A little over a year ago, my buddy Sam Umbach and I started on a project to solve a problem for Hickory Wind. I wanted a secure, reliable way to get review materials to Hickory Wind authors all over the world via the web. We've been using it for over a year now, and it's finally ready for the music blogosphere to come and play with it! ReviewShine is a place where promoters and artists meet ...
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ReviewShine: Getting Music to Bloggers Without Going Postal by larry
Justin Townes Earle "Midnight at the Movies" (Bloodshot Records) by tmurphy
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With two famous pedigrees to draw from or live up to as the case may be (his father Steve and Steve’s hardcore troubadour buddy Townes Van Zandt), Justin Townes Earle has released his second full length, “Midnight at the Movies” on Bloodshot Records. Earle chooses to both embrace and distance himself from the Earle heritage on “Mama’s Eyes”, where he states that “I am my father's s
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New releases: Feb. 24, 2009 by stacy
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The Alternate Routes -- Sucker's Dream (Vanguard)JJ Cale -- Roll On (Rounder)Chris Isaak -- Mr. Lucky (Reprise/WEA)various artists -- Singing Through the Hard Times: A Tribute to Utah Phillips (Righteous Babe)various artists -- Putumayo Presents: India (Putumayo)And, lest you missed a trip to the record store last week (like I did), don't miss out on "Years of Refusal" by Morrissey and the new,...
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Roky Erickson on A.C.L. by hal
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Check with your local PBS station to verify date and time but WUNC-TV's schedule is showing an encore performance by Texas legend Roky Erickson for this Saturday (2/21). Details and clip from the broadcast.Watch the ACL episode and then rent Roky's movie "You're Gonna Miss Me" so you can truly appreciate his amazing comeback.
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Justice prevails by stacy
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"Raising Sand," the T Bone Burnett-produced collaboration of Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, scooped up five -- count 'em, five! -- Grammys on Sunday, eclipsing the buzz that had been around Lil Wayne and his eight nominations (he won just four, though to his credit, he WAS competing against himself in a few categories) before the awards were given out.We've said it before, and we'll say it ag...
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Springsteen’s “Working On A Dream” by hal
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“Have you ever seen a one-legged dog makin’ its way down the street?” Despite the lyrical misstep in “The Wrestler” (didn’t Bruce really mean to sing “Have you ever seen a three-legged dog makin’ its way down the street?”) this bonus track is the rarity, a true bonus and it is the payoff for making it through the rest of the disc. Mickey Rourke should win the "Best Actor" Osc
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New releases: Feb. 3, 2009 by stacy
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Ben Kweller -- Changing HorsesMary Kate O'Neil -- Underground (Nettwerk/71 Recordings)Von Bondies -- Love, Hate and Then There's You (Shout!Factory)And, on Feb. 7, Valentiger releases Power Lines to Electric Times.
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(some of) Larry's Best of 2008 for $5! by hal
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A few of Larry's top ten choices are available from Amazon at a pretty good price.$5 will buy you full album digital downloads of:2) Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes/Sun Giant EP Timeless, haunting, beautiful... if I wasn't such a damn Anglophile, this would probably have been my number one for 2008. It was a close call. At any rate, the Fleet Foxes have crafted an amazing blend of old 70s folk rock...
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Larry's Top 10 Albums of 2008 by larry
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Artist:Johhny Flynn & the Sussex Wit
1) Johhny Flynn & the Sussex Wit - A Larum The rebirth of British Folk Rock, Flynn sounds like a beautiful mixture of Shakespeare, Fairport Convention, and later Richard Thompson records. Add some theatrical flair, a few fiddles, banjos, and wonderfully different harmonizing... and voila... my favorite freakin' album of 2008!2) Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes/Sun Giant EP Timeless, haunting, beaut...
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Gurf Morlix’s “Last Exit To Happyland” by hal
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If you're a HickoryWind reader you've probably heard of Gurf Morlix , the ultimate sideman, and if you have not it is time to go read some liner notes from your music collection because you do have a cd Gurf played on and/or produced! Helpful hint on where to start: Lucinda Williams, Robert Earl Keen, Mary Gauthier, Tom Russell, Eliza Gilkyson, Slaid Cleaves, Julie Miller, Buddy Miller, Butch H...
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New releases: Dec. 9, 2008 by stacy
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Charlie Louvin -- Sings Murder Ballads and Disaster Songs (Tompkins Square)And that's about it. 'Tis the season, my friends, for CD releases to dry up as marketers make way for the holiday doldrums and kindly give us time to catch our breath and start mulling our Best of 2008 lists. You've been warned! Only 26 mulling days left 'til the New Year. Begin deliberations now!
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"Make It Worse" makes it better! by hal
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Artist:Slimfit's
Slimfit's "Make It Worse" carries on in the fine tradition of the rough rural cowboy boot wearing rock of the underappreciated Bottle Rockets and North Carolina's defunct Backsliders . "Wrong Is Wrong", "Easy To Talk To", "Which Way You Gonna Go" (with its James Gang guitar intro), "That's Me" and "Pony Up" are the hardest rocking tracks while the country side of the band shines on "Old Song" ...
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Jonathan Rundman: an interview and a review. by hal
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Album:The Best of Jonathon Rundman: 20 Songs from the 20th Century
Joanthan Rundman's "The Best Of Jonathan Rundman: 20 Songs from the 20th Century" was one of favorite discs of 2007. Rundman's 2008 follow-up "insomniaccomplishments" is an equally impressive collection of hook filled power pop rock songs. Jonathan has penned a collection of tunes with a spiritual twist that wouldn't sound out of place in a rock club or a church sanctuary. "I Thought You...
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Regarding Justin Townes Earle... by larry
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James Goodfellow writes:My far and away pick for best of 2008 is going to be the Justin Townes Earle album. Have you heard it yet? Do me a favor and just buy the track "Lone Pine Hill". If you don't dig it then I'll reinburse you the .99 :) I'm telling you, the album is 100% solid through-and-through.Stacy recommends this album too, but to be honest, when I saw him live at the AMA Awards th...
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Winter's Fall: Missing Link from Alt to Strange Country by larry
Winter's Fall (self-titled) Highly Recommended - Five StarsWinter's Fall is a blending of My Morning Jacket's frightening-Kentucky-backwoods sound with Uncle Tupelo's straight-up alt-country-rock, but with just a dash of Neil Young thrown in for good measure. These guys can rock you, zone you out, and pull you right back in.Lead singer Peter Stanley's voice is a high-pitched, nasal grit and ...
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New releases: Nov. 11, 2008 by stacy
Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer -- American Noel (Signature) Tracy Chapman -- Our Bright Future (Atlantic) Ollabelle -- Before This TIme (Yep Roc) Vetiver -- More of the Past [EP] (Gnomonsong) Denison Witmer -- Carry the Weight (Militia) Warren Zevon -- Warren Zevon: Collector's Edition (Rhino) A 2-disc set with a remastering of the late artist's 1975 major-label debut, plus demos and alternate v...
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Halloween candy by stacy
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Happy Halloween! If you trick-or-treat at Bruce Springsteen's house , he's got a special treat for you. It's a free download and streaming video (beautifully shot, definitely worth a watch) of a previously unreleased song called "A Night With the Jersey Devil." I assure you, it's spooky! But nothing a little candy won't soothe. Or a lot.
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New releases: Nov. 4, 2008 by stacy
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Nothing much to speak of in the way of new releases next Tuesday -- my guess is that, here in America anyway, the record companies recognize that people might be a little too busy with something else to worry about swinging by the record store (ah, if only a record store could be a polling place!).That said, please devote the energy you might have put into snagging some new music this week into...
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The lineup by stacy
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Here's the full lineup for Merlefest 2009. Emmylou Harris and Tift Merritt are coming Saturday night, which will rule. Aside from that, it looks pretty much like the standard lineup (Donna the Buffalo, Sam Bush, Sam Bush, Sam Bush, etc.). And there's not a thing wrong with that.
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Six Years of Roots: Hickory Wind's Birthday by larry
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Six years of Roots Music. Since October of 2002, we here at Hickory Wind have seen ups and downs. We've seen the crest and the fall of the "O Brother" craze in Bluegrass and Old Time music. We saw the second wave of alt country, the tail of Whiskeytown and the beginning of Gillian Welch and Ryan Adams, the rise of Wilco, the death of Johnny Cash, and the spread of "Americana" music (although...
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