Weekend Music Twofer

 

We're staying in the avian family, so to speak, with our weekend music choices.  Minneapolis' great alt band The Jayhawks have a new album, "Sanctuary Park," coming out on August 28, and have released this single, "Keeping Our Heads Above Water."  The song exhibits The Jayhawks' beautiful 3-part harmonies and instrumental interplay, and is part of what the band's vision for the album is about: a "place where distant memories re-emerge, childhood friends from years prior start speaking again, and teenage lovers start lives that their older selves are determined to renew."

Sixty-one years ago today, The Byrds reached #1 on the charts for the first time with their cover of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man."  But rather than play that iconic classic again, we're flipping to the "B" side of the single, Gene Clark's gorgeous "I Knew I'd Want You."  Clark's vocal, the classic Byrds harmonies, as well as the subtle chord changes and subdued 12-string guitar work (Roger McGuinn was the only Byrd to play on the song) make this one of our favorite Gene Clark early compositions.  Hope you enjoy.

Weekend Music -- More Back Pages

 

Indulge us as we continue to visit the blog's "Weekend Music/ Song" attic to relive some musical joys from years past -- some well known, others not -- that we liked then and now.

Last week, the theme was female artists.  Today, we're going to go with a random, eclectic collection of groups, with the date and the link to when it originally appeared in Hackwhackers.  Hope you enjoy.

The Byrds (2014)

Silversun Pickups (2018)

Big Star (2016)

OK Go (2018) 

The Jayhawks (2017)

The Rolling Stones (2021)

Mid-Week Song: Bitter Pill

The Twin Cities-based group The Jayhawks have developed and honed their sound over roughly 30 years of performing together with nearly the same lineup of musicians. Their sound is a seamless mix of country rock, alt rock and folk music. Their latest album, "XOXO", is due out on July 10, and they recently released this live performance of a track from it: "Bitter Pill."  Enjoy.

Weekend Music Twofer

We're featuring a couple of songs today:  one is from one of our favorites, Minneapolis' own Jayhawks: "Gonna Be A Darkness," from their 2018 album "Back Roads and Abandoned Motels." The other is from Los Angeles' (now defunct?) Geronimo Getty, whose music suggests influences like Steve Earle, John Prine and the Flying Burrito Brothers.  Their song, "Dancing in the Morning Light," is from their 2015 album "Greyhound Blues."  Hope you enjoy.

Weekend Music

In May, The Jayhawks -- one of Minneapolis' gifts to the world -- released a new album, "Back Roads And Abandoned Motels."  (We've featured the group's music several times, including the hauntingly beautiful "Quiet Corners & Empty Spaces." ) This is a cut from that album, "Everybody Knows," which is their version of the 2006 Dixie Chicks hit.  Hope you enjoy.

Weekend Music

It's no secret we're fans of The Jayhawks, and not because they're from the same Minneapolis- St. Paul as some of our ancestors.  It's because they create beautiful, original sounds. "Lovers of the Sun" is a cut from 2016's "Paging Mr. Proust" (where "Quiet Corners & Empty Spaces" is also found). Hope you enjoy this and your weekend.

Mid-Week Quiet Corners Song

Emerging from the vibrant music scene in Minneapolis in the mid-1980s, The Jayhawks have influenced a generation of alternative rock/folk bands, and they're still going strong after 30+ years. "Quiet Corners and Empty Spaces" is a track off of their most recent album, "Paging Mr. Proust." We like it so much, we're reprising it from last year. Enjoy.

Weekend Musical Twofer

Minneapolis- native alt- country/ rock band The Jayhawks released their latest album, "Paging Mr. Proust," co- produced by R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, in April 2016. This is one of the cuts from that album, "Quiet Corners & Empty Spaces."



Our second selection was released in 1970 by Los Angeles- based blues/ rock band Canned Heat, "Let's Work Together," which made the top 10 in both the U.S. and U.K.  We endorse the lyrics as timely for the Trump resistance;  of course feel free to boogie, as the band intended.

Together we'll stand, divided we'll fall
Come on now people, let's get on the ball
And work together, come on, come on
Let's work together, (now now people)
Because together we will stand
Every boy, every girl and man

People, when things go wrong, as they sometimes will
And the road that you travel, it stays all uphill
Let's work together, come on, come on
Let's work together
You know together we will stand
Every boy, girl, woman and man