"She left me for a Hollywood movie star. She liked the way he spelled his name."

Matt Powell - The Hammock Song
buy Dragonfly (2002)

More on Matt Powell here.

Check out more One Liners at ThisMornin.com

"Today on the Countryside it was A-Hotter than a Crotch..."

Stood at my, uh........... front gate today.

Just thought i'd brag a little on my new homestead. If it weren't somewhere near 117 degrees out here, i'd spend a little more quality time outdoors.

So until it gets cooler, i'll resort to short photographic expeditions returning to the AC only to make useless posts about them....

Mike McClure Band - Out in the Fields

buy Everything Upside Down (2004)

Bright Eyes - Landlocked Blues

buy I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (2004)
Cross Canadian Ragweed - Nowhere, TX

buy Live & Loud at the Wormy Dog (2001)

Matt Powell - A Place Where I Can Breathe

buy Dragonfly (2001)

Cover/Uncovered.....

i'm glad that, since digital music came of existence in the 90's with Napster, Kazaa, and the likes, i began compiling a library of tunes, many of them bootlegs, and have hung on to them. i never knew exactly what i would use them for, and this may not even be the ultimate destination for them, but my music folder is coming in handy right now.

So, i'm still on this Matt Powell kick, and last night, while perusing through his folder, i came across a live recorording of a song i wanna share with you:

Romeo & Juliet (Dire Straits)

Like most of the songs i'll feature on Cover/Uncovered i first heard the cover of this tune, and did a little exploring to hear the original cut - hence the 'uncovered'. Dire Straits was band that was created about a decade too late. In the 80's, while punk and electronic music reigned, Dire Straits was making what could be described as classic rock - with a folk tinge to it. Frontman Mark Knopfler, according to wiki, told bar owners to turn down amps, so the listeners could converse while they played, which kinda makes this recording of Matt Powell's cover of Mark's sweet take on an infamous couple just perfect.

mp3: Matt Powell - Romeo & Juliet (live)

At times you hear the partons and waitresses better than you hear Matt, whether Matt knew it or not, that's how Mark wanted his songs to be heard. Plus, all that commotion kinda adds to the feel of the acoustic, groovy, bongo-filled song.

mp3: Dire Straits - Romeo & Juliet ~ from Making Movies (1980)

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Water In The Fuel (Fred Eaglesmith)

Fred Eaglesmith might be known as the guy with nothin' but train/trucker/tractor songs, but when you can do them as well as he does, then go for it. i highlighted a Kasey Chambers cover last intallment, and here again, it's her taste in music that she covers that surprises me. Don't get me wrong, she can write a song herself, and i'll get to that artist spotlight for her soon.

mp3: Kasey Chambers - Water In The Fuel ~ from The Captain (Bonus Disc) (2000)

mp3: Fred Eaglesmith - Water In The Fuel ~ from Lipstick, Lies & Gasoline (1997)

**sidetrack**
here's another Kasey Chambers cover of Fred Eaglesmith - i was gonna do this song as the Cover/Uncovered, but couldn't find a studio version from Fred. Enjoy.

mp3: Kasey Chambers - Freight Train ~ from The Captain (Bonus Disc) (2000)

Matt Powell - Dragonfly

As i added that sidetrack to last post, i was just gonna say a short sentence about Matt Powell when i realized that that would not suffice. My goal here is to get you to go buy Dragonfly, but i'm gonna try to do that without posting any more tracks from it. You got two here - that should have already convinced you. if not, here......

"While I was waiting out the aforementioned record deal I wrote a ton of songs; more than enough for one album. So I decided to make two: one that I knew I would like, and one that I thought everyone would like. I always wanted to do something that I played all the instruments on so I made “Dragonfly”. This was the one I thought only I would like, but as it turns out it seems to be everyone’s favorite. I like to call it “porch music”. I don’t think I played all the instruments on it that well back then but I guess I got my point across. I do love most of those songs though. I did it in my bedroom on an Otari MX20-20 with a couple of AKG-414s (for you gearheads) for about $800 bucks. It’s a great “sit by the water” record."
read the whole self-written bio.

At the above link to LoseStarMusic.com, you can still get a hard copy of the disc. Do it while you can - self released albums like that don't hang around long. You can download the album at Ourtracks, too. When he says he played everything, he means it - everything from guitar, bass, banjo, dobro, harmonica, and harmony vocals to, not just whistles, but harmonizing whistles. A perfect mix deep, introspective laments and uplifting, folky tunes. Dragonfly remains one of my all-time favorites.

"there'll come a day, when i hit the ground.
when the big sky dive is over, and i'll touch down.
And i hope my angel will have pillows and feathers for me,
in case i come down... too hastily"
- from The Airplane Song

If Dragonfly is Matt's folkiest effort, then Fluke Luck and Jesus is his bluegrassiest. He says seeing Allison Krauss & Union Station changed his life. He got a little help in the studio this time - Nate Rowe played upright bass - everything else was Matt. Again, he explains it best here.

• mp3: Matt Powell - A Whiskey Shot Closer ~ from Fluke Luck and Jesus (2004) (out of print)

His previous works, The Money and the Grass and Ten Gallon Heart, are obviously more blues inspired. Heavy, electric laden songs that show where Matt started out musically.

• mp3: Matt Powell - Striped Sunshine ~ from The Money and the Grass (1998)
• mp3: Matt Powell - Bulletproof Blanket ~ from Ten Gallon Heart (2001)

His 2007 release, New Kind of Something, is a good mix of all his styles that creates... well, A New Kind of style. For me, it's not his best work (we know what i think that is) but i feel like it's maybe a little more marketable. I was really hoping that a track he penned while playing in Wade Bowen's band, West 84, would show up on it. Wade cut a real good version of it, with Matt on electric guitar and harmony vocals, but i wanted to hear what Matt would do with such a compelling song, on his own.

• mp3: Wade Bowen - Broken Reflection ~ from Lost Hotel (2006)

"take apart the smiles they've stapled to my face.
make them take the needles out of me.
help me stitch these stinging cuts, where i still bleed.
they've broken my reflection, and i am in need" - MP

Common Sound......

Haven't gotten anything posted in a while, but that doesn't mean i've been lazy (ok, i'm always lazy). The last few days i've been sorta revamping my page:

• i added the little blue player button - which seems to help with download times.
• i put an embedded stream player on the side bar that plays 50 of my most recent songs.
• i signed up with SiteMeter, so now i can see all the details of people's visits, including: location (i've had readers from all across the country and even Germany, Sweden, Austria, Pakistan, Australia, and The Philippines), time spent on the page, out clicks (the last page someone veiwed - which helps to track which songs people are downloading most), and referrals. These show that most people are finding 'This Mornin....' from Elbo.ws, which is cool.

i don't have any new tracks to post - at least none that are post-worthy - so i guess i'll just find a common theme within some songs:

Scott Avett

The Banjo

An arcadian instrument formed from an mixture of traditional African instruments by American Slaves, the banjo evolved into the focal instrument in traditional country/bluegrass music. That's all changing. The banjo is no longer reserved for only country music. Bands that are more on the rock side of the spectrum are employing this highly versatile tool to bring out sounds that, otherwise, would have not have been possible. Sometimes it's just the resonating plunk in the background to top off a song (like in the Band of Horses tune below), and sometimes the banjo drives the song (like in the Avett Brothers, OCMS, and Abigail Washburn below), but however it's used, the instrument brings out a different, kinda warm feel.

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here's a selection of tunes that use the banjo in non-traditional ways:

mp3: The Avett Brothers - Pretty Girl from Chile ~ from Emotionalism (2007)

mp3: Band of Horses - Window Blues ~ from Cease To Begin (2007)

mp3: Ryan Adams - Bartering Lines ~ from Heartbreaker (2000)

mp3: Abigail Washburn - Coffee's Cold ~ from Song of the Traveling Daughter (2005)

mp3: Old Crow Medicine Show - Don't Ride That Horse ~ from Big Iron World (2006)

mp3: Matt Powell - Dragonfly ~ from Dragonfly (2002)

**Sidetrack**

to accompany my first Matt Powell reference, here is a song of his that has always hit me hard. i don't know the exact reason, but it's a powerful track.

mp3: Matt Powell - The Smell of Her Hair