Eric Clapton "Call Me The Breeze"

Eric Clapton has put together "An Appreciation Of JJ Cale," featuring covers of Cale's tunes as done by Clapton, Tom Petty, Mark Knopfler and others.

"Call Me The Breeze" is out as a single.

Should MVY play it?

On the one hand, does this version really add to or change your perception of the song?  Not for me.  It's a very tasteful take on the tune, but I don't feel like I'm experiencing anything new here.

And really, does anyone need to hear "Call Me The Breeze" every again?  It's one of those songs that feels a little like driving by a McDonalds---you don't have to go in, to know exactly how the food is going to taste.  Or in this case, listen to the song to know what it sounds like.

On the other hand, maybe adding the version to rotation provides a little lift to the version we play (MVY has the original JJ Cale song in rotation; we don't have the Lynyrd Skynyrd version in rotation).  Alternating versions might make the listeners listen a little harder, wondering "Which version is this?"

The very pragmatic reason to play it, is that any airplay or record sales that come as a result of someone hearing it on MVY, means money for the songwriter.  In this case, the estate of the late JJ Cale will benefit.

Cale was beloved by the great guitar players of the generation who followed him, but he never rose to the level of commercial success of the folks who are on this record.  Playing the album will financially support the Cale family.

But when a listener flips the dial and hears a song, they probably aren't thinking any of these things.

Instead, they're making a snap judgement---do I want to hear what MVY is playing, or change the channel?

What do you think listeners will do when they hear this one?


Hear the song on Youtube.

Eric Clapton "Every Little Thing"

I get nice feedback from listeners about some of my on-air storytelling.

Once or twice a day, during a live break on the air, I'll step away from promoting MVY things (other shows, contests, etc) or talking about the music, and instead talk about something from my personal life.

Occasionally, I'll tell a story about my kids.  Something funny they said.  Some humorous conflict we had.

When I meet people out in public, many will say, "I love it when you talk about your kids."

And I do it for a reason.  The stories are usually designed to be universal.  If you've ever had a kid, or if you ever were a kid, you'll find something real and familiar within what I'm conveying.  As a DJ, I'm trying to make a connection.

But I am very, very careful to limit the number of times I do this.  Once or twice a week, tops.

Because nothing is more annoying than a person who talks incessantly about their kids.  Nothing is more cloying than someone constantly forcing "life lessons" upon you, via their so-wise-for-their-age! children.

We love kids and the cute things they do and the sweet way they do it.  But we don't want that in our face every day.

And that's my hesitation with the new Eric Clapton song.

It's an amiable enough piece of mid-tempo pleasant Clapton.  And hey, I understand the desire to put out a second single that is more commercial and middle-of-the-road, after the completely kick-ass, spot-on rock of the first single "Gotta Get Over."

I'm with the track most of the way through, until it returns to the chorus late in the song.

The background singers who've been repeating "Every little thing/Every little thing" throughout the song, have been replaced.  By children.

And they're singing "Every little thing you do is beautiful . . ."

The first time I heard it, I thought, "That's cute.  I guess."

By the second time I heard it, I was already sick of it.

Could I imagine having it in rotation on MVY for the next few months?

Ugh.  Nope.

I love my kids.  I like your kids.  Kids in general are great.

But no one wants to hear about them every day.


Hear the song on Youtube.

BOY "Little Numbers"

At some point, you do have to put on the breaks.

One of the weird quirks of the music business is that record releases by major acts don't generally happen from November through the end of March.

I'm sure there are a lot of good reasons for this, including the fact that larger bands that can mount large tours, aren't heading out to promote an album until late Spring or Summer.

While very little happens, in terms of record releases from November through mid-January, once the year is underway, there are plenty of great new releases from new bands or bands with smaller followings.

While we have strong sounding records from Eric Clapton and Ben Harper in the playlist right now, most of the new songs on the playlist are from great, but unfamiliar names (unfamiliar, at least, to our past playlists).  Carrie Rodriguez, Trixie Whitley, Chris Ross and Jesse Dee all have great sounding songs on the station.  But I'd wager that few mvyradio listeners are tuning into the station and instantly recognizing the voice, the way they would if they encountered a new R.E.M. or Bonnie Raitt track.

So the balance shifts to the new.  And new is good.  Until you hit the tipping point where the station isn't delivering the level of familiarity and comfort that regular listeners are used to.  You can put more or less salt in the soup each time you make it, but at some point if you tip the shaker a little too much, the soup's just not going to taste the same.

And that's where I am right now with our playlist, I think.

I like this track from BOY.  It's a little poppy, but it seems like it's going to be a hit.  And under different circumstances I might be inclined to add it.  But right now, mvyradio doesn't need more new, unfamiliar voices.  We need that new JJ Grey song to work its way into rotation and for the new Patty Griffin to arrive.

When we can restore balance, we can dive back into unfamiliar territory.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Wilson Pickett "Hey Jude"

We tend to define famous folks by their most famous achievements (or escapades).  But in doing so, the Legend can eclipse important, vital parts of the story.

If I say "Duane Allman," you say "Layla," "Live At Fillmore East" and "motorcycle accident."

The two sentence story is about his ground-breaking and influential work in his two years with the Allman Brothers, his tenure with Derek And The Dominos and his untimely death.

But the two sentence story misses so much great work.

Thankfully, there is a new, comprehensive boxed set, coming out via Concord Records, which tells the story much better, and much more thoroughly than two sentences ever could.

While a 7 disc boxed set undoubtedly has tracks that are more curios that anything else, "Skydog" also has some amazing, mind-blowing tracks that should come out of the museum. 

I can't tell you the last time I heard the Wilson Pickett version of "Hey Jude" and I don't know if I knew that Duane Allman was the sessions guitarist on it.  But hell, let's bring this one back.

Ditto to his work with Aretha Franklin, Boz Scaggs and John Hammond.

It's a much better story when you tell the whole thing.


mvyradio is giving away copies of a "Skydog" sampler today, and one lucky winner will get an upgrade, to the full "Skydog" set.

Below, hear the Wilson Pickett version of "Hey Jude," see a trailer for the boxed set that flashes through all the track names, and see a totally random video.  When Dave Einstein from Concord Records asked if we wanted to do this give-away, he meant to send a link to the trailer, but accidentally sent this link on how to open a wine bottle with a shoe.  Random, but helpful!


Hear the song on Youtube.


See the trailer for the "Skydog" set on Youtube.


Learn how to open a bottle of wine with a shoe, on Youtube.

Gary Clark Jr. "Ain't Messin' 'Round"

Here’s a new song we’re playing on mvy, that illustrates what I was talking about yesterday.

Gary Clark Jr. is a much buzzed about, Austin-based guitarist.  He’s EP “Bright Lights” made the rounds starting at the end of last year, turning a few heads.  He won over a curious Newport Folk Festival audience---and audiences in venues around the country.  Getting the nod from Eric Clapton to appear on stage alongside Doyle Bramhall and Sheryl Crow at Clapton's "Crossroads Festival" didn’t hurt.

So when his full length album arrived . . . well, honestly, I didn’t really personally get too excited.

For the most part, I’m just not a “guitar hero” guy.

I’m not likely to rush to hear a new Clapton album or Jeff Beck album or Warren Haynes album.  It’s just not to my taste.

BUT, mvyradio’s playlist is chock full of artists like this.  Buddy Guy and BB King and Stevie Ray Vaughan and Ronnie Earl and Joe Bonamassa and guys who can crank out the meat and potatoes blues rock.

When a song like “Ain’t Messin’ Around” comes across my desk, I can recognize that---like the artists mentioned about---Gary Clark Jr. is talented, authentic and will almost definitely appeal to the listeners who tune into mvy because they are excited about hearing “Before You Accuse Me” or “Cold Shot” or “I’d Rather Be Blind Crippled And Crazy.”

So you’ll find it on this week’s “Adds” list, and will be hearing it on mvyradio.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Robbie Robertson "Fear Of Falling"

Because the process of putting a song into regular rotation on mvyradio is so competitive, I don't give myself much room for regret or second guessing. I try to only choose songs that I feel certain are going to work for the station and our listeners.

I am never 100% right in my choosing, but even the songs that end up not quite working or catching on, I can usually deem worth the effort of giving a shot.

But I have had this creeping feeling about a new song on mvyradio, and I'm hoping my sense in not confirmed down the road.

LOVE Robbie Robertson. Love him.

Love the new record.

And when the second single, "Fear Of Falling" was released, it seemed like a no-brainer.

Hell, it's even got Eric Clapton AND Steve Winwood on it. So now it's not one but three guys who are older, but still capable of making great, great records.

So I added it.

But now I've been hearing it on the air for a couple of weeks and . . . I've got that creeping feeling. That feeling that I didn't make the right choice.

And I can tell you exactly when that feeling started.

It was the moment when I realized that this tune sounds a little too much like a particular Clapton song.

Oddly enough, it is one of Clapton's biggest hits. But it's also his song that I find the least interesting, the most generic.

"Change The World."

That track is fine. I'm not offended by it. It's just kind of middle-of-the-road-pop-craft boring. Co-written by Babyface, it's a cake baked for mass-consumption.

Clapton can still kill it on guitar. Winwood's voice is still in top form. And Robertson has complete mastery of his atmospherics/production, and can still write incredible lyrics.

So maybe I've set the bar too high, if I find this song a little generic?

And maybe, like "Change The World," it will be a huge hit, in spite of, or because of, its accessibility.

Of course, as always, the real answer rests with you, the audience, to embrace or reject it, and let us know what you think, so we can continue to fine-tune our programming ears to bring you what you want to hear.


See the video on Youtube.


See the video on Youtube.

Eric Clapton “Tears In Heaven”

I’ve had two things at the top of mind this week, the mvyradio Eric Clapton promotion, and a week’s worth of blog posts about my kids.

As part of the Clapton promotion, I was looking for a Clapton lyric to put at the top of the mvyradio webpage, and I came across “Tears In Heaven.”

And I started to think about the unthinkable: losing your child.

Terror gripped me and I realized that I had just been staring at the computer screen, for several minutes, imagining what it must be like for Clapton, who lost a young son in a most terrible, terrible accident.

Last week, an old friend of mine revealed that he and his wife are expecting. She’s actually a few months along, but they had refrained from telling anyone about the pregnancy, because they had already gone through a couple of miscarriage scares in recent weeks.

He talked about how he was going to be on edge for the rest of the pregnancy.

I’m getting ready to write him back to say: It doesn’t end when the pregnancy is over.

Becoming a parent has changed my relationship with fear and death. I am faaaaaaar more afraid of tragedy that I ever was, pre-parenthood. I am regularly gripped by the terror that held me for a moment while contemplating Clapton’s loss.

How would I possibly go on? A song is a beautiful gesture . . . but how could you go on. I hope I don’t ever have to find out.

The 5.6.7.8’s “Woo Hoo”

The gist of this blog is that I pick a song at random, or sometimes not at random, and write about what it makes me think of, be it a friend or a time in my life, a question it poses or a truth it speaks to.

Unfortunately, living such a visual age, the thing that springs to mind isn’t particularly personal at all. And horrifyingly, it’s often completely commercial.

I can remember when Eric Clapton offered one of his songs for a beer commercial, some time in the 1980s. I was horrified.

I was horrified that he would take a song I liked, and attach it forever in my mind, to a product.

Even more insidious, is the now ubiquitous use of unknown songs for commercials.

I know, had I heard this elsewhere, I would have been all over this punchy little slice of kitschy pop-punk, but the first place I heard this version of "Woo Hoo" it was in a commercial. And that commercial pops to mind every time I hear the song.

It’s so depressing that I just want to drink me a Michelob.

Joe Bonamassa “Further On Up The Road”

Here is the sound of a man peaking in life.

A former child guitar prodigy (he’s been making records since about age 14), the 32-year old had a career culminating point during the filming of a new concert DVD, when Eric Clapton joined him on stage to trade licks. “Further On Up The Road” is supposedly the first song Joe Bonamassa learned to play on guitar. And it’s the tune that Clapton played with The Band, during The Last Waltz.

At the end of the song (it does get cut off in the YouTube sample) you'll hear Joe’s genuine enthusiasm, that that moment was “the coolest thing I’ve ever done.”

See and hear the whole song, here

Buy the DVD “Live From The Royal Albert Hall” here.