Past  Episodes

Episode 121 is part four of our five part, and counting, series of musical artists jumping genres. It’s also part one of a two part show featuring the music of the classically trained British artist Joe Jackson who began as a post punk/new wave artist in the late 70s but has released albums in at least four or five different genres including big band/jump swing, classical, contemporary classical, jazz and a few more. All of it is music of his own composition and all of it is really good.

Episode 120 is part three of our now five part, and counting, series on musical artists jumping genres that was inspired by Chris Meyer of West Stockbridge, Massachusetts Top 5 list: Top 5 Genre Jumpers. In this episode we actually get around to Chris’s Top 5. I did more research and included more background information on the five artists and their genre jumping songs than I have on any other show in all of my years on the air. So what we have here is a two hour show with seven songs. But I think the histories I’ve presented are pretty interesting. And I can't really tell you what artists were featuring because that would spoil all the fun.

Episode 119 is the second in our four part series on musicians changing genres for one song, one album, multiple albums or all of their career. This series was inspired when Chris Meyer of West Stockbridge, Mass submitted his Top 5 Genre Jumps. Our cover set featured country artists dabbling in the rock genre. We also featured two roots rock artists who started off in punk and garage rock and three artists who began playing secular music and made the change to gospel or Christian music. The show features Willie Nelson, Michele Shocked, Robbie Fulks, Garth Brooks, Al Green, Dolly Parton and more!

Episode 118 marked the beginning of a multi-part series on artists playing multiple styles inspired by a listener submitted Top 5 list. Chris Meyer of West Stockbridge, Mass submitted his Top 5 Genre Jumps. In part 1 we opened and closed with Peter Hollens and Anthony Vincent perform two songs in many genres, heard Linda Ronstadt and Sturgill performing in mutiple styles and did a deep dive into the impressive catalog of Michael Nesmith.

Our 117th episode featured a set of three excellent covers of Prince songs as well as a look at up and coming Neo-Soul artists. Featured was music from Cage The Elephant, Two Door Cinema Club, Sam Cooke, Was, Not Was, Jalen Ngonda, Sun On Shade, Macklamore, War and William Bell.

Ian Cheney of Gales Ferry, Connecticut’s Top 5 Dylan Songs With The Word Baby In The Title was featured in episode 116, how many can you name? The rest of the show was filled with some excellent covers of Bob Dylan songs and some Dylan like singer/songwriters that included Lori McKenna, Townes Van Zandt, John Prine, Mary Gaucher and Johnny Cash to name a few. Also featured was a wonderful story about how Ian’s son came to be named after Bob Dylan.

Episode 115 featured a couple of brand new releases, songs from seven different decades, four different countries and 10 different states and the cover set featured covers of REM songs. Artists included Hem, The Refreshments, The Chi-Lites, Both Girls, Old 97s, Annie Lennox, Mall Girl, Elbow, U2 and more.

It was another Top 5 night on Episode 114. Henry Hegemann of Lexington, KY submitted his Top 5 Long Songs that close out albums. His 5 artists were Stone Temple Pilots, Metallica, Led Zepplin, Greta Van Fleet
and The Who. And just for fun the whole show, while not all long songs, were all the last song on the album. Other artists featured were John Prine, Nirvana, Jann Arden, Public Enemy, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers & The Beatles

My initial idea for the 113th episode was too work all five versions of the Tom Waits song “Way Down In The Hole” that had served as the theme song for all five seasons of the HBO crime drama The Wire into the show and it evolved into a tribute to the songs of Tom Waits. The show consists of 22 excellent of covers of Waits’ songs as well as a history of his early life and his career. Artists performing their versions of his songs include Rosanne Cash, The Ramones, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, three foreign language covers and more!

We began episode 112 with two sets of country music duos who are/were couples in real life. This week set featuring miscellaneous covers of plastic soul songs. Artist featured include Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, Dan Auerback, Jack White, Arctic Monkeys, The Wrights, The Gregg Allman Band, Dori Freeman and others.

Episode 111 first aired in November of 2023 and it may be one of my favorite early shows. It features a set of four awesome Bee Gees covers and further discussion of the New York Times article written by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco where he gave an excellent analysis of how it is that we come to dislike certain artists and their music based purely on peer pressure. Also featured are songs by The Weather Station, Fatboy Slim, Todd Snider, Haley Williams, Arcade Fire, one of my first 2 song mash-ups, a closing encore performance that features a prank-playing production staff and more!

The 110th episode of Can You Feel It featured a cover set of hip-hop songs that took samples from rather unlikely sources. We talked about the Native Tongues Collective of hip-hop groups in the 1990s and we heard from Jungle Brothers, one of the members of the collective. We heard a set of guilty pleasures songs and talked about whether or not there is such a thing as a guilty pleasure. Other artists featured were Radiohead, The Chicks, The Wrights, Meghan Trainor and Joe Walsh and about 10 or so more.

Episode 109 was just music for music’s sake. No particular special features but we did look at Sturgill Simpson’s pandemic released Cuttin Grass albums that feature bluegrass versions of his earlier work in several different genres and compared and contrasted his vocal stylings between two different versions of the same song. Also featured were Bobbi Gentry, The Coasters, The Vaughn Brothers, Citizen King, Talking Heads and more!

Episode 108 featured our first listener submitted Top 5 list! Listener Kevin Manker of Adams, Tennessee submitted his Top 5 Rodeo Songs featuring George Strait, Red Steagall, Jerry Jeff Walker, Cody Johnson and Casey Donahew. We broke down the rodeo song and what makes it special. Other artists featured were Jackie Venson, Stereophonics, G Love, Lyle Lovett, and Darrell Scott

The second listener submitted Top 5 list was featured on Episode 1078. Listener Butch Ellis of Louisville, Kentucky submitted his top five favorite songs from the Beatles, Paul McCartney, Heart, Weather Report and Joni Mitchell. Also featured were The Newbees, NRBQ, Nellie McKay, Prince, Willie Chirino, Southern Culture On The Skids and more!

Episode 106 was a re-airing of a two hour musical retrospective I produced on the late singer/songwriter Jesse Winchester. I spoke with Jessie after a his show in Northampton, Massachusetts in November 2005. We discussed his life and his music and I interlaced the interview with Jesse’s music to create a musical history of the work of a true American artist.

Episode 105 features nothing but songs that include a brass section. Not a single trumpet or a single saxophone but at least a three-piece brass section. That went for our set of cover songs as well. We also had sets of hip-hop and Latino music. Artists featured include Doc Severinsen and the Tonight Show Band, Huey Lewis and the News, Public Enemy, The Buckinghams, Ojos De Brijo and Phil Collins.

In Episode 104 we looked at the difference between a version and a cover through the lens of the originals for three different songs which were really big hits and that most people did not know were, in reality, covers. The originals were from Linda Lyndell, Sam & Dave and Ednaswap. We heard a set of “cryin’-in-my-beer” country songs, heard a cut from the brand new album by Blur as well as hearing cuts from The Damnwells, Gabi Hartman, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, The Diablo Swing Orchestra and more!

Episode 103 featured, of all things, a set of four songs that highlighted yodeling in each one. Rodney Crowell’s new album was featured and the theme of the cover set was songs that had been written by one person has an instrumental and we’re covered by someone else who added lyrics. Other artists featured were James McMurtry, Jake Scott, John Hiatt, De La Soul, Arctic Monkeys and David Bowie made his first appearance on the show.

We did a bit of housecleaning with Episode 102. There were a bunch of songs on my “To Be Aired” playlist that just hadn’t made it onto a show yet so I took the opportunity to get a bunch of them played on this show. Artists featured were The Spinners, Raphael & Q-Tip, Rare Earth, George Michael, Flobots, Everything Everything, Bill Callahan & Bonnie “Prince” Billy and more!