Threads and Tangents Music Hour

This week, the musical thread is 1973 – That Was The Year That Was.  We’ll take a look at that year in musical history, and from as many angles as possible.  In part, the idea for this thread came from the mid-60’s NBC series, That Was the Year That Was.  On the show, satirist Tom Lehrer wrote topical songs related to items then in the news.  Our focus isn’t so much about topical issues, but some important albums and their place in the music of the era and even today. We'll hear music from: the Grateful Dead, Herbie Hancock, Etta James, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Gram Parsons, Pink Floyd, John Prine, Flora Purim, Bonnie Raitt, Tony Rice, Roxy Music, Taj Mahal, and Toots and the Maytals.

This week the musical thread is Rivers. Over the years, rivers have captured the attention of many songwriters, there seems to be a special magic in the way a river flows. Rivers are used as a powerful metaphor for ideas, like the passage of time, emotion, a path, and freedom. We'll hear music from: Larry Davis, Bob Dylan, John Hartford, Syl Johnson, Allison Krauss, Randy Newman, Ollabelle, Persuasions, Claudia Schmidt, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Stephen Wade, Doc Watson, and The Wood Brothers.

This week the musical thread is Woody Guthrie covered. I'll play Woody’s songs, just done by other musicians. Woody’s birthday is coming up on July 14th – on Bastille Day, go figure – and given who Woody was, and what he sang about, this is a perfect thread for July 4th. We'll hear music from: Billy Bragg, Slaid Cleaves, Ry Cooder, Dropkick Murphys, Bob Dylan, Jay Farrar/Will Johnson/Anders Parker/Yim Yames, Eliza Gilkyson, Sharon Jones, Klezmatics, Jimmy LaFave, Del McCoury, Solas, and Wilco.

This week, the musical thread is Festival Time. Summer’s here, and there are great music festivals taking place every week. As a way of making this thread manageable, I’m going to feature the musicians that are playing at a single festival, Grey Fox in upstate New York. There are around 40 bands playing at Grey Fox so I’ll only be able to play a sample of all the great music a summer festival can offer. We'll hear music from: Jake Blount, Alison Brown, Sam Bush, Della Mae, Jerry Douglas, Fog Holler, Jim Gaudet & the Railroad Boys, Henhouse Prowlers, Sierra Hull, Infamous Stringdusters, Del McCoury Band, Stillhouse Junkies, Scythian, and Tray Wellington Band.

This week, in celebration of the summer solstice, and the sun finally making an appearance up here in the northwest corner, the musical thread is Summer. We'll hear music from: Norman Blake, J.D. Crowe & The New South, Miles Davis, The Fiery Furnaces, Robert Gordon & Link Wray, The Happenings, John Hartford, Husker Du, Martha & The Muffins, Bill Morrissey, R.E.M., Jonathan Richman, and Laura Veirs.

This Sunday is Father’s Day and the musical thread is songs about fathers and about being a father. This also is your reminder to get that card in the mail, it might still make it there in time. 
We'll hear music from: Lonnie Brooks, Justin Townes Earle, Art Farmer Quintet, Steve Goodman, Hamell on Trial, Colin Hay, John Hiatt, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Charlie Parr, John Prine, Joe Pug, Michael P Smith, and Neil Young.

This week, the musical thread is the American Roots Music Program at Boston’s Berklee School of Music. So many great acoustic musicians have been affiliated with Berklee that a show featuring alumni, faculty, and staff is a no brainer.  
We'll hear music from: Darol Anger, Liz Carroll, Bela Fleck, Victor Furtado, Courtney Hartman, Sierra Hull, Leo Kottke, John Mailander, Mile Twelve, Keb Mo, Molsky’s Mountain Drifters, Paul Rishell & Annie Raines, Molly Tuttle, and Joe K. Walsh. 

This week's episode is Tom Waits covered, so I'll play an hour of Tom Waits songs, just done by other musicians. 
We'll hear music from: Dave Alvin, Corinne Bailey Rae, Holly Cole, Shawn Colvin, Giant Sand, John Hammond, Long Tall Deb, Cida Moreira, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Widespread Panic, Astrid Seriese, and even a track from the master of postmodern hoodoo blues himself, Tom Waits.

This week's episode is about Hair – having lots of it, not enough of it, cutting it, or not cutting it.  This is gonna be fun.
We'll hear music from: Beck, Bryan Bowers, CSN&Y, Rev. Gary Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Hair (original Broadway cast), India.Arie (featuring Akon), Little Village, Scott McKenzie, Pavement, Carl Perkins, Nina Simone, Hound Dog Taylor, Roger Taylor, They Might Be Giants, and Gene Vincent & the Blue Caps.

This week's episode will be a little different, I’ll be tying up some Loose Threads. Each week, I come across way more songs than I can fit in a one-hour program. So, this is my chance to go back to a few of the episodes and play some songs that I wished I’d been able to play the first time around, and also to include some songs listeners thought I missed.
We'll hear music from these shows: MUSCLE SHOALS (Jimmy Hughes, Wilson Pickett, Otis Clay), BIRDS (Alice Coltrane & Elliot Bergman, Otis Taylor, Pat Burton), BREAK UP SONGS (Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Otis Redding, Mary Flower, Leonard Cohen, COEN BROTHERS MOVIES (Big Bill Broonzy, Carter Burwell, Townes Van Zandt), and NIGHT (The Kinks, Magic Sam, and Amos Milburn).