New Year's Eve w/ Catl, Duende! @ Dakota Tavern, Monday

Ring in the new year with Toronto's own Catl, Detroit's Duende! and DJ Swankenstein tonight at the Dakota Tavern.  

And definitely grab a copy of Catl's righteously rockin' new album Bide My Time Until I Die out now on Romanus Records.

Watch Wayne Kramer's MC50 perform "Future/Now"

Here's Wayne with Marcus Durant, Kim Thayil, Billy Gould, Brendan Canty performing The MC5's Future/Now. 

Night Owl NYE w/ Bloodshot Bill @ The Baby G, December 31

Bloodshot Bill will be joined on New Year's Eve by Light Bulb Alley, James Matthew VII, Zorton & The Cannibals with DJ Nico spinning. 

Happy Birthday Patti Smith!

Here's Patti Smith and crew performing The Who's "My Generation" in Germany back in 1979.

B-Side Wins Again: Barbara Randolph

Here's Barbara Randolph's swingin' version of "Ten or Eleven Towns Ago" followed by Lee Hazlewood's own.

R.I.P. Jimmy Work, 1924-2018

Akron-born Jimmy Work wrote "Tennessee Border" along with the Kitty Wells hit "Making Believe" 

One For The Weekend: Jean DuShon

To ring in the new year on an optimistic note, here's Jean DuShon's swingin' version of "Feeling Good" 

Whaddya mean you don't know Little June & His Januarys

Here's "Burgers, Fries & Shakes" by Little June & His Januarys on Salem from 1963. 

Happy Birthday Alex Chilton

Remembering the amazing Alex Chilton on his day with a short doc and a performance of "Alligator Man" 

Witchrot: The Resurrection w/ Droid, Mount Cyanide @ Lee's Palace, Friday

Witchrot are back from the grave with a comeback show at Lee's Palace tonight following a break-up notice that went viral.

Kate Boothman @ The Burdock, Thursday

Kate Boothman plays a short set at the Burdock tonight at 9:30pm. Get her I Am An Animal LP. 

Oscar Moore vs. Dizzy Gillespie

With the swingin' "Kenya," guitar slinger Oscar Moore slyly riffed on "Guarachi Guaro" by Dizzy Gillespie & Chano Pozo. 

Happy Birthday Doug Hammond!

Celebrating the birthday of composer, drummer and educator Doug Hammond with Dieter Strauch's documentary.  

Whaddya mean you don't know the Cecil Young Quartet

Here's "Who Parked The Car" & "Oooh-Diga-Gow" by Seattle-based pianist Cecil Young and his scatting saxophonist Gerald Brashear in 1951. 

'Tis the season for Snowin' On Raton

Townes Van Zandt is joined by his buddy Blaze Foley for a moving version of "Snowin' On Raton" 

Joyeux Noël from Jacques Dutronc

Here's Jacques singing his own version of a seasonal swinger "La Fille du Père Noël" back in 1966. 

Christmas greetings from Owen Gray & Clancy Collins

Merry Bootsy Christmas, y'all!

The Fleshtones wish you a happy Canadian Christmas!

Have a twangy Christmas with Los Straightjackets

Here are a few cool yuletide faves performed by Los Straightjackets whose Complete Christmas Songbook is available here. 

A few Christmas Hymns from The Minus 5

Scott McCaughey and The Minus 5 wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Sun Ra & The Qualities

Here's "It's Christmas Time" recorded by Sun Ra and a vocal group called The Qualities reissued by Norton in 2011.

Tav Falco has the Christmas Blues

"Christmas Blues" is from A Tav Falco Christmas released by ORG Music back in November 2017. 

Les Phénomènes vs. The Monkees

Beauce, Quebec's Les Phénomènes came up with a sweet version of The Monkees' "Last Train To Clarksville" en Français in 1966. 

Barry Henssler talks about growing up punk in Maumee, Ohio

Necros and Big Chief mainman Barry Henssler shares more than few hilarious music-related anecdotes.  

Crime Jazz Thrillers: "Shot In The Park" by Quincy Jones

Check out the "Shot in the Park" cue which Quincy Jones came up with for Edward Dmytryk's Mirage from 1965. 

All-Seeing Eyes, Catl, Patrick McCormack @ Monarch Tavern, December 21

Don't miss Johnny Walker and his All-Seeing Eyes crew bash through a few tunes from their In Us We Trust album.

That time Tony Joe White rocked Antone's in Austin

Watch the late great Tony Joe White get down with "Polk Salad Annie" during SXSW 2003. 

One For The Weekend: The Surfmen

The Surfmen's version of Taboo works nicely as an alternate score for Jacques Tourneur's I Walked With A Zombie. 

Happy Birthday David Baker

Raising a glass to multi-instrumentalist and educator David Baker on his day with "Le Miroir Noir" 

Gwenifer Raymond scores with The Three Deaths Of Red Spectre

"This song was originally born of this live scoring piece I did for a early 20th century silent film called ‘Red Spectre’, so it wasn’t from the outset designed as a Christmas song, but it does feel like a winter song to me. The opening is cold and spiky; it puts me in mind of dark nights and city light reflections on wet tarmac. Then it has these sort of changing seasons in the song, like windy rain and calm sweeping over in sequence. Then back to the start; with the lights all over again.

This time of year is my favourite, when it gets dark early and bitter cold outside; you need to have a hostile environment in the first place to have something to wrap up snug and cosy against. That’s kind of the whole point of a winter festival right? It’s essence is in the contrast." -- Gwenifer Raymond

Happy Birthday Ed Kuepper!

Raising a glass to Ed Kuepper on his day with a performance by The Aints from earlier this year.

Blaze Foley takes on the president from beyond the grave

Blaze Foley performed his song "Oval Room" at Austin's Cave Club in 1986 but it still sounds relevant today.

R.I.P. Jerry Chesnut, 1931-2018

Sadly, Nashville songwriter Jerry Chesnut, who wrote "A Good Year For The Roses" passed away. 

That time Iggy did a pop commercial

Here's Agustin Alberdi's Schweppes Lemon Dry commercial featuring Iggy Pop shot on 16 mm by Edu Grau. 

Happy 75th Birthday Keith Richards!

Celebrating Keith's  75th birthday with an interview conducted by Matt Sweeney. 

R.I.P. Galt MacDermot, 1928-2018

Remembering the amazing Montreal-born pianist/composer with "Let The Sunshine In" feat. Idris Muhammad & LaLa Brooks.  

Stevie Wonder vs. Jim Ford

Spot any similarities between Jim Ford's "I'm Gonna Make Her Love Me" and Stevie's "I Wanna Make Her Love Me" – both issued in 1969?

Happy Birthday James Booker

Remembering the late New Orleans piano great James Booker with a performance of his song "Classified"

Happy Birthday Lizzy Mercier Descloux

Remembering Lizzy Mercier Descloux on her birthday with "Larousse Baron Bic" and "Fire" from 1979.

Your Old Droog vs. Sigurd Cochius

Your Old Droog liked the Cochius joint "Indianenmars" so much, he rhymed over it with Heems and called it "Bangladesh"

Happy Birthday A.P. Carter

Remembering A.P. Carter on his day with his song "Hello Stranger" by the Carter Family and The Flatlanders. 

B-Side Wins Again: Gregory Charles Royal

South African percussionist Thabang Tabane steps up with "Nyanda Yeni"

Thabang Tabane is carrying on the malombo tradition of his father, guitarist Philip Tabane with his new Matjale album.

Roots reggae ruler Stranger Cole returns with More Life

Stranger Cole's More Life album is out now. Watch our man get down with Kraut-reggae crew The Steadytones in Berlin.

One For The Weekend: Nikki Yanofsky

'Tis the season for yuletide swingers and Nikki Yanofsky's got a new one called "Mistletoe" you'll be hearing a lot in the next week.