The Ledge #591: Halloween
It’s become a Halloween tradition for this show to celebrate the holiday with over two hours of spooky music. As it is the ultimate rock and roll holiday, it’s never hard to find enough new tunes to fill a show, and this year is no excepti…
The Ledge #528: New Releases (Pt. 2)
After last week’s special Record Store Day edition of the monthly “new release” show, we’re back this week with the more traditional type of broadcast devoted to brand new tunes. And, like usual, we’re all over the place when it comes to genres. There’s some great power pop. There’s a little bit of punk. A tad here and there of garage rock. And, yes, there’s some Americana. But it’s not just the varied genres of the show. It’s the fact that this music comes from all over the world. From Australia to Germany to Canada to even my little city of Sioux Falls, SD. Yes, the first set of the show is devoted to a trio of great local bands – The Rose Quarter, Thought Patrol, and Off Contact – all of whom have wonderful records that are eithier already out or about to be released. As for the “52 Weeks of Teenage Kicks”, I have a cover that’s almost 40 years old but is still technically a new release. The version by Dawn Chorus & The Blue Tits initially came out on Stiff Records in 1985, but it has also now been included in a brand new collection of […]
The Ledge #545: New Releases
I am proud to present to you the final new release episode of The Ledge of 2022. It’s been quite a year, full of fabulous new punk, power pop, garage, and indie rock. I’m now in the process of creating my “best of 2022” list that will be unveiled in two weeks. Tonight’s episode is truly a wordwide collection, as not only are there fabulous new tunes from the usual American and Canadian cities but there are trcks from Japan, Sweden, Italy, Spain, France, and the UK. There’s also a great set of 90’s shoegaze from Minneapolis that has just been compiled on a record called Southeast of Saturn, Vol. 2 on Third Man Records. As usual, there’s also a fun little set of new tunes from our friends at Rum Bar Records. I would love it if every listener bought at least one record I played on either of these shows. These great artists deserve to be compensated for their hard work, and every purchase surely helps not only pay their bills but fund their next set of wonderful songs. And if you buy these records directly from the artist or label, please let them know you heard these tunes on The […]
The Ledge #519: New Releases (Pt. 1)
Once again, I have so much new music that the monthly new release episode has to be a two part extravaganza. Part one is dedicated to “friends” of the show. There’s new releases from friendly labels such as Big Stir Records and Rum Bar Records. There’s tunes from quite a few artists that routinely submit their tracks for inclusion. And there’s material from a couple of actual friends, most notably the long-awaited return of power pop maestro Dave Scarbrough. I’ve known Dave for pretty much my entire live music life, and nobody in my little city can turn a melodic phrase like Dave. I’m so happy to see that he’s got a great new album (“Happily Ever After”), and obviously I’m even more pleased that he included a Paul Westerberg cover (“As Far As I Know”). Do yourself a favor and grab it from his bandcamp. I would love it if every listener bought at least one record I played on either of these shows. These great artists deserve to be compensated for their hard work, and every purchase surely helps not only pay their bills but fund their next set of wonderful songs. And if you buy these records directly from the artist […]
The Ledge #510: New Release (Pt. 1)
It became apparent a couple of weeks ago that this month’s new release series would have to be a two part extravaganza. Not only were the quantity of new songs piling up, but there were also quite a few albums that deserved more than a track or two of airtime. So the decision was easy, but then how does one split the shows? There’s no real formua to what was aired tonight and what will be held back until next week. Tonight’s show probably features more of the types of artists who are easily found on Bandcamp, which is fitting since March 4 was another of the great bandcamp days where the artist gets 100% of the proceeds of their sales. But otherwise the quality between both sets of tunes is pretty similar, as you’ll see during next week’s second part. I would love it if every listener bought at least one record I played on either of these shows. These great artists deserve to be compensated for their hard work, and every purchase surely helps not only pay their bills but fund their next set of wonderful songs. And if you buy these records directly from the artist or […]
The Ledge #503: New Releases
It’s a new year, so let’s start it right with nothing but new music over the course of the two hour broadcast. As always, it’s the latest indie, punk, power pop, and garage rock from all over the world. There’s bound to be somet…
The Ledge #499: New Releases
The start of December means that this week’s new release episode is the final one of 2021! And like each of the previous episodes of this type this year this one is full of nothing but great power pop, garage, punk, indie, and there’s even a preview of this year’s Christms special. But more importantly, let’s talk about next week’s show. It’s Ledge episode #500, and I’d love to get some assistance from the Ledge audience. Please please please, regardless of whether you’re a relatively new listener, or somebody who has now listened to all 499, contact me to let me know of some songs, albums, or bands that you’ve discovered via this show. You can even make a little recording talking about the show, your picks, or anything that you feel is important to convey. You can contact me on social media (paulisded on twitter or instagram), or send an email to paulisded@gmail.com! I would love it if every listener bought at least one record I played on either of these shows. These great artists deserve to be compensated for their hard work, and every purchase surely helps not only pay their bills but fund their next set of […]
The Ledge #485: New Releases (Pt. 2)
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 Ledge #484: New Releases (Pt. 1)
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. But there’s also newer friends such as Old Town Crier and Dan Israel, who emailed new tunes to check out. And then there’s The Ex-Bombers, the fabulous “psychedelic jazz noir blues explosion” due that I recently discovered on Instagram. After an exchange of DM’s, they actually sent me a vinyl version of their fabulous new “New Love Is Easy” album. Besides those picks, there’s brand new tunes by longtime Ledge favorites Son Volt, CTMF, Ty Segall, Wavves, and so many otheres. There are new discoveries such as The Pokes, Cosmic Psychos, and The Bug Club. Plus, there are a handful of tracks from Rum Bar’s brand new “XOXOXO Volume One ‘the nice price’” compilation. I would love it if every listener bought at least one record I played on either […]
The Ledge #474: New Releases (Pt. 1)
I’m back! Yes, I had to take last week off due to some behind the scenes server issues that are too complicated to go into here. That means that this month’s new release episode is NOT the first Friday of the month…which is a fact tha…
The Ledge #461: New Releases (Pt. 1)
Few things make a music critic/internet DJ happier than a package of new music, and I’m blessed to have the support of so many bands and labels. Whenever I receive an email that includes a link to a single or album, or find a packet in my mailbox, I immediately put it in the front of my pile of music to check out. As I was putting together this month’s new release episode, I suddenly noticed just how many great records I’ve received in the past few weeks. So why not do an entire show bassed on artist/label submissions? That’s what we have here this week. Some are from individual artists (Dan Israel, Jeremy Porter, Indonesian Junk, New Rocket Union, etc.) that want me to check out their new tunes. Others are because I’ve found myself on a label’s mailing list. I definitely need to thank Big Stir Records, Red on Red Records, and Rum Bar Records, who really knocked it out of the park with not one but two free samplers of current and upcoming new releases! After listening, please go purchase those tracks you enjoy! These great artists deserve to be compensated for their hard work, and every […]
The Ledge #438: Power Pop
What is power pop? According to the dictionary, it’s “a style of pop music characterized by a strong melody line, heavy use of guitars, and simple rhythm”. Yeah, that works. I prefer to just call it “revved up pop music”.
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The Ledge #414: New Releases
I consider the February new release episode of The Ledge to be the first real episode of the year. Sure, the January show had quite a few 2020 releases but it was dominated by 2019 leftovers. This episode, with a few exceptions, are the fruits of the n…
Live Ledge #383: New Releases Pt. 1
It’s a supersized episode of great new tunes, including releases from Rum Bar and Spaghetty Town Records. Part one of a two part series.
Live Ledge #366: 5 Songs 6 Labels
Five acts from six different indie labels are highlighted this week.
