undertones

The Ledge #608: Covers

As I’ve said before, I have a folder on one of my laptops that I keep around just to acccumulate cover tunes for episodes like this one. Once that folder is full, it’s time to broadcast! This version of that theme includes sets devoted to …

The Ledge #584: Birthday Week!

The Ledge #584: Birthday Week!

When I put together each and every episode of The Ledge, I try really hard not to repeat myself too much. If I play a new single one week, the next I’ll more than likely air a b-side or album track. Certain songs do end up appearing in multiple shows, but more than likely due to whatever themes I’ve selected. That fact has always been in the back of my mind whenever I put on birthday shows. Obviously, during my birthday week I want a show of nothing but my favorite songs of all time, but at the same time I don’t want to repeat that same show each and every year. But it dawned on me earlier today that repeating myself once a year is no big deal! Who remembers what I aired a year ago? Plus, honestly, while I have not doublechecked, I’m sure this year’s birthday celebration of my favorite songs is quite unlike previous editions. My tastes are ever-evolving. Some artists have emerged as new favorites. Others have maybe dropped down a peg or two. Plus, I’ll admit to purposely selecting different tunes by perennial favorites. Let’s be real. I can play almost any song by […]

The Ledge #578: Covers

 Every few months, I like to put together an all-covers edition of the show. As I’ve stated before, I have a folder all set up to toss in whatever tracks I want to later air. This edition came a little bit sooner than usual due to a couple of fabulous tribute records. The first release I wanted to highlight is the brand new An International Tribute To The Muffs, which features 26 fabulous covers of Kim Shattuck tunes. Proceeds from this release goes to the Team Shattuck Foundation of Kim´s Sister, Kristen Shattuck. The other great tribute record is Drunk Dial Fakes, Vol. 2. This ingenious set features “real” bands covering songs that were written for fictional TV and film bands. How can you not love covers from The Rutles, CHiPs, and That Thing You Do? As for the “52 Weeks of Teenage Kicks”, I’ve got a twofer for you this week. I recently discovered a couple of fabulous Undertones tribute records, and Teenage Hits – A Tribute To The Undertones features two wonderful remakes. And like always, I must again plead with y’all for more versions of “Teenage Kicks”. If you are a musician, or have any contact with artists that could record their own take […]

The Ledge #566: Twofers

The Ledge #566: Twofers

Tonight unveils a new sort of theme for a Ledge episode – Twofers! Everybody loves a twofer deal at the bar, so why not transfer the idea to rock and roll. (Yeah yeah yeah, I know radio stations have done this for decades. But it’s new to The Ledge!) The inspiration was a handful of great records that I’ve been paying a lot of attention to in the last few days. Last Saturday, for Record Store Day Sioux Falls (soon to be) legends Off Contact put out a few advance copies of their upcoming debut album, Pearls Before Swine. Of course I had to air some tracks off it! And then two days ago I received what may be my second-favorite power pop album of the year. Paint Fumes new record, Real Romancer, is chock full of great hooks accompanied by the sort of noisy guitars that everyone knows I love so much. Of course, I couldn’t resist airing tracks from the brand new albums of original punkers The Damned and former Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock. But it’s not all twofers on the show. There’s a “four-fer” of selections from the Record Store Day release of previously unreleased live Husker Du […]

The Ledge #555: This And That

The Ledge #555: This And That

Once again we have a show devoted primarily to material I’ve been listening to around the house. Honestly, since it was announced that Television’s Tom Verlaine had passed away on January 28, 2023, I have wanted to do a little tribute to him on The Ledge. So tonight you can hear a handful of his classic Television and solo tunes. RIP. There’s also a wide variety of tunes that comprise almost 60 years of rock and roll. There’s a handful of garage rock classics from the acclaimed Pebbles series. There’s a track from one of Robert Gordon’s collaborations with guitarist Link Wray. There’s also a sort of tribute to Burt Bachrach in the form of a Stranglers cover that somehow caught my ear a day or so before the announcement of his death. And there’s also a couple of sets of new tunes, primarily songs that were cut from last week’s new release episode, along with more cuts from recent Rum Bar Records releases. I’ve also premiered the newly reissued single from Popsicko on Big Stir Records, which was officially released today. (Look for a full album later this spring). Don’t think that I’ve forgotten about my yearlong sub-theme, “52 […]

The Ledge #553: Miscellany

The Ledge #553: Miscellany

Every now and then it’s nice to have a show without any real theme, and that’s what we have tonight. Instead, it’s really just a collection of records I’ve been listening to over the last few weeks, and interesting collection of various genres that represent over 50 years of great rock and roll. There’s a handful of recent releases side by side with all time classics. There are veteran bands that are brand new to me, and relatively new artists that I’ve been obsessed with over the last few months. Of course, there’s also this week’s selection for the “52 Weeks of Teenage Kicks” subtheme. I’ve got a homegrown talent by the name of Link West, and his mainly acoustic version is a really nice change of pace. He also contributed a little piece of spoken word audio where he talks of his love of the song and his history of playing it in his original band in Columbus, Ohio. He describes the tune as “50% bubblegum, 50% booty call”. I can’t argue with that. Link West’s version marks a run of (at least) three straight weeks of listener contributions, but of course I always want more. Nothing would make […]

The Ledge #550: 1978

The Ledge #550: 1978

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been hinting that I’ll be starting 2023 with a big announcement. Well, tonight’s the night!In my eyes, “Teenage Kicks” is a perfect pop song; the greatest punk-inspired single of all time. Two minutes and 27 seconds of rock and roll at its finest. The sentiments are the same youthful expressions of the original rock and roll explosion of the 1950s. Instead of Little Richard or Jerry Lee Lewis boogie woogie piano, it’s buzzsaw guitars that accompany Undertones vocalist Fergal Sharkey’s desire for that “girl in the neighborhood” that he wishes “was mine she looks so good”. It’s the musical template later utilized by Husker Du, Pixies, Green Day, and hundreds of other pop-punkers for decades to come (for better or worse).Since I love the song so much, I have found myself collecting all kinds of versions over the years. In fact, a little glance at my master iTunes library a few months ago showed that I owned over 30 covers of this tune. Just two weeks ago, I discovered that a Minneapolis band I loved in the 90s had released a remake as a now rare b-side (more on that next week). With […]

The Ledge #410: UK Punk 1980

The Ledge #410: UK Punk 1980

After quite a few shows devoted to 1979 in the last 12 months, it’s predictable that this new year will see a similar move with music from 1980. Tonight’s is the first of such a show and it’s devoted to the UK punk scene. It’s i…

Live Ledge #219: Thank You Friends

Live Ledge #219: Thank You Friends

A post-Thanksgiving episode celebrating just a few of the artists I’m thankful to have in my life.

Live Ledge #215: Questions

Live Ledge #215: Questions

Nothing but musical questions tonight!

Live Ledge #210: By The Numbers, Part 1

Live Ledge #210: By The Numbers, Part 1

To celebrate a birthday, Hudson starts a two-part series where he plays one song from every year he’s lived.

Live Ledge #201: Track Six

Live Ledge #201: Track Six

To celebrate the sixth month of the year, tonight’s show is nothing but the sixth tracks of fantastic albums.

Live Ledge #177: Charlie Siren

Live Ledge #177: Charlie Siren

To promote their Sioux Falls appearance, Charlie Siren is tonight’s guest.

Live #172: Happy Birthday RPR

Live #172: Happy Birthday RPR

It’s Realpunkradio’s 5th birthday, and we celebrate with tracks from the site’s new free compilation, Killing the Record Industry Vol. 5!

Live Ledge #142: 1979

Live Ledge #142: 1979

A trip down memory lane – nothing but tunes from that magical year of 1979.

Live Ledge #137: Alphabet Rock

Live Ledge #137: Alphabet Rock

An alphabetical trip through some of Hudson’s favorite bands.

Live Ledge #128: What

Live Ledge #128: What

It’s simple – nothing but songs that include the word “what”.

Live Ledge #118: New Finds

Live Ledge #118: New Finds

Another month, another set of newly discovered music!

Live Ledge #111: Jukebox

Live Ledge #111: Jukebox

That beautiful 350 pound Seeburg Jukebox is the source of all the tunes tonight.

Live Ledge #101: New Finds

Live Ledge #101: New Finds

It’s that time of the month again – almost nothing but new releases and blog finds, including one of the tracks from the upcoming new release by The Replacements!

Live Ledge #100: Falls Landing

Live Ledge #100: Falls Landing

To celebrate the 100th episode, Hudson took the show on the road to Falls Landing to play nothing but his favorite songs of all time.

Live Ledge #88: The In Crowd

A jam-packed show tonight, full of new tunes, blog finds, and discussions of the Hostess situation and the new Rolling Stones documentary, Crossfire Hurricane.

Live Ledge #75: Peel Sessions (Pt. 1)

Nothing but tunes from the late, great John Peel archive!

 

Live Ledge #71: Cruel Summer

The longest day of the year has inspired the longest Ledge show – 44 tracks of summer-related tunes!

Live Ledge #57: Paddy O’Ledge

The perfect soundtrack to your St. Patrick’s Day festivities!

Live Ledge #52: Valentine Girls

Besides a setlist of nothing but songs about girls, this week’s Live Ledge discusses the future of the show.

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