An earlier post referred to ‘Louie, Louie’, the classic song by The Kingsmen. This song is the subject of Todd Snider’s ‘The Ballad of The Kingsmen’, probably one of the best songs about music ever written.Check out the lyrics:

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In my effort to bring good music to the masses, I’ve decided to just throw out five great bands that I’m sure most of my readers, if I have any, have never heard of. So here they are, in no order of greatness:

1. Over the Rhine: They’ve been compared to The Cowboy Junkies and 10,000 Maniacs and they’ve toured with Bob Dylan. You’ve heard their songs on Third Watch and Angel, and even heard reference to them on The X-Files. But you’ve never heard of this great ensemble named after a crappy neighborhood in Cincinnati.

2. Havalina Rail Co.: I picked up my first Havalina CD just because they were on Tooth and Nail Records. I found it in the bargain bin at McKays. Shortly after that I made a quick trip to Nashville to see them at RocketTown. I’ve been hooked ever since. Their style varies from record to record, but you’re always promised a treat. Check out Diamond in the Fish and Space Love and Bullfighting.

3. Todd Snider: He’s a hippy. A self described “tree hugging, peace loving, pot smoking, porn watching,lazy ass, hippy, love making, pro choicing, gay wedding, wide spread digging, skin color blinded, conspiracy minded, protester of corporate greed.”? I think that says it all.

4. Mike Knott: You may know him as the front man for LS Underground, LSU, Lifesavers, Cush, or The Aunt Bettys. But you probably don’t know him at all. You can get most of his records on his site, or you can always try eBay. Where you can’t get them is in your local record shop or Christian bookstore.

5. Widespread Panic: While you may have heard of them, or even heard them, you don’t know Panic until you’ve been to a show. The band with the biggest following of those on my list, you’ll need to pre-order tickets no matter how large or small your venue. Don’t even think about getting them at the door.

I’ve not spoken about music yet, other than a quick blurb about my feelings on corporate radio, but at some point I’ll get to talking about it. And when I do I’ll touch on Michael Knott. Until then, to commemorate the death of one of Hollywood’s oddest residents and one of Knott’s greatest characters, I ‘ve posted the lyrics to ‘John Barrymore Jr.’.

Anyone who knows me knows I have a problem with commercial radio. I’ve pretty much managed to purge myself of all corporate radio, save my guilty pleasure of talk radio. It’s not always been easy. When I lived in Florida the only real choice for Americana was WMNF who’d rather talk politics than play music.

Now that I’m back in the good ol’ hills of Tennessee I’m blessed with WDVX for my beloved Americana, Bluegrass, Gospel, and Country, and WUTK for the rest.

My friends in Lexington are mourning the loss of their indy station, as I’m sure many others are across the country. The media giants such as Clear Channel are buying up every station they can, along with any other media outlet they can get their hands on.

Salon.com has some articals on what corporate radio is doing in America if you interested. And if you’re not, that’s okay too. But do yourself a favor and give indy radio in your town a listen, you may be surprised at what you hear.