Any Given Tuesday Episode 11: The GO

Detroit's The GO recently released Howl On The Haunted Beat You Ride (read Any Given Tuesday's review here), the best classic rock album of 2007. With masterful production and an ear for a rock and roll sound that changed the future of music, The Go have moved beyond their early days with Jack White from The White Stripes and the garage sound of Detroit and reinterpreted the '60s rock sound to make an album that should have been released forty years ago. Better late than never!

Remember that you can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes and call in to leave a message for the show at (443) 955-5382.

Click the cover art to buy the album, and click below to listen to Episode 11 of Any Given Tuesday, featuring several tracks from the album.

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Any Given Tuesday Episode 10: Pontiak

Virginia brothers Jennings, Lain, and Van Carney form Pontiak, a riffing rock band that stays on my iPod and in my CD player. The brothers were kind enough to drive up to Baltimore in early September for an interview, however the file was corrupted somehow on my computer, and I had to wing this episode without one of the most fun interviews I've had yet. Fortunately, you get to hear more songs. Unfortunately, you miss out on the great interview!

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Any Given Tuesday Episode 9: Ingrid Michaelson

Listen to some tracks from Ingrid Michaelson's Girls And Boys and take in a review of the album. Click below or on the post title for the file. You can also subscribe to the podcast's RSS feed. And call in to the show and leave a voicemail! (443) 955-5382 is the number, and your voicemail will get included in a future episode of the show. You can also email and let me know what you think!

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Any Given Tuesday #8: Baltimore Music Conference Weekend

After spending a weekend at the Baltimore Music Conference, I culled together a bunch of the interviews to produce this latest episode of the podcast. Featuring a run-in with Salim & The Music Lovers' Salim and Topix, a young band called Funky Willie & The Git Down Boys, The Side Affects, U'll Neva No, and Sean K. Preston. And, of course, the artists provided songs for your listening pleasure.

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Subscribe to the Any Given Tuesday podcast in iTunes or your RSS-based podreader.

Any Given Tuesday #7: Podcasting 101 At The Baltimore Music Conference

Joel Witt from Folk Media and myself presented at the Baltimore Music Conference this weekend on the basics of podcasting. We covered topics from podcasting hardware and software to format all the way through to our tips for success. Give the show a listen below or subscribe to the Any Given Tuesday podcast RSS feed.

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Any Given Tuesday Episode 6 - Wendel Patrick

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Wendel Patrick and I sat down a few weeks ago for an interview, and I finally got around to editing the result. Listen to a few tracks from Wendel's album, Sound: (read a review of Sound: here), and enjoy! Just click the logo above to listen, or right click to download the MP3. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed in your podreader or in iTunes.

Wendel Patrick (www.wendelpatrick.com) is a trained pianist from Baltimore who just so happens to make insanely exciting music influenced by classical, jazz, hip hop, and electronica. Barrett King sits with Wendel at the City Cafe in Mount Vernon to discuss Wendel's album, Sound:, the creative process, gear, and more. This episode also features three tracks from the album: "Man Vs.", "Traffic", and "My CD Has A Scratch II (feat. Salim)".

Special Virgin Fest Edition of Any Given Tuesday: Interview with Ben Kenney of Incubus!

You all know that Virgin Festival is this weekend (Saturday and Sunday). Now, I have a special surprise for all my loyal readers and listeners: a special interview with Ben Kenney of Incubus! And the fun doesn't stop there. Stay tuned after the fest, but for now . . .

Download the Virgin Festival edition of Any Given Tuesday with Ben Kenney of Incubus

And if you want to stay up on the show, subscribe to the Any Given Tuesday podcast RSS feed to automatically download new episodes in iTunes.

Any Given Tuesday Episode 5: Baltimore Music Conference & The Payola Reserve

Join Any Given Tuesday and your host, Barrett King, as we head over to Fell's Point to meet with the founder of the Baltimore Music Conference, Lisa Suit. After that, we'll move over to Charles Village to The Payola Reserve's practice space for an interview. This episode also features two tracks from the band's latest effort, 200 Years.

Download Episode 5 of Any Given Tuesday: BMC/Payola Reserve

Any Given Tuesday Episode 4: Egg Babies Orchestra

Episode 4 of Any Given Tuesday is a companion podcast to the SENcast video available on www.senbaltimore.com. Visit with the Egg Babies Orchestra before they go on stage at the Ottobar, and stick around for the tunes!

Download Episode 4 of Any Given Tuesday

Salim at Sonar with Talib Kweli Next Friday, July 27

I have to give huge love to Salim (read a review of Hip Hop Revisited here) because he just got booked to open for Talib Kweli at Sonar here in B-more on July 27. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door.

Be sure to check out Episode 3 of the Any Given Tuesday podcast which features Salim, too.

Any Given Tuesday Episode 3: Salim

In this episode, Salim sits down with Any Given Tuesday to talk about his latest album, Hip Hop Revisited, and introduces his new single "The Sure Shot". The interview covers topics including the current state of hip hop, the architecture of a track, Salim's influences and his upcoming performances. Sit down with Salim and Any Given Tuesday, listen to three songs from Hip Hop Revisited, and get to know this local artist in a way that only SEN Baltimore and Any Given Tuesday can offer.

Check out Episode 3 of Any Given Tuesday, and subscribe to the podcast feed.

The Decline of Hip Hop

In a USA Today report, the newspaper discusses the decline of album sales in rap music, stating that "this year, rap sales are down 33% from 2006." This is even greater than the overall decline in album sales, and cannot be dismissed as simple suffering from digital sales and/or illegal downloads. Culprits include skipping whole album sales in favor of hyping the singles that sell ringtones and digital singles.

The greatest culprit in the declining sales, however, cannot be denied: people are just tired of hearing about bullets and bling. As USA Today puts it, "the young, largely white audience that can make a difference between modest and blockbuster sales ó are tiring of rappers' emphasis on "gangsta" attitudes, explicit lyrics and tales of street life and conspicuous consumption."

And one of my favorite hip-hop artists, KRS-One, puts it this way: "The music is garbage. What has happened over the past few years is that we have traded art for money, simple and plain, and the public is not stupid." You've got that right, Blastmaster! Hip hop as an industry has given up information and education and social activism in favor of being strictly party music. There is no balance in hip hop.

"The public has made a choice," KRS-One says. "They're saying, 'We do not want the nonsense that we see and hear on radio, and we are not putting our money there.' Rap music is being boycotted by the American public because of the images that we are putting forward."

Arguing that the current language of hip hop is blasted because it is a cultural representation of reality, 50 Cent counters "Music is a mirror, and hip-hop is a reflection of the environment we grew up in."

In my conversation with Salim, a Baltimore hip hop artist (the podcast will be available on Any Given Tuesday tomorrow), we discussed the lack of balance in hip hop, and it is clear from the above comments by KRS and 50 that there are different cultural representations that hip hop can make. There is a time for party music, a time for mirroring one's reality, and a time for speaking out against political and social injustice.

"Any Given Tuesday" Podcast: Episode 2 featuring Salim, Pontiak, and Brian Adam Ant

Following up on the first podcast with Thrushes (and trying to keep the show coming out on Tuesdays), the second episode is a radio-show format with tracks from Salim (read a review of Salim's album here), Brian Adam Ant (read a review of Separation Celebration here), and Pontiak. The podcast is produced in collaboration with SEN Baltimore.

Song List:
Salim - "Stresses of the City" from the album Hip Hop Revisited
Brian Adam Ant - "Our Artillery" from the album Separation Celebration
Pontiak - "Sun on Sun" from the forthcoming Sun on Sun

Visit SEN Baltimore to check out Episode 2 of Any Given Tuesday

Read AGT's review of Pontiak's current album, Valley of the Cats. Pontiak's Sun on Sun comes out in September. Expect a review of that soon.

Thrushes to play The Annex in Baltimore this Saturday

Thrushes will be playing a new Baltimore venue this weekend, since the Lo-Fi Social Club is in the midst of finding out its fate (good luck to the club, everyone is pulling for you!). The details:

The Annex

419 E. Oliver Street, 3rd Floor (use outside stairs).

Starts at 9pm

Check out Any Given Tuesday's review of Sun Come Undone, Thrushes' debut album, and download Episode 1 the Any Given Tuesday podcast, featuring an interview with the band.

Thanks to everyone who checked out the first episode of Any Given Tuesday; Download the MP3

The first Any Given Tuesday podcast went down last night. A big thanks to Michael Nguyen at SEN Baltimore for producing, and another tip of the hat to Thrushes for sitting down with us and talking about everything from taking time off work for touring to obsessing about gear and even baseball. Way cooler was letting Any Given Tuesday premiere their new demo, "Trees" before it hit the blogosphere for mass download. Even though this was the first episode, and we had some technical issues, things came out well. If you weren't able to listen last night, or had trouble hearing the live stream, you can download Episode 1 here.

I'm starting work on Episode 2 today, which will be available next Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. This will be more of a radio format show. It won't be live, and it will be just me and a few songs by Baltimore bands that you need to hear. Drop me an email or leave a comment, let me know what you think of the first show, and what you want to hear in the future!

Any Given Tuesday Podcast Tonight!

Be sure to check out the first Any Given Tuesday podcast in collaboration with SEN Baltimore tonight at 9:30 Eastern with Thrushes! Click here for more details.

**UPDATE**: The podcast was a great time. We did have some technical difficulties, but Mike at SEN Baltimore is going to load up a better recording for download tomorrow. I'll get the link up as soon as I can. Thanks to Thrushes for participating!

"Any Given Tuesday" Podcast Featuring Thrushes: Details

Any Given Tuesday's podcast is about to be in full effect. Make sure you have the Talkshoe link ready when the show premieres on Tuesday, May 22 at 9:30 Eastern. If you want to listen live or call in to the show and talk to Thrushes, you'll need to download the Talkshoe client. If you aren't around for the actual broadcast, you will have the opportunity to download the show to your computer or MP3 player, more on that later.

To call in: (724) 444.7444 and enter in ID# 31860

Any Given Tuesday Podcast In Collaboration With SEN Baltimore

I am very excited to announce that Any Given Tuesday is working with SEN Baltimore to produce a podcast all about Baltimore music. The podcast will be named after this site, Any Given Tuesday, and is hosted by yours truly. The first episode will broadcast live on Tuesday, May 22, at 9:30 Eastern Time and will feature an interview with Thrushes and will deliver a demo of their latest song, "Trees", to the masses. Listeners will have the opportunity to call in and speak with the band.

Download the Press Release and help spread the word or read below:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SĒN Baltimore and Any Given Tuesday Announce Baltimore Music Podcast
First Episode Featuring Breakout Band Thrushes will be Broadcast Live Online

BALTIMORE, Maryland, May 15, 2007—Building upon the powerful media content of Baltimore entertainment magazine SĒN Baltimore (www.senbaltimore.com) and the expansive music coverage of music blog Any Given Tuesday (www.anygiventuesday.info), the two organizations have joined forces to create an “Any Given Tuesday” podcast covering the latest and hottest sounds in the Baltimore music scene.

“Any Given Tuesday” will premiere May 22, 2007 at 9:30 PM Eastern as a live internet broadcast on Talkshoe.com, kicking off a series of podcast media from The SĒN Baltimore Network. Hosted by Barrett King, creator of Any Given Tuesday, the first episode will feature an interview with Baltimore’s own Thrushes (www.thrushesrule.com), who have been setting the indie rock scene aflame with their debut album, Sun Come Undone. Thrushes will play a song from the album as well as a newly-recorded track that has yet to take over the blogosphere. Listeners will be able to listen live online and have the opportunity to call in and talk to the band.

“What Any Given Tuesday and SĒN Baltimore are doing here could become essential to Baltimore artists. Current traditional outlets like print and word-of-mouth are important, but a downloadable podcast with interviews, songs, and the ability to call in on some episodes and participate with the artists in real time is going to change the way we find new music in this town," King said. "This isn’t big media jumping on late in the game and trying to break news that fans already know about; this is the scene breaking itself. The trendsetters get to beat the suits to the punch. Working with SĒN Baltimore, 'Any Given Tuesday' wants to keep music trends with those who actually shape them: the artists and fans.”

Michael Nguyen, director of SĒN Baltimore, is equally enthusiastic. “The goal of The SĒN Baltimore Network is to cover all the bases by reaching out via multiple media formats. SĒN Baltimore magazine is visually aggressive and so is its companion website, senbaltimore.com," Nguyen said. "The 'Any Given Tuesday' podcast, and future podcasts from SĒN, will push the envelope even further with an internet audio presence that can be downloaded to an MP3 player and listened to while driving or walking to work, browsing stacks at the record store, and so on.”

“Any Given Tuesday” is planned to become a regular feature, with flexible programming formulas to spotlight bands of various genres all over the Baltimore region. “We aren’t necessarily locked in to Baltimore proper,” King said, “but the band has to have a tie to the area. I’m from Delaware, and Baltimore reaches out that far with respect to the small venue crowd. If a band is willing to do shows in the area and be a part of our community, that’s close enough for me.”

“Driving to D.C. for a show once felt like a necessity for Baltimoreans," Nguyen said. "Our scene is changing, and as it grows, so will the scenes of the surrounding areas. We have to break the news that there is much more to this region than D.C. suburbs.”

About Any Given Tuesday
Any Given Tuesday (www.anygiventuesday.info) is a music blog featuring album reviews, concert reviews, tour dates and legal MP3s from artists both local and national.

About SĒN Baltimore
SĒN Baltimore (www.senbaltimore.com) is published by RETROFORWARD, LLC and offers both print and online editions of its magazine with free information on Baltimore trends and nightlife.

Contact:
Barrett King, Creator, Any Given Tuesday, http://blawk359.blogspot.com, blawk359@gmail.com or +1-443-955-5382

Michael Nguyen, owner of RETROFORWARD, LLC, mike@retroforward.com. 1.888.507.8289