Sounds From The Superhighway 1

Volume 1

Consider the internet a virtual jukebox. It is stocked with sounds destined to keep patrons in the groove for extended periods of time. My uncle owned a pizzeria in Brooklyn, NY in the 70's. His jukebox played scintillating sounds that quite possibly started my journey down the music road. The first 45 RPM I could remember the "jukebox man" giving me was Chicago's "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" I still have the record to this day although I can't remember what "B" side. Still, it brought hours of joy and a "PlaySchool" 45 RPM record player.

Today, we have the internet. Instead of hitting a letter with a corresponding number button, we type in a website. No mechanical arms to grab the 45, slip it onto the spindle, and no arm to place itself onto the record with a stratching sound that reminds me of fingernail on a chalkboard. Just click, go the site, click on a tune, sit and listen.

Here is some of what I've discovered lately:

Reigning Sound - "Time Bomb High School" & "I Don't Believe" - At the time of these recordings, this was a four-piece band that has condensed into three pieces. Both of these tracks were taken from "Time Bomb High School," released in 2002. The band has since released a record this past April. Haven't heard anything from those, but these two gave my ears some pleasantries. Both tracks are powerful garage tunes that invoked the likes of Big Star, but yet melodic enough to remind me of early Springsteen. Throw some twinges of Steve Earle in his early days and you have the Reigning Sound.

Chuck Prophet - From his days with Green on Red to his current solo career, Chuck Prophet has progressed with every release. His most recent release, "Age of Miracles," shows a tremendous maturity. Prophet gets a bit political on "West Memphis Moon," a song about the infamous West Memphis Three who were convicted (some might say wrongly) of murder in 1993. This dark track shows Prophet continuing to evolve both musically and lyrically.

Mercy Creek - I discovered this band while scanning Paste Magazine. An ad towards the back of the magazine revealed a twosome consisting of one male (Jim Ball) and one female (Cynthia Nystrom). The duo refers to their music "aggressive folk." With three releases under their belts and a fourth one aproaching, Mercy Creek has cut their teeth and are ready to take their chunk of the pie. The band has several MP3's that can be downloaded from the website. All are highly charged folk pieces that match anything you might hear on commercial radio. Nystrom's vocals are scintillating, organic and breath of fresh air. Worth checking out.