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American Tunes - Foot-Stompers, Shit-Kickers & Top-Poppers: A Playlist to Celebrate the 4th of July with
"Sing me back home with a song I used to hear..."
I haven't celebrated a 4th of July in the States in six years. Yes, I have celebrated in Australia and this year I will celebrate in London...but its not the same. There's no mad dash to the supermarket for BBQ fixin's. There's no parades down Main Street. There's no big field under a clear blue summer sky filled with friends and family playing horseshoes. There's no fireworks displays. There's no dusk bonfires outside a New Hampshire lake house. Nope...none of that.
I miss all of that hoopla. I miss the tradition and camaraderie that is the celebrating of the Fourth of July. I don't want to get all philosophical on a kick-back day like today, but just let me say, "you don't miss your water, 'til your well runs dry".
When I think of a 4th of July celebration, this is what I picture:
A wide open field, filled with closest friends and extended family. There is a stage where band will play. They will play a couple sets: one at noon and one at dusk. There's summer spots being payed everywhere: horseshoes (my fave), whiffle ball and badminton. There is a Beer tent with plenty of ice cold kegs, tapped and at the ready (everyone has red and blue solo cups in hand). The food...oh, the food: burgers, hot dogs, chicken, corn, beans, potato salad, macaroni salad, lobsters, apple pies...all eaten off of paper plates.
The day turns to night. The bonfire is lit. Everyone who is still there huddles around it. Kids sleep at their parents feet. We can see the local fireworks display from across town light up the sky. The young'ins spark up their own display out in the field in front of us. The crowd calls out for the band to grab the acoustics and lead us towards midnight in group a sing-a-long..."Crossroads, seem to come and go, yeah...."
Yep...I'm hankering for a good ol' fashion Americana celebration. While I can't share a cold one or a hot dog with you, I can share some American sounds. When I'm feeling a little blue on a day when I can't celebrate the the Red, White and Blue on American soil, I do what I always do: put the needle on the record and let the music play.
I have put together a playlist perfect for a day like the one I described. This playlist is full of old favorites, complete with a bit rock and roll, swinging blues and country twanginess. You'll be stomping feet and slapping backs while you pop the tops off of your ice cold longnecks of Bud when you hear this collection of classics performed by citizens of our beloved country.
I have wrapped them up in a bow in this shared folder for you to download: American Tunes
I'll be playing this set loud and proud as I fire up the grill and put on a couple burgers and dogs for me and the missus. Enjoy the day and and enjoy the people the you spend it with...where ever you are on this this big ol' globe.
Happy 4th of July. Judd
p.s. the songs in the folder are not in the order that put them in. If you want to recreate that, check the sequence below
(download)
Happy Turkey Day from the6149: Hopefully you all get a healthy dose of this today...
Thanksgiving is my fave holiday. No gifts, no funny fat man in a red suit, no bullshit. Just good friends, good family and good food.
Here's a little soundtrack for this post:
I'm always thankful; I don't take anything for granted...at least I try not to. I am very thankful for my wife and our exciting life. I am thankful for our health. I am very thankful for our families and our friends. Those are the 24/7/365 things I am thankful for.
Here are a few other things:
- Open G tuning (that one was for you, Keef)
- The Blues (specifically Charley Patton, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, R.L. Burnside, Otis Rush & Junior Wells)
- Neil Young's ever busy muse
- Hunter S. Thompson's wisdom
- The state of New Hampshire: ("Live Free or Die" is not only the coolest sate motto, they are words to live by)
And...of course I am very thankful for everyone that takes time out of the day to read what I post here at the6149.
Now get off the interweb and go get a second helping of turkey and all the fixin's.
Cheers.Judd
Autumn Audio: flannel shirts, leaves changing and songs for dirt roads
(scenes of New Hampshire in the Fall)
If you're a little bit of country and have never visited a website called "When You Awake", you ain't worth your salt.
Jody, who runs the site, says that When You Awake is an "ode to country life, celebrating everything from classic country and rock to the the current indie folk and roots scenes. The daily blog features music news, mixtapes, ticket giveaways, style finds and much more". She does a great job curating all kinds of great tunes that go twang into mixtapes for you to download. I know I've burned my share of bandwidth on her site.
There is a lot there to read and hear, so make sure you have time on hand when you have a gander.
In a recent post, she put together a list of "Seven Songs Shaping our Fall". The brief for this exercise: include songs that you are really enjoying now, that are shaping your life...genre be damned. Follow the link I provided for you to see what she came up with.
In a subsequent post Jody posted Fall song lists from "friends and trusted bloggers". She also suggests that we readers add out own lists in the comments. It is always great to see people respond to requests/posts like this. I enjoy seeing what everyone has their ears to and what new songs/artists I can get turned on to.
Of course this is a two-way street; I couldn't help but add my own list. A few others added their seven songs, too. Check the list updates here. You'll find mine in the comment section. I'm also adding it here, with my comments from the post, as well as with a Tune Tag playlist attached.
p.s. my "little bit of country" comment in the first line of this post was a tongue-in-cheek nod to two towering Champions of Contrived Cultural Cheesey-ness. I can't believe I am even linking to this (there goes my street cred). Warning: this may make you puke in your mouth.
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My Comments from When You Awake:
Great idea for a list. I am from New Hampshire but I have been off living in Sydney Australia and now in London. I miss the fall. Just looking at that picture takes me back to the N.H. fall with short, bitter days and long, warm nights of carousing by a jukebox with friends.
Here are my seven (this list wears a flannel shirt and should only be listened to on a roadtrip, preferably on a dirt road):
1. The Mountain - Levon Helm (Dirt Farmer)
2. Pullin’ Up the Tracks - Dave Gleason (Midnight California)
3. Wagon Wheel - Old Crow Medicine Show (O.C.M.S.)
4. Can’t You See - The Marshall Tucker Band (Marshall Tucker Band)
5. Long May You Run - Neil (Decade)
6. Hickory Wind - GP (Sacred Hearts & Fallen Angels)
7. Car Wheels on a Gravel Road - Lucinda (Car Wheels on a Gravel Road)
(Cameron Crowe would be upset at me for not having an Elton John song on a roadtrip mix tape: Country Comfort - Elton John (Tumbleweed Connection)
