Dr. John's Journal: Classic Brother Harmony

Record Shelf Playlists

Dr. John's Record Shelf is my weekly radio program on KDWG, 90.9 FM broadcast from the University of Montana Western. My goal is to offer an eclectic mix of various styles, genres and eras, focusing primarily (but not exclusively) on music that you won't hear anywhere else on the dial (at least not in SW Montana). My co-host, Art Vandelay and I (with the assistance of station flunky Rico Muckman) also provide some additional bits to liven up the show, including Three People I Know (where I mention three people I know), The Cultural Corner (where we engage in lively banter on art, literature and poetry), Dr. John's Top Five (where we take a shot at ranking almost anything), and Record Shelf Theater (where we re-create a scene from some famous movie, play or TV show). If you find yourself in Dillon, tune us in; otherwise, below are some lists of songs that have been aired on recent shows:

Dr. John's Record Shelf 121104

Bill Fay, "This World"
Steve Goodman, "Turnpike Tom"
Ani DiFranco, "Which Side Are You On?"
Bruce Springsteen, "We Are Alive"
Decemberists, "Don't Carry It All"
Carole King, "Pleasant Valley Sunday"
Drivin'n'Cryin', "Moonshot"
Bruce Cockburn, "Wondering Where the Lions Are"
Neil Young & Crazy Horse, "Oh Susannah"
Texas, "Postcard"
Bob Dylan, "Soon After Midnight"
Charms, "American Way"
Belle & Sebastian, "I Want the World to Stop"
Krayolas, "Find a Girl"
Beatles, "Tomorrow Never Knows"
Neko Case, "Things That Scare Me"
Avett Brothers, "Will You Return"
Craig Finn, "New Friend Jesus"

Dr. John's Record Shelf 121028

Fleet Foxes, "Helplessness Blues"
Golden Shoulders, "I Will Light You on Fire"
Spoon, "Finer Feelings"
Girls, "Just a Song"
Devandra Banhart, "Shabop Shalom"
Gaslight Anthem, "The '59 Sound"
Those Darlins, "Mystic Mind"
Son Seals, "I Can't Hold Out"
Johnny Ace, "Pledging My Love"
Charlotte Gainsbourg, "Dandelion"
Aimee Mann, "Borrowing Time"
Elliott Smith, "Between the Bars"
Carpenters, "It's Going to Take Some Time"
Hayes Carll, "Girl Downtown"
Fiery Furnaces, "Even in the Rain"
Billy Ward & the Dominoes, "Chicken Blues"
Anna Kramer & the Lost Cause, "You Think You Know Me"
Sophie Zelmani, "Most of the Time"

Dr. John's Record Shelf 121021

Cabaret Voltaire, "No Escape"
Us3, "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)"
Hank Mobley, "The Break Through"
Rodriguez, "Sugar Man"
Mary Weiss, "My Heart is Beating"
Pete Shelley, "Think For Yourself"
Buddy Holly, "Take Your Time"
Raincoats, "No One's Little Girl"
Detroit Cobras, "Ya Ya Ya"
Public Image, LTD, "Public Image"
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, "Bad Reputation"
Love Is All, "Wishing Well"
Louie & the Lovers, "I KNow You Know"
Forty-Fives, "The Devil Beats His Wife"
John P. Strohm, "Better Than Nothing"
The Naysayer, "Currency"
Sir Douglas Quintet, "Who'll Be Next in Line"
The Seeds, "Mr. Farmer"

Dr. John's Record Shelf 121014

TV on the Radio, "Second Song"
Can, "Oh Yeah"
White Stripes, "300 MPH Torrential Downpour Blues"
Mary Lou Lord, "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go"
T-Bone Burnett, "The Murder Weapon"
New Bomb Turks, "Statue of Liberty"
Ramones, "Surfin' Bird"
Paris Sisters, "Dream Lover"
Lee Dorsey, "Ride Your Pony"
Michael Hurley, "Sweet Lucy"
Gary Numan, "Cars"
Neil Diamond, "Delirious Love"
Undertones, "We All Talked About You"
Shadows of Knight, "Shake"
Cub, "Magic 8 Ball"
Rilo Kiley, "The Frug"
Terry Allen, "Lubbock Woman"
Kinks, "Lincoln County"

Dr. John's Record Shelf 121007

Corin Tucker Band, "Summer Jams"
Go-Betweens, "Too Much of One Thing"
Feelies, "Change Your Mind"
Billy Bragg & the Blokes, "Baby Faroukh"
Marcia Griffiths, "Don't Let Me Down"
Velvet Crush, "Hold Me Up"
Chris Mills, "Calling All Comrades"
Insect Trust, "Hoboken Saturday Night"
Broken West, "So It Goes"
REM, "Exhuming McCarthy"
Dire Straits, "Twisting By the Pool"
Tom Rush, "Urge for Going"
Paul Westerberg & Joan Jett, "Let's Do It"
Fred Astaire, "Cheek to Cheek"
The Who, "I Can See For Miles"
Liz Phair, "Uncle Alvarez"
Steve martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers, "King Tut"
Piano Red, "Rockin' With Red"
Ronnie Dee, "Action Packed"

Dr. John's Record Shelf 120930

Mumford & Sons, "I Will Wait"
Kelly Hogan, "Golden"
Asteroid #4, "Hail to the Clear Figurines"
Chesterfield Kings, "Disconnect"
Holly Golightly, "No Big Thing Baby"
Gordon Lightfoot, "Go Go Round"
Soundtrack of Our Lives, "Busy Land"
Poni-Tails, "Born Too Late"
Greg Kihn Band, "The Breakup Song"
David Bowie, "Rebel Rebel"
Antietam, "Rain"
Throwing Muses, "Graffiti"
The Halos, "Nag"
Sir Douglas Quintet, "Old Habits Die Hard"
TaIil Gators, "Brown Eyed Girl"
Hollywood Flames, "Buzz Buzz Buzz"
Bangles, "Going Down to Liverpool"

Dr. John's Record Shelf 120923

Gore Gore Girls, "You Lied to Me Before"
PJ Harvey, "This Is Love"
Leonard Cohen, "Dance Me to the End of Love"
The Embarrassment, "Elizabeth Montgomery's Face"
Crippled Pilgrims, "Under the Ladder"
Emitt Rhodes, "Tame the Lion"
Susan Cowsill, "I Know You Know"
Clutters, "Under Suspicion"
Iggy & the Stooges, "Gimme Danger"
The Dishes, "Shotgun"
The Scientists, "Swampland"
Isaac Hayes, "Theme From Shaft"
Dean Eubanks, "Oh Babe"
Bob Dylan, "Narrow Way"
Felt, "Sunlight Bathed the Golden Glow"
Hub Moore & the Great Outdoors, "Walk Away"

Dr. John's Record Shelf 120916

Alejandro Escovedo, "Man of the World"
Poly Styrene, "I Love Ur Sneakers"
Sharon Van Etten, "Give Out"
Justin Townes Earle, "Rogers Park"
Black Keys, "Gold on the Ceiling"
Moe Tucker, "Too Shy"
R.E.M., "Moral Kiosk"
Pointed Sticks, "Out of Luck"
Marianne Faithfull, "The Crane Wife 3"
Magnetic Fields, "Andrew in Drag"
Graham Nash, "Military Madness"
Blue Aeroplanes, "Action Painting"
Yo La Tengo, "Avalon of Someone Very Similar"
Wide Right, "Rust Belt Girl"
Pistol Annies, "Takin' Pills"
Police, "Fall Out"
Bobby Bloom, "Montego Bay"
Badfinger, "Day After Day"

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Classic Brother Harmony

Starting in the 1930s and lasting for several decades, brother teams were very popular in hillbilly music circles. There were the Allen Brothers, the Stanley Brothers, the Monroe Brothers, the Louvin Brothers, heck, even the Everly Brothers qualify given country roots. All featured a style of harmony singing that no doubt benefited from the genetic connection between the vocalists. One of my favorite brother teams was the Delmore Brothers, and "Big River Blues" is a great example of their sound:

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All-Time Favorite Movies (In Progress)

Quiz Show (Robert Redford, 1994)
Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)
National Lampoon's Animal House (John Landis, 1977)
The Mortal Storm (Frank Borzage, 1939)
Simple Men (Hal Hartley, 1992)
The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
The Big Sleep (Howard Hawks, 1944)
High Fidelity (Stephen Frears, 2000)
Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders, 1987)
Local Hero (Bill Forsyth, 1983)
The Awful Truth (Leo McCarey, 1937)
Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938)
The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941)
Sunrise (F.W. Murnau, 1927)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (John Huston, 1948)
The General (Buster Keaton, 1927)