The Band – Live At The Academy Of Music 1971
   The album Rock of Ages was made from live recordings of The Band with a four piece horn section. This box set collects the rest of that run at The Academy of Music in ’71. If you love the group already, this is a good box set to pick up. If you’re not already a fan, pick up Rock of Ages and then come back to this after you realize how good that album is.
5. Family – Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors – Dragons
6. Riding High – NEEDTOBREATHE – Out of Body
7. Jackpot – Nikki Lane – Highway Queen
8. You Don’t Mess Around With Jim – Jim Croce – Photographs and Memories
   Jim Croce is an artist that I first heard in the backseat of my parent’s station wagon. When I was young, it was songs like this one and Bad, Bad Leroy Brown that caught my eye. The swagger of the beat and the colorful characters grabbing hold of my imagination. As I got older I developed an appreciation for the artistry of songs like Operator or Time In A Bottle. Jim was a master of the form.
9. To Rise You Gotta Fall – Nicki Bluhm – To Rise You Gotta Fall
10. Give You Up – Morgan James – Memphis Magnetic
    I had tickets to see Morgan James at The Soundry but for some reason didn’t make it. If memory serves, it would have been the last show I saw at that place before the new owners of Clydes decided to close both places down. As things are opening up, I’m really missing that place. I hope someone decides that’s a hole that needs to be filled and does so quickly. Listening to shows coming back to The Chrysalis from my balcony leaves me thinking that the new Merriweather District could be a natural fit, but I may be biased. I could literally see The Soundry from my old balcony and living that close to live music is a wonderful thing, even if I didn’t take advantage of it enough.
11. Rican Beach – Hurray For The Riff Raff – The Navigator
    If you were a fan of the TV show Treme, you may remember the coffee shop that Sofia Bernette worked at in the second season. There was a group of train kids who hung outside the shop and played music. In one episode a young woman in this crowd plays a song. That woman was Alynda Segarra of Hurrary For The Riff Raff. That was my introduction to her and it’s one of the reasons I loved that show. Seriously, that show was a master class in the full extent of the New Orleans music scene.
12. Llano Estacado – Carrie Rodriguez – Lola
13. South Gotta Change – Adia Victoria – South Gotta Change
14. Love And Trust – Mavis Staples – Live in London
    There’s no other way to properly end this inaugural episode of WWJRD then to hand the pulpit over to Mavis Staples and let her preach. Only a fool wouldn’t listen.

Thanks for listening and as I said before, if you enjoyed this little playlist and would be interested in hearing more, please leave a comment and let me know, it really would be appreciated. I’d love to hear what you thought of the artists that were in this first batch. May be who you would like to hear in a future playlist. Or anything else that you feel like throwing out, I’d love to hear from you.

Continue reading “WWJRD 01: Beginnings”