MUSICAL JUSTICE NEWSLETTER - January 2003
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IN THIS ISSUE…
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1. Portable Justice!
2. RIP Joe Strummer
3. The Best of 2002
4. Who's your favorite?
5. Musical Justice Trivia
6. Online Gems and Cool Links
7. Stuff You Probably Won't Hear Anywhere Else…
8. Coming Soon/Upcoming Releases
9. Listener Feedback
10. Current Playlist
11. Top 50 of 2002

Welcome to the first Musical Justice newsletter for 2003. It's
my new year's resolution to put out one of these each month this
year, so let's see how I do!

To listen to the Musical Justice webcast, go to:
http://www.live365.com/stations/39801


PORTABLE JUSTICE
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For the 3rd straight year, I'm offering Musical Justice listeners
a chance to take a little bit of Musical Justice with them wherever
they go. That's right, it's the 2002 Musical Justice Sampler
mix CD.

The songlist for this year's disk is:
What Are We Waiting For – The Yayhoos
Movin' In – Mike Rosenthal
Nuclear – Ryan Adams
Rain – Patty Griffin
Amerika 6.0 (The Best That We Can Do) – Steve Earle
Build A Rocket – Chad Rex and the Victorstands
Highly Evolved – The Vines
That's the Way It's Meant To Be – The Greenhornes
Tear Off Your Own Head (It's A Doll Revolution) – Elvis
Costello
Come Around – Rhett Miller
In My Place – Coldplay
Concrete Sky – Beth Orton
Heavy Metal Drummer – Wilco
Whispers or Screams – Jay Bennett and Edward Burch
I Bow Down and Pray to Every Woman I See – Chuck Prophet
Let There Be Rock – Drive By Truckers
Got Away With It – Lonesome Bob
Water When The Well Is Dry – Buddy Miller
Not Pretty Enough – Kasey Chambers
…and the clouds've lied – Richard Buckner
Dear Mary – Linda Thompson
Runnin' Out of Fools – Neko Case
Demoland Part 2 (Still) – Matthew Ryan


The first 100 CDs are numbered and initialed by me. But the best
part of all is that they don't cost you a cent. All you've
got to do is the following:

1) Send an email with your mailing information to
musicaljustice4u@...
2) If you like the mix, promise to buy at least one CD from one of
the artists on the disk. After all, that's how they make their
money.
3) Send the web address (http://www.live365.com/stations/39801) for
Musical Justice to at least one friend with great musical taste!

That's it. I'll fill as many requests as I can afford to
fill, but the offer is limited and available on a first come, first
served basis.


RIP JOE STRUMMER
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(Note: My youngest brother, Marc, wrote this when The Clash's
Joe Strummer died in late December. I don't think I've read a
better tribute anywhere by anyone else…)

Joe Strummer died.

Maybe it's weird to be upset about it, to feel a sense of loss, but I
do. Strummer was part of the music that made me who I am.

After twenty years, the Clash still has the ability to kick my ass,
to make me air guitar uncontrollably, to sing at the top of my lungs
when I am alone. At the age of 37, with a two year old son, I still
want to crank the stereo for "Clampdown".

I still remember the first time I heard "London Calling." My oldest
brother was home from his first year of college, and while he was
out, I began rifling through his records. I found one bearing a black
sticker that warned of offensive language. Of course, I had to
listen to it.

With the headphones on, I laid on my stomach on the floor of his
bedroom with the stereo turned up dangerously loud. Before that, I
had never heard anything so loud, angry, funny, desperate, passionate
and real.

In my college days, I freelanced for the student newspaper's arts
page. I was asked to write a retrospective on the Clash, and to
comment on a newly released compilation. After staying up all night,
trying to write, I called my editor and said I couldn't do it.

Later that summer, I found the perfect story for such an article, an
article I never wrote:

My friend Dave, lead writer for the arts page, was sent to cover a
show at a local night club. He asked if I wanted to tag along, and I
said that I would. The band, the Cucumbers, was a "quirky" pop band
from New Jersey. Their sound was sort of a 10,000 Maniacs meets the
Talking Heads. The audience was polite and sat down their beers long
enough to clap after each number, even though they started to all
blend together halfway into their set. After about forty minutes,
The Cucumbers played their last number, thanked the audience and left
the stage. Quietly, the people around me finished their drinks and
started to leave the club.

Then, the bartender turned on the large screen TV next to the stage
and put in a video tape. It was concert footage of the Clash's
London Calling tour. The camera held tightly to Joe Strummer's sweat-
drenched face as he belted that "phony Beatlemania has bitten the
dust." Soon, the sound of Mick Jones siren-like guitar solo took
over the bar. And something strange happened. The people who were
nearing the door turned around and came back to their seats. People
moved chairs and tables closer to the TV screen. I could hear people
singing along. People actually clapped between songs. Many ordered
more beer and settled in for the show.

That night, I was one of those people who came to the Bluebird
wanting (but not expecting) to see a great live band. I did see a
great live band, and it wasn't the band named on my ticket stub.

I felt strange walking out of the Bluebird that night. It was like
watching home movies of a long dead relative and reliving the good
times. I realized that I had become sentimental for the punk era of
the late seventies/early eighties. I realized that I had become like
the aging hippies Johnny Rotten had warned us about. I realized I
had been bitten by my own form of "Beatlemania," my own nostalgia
trip.

It's hard not to romanticize a part of one's life that is as
transformative as the adolescent years. It's hard not to look back
on that music as the best I'll ever hear. It's hard not to believe
that I was at my most rebellious in the midst of the BIG rebellion
that was punk. It's hard not to get caught up in the glory and
passion of it all.

The fact is, the Clash may not be the greatest rock and roll band.
For me, however, Joe Strummer spoke to me with a voice, a message, a
sound that my 14 year old ears ached to hear, and sometimes my 37
year old ears still ache to hear it.

And now, that voice is gone.


THE BEST OF 2002
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Here's my top 10 CDs of the year. If you've listened to
Musical Justice for awhile, most of these albums won't be a
surprise to you, although a couple of them are new adds to the
playlist. I'd love to see your Top 10 lists too and if I get
enough of them, I'll put together a composite list of your
choices for the February newsletter. Send them to me at
musicaljustice4u@.... For those of you who are into lists (and
since I'm the anal-retentive type myself), the entire Musical
Justice Top 50 CDs for 2002 is listed at the end of this e-mail after
the current playlist:

Musical Justice's Top 10 of 2002
1. Dual Mono – The Greenhornes
2. When I Was Cruel – Elvis Costello
3. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – Wilco
4. Semi-Detached Mock Tudor – Richard Thompson Band
5. The Rising – Bruce Springsteen
6. No Other Love – Chuck Prophet
7. Fear Not The Obvious – The Yayhoos
8. Barricades and Brickwalls – Kasey Chambers
9. Jerusalem – Steve Earle
10. Miss Fortune – Allison Moorer


WHO'S YOUR FAVORITE?
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If you've been listening to Musical Justice recently, you may
have heard the promos for their new Rewards/Favorite Station
program. As a Live365 user, you get to select one station as your
"favorite" and as the Stones (and the Temptations before
them) once said. I "ain't too proud to beg" for you to
choose Musical Justice as your #1 station. To pick us, just go to
your Presets and select Musical Justice from the drop-down box at the
top of the page. It's an easy way for you to help us offset the
cost of keeping the station up and running. Thanks for your support!!


MUSICAL JUSTICE TRIVIA
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1. This Grammy-winning band played at the wedding reception for
Richard Thompson's second marriage. Who are they?
2. Five Steve Earle albums have cracked the Top 10 on Billboard's
Country Charts. Name them.
3. This band, which featured Huey Lewis on vocals, backed Elvis
Costello on his debut, "My Aim is True" (although Lewis did
not appear on that record). Name them.
4. What pseudonym did Jeff Tweedy record under on the 1996 Golden
Smog release "Down by the Old Mainstream"?
5. This legendary No Depression artist's vocals appear
prominently on Whiskeytown's "Excuse Me While I Break My Own
Heart Tonight". Who is it?

Answers to these trivia questions can be found on the main station
web page located at http://www.live365.com/stations/39801


ONLINE GEMS & COOL LINKS
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Two of the best records of 2002 were probably not available for sale
at your neighborhood record shop but you've been hearing them on
Musical Justice for a few months. The first of those is Matthew
Ryan's Dissent From The Living Room. You can order it at
Matthew's website, http://www.matthewryanonline.com. The other
one comes from underrated guitar legend, Richard Thompson. It's
another of his self-released live CDs, Semi-Detached Mock Tudor,
which can be ordered at http://www.richardthompson-music.com.

Also, we often get asked where to find some of the more obscure CDs
on our playlist. Three of the best online CD stores are Miles of
Music (www.milesofmusic.com), Village Records
(www.villagerecords.com) and Waterloo Records
(www.waterloorecords.com) . Each of them have slightly different
areas of specialty. For example, I think Austin-based Waterloo
Records has the deepest selection of Texas music in the world.
Between the three of them, they pretty much cover Musical
Justice's playlist from end-to-end.


STUFF YOU PROBABLY WON'T HEAR ANYWHERE ELSE
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In addition to the previously mentioned Matthew Ryan and Richard
Thompson CDs, probably the new item that I'm the most excited
about comes from one of my favorite bands, the Jayhawks. The
CD, "Live at the Women's Club" is currently available
only at their live shows. It's an acoustic show recorded April
26, 2002 at The Women's Club in Minneapolis. The show features a
stripped down sound by a stripped down three-piece version of the
band consisting of Tim O'Reagan, Marc Perlman and Gary Louris.
In addition to old favorites like Blue, Trouble and Waiting for the
Sun, it features tracks from their upcoming spring release…

Occasionally I get emails from bands that listen to Musical Justice
and feel like they might fit into our playlist and I try to give them
a listen when time permits. Two of those bands, Marshallcity
(www.marshallcity.com) and The Draft (www.the-draft.com) have been
recent additions to our playlist. Both these indie bands have a
great sound so listen for them. If you like them, check out their
websites where you can pick up their CDs… and remember that you
heard them on Musical Justice first…

I'm always looking for new & rare material to add to our
playlists. Some of the rare stuff you are likely to hear in the near
future include Ryan Adams and Elton John's duets on CMT, Bruce
Springsteen performing with the Wallflowers on MTC, Paul Simon
singing with George Harrison on an early SNL and a great live version
of "In The Ghetto" sung by Natalie Merchant with Tracy
Chapman. If you have any other suggestions of cool rare performances
you'd like us to share with the other Musical Justice listeners,
please send them our way!


COMING SOON/UPCOMING RELEASES
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This is THE slow time of year for new releases… I'm excited
about one CD coming out before the end of the month and it's Jesse
Malin's "The Fine Art of Self-Destruction" due on January
28th. The CD was Uncut Magazine's Album of the Month in December
and was produced by Malin's ubiquitous drinking buddy, Ryan
Adams…


CURRENT PLAYLIST (* = new additions)
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Demolition – Ryan Adams
Scarlet's Walk – Tori Amos
*Have You Fed The Fish – Badly Drawn Boy
*Here Comes the New Folk Underground – David Baerwald
Sea Change – Beck
*Ends of the Earth – Peter Bruntnell
*Impasse – Richard Buckner
Blacklisted – Neko Case
*The Man Comes Around – Johnny Cash
Barricades and Brickwalls – Kasey Chambers
Let It Rain – Tracy Chapman
One More Car, One More Rider – Eric Clapton
A Rush of Blood to the Head – Coldplay
When I Was Cruel – Elvis Costello
*Cruel Smile – Elvis Costello & The Imposters
Hard Candy – Counting Crows
C'mon C'mon – Sheryl Crow
Home – Dixie Chicks
Strictly Speaking – The Draft
Jerusalem – Steve Earle
One All – Neil Finn
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots – The Flaming Lips
One By One – Foo Fighters
Up – Peter Gabriel
*Cow Fish Fowl or Pig – The Gourds
*A New Day at Midnight – David Gray
*Dual Mono – The Greenhornes
1000 Kisses – Patty Griffin
*Brainwashed – George Harrison
Rabbit Songs – Hem
*Live from the Women's Club – The Jayhawks
Come Away With Me – Norah Jones
The Future That Was – Josh Joplin Group
The Ragpicker's Dream – Mark Knopfler
*Sha Sha – Ben Kweller
Good Morning Aztlan – Los Lobos
Lost In Space – Aimee Mann
Cure for the Common Show - Marshallcity
Bramble Rose – Tift Merritt
Midnight & Lonesome – Buddy Miller
The Instigator – Rhett Miller
*The Silver Line – Chris Mills
*Miss Fortune – Allison Moorer
*Stars & Guitars – Willie Nelson & Friends
How Sweet It Is – Joan Osborne
*Alice Peacock – Alice Peacock
*Riot Act – Pearl Jam
*The Last DJ – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Loose Screw – Pretenders
No Other Love – Chuck Prophet
Songs for the Deaf – Queens of the Stone Age
Songs to Fix Angels – Chad Rex and the Victorstands
Rise – Kim Richey
Movin' In – Mike Rosenthal
Dissent from the Living Room – Matthew Ryan
Shaman – Santana
Cobblestone Runway – Ron Sexsmith
Maia Sharp – Maia Sharp
The Rising – Bruce Springsteen
October Road – James Taylor
Fashionably Late – Linda Thompson
Semi-Detached Mock Tudor – Richard Thompson
*Almost You: The Songs of Elvis Costello – Various Artists
Highly Evolved – The Vines
*Red Letter Days – The Wallflowers
Maladroit – Weezer
White Blood Cells – The White Stripes
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – Wilco
Easy – Kelly Willis
Sleepless – Peter Wolf
Yeah Yeah Yeahs (EP) – Yeah Yeah Yeahs


MUSICAL JUSTICE TOP 50 CDS OF 2002
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1. Dual Mono – The Greenhornes
2. When I Was Cruel – Elvis Costello
3. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – Wilco
4. Semi-Detached Mock Tudor – Richard Thompson Band
5. The Rising – Bruce Springsteen
6. No Other Love – Chuck Prophet
7. Fear Not The Obvious – The Yayhoos
8. Barricades and Brickwalls – Kasey Chambers
9. Jerusalem – Steve Earle
10. Miss Fortune – Allison Moorer
11. Songs to Fix Angels – Chad Rex and the Victorstands
12. White Blood Cells – The White Stripes
13. A Rush of Blood to the Head – Coldplay
14. Highly Evolved – The Vines
15. Sea Change – Beck
16. Blacklisted – Neko Case
17. Southern Rock Opera – Drive By Truckers
18. Dissent from the Living Room – Matthew Ryan
19. C'mon C'mon – Sheryl Crow
20. While You Weren't Looking – Caitlin Cary
21. Motherland – Natalie Merchant
22. 1000 Kisses – Patty Griffin
23. Come Away With Me – Norah Jones
24. Hard Candy – Counting Crows
25. The Instigator – Rhett Miller
26. Things Change – Lonesome Bob
27. Movin' In – Mike Rosenthal
28. Good Morning Aztlan – Los Lobos
29. Try Again – Mike Ireland
30. Sidetracks – Steve Earle
31. 18 – Moby
32. Midnight and Lonesome – Buddy Miller
33. Demolition – Ryan Adams
34. The Palace at 4 A.M. (Part 1) – Jay Bennett and Edward Burch
35. Cow Fish Fowl or Pig – The Gourds
36. Impasse – Richard Buckner
37. A New Day at Midnight – David Gray
38. The Way I Am – Jennifer Knapp
39. Riot Act – Pearl Jam
40. Maia Sharp – Maia Sharp
41. Lost in Space – Aimee Mann
42. Love is Here – Starsailor
43. Under Cold Blue Stars – Josh Rouse
44. The Train Wreck is Behind You – Gingersol
45. The Last DJ – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
46. Veni Vidi Vicious – The Hives
47. Dim Stars, Bright Sky – John Doe
48. Always Got Tonight – Chris Isaak
49. Fashionably Late – Linda Thompson
50. Songs for the Deaf – Queens of the Stone Age


LISTENER FEEDBACK
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If you've got suggestions, trivia questions, comments, likes,
dislikes about Musical Justice, we'd love to hear them. Please e-
mail them to us at musicaljustice4u@....


One down… eleven to go!!

Until next month…
Jeff