Brokedown Radio #4
With J.M. Hart
Brokedown Radio Episode 4 Track List
| SET ONE | |
|---|---|
| Artist | Title |
| Endless Boogie | A Life Worth Leaving |
| Universal Light | Triode > Freedom |
| MV & EE with The Golden Road | The Hungry Stones |
| Fotheringay | Nothing More |
| Miles Cooper Seaton & C+C= Maxigross & Joe Westerlund | Slow Down Time |
| Ethan WL | Hold Up Your Arms On The Red Cross |
| Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen | Down To Seeds and Stems Again Blues |
| SET TWO | |
| Charles Ives | Symphony No. 4, III. Fugue: Andante Moderato |
| William Tyler | Virginia is for Loners |
| Tut Taylor | Southern Filibuster |
| Grateful Dead | Bird Song > Ripple (1980-10-06) |
| Bob Dylan and The Band | I Shall Be Released |
| Curtis Harvey Trio | Changes |
| Calvin & Alvin Johnson | Winding River |
| The Youngbloods | The Dolphin |
| Big Brother & The Holding Company | Ball & Chain |
| The Beatles | Wake Up Little Susie > I Me Mine (Take 11) |
Listen to Brokedown Radio on NQRA.live
STRAIGHT OUTTA VIRGINIA, musician J.M. Hart is the host of Brokedown Radio here on NQRA. Jump in each month for missives from the exploratory psychedelic folk and rock underground, jam bands, and other musical delights.
You can discover more episodes of Brokedown Radio here.
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Brokedown Radio episode 4 has landed. Or should that be “lifted off?” Either way, Mr. J.M. Hart’s selections this month will certainly give you pause as to the nature of reality and how, exactly, it is that mere mortals can extract such joy-filled musical pathways.
From the forward-charging life-grind that is Endless Boogie to the wry ethereal-ism of MV&EE, we are treated to two sets—in classic Head style—that ease us into the right zone, and then catapult us into seventh heaven.
Here are this month’s highlights for you:
Episode Highlights
Endless Boogie – “A Life Worth Leaving“
From the irrepressible NYC unit’s dirgy, lo-fi, one-chord-exploring monster of a fourth album for No Quarter, Full House Head (2010), “A Life Worth Leaving” reflects overloaded condenser mics back through the speakers in ways that make one wonder why any psychedelic free-rock band might ever contemplate entering a “real” studio.
Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen – “Down to Seeds and Stems Again Blues”
The Live From Deep in the Heart of Texas LP may be Commander Cody’s career highlight. Oh, don’t get us wrong, they could cut it in the studio—the first three records (this one is the fourth) were spring reverb-y dance floor shufflers of the highest order. But this is a band that was made for the stage, and “Down to Seeds and Stems Again Blues” is the ultimate crowd-pleaser, delivering as it does a perfect rendering of crooning Bakersfield country but with a highly controversial (at the time) lyric that plants the band fully in the counterculture.
William Tyler – “Virginia is for Loners“
Any regular listener to NQRA knows that William Tyler is one of this century’s greatest proponents of shimmering psychedelic folk, rock and cosmic American guitar. “Virginia is for Loners” is taken from his stunning 2019 Merge Records release, Goes West. It swirls kaleidoscopically around a propulsive, but reserved, rhythm section without ever quite feeling the need to crescendo, but nevertheless taking us somewhere decidedly different to where we were at the song’s outset.
Grateful Dead – “Bird Song > Ripple” (1980-10-06)
When the Dead were on, they were really on. And their acoustic October 6th 1980 show at The Warfield in San Francisco captures one of the most on moments they may ever have had live, as they make a seamless, barely tangible transition from one of their finest jam vehicles into what is, arguably, their best-loved song. Whether you’re close-listening for it or it just catches you by surprise, the elevation of intuition into art, here, will knock you out.