Threads and Tangents Music Hour

This week's musical thread is Winter. I’ve spent most of my life in places where there’s a winter season, and I like it fine. There’s something about how invigorating the cold air can be, the beauty of the snow-capped peaks, and how quiet and peaceful it is when the snow’s falling. There are challenges though. Like trying to get up or down the streets in South Hill after last December’s snowstorm. Do they ever plow in this town?
We'll hear songs from: 10,000 Maniacs, Avett Brothers, Leonard Cohen, Dismemberment Plan, Fleet Foxes, Billie Holiday, Joni Mitchell, Ry Cooder, Bill Morrissey, Claudia Schmidt, Simon & Garfunkel, Tom Waits, and Sonny Boy Williamson II & Memphis Slim.

This week's musical thread is Richard Thompson, covered.  We’ll hear songs written by Richard Thompson, just mostly done by other musicians.  Thompson’s songwriting is brilliant and his songs are covered by musicians who recognize his genius, even if he’s escaped mainstream popularity.
We'll hear songs from: Marshall Crenshaw, Dinosaur Jr., Kathy Kallick Band, Allison Krauss, Mary Lou Lord, Los Lobos, Mile Twelve, Del McCoury Band, Buddy & Julie Miller, Bob Mould, R.E.M., Richard Thompson, and Tortoise & Bonnie “Prince” Billy.

This week's episode features music from the 27 Club - musicians that died when they were 27 years old.We'll hear songs from: D. Boon (Minutemen), Cecilia, Kurt Cobain (Nirvana), Arlester Christian (Dyke and the Blazers), Jimi Hendrix, Nat Jaffe, Robert Johnson, Brian Jones (Rolling Stones), Janis Joplin, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (Grateful Dead), Jim Morrison (The Doors), Kristen Pfaff (Hole), Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson (Canned Heat), and Amy Winehouse.

In celebration of the World Cup which started over the weekend, this week's musical thread is Football … or Soccer. You’ll hear it both ways tonight.
We'll hear songs from: The 5,6,7,8’s, Billy Bragg, Chumbawamba, The Cockney Rejects, The Fans, Bob Marley, Youssou N'Dour and Axelle Red, New Order, Pink Floyd, The Pogues, Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, and The White Stripes.   

This week's musical thread is the Days of the Week.  I can’t remember when this Thread popped into my head. Probably when I was listening to one of the songs that we’ll hear tonight. In tonight’s playlist, I’m going to go through the days of the week pretty much in order.
We'll hear songs from: Dr John, Dave Edmunds, Mississippi John Hurt, Etta James, George Jones, Charles Mingus, Morphine, The Persuasions, The Pogues, John Prine, Sonic Youth, Velvet Underground, Tom Waits, and Wilco. 

It's good to be back after missing a couple of weeks to recover from a little biking mishap.  Before my time away, I’d put together a great playlist for Halloween, and while I know I missed the actual holiday, these songs are too good to put away until next year.  So, in a belated celebration of Halloween, tonight’s musical thread is spooky music.We'll hear songs from: Bauhaus, Dr. John & the Blues Brothers Band, Fleetwood Mac, Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale, Mike Oldfield, Pink Floyd, Ramones, Jonathan Richman, Nina Simone, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Talking Heads, and Warren Zevon.  

This week's episode will be a little different, I’ll tie 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 to play some songs that I wished I’d been able to play the first time around, and to include some songs that listeners suggested. The songs come from the Taking the Bus, Coffee, One-Hit Wonders, Authors, and Dogs episodes.
We'll hear from: Harry Chapin, Death Cab for Cutie, Lefty Frizzell, Gilberto Gil, Grateful Dead, David Grisman Quintet, Jimi Hendrix, Indigo Girls, Jorma Kaukonen, John Prine, White Stripes, and Neil Young.

This week, in celebration of John Prine's birthday, the musical thread that we’ll follow is Folk Music from Chicago. Although John left Chicago for Nashville in 1990, the city and its music was very much a part of his songwriting throughout his life.  
Playing a whole show of John’s music sounds like a fine idea, except for the FCC rules that prohibit it.  So, instead I’m going to bookend the show with John’s songs and fill the middle with songs from musicians that were, along with John, part of Chicago’s 1970’s folk scene.  
This week's songs come from John and: Jethro Burns, Ginni Clemens, Tom Dundee, Steve Goodman, Bonnie Koloc, Utah Phillips, Jim Post (who died on 9/14, hashalom alav), Claudia Schmidt, Michael Smith, Corky Siegel, The Special Consensus, and Art Thieme. 

This week the musical thread is Beer. Along with playing a batch of great beer songs, I’ll take a brief look back on the history of craft brewing in the US.  This week's songs about beer come from: Asleep at the Wheel, Bad Manners, Dave Bartholomew, Devil in a Woodpile, Floyd Dixon, Grateful Dead, Indigo Girls, Flaco Jiménez, Memphis Slim, Eddie Noack, Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog, Todd Snider, Traffic, Travelin' McCourys, Tom Waits, and Jimmy Witherspoon.

This week the musical thread is Train Songs. I’ve been wanting to play a batch of train songs for a while and Amtrak has given me a good reason for doing it tonight.  The Amtrak Cascades has returned to Bellingham, and we can once again take the train up to Vancouver or south to Seattle and beyond.This week's Train Songs come from: Etta Baker, Norman Blake, Paul Butterfield, Elizabeth Cotten, Gangstagrass, Steve Goodman, Grateful Dead, John Hammond, Albert King, Furry Lewis, Gordon Lightfoot, Utah Phillips, R.E.M., and Pete Seeger.