Engine 145 - A Roots Music Publication

The power of music (and the secondary power of repeatedly talking and teaching a particular narrative about it), are such that for many, the Dust Bowl, some eighty years later, survives in memory mainly or solely as “the horrible experience Woody Guthrie sang about.” (For others, it’s what they saw or read in The Grapes [...]

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June has arrived and summer is in full swing. Temperatures are rising to triple digits across the country and the humidity is stifling down in the southern states. For those lucky enough to have access to one, swimming pools are a refreshing respite. For those of us without pools, songs about pools will have to [...]

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Out September 18: Ryan Bingham’s Tomorrowland. There’s an interesting Tennessean article on country music videos: Country music fans still tune in to music video channels Country Music Television (CMT) and Great American Country (GAC) to watch their favorite stars. However, in this on-demand culture and with television’s decreased airplay of music videos, more and more [...]

Continue reading "The Band Perry Working with Rick Rubin; New Ryan Bingham Album Due Out 9/18; Neil Young and Crazy Horse Announce Tour"

Emmylou Harris spoke and then performed at Warren Hellman’s memorial service. Give a listen. Taylor Swift has been offered the role of Eponine in a film adaptation of Les Miserables. If anyone’s looking to make a music-related field trip this winter, check out this cool feature, written by Terry Conway of the Philadelphia Inquirer, on [...]

Continue reading "Four the Record Goes Gold; Emmylou Harris Speaks at Warren Hellman’s Memorial; Hank Thompson Vinyl Reissue"

I hope you baked a cake, because it’s Hank Thompson’s birthday; he would have been 85 years old today. Now since Thompson released approximately eleventy billion singles in his career, today we’re going to focus on a somewhat smaller subset of his body of work: his drinking songs. Here are a few of my favorites [...]

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Kitty Wells is the queen of country music. She’s also the queen of answer songs. Here are my five favorites. 5. “My Cold, Cold Heart Is Melted Now” – Kitty Wells Though it borrows its title from another Hank Williams classic, this one’s set to the tune of “Your Cheatin’ Heart.” If you’ve ever been [...]

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School’s back in session! Maybe you’re a student, maybe you’re a teacher, maybe you’re a parent who’s thrilled to shove your spawn out the door every morning. Maybe you’re none of these things; listen to these songs anyway. 5. “Heartbreak School” – James Bonamy Remember this smooth-voiced ’90s singer? “Heartbreak School,” written by Skip Ewing [...]

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