Bloggerhythms

Josephine Johnson has released three full length albums prior to  Double High Five , her totally satisfying, brand new, six song EP. In addition to releasing some really fine music the indie folk-rocker also deserves great praise because she is completely the master of her domain.  " I’m not 25, I’ve never been married, I put myself through school, and I book my own shows–I’m the roadie, the writer, the singer, doing exactly what I want to do." Johnson has a Nashville address but she is constantly on the road teaching music in Georgia, South Carolina and California where she received an MA in English from Humboldt State University. Last year she played 220 gigs despite the pandemic and she can also boast about being an accomplished ukulele player. The EP is partly inspired by a busted relationship but Johnson's songs sound as if they were born out of love rather than sadness. The varied and vibrant arrangements allow you to feel empathy for Johnson while you're bein...

Charlie Watts on the cover of a live Rolling Stones CD This is not going to be one of my better pieces of writing because anything I say today about Charlie Watts would just be redundant. You can already find everything you need to know about him all over the blogosphere yet I would feel remiss if I didn't acknowledge his passing in some way.   Watts was always my favorite member of The Rolling Stones and his death yesterday is one that bothers me a lot. Maybe, it's because of how iconic The Stones became during what is now the first era of classic rock. Admittedly, I was never the band's biggest booster although I do like their music enough to have read Keith Richard's autobiography . As written over and over the last two days, jazz was always the drummer's first love thoug...

The article below was originally written after the passing of Phil Everly in 2014. It has been updated slightly as a tribute to his older brother, Don, whose death was announced yesterday. With the death of Don Everly much has been written about The Everly Brothers over the last couple of days. Another generic tribute seems unnecessary so it's time to approach his recent passing from a different direction. Everly's death brings to mind what a lost art form pop-rock singing has become. There are plenty of stars today with a lot of talent but they don't often get a chance to show off their stuff. Digital processing of the human voice has removed the need for many singers to possess a great set of pipes and if the vocals you're currently listening to on the radio sound a lot like a computer you understand what I mean. The Everly Brothers were from a time when rock 'n roll was in its infancy and still developing. Even though rock was looked upon as music for te...

Please, please, please don't send me to musical prison for liking a song based on Sugar Bear, an advertising creation manufactured to sell the breakfast cereal, Sugar Crisp (eventually renamed Golden Crisp to avoid any references to sugar when the sweetener suddenly fell out of favor). Sugar Bear became so popular that a TV show was built around him that sold product related toys and Christmas ornaments. Crass commercialism all the way! In 1971 record producer Jimmy Bowen - with some good singers and songwriters - released cardboard cut-out records on the back of Sugar Crisp cereal boxes - five in all.  The song featured four group members:  Sugar Bear, Honey Bear, Shoobee Bear, and Doobee Bear. Bowen also recorded a commercially released album,  Presenting The Sugar Bears , with a group that included songwriters Mike Settle , formerly of The New Christy Minstrels and The First Edition;  Baker Knight , who wrote "The Wonder of You" - a hit by Elvis Presley; a...

John Martyn's One World , released in 2005, is a double disc, British import compilation that should not be confused with his 1977 album of the same name. Martyn was a contemporary of the same folk scene that helped launch the careers of Ralph "Streets Of London" McTell and Al "Year Of The Cat" Stewart but he soon forged a different direction for himself. The late rocker is well regarded among those who knew him, but the general population and mainstream music fans haven't a clue who he is. Some music fans may only know him for composing "May You Never" a cool little tune that Eric Clapton covered a long time ago on his Slowhand album. Most of the music here is very appealing blue-eyed soul, light funk, or smooth jazz. Instrumentally it is all top drawer with great arrangements. Listening to Martyn on the surface can be a very pleasurable experience because you have to dig deeper to find the music's flaws. Unfortunately, upon closer listeni...