Christmas for Kate

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For many years now I've made an Xmas playlist and CD (it used to be a C90) for Kate — truth be told, it's as much for me. The idea is to remember the year that was, the places and events we've been to, and the memories we ought to squirrel away.

Kate still has a CD player in her car and we still play CD's in the house but, more often these days, we play music from iTunes over Bluetooth (in the car or to a sound bar in the house). These playlists are available off my YouTube channel and on my iTunes page. If you click on the image at left you'll get to the YouTube version. Not everyone has iTunes.

This year we did manage to travel to Austin for our winter escape and again there are quite a few tunes from that trip. We crossed into the US the day the Philanderer and Thief (aka Agent Kraznov) was crowned King DJT and every day since has been one WTF moment after another. So, some of the music on this playlist, is dominated by protest songs; I really wish there were more. Somehow that man has to be stopped!

There were some trips to other places as as well: we were to England, Germany and Scotland in May/June; Victoria, BC, in July; music in Toronto; a visit to Winnipeg; and a trip to Mexico. But only some of them have a music reference.

Again, as in recent years, several of our heros are no more — Todd Snider and Raul Malo (the voice of the Mavericks) are in the list; Joe Ely, I cannot say enough about how great he was, passed after the list was created. Anyways, as What Wave Dave would say, enough jabbering, here's the list.

1. If The Loneliness Don't Kill Me, Whitehorse. We saw this Canadian duo (Luke Doucet and his wife Melissa McClelland) with Gord and Leslie a few years ago (2022 on Prince Edward County). This song from 2022 is pretty classic country. It's a hard drinking story: "If the loneliness don't kill me, then the good times surely will".
2. Born in San Antone, Garret T. Capps. We saw GTC at the Red Bird Listening Room in New Braunfels. We had seen him years before in Austin opening for Sarah Shook (2019). There's a very funny song he does, "Remember the Alamo Dome", which hasn't been published (as yet). He's a character and loves San Antone.
3. Pinocchio in Vegas, James McMurtry. When in Austin we like to see James play solo at the Continental Club Gallery (2025 my birthday). A funny song from his most recent album. We also so him on tour with a full band at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto (September at the Horseshoe)
4. Just A Step, The Resentments. The Resentments have a long standing residency at the Saxon Pub in Austin. John Chipman, the drummer, also plays with the Purgatory Players on Sunday mornings at the El Mercado — this is John's song. It's from a long out of print CD: Switcheroo (2008); I managed to find a copy on EBay.
5. Already Gone, Slaid Cleaves. If anything, this is just a song about growing up and aging. It has a nice tune with well crafted lyrics. John Chipman is on drums, Scrappy Jud Newcomb on guitar — another gang of Austin regulars and the Purgatory Players. 
6. Sarah Gordon, Grievous Angels. From One Job Town (2008). We were in Glasgow this year for Kate's KBS 2025 conference and worked on this song with our friend Sam but didn't get a chance to sing it.
7. I Wish I Was In Glasgow, Billy Connolly. Another song for Glasgow that we rehearsed. We were introduced to a version of this song by Jim McGinley of London, Ontario and have it on CD. The McGinley version is polished. We're surprised how our Glasgow friends don't know this song!
8. Another War, Carsie Blanton. With the genocide in Gaza, the Russian invasion of Ukraine since 2014, and the sabre rattling by Don the Mucillini explains the droll lyric: "I can't wait to see what we're fight for". This has only been published as a Facebook Short (it's too good and needs to be published in more places).
9. War Isn't Murder, Jesse Welles. This artist has been much on my mind. He's been lauded as the "New Dylan" and there definitely are parallels. Again this points to the genocide in Gaza and ends with a pointed remark about "have a nice trip" when visiting after the Trump plan is implemented.
10. Join ICE, Jesse Welles. The internal war in the US against anyone of color who might be an immigrant w/o proper papers has me in tears. Jesse Welles does a great job of calling out those who would join in and "just follow orders". A continuing day-to-day WTF moment.
11. Good People (Thank Me), Hayes Carll. Well, in spite of all that, the world is full of nice people who do nice things. I saw Hayes Carll at the Horseshoe this year (September at Horseshoe),
12. We're Only Human, Hayes Carll. Hey, we're only human. We make mistakes, we hurt the ones we love, but get up, get over it, get on with life and be a nice person.
13. There Goes My Heart, The Mavericks. Raul Malo (1965-2025) was the voice of the Mavericks. We saw him a couple of times at Austin awards events. Their music is an incredible blend of influences and a lot of fun!
14. Single Wide Dreamer, Aaron Raitiere. Aaron is a well received Nashville writer. We saw him open for Hayes Carll in September.
15. Nose On The Grindstone, Tyler Childers. We saw Tyler several years ago at the Cactus Cafe in Austin and have been following him ever since. His music is bluegrass tinged country. From Snipe Hunter (2024).
16. I Am Joan, Kate Howard. Kate is an Austin regular we've seen many times playing when she can around town. Often as a guest with the Purgatory Players on Sunday mornings at the El Mercado. We see that the El Mercado has changed hands and, for the moment, it's under renovation. Lets hope that the Back Stage reopens and continues to host the events we've loved so much over the years.
17. It's Christmastime (Let’s Just Survive), Kathleen Edwards. We saw her play at the 04 Center (on Lamar in Austin very near our long stay) this year. A bit of humor to match the Kate Howard tune. Kathleen is Canadian and has been playing for years (since at least the album "Failer", 2003) with a hiatus 2014-2022 to run a coffee house.
18. Running with You, Rich Brotherton. Rich is one of the Purgatory Players, as well as Ulla (Sunday's at the Saxon). He's a guitar legend, toured with Robert Earl Keen for many yars and a producer of many great albums. He's been recently diagnosed with ALS. The song was written by Sarah Elizabeth Campbell. This video is from a recording of the Monday Night Social Club at the El Mercado. 
19. Moon Dawg's Tavern, Todd Snider. Todd (1996-2024) was cut from the same crazy cloth as Jerry Jeff. We never saw him perform; apparently he was a great story teller. This song tells the drinking story of a a guy who the lyrics say: "got kicked out of so many bars, so he built one in his own backyard, only been kicked out once so far and his tab is always paid."

That was some of the music of 2025. There's another compilation CD for our 45th Wedding Anniversary. I'm working on writing something to explain the songs there.

45 Years

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This Christmas I prepared another Xmas for Kate CD (a playlist on Youtube and iTunes). Over the summer we celebrated our 45th Wedding Anniversary (see August Blog). For that occasion we spent some time together working on music that we might sing together, or as a tribute to one another, or just as memories of our time together these last 45 years.

Music has always been a big part of my life, Kate's too, the intersection is a happy merger ... so long as I don't play anything before noon! Thank god for earbuds, head phones and solitary drives.

If you're interested in our anniversary music click on the image at left for the YouTube playlist. Or, if you're really brave check the many playlists on my YouTube channel.

Some of the tunes will be obvious, e.g. 45 Years, by Stan Rogers. Others not so obvious. Most are tunes we selected together, some that I picked as a surprise. In any case, here's the playlist and a bit on why the tunes were selected:

1. You Got Gold, John Prine. From "The Missing Years" (1991). We saw John at Mariposa around the time of this album. This is a love song set to a jaunty little tune.
2. In Spite of Ourselves, John Prine. A silly little love song from the 1999 album of the same name. The duet is with Iris Dement. Together, Kate and I butchered this song at the anniversary party.
3. Dear Abby, John Prine. From "Sweet Revenge" (1973). This song is BK (before Kate) but we both loved the humor of it all. We sang it at our wedding reception — see August 1980.
4. I'll Be Your San Antone Rose, Jerry Jeff Walker. Again this is BK, but only barely. From "Too Old to Change" (1979). Words and music by Susanna Clark. We both love JJW and started going to Texas because of him. See our 2025 visit to his grave. Will we ever return to Austin?
5. I Remember Everything, John Prine. The heart breaking last tune by John, a reflection on a long life.
6. Passing Through London, 1972, Leonard Cohen. We both loved Leonard's music. I recall learning this tune with Kate back in 1980. We sang this on the train returning from Connie's wedding in June of 1980; other passengers were not too happy with us.
7. One of Us Cannot Be Wrong, Leonard Cohen. From "The Songs of Leonard Cohen" (1967). Definitely BK! Another song I learned with Kate back in the day. "I lit a thin green candle, to make you jealous of me". Kate busked with this on the streets of Ottawa (BR) and managed to raise 60cents.
8. 45 Years, Stan Rogers. From "Home in Halifax" (1993). A song about a young man imagining being together for 45 years. "I want to see your smiling face 45 years from now". It came true for us, not so for him. We saw Stan several times at the London Home County Folk Festival; there's a big hole in Canadian folk music when he died so young (1949-1983). We sang this, with Danny's help, at our anniversary.
9. Wilder Than Her, Fred Eaglesmith. From "Drive-in Movie" (1996). I sang this for Kate at our 25th Wedding Anniversary. Our No. 1 son Chris accompanied me on guitar. It got a lot of laughs. I think we might have done it again at this years annivesary.
10. B-Grade Affair, Audrey Auld. From "Losing Faith" (2003). This is a duet with Fred Eaglesmith. I think we first bumped into Audrey at one of Fred's picnic. It's another funny country song, one that again Kate and rehearsed for the party.
11. Marilyn and Joe, Kinky Friedman. From "Under the Double Ego" (1983). Another sappy little love song. The theme song for our 20th anniversary. I've been singing this acapella for years. We got to see Kinky a couple of times (1944-2024) and have even had him sing this for us on the Outlaw Country Cruise (2018).
12. I Couldn't Be Me Without You, Edie Brickell. From "Live Forever: A Tribute to Billy Joe Shaver" (2022). I like this version, learned it, and sang it to Kate at our anniversary. We saw Billy Joe Shaver (1939-2020) only a few times over the years; but he was a really important writer of Americana. See my blog of November 2020 on his passing.
13. A Rainy Night In Soho, The Pogues. This came out around the time of  "Rum, Sodomy and the Lash" (1985) but I recall it on an EP. The Pogues were a great band. Wild, drunken but such great tunes. This is a great love song tinged with regret. "I've been loving you a long time".
14. Yes I Guess They Oughta Name A Drink After You, Tyler Childers. From "Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs Of John Prine, Vol. 2" (2021). Another from the John Prine catalogue. A drunken bar tune, "I get drunk most every night, seems like all we do is fight". 
15. Bad Girls, Steve Earle & Reckless Kelly. A 2025 single. A bar room lament, "Where have all the bad girls gone?" Kate was a bit of wild one, still is. But you'll find us in bars listening to music in the afternoon. Our drunken ways are over.
16. That's The Way Love Goes, Hayes Carll & Allison Moorer. From a 2020 Single. Another love song. Classic country, originally by Lefty Frizzell. Hayes and Allison are a couple, she used to be married to Steve Earle.
17. You Get It All, Hayes Carll. From 2020 album of the same name. Another love song, a devotion to her — "I knew the night we met, you get it all". 
18. Another Like You, Hayes Carll. From "KMAGO YOYO (& other American Stories" (2011). This is a "Bad Girl" story, very ribald, very funny. No mush here, just drunken lust. "Let's get another round, It's lookin' like we're trouble bound. I have never seen another like you!". And I've never seen another like Kate.
19. Love Minus Zero/No Limit, Bob Dylan. From "Bringing It All Back Home" (1965). Kate and I are both Dylan fans. Last year there was a movie released, "A Complete Unknown" (2024). Great movie, lovely song. "My love she’s like some raven, At my window with a broken wing"
20. Song For The Life (Live), Jerry Jeff Walker. From "A Man Must Carry On: Vol One" (1977). Another BK, this was written by Rodney Crowell and his version closes with "There's a song for the friend I have found, you know she keeps my feet on the ground." She may be wilder than me, but she keeps my feet on the ground.

Looking this over I have to say that the above is the briefest of snapshots of our musical history. We are obviously big on Folk, Country and especially Americana. There are a ton of songs within those and other genres that we might have included. But again, for our history, check this blog and the many playlists on my YouTube channel.

Joe Ely

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Monday, it's all over Facebook, Joe Ely has passed away -- February 9, 1947 - December 15, 2025. 

From this blog April 12, 2013, many years ago, on seeing The Flatlanders at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto I wrote ...

"The photo is Joe Ely who is probably the more famous of the trio -- certainly the most prolific with an extensive catalogue of music to explore. While Butch Hancock is perhaps the most prolific writer of the three (they all write) and Jimmie Dale Gilmore has the signature voice I've come to appreciate even more the music that Joe Ely writes and performs. He sang a song I had not heard before, "Not That Much Has Changed" from his last album "Satisfied at Last" (2011), that brought me to tears. It's a sentimental story of returning to your home town where not that much has changed -- "the grass is a little drier, the trees are a little higher.... the drug store is still for sale, they still sell cotton by the bale." A simple story, with well worn lines but moving none the less. You could easily imagine a prodigal son returning to the small town of his child hood in the flat lands of the West Texas where nothing much has changed.. That's where it began -- West Texas and the fertile grounds of Lubbock where, by happy coincidence, a motley crew gathered in the early 1970's to found a new kind of country music."

Yet another sad passing. Not that much has changed...

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For more of our stories and memories search this blog; explore the Joe Ely Youtube Channel.