• The Ledge #725: 1986

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    I wish I could say I have vivid memories of 1986, but I really don’t. Look, it was the year after I graduated from college, and life was a party. I was working in a record store during the day at night I was a club DJ. Quite often the club followed me to the home I shared with a couple of friends with similar lifestyles.

    I do remember the music, though, and tonight’s show celebrates the soundtrack of that glorious year. What surprised me as I was preparing this show, though, is that this was a year where roots rock dominated my life. Sure, there was plenty of traditional punk and alternative music, too, and that will probably be the focus of a sequel, but jangly guitars seemed to the be the sound of the times for me.

    What was your favorite record of 1986?

    For more info, including setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

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  • The Ledge #724: New Releases Pt. 2

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    Before we get to a description of this week’s episode, I received a wonderful notification earlier this week that this show had hit #31 on MillionPodcast’s Best 100 Midwestern Music Podcast chart! Wow! This is quite an honor. 

    If I’m going to be honest, I believe it’s these monthly new release episodes that have helped get this sort of attention. What other radio show features around four hours of new releases each and every month? Tonight’s show, like volume one last week, may be a little shorter from a typical episode but it’s jam packed with wonderful tunes.

    As usual, there’s a set devoted to our friends at Rum Bar Records, including Songs From The Film, the new project of Chazz Matthews of the Cheap Cassettes. The Amplifier Heads once again hit it out of the park, and how can I not love the Paul Westerberg-ish tones of Tad Overbaugh’s “July” (plus it features Dave Minehan).

    Elsewhere, there’s a twofer from a debut album by Taxi Girls that’s definitely bound to hit my top ten of the year. There’s the return of The Bobby Lees, a couple of fabulous Bob Dylan covers from an upcoming Jem Records tribute to the legend, and plenty more rock, punk, power pop, and Americana. Oh yeah, and I’ve found yet another new version of “Teenage Kicks”. 

    What is your favorite new release?

    For more info, including setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

    Download MP3 here


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  • The Ledge #723: New Releases Pt. 1

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    It’s that time of the month once again! It’s another set of new release episodes, and this one includes a lot of familiar faces. There are the usual submissions by the likes of Numb Surprise, Phil Cook & the Fall Dogs, Ricky Rochelle, and others, but there’s also some great covers from The Routes and the latest Drunk Dial Records’ Fake series. There’s also strong new stuff from Jon Spencer, The Jukeez, and The Paranoyds, along with a wonderful compilation of bands playing this month’s Punk Rock Raduno festival in Italy. 

    But I’m especially happy to once again premiere some new local music. Off Contact’s new album, Cab You?, is set to be released in a few weeks, and this Sioux Falls-based post-punk outfit deserves plenty of attention. I also have a couple of tracks from Chicago’s Trash Kickers, who I highlighted last week as my favorite new record of the month. I can’t wait for the vinyl version to be released later this year.

    What’s your favorite new release?

    For more info, including setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

    Download MP3 here


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  • The Ledge #722: Second Quarter Recap

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    With tonight’s show the final episode of June, it’s time to look back at the new music released over the past quarter year. These three months have been simply fantastic. There’s been followups to records that were at the top or near the top of previous year end lists (The Sleeveens, Memo PST, The Bevis Frond, etc.) There’s surprise albums by veteran bands (Eddy Current Suppression System, Natural Child). There’s the returns of longtime fave bands (Social Distortion, Oddfellows, High On Stress, etc.)  And there’s plenty of brand new bands, including a kickass Chicago group, Trash Kickers, that I just discovered a few days ago. What’s especially great is that these 40 albums are just a fraction of the fine tunes that have been released in recent weeks.

    What’s your favorite album of the last quarter? 

    For more info, including setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

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  • The Ledge #721: More Big Ten Inch Records

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    A little over two years ago, I put together a show based only on songs released on the ten inch EP format. I’m still wondering why there aren’t more ten inchers released these days. It’s the perfect format for the EP’s that waste way too much space on most twelve inch releases. 

    Anyway, since that previous show, I’ve not only acquired a few more of these type of records, but I’ve expanded my knowledge of the format. For new titles, there’s the live Replacements EP that accompanied preorders of the box set reissue of Let It Be. There’s also a couple of Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs EPs, and a reissue by The Delmonas. 

    For older titles, I must give a bit of praise to my record collecting geek friend Phil. Over the years, he’s handed me a few titles that he knew that I’d enjoy. One of those was a record by a 90s band called Speedway. As I was looking at it the other day, I was pleasantly shocked to see that this was an early band by Miss Georgia Peach! I definitely needed to air a couple of tracks off that.

    Phil also alerted me to a various artists ten inch that featured legendary South Dakota punkers Dissent, who went into our state’s Rock and Rollers Hall of Fame two years ago! Along with those tracks are a ton of records put out by Sympathy For The Record Industry, SST, and Estrus Records.

    What’s your favorite 10″?

    For more info, including setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

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  • The Ledge #720: New Releases Pt. 2

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    The second part of the monthly new release series is generally dominated by the latest records Malibu Lou has put out on his legendary Rum Bar Records label. This month is no different, and it’s a perfect kick off to over two hours of great new tunes. The Hollywood Stars, The Amplifier Heads, Stop Calling Me Frank, Gene Champagne and Girl With a Hawk are this month’s Rum Bar representatives, and they’re all fabulous. There’s also a sampler of tunes from the lastest Dam-Nations compilation series.

    The rest of the show is a battle of sorts between veterans and noobs. On the veterans side, there’s great new music from the likes of Guided By Voices, Social Distortion, Dwarves, Die Toten Hosen (their final album!), Nashville Pussy, and the Real McKenziess.

    On the “noob” side, there are acts sucks as Irked, Taxi Girls, Cable TV, Hoaxxers, and so many more that once again proves there will always be great new rock and roll bands!

    What’s your favorite new album?

    For more info, including setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

    Download MP3 here


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  • The Ledge #719: New Releases Pt. 1

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    I have long described the contents of the first episode of my monthly new release series as “friends of the show” Well, that is more true than usual this month. Yes, there are the usual suspects (Numb Surprise, Phil Cook & the Fall Dogs, etc.) but there is also the debut single from an upcoming album by my hometown friends Off Contact. “Heart and Mind” is the first look at Can You?, their third album, and you can expect to hear more off that album as the summer progresses.

    Besides those tracks, there is a set devoted to a cool concept record called Pets Sounds, an album of songs about…well, pets! There’s a sneak peak at an upcoming Jesse Malin tribute record, and tunes from two of my favorite new releases of the past month – Memo PST and The Lemon Twigs. Plus, lots of other power pop, garage rock, and some good ol’ rock and roll!

    What’s your favorite track from this week’s episode?

    For more info, including setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

    Download MP3 here


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  • The Ledge #718: Record Store Day

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    In the days following last month’s Record Store Day extravaganza I spent hours digitizing a number of titles I purchased that day. I also went through my archives to grab tracks from the many reissues that came out. A couple of weeks later, I was all set to do a show based on this work.

    Unfortunately (for the show at least), I had a last minute family function to attend, so I had to set that folder aside for a future episode. Well, the future is now.

    In my eyes, it was a great Record Store Day as there were plenty of rarities that I was excited to add to my collection. And as I don’t go after the pop titles that so many are standing in line to find these days, I was pretty successful in my efforts. There’s a shelved album by power pop maestro Tommy Keene. There’s a live album by The Muffs. Soul Jazz Records has another fabulous compilation. There’s expanded editions of a ton of classic albums. There’s something here for everyone. Well, everyone who has taste.

    What was your favorite Record Store Day release?

    For more info, including setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

    Download MP3 here


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  • The Ledge #717: 70s Punk Debut Albums

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    With this being a holiday weekend, I was determined to do a very listener-friendly “fun” episode. Of course, when I say listener-friendly, I’m not talking about the sort of nonsense on commercial radio. Not, what that means for The Ledge is the sort of legendary bands and songs that all Ledge listeners enjoy…or should.

    The actual theme came together this past Sunday when I was listening to the first Stiff Little Fingers album, Inflammable Material. It was at that moment that I decided that I was only going to listen to debut albums this week. That idea naturally transformed into a theme for tonight’s show. There’s nothing but the first full-length releases of 70’s punk rock bands. These are primarily records that impacted me in a way that few records of the next 45 years would. From that first Ramones album that arrived at my house when I was suffering from the chicken pox through not only the true legends of that era to a record I purchased simply because I loved that the band was called The Drones.

    Obviously, this is a theme that I will return to quite often in the next few months. I mean, come on, every band has a debut album! What’s your favorite of tonight’s picks?

    For more info, including setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

    Download MP3 here


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  • The Ledge #716: Covers

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    The “covers” folder is full. Overfull, to be honest. So tonight’s show is a supersized show of great remakes, and many of them are quite surprising. The Tubs covering Metallica? Social Distortion doing Chris Isaak? White Fence remaking Simply Red? The Hollywood Stars retaking their own song back from Kiss? Hell, even Ty Segall’s version of The Doors could be considered a surprise.

    There are also quite a few more conventional remakes here tonight, but each and every one is what the kids today call a “banger”. (Oof, remind me to never use that term again.) I’m sure any Ledge listener will find a favorite. What’s your highlight?

    For more info, including setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com

     

    Download MP3 here


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