Posts Tagged ‘Billy Bragg’

BILLY BRAGG – ” The Million Things That Never Happened “

Posted: October 29, 2021 in MUSIC
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One of the great human beings of Planet Earth, Billy Bragg has been mixing pop and politics with compassion and wit for 40 years and, unlike some of his contemporaries, has continued to evolve, look forward and consider the bigger picture. “As a mid century modern geezer, I’m aware that my notions of personal relationships were formed almost fifty years ago, likewise my politics,” Billy says. “To cling to that and imagine that you’ve nothing to learn from younger generations, you’re in danger of becoming a dinosaur. Kids have got new priorities and new ideas. Thatcher’s dead. The world has moved on. I’m trying to respond to the things I’m hearing now, rather than reminding folk of ‘the good old days’.”

One thing that Bragg does better than almost anyone is mix the personal with the political, bringing a relatable point of view to his most strident material, as well as his tender love songs (few are as observant to the slings and arrows of relationships). Written and recorded during the 2020 of the pandemic, Black Lives Matter, Brexit and the U.S. presidential election, The Million Things That Never Happened has the personal and the politically intertwined like never before. There are songs about personal accountability (“Shoulda Seen it Coming,” “The Buck Doesn’t Stop Here No More’), aging and death (“Pass it On,” the title track), and changing with the changing times (“Mid Century Modern,” “Ten Mysterious Photos That Can’t Be Explained.”).

The production on the album by The Magic Numbers’ Romeo Stodart and Dave Izumi is warm and soulful, like Billy’s voice, with mellotron giving songs a surreal thread that fits the times in which it was created, the weirdest two years most of us have ever experienced. The album’s most effective moment, though, is also its most simple and direct. “I Will Be Your Shield” is a song about the power of love and friendship in the times of deepest strife, that is little more than Billy and a piano. “When things start to unravel / And days fill you with dread / When comments dent your confidence / Confide in me instead.” While the world changes by the minute, Billy’s empathy remains steadfast.

Releases October 29th, 2021

Billy Bragg under exclusive licence to Cooking Vinyl Limited

BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG – ” A New England ” Billy Bragg Cover’

Posted: July 23, 2020 in MUSIC
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Billie Joe Armstrong, frontman of Green Day, has continued his series of lockdown covers. Hi latest, above, is a cover of the Billy Bragg classic “A New England”.

The cover is an entry into Billy Joe Armstrong’s No Fun Monday series, and was shared on Friday 10th July. Armstrong wrote in its description: “Welcome to No Fun Monday on a Friday because no one knows what day it is anyway. I love this song penned by Billy Bragg. Also there was a great version by Kirsty MacColl.”

Some of Armstrong’s previous No Fun Mondays covers include Kim Wilde’s Kids In America, Starjets’ War Stories, The Avengers’ Corpus Christ, The Bangles’ Manic Monday, Tommy James and the Shondells’ I Think We’re Alone Now and Johnny Thunders’ You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory.

Green Day’s latest album, Father Of All Motherfuckers, was released back in February, the band’s first record since their 2016 album Revolution Radio.

BILLY BRAGG – ” Best Of Billy Bragg At the BBC 1983-2019 “

Posted: September 22, 2019 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Very proud to announce my new album ‘Best Of Billy Bragg at the BBC 1983 – 2019’, set for digital and CD release September 20th, and vinyl release November 15th. The compilation album features classic performances of mine at the BBC from the early 80s through to the present; fully remastered, featuring many previously unreleased tracks plus selected highlights from sessions for John Peel, David Jensen, Janice Long, Phill Jupitus, Bob Harris, Tom Robinson & more, which I hope you will enjoy.

The 38-track collection is ‘fully remastered’ and features 38 tracks compiled from the BBC archive spanning 1983 – 2019.  Many are apparently previously unreleased.

Speaking about this set, Bragg says: “Work in progress. That’s how John Peel thought of his evening sessions, offering artists the opportunity to try out new songs in a studio environment. That’s how I looked at them too. …The songs were so new, you can hear I’m still feeling my way into them. Several were conceived and written the night before the session. In one case, I actually composed a song from scratch while the show was on air. That rawness was always a key component of my BBC sessions, the thrill of putting something out there for the very first time. And here I’ve collected all the best moments across 36 years of my ongoing work in progress.”

BILLY BRAGG – ” Why Did We Build The Wall “

Posted: September 12, 2017 in MUSIC
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Billy Bragg

So it’s probably no surprise that social activist and folk singer Billy Bragg has chosen to cover “Why We Build the Wall”, taking it out of its operatic context and turning it into something more. The cover has a brand new lyric video , The Anaïs Mitchell song “Why We Build the Wall”, despite being part of her 2010 ancient greek folk-opera Hadestown has turned out to be surprisingly prescient in today’s global political climate.

BILLY BRAGG – ” Sleep Of Reason “

Posted: July 24, 2017 in MUSIC
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Renowned protest singer Billy Bragg has just released his brand new single “The Sleep of Reason”. Inspired by a visit to The Prado gallery in Madrid where he saw Goya’s etching The Sleep Of Reason Produces Monsters the track is a noise laden piece of Billy Bragg goodness.

“Life comes at you real fast these days. What’s a singer-songwriter to do when events keep challenging the way that we see the world?”  Bragg says. “Before we’ve had a chance to digest one startling development, along comes another to throw us off balance again. I’ve been grubbing up songs for the past 12 months, but without the time to get an album together due to other projects, so I’ve decided to start dropping tracks as they become ready. As always, they’re my way of trying to make some sense of what’s going on.”

Thanks to timberandsteel

THIS WEEKS ESSENTIAL NEW RELEASES – 23rd September 2016

Posted: September 23, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Billy Bragg and Joe Henry
Shine A Light – Field Recordings from the Great American Railroad
The new Billy Bragg and Joe Henry album ‘Shine A Light: Field Recordings From The Great American Railroad’ on Cooking Vinyl. In March 2016 Billy Bragg and Joe Henry, guitars in hand, boarded a Los Angeles-bound train at Chicago’s Union Station looking to reconnect with the culture of American railroad travel and the music it inspired. Winding along 2,728 miles of track over four days, the pair recorded classic railroad songs in waiting rooms and at trackside while the train paused to pick up passengers.

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Bruce Springsteen  –  Chapter and Verse

‘Chapter and Verse’ is the audio companion to Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography, ‘Born to Run’. Five of the album’s 18 tracks are previously unreleased. Springsteen selected the songs on ‘Chapter and Verse’ to reflect the themes and sections of ‘Born to Run.’ The compilation begins with two tracks from The Castiles, featuring a teenage Springsteen on guitar and vocals, and ends with the title track from 2012’s ‘Wrecking Ball.’ The collected songs trace Springsteen’s musical history from its earliest days, telling a story that parallels the one in the book. 2LP – Double LP Set

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The Big Moon – Silent Movie Susie
Limited 7″ vinyl. It has been an exciting introductory year for Juliette, Fern, Soph and Celia of The Big Moon. Making riotous guitars and stadium-ready choruses look like the most effortless thing on earth, The Big Moon are creating no shortage of buzz. With each new release, they continue to reach brand new heights. ‘Silent Movie Susie’ is their most obvious pop nugget – it oozes summer fun, style and a big hook of a chorus. Think a mix of the Pretenders and Elastica.

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Warpaint -Heads Up

Warpaint are back with their third album! ‘Heads Up’ was recorded after Warpaint spent 2015 apart working on solo projects, including Jennylee’s recently released album ‘Right On!’. Emily, Theresa, Jenny and Stella then reunited in January this year with producer Jacob Bercovici, with whom they had worked on their much loved debut EP ‘Exquisite Corpse’. ‘Heads Up’ was recorded at House on The Hill studio in downtown LA, their home studios and Papap’s Palace.2LP – Double Black Vinyl with Download.LP+ Limited Pink and Black Vinyl with Download.

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Billie Marten – Writing of Blues and Yellows
Titled ‘Writing of Blues and Yellows’, the 17 year old’s first full-length is released via Chess Club / RCA. The songs on ‘Writing of Blues and Yellows’ are as remarkable for their beguiling beauty as for the age of their singer. All are at once intimate and airy, like secrets blown in on a breeze. All have enchanting lyrics that linger long after they have left Billie’s lips. All showcase a voice so perfectly pure it sounds almost otherworldly. The painted cover art sets the tone for the Brit’s collection of whimsical, timeless tunes with its faded, vintage look. Like Billie’s music, it couldn’t be less on-trend or modern. Which is why it stands out. The teenager’s recent releases make the cut as well as new single ‘Lionhearted’ and a couple of old favourites (‘Bird’ and ‘Heavy Weather’). For fans of Laura Marling, Joanne Newsom and Kate Bush.
CD – 13 Track Standard CD.
CD+ – 18 Track Deluxe CD featuring extra demos, alt versions and more.

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LVL UP – Return to Love
‘Hidden Driver,’ the opening track of LVL UP’s third album and Sub Pop debut ‘Return to Love’, never stops moving. What starts with unassuming guitars and vocals adds new lines, depths, and intensity, until its unrestrained, triumphant finish. “God is peeking, softly speaking,” repeats the chorus, working through the relationship between spirituality and creative inspiration, and introducing a band that is always pushing further. LVL UP was formed in 2011 at SUNY Purchase as a recording project between Caridi, Benton, and their friend Ben Smith, with the original intention of releasing a split cassette with Corbo’s then-solo material. They instead released that album, Space Brothers, as one band, and Rutkin joined shortly afterwards for the group’s first show. Smith left the band for personal reasons just before the release of second album Hoodwink’d, a joint release on Caridi and Benton’s label Double Double Whammy and Exploding in Sound. DDW also put out records from other artists in the tight-knit community that launched the band.

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Fleetwood Mac – Mirage
Fleetwood Mac’s streak of five consecutive multi-platinum albums began in the Seventies and continued in 1982 with ‘Mirage’, the follow-up to the band’s 1979 double-album, ‘Tusk’. During the summer of 1982, ‘Mirage’ topped the album chart and added to the band’s already impressive canon of hits with ‘Hold Me,’ ‘Love In Store’ and ‘Gypsy’. Following last year’s deluxe edition of ‘Tusk’, Fleetwood Mac continues chronologically with the deluxe edition of ‘Mirage’. This new edition expands on the original album with newly remastered sound, a selection of rare and unreleased recordings, as well as the stories and pictures behind the album.CD – 12 Track Remastered.2CD – Double CD in Digipack with an extra 19 Track CD of B-Sides, Outtakes and Sessions.Heavy – Three CDs, DVD and LP. Original album remastered, plus b-sides and rarities; the original album on LP; live performances; and a 5.1 mix on DVD.

BILLY BRAGG & JOE HENRY – ” The Midnight Special “

Posted: June 30, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Billy Bragg

This new project from English singer-songwriter Billy Bragg and his American contemporary Joe Henry sounds really cool.

The folk singers have recorded songs originally made famous by the likes of Hank Williams, Lead Belly, The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, Glen Campbell, Gordon Lightfoot and more all while riding a train across America. The result is the album Shine A Light: Field Recordings From The Great American Railroad.

“Railroad songs provided the bedrock of American popular music, from Jimmie Rodgers, the Singing Brakeman, to Lead Belly, whose repertoire provided several of the songs for this project,” Bragg explained. “Growing up in the UK, I’d always been aware of this tradition but when I travelled to the US, I was surprised to find how few people look to the railroad as a means of transport. With this project, we wanted to explore the transformative power that the coming of the railroad had on the lives of ordinary people by taking these songs back to the places that inspired their creation.”

Shine A Light: Field Recordings From The Great American Railroad is due for release on the 23rd September. Check out the full track list below and a great live video of the classic track “The Midnight Special” below:

1. Rock Island Line – Traditional (Recorded by Lead Belly, Lonnie Donegan)
2. The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore – Jean Ritchie
3. The Midnight Special – Traditional (Lead Belly)
4. Railroad Bill – Traditional (Riley Puckett)
5. Lonesome Whistle – Hank Williams
6. KC Moan – Traditional (The Memphis Jug Band)
7. Waiting For A Train – Jimmie Rodgers
8. In The Pines – Traditional (Lead Belly, The Louvin Brothers)
9. Gentle On My Mind – John Hartford (Glenn Campbell, Aretha Franklin)
10. Hobo’s Lullaby – Goebel Reeves (Woody Guthrie)
11. Railroading On The Great Divide – Sara Carter (The Carter Family)
12. John Henry – Traditional (Doc Watson)
13. Early Morning Rain – Gordon Lightfoot

From the new album “Shine A Light: Field Recordings From The Great American Railroad” by Billy Bragg & Joe Henry . More info, exclusive content, tour tickets and album pre-orders available now from the brand new Shine A Light website – http://po.st/ShineALight3

In March 2016 Billy Bragg and Joe Henry, guitars in hand, boarded a Los Angeles-bound train at Chicago’s Union Station looking to reconnect with the culture of American railroad travel and the music it inspired. Winding along 2,728 miles of track over four days, the pair recorded classic railroad songs in waiting rooms and at trackside while the train paused to pick up passengers.
Pre-order the album now from the official store or iTunes to receive an instant download of The Midnight Special, and check out the Shine A Light website for more video snippets and updates from Billy and Joe’s journey.

NEW TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED
Billy and Joe will be hitting the road again this autumn, playing songs form the journey, along with the favourites from their own back catalogues.

Billy Bragg – http://www.billybragg.co.uk
Joe Henry – http://joehenrylovesyoumadly.com

BEARDED THEORY – Spring Gathering Catton Hall Derby 26th-29th May 2016

Posted: February 15, 2016 in FESTIVALS, MUSIC
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Award winning family-friendly festival BEARDED THEORY has announced the event dates, details and first set of artist bookings for 2016’s event.

Taking place between Thursday 26th and Sunday 29th May 2016 in the fabulous surroundings of South Derbyshire’s Catton Hall, and with undoubtedly the strongest line-up in their 9 year history, 2016 is already set to be a vintage year.

Saturday night at the festival will be headlined by Public Image Ltd with the massively popular Folk-Rock festival specialists, Levellers filling the headline spot on the Friday night.

From Billy Bragg, Killing Joke and Jack Savoretti, to Reverend & The Makers, Dub Pistols and legendary Dr Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson, the rest of the line up already includes an embarrassment of riches for music lovers across the musical spectrum.

ANAIS MITCHELL – ” Why Do We Build The Wall “

Posted: August 4, 2015 in MUSIC
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Dusty Wright presents singer/songwriter Anaïs Mitchell at her farm in Vermont performing “Why We Build The Wall.” Dusty Wright’s One-Takes are a series of live songs by artists you know, should know, or will know very soon. Billy Bragg covered the song “Why We Build the Wall” by the songwriter named Anais Mitchell. Its such an awesome piece of writing. I have since searched for it. Its  beautifully performed. This lady is a great musician. This song, to me, is a narrative about how economic privilege keeps the haves and have-nots apart. It’s brilliantly astute once you understand a thing or two about what economic privilege actually does to the economic health of a society; as expressed in the line “Poverty is the Enemy”.