Introducing the Band:
Your hosts Scot Bertram (@ScotBertram) and Jeff Blehar (@EsotericCD) are joined by guest Mike Long. He wrote the sort-of-bestselling book The Molecule of More and he teaches writing at Georgetown University, but mostly he writes things for other people to put their name on. He’s on Twitter at @mikewrites.
Mike’s Music Pick: Robbie Fulks
This is almost certainly the most obscure artist we've ever covered on Political Beats. Yet, when the three hours are up, we think you'll also consider him one of the best. Ladies and gentlemen, please say hello to the incredibly talented Robbie Fulks, an artist who would be a household name if there were any justice in the musical world.
Scot has been a fan for more than 20 years, dating back to finding one of the artist's CDs in a stack he was to review for his college radio station. Jeff’s new to the music, but hit on something by describing Robbie as “the country Elvis Costello.” Like Elvis, Robbie has an encyclopedic knowledge of multiple decades of music and isn’t afraid to jump from genre to genre in his work. And like Elvis, his lyrics and stories can often take center stage with creative wordplay and rhyming.
Whether you are a rock (Let’s Kill Saturday Night), folk (Upland Stories), bluegrass (Gone Away Backward), country (Country Love Songs, Georgia Hard), pop (50 vc. Doberman), or, in Jeff's case, post-punk fan, there's going to be something here for you to grab a hold of. And we haven’t even mentioned what might be his best album, Couples In Trouble. No, none of them have been hits on the charts, but the consistent quality of the music will impress any listener.
Robbie has a keen ear for creating stunning instrumentals and picks wonderful partners for occasional duets. He can make you laugh out loud during one song while moving you to cry in your beer over the next song. He’s adept at road songs, love songs, murder ballads, and cheating laments. And if you’re not careful, he’ll even turn you on to some of the underloved classic country artists of the past.
If you’ve never heard of Robbie Fulks, we’ve provided the perfect introduction. Join us and you’ll soon be a fan.
Episode 76: Cam Edwards / Fountains of Wayne
Episode 75: Ben Domenech / The Who [Part 2]
Episode 74: Ben Domenech / The Who [Part 1]
Episode 73: Alfred Schulz / The Pogues
Episode 72: Sean Hackbarth / Tears for Fears
Episode 71: Brad Birzer / Rush
Episode 70: Vincent Caruso / Roxy Music
Episode 69: Jane Coaston / Jimi Hendrix
Episode 68: James Poulos / The Smashing Pumpkins
Episode 67: Ben Jacobs / Gram Parsons
Episode 66: Kevin Madden / The Cars
Episode 65: Anthony Fisher / Elvis Costello [Part 2]
Episode 64: Anthony Fisher / Elvis Costello [Part 1]
Episode 63: Jeff Dufour / Rolling Stones [Part 2]
Episode 62: Harry Khachatrian / Rolling Stones [Part 1]
Episode 61: Matt Welch / The Beach Boys [Part 2]
Episode 60: Matt Welch / The Beach Boys [Part 1]
Episode 59: Scot Bertram & Jeff Blehar / Soundtracks
Episode 58: Matt Murray / Randy Newman
Episode 57: Michael Brendan Dougherty / Ben Folds Five
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