37. John Hurlbut & Jorma Kaukonen, Great Lake Swimmers, The Kinks, Arcade Fire, Bruce Coburn, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Stones, Pretty Reckless, Oliver Anthony, Arthur Lee & Love, Roger Miller
Hi John. Yes, although not every week. But quite often. Click on John's Jukebox above to go to the home page of this substack. I've also created a song index lining all of the songs, which is in the menu on the home page.
John, I had written up responses to each song a couple of days ago, and could have sworn I’d hit “post,” but obviously something distracted me and I didn’t complete the maneuver. Here’s what I intended to say, best as I can reconstruct. Overall, as per our recent discussion on how songs fit together or flow from one to the next, I was listening for that when going through your list and, yes, though there's a variety here, you nailed it again.
I enjoyed the sprawling acoustic sounds of “The Ballad of Easy Rider,” a new one for me, both the song and artists. Then, when I saw Great Lake Swimmers, I immediately set to writing my own post about “My Rocky Spine,” as you’ve already seen. They are just so good, hypnotic in a way I find, especially with some of their songs, like this one for instance. Such a deep, soulful homage to the land. Anyway, after branching out on that song, it took me a few days to get back here, and now a couple more once I realized my comment had not come through two days ago. So here I am again…
I can’t say I have ever been a fan of the Kinks, and can’t say why as I would have been exposed to their music by my older brothers, though I don’t recall them being playing a lot. But “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” lives up to its name; it has an energy that drew me in and I quite liked it.
“Wake Up” is an anthem I remember so well from the first hearing when one of our boys brought the ‘Funeral’ CD home while visiting home from away during the Christmas holidays the year the album came out. That day sparked a long and mostly faithful relationship with Arcade Fire’s music, and seeing them twice in concert; the first with my son Kieran and a few years later with Alys-Lynne. (Long aside here: at about 18, Kieran formed one of his earlier bands, a seven-piece modelled after AF. They won a CBC Manitoba contest for the best young band in the province later in the year this amateur video was made at their first show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMjT9MU1TC4 He is the more active one on stage, singing second… note the development of his voice since then, on the ‘Dark Little Ones’ CD! The MC introducing them, Stephen Eric MacIntyre, was a local anchor of the performing arts world, then went on to star in several TV series. Sadly, Stephen died last year. A very fine fellow who Alys-Lynne and I spoke with at length once, many years ago as he toured us around a near-to-us theatre occupying a long-ago gas station (aptly named the Gas Station Theatre). He seemed to run the place, though wasn’t paid staff, just loved theatre.
Next comes another Austin City Limits video… a show I should pay more attention to. My first time hearing this version of “Rocket Launcher.” A very strong rendition of an important song, the kind Cockburn excels at. And I was quite taken with the deep, soulful sounds of “You Worry Me,” making me want to hear more from this band. “Heaven Knows” gave me a bit of a Joan Jett vibe though with more depth and soul, I want to say? Pretty solid performance. I can’t say the next two tracks did much for me, though Oliver Anthony’s voice was compelling.
“King of the Road” is a great way to end the set; a wonderful, light-hearted kind of song I have so many memories around, with it being another one I associate with my childhood home. No doubt something my parents listened to as opposed to the siblings. Miller had such a terrific voice.
Hi Steve. Thanks again for taking the time to listen and to comment, especially given that you did it twice. Thank you for that. You do surprise me each time, with the songs that click and don't click for you. I would have thought Heaven Knows would have been the outlier track here. That's neat about Eeper Weeper. Keiren seems bigger than the rest of the band combined. Very sad about Stephen. I'm Not Like Everybody Else deserves a closer listen (try the album version) as does Waterloo Sunset, perhaps the best pop song ever written. I love the recording values at Austin City Limits and Bruce Cockburn is well, a national treasure. Some of these tracks are new to me as well. I got lost in The Ballad of Easy Rider on the very first listen. And Oliver Anthony made me cry. I guess it touched my coal mining roots. And I thought it timely with the people's revolution going on in the states this week. But I thought that track was the standout of the set. I've been looking for a good place to insert Five String Serenade for a while. Love is perhaps the best band you never heard of. To learn more, (I know, like you have time), listen to Episode 161 of Andrew Hickey's "A History of Rock in 500 Songs" https://500songs.com/podcast/episode-161-alone-again-or-by-love/ - Hickey was the one who turned me onto this track. I guess my introduction to Roger Miller might have been on Laugh In or The Smothers Brothers show, or maybe my brother Bob's record collection. He's so familiar, so iconic, it is almost easy to overlook him, but that would be a shame and like you say, a fun way to end the set.
Yeah, with music, sometimes it's the moment, I suppose, and perhaps on another listen my two "outliers" might land differently. I should go back in a while and test that out. It's interesting you mention the band LOVE; I hadn't noticed their name in the title for some reason; but wouldn't you know it, they popped up in my YouTube feed yesterday with the song - wait for it - "Alone Again Or"!
In "Heaven Knows," I think I might also have sensed a *slight* touch of Beth Hart, who David Marsden plays occasionally.
It's true, Kieran is a big personality to this day, which sometimes makes him intimidating to those who don't know his style but with his students, it has helped him become a beloved and trusted mentor.
Our family never really watched The Smothers Brothers as my parents disliked them with an almost unrealistic and unexplained passion, so I wouldn't have caught LOVE there. Laugh-In might have been a place where I saw them, though I don't remember the 'rents liking that program either (I must have snuck it in here and there to get my Goldie Hawn fix)... we were more of an Ed Sullivan Show crew.
Listening to the Hickey episode with a break here and there. Interesting to hear Jimi Hendrix and Billy Preston mentioned.. so much cross-pollinating in the music industry! Interesting history. He likes the word "jangly." I used to listen to Alan Cross's History of Music podcasts and when the time and mood is right, enjoy settling into that kind of program, especially if the voice is good, like Hinkey's, so thanks for that. Occasionally, I'll listen to a podcast while riding my bike on the indoor trainer. Listened that way to the whole of Enzology (about Split Enz... very long, but I was interested) on the recommendation of vdzanden from the NYtheSpirit chat. Not a format I have a lot of experience with in general.
Haha, how could your parents not love The Smothers Brothers? They were so lovable. Or Laugh-in for that matter. It was actually Roger Miller I was referencing with those shows. I doubt Love ever made it to prime time. 500 songs is what got me into listening to podcasts. And I started from the beginning so about 1939 and that was back in 2018. He plans to go to the year 2000 and I hope he makes it, but he's going to need to speed up his releases if he is going to be here to tell the full story. Currently on song 177 of 500 and being released about once a fortnight. He also does supplementary podcasts on Patreon for less influential songs and stories. Some of his recent episodes have had to be broken into multiple episodes because there is so much to tell. Nobody does a more thorough job of telling the history of Rock than Andrew. And ya, I think I could listen to him read the phone book and be quite happy. If you want to get a taste of the music he covers at the beginning of 500 songs, sample to this playlist I created. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5rNcaGBFbuvtPd7TsG1A3U?si=2ac53425fc174c63 I've got 9 of those so far and I haven't been keeping up. Another project I need to get back to. Enzology sounds epic, but not on Mondays, eh?
An oopsie, on my part: I meant Miller with regard to those shows so am not sure why I typed "them"... yes, the tastes were interesting back then and I am sure the guided path precluded my earlier adoption of some of the stuff I've embraced since surfing under my own authority.
I'm 2/3 of the way through the Hickey piece; he is very detailed in his examination, and it's quite interesting, touching on a few songs I had a taste of yesterday.
I love The Ballad of Easy Rider... very good! Are you still doing this lists?
Also If I Had A Rocket Launcher by Bruce Coburn with Colin Linden ❤️
Two fine Canadian musicians.
Hi John. Yes, although not every week. But quite often. Click on John's Jukebox above to go to the home page of this substack. I've also created a song index lining all of the songs, which is in the menu on the home page.
John, I had written up responses to each song a couple of days ago, and could have sworn I’d hit “post,” but obviously something distracted me and I didn’t complete the maneuver. Here’s what I intended to say, best as I can reconstruct. Overall, as per our recent discussion on how songs fit together or flow from one to the next, I was listening for that when going through your list and, yes, though there's a variety here, you nailed it again.
I enjoyed the sprawling acoustic sounds of “The Ballad of Easy Rider,” a new one for me, both the song and artists. Then, when I saw Great Lake Swimmers, I immediately set to writing my own post about “My Rocky Spine,” as you’ve already seen. They are just so good, hypnotic in a way I find, especially with some of their songs, like this one for instance. Such a deep, soulful homage to the land. Anyway, after branching out on that song, it took me a few days to get back here, and now a couple more once I realized my comment had not come through two days ago. So here I am again…
I can’t say I have ever been a fan of the Kinks, and can’t say why as I would have been exposed to their music by my older brothers, though I don’t recall them being playing a lot. But “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” lives up to its name; it has an energy that drew me in and I quite liked it.
“Wake Up” is an anthem I remember so well from the first hearing when one of our boys brought the ‘Funeral’ CD home while visiting home from away during the Christmas holidays the year the album came out. That day sparked a long and mostly faithful relationship with Arcade Fire’s music, and seeing them twice in concert; the first with my son Kieran and a few years later with Alys-Lynne. (Long aside here: at about 18, Kieran formed one of his earlier bands, a seven-piece modelled after AF. They won a CBC Manitoba contest for the best young band in the province later in the year this amateur video was made at their first show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMjT9MU1TC4 He is the more active one on stage, singing second… note the development of his voice since then, on the ‘Dark Little Ones’ CD! The MC introducing them, Stephen Eric MacIntyre, was a local anchor of the performing arts world, then went on to star in several TV series. Sadly, Stephen died last year. A very fine fellow who Alys-Lynne and I spoke with at length once, many years ago as he toured us around a near-to-us theatre occupying a long-ago gas station (aptly named the Gas Station Theatre). He seemed to run the place, though wasn’t paid staff, just loved theatre.
Next comes another Austin City Limits video… a show I should pay more attention to. My first time hearing this version of “Rocket Launcher.” A very strong rendition of an important song, the kind Cockburn excels at. And I was quite taken with the deep, soulful sounds of “You Worry Me,” making me want to hear more from this band. “Heaven Knows” gave me a bit of a Joan Jett vibe though with more depth and soul, I want to say? Pretty solid performance. I can’t say the next two tracks did much for me, though Oliver Anthony’s voice was compelling.
“King of the Road” is a great way to end the set; a wonderful, light-hearted kind of song I have so many memories around, with it being another one I associate with my childhood home. No doubt something my parents listened to as opposed to the siblings. Miller had such a terrific voice.
Hi Steve. Thanks again for taking the time to listen and to comment, especially given that you did it twice. Thank you for that. You do surprise me each time, with the songs that click and don't click for you. I would have thought Heaven Knows would have been the outlier track here. That's neat about Eeper Weeper. Keiren seems bigger than the rest of the band combined. Very sad about Stephen. I'm Not Like Everybody Else deserves a closer listen (try the album version) as does Waterloo Sunset, perhaps the best pop song ever written. I love the recording values at Austin City Limits and Bruce Cockburn is well, a national treasure. Some of these tracks are new to me as well. I got lost in The Ballad of Easy Rider on the very first listen. And Oliver Anthony made me cry. I guess it touched my coal mining roots. And I thought it timely with the people's revolution going on in the states this week. But I thought that track was the standout of the set. I've been looking for a good place to insert Five String Serenade for a while. Love is perhaps the best band you never heard of. To learn more, (I know, like you have time), listen to Episode 161 of Andrew Hickey's "A History of Rock in 500 Songs" https://500songs.com/podcast/episode-161-alone-again-or-by-love/ - Hickey was the one who turned me onto this track. I guess my introduction to Roger Miller might have been on Laugh In or The Smothers Brothers show, or maybe my brother Bob's record collection. He's so familiar, so iconic, it is almost easy to overlook him, but that would be a shame and like you say, a fun way to end the set.
You're welcome and thanks, John.
Yeah, with music, sometimes it's the moment, I suppose, and perhaps on another listen my two "outliers" might land differently. I should go back in a while and test that out. It's interesting you mention the band LOVE; I hadn't noticed their name in the title for some reason; but wouldn't you know it, they popped up in my YouTube feed yesterday with the song - wait for it - "Alone Again Or"!
In "Heaven Knows," I think I might also have sensed a *slight* touch of Beth Hart, who David Marsden plays occasionally.
It's true, Kieran is a big personality to this day, which sometimes makes him intimidating to those who don't know his style but with his students, it has helped him become a beloved and trusted mentor.
Our family never really watched The Smothers Brothers as my parents disliked them with an almost unrealistic and unexplained passion, so I wouldn't have caught LOVE there. Laugh-In might have been a place where I saw them, though I don't remember the 'rents liking that program either (I must have snuck it in here and there to get my Goldie Hawn fix)... we were more of an Ed Sullivan Show crew.
Listening to the Hickey episode with a break here and there. Interesting to hear Jimi Hendrix and Billy Preston mentioned.. so much cross-pollinating in the music industry! Interesting history. He likes the word "jangly." I used to listen to Alan Cross's History of Music podcasts and when the time and mood is right, enjoy settling into that kind of program, especially if the voice is good, like Hinkey's, so thanks for that. Occasionally, I'll listen to a podcast while riding my bike on the indoor trainer. Listened that way to the whole of Enzology (about Split Enz... very long, but I was interested) on the recommendation of vdzanden from the NYtheSpirit chat. Not a format I have a lot of experience with in general.
Haha, how could your parents not love The Smothers Brothers? They were so lovable. Or Laugh-in for that matter. It was actually Roger Miller I was referencing with those shows. I doubt Love ever made it to prime time. 500 songs is what got me into listening to podcasts. And I started from the beginning so about 1939 and that was back in 2018. He plans to go to the year 2000 and I hope he makes it, but he's going to need to speed up his releases if he is going to be here to tell the full story. Currently on song 177 of 500 and being released about once a fortnight. He also does supplementary podcasts on Patreon for less influential songs and stories. Some of his recent episodes have had to be broken into multiple episodes because there is so much to tell. Nobody does a more thorough job of telling the history of Rock than Andrew. And ya, I think I could listen to him read the phone book and be quite happy. If you want to get a taste of the music he covers at the beginning of 500 songs, sample to this playlist I created. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5rNcaGBFbuvtPd7TsG1A3U?si=2ac53425fc174c63 I've got 9 of those so far and I haven't been keeping up. Another project I need to get back to. Enzology sounds epic, but not on Mondays, eh?
Ha!
An oopsie, on my part: I meant Miller with regard to those shows so am not sure why I typed "them"... yes, the tastes were interesting back then and I am sure the guided path precluded my earlier adoption of some of the stuff I've embraced since surfing under my own authority.
I'm 2/3 of the way through the Hickey piece; he is very detailed in his examination, and it's quite interesting, touching on a few songs I had a taste of yesterday.
I'll take a look at the list, thanks!