Threads and Tangents Music Hour

This week's Thread is John Prine's debut album.  I'll play the songs in the order they appeared on the album. Only a couple will be performed by John, and both of those are live versions that pre-date the album.We'll hear: John Prine, The Avett Brothers, Kris Kristofferson & Joan Baez, Swamp Dogg, The Seldom Scene, Nathaniel Rateliff, Ethan Daniel Davidson, Justin Townes Earle, Susan Tedeschi, The Waybacks, Steve Goodman, and Lambchop.Anything on your mind? Contact me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org

This week's thread is Trees.  Some of the songs feature trees as a literal representation of nature, while others use them metaphorically.We'll hear: Molly Tuttle, Rising Appalachia featuring Aja Black, Kian Dye, Laurie Lewis & the Right Hands, Bruce Cockburn, John Roberts & Tony Barrand, Blue Highway, The Jeremiahs, Jello Biafra & Mojo Nixon, The Byrds, Magpie, Martin Bogan & Armstrong, and Wire.Anything on your mind? Contact me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org

This week I picked out music that features the intersection of Asian music – mostly, but not limited to, Indian classical – and American Primitive Guitar.   We'll hear: Robbie Basho, Ravi Shankar & Ali Akbar Khan, Sandy Bull, Steffen Basho-Junghans, Rahim AlHaj, and John Fahey.Anything on your mind? Contact me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org

This week I'm playing music that incorporates unusual instrumentation – either instruments we rarely hear or bands that bring together instruments in ways that we wouldn't expect. All without relying on technology for the sound. We'll hear: The Troggs, Pink Floyd, Henry Thomas, John Mayall, Morphine, Mike Barnett & Eddie Barbash, Bela Fleck, Tilly and the Wall, Christine Balfa, djesben, Medusa Quartet, Le Vent du Nord, and Steve Roach & The Darwin Didjeridu Mob.Anything on your mind? Contact me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org

The National Recording Registry is a collection of sound recordings deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress. This week I'll play music that was recently added to the Registry.
We'll hear: Brother Bones, Chicago, Miles Davis, Charley Pride, Vicente Fernandez, Nimrod Workman, Freddy Fender, Thelma Houston & Pressure Cooker, Keith Jarrett, Steve Miller Band, and Tracy Chapman.
Anything on your mind? Contact me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org

This week we’re celebrating Moms everywhere and we'll hear: Gillian Welch, The Shirelles, Herschel Sizemore, Wilco, I Draw Slow, Mance Lipscomb, B.B. King, The Jesus Lizard, Al Berard & Karen England, Patti Smith, Gary Clark Jr (feat. Andra Day), Doc & Merle Watson, Van Morrison, Ensemble Modern, and Hamell on Trial.
Anything on your mind? Contact me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org
Miss you ma.

May Day is later this week. That’s the day when most of the planet celebrates workers, so I’m going to play songs about work and the labor movement. We'll hear: Dan Bern, Della Mae, Billy Bragg, Woody Guthrie, Wayne Horvitz, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Leyla McCalla, Utah Phillips, Birds On A Wire, Maya de Vitry, Sarah Lee Guthrie, and Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings.Anything on your mind? Contact me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org

Let's celebrate Earth Day. We'll hear: This Mortal Coil, Death Cab for Cutie, The Byrds, Pixies, Tom Russell, John Mailander, Siegel-Schwall Band, Susan Werner, Tom Lehrer, Jason Ringenberg, Steve Goodman, John Prine, Marvin Gaye, and Patti Smith.Anything on your mind? Contact me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org

This week, as Beer Week approaches, I have an hour of beer songs for your listening and imbibing pleasure. 
We'll hear: Grateful Dead, Todd Snider, Watkins Family Hour, Kevin Fisher, Jimmy McCracklin, Miss Leslie and Her Juke-Jointers, The Brothers Comatose, Della Mae, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Lee Hooker, Ewan MacColl & Peggy Seeger, Warner Williams with Eddie Pennington, Rum Ragged, The Reverend Horton Heat, Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen, and Traffic.
Anything on your mind? Contact me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org

This week’s musical thread is 1975.  In this episode, I’m featuring the more acoustic side of music released that year.  Later this year I’ll get to the electric sounds from 1975.  We'll hear: Joan Baez, David Bromberg Band, J. D. Crowe & The New South, Bob Dylan, John Fahey, HDS Session, Janis Ian, Old & In The Way, Utah Phillips, John Prine, Pete Seeger & Arlo Guthrie, Patti Smith, and Sammy Walker.Anything on your mind? Contact me at threadsandtangents@kmre.org