Scud Mountain Boys "Penthouse In The Woods"

I don’t think any of us imagine a modern road trip as a solitary event.  But it was.  This was the 1990s.  No cell phone.  No one to talk to.  No satellite radio.  Just me and a cassette deck.

And I was happy.

I had a pretty uncomplicated life.  Young and single with a job in radio.  And I was on my 2nd day of a road trip.

Yes, I know I’m my father’s son (the man does a lot of crazy driving), when I tell you that it didn’t really seem out of the way to go from Washington, DC back home to Abingdon, Virginia, via Chapel Hill.

But I had spent the day on the National Mall (more on that, later this week), and now I was heading toward the famed Cat's Cradle.

Two of my favorite indie bands of the moment were playing a show in Chapel Hill, and yeah, it wasn't exactly on the way home, but when you're young and single, what's an extra 5 or 6 hours of driving, if you get to see two great bands?

That night I'd see the Scud Mountain Boys and Jale, but I had rolled into town early.

My first stop was to find a good local record store, and yeah, I killed an hour or so there.

What to do next, with several hours to go before showtime . . . ?

Walking down the street, I happened upon a little movie house.

"When does the next show start?"

"In about 10 minutes."

"Lone Star" was the feature, written and directed by John Sayles, who was (and still is) one of my favorite movie makers.

Cut to 10 hours later, after a great movie, a cheap roast beef sub, and a wonderful (if sparsely attended) indie show.

It was well after midnight, at I was a good five hours away from home, but hell, I figured I'd just drive instead of shelling out some money I didn't have for a motel.

I know that's not much of a story, but I'm telling it for this reason---I remember it as one of the best days of my life.

In fact, just that 3 minute period, when I found myself wandering down a street and in front of a movie theater and I was in the position to say, Yes, I think I'll just go see a movie . . . that remains one of the best moments of my single life.

Is that a little sad? 

The objective voice in my head says it sounds a little sad to say that the best day of your life was about enjoying a drive, movie, meal and concert, by yourself.

But I can't really deny the feeling inside, when I think about how nice it felt to be so free that day . . .



Hear the song on Youtube.



See the movie trailer on Youtube.

The Head And The Heart "Lost In My Mind"

A really great pop songwriter’s gift, is creating a piece of instantly memorable ear candy. Something that lodges in your brain after one listen, and remains a pleasure to hear to over and over.

I’m thinking of songs like “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” or “Mamma Mia” or “Mmm Bop” or “Hey Ya.”

A song that can sound simple, and sometimes even stupid, is actually incredibly hard to make. Or at least to make well.

There’s a deeper, less celebrated kind of great pop songwriting that I think is even harder to achieve, but is sometimes more rewarding.

Neil Finn of Crowded House does it. So does Glen Phillips of Toad The Wet Sprocket. Aimee Mann too.

They have this gift of being able to create these beautiful, wonderful, sturdy melodies, that don’t necessarily reveal their power on the first listen, but in the end are as (or are more) durable than the Ear Candy songs.

20 years later, you can still hear “Don’t Dream It’s Over” or “Walk On The Ocean” or “That’s Just What You Are” and the songs feel fresh and they even seem to (politely) beg you to sing along.

Their power is subtler. It doesn’t hit you over the head with its own cleverness.

That’s what I like about this song from The Head And The Heart.

I heard it a bunch of times and liked it well enough, but I can’t say the song immediately distinguished itself among the 100 or so songs I was listening to for possible adds to mvyradio.

But I liked it, and when I found out that they were on the bill for Newport Folk this year, I decided to get behind the tune, knowing that we’d likely be airing their set and/or interviewing the band.

Now that I’ve heard it on mvyradio a bunch of times, it has suddenly become one of my favorite new songs on the station.

It’s such a strong song, with a memorable melody and a nice steady build.

If you’re not familiar with the song, check it out. And if it doesn’t knock your socks off on the first listen, that’s okay. Enjoy the fact that it will reveal its beauty and power, over time.


See the video on Youtube.

Ugly Casanova "Here's To Now"

Some people just don't want to give up on their cover story, despite the fact that the audience stopped believing long, long ago.

Joaquin Phoenix insists that he's giving up acting to become a rapper, despite that fact that everyone knows he's just making a faux-documentary.

Ricky Martin didn't want to give up saying that he wasn't gay, despite the fact that everyone knew he was.

And Isaac Brock doesn't want to give up his "Edgar Graham" story, despite the fact that no one really believes Graham exists.

Brock is the frontman of Modest Mouse, and some 10 years ago, he claimed to have been sought out by one Edgar Graham, who gave him some demos. Brock recorded Graham's songs under the "Ugly Casanova" moniker.

Sure, it adds a layer of mystery, to involve a shadowy figure who delivers these songs. And it forces the critics to not compare Ugly Casanova to Modest Mouse so directly.

But since the story wasn't believable the first time around, why bother to revive it nearly a decade after the last Ugly Casanova record? Were people really wondering all that time what became of Graham? Is there really a need for such an elaborate press release?

We're all adults here. Can't we just enjoy the music?