ME AND THE DEVIL BLUES

It seems that in the 1990s, COWBOY JUNKIES featured in every soundtrack. It also seems that their music has aged better than most so-called "essential" 1986 music; theirs is not a case of "you had to be there".

GO JO-JO

JONATHAN RICHMAN didn't really invent punk rock - but he did. However, he WAS the best songwriter to appear in the seventies.
I can't get enough of these early Modern Lovers live recordings, that have certainly been circulating in the bootleg market for forty years, and are now readily available on Youtube.
Infinite thanks to "roots66", the youtube user who uploaded these four tracks, recorded in NY on December 31st 1972, as the MODERN LOVERS were opening for the NY DOLLS.

REVISIONNARY #6

Born to run? Candy's Room? Highway Patrolman?
No no no. Springsteen's best song is PHILADELPHIA.And for that matter, so is NEIL YOUNG's.

SAFETY FIRST

When the most beautiful music meets the most horrible images.
Both the images and music are vintage; this is a real 1980s safety video for factory workers (AFAIK).
Brought to my attention by Alexis P. Thank you.

GOODBYE BERT JANSCH

IN HIGH SCHOOL I WAS SUCH A BRAT

How could I manage to not know this song for twenty years? Thank you my friend AXEL KRYGIER for playing me this amazing-sounding (engineered and mixed by Tchad Blake) psych-cumbia gem.

GOODBYE LUCKY BOY

I had the pleasure and the privilege to work with DJ MEHDI a few years back. The man lived and breathed music. All music. He once told me his two favorite bands were The Beatles and Public Enemy. His favorite song was I SHALL BE RELEASED. He had a tatoo that read "Anyday now" on his back. What we recorded together was never released for some bullshit legal reasons. In the back of my mind, I always thought we'd work together again someday. I hadn't counted on how cruel fate can be. My thoughts are with his family.
Rest in peace Lucky Boy...