Hidden Track

No big surprise, after we looked at six covers of And It Stoned Me last week – the Jerry Garcia band version was the clear winner. Jerry’s soulful late-JGB style vocals are pretty damn hard to compete with.

For Election Day, I figured we’d throw together some covers of Neil Young’s Rockin’ In The Free World. Much like Bruce Springsteen’s Born In The USA, the song’s seemingly patriotic chorus is contrasted with negative imagery and politically themed verses.

As always, be sure to register/login to IMEEM before starting the playlist below.

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READ ON after the jump for a collection of contestants that are included via YouTube videos and not on the IMEEM playlist…

In May we featured up and coming act The Weather Underground as one of our Blips artists to watch. The L.A. quartet had quite a six-month stretch – a cross

Over the past six months, we’ve been honored to run Jennifer Kirk’s engaging series about all sides of the presidential election: Land of Confusion. Today, she shares her final thoughts about today’s election…

[Image from RalphSteadman.com]

“This may be the year when we finally come face to face with ourselves; finally just lay back and say it — that we are really just a nation of 220 million used car salesmen with all the money we need to buy guns, and no qualms at all about killing anybody else in the world who tries to make us uncomfortable.”

This quote comes from the late, great Hunter S. Thompson. It was made in 1972 and sadly, it still rings true to this day. Today is a day, that no matter what happens, will remain in our memory for years to come. It is a day that we have to make a collective decision on how the direction of our country will go for the next four years, and perhaps longer. It is a day that we make a statement to the rest of the world as to who we are and who we aim to be. A day that no matter the outcome — we must still stand, united. I sincerely hope that our divisions can one day be mended come January 20 when one of the candidates takes office. Our country and our model of government are still very young in the eyes of the world. So late today, or most likely, tomorrow — we will find out what our statement will be to the world, but more importantly what that statement says of ourselves.

Over the past few months we have looked at several issues that are quite prevalent today, including: race and freedom of speech, military service, terrorist attacks and gun control, our countries crumbling infrastructure, poverty and the economics of touring, the economic and housing downturn, protests, faith in the youth of America, and finally, one of my personal favorites — who Johnny Cash would vote for in today’s election.

READ ON for more of the election day edition of LoC, and be sure to head over to Rebirth of Slack for HT Founder Ace Cowboy’s prediction…

Every Friday for the past two years, my morning commute has been made that much better by the few seconds I get to hear the Ebony Hillbillies. Situated at the Grand Central end of the Shuttle, the quartet of banjo, fiddle, upright bass, and percussion produce this simple brand of bluegrass for the waves of crowds.

Because of the frequency of the shuttles, I usually do not get to hear much of their music (rushing as I am to get into work), but what I do hear never ceases to put a smile on my face. There is something about traditional American string music that I have always had an affinity for — its pureness, singularity to the instruments, the virtuosity that is so readily apparent. Even in an underground and damp venue like a subway stop, the sound of their music coming through the tiled hallway seems to lift my step.

On first glance, Wednesday night’s concert could not have been any more different. A MacArthur Genius Grant winner and a (child) prodigy teaming up to play a complex amalgam of classical and bluegrass-influenced compositions in the most hallowed hall in all of America. As soon as my wife emailed me that Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile were playing together at Carnegie Hall, I stopped what I was doing at work and rushed to purchase tickets.

READ ON for more of Jeremy’s Meyer/Thile w/ Mark O’Connor review…

Terry Bozzio got four other former Zappa drummers to speak with him about their experiences playing behind FZ for a seven-part video series over at the Drum Channel. Bozzio’s joined

Former Grateful Dead bass player Phil Lesh and his Friends head to Rockefeller Center on Wednesday afternoon for a taping of NBC’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien. The 2nd annual

For the first time in their long and storied careers two of New Orleans most recognizable acts – Dr. John and The Neville Brothers – will head out together for

Another week, another new contributor. Please welcome Kevin Smallwood to the team. Kevin will cover the Washington D.C. area for us.

The tie-dye shirts over the merchandise table dated most fans rolling into the State Theater in Falls Church, Virginia on Monday night. Over the course of their 21 year history, Blues Traveler has remained uniquely relevant yet sometimes an abstemious participant in a music scene it helped cultivate.

As the driving force behind the H.O.R.D.E. Tour, Blues Traveler helped carve out a niche for all the bands that followed the fan-based model of the Grateful Dead. The tour bridged a gap for a community birthing its second generation and ultimately allowed for the early exposure and success of scene powerhouses: Phish, Widespread Panic, Gov’t Mule and others.

Through mainstream success, a tragedy and random touring hiatuses Blues Traveler has its fair share of battle scars. But like a well worn warrior or perhaps even a fine wine, the years of experience have made them a formidable force. READ ON for more from Traveler in Falls Church…

moe. scared their fans earlier this year when they announced they’d be taking indefinate hiatus after moe. down, but it turns out their hiatus will only last a little more

Phil Lesh and Friends’ Nokia run is just getting started, by all accounts with one clunker and one smoker, but before we get too caught up in the present, let’s