I have a new post up at Nashville Byline that profiles Nashville blues band the Cold Stares. It includes the acoustic tunes they played from my couch earlier this year, an interview with the band, and my first attempt at using iMovie, below.

Here’s another one of Keb’ Mo’ at the Americana Music Fest.

The Blind Boys of Alabama, in Nashville.

The Jayhakws, in Nashville.

Kenny Vaughan, in Nashville.

Carrie Rodriguez, playing in Nashville.

We’ll go with a Nashville-based Griffin House this week. Love the ambiguity in this song. Can’t decide if it’s a sappy love ballad, or a sarcastic, passive-aggressive kiss-off.

My Nashville Byline blog has relaunched over at Huffington Post.

The first post today is my report from the Americana Music Fest. It comes with a slideshow of photos from the festival, including an uncomfortably up-close photo of John Oates.

The introduction to this Buddy Holly performance on Arthur Murray Dance Party . . .  is simply wonderful.

(Hat tip: Lucy Steigerwald.)

Here are a few shots and a short video of a great old-timey band I caught on Royal Street in New Orleans Saturday. They’re called the Loose Marbles.

Still working out how to shoot video with the new camera, as you can see by the (lack of) focus.

We’ll go with “Falling Down,” the Redwalls tribute to the FCC’s obscenity rules. I don’t know about the accompanying drawings. This was the only non-live version I could find on YouTube.

Light posting today because my Wifi has been down most of the day. I happened to be watching the Frontline episode on John O’Neill when the repair guy arrived. (Highly recommend the Frontline episode, by the way.) This led to the repair guy not only fixing my Wifi, but also explaining to me how there’s no possible way a plane could have crashed into the Pentagon on September 11. Apparently, it’s all in the skid marks.

Here’s “Kings,” by Nashville favorites the Cold Stares. Recorded in my living room.

Half of early rock ‘n’ roll’s best songwriting duo has died. Here are my three favorite Leiber & Stoller songs, not necessarily by the artists that made them famous.

Pour Me Coffee’s Twitter account reminds me that today is the late John Lee Hooker’s birthday. And that this duet with Van Morrison is one of the great songs-to-brood-to ever made.

This is probably my favorite protest song. Old Crow Medicine Show’s, “I Hear Them All.”

Seems appropriate this week: Nina Simone’s “Mississippi Goddamn.”

Forgot to put this up yesterday. Here’s track six from our Agitator playlist. Cinderella’s “Shelter Me.”

The Clash, “Guns of Brixton”

Mavis Staples’ “On My Way.” This song popped up on my iPod as I was driving to Monticello for the Cory Maye hearing a couple weeks ago. Seemed pretty appropriate.

Amos Lee’s “Freedom.”

I mean holy hell. Just read the lyrics. This could probably be the official TheAgitator.com anthem. And the entire album is really good.

“None of Us Are Free,” by Solomon Burke and the Blind Boys of Alabama. I’ve posted this song before—a couple of times. But it’s especially appropriate today. Soon, I’ll tell you why.

“The Ballad of Kathryn Johnston,” by Shawn Mullins.

In summers past, we’ve come up with a theme for Five-Star Friday selections. This year, I think we’ll do an Agitator Playlist. Please note: I am not suggesting that any of these artists are Hayek-reading, Friedman-loving libertarians. Only that the songs themselves echo themes that will be familiar to readers of this site. Actually, some of the songs will be familiar, too. I’ve posted many of them before. Feel free to make your own suggestions in the comments.

We’ll start with the great, guitar-driven Los Lobos tune, “Road to Gila Bend”, a sympathetic look at an illegal immigrant’s harrowing journey across the border.

If you’re interested, I interviewed Los Lobos’ Louie Perez about this song and the album its from for Reason a few years ago. Here’s the original, sans video:

Here’s a cool acoustic version of the same song:

The activist, poet, and musician died yesterday. There’s an almost a poetic timing to his death, given the last few days. He was warning us about this stuff back in the 1970s.

For my protection?
Who’s gonna protect me from you?
The likes of you?
The nerve of you?
Your tomato face deadpan
Your dead hands ending another freedom fan

In honor of the presidential campaign season kicking in to full swing . . .