Memorial Day Remembrances: Percy Sledge, B.B. King, and Billy Joel!!!

Posted on May 20, 2015 by PhilMaq

To many passive music listeners, Percy Sledge [Hall of Fame] is a one-hit wonder. But Percy had a career that produced several hits and he is a member of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 2006. Here is his most famous song, “When a Man Loves a Woman” that includes some very strange footage!:

David Letterman’s long running show comes to an end tonight. Dave has had so many great musical artists over the years and with the passing of B.B. King, I ran across this great rendition of “Hummingbird” when both were in their prime:

And for Memorial Day in particular, Billy Joel’s “Goodnight Saigon” from his “Nylon Curtain” album, is one of the Greatest Songs Ever Written. [GSER} It is also one of the Greatest Videos. Having Vietnam Vets sing on this song as a unit makes me cry every time I watch it.:

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Dancing, Slow Dance, and a Bicycle Ride: David Bowie, The Beatles, and Laura Doherty!!!

Posted on May 13, 2015 by PhilMaq

I’ve heard David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” so many times that my mind goes to autopilot. I forget that the biting guitar on the song is from Stevie Ray Vaughan! Bowie was smart enough to include the ace string dazzler in his band at the time. Stevie used the opportunity to launch a brilliant but way too short career!:

Someone put together this nice montage from early days of The Beatles [Hall of Fame]! It makes “Anna,” an Arthur Alexander cover song, even more enjoyable!:

Spring has finally sprung and Laura Doherty has a nice animated video to accompany her “Bicycle” song. It even changes speeds!:

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Psychedelic Rock: Nina and The Buffalo Riders, Jefferson Airplane, and The Rolling Stones!!!

Posted on May 6, 2015 by PhilMaq

One of the brightest spots on the Detroit music scene for me recently, has been the arrival of Nina and The Buffalo Riders! A group of six musicians with wide open interests that can really shift gears between and within their songs. In the sixties, they would have been referenced as a “tribal” band, because of their “hippie” tendencies. Nowadays, they just play good music and don’t have to worry about labels. Nina and Ramiro will be guests on my “Theme Attic” show today at 10AM to talk about their album release party this week at Hopcat in Detroit on Friday, May 8th. My favorite song by the Band is “Madness.”

Nina and the Buffalo Riders sight Jefferson Airplane as one of their influences. It’s been years since I’ve listened to “Volunteers” by the band and I had totally forgotten about the swearing on the album. RCA Records had wanted the band to remove the offending words. The band made some concessions, but if you listen to one of their best songs, “We Can Be Together,” you know who won the argument. An interesting aside in the whole matter is that on the lyric sheet for the album, the “f” word was replaced by “fred.”

The warmer spring weather has brought a dandelion invasion into the area so I thought of this song, “Dandelion,” by The Rolling Stones [Hall of Fame]. This is not an official video, but the early slides are fascinating to look at! John Lennon [Hall of Fame] and Paul McCartney [Hall of Fame] sing back up on the tune!

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Phil’s Faves: Albums, April 26, 2015

Posted on May 2, 2015 by PhilMaq

Over time, my listening habits have changed and at the moment I usually listen to albums completely through. I haven’t done that in years, but it’s actually very rewarding—particularly when the album is good. Every album that will be on this list will fit that category. It may also give some insight as to what I might be playing in the near future on my radio show, “Theme Attic.” Once again, it’s another peak into my listening habits—which is a goal of mine. If you want to know where I’m heading or what I think about some new music, you will find it here.

I honestly don’t expect there to be much volatility on this list because these albums are what I have been basing many of the sets on my show.

Once again, there will be no boundaries. I will go wherever my musical muse takes me.

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Top 10 Albums for the Week of April 26, 2015

1. This Is the Moment—Wendy Webb
2. The Jane Shermans—The Jane Shermans
3. The Third—Kitty, Daisy, and Lewis
4. Dogwood Roots—Rob Larkin & The Wayward Ones
5. Magnificent Desolation—The Dives
6. Don’t Waste Your Life—The Tripping Souls
7. Howdy Duty—The Brazilian Johnsons
8. I Carry Your Heart—Nemes
9. Swirling Among the Stars—Building Birds
10.Zander the Great—Zander Michigan
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Phil’s Faves: Songs, April 26, 2015

Posted on May 2, 2015 by PhilMaq

This will be a weekly Top Ten list of what I consider to be the best songs that I listened to the previous week. Most songs will be current, but there are no boundaries. I’ve already stated on this web site that I am obsessed with music. I am constantly hunting it down whether it’s online, on CD, from my personal collection, from a library (Yes, I think the library is a great source of music–especially for music that you aren’t sure about.), TV, or radio. Since most of these sources mostly emphasize new music, the odds are pretty good that most of the songs on this list will be new. But in my search, I don’t use any boundaries for the other sources. I am just looking for good music that I haven’t heard, or happened to forget about. Everyone, including myself, has forgotten way more great music than they can ever remember-even if they are also music fanatics.
Also, there will be no rules concerning songs on this list. A song can show up or drop off a number of times. This will be the most volatile of my lists. It all depends on how much music I am exposed to during the week and what I find interesting. On really obscure stuff, I will try to include the source, if I know it.

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Top Ten Songs for the Week of April 26, 2015

1. Baby Bye Bye—Kitty, Daisy, & Lewis
2. What I Thought—Chris Emmerson
3. S.O.S.—The Brazilian Johnsons
4. Soul Sister—The Tripping Souls
5. Buffalo Blues—Nina and The Buffalo Riders
6. Damaged Goods—Chris Degnore and The Black Drops
7. My Back Pocket—The Steepwater Band
8. Venus Is Rocking in the Cradle of the Moon—Wendy Webb
9. 100 Years From Now—Michael on Fire
10.Who’s Gonna Stand Up—Neil Young
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Phil’s Faves: Videos and Performances, April 26, 2015

Posted on May 2, 2015 by PhilMaq

This will be a weekly Top Ten list of what I consider to be the best videos currently available on TV. I don’t, as a rule, go searching for old music videos, so that’s why it will focus mostly on current or recent videos. For this category, I am also going to include any live performances on talk or variety shows that I see during the week.

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Top 10 Videos and Performances for the Week of April 26, 2015

1. Mental Health Day, Live at The Rockery, April 24, Wyandotte, MI
2. Tyler and Kristin Jackson, Live at The North American International Banjo Convention, April 25, Dearborn, MI
3. Ragtime Rick and Banjo Betsy, Live at The North American International Banjo Convention, April 25, Dearborn, MI
4. Bright—Echosmith
5. Little Red Wagon—Miranda Lambert
6. Shut Up and Dance—Walk the Moon
7. Dear Future Husband—Meghan Trainor
8. Sugar—Maroon 5
9. Love Me Like You Do—Ellie Goulding
10.Thinking Out Loud—Ed Sheeran
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Party Fun: Joe “King” Carrasco and The Crowns, The Byrds, and Weird Al Yankovic!!!

Posted on April 29, 2015 by PhilMaq

Cinco de Mayo arrives next week and it wouldn’t be the same without a Tex-Mex Joe “King Carrasco song. Here’s one featuring Joe wearing his crown while romping through London doing “Buena!” Such a happy sounding tune!:

The Kentucky Derby takes place this week which makes me think of one of my favorite songs about horses. “Chestnut Mare” by The Byrds is off of their “Untitled” album. The lyrics and the melody paint such incredible imagery in my mind that when I hear it, I always feel like I’m on that hunt, too. This isn’t an official video of the song, but it’s pretty good!

May the 4th is the unofficial Star Wars Day, as in “May the 4th be with you!”
Weird Al Yankovic [Hall of Fame], gives his usual nutty spin to a cover of The Kinks’ “Lola” from the album “Dare to Be Stupid!”:

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Earth Day Pre Show Free Range Fun: Chris Emmerson, and Wendy Webb!!!

Posted on April 22, 2015 by PhilMaq

Local Detroit area artist brings the funk on the first single off of his new self titled album. Chris will be a guest on today’s, Wednesday, April 22, “Theme Attic,” 10A-12N, WHFR.FM, 89.3FM!!!

Singer/songwriter Wendy Webb provides just the right amount of Earth Day atmosphere in her love letter to her favorite state of residence, “Florida” from her great “This Is the Moment” album!

And here’s some bonus Earth Day Free Range Fun!!!

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Phil’s Faves: Albums, April 19, 2015

Posted on April 21, 2015 by PhilMaq

Over time, my listening habits have changed and at the moment I usually listen to albums completely through. I haven’t done that in years, but it’s actually very rewarding—particularly when the album is good. Every album that will be on this list will fit that category. It may also give some insight as to what I might be playing in the near future on my radio show, “Theme Attic.” Once again, it’s another peak into my listening habits—which is a goal of mine. If you want to know where I’m heading or what I think about some new music, you will find it here.

I honestly don’t expect there to be much volatility on this list because these albums are what I have been basing many of the sets on my show.

Once again, there will be no boundaries. I will go wherever my musical muse takes me.

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ
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Top 10 Albums for the Week of April 19, 2015

1. This Is the Moment—Wendy Webb
2. Don’t Waste Your Life—The Tripping Souls
3. Magnificent Desolation—The Dives
4. The Third—Kitty, Daisy, and Lewis
5. Milk for Your Motors—Gemma Ray
6. Swirling Among the Stars—Building Birds
7. The Jane Shermans—The Jane Shermans
8. Dogwood Roots—Rob Larkin & The Wayward Ones
9. Howdy Duty—The Brazilian Johnsons
10.Dr. Sutherland and His Traveling Hospital—These Curious Thoughts
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Phil’s Faves: Songs, April 19, 2015

Posted on April 21, 2015 by PhilMaq

This will be a weekly Top Ten list of what I consider to be the best songs that I listened to the previous week. Most songs will be current, but there are no boundaries. I’ve already stated on this web site that I am obsessed with music. I am constantly hunting it down whether it’s online, on CD, from my personal collection, from a library (Yes, I think the library is a great source of music–especially for music that you aren’t sure about.), TV, or radio. Since most of these sources mostly emphasize new music, the odds are pretty good that most of the songs on this list will be new. But in my search, I don’t use any boundaries for the other sources. I am just looking for good music that I haven’t heard, or happened to forget about. Everyone, including myself, has forgotten way more great music than they can ever remember-even if they are also music fanatics.
Also, there will be no rules concerning songs on this list. A song can show up or drop off a number of times. This will be the most volatile of my lists. It all depends on how much music I am exposed to during the week and what I find interesting. On really obscure stuff, I will try to include the source, if I know it.

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Top Ten Songs for the Week of April 19, 2015

1. What I Thought—Chris Emmerson
2. I Gave Up Everything For You, ‘Cept the Blues—Joe Bonamassa
3. Baby Bye Bye—Kitty, Daisy, & Lewis
4. Venus Is Rocking in the Cradle of the Moon—Wendy Webb
5. Soul Sister—The Tripping Souls
6. Buffalo Blues—Nina and The Buffalo Riders
7. S.O.S.—The Brazilian Johnsons
8. Damaged Goods—Chris Denore and The Black Drops
9. The Right Thing Did Me Wrong—Gemma Ray
10.My Back Pocket—The Steepwater Band
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