Threads and Tangents Music Hour

This week's musical thread is Horses. Thanks to Mary for the suggestion.  December 13th is National Horse Day.    We'll hear music from: Andrew Bird, The Byrds, Donna The Buffalo, Tony Furtado, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Phoebe Hunt, Ray LaMontagne, Molsky’s Mountain Drifters, Prozac Mtn Boys, Annie Raines & Paul Rishell, Rolling Stones, Tarbox Ramblers, and Doc Watson & Merle Watson.   Anything on your mind? Email me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org 

This week's musical thread is the Festival of Lights and that means Chanukah, or Chanukah-adjacent songs.  When I was growing up we really didn’t have any good Chanukah songs.  Luckily, since that time lots of musicians have recorded solid, and sometimes funny, Chanukah music; music we’re happy to listen to year round.    We'll hear music from: Dan Bern, Stephen Colbert/Jon Stewart, Luther Dickinson/Jeremiah Lockwood/Ethan Miller, Emma’s Revolution, Béla Fleck & the Flecktones, Gefilte Joe & The Fish, Honky Tonk Confidential, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, the Klezmatics, Greg Kurstin & Dave Grohl, Tom Lehrer, The Frank London Big Band, The Minus 5, Loudon Wainwright III, Watkins Family Hour, and Yo La Tengo.  Anything on your mind? Email me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org

This week's musical thread is Cats and I’ll be taking a deep dive into songs about, or inspired by, our feline friends.    We'll hear music from: Jamie Anderson, Randy Brown, Albert Collins & Johnny Copeland, The Gina Furtado Project, Jan Hobson & Her Bad Review, John Jackson, Jane’s Addiction, Jorma Kaukonen, Kitty and The Rooster, Del McCoury Band, Morphine, Primus, Pink Floyd, Bob Rivers, and Harry Waller.  Anything on your mind? Email me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org 

This week's musical thread is Thanksgiving. I took a deep dive and came up with a nice mix of classic and newer songs for this time of year. As you approach the holiday feast, keep in mind the opening line from Chris Thile's song: thank goodness for fermentation.    We'll hear music from: Rachel Baiman, Dan Bern, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Bob Dylan, Mary Gauthier, Arlo Guthrie, Fred Holstein, Jess Klein, and Chris Thile.  Anything on your mind? Email me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org

This week's musical thread is the Bass, because without a bass you don’t have a band.* I've included some great bass players from over seven decades and across lots of musical styles.  We’ll hear a mix of electric and upright bass, and tracks that feature the bass or include it as part of an ensemble.  We'll hear music from: Mike Allen Trio (John Lee on bass), The Beach Boys (Carol Kaye on bass, probably), Les Claypool’s Duo de Twang, Dave Holland & Vassar Clements, the Funk Brothers (James Jamerson on bass), Jerry Douglas / Russ Barenberg / Edgar Meyer (on bass), The Meters (George Porter Jr. on bass), Morphine (Mark Sandman on bass), Jaco Pastorius, Missy Raines / Mike Bub / Todd Phillips, Todd Snider (Joe Mariencheck on bass), Esperanza Spalding, Sunnyland Slim (Big Crawford on bass), Rob Wasserman & Willie Dixon. Anything on your mind? Email me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org*At this year’s IBMA Award Show bassist Mike Bub said this as he and Missy Raines were announcing the bass player of the year award. Truer words...

This week's musical thread is Sunsets. Another special thing about our little slice of paradise is the sunsets on Bellingham Bay. Thanks to Jeff, out in Virginia, for suggesting this musical thread.   We'll hear music about the sun going down from: Leonard Bernstein & the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, PJ Harvey, John Hiatt, The Kinks, Gordon Lightfoot, Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands, Hayes McMullen, Memphis Minnie, Charlie Musselwhite, The New Reso Gathering, Pink Floyd, The Tannahill Weavers, Little Stevie Wonder, and Neil Young. Anything on your mind? Email me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org

This week's musical thread is Halloween, so I’ll be playing spooky songs for you.We'll hear music from: Rory Block, David Bromberg, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Donovan, The Dream Syndicate, Danny Elfman, Roky Erickson and The Aliens, Johnny Fuller, The Fuzztones, Howlin' Wolf, Minus 5, The Pretty Things, The Red Stick Ramblers, and The Shaggs. Anything on your mind? Email me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org

This week's musical thread is songs inspired by the moon.  Jeff, a listener in Charlottesville suggested it, pointing out that it’s been pretty popular with songwriters, especially in the first half of the last century. That, and the upcoming lunar eclipse makes this feel like the right time to take a deep dive into moon songs.We'll hear music from: Alison Brown, The Brothers Comatose with AJ Lee, Nick Drake, Robyn Hitchcock, Billie Holiday, The Lasses, The Neville Brothers, John Prine, Snooky Pryor & Johnny Shines, Tony Rice, Stillhouse Junkies, Molly Tuttle, and Keller & the Keels.Anything on your mind? Email me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org 

This week's musical thread is Musical Kings - musicians with "king" in their name.  We'll hear music from: King Sunny Adé, Nat King Cole, King Curtis, Albert King, BB King, Ben E. King, Carole King, Chris Thomas King, Earl King, Eddie King, Freddie King, Kaki King, Pee Wee King, King Bennie Nawahi, and King Oliver.Anything on your mind? Email me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org

October 10th is John Prine’s birthday so this week's musical thread has got to be about John, though instead of hearing John play his own songs we’ll hear covers of his songs plus a couple written about John.    Before you start, you might want pour yourself a Handsome Johnny to enjoy during the show.  It was Prine’s signature cocktail and he gave us the ingredients in the When I Go to Heaven chorus.  The recipe’s simple enough: fill a cocktail glass with ice, add a couple of ounces of vodka and enough ginger ale to top off the glass.  John recommends diet ginger ale.  Then stir it and drop in a slice of lemon in the summer, or lime in the winter,We'll hear music from: Joan Baez & Kris Kristofferson, Califone, Drive-By Truckers, Jeffrey Foucault, Steve Goodman, Sierra Hull, Will Kimbrough, Bettye LaVette, Bonnie Raitt with John, Todd Snider, Justin Vernon, and Kurt Vile. Anything on your mind? Email me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org