1. Jim Ford - The Sound of Our Times - What happens when a white Southern musician takes his brand of mountain soul from the Appalachian region of Eastern Kentucky to Los Angeles and becomes a close friend and collaborator with Sly Stone in the late 60s? This Bear Family re-issue contains the results: the 1969 Harlan County album in it’s entirety and several other singles and previously unreleased gems. The long out of print Harlan County LP is considered by some to be the Holy Grail of Southern Country Soul. Talk about a band! The album was recorded with guitarist James Burton, drummer Jim Keltner and the always funky Dr. John. Ford’s friends and admirers included Sly Stone, Bobby Womack and Nick Lowe. Aretha Franklin, The Temptations and Bobbie Gentry recorded his songs. Killer!

2. Bettye LaVette - The Scene Of The Crime – The long neglected Soul Queen is back with her second “re-discovery” album after the 2005 Joe Henry produced “I’ve Got My Own Hell to Pay”. This time she is backed by the ass kicking Drive By Truckers. Imagine Tina Turner fronting the Stones back in ’72. Well, that might be a stretch… but not much.

3. Mofro – Country Ghetto – Socially and politically aware commentary immersed in a sanctifying bath of rhythm oil. Mofro brings the grit and the grease.

4. Paul Cebar – Tomorrow Music For Now People – Cebar brings his r&b/rock/gospel hybrid into the 21st century with this extraordinarily well produced album that exudes an accomplished, confident soulfulness.

5. Tinariwen – Aman Iman – Saharan buzz, crackle and drone from the celebrated toureg nomads. Low-fi out of nessecity not trendiness. This isn’t NPR safe “world music” for the Putumayo crowd. This is rough, gritty, politically charged rebel music with balls. Not for the faint hearted.

I was very pleased that we were one of the finalists, but frankly I didn’t think we’d been on the air long enough to possibly win. But I was wrong. Sometimes that happens. They announced 88nine Radio Milwaukee as the winner and Jay Hedblade, Aimee Rae and I walked up to the stage to receive the award.

We are all very grateful for the show of support. Radio Milwaukee beat out some tough competition from some long established stations.
Thank you all very much.

By the way, the free food was long gone when we arrived and the line for the free beer was  a bit long. We opted instead for PBRs from the adjacent bar.

But this time they just couldn’t get on track. They never built up the energy on stage that feeds back into their audience and turns the entire scene into a writhing, dancing, beer slinging mass. They seemed unfocused and distracted. Of course the fact that members of the opening band, Whiskey & Company,  insisted on hanging out on stage during Lucero’s entire set didn’t help. Several songs were stopped in the middle and left incomplete, the front man forgot the lyrics to a few others. There was no encore. But then again an encore has to be deserved.

Bobby Bare Jr. rocked the stage and made a lot of racket for a three piece. Bobby always delivers the goods.

I’ve been a fan of both Jackson Pollack movies from recent years. Both “Pollack” and “Jackson Pollack – Life and Death on Long island” are both revealing looks into the troubled mind of one of America’s greatest artists. I’ve always been fascinated by his life and rise in the art world. A world that he turned his nose up at and yet pursued at the same time.

I think Jackson Pollack would have gotten along well with Teri Horton. Horton is the subject of the documentary “Who The Hell is Jackson Pollack?”, which tells the story of her finding an old painting in a thrift shop that she purchases for a gift for a friend. Turns out the painting might just be an authentic Pollack worth about 50 million bucks.

The film chronicles her effort to have the painting authenticated despite the efforts of a bunch of art world blow hards to prove otherwise. The hard drinking, foul mouthed, feisty former truck driver will not back down and continues her quest by enlisting the help of a forensics lab.

But no matter how much evidence she collects, the establishment will have none of it. Why? Check it out for yourself right here.

One of the greatest magazines ever published has released it’s annual music issue and it’s a killer. The Oxford American features Thelonious Monk on the cover and the pages are full of great southern artists both well known and obscure. The CD is one of the most eclectic ever put together with cuts from Eldridge Holmes, Betty Davis, Dwight Yoakam and so many others. I’ve been a reader of the magazine since it’s inception and always look forward to the music issue. Check out The Oxford American Music Issue.

I first became aware of Jim Ford about 10 years ago when I ran across a copy of his album Harlan County. I knew from first listen that he was an extremely funky cat in that unique white Southern country soul kind of way. Imagine if Tony Joe White had hung out and worked with Sly Stone and Bobby Womack. That’s exactly what this Kentucky native did back in the late 60s and early 70s. The result is a nearly one of a kind synthesis of Appalachian soulfulness combined with the psychedelic funk of Sly & the Family Stone and the hard edged R&B of Womack.

His version of the oft-covered Willie Dixon/Howlin’ Wolf classic Spoonful is simply the best I’ve ever heard.

Read more and check it out here

Even though there are so many that it’s hard for me to narrow it down to a managable list, there is one name that stands out above (or is it below?) all of the rest. I know before I even start what band has the worst name of all time. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Here is my list of the most stupid, idiotic, moronic and just plain assinine band names.

First let’s start with the number names. There are several.

Blink 182
Seven Mary Three
Matchbox 20
Sevendust

I can’t make a blanket statement that all number names are bad. U2, MC5 and The Jackson 5 are all great names of great bands. The difference is their names mean something. U2 is of course a spy plane and the othe two say something about the bands.

Bad 80s band names. Oh my God where do we start. The 80s were a very fertile era for truly insipid band names. Here’s my top 4.

Kajagoogoo
Wang Chung
Wham!
Bananarama

Alright, let’s get to the worst of the worst.

Muddvayne – This is what needs to be removed from a carp before you can eat it. Otherwise known as the digestive tract. And if that wasn’t bad enough they get points deducted for the creative spelling.

Hoobastank – This name is just so dumb that I refuse to say it on air. Hoobastank? This name does.

And now for the all time most horrific, goofy name of all

Korn – Dumb name that loses points for the spelling. K and a backwards r. Man o man is that just dumb.

There are so many more. Let me hear yours!