The Decemberists "Valerie Plame"

Here's another Weekend Post:

I went looking for another song with Valerie in the title, for a second "Weekend Post," and found this one.  Though it's only a couple of years old, it's already a forgotten little gem with a great "Hey Jude" call-back.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Weekend posts are a chance to revisit songs that have happy memories, not of anything in particular, other than just hearing the tunes.

Many of these songs were tracks that I played during my 90s stint as an Alternative/Modern Rock radio show.  They're tunes that I hardly hear these days, but are fun to revisit.

Click on the "Weekend Posts" label below, to see other posts like this.

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.