Bonnie Raitt "Too Long At The Fair"

I'm on vacation this week.  So is the President.  So are about 70-thousand other folks who are on the Vineyard right now.  Which is part of the reason I'm vacationing elsewhere.

Though I do hate to be away during the Ag Fair, which is as sweet and wholesome and as far away from the perceived glitz and glamor and "tony"ness that the media likes to claim MV is about.

For the next couple of days . . . fair songs.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Bonnie Raitt "Silver Lining"

As part of the Save mvyradio campaign, we've been reaching out to artists, asking them to do things like post about Save mvyradio on their Facebook page (Jackson Browne did), talk to the media about us (Lyle Lovett and Carly Simon did) and record some station IDs for us.

This last one is pretty standard, and no doubt, no matter what station you listen to, you've heard these kinds of things.  "Hi, this is So-And-So, and you're listening to Station XYZ!"

Surprisingly, I've learned a few things from this process.

I learned the proper way to pronounce the last names of JD McPherson and Madeleine Peyroux, because I heard it from their own lips.  (McPherson says it as "Mick-FURR-son" not Mick-FEAR-son"; and Peyroux says her name just like the country Peru).

I learned that Jason Spooner likes Cape Cod Potato Chips.  (Do I smell an endorsement for Mr. Spooner?)

I've learned the Mavis Staples may be one of the best voiceover artists I've ever heard.  I want to hire her to record ALL announcements for mvyradio.  Or read me bedtime stories.

And I learned, much to my shock and delight, that Bonnie Raitt listens to the station!

Barbara got to interview Bonnie by phone, and, unsolicited, while answering a question about how she finds songs to cover, Raitt says that independent radio, including MVY, plays a big role in helping her select songs.  She even called us one of her favorite radio stations, and says she streams it at home on the West Coast, and while on the road.

!!!!!!

To hear Bonnie and other artists talk about mvyradio and why people should support it, hit play on the Youtube video on our main page today.  And for the full Bonnie Raitt interview, catch it when we air it at noon today, or find it in the archives after that.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Bonnie Raitt "Takin' My Time"

I had a fun time-machine-like experience while on vacation in August.

We were at my Mother-In-Law's getaway place in Maine.  It's not a cabin.  It's not roughing-it by any means.

But it IS out of cell phone range and internet range and cable and broadcast television range.  So you can be pretty disconnected.

There are a ton of books floating around, so in the quiet moments (when we send the kids outside, that is) there are plenty of things to idly flip though.

When my Mother-In-Law bought the place a couple of years ago, it came as-is.  So we inherited a huge collection of VHS movies and books and such.  Many of them had been there for decades.

And that was my experience when I picked up The Rolling Stone Illustrated History Of Rock & Roll.

It was---as advertised---a comprehensive history of Rock & Roll, published in 1980.  Each section was an essay on either a single important musician/band, a particular movement or a full genre.

Hilariously, it touts that this is the updated edition (the original came out in 1976), so it's more complete than ever.

So it's a view of Rock & Roll that predates Nirvana.  It predates the internet.  It predates Rap music.

Those are obvious.

It also describes a world that has never seen a CD.  A world where all four of The Beatles are still alive and could potentially reunite.  A world where MTV did not yet exist.

Most interestingly, it had really interesting summations of artists who---from today's perspective---were perhaps being analyzed too soon.

Talking Heads had put out a few promising albums, but the piece on them doesn't/couldn't predict their breakthough commercial success or their lasting influence.

Elvis Costello had put out his blistering triptych debut and follow-ups, but gave the reviewer no hint of the many genre exercises and tributaries that he would so ably traverse in the coming years.

My favorite review was on Bonnie Raitt.  In 1980, she was critically beloved, and was an impressive live act.  But she hadn't had a commercial breakthrough yet.  And the reviewer thought her own material was weak, and, more damningly, that her ability to select material was weak (like this track written by Little Feat's Bill Payne).  And thus she'd probably never realize her potential.

Which is hilarious to read here in the future, where Bonnie has won many Grammys, sold millions of records and is widely regarded as important and influential.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Bon Iver "I Can't Make You Love Me"

Like the sound of thunder arriving long after the lightning flash, I finally got the joke.

Last year, Justin Vernon appeared on late night TV, covering Bonnie Raitt, and I scratched my head.  "That's odd.  What possessed him to do that?"

Sometime this weekend, I finally heard it in my head.

Bon Iver.  Bonnie Raitt.

Bon EE-vare.  Bon EE-rate.

Justin Vernon must've heard that joke more than a few times since naming his band. 

But I just got it.

And it gave me a great idea.

If I ever decided to give up the whole husband-father-DJ-blogger thing, and run away to become a cross-dressing burlesque performer I have an awesome stage name:

Bon Irate.

(I means good anger!)

Bon EE-rate.

Say it in your announcer voice:

"Ladies and Gentleman, welcome her to the stage, Miss Bon Irate!"

I'll give em something to talk about alright.



Hear the song on Youtube.

Jon Cleary "Let's Get Low Down"

I'd love to be some extraordinary human being, who was completely unaffected by any kind of prejudice.  I'd love to be the kind of person who never judges a book by its cover.  Or more exactly, an album by its cover.

There are two things wrong with the album cover pictured above, from my perspective.  But before I tell you what they are let me show you this picture:

These are the boxes that represent the last, I don't know, 3 weeks of CDs that have been sent to Barbara Dacey and me for review.  There's 100-plus discs in there.  In this box you will find albums and CD singles from some artists that you know (like the new Bonnie Raitt single and a new Dr. John album).  And you'll find some albums and CD singles from artists that you've perhaps heard of and are excited to check out (like the new Kelly Hogan or Best Coast songs) and a whole lot of CDs from artists that neither you nor Barbara nor I have any familiarity with.

So yes, you approach the box with some priorities in mind.  If I'M excited about hearing something, because I've liked the artist's previous work or because I've read good things about them, then yes, those discs get heard first.  And you get to the others as best you can.

And just like shopping for food or clothes, the labels and packaging make a difference.  Is it on Anti- Records?  They send out quality stuff.  I'm going to check it out.  Did it come from an independent promo person who I believe has impeccable taste?  Top of the pile, then.

Did someone specifically ask me to listen to it and give them feedback?  Those are next.

What's left?  Well, usually it's some indie label stuff, some CDs that were sent to us by people who have never listened to the radio station (yeah, I'm probably not going to play that album of Sousa marches), and a whole lot of self-released records by artists just trying to get their music out there.

Those CDs do have a look to them.  To save on production costs (as any struggling artists does and should), the album covers are usually pretty simple.  They are not generally photographs.  And they only use a couple of colors.

Very often, the CD covers are designed by the artist himself/herself, or their friend, instead of by a professional graphic designer or by someone with an extensive background in marketing.

Should any of this presentation stuff matter?  No.

Does it matter?  Yes.  Despite my best wishes for full objectivity, it does matter.

So having shuffled past this Jon Cleary cd a few times in the boxes, my impression was that this CD would most likely end up in a pile of discs going to The Local Music Cafe, our indie artist show.

Speeding up that thought process?  The words "a capella."  We get a few cds every year, from college groups or whatever, with their fine a capella renditions of hits.  They are sometimes good, but rarely anything we'd play on a regular day.

Yeah, this record was destined to land on a shelf for Alison Hammond.

Thank goodness I'm not a total idiot, and I listened to it.

Holy Moly, this is a good record.

Now, I'm not a font nerd, so I missed that this is not an "a Capella" record.  It's called "Occapella," which is the name of an Allen Toussaint song.  In fact, all the songs on the record are Allen Toussaint songs.  He's one of America's great song writers!

Far from being a Capella, the album is filled with great New Orleans-style instrumentation.  And it features guest turns from both Bonnie Raitt and Dr. John!

Okay, so if you are a talented independent artist, who's got an album full of great renditions of classic American songs, featuring music business legends, for crying out loud, LET THE PEOPLE KNOW!

Even if you don't want to sully your album artwork, at least put a sticker on it.  Cleary has a great line that he uses elsewhere, "Having fun with the songs of Allen Toussaint."  Put THAT, and "featuring Bonnie Raitt and Dr. John" on the cover somewhere, and Music Directors, as well as folks who flip through the bins in record stores, will move you to the top of the pile a hell of a lot faster . . .


The single is "Let's Get Low Down" featuring Bonnie Raitt and Dr. John:




Learn a little more about the record, on Youtube.

Counting Crows "Untitled (Love Song)"

There are basically two kinds of covers albums.

One pays tribute to influences. Usually the original artists are familiar names, and often, the songs are familiar and coast on the good will of their history.

The other version is an interpreter's medium. Think Bonnie Raitt, who mostly does other people's songs, and often covers unknown singer-songwriters and up-and-coming talent. They are interpreters because they don't write a ton of songs themselves.

I figured if Counting Crows were going to do a covers record, it would be the former, not the latter.

But surprisingly, their new record "Underwater Sunshine" features covers by undiscovered and/or obscure and/or contemporary talent. They cover Travis and the pre-Duritz-Counting-Crows-band Sordid Humor.

And they cover The Romany Rye. These guys are an unsigned Long Beach, California band.

Interesting choice. Strong song. Well done.




Hear The Romany Rye original on Youtube.

Bonnie Raitt “I Can’t Make You Love Me”

It’s pretty likely that if you have a relationship with this song, it’s because you went through a break-up, and you listened to it, over and over. And you go through the break-up again. Because the words really do ring true.

And yes, this song DOES remind me of an old girlfriend. But not OUR break-up.

When I graduated college, my at-the-time girlfriend and I decided we’d had enough of New England winters, so we packed up and headed to Florida. We were, as recent post-grads are, dead broke, but we had the invite to live with her sister, who was just a couple years older than we were.

While the three of us were living together, the sister went through a very, very sad break-up. I truly did feel bad for her.

But, Man, did she love that “Luck Of The Draw” Bonnie Raitt CD. And we heard “I Can’t Make You Love Me” over and over again.

And every time I hear it on mvyradio, I think of my at-the-time girlfriend. And I go through the break-up again. Just not our break-up.

Go through it with me, one more time!



See and hear the full song, done live with Bruce Hornsby, here.