Jon Langford (Photo by Barry Phipps, courtesy the artist and Bloodshot Records) Today we continue our conversation with transplanted Chicagoan and jack-of-all-trades (music, art, comic interludes, storytelling) Jon Langford. You can read Part One here; Part Three appears Friday. Today … Continue reading →
Without A Doubt, Jon Langford (2007) Introduction When I was just a baby, my Mama told me, âSon Always be a good boy, donât ever play with guns,â But I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die. … Continue reading →
      JOHNNY CASH Bootleg Vol. III: Live Around the World Columbia/Legacy 88697 930032       JOHNNY CASH Bootleg Vol. IV: The Soul of Truth Columbia/Legacy 88697 985382 www.legacyrecordings.com www.johnnycash.com  The … Continue reading →
 I found the music of Colorado-based songwriter and recording artist Rorey Carroll, when she âlikedâ our Facebook page.  I looked up her web site, and gave âHead Hungâ a listen, and heard something I recognized in this original murder … Continue reading →
The Last Judgment by Jean Cousin The Man Comes Around This will be a relatively short post.  Also, Iâll offer apologies to our loyal readers who may have seen some of what Iâm about to discuss in comments to an earlier … Continue reading →
The thing I like about traditional murder ballads is that there doesnât have to be any motive for the murder. Thereâs just these two people and he takes her down to the river and he kills her and he throws … Continue reading →
In this interview mentioned in the last post, Nick Cave explained how his musical inclinations were forever changed when â as young boy in a small town in Australia â he started watching the Johnny Cash Show. The first episode of the show … Continue reading →
This week, Iâll explore the dialogue between Johnny Cash and Nick Cave, two great modern murder balladeers who wrestled with themes of redemption and retribution as they explored crime, death, love, isolation, religion and the myths and musical roots of … Continue reading →
Cyd Charisse as âFrankieâ in âMeet Me in Las Vegasâ   Going to the Movies:  Hipsters and Hootenannies  To paraphrase Lord Buckley,âFriends, blog-readers, countrymen, knock me your lobes.â  Sammy Davis, Jr. here takes a turn at Frankie … Continue reading →
I turned 12 during the summer of 1969. My overwhelming memory of that year was watching my NY Mets turn from laughing stock to world champs. Of course the moon landing was another significant event burned in my memory. I … Continue reading →
