The Ledge (mp3)

I must admit I was of two minds about when to do this year’s special Halloween show. My first thought was that since the actual holiday falls on a Ledge night I’d just save it for that evening. Makes perfect sense, right? But then again, it’s a dated show once it hits November. Isn’t it smarter to do it a full week ahead so fans of ghoulish rock and roll can enjoy my spooky...

The second part of this month’s new release series is honestly a little more full tilt rock and roll than usual. It’s not by any grand scheme. It’s just how the tracks (and relese dates) work out. What is typica that once again there’s a tasty set of Rum Bar Records new releases, and two full sets of great female-led tracks, including ther great returns of Cindy Lawson and...

I had just finalized the tracks for the first part of the October new release series when I received some tragic news. South Dakota Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame member (and good pal) Dave Scarbrough had passed away. Obviously, that changed tonight’s broadcast as I needed to share some of the great music Dave produced over the past 40 years or so. Dave’s music story began when he first he...

The last Friday of September means that this is also the last episode of The Ledge during the third quarter of this year so it’s time for a little look back over the past three months. And once again, it’s a wonderful time to be into the sort of music you hear on this show. Every week there’s great new records being put out. In fact, just today saw the release of a good half doze...

Ok, the “covers” folder is full so it’s again time for a show of nothing but remakes! What’s surprising is that it usually takes five or six months to be ready for each of this type, but it was only two months ago that I utilized this theme. But then again, there’s been a plethora of tribute albums in the last few weeks, mot notably the fabulous Make Something Happen:...

Believe it or not, there are actually rules when it comes to The Ledge’s new release series. The main rule is simple – when there is a two part new release series the deadline for both shows is the start of the part one’s Friday night broadcast. But rules don’t really work in rock and roll, so every now and then I do have to make an important executive decision. That’...

Another month, another two episodes devoted to new music! This week’s part one is centered around two great tribute albums released by two great labels. Our friends at Big Stir Records are set to release a fabulous tribute to power pop hall of famers The Flashcubes on September 12. I’m featuring five tracks off this great release that I’m sure y’all will love. There’s...

Last week’s look at what’s been spinning on the Hudson turntable was so fun that I thought we’d do it again. This week’s version, though, differs in that it also includes some digital treats. The announcement from the Numero Group of the upcoming Husker Du box, 1985 The Miracle Year was a no-brainer when it was accompanied by four more new sneak peaks. And I couldn’t...

If you happen to follow me on social media (and why wouldn’t you?) you have probably noticed that every week I post a collage of some of the albums I’ve listened to over the course of the week that I note as from “the Hudson Compound”. Well, tonight’s show is an audio version of one of those collages. Every track I played tonight comes from a record that has either be...

This week’s broadcast is sort of two different episodes combined together. The first 45 minutes or so consists of songs left over from the previous two week’s new reelease episodes. They’re not leftovers in terms of quality, though. They were just the last couple of sets of material that would have caused last week’s show to be well over 2 1/2 hours. And sure, having those...

This month’s second part of The Ledge new release is dominated by two of my favorite regular elements – female-led rock and roll and Rum Bar Records.   There are two lengthy sets of high octane bands led by female vocals, along with the show-opening debut of Tamar Berk’s new single, “Stay Close By”, which was released today! The full album comes out on Septe...

It’s a new month so obviously it’s time for another two part new release series. Like usual, tonight’s part one is full of “friends of the show” that includes artists on Big Stir Records, along with tracks submitted by the likes of The New Brutarians, Jim Basnight, and many others. There’s also a sneak peak at the upcoming Superchunk album, and a handful of tune...

The folder was almost full so I decided the time was right for a covers show. The key words are “almost full”, though. As late as this morning I was a few songs short of a full show. But I had faith. First off, I discovered the reissue of a 2012 covers EP by Black Furies called Get Down With It that included a cover of “Teenage Kicks”. Wait, what? It seems like every time I...

I generally label the first part of the monthly new release series the “friends of the show” broadcast. Looking at tonight’s folder of tunes, though, the sequel actually has more artists of that sort than part one had. As always, there’s  lengthy set recapping a ton of wonderful Rum Bar Records release. Let’s face it, thanks to their generosity and the sherr numb...

It may be our nation’s birthday, but that’s not stopping The Ledge from their usual routine of every first Friday of the month. Yes, once again we have a two part new release series, and this week’s first episode is primarily “friends of the show”. Artists that regularly send us tracks (Numb Surprise), along with labels that alway keep us in the loop (Big Stir Records...

As it is the last Friday of the second quarter of the year, it’s time to once again take a look back at the highlights of the last three months. Like usual, there’s a wonderful mix of all kinds of great music, from veteran bands (The Minus 5, The Waterboys, Swans) to brand new bands (Psychic Pigs, The Burgers). There’s free bandcamp faves (Friends of Cesar Romero, Vista Blue), ou...

Full disclosure here, and it’s sort of controversial. I’ve never been a Beach Boys fan. It’s just never really worked for me. As a kid, it just seemed to be a parent’s version of what rock and roll is supposed to be. The fact they had a song called “Be True To Your School” was enough evidence for me to not buy that Endless Summer collection that came out around...

Believe it or not, there are rules when it comes to what you hear on The Ledge. One of my main rules is that when the new release show is split into two separate shows there is a cutoff date for the material. That deadline is showtime of the first episode. Any material that is sent my way after that is set aside for the next month’s series. But there’s no real rules in rock and roll, a...

The first half of the monthly new release series is always dominated by “friends of the show”, and this month it’s no different. Tonight’s episode features are good friends Numb Surprise, the latest Rob Moss split 7″ cover collaboration (this time with Arthur Alexander), the return of Swansea Sound, and many others. Take note of the wonderful comeback tune by Handsome...

Tonight’s show features the debut of a new theme. It’s a format that I’ve long considered trying out, and this week seemed like the perfect opportunity. Quite often, new albums that I’ve come across have included songs with a famous person in the title. Most are tributes to said person, but there are also plenty of these types of tunes that just utilize a name for a song th...

At first glance, the latest installment of the cover song series is no different than any previous episode. Behind the scenes, though, serendipity is at play here. Like usual, I had quitely filled my “covers” folder over the last few months. A few weeks ago, I had accumulated enough tracks to schedule the show. I could have done it at the end of April, or last week. Next week even. Or...

This episode started off with a simple search for a Mother’s Day song. I just wanted to check out what songs I had about moms. But I noticed something quite off. I also had quite a few songs whose title included a much longer word that included the word mother. Like a whole plethora of songs that a polite person like myself would never, ever knowingly type in a show description like this. So...

This may be the 666th episode of The Ledge, but there’s nothing evil about the music played tonight. It’s actually nothing but joyful noise, 38 blasts that prove that rock and roll is as strong as ever. And once again, we traverse the world for quality sounds. Besides the usual lineup of Americans, there’s not one but two fabulous bands from France, along with other European arti...

Once again, The Ledge new release series travels the globe for the latest in quality rock and roll. From Rapid City, SD (Friends of Cesar Romero) to Sydney, Australia (Game Set Match), with various stops all over the US and Europe. There’s solo sets from High on Stress leader Nick Leet, Forty Nineteens leader Nick Z, and longtime Brian Wilson touring member Nelson Bragg. There’s the tr...

The Ledge is back! Yes, I did announce that it was unlikely that I’d have a show this week due to my recent medical procedure. But I seem to be recuperating nicely, so why not put together a show? I do chat about my experiences at the top of the program, and I do want to thank everyone that reached out to say they were thinking of me. It’s so much appreciated. As for this week’s...