Happy New Year, friends! Our January 2024 episode comes to you from the beach! Recorded at the Blue Heron Motel in Nags Head, North Carolina, we’ve got eleven great new songs for you… we hope they’ll be a great start to your new year.
Show notes from our January 2024 Spotify Podcast:
We started with Phoebe’s ten submissions and Al’s ten submissions, but our finished, 11-song playlist is put in an order that we think makes sense musically. Which is not same same order that we pick the songs during the picking ceremony heard during our podcast.
Song notes (Quotes are from song lyrics):
- “And the weak need to be led, and the tender are carried to their bed, and it’s a cold and pale affair, and I’ll be dammed if I’ll be found there”
Lately we can’t get enough of Laura Marling. She brings great melodies and a great strength to her music. - “I’ll be with you when the stars start falling”
Long-time listeners know how much we love covers that break an existing song down, and bring it back as something totally new. The late-60’s psychedelic soul band Rotary Connection was such a great collection of talents, and they brought us one of our favorite covers of all time. - “Sexual healing is good for me”
My Bubba (via this amazing Marvin Gaye song) gives us such a subtle and lovely way of talking about sex. “No dirty words, just dirty thoughts.” - “This is not what i do for a living, actually you see, i am a musician”
Joose Keskitalo is new to our playlist. We love this dark and dry song. - “The morning after, know what you’ll bring, if love is a red dress, well, hang me in rags”
This is also blueswoman Maria McKee’s first appearance in our playlist. She also whistles. - “And now that it’s all over, all that I can do is wish you well”
Every person who cares about music should pay attention to the video of these two amazing men making art. - “Are you gonna step into line like your daddy done? Punching the time and climbing life’s long ladder?”
Ray LaMontagne brings a voice from another place and a time, and his songwriting is always top-shelf as well. - “How can that dog be barkin’ in the backyard? We ran over him years ago”
Famously, Big AL’s mom ran over at least a couple of their family dogs. Maybe somebody in Edie Brickell’s family did too? - “Follow me and I’ll make you see, my love’s not what you dreamed it to be”
Holly Macve is back for her third visit to our playlist with “Heartbreak Blues”. - “It’s gonna rain champagne and the hills are gonna dance”
This is The Handsome Family’s second appearance in our playlist. The video for this one is maybe even better than the studio version.The Handsome Family – When The Helicopter Comes from SONGS THEY PLAYED on Vimeo.
- “I’m going in the woods with a stick”
Ireland’s Mick Flannery is a treasure. And “Fuck Off World” might be Al’s new theme song.
Both our Spotify playlist and our podcast are updated and released around the first of each month. We were recorded this month in room 9 of the Blue Heron Motel in Nags Head, North Carolina.
Thanks to Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon for help in recording this month. Thanks to the hot tub at the Blue Heron. Theme music is from “Red Eye” by E’s Jammy Jams, accordion music by Andrew Huang, Chopin – Mazurka Op6No2 by Blue Dot Sessions, Trois Gnossiennes 3 by Blue Dot Sessions, Basketliner by Blue Dot Sessions, Tarte Tatin by Blue Dot Sessions.
Featured image: It might or might not be your podcast hosts.
If you have questions or suggestions, please drop us an email.
See you next month!
