The Ledge (mp3)

This is the type of new release show that should appeal to all veteran Ledge listeners. New music by Lydia Loveless! A Stones cover by Brad Marino. A set of nothing but great power pop from Big Stir Records. Always great tunes from Rum Bar Records. Wilco covering Sleater-Kinney, and vice versa! Plus lots of other great new tunes from familar and not so familiar artists. I would love it if every li...

The death of Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts earlier this week created an obvious opportunity for The Ledge to celebrate his almost 60 years of playing behind fellow Stones members Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. But, of course, I didn’t go the obvious route. You don’t get two hours of the band’s greatest hits. You don’t even get the most well known covers of the band....

The “odds and ends” format seems to have worked the last few times I’ve done it, so why not do another show of this type? For those new to The Ledge, the show consists of material I’ve been listening to in my home over the last few days. Some selections are faves from a few years ago that I haen’t pulled out in a while (Sarah Shook, Lydia Loveless). Others are recent...

Part two of this month’s new release series carries on from the excellence of last week’s first show. There are great tribute records to John Prine and The Ramones, along with some other fabulous covers of the Flamin’ Groovies, T. Rex, The Beatles, and The Blasters. There’s the returns of the Descendents and Pearl Harbour. There’s also new bands (at least to me) such...

This is another of thsoe months where the new release episode is so easy to compile that it just has to be split into two seperate shows. So tonight is part one, and what is especially gratifying is that so much of the broadcast consists of “friends” of the show. Yes, there’s the usual contributions from our friends at Rum Bar Records, Red On Red Records, and Big Stir Records. Bu...

Although I have a montly new release episode, I don’t really have a place for new reissues, compilations, live albums, and other odd releases such as that. Once in a while, I do throw a reissued track or two in the new release show, but for the most part it’s hard to find a spot for them in my usual themed shows. So tonight those types of releases get their own theme. I can’t say...

The joke may be that every day is record store day for this goofball, but it is a fact that I do love almost everything about the actual Record Store Day event. Or events, as the last couple of years the event has been split up into multiple days. This year is no different. The first round was on June 12; the second half is toorrow (July 17). Tonight’s show is a mix of releases from both of...

The latest in the series of episodes devoted to the music of 1981 consists of nothing but US punk from that great year. Primarily centered around the rise of the Southern California hardcore scene, the show jumps around to all parts of our country, and includes a set of great punk from Canada. I would love it if every listener bought at least one record I played on either of these shows. These gre...

It’s a question I ask myself multiple times a day. What would Mr. Westerberg do?  The answers guide my day to day life, which explains quite a bit about the status of Mr. Hudson these days. But Geoff Palmer understands, and his great track that gives thsi episode its title is just one of the many incredible songs on his upcoming record, Charts and Graphs. (BTW, somebody please count the West...

There’s not a lot to say about this show, as the title pretty much describes the contents of this broadcast. It’s the final show of June, which means the second quarter of the year has now concluded. Hence, tonight’s show features the albums and EP’s that I feel are the best of the three month period. I would love it if every listener bought at least one record I played on...

The decision to do an all-covers show was decided sometime on Wednesday when my good friends High On Stress announced that they would be releasing a Tommy Keene cover on Friday. This was shortly followed by emails containing new cover tracks by Kid Gulliver and The Dirty Denims. Always having a folder full of such tracks ready for air, it was an easy decision that this was the week to do such a sh...

On last week’s new release broadcast I had attempted to right a wrong. I definitely missed the boat on the fabulous Minneapolis band Low Rats blend of “proto-punk meets ’90s garage rock style”, as reviewer Carolyn Keddy recently wrote. Their full-length debut, Year of the Rat MMXX came out late last year, and last week they debuted a brand new “double-dose” sing...

Putting together a Dylan tribute show for this week was clearly a no-brainer. After all, he turned 80 years old this past Monday! Of course The Ledge would celebrate! It actually wasn’t until the day of his birthday that I decided on this theme, though, and I have to give special thanks to Lydia Loveless. To help raise money for NIVA (National Independent Venue Association), Lydia and a doze...

This week’s show may be a sequel to last week’s new release episode, but there’s no letdown in quality. Here are two hours of some of the best new music from all over the world – not only the U.S. but Canada, England, Sweden, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and Spain. There’s some pure punk, along with power pop, heavy rock, indie rock, and much more. There are longtim...