Will Hackney and Kym Register of North Carolina’s Midtown Dickens have given us their “Top 10 Songs That Will Take You Home” featuring tunes by Bert Jansch, Megafaun, The Magnetic Fields and more. The band is currently gearing up for the release of their third full length record, appropriately (given their mixtape theme) titled Home (out April 3rd via Trekky Records) and were just announced on the lineup to one of our favorite festivals, Portland, Oregon’s Pickathon. Grab an MP3 of their tune “Only Brother” below and enjoy the mixtape after the jump.
MP3: Midtown Dickens- Only Brother

Midtown Dickens’ Top 10 Songs That Will Take You Home:

1. The Louvin Brothers – I’m Ready To Go Home
The Louvin Brothers possess some of the most magical voices I’ve ever heard. Its amazing that they sing so well together, considering they were so different: Charlie being a devout, humble Christian and Ira being a drunken mess. As an atheist, I think that’s why this sort of hyper-christian music is interesting to me. “I’m Ready To Go Home” is about finally ending a life of service to the lord, but its also about how difficult it is to live that way for a lifetime. I get the since that Charlie and Ira were singing the same words for different reasons. This is also a great song to listen to at the end of a long tour, for obvious reasons.

2. Des Ark – Goddamnit, Sweetheart
Staple song, and staple band of growing up in the music scene here. Des Ark started playing out when I was in high school. She was one of the women that showed me that music was accesible. Her lyrics in this tune tell they story of growing up in this area. Whiskey, drive-ins, trucks; obviously already a great song of this south. But she uses these images in ways that are real and not contrived. Des Ark’s solo records tear at the heart like any good country song, but her folk is specific, and makes me love this area even more.

3. Bonnie “Prince” Billy – My Home Is The Sea
I distinctly remember hearing this song for the first time on Pitchfork when it was released. As a longtime Will Oldham fan, I was pleased to see what different styles Matt Sweeney was bringing out as a collaborator. The guitar playing, the songwriting (and especially the incendiary double(!) guitar solo on this song) were all the best Will had ever done and also something very different. My senior year of high school, I drove around my hometown of Chapel Hill listening to this on repeat, yelling “I am under your spell! And you will have me I reckon!” out of the open windows.

4. The Bowerbirds – The Ticonderoga
All of these guys songs remind me of coming home. Their woody instruments, from Phil’s classical guitar to Beth’s accordion, and the ease of the percussion. It’s a sound that is being developed a lot of places, where musicians use folk instruments from all over to craft their own blend of folk. This song has a lot of history in it, of this area and of the music “scene” of Raleigh / Durham… I have to say though, I pump this song frequently on long drives. It may remind me of home mostly for that reason.

5. Bert Jansch- Running From Home
I was sad to hear that Bert Jansch died this year, as I had just discovered his music and just missed the opportunity to see him play live. I love how much Jansch can do with just a guitar, being a master at finger-picking. There’s something instantly nostalgic about the circular procession of “Running From Home”, and its interesting that it can remind me of my American home, even though it was written about Jansch’s Scottish home.

6. The Mountain Goats- Home Again Garden Grove
We Shall All be Healed was the first Mountain Goats album I really got into, and this song immediately stuck out to me. Its the most ferocious song on the album and also (I later learned) and obvious nod to John’s past lo-fi boombox recording style in his earlier days. We recently toured with the Mountain Goats, and it was interesting to me how many places John had home-like ties. Many places we would go he could relate a story of having lived 30 minutes South of the venue, or down the street (icluding Garden Grove). As someone who has lived in North Carolina my whole life, I can’t think of any other place as home, but John has about a dozen places that feel like home. Luckily, he also ended up settling in NC, so I know we both made the right choice.

7. Mount Moriah – Hail, Lightning
Heather’s been in so many projects that I’ve loved. One that I still drop everything to see is Bellfea, a band that’s a lot heavier sonically than this project. This project may be my favorite yet. She really seems to get to her roots and (maybe it’s because I can hear them more clearly) the lyrics paint beautiful emotive pictures of what it’s like to be from this area. A few songs are about being queer in the south, which is a struggle that I admire her for using her voice to discuss. In this song you can just hear the slowness of the south. You can hear it, and admire its urgency with the tension that’s created between the electric guitar and the drums that are hanging back a little. It paints the picture of those long drives across the piedmont with nothing in between stops. Beautiful.

8. Magnetic Fields – All My Little Words
I got into these guys way late in the game… Four years ago on my way home from the wild rugged nature of the west coast the girl I was dating gifted me the first two albums on the 69 Love Songs comp and that’s all i listened to for about four months. The composition of this song (these records, really) twists folk with subtle electronic music and uses the banjo in a way that makes you forget that it’s a banjo. It stunned me to find that they were on a record label that was located 5 blocks from my house @ Merge Records.

9. Charley Patton- I’m Goin’ Home
Charley Patton was my first experience with truly old music that I felt like I could relate to. When I discovered him, I just didn’t know there was music from the 20s that I thought I could have a relationship with. Even though the recording of “I’m Going Home” is fuzzy and quiet, Charley’s voice is so expressive that I can imagine him sitting in some tavern, with no microphone, singing as loud as he could over the drinkers and socializers. That’s a feeling I can sometimes relate to as a touring musician! This is another that I often sing to myself on the way home from tour.

10. Megafaun (Feat. Christy Smith of Tender Fruit) – The Longest Day
Again, with the atypical banjo. I’m a sucker for it. Phil uses clawhammer percussively, but allows the accordion and even the shakers to take the lead at times. It’s a great song, and I’m consistently amazed at how these guys can make me love music from the south even though they weren’t raised here. The lyrics are heartwrenching but sweet, and the one that I like to sing out loud every time I hear this one is, “I ain’t never seen a night that didn’t have a dawn.” Killer.

Leeds band Arthur Rigby and the Baskervylles have given us their “10 songs to listen to over a large breakfast and strong coffee on a lazy Sunday morning following a heavy night on Saturday and looking forward to an afternoon laying on grass in the sun with a beer. ” I literally stumbled onto the band a couple of months back. I walked into the venue and the entire audience was holding hands and swinging their arms in the air, chanting along to one of Rigby’s sweet tunes. I was so taken aback that I actually paid to see them the next time they came through town (something I don’t do often folks), and was once again compltely charmed. Though there are a bit out of the realm of most When You Awake bands (leaning more towards the Arcade Fire/The National vibe), I predict really good things for this group. If you happen to be in London tonight, they’ll be playing at the Enterprise over in Camden. I’ll be there, hands in the air. Their mixtape is after the jump.

Arthur Rigby’s Top 10 songs to listen to over a large breakfast and strong coffee on a lazy Sunday morning following a heavy night on Saturday and looking forward to an afternoon laying on grass in the sun with a beer:

1. Elbow- Mirrorball
Put this track on with a heavy head and stomach full of breakfast to enjoy the hangover cigarette watching the plumes of smoke disappear into the shafts of sunshine! The dreamy piano will tinkle you into relaxation!

2. Heather Woods Brokerick- Turned
This is such a pretty song. Heathers sublime vocals rest over a delicate guitar line, soothing the hangover whilst giving a chilled sound track to a sunny afternoon.

3. Loch Lomond- Wax & Wire
This song is relaxing and energising all at the same time. When I listen to it I [Katie] am transported to a place of rolling hills and amazing views with the sea breeze in my hair.

4. Sigur Ros- Hoppipolla
Not only are the beats easy on a Sunday morning head but the huge euphoric sound scape takes the mind from the upside down stomach in a rather beautiful way!

5. Sly & the Family Stone- Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)
Just ’cause it’s so darn good. Some Larry Graham magic bass on there! Performance/Production/Interpretation second to none. I think it suits a lazy, hazy Sunday!

6. Ok Go- This Too Shall Pass (Marching Band Version)
As the head begins to collect itself and the fresh air is calling, this tune is what fun sounds like! And an amazing video to boot ..!

7. The National- England
An absolutely spellbinding track that needs full attention lying on the couch, eyes closed and the smell of fresh coffee filling the nostrils.

8. Idlewild- Live in a Hiding Place
Dumping the washing up in the sink for later, and heading on out the door, blasting this tune into your ears.

9. Noah and the Whale- Blue Skies
Lyrically brilliant song about break-ups and moving on in life … very similar to getting over a hangover!

10. Efterklang- I Was Playing Drums
This song really does sound better in the sunshine, the lick is so catchy it’ll bounce around your head until every little ache has been obliterated!

mp3: Arthur Rigby and the Baskervylles- White Houses

In honor of their gig tonight at the Echo in Los Angeles, Miles Seaton from Akron/Family has given us his “More Music From Hot Places” mixtape, featuring tunes by Miles Davis, Sly and the Family Stone, Geto Boys and more. I’ll let Miles take it from here: “I love the idea of a central theme in a mix – though at the time that I was asked to make this, most of what I was listening to were long form abstract compositions from a friends amazing collection of new age cassettes – so a 10 song mix would have been an all night commitment. But as the northeast winter wore on, I started to get more and more restless with the subtle shifts of the crystal vibrations collection…I started to ache for a beat and bass line. Which led me back to the slinky sweaty dream of summer. From free jazz jungle calls all the way to the big easy via Soweto, Ghana, NYC, LA (what what?!), and even a little stop off in Trenchtown, this is my tonic for the hinterlands.” Check out the mix and Akron’s complete tour dates after the jump. For more info about tonight’s show, click here.

Akron/Family’s More Music From Hot Places:
 
1. PHAROAH SANDERS - BAILOPHONE DANCE
I had to put this track up top. The animal calls always crack me up but the conviction with which this music is played is astounding 

2. HALLELUJAH CHICKEN RUN BAND - GORE IRO
This was my introduction to the music of Zimbabwe. Every part of this song feels like it’s singing. When i worked at a coffee shop, every time I played this music everyone that came in would just smile, little kids wanna dance to it, I wanna dance to it! 

3. AFRICAN BROTHERS DANCE BAND - MMOMBROWA
The lazy clave in this jam just KILLS me. So laid back, I instantly want to be wherever these dudes are singing to me from. The harmony is just beautiful. 

4. MILES DAVIS - BLACK SATIN
Ok. Back to the street. The weird tape cut from the tablas and sitar into one of the most muscular grooves on earth, the jingle bells the (possibly coke fueled) overt aggression that always makes me walk with a little more swagger when it’s on my headphones.  This music has a sense of danger that most bands these days just avoid even considering…. but these dudes can PLAY. 

5. ESG- COME AWAY 
Where my girls at? I know that LA has mad love for these Bronx sisters..as do I. the beat and the almost deceptively simple playing had me at hello – a perfect cure anyone in a hyper cerebral phase of their life.. remember that ass of yours? shake it! 

6. GETO BOYS - MIND PLAYIN TRICKS ON ME
Long before I had ever moved to new york, I heard this song on rap attack! A late night rap show on what is now KEXP in seattle I have always loved this song, but someone put it on after we played one night in Knoxville Tennessee and I was shocked to discover that I knew all the words.. I love the lack of chorus, and the noir theme, it’s like Poe for Bushwick before anyone you knew besides your dealer lived there.  

7. SUSAN CADOGAN - FEVER
I’m just gonna say it, I think Lee Perry may have been the greatest reggae producer of all time. This particular track just ooze summer to me. The sexy lyrics really take on a new urgency under the care of Susan Cadogan, I can see her swaying to the gritty beat, maybe closing her eyes.. 

8. SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE - JUST LIKE A BABY
There is only one thing that this song means when I comes on at our house. Hands down one of the sexiest recordings of all time. Sly is in such top form here. The bass is way too high for any commercial mix the spooky organ in the back. This is hottness defined. It’s what i don’t or wont say here that made me choose this song. This entire album (there’s a riot goin on) is one of the best albums of all time. 

9. GUILDED SPLINTERS- I WALK ON
Finally we land in New Orleans. Dr. John is one of those artists that I didn’t really discover until I was mid 20′s because I had only heard some radio hit that betrayed is utterly inventive psychedelic nature. When I heard this record (Gris Gris), I was blown away. The entire thing feels like a film the background singers the eerie sax melody.. this is what New Orleans feels like to me. Ghosts every where, mist and vines hanging across the streets.. voodoo, or magic if you are looking for safety.. 

Akron/Family Tour Dates
Apr 6 Echo Los Angeles, CA
Apr 7 Soho Restaurant and Music Club Santa Barbara, Ca
Apr 8 Independent San Francisco, CA
May 16 Paradiso Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS
May 17 Le Botanique Bruxelles, BELGIUM
May 20 Café De La Danse Paris, FRANCE
May 21 Le Rockstore Montpellier, FRANCE
May 29 Brudenell Social Club Leeds, UNITED KINGDOM
May 30 Bush Hall London, UNITED KINGDOM

Susan James has given us her “Top 10 Songs for a Sunny Country Picnic” featuring tunes by Paul Simon, Incredible String Band, The Dillards and more. James will be celebrating the release of her new record, Highways, Ghosts, Hearts & Home tonight, Tuesday, February 15th at the Echo in Los Angeles and it’s fixin’ to be quite the affair with guest sets from I See Hawks in LA, Old Californio, Tony Gilkyson and more.  Check out the mix and more info about the show after the jump.

Songs for a Sunny Country Picnic:

People always think of the beaches in SoCal when they think of California. We have some beautiful places with rolling oak covered hills and pine tree mountains as well as the mysterious desert. It’s a beautiful sunny day, pack that picnic basket, gather your friends, hop in the car, head out of L.A. Maybe up to Santa Ynez, Wrightwood or ?? Enjoy the sun & nature, share a laugh, throw a Frisbee, have a good time. Here’s a good soundtrack to enjoy it by.

1. Jackson Browne- The Road and The Sky
From the album Late For The Sky, which gave us an amazing collection of heart-achingly lovely songs, “Late For The Sky,” “Fountain Of Sorrow,” “For A Dancer,” and “Before The Deluge,” I chose this Eagle-esque rocker that was the only lighter moment on that album. Backed by an amazing cast of friends: David Lindley, Don Henley, J.D. Souther, and other stellar folks, it’s also a testament to a circle of musician friends who cared for and supported each other. Something that a lot of you know is important to me and how I operate.

2. Leo Kottke- The Driving of the Year Nail
From the 6 And 12 String Guitar album. Man, talk about an instrumental that sounds like perfect road trip (or picnic!) soundtrack. Leo Kottke has been a huge influence on me and the way I look at guitar. Yes, that’s all I want to do when I hear/see him perform, is just LOOK at it, because there’s no way to pick it up and play it like him. You can try, but no one plays like Leo.

3. Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton- The Last Thing on my Mind
Were they the perfect duet partners or what?! Sweet. ’nuff said.

4. The Dillards- Sunny Day
Thanks to Bryan for turning me on to this song. It’s been on constant rotation ever since. My daughter LOVES this song also, and asks for it every time we hop in the car. The slightly psychedelic vibe in this excellent folky tune makes it irresistible to me.

5. Velvet Underground- Who Loves The Sun
From the Loaded album. Well, it’s a heartbreak song, but they mentioned the sun so it came to mind. Could this be one of the most commercial sounding songs that the V.U. did? Perhaps… until that wacky little bridge comes in! Love it.

6. Mungo Jerry- In the Summertime
Loved this song when I was a kid. Love it now.

7. Paul Simon- Was A Sunny Day
Every summer as I was growing up, my family would stay in the sleepy beachtown San Clemente for the summer. There was this great hippie health food store called the Sunshine Health Bar in Laguna Beach, and I have fond memories of this song in heavy rotation there. It seems it was always on, while I bought a peanut butter shake ( sounds weird but it was GREAT), or a ‘Monkey Flip’- (some sort of shake with chocolate, peanut butter, banana, who knows what else!).

8. Richard Buckner- Gauzy Dress In The Sun
Such a beautiful song. Richard and I have toured together, and among the memories of those times was a crazy debauchery driven night in Juarez, Mexico ( a NO GO zone these days), but I digress, that’s another story! This is from his Bloomed record. Richard is truly a fantastic one-of-a-kind writer, and a great guy.

9. Incredible String Band- Log Cabin Home In The Sky
From the Wee Tam And The Big Huge record. The Incredible String Band always put a smile on my face. It sounds like the past, but it reminds me of the future…

10. Jamie Hartford and Pat McLaughlin- Back In The Good Old Days
This is one of many great songs written by Jamie Hartford’s dad, John Hartford. I love this one. I couldn’t find a recording of John Hartford doing it, but I think Jamie and Pat’s version is great also.

Los Angeles’ own Whispering Pines have given us a mighty fine mixtape of tunes that they may cover on any given night, including tracks by Waylon Jennings, JJ Cale, Fleetwood Mac and more. You’ll have the chance to possibly hear one of them live when they perform tomorrow night, February 15th,  at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood. Also on the lineup are When You Awake-favorites Mountain Man, Haroula Rose, Kim Churchill and Jeffertitti’s Nile. Check out the mix and more info about the show after the jump.

Songs You May Hear Covered By Whispering Pines On Any Given Night:

1. Manassas- Johnny’s Garden
Written by Stephen Stills and supposedly inspired by the live-in gardener residing on the estate he had purchased from Peter Sellers in the early 70s. The mind runs wild with Being There comparisons (one of my favorite films). Did this man also inspire Seller’s performance a decade plus later? I think so. Must have been a helluva dude. Joe Z. locks down and re-invents the wandering Dallas Taylor drums when the Pines play this song. Bliss-out in nature. -jb

2. Bob Dylan- New Pony
This is a blues that never hits the IV chord. From a totally under-appreciated Dylan album Street Legal; “Senor” is another standout track from this record. I saw Mike Campbell play it once. Outstanding. -jb

3. Waylon Jennings- Black Rose
Black Rose is a Billy Joe Shaver tune done up by Waylon. Classic. I discovered Waylon’s brawn baritone in my NYC days. I picked up his bio on my way through Nashville while driving back to California. I proceeded to binge on ol’ Waymore’s stories of life and music the rest of the way back… needless to say, the legend was solidified. All the ladies want him, all the men, well… Waylon forever lives in my mind as the archetypal voice for the open road. With Ralph Mooney blessing the steel and Richie Albright pocketing the trap, Waylon records are timeless country. When I think I’ve got to get out of this Godforsaken city, I know “The devil made me do it the first time, the second time I done it on my own.” DWB

4. Tom Rush- Driving Wheel
A cover standard written by English-born, Canadian-raised folk singer David Whiffen. Tom’s beautiful take on this folk masterpiece will forever keep Kleenex in business. Add some slide guitar, churning hammond, dobro, a graceful drum and bass groove, and perhaps one of my favorite horn lines and you’ve got yourself the best version ever recorded. -BF

5. Fleetwood Mac- Tell Me All The Things You Do
Great melodic guitar figures from Danny Kirwan’s magically defective mind. God bless, brother. I think this song is an early example of the ‘parked wah-wah’ technique on the melody. This may pre-date Mick Ronson’s extensive (and majestic) use of this effect by a year or so. The song is also notable for its impossible-to-forget lyric. We like to ‘stretch out’ on the outro jam and quote some more guitar meistros. Peter Green, B.B.King, Duane Allman, Terry Kath… in that order. If it’s wrong, then I don’t care to be right. -jb

6. Steve Young- Lonesome Onr’y And Mean
I got to see Steve Young perform a couple times in 2010. Once at a screening of the great film Heartworn Highways and once in a café with Van Dyke Parks. Both were instances that I like to call magical L.A.-centric moments. L.A., don’t hate… appreciate! One of my favorite songwriters, he sings and plays better than ever today. He’s also a really nice dude whose paid some dues of his own in the neighborhood we now call home. He likes to play Warren Zevon’s “Carmelita.” Now, about that Pioneer Chicken stand on Alvarado… -jb

7. Gram Parsons- Big Mouth Blues
Gram Parsons was a trustifarian from the South. Despite his pampered upbringing, he wrote some good tunes that NYC hada lot to do with… or something like that. Of course, he finagled the bees knees of studio cats from Elvis’ band for his record. Good job, Gram. But let us not forget about his upstanding and bonafide working-class touring band featuring the Colorado wonder kid Jock Bartley. Thanks again, Gram! -DWB

8. Allman Brothers- In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
It speaks for itself, really. If you listen with the right ears you might never be the same again. It happened to me. -jb

9. Little Feat- Easy To Slip
Outrageously great drum beat from Richie Hayward. I think he also sang the high harmony part and, brotha, that’s high. I know ’cause I tried it. I would love to see footage of the original band performing this song but haven’t found anything. Dancing Cacti. Overalls. Shakers. Groovy Hats. Himmler’s Ring?! A Spark Plug Socket Sliding on a Cheap Strat. Lowell, we need ya. Groove on, Inara. -jb

10. JJ Cale- Crazy Mama
Short, sweet, and cooler than Jesus, “Crazy Mama” from JJ Cale’s legandary first LP is just that. A swamplike bluesy tune that embodies the essence of the deep, dark south in just 2 1/2 minutes. No bells and whistles, just straight up, finger lickin’ grooves. Hey Clapton, hope you’re taking notes. -BF

Click here to view the embedded video.Whipering Pines- Crazy Mama

Click here to view the embedded video.Mountain Man- Animal Tracks

Click here to view the embedded video.Haroula Rose-The Leaving Song

Click here to view the embedded video.Jeffertitti’s Nile- Mountain Jam

Click here to view the embedded video.Kim Churchill- Ocean

We have to admit that we’ve fallen a bit for Denver, Colorado’s Nathaniel Rateliff after stumbling onto his music a few weeks ago. So we are very, very pleased to present his “Top 10 Songs of Love and Loss” (just in time for Valentine’s Day on Monday!). It’s a brilliant mix featuring tunes by Townes Van Zandt, Leonard Cohen, Elvis Perkins and more. Rateliff will be performing at a sold out gig tonight at Barfly in London alongside Nashville, Tennessee’s Caitlin Rose and then will head east on Sunday for Communion’s shindig at the Notting Hill Arts Club. Check out his complete touring dates, including a handful of gigs in the US this spring, and the mixtape after the jump. Enjoy!

Nathaniel Rateliff’s Top 10 Songs of Love and Loss:

1. Leonard Cohen – Take This Longing
Perfect, everything about this song is perfect. Sad and sexy.

2. M. Ward – Lets Dance
M. Ward didn’t write this one, But this version I fell in love with. The softness of his voice really draws attention to the words.

3. Pearly Gate Music – Navy Blues
Great story, beautiful love song and not typical writing.

4. Stan Getz and  Joao Gilberto  – Corcovado
I love this song makes me want to lay around for weeks with my lover.

5. Townes Van Zandt – No Place To Fall
Best love song for failures. It’s sweet tender and honest.

6. Brightblack Morning Light – All We Have Broken Shines
I’m not sure what this song is about. But this song and the rest of this record is one of the best for love making.

7. Elvis Perkins – Hows Forever Been Baby
I can never tell if this is a love song or a song written for someone who died. But it breaks my heart both ways.

8. Wentwoth Kersey – Ears Burn
This is not so much of a love song about lost love. But it is a heartbreaker.
Perfect amount of space.

9.  Santo & Johnny – Sleep Walk
I always listen to this one when ever I here that someone close to me has
passed away. It has no words but it always take my breath and leaves me weepy.

10. Harry Nilsson – Living Without You
This is a good one to listen to after a break up on repeat for a few days.

Tour Dates:
Feb 11 Barfly London, GB – 19:30
Feb 13 Notting Hill Arts Club London, GB – 19:00
Feb 25 Everyday Joe’s Fort Collins, Colorado , US – 19:00
Feb 26 Old Main Theatre Boulder, CO – 20:30
Mar 25 The Pageant St. Louis, MO , US – 19:00
Mar 26 The University of Wisconsin @ the rathskeller Madison, WI – 19:00
Mar 29 The University of Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota – 19:00
Mar 31 The Mill Iowa City, Iowa, US – 15:00
Apr 1 Bottleneck Lawrence, KS, Us – 19:00

MP3: Nathaniel Rateliff- Early Spring Till (buy)

Josh Ritter has given us his “Nine Songs To Trash A Hotel Room To”, featuring tunes by Lucinda Williams, King Khan and more. He’ll have loads of opportunities to do just that on his massive upcoming tour that will take him across the US and over to Europe with dates scheduled at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles on February 26th and at Scala in London on April 18-19th. Ritter is also re-issuing his 2006 record, The Animal Years, this upcoming Tuesday, February 15th. The updated version of the CD and the vinyl will include a bonus disc featuring Josh performing the entire album solo acoustic, plus four studio b-sides and two videos. Check out a little taste of Josh’s acoustic stylings and his mixtape after the jump.

Josh Ritter’s Nine Songs to Trash a Hotel Room to…

1. The Pogues- Boys from the County Hell
You’re on top of the world. Your sitcom has finally been picked up, the divorce papers are in and you’ve got an icebox full of Dr.Pepper and Robitussin. Where will fate take you? Well, you’re in a Motel 6 near Galena, Illinois. If fate could take you here, it sure as hell isn’t choosey.

2. Tom Waits- Anywhere I Lay My Head
The town wasn’t much, just a short bend in a long road and you, a down-at-the-heels English dandy, thought the hotel and saloon was just as good a place as any to drink gin while you learned how to duel with pistols. Except now your optic nerves are frayed and your head hurts and you’ve lost your taste for almost everything in the world but hot air balloons,lullabyes and the hibernating habits of swallows.

3. Lucinda Williams- Atonement
You’re staying outside of Dallas at some corporate by-the-month Inn and Suites. From your window you can see the Dallas skyline, all heat and mirrors. You don’t hate your boss, he’s just trying to get paid too. But you can’t help but notice on CNN that he just sold all his own company stock and disappeared. So you get a stick of butter, a pile of *Us Weekly*s and a frying pan and you set it all on the stove top and watch the room begin fill with smoke.

4. White Stripes- Hotel Yorba
Throw it all out of the hotel room! Out the window over the edge of the railing into the common courtyard below! Get it all out there! Love letters! The Bible! The empty Boon Farms wine bottles! The neon, the mattress reclamation warnings! Get it all out! Leave the room empty. Save the In-n-Out, but just get the rest out and sit on the empty floor in an ocean of shag carpet.

5. Captain Beefheart- Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles
Of course if you want to sit in a stone-cold, barely tremoring, edge of the bed state of jittery nervous collapse, you could do worse than listen to the Captain drill your soul down deep into the San Andreas and wait for the quiet moment before the world bursts and the whole state slides out into the sea.

6. Nina Simone- I Put a Spell on You
You sit there on your balcony watching the sun go down and wondering how it is that every time Nina Simone sings you get the feeling like the sunset doesn’t want to always be so pretty, sometimes it just wants to reach through the screen window and rip your goddamn eyeballs out.

7. Hasil Adkins- Turn My Coat Tails Loose
You had been thinking about getting a sex-change for awhile, but now, tied to the matress in some little, nameless Patagonian B&B, you wonder whether it was worth it coming all this way just to save money on the medical bills and to have “an original experience.”

8. Nick Cave- Deanna
This is music for staring into mirrors by. This is about that endless moment when you wonder whether the circles under your eyes are shadows or some first step on the way towards something new. This is where you wash your face in the tiny basin and the soap leaves your cheeks squeaky and, looking up again into the reflection you see that some previous guest has drawn both a heart and a name, but all you can really tell as the condensation runs down the pane is that neither of them are yours.

9. The King Khan and BBQ Show- Captain Captain
You pull into the Knight’s Inn somewhere in New Mexico. It’s dark, the only illumination coming from your own headlights, the motel office and the adjoining Jacuzzi where a stringy couple is necking and drinking off-brand Keystone Light. From seemingly nowhere, two men come to your window and ask you to borrow a flashlight. You say you have none and they ask you to borrow a shovel. You answer again in the negative and they melt back into the big-box night.

MP3: Josh Ritter- Wolves (acoustic)

James Jackson Toth, aka Wooden Wand, has given us his “Recent Roadtrippin’ Mix”, featuring tunes by Tompal Glaser, Jim Ford, The Rolling Stones and more. Toth released his 10th full-length record, Death Seat, last year via Young God Records (which was produced by Swan’s Michael Gira and features guest musicians from Glossary, Lambchop, Silver Jews, Mercury Rev, Fire on Fire/Big Blood) and is currently hosting a Kickstarter campaign to fund his next album. Check out a demo of one of the songs that will be on the record, as well as his mixtape after the jump!

Recent Roadtrippin’ Mix:

1. Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee – Old Lost John
Forever linked in your mind to the Herzog film Stroszek, this ebullient, uplifting and raucous music transforms your initial hungover-ass bad mood into a glee bordering on giddiness. The ideal kickoff track.

2. Dr Feelgood – Roxette
You’re a sucker for ‘pub rock’ and this is the jam to clear the cobwebs after copious Waffle House coffee and an early check-out at the Motel 666.

3. Jim Ford – Big Mouth USA
You listen to this one on repeat a few times, singing along to warm up your voice (just an excuse to belt it out in private, really).

4. Cockney Rebel – Cavaliers
Slowing it down a little now. You’re out of the town you were in and begin settling in for a few hours of lonesome interstate. Risky to put such a long song on a mix (and while we’re being all Nick Hornby about it and making dumb ‘rules,’ no metal or free jazz, either – shit is intrusive), but this song’s a staple.

5. Rolling Stones – Coming Down Again
Once you’ve absorbed Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street, Let It Bleed, etc, you come to realize that the Stones were at the peak of their powers on Goats Head Soup and Tattoo You. This reflective junkie yarn acts as Road Warrior Balm. No turning back now.

6. The Roches – Losing True
When you walk around with “The Hammond Song” in your brain at all times, as you do, you’ll opt for this lesser known masterpiece for the road mix. You only know two other people who are as into the Roches as you are. You’ve been looking for a Roches t-shirt for years. Can’t find one.

7. Tom Verlaine – Postcard From Waterloo
Picking it up again. Great fucking guitar playing. Slowpokes in the left lane make you wish your headlights dispensed heavy artillery.

8. Royal Trux – Stevie
The quintessential Royal Trux tune. Rock and roll distilled to it’s very essence. Perfection.

9. Johnny Dowd – Cradle To The Grave
Shit’s getting weird. You imagine the lines on the highway ahead of you are little lasers being projected into your front bumper. You’re suitably paranoid now. Was that a cop? You hate when they hide in the brush. Lousy nuisance cops. Like mosquitos of the blacktop. You better stop and pee.

10. The Cure – Babble
You stop. You catch the ‘ice grill’ from the truckers at the rest stop, but there are sex toys in the bathroom vending machine. You purchase one to amuse yourself and look forward to hopping back in the mothership because you know this song is on deck.

11. Ace Frehley – Snow Blind
Fact: All songs called “Snowblind’ are awesome. There are at least four you can think of off the top of your head, not counting Hoyt Axton’s awesome “Snowblind Friend.” Ace’s solo album is the only thing associated with Kiss, save “Beth,” that you like at all. This song rules.

12. Black Flag – Three Nights
Ponderosa sounds good, but all you see are Subways. “Three Nights” is affirming. Roll on, daddy. You can never go fast enough.

13. Tompall Glaser – What Are We Doing With Our Lives
You wish this opening riff would play on a loop for hours. Highway mirages. Local jerky. This bottled water tastes different from that other bottled water. Compulsory glances into the rearview to confront your own gaze.

14. The Durutti Column – The Missing Boy
Roadkill. Weigh station closed. Buckle up, Columbus. Uneven shoulders. Bumper sticker lore.

15. Slaughter Joe – Positively Something Wild
…or something by The Gris-Gris.

16. Guided By Voices – Chicken Blows
Sorry, cuz, it’s genius.

17. Deniz Tek – RPM
Duh.

18. The Feelies – Away
“I feel good, I can take it all the way.” You mad as Moses, cousin. Godspeed and good luck.

MP3: Wooden Wand- The DNR Wand

Why not celebrate Dr. King’s week by reveling in the upsurge of multicultural roots music groups? Brooklyn’s great twang outfit Ghost Gamblers certainly fits the bill — featuring Kamara Thomas & Amal Bouhabib as it does, alongside the talented Gabriel Berezin, Jeff Malinowski, Gordon Hartin & John Durgee. This is reflected in the band’s cosmic sound having no rigid boundaries; check out their Ghost Stories, Vol. 1 on iTunes. And don’t let Little Big Town claim all the credit for reviving a Fleetwood Mac-style mix gender frontline, as, with two songcrafting couples at its core, this sextet is killin’ it. Ghost Gamblers is hibernating for the winter, but serving the scene via other incarnations such as the Basement Band (which is set to tear the roof off of Williamsburg’s Brooklyn Rod & Gun this Saturday 22 January — for those on the East Coast. Come early for the fresh fish & beer). And frontwoman Kamara is laboring hard at a studio in downtown Manhattan — with fellow GG/Basement Band lead Jeff Malinowski at the knobs — recording a solo album, Past Is Primer, set for late 2011 release (most likely on Earl Greyhound’s label Hawk Race). Check out the Ghost Gamblers mixtape and the video for their on-the-G-train version of Amal’s beautiful composition “Oh My God” (courtesy of Karina Mackenzie’s Bridge Sessions) after the jump.

Top 13 Songs to Surely Get Your Cosmic Country Soul Free:

1. Emmylou Harris – Elite Hotel – “Amarillo”
I always like to start with the ladies– when they hit their high and mighty notes on a good ol’ country song, it breaks a little opening in your heart that’ll let the deeper stuff in later on…

2. Dolly Parton – The RCA Years – “Muleskinner Blues”
See above

3. Court and Spark – Bless You – “National Lights”
This song just takes it’s groove SO DAMN EASY, it’s unbearable. That little opening in the heart is now a wobbly, amoeba-like tear…

4. Tom Petty – Mojo – “Pirate’s Cove”
We could be groovin’ on this song all night long people, so just take your eyes off the clock and settle into that wibblywobbly heartspot…

5. Terry Reid – Seed of Memory – “Faith to Arise”
You know you feel it now… and you know you’re about to get up and do some joyful hippie dancing. You might even rewind a few times so you can learn all the words, and then play it again so you can sing the choruses at the top of your lungs and let your soul out. And all the better if you’re completely alone with no one to answer to for it… F.R.E.E.

6. Waylon Jennings – Super Hits – “Just to Satisfy You”
And then we just keep on dancing and singing, but now with a new and improved country attitude, brothers and sisters, courtesy of Waylon.

7. Grinderman – Grinderman 1 – “No Pussy Blues”
Now that we’ve got ourselves in the right mindset, we’re ready to get schooled. Lesson #1 comes from headmaster Nick Cave.

8. Tom Petty – Mojo – “First Flash of Freedom”
Then the mystic comes down from the mountain with lesson #2– he’s seen the other side, and just wants to remind us that there ain’t nothin’ replaces the cosmic country soul, so keep the faith…

9. Terry Reid – Seed of Memory – “Seed of Memory”
Lesson #3 from the almost-forgotten poet — if this song doesn’t immediately alert you to the majestic heights your soul is capable of, then I suggest starting the playlist over and trying again until you’re down on your knees praying to your Muse to light your ass with some inspiration…

10. Gordon Lightfoot – Sundown – “Sundown”
Lesson #4, a quick reminder that good songs should seem easy, from a legendary Canadian…

11. Lucinda Williams – World Without Tears – “Fruits of My Labors”
If by now you’ve not had a good cry or a good sing-at-the-top-of-your-lungs, here’s where to take it…

12. Wilco – Summerteeth – “When You Wake Up Feeling Old”
Death, we fear you not! We lollygag toward you, eyes open, hearts full, cosmic-country souls intact!

13. Laura Cantrell – Not the Tremblin’ Kind – “Queen of the Coast”
Just pure enjoyment from here on out, 100% freedom, 100% of the time, wouldn’t you say comrades?

& Oh my, my, my!

(Photo by Brian Young & John Durgee)

Bryan Thomas and I have been working on this little nugget of a mixtape for you for quite a while. It contains a mixture of our favorite instrumental tunes and pairs classics like Bert Jansch and David Crosby with rising artists like William Tyler and C Joynes. While the theme of the mix is mostly relective (this was assembled during the first snow here in England after all), we’ve also thrown in a sweet Christmas ditty for your added pleasure. ‘Tis the season after all.  Enjoy!

Stop Your Talking: A When You Awake Instrumental Mixtape:

1. Jefferson Airplane- Embryonic Journey
2. William Tyler- Terrace of the Leper King
3. Bert Jansch- Chambertin
4. C Joynes- Lay You Down O My Brother
5. Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci- Wrong Tunings
6. Pentangle- Way Behind The Sun
7. Led Zeppelin- White Summer Black Mountain Side
8. Kev Hopper- Tiny Flowers
9. David Crosby- Eep Hour (Rounds)
10. The Doobie Brothers- Slack Key Soquel Rag
11. Cochise- O Come All Ye Faithful