We have also mentioned another test. OK, mainly me, but that’s fine. I have another test. The “Front Porch” Test. Also know as the Drunk Test. The After the After Party Test. Songs you play after a night out or with just a few really close friends. Nothing too loud and nothing to soft. Like Baby Bear’s bed…just right. Songs you can talk with, or about, or that spark conversations. The Front Porch Test.

So today I give you one of each for the Songs I love. First the Car Test. Pearl Jam’s “Got Some”

and now the Front Porch Song by the Felice Brothers “Whiskey in my Whiskey”

Enjoy and as always please leave a comment. Please and Thank You.

I remember getting Meiko’s first cd in the mail. I loved it. I called her manager and wanted to set something up. Luckily I had the Snapple Next Concert series going. This was Meiko’s first radio performance. Her very first one. I feel lucky.

It’s just Meiko, an acoustic guitar and me. Now you. Enjoy it all.

Download audio file (Next_Concert_with_Meiko.mp3)
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This song might just cure the world of ADD. Enjoy it all.

I am sure you know Justin Currie was lead singer of del Amitri and if you didn’t go get some.

DJ Jane

Please listen to Jane’s 10 songs then leave a comment and let her know what you think. Thanks for the six pack of Maryland beer. That’s another thing I love but that’s different post.

Download audio file (Guest_DJ_Jane.mp3)
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1. 21@ 12 by Hot Hot Heat
2. Let Go by Everest
3. Excuses by The Morning Benders
4. Crash Years by The New Pornographers
5. My Time by Minus the Bear
6. Bloodbuzz Ohio by The National
7. Factory by Band of Horses
8. Faster Than the Setting Sun by Fyfe Dangerfield
9. Closet Astrologer by The Ruby Suns
10. Hemingway by The Seascape

Jane on Facebook
Jane at Music Matters
Jane on Pop Matters

These guys are from Mad Town Wisconsin but have been calling Brooklyn home for quite awhile now. I’m a Mid West boy and even went to college in Wisconsin. There is a soft spot in my heart for anyone from there but it goes beyond that though. They are brilliant live. They write great songs with passion. They give off a bit of an early Kinks/Beatles feel to them too. That’s a win-win situation. Did I mention they are amazing live? Go see their next show. You can thank me later.

I think this a quite good “get the weekend started” song. Your thoughts?

Lost CD…sadly I might argue a Lost Band.

Let’s start this thing off by saying if for some reason you don’t have all three of the holy trinity of ‘Mats CDs then you need to remedy that right now. It’s a perfect trifecta. “Let it Be”, “Tim”, and “Pleased to Meet Me” should be in each and every CD collection. Murmur by REM was released in ’83 and the ‘Mats perfection was recorded during that same time(’84 to ’87). Green came out in “88. How did REM get sooo huge while The Replacements watched the world pass them by? You might know the stories and if not search them out. There are some truly wonderful Rock N Roll stories. The Replacements really have no one but themselves to blame but that doesn’t change the fact that we have the chance to “do it right” now. If your favorite radio station plays more REM songs then Replacement songs something is terribly wrong. Call them. Email them and ask them why they don’t love music.

Ok enough of that little rant. So this is a Lost CD review and obviously I can’t pick one of the big three so I picked “All Shook Down”. It is basically the first solo Paul Westerberg CD. The CD sounds like an almost defeated Paul. I think by this time he knows that The Replacements should have and/or could have but didn’t. This CD is not classic sounding Replacements it’s the perfect ending that knows that it is an ending. It is full of med tempo rockers and low key acoustic numbers. It’s a good CD to listen to when the party has ended but you are not ready to call it a day. You want to hang on to the buzz and kick back with one last beer — or maybe two so that you can slowly pull on the beers and hear the entire CD. All I am saying is give Paul a chance.

Comments? I welcome them.
Enjoy it all
Bro

“It’s not that she didn’t rock my casbah/It’s not that I couldn’t burn her London down/It’s just that she kept on disappearing/ whenever the Sandinista’s come to town” See or hear it at the 2:15 mark in the tune.

So life lesson number one. Know who Joe Strummer is or you can’t be a part of my life.

For the last six months, I have fallen hard for this band called Cold Cave. They sound like a gloomy New Order with shoegaze tendencies (listen to the song “Life Magazine” and you’ll understand what I mean), but mostly the term dark wave comes to mind when I listen to them. It’s dark and energetic. You might actually want to get up and dance!

I’ve known about this band since early 2008, because I’m a huge fan of the man who started the band as a side project. I’ll put it this way – Wes Eisold is a genius. He’s a poet (it’s impossible to get a copy of his limited-released book Deathbeds) and is the former lead singer of two amazing, brutal hardcore bands. His first band was originally called American Nightmare but then had to re-title themselves as Give Up the Ghost. Unfortunately, they broke up in 2004.  From 2002 until the band’s demise in 2007, Wes was also in the band Some Girls. If you want to hear a total musical 360, after you check out Cold Cave, go check out his old bands and be prepared to be shocked.

Back in the spring of 2008, I heard a few of demos by Cold Cave and was impressed, but at the time it all sounded too gloomy and was lacking something melodically. I figured “Eh I’ll keep this band on my radar for later.” The year 2009 was a musical blur for me and I forgot about the band until January 2010. I heard a few songs from their debut album and was surprised. It wasn’t like my mind was blown, but I fell in love.

With that in mind, here is the video for the album-titled track “Love Comes Close.”

I am usually working forward. I am always looking at the next Next. In fact, sometimes people ask me what was on last week’s show and I can’t think of a single song because I’m already getting next week done. So I’m taking a quick, unscientific look at NEXT. I have my favorites but let’s look at the most downloaded shows out there. What are the kids into? What are your favorites?

What are the most downloaded shows?

Number 5: Week 214
Download audio file (next_week_214_060210.mp3)
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Number 4: Week 212
Download audio file (Next_Week_212_051910.mp3)
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Number 3: Week 211
Download audio file (Next_Week_211_051210.mp3)
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Number 2: Week 208
Download audio file (Next_Week_208_042110.mp3)
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Number 1 Downloaded show is Week 205
Download audio file (Next_Week_205_033110.mp3)
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Looking over that list I see mostly current shows. Dig back and enjoy some of the older shows too. Like week 185 or Week 180. Also interesting is there is only one “Best of Show” on that list and that would be show #1 week 205. Maybe my “best of’s” aren’t the best?

Discuss. Enjoy.