Who likes Michael Hurley?

he is good in concert.

does anyone have "blue navigator"? i've been looking for it forever, but i've just about given up.

I have Blue Navigator on mp3, amt.

Any way you could send it to me???

:-)

I'm hoping to make it to the book mill show this time w/ Feathers and maybe whichever gig mr. bunnybrains is putting on if I can make it (damn those saturdays).

Oh, yes, and I certainly dig 'im as well, though he's a bit of a codger at times.

On Saturday, May 20 at 8:30 PM, some of the finest singer-songwriters
performing today will appear in concert at the historic, intimate
former church occupied by The Sanctuary For Independent Media, 3362
6th Avenue in Troy. Admission for the all-ages show featuring
Michael Hurley, Tara Jane O'Neil and Samara Lubelski is $10.

http://grown-so-ugly.blogspot.com/

lots more shows at D!MEaD0z3n right now. Amateurist, email me at sleeve (at) efn (dot) org if your'e still looking for stuff.

he just recently played his first show in Astoria since moving there a number of years back (after cancelling two previous gigs). My friend who went said it was great.

New album!! It's called Ancestral Swamp, on LP and CD. As usual there are a couple of his standard remakes but it is mostly new stuff, 5 covers, buncha blues tunes, subject matter is swamps and rivers and floods. I heard one track in a coffee shop today but haven't gotten my hands on teh LP yet.

I like it, but I haven't heard his earlier stuff yet so I don't know how it compares. Need to remedy that.

can't go wrong with Wolfways or Snockgrass or Have Moicy

New one's great. As I said on the "2007 Reissues" thread, I think it seem to be mastered more quietly and with less dynamic range than some of his older material--this makes it feel more gray and less bright than some of his older releases. Subdued is the word. But it actually fits pretty well, there aren't any tracks that really scream for an ebullient sound.

He's playing tomorrow in Astoria, an Upper Oregon Coast town about 4 hours from me. My girlfriend used to live there and we are totally road trippin it tomorrow for some live Snock action that I also plan on recording.

oh, he lives there so this is not that unusual, but it has been at least a year or two since he did a hometown gig.

Ggo go go, and let us know how it is!

If he is still selling his homemade 2CDR set with 'Land of Lo Fi & Redbirds' PICK ONE UP!

awesome!

yeah Stormy I have that one but I still need "Growlin' Bobo".

or did you want one?

no i have it but i meant to say that if you didn't you should get one cuz it's SO GOOD!

someone should burn that shit for me.

http://www.snockonews.net/images/Husbands.jpg

Armchair Boogie need a proper reissue

Dude can play a little too long live occasionally, but that's a pretty nit-picky complaint I guess

No. I agree. Hurley can be transcendent, but he can also ramble. One too many songs, in my opinion, creep into the five- and six-minute marks.

"time to pause for the cause" = smoke break.

There are usually 3 or 4 of these breaks in your average Hurley concert.

also I mentioned this on teh rolling vinyl thread but Warner are still being dicks about the 2 LPs on Raccoon, informal word from Mississippi was that they won't be allowed to reissue Armchair after all.

yeah, that's a fuckin bummer. do you know what the particular hang-up is? Blame Jesse Colin Young.

Blame his moustache!

Also: Michael Hurley can never play too long as long as you keep a steady-but-not-indulgent drinking pace.

Agreed. Plus, his pace reflects the life he lives. I've spent time in places like Bolinas in northern California. It's as if the entire town lives like one of his songs.

so last night at the store I saw that the new issue of the Wire has a piece on Michael, written by none other than Byron Coley.

Damn. I really wanna read it but I also don't wanna give 9 American bones to shitty ass Wire just for the privilege. Hm.

I got a good recording but it cut off at the best part about 70 minutes in. some great song about Alice the alcoholic, totally new to me. that's always how it is, yeah? tape cuts off right at the best part. anyway, some other dude also recorded the set. His should be up on Tr@der's D3n/3tree sometime soon. I will Leonardo my recording once I get it tracked out. MH played for about 80-90 minutes, unaccompanied. Some banjo, lotta guitar, some really nice mouth trumpet action. A couple of great songs I had never heard before, just like every time I see him.

The "Husbands, Love Your Wives" referred to in the flyer above was a young woman doing a solo set with guitar and voice. Very sweet and young and pretty capable of holding the room's interest. Her grandma lived in Astoria and MH said that she had Myspaced him (!!) and they decided to set up a show together. Her whole family was there!

Astoria was still pretty beat up from that big winter storm, two-foot diameter pine trees just snapped in half. lots more just torn up by the roots. lotta blue tarps on roofs.

I bought "Growlin' Bobo", and only have a few releases left to track down (Bellmeade Sessions, Down In Dublin, and the Excrusiasion '86 tape). Bobo is a smokin hot live set in Vermont, November 1980 (actually the best of two nights) featuring a four-piece backing band, four-part vocal harmonies, and Robin Remaily's fiddle playing. Excellent and worth your time.

I'm sitting here on my lunch break reading the Hurley piece in the Wire. Did you guys know he began sessions for an album on ESP but Stollman nixed it because of the mouth trumpet?! unbelievable.

ian have you ever read the Popwatch interview with him from a few years back?

Nooooo, I am gonna have to go dig it up!

yeah, i read that wire thing on monday and was amused by the esp thing...and surprised. what got into stollman there? i was also surprised on byrons very straight approach. there was some line about halfway through that suddenly reminded me that it was byron writing...

ill look for the popwatch bit. i was wondering on mon night if there was much else written about him

also still annoyed that everyone forgot to call me when he did the random "show" at d4ddy's (here in brooklyn) a few summers back because everyone assumed someone else had called me...or simply assumed id be around at some point anyway...

it was Popwatch #9, but Perfect Sound Forever re-ran it:

http://www.furious.com/PERFECT/michaelhurley.html

Michael Hurley's virtual jukebox:

http://www.snockonews.net/listen.htm

smokey the bear standin there
in front of the woods all black & bare
tears in his eyes.

has anyone purchased the OOP LPs on CDR from Hurley's web site? if so, what do you get? just a cd-r, or packaging/artwork/etc.?

amtst, which one(s) are you looking for? If they're ones I have, I will tape them for you for free.
you can e-mail me if you do not want to discuss it here--dr.carl.sagan at gmail dot com

I remember Michael from my youth--I actually ended up working at the same restaurant as his ex-wife when I was in high school. He lived in Vermont for awhile, back when the Modals were kicking around up there, playing there snockgrass and drinking their hard cider. My mom always talked about how she was down with the scene (they even had a nickname for her). I went to see him play in Brooklyn a few years back, with that band Ida for some reason, and approached him after the show, and mentioned my mom. "Oh, I remember her," he said. Before walking away abruptly. AWKWARD!

yeah he really doesn't seem too interested in talking to fans, which is fine for an old coot like himself. I'm sure he does whatever he damn well pleases at this point.

amateurist, the CDRs are on regular burned discs with his scrawled titles on them, but they do come with one-color mockups of the original covers. my copy of Growlin' Bobo is 4-color, but the ones of Blue Navigator and LoFi/Redbirds are blue and yellow-green respectively. Blue Navigator is burned from vinyl, natch.

hmm. i actually already own most of 'em, but i just thought i'd give my money to ol' snocko hisself. however i'm not too keen on paying top dollar for a CD-R in an envelope.

when i say "own" most of 'em, i suppose i mean, "i got 'em on mp3s"

oh and i guess the ones i don't have in any form (but want) are:

- Snockgrass
- Watertower
- Growlin' Bo Bo
- Woodbill Brothers
- Wolfways
- Parsnip Snips

of those, i only have watertower but i'll happily tape it for you if you want. or you could send money to the man; but i don't know what his cdr packaging is like. at least, however, if you order from him you can also see what new comics he has for sale!
send me an e-mail.

I have mistakenly given a bad impression of the CDRs. They come in jewel cases, with a front page (this is the "one-sheet" I referred to, but they also have J-cards for teh back cover, same color. They are pretty good for homemade CDR copies.

Also, you NEED Wolfways, it's my favorite.

And I also mistakenly referred to Growlin' Bobo as a 4-color, I meant Woodbill Bros (which is live with a full band in Vermont).

isn't snockgrass out on CD officially now? or is that out of print too? i know the price of the LP has been insane the last few times on the bay, but i keep on lookin.

and amtst, did you grab his last record, ancestral swamp? i think it's grand.

hmmm, Snockgrass was on CD via Rounder (with two must-have bonus tracks), but I dunno if it's still in print.

fucking bonus tracks.
fucking CDs.

huh?

no, i haven't picked up his newest, but it sounds very good indeed, and i will do so.

MICHAEL HURLEY'S PLAYING AT MY HOUSE
MY HOUSE

AND THE NEIGHBORS CAN'T
CALL THE POLICE

On Saturday, May 9th, Le Sous-Sol presents the esteemed Michael Hurley,
one of America's great musical treasures. Starting with his first release
on the Folkways label in 1965, Hurley has steadily amassed a large,
varied, and impressive body of work on numerous records and CDs. His
classic 1970 LP Armchair Boogie was recently reissued by Portland's
Mississippi Records. We are excited to be able to bring him to Eugene for
the first time in several years.

Michael will be playing with Portland musician Alexa Wiley. The show is
at 7 PM, all ages, suggested donation $10-12.

Le Sous-Sol is located at 375 River Road in Eugene. Parking is available
until 11 PM at the lot at the end of Fir Lane next to the VRC footbridge,
although biking is encouraged. More info: 541-xxx-xxxx or sx✧✧✧@x✧✧.x✧✧

Hurley on the web:
http://www.snockonews.net/
http://www.myspace.com/snock07

Alexa Wiley:
http://www.myspace.com/awileyp

Snock set at Holocene was soooo on last night

should i buy a copy of the first LP for $275? I can trade some OOP RARE kraut LPs for it, but... fuck. and it's rent in a few days too e_e

not like, trade for it anyway--trade TOWARDS it.

my vote is no, but I was never as big a fan of that 1st one except for "Blue Mountain". And seeing as how Locust never put it on vinyl, it's your only option.

Armchair Boogie >> the first one. The first album is great, but somebody is bound to reissue that again (and hopefully on vinyl this time) soon. $275.00 is a lot of groceries and beer, dude.

yeah, i think i'm gonna have to pass this one up :(
i do love it though. was listening to the CD again this morning--tea song, fat mama, captain kidd, down at the pool hall, no no no i won't go down no more...

Hurley signed my Armchair Boogie with a green pen a few years ago.

"This album is hard to find these days," he said.

"I know."

I'm really glad he sells those CD-rs.

When he was in Knoxville he stayed with the guy from John Wilkes Booze and some other woman in this, like, power bohemian co-op house and smoked a lot of weed.

Blue Navigator is good!

Michael was interviewed on this week's American Routes. fun interview, listen here:

http://americanroutes.publicradio.org/player/playlist/23078

oh man awesome, thanks for the link. i'm heading out the door but gonna leave this on the screen to dig when i get home. thanks! p.s. was listening to hi-fi snock uptown while eating/cooking dinner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWAOJr5PcAI

Change your drawers!
Hey for what reason?
Them drawers... is out of season...

So I'm making a tape with LONG JOURNEY on one side and SNOCKGRASS on the other.
Armchair Boogie and Watertower also been in heavy rotation. and HAVE MOICY!
This music is like the most comfortable shirt in your wardrobe. Love it.

try Wolfways next! Hi Fi Snock is also excellent.

I listened to Woodbill Brothers yesterday cause I haven't given it the attention it deserves and it was very enjoyable.

I've got Hi-Fi Snock. I was getting ready to write a check for some cdr's when I hit a rough patch of luck.
My car got booted and that pretty much drained my Snock fund. Next time I've got fity bucks to spare, though, I'm mailing it to him.
Was planning on picking up Blue Navigator, Woodbill Brothers, and one other. I guess Wolfways is it!

sucks that the records are only on cd-r, even if they are direct from snock.
mississippi just put out PARSNIP SNIPS, so maybe they or someone else will put out some records soon.
slurf song and hog of the forsaken have been in heavy rotation while i've been walking. makes me want to make spaghetti, and a bowl of beans.

Been jamming Parsnip Snips, loving it.

I like that it's a grab bag format spanning many years, wish he'd do another one like that.

well god damn if the new Snock Con Ida isn't his best to my ears since Weatherhole. Doesn't have the sad, subdued vibe of Ancestral Swamp at all. Instead it is silly, playful, and even bouncy in spots. I gave it a spin last night and had to immediately stop and put "Ragg Mopp" on again, that is some straight up genius there.

also, it is a Hurley album in all but name - he sings every track and I think wrote every song on it as well, there are no credits.

a few of the tracks are covers, but yeah, it's pretty much a straight hurley record.

and it's great.

r-a-g-g m-o-p-p ragg mopp

we used to sing that song in music class when I was in like first grade.

"Rag Mop" by the Ames Brothers was the last single release to hit #1 on the popular charts (Billboard) that was released only on "78" speed at the time of its popularity. After this point in popular music history, every song to hit #1 was released on a 45 rpm record.

http://www.dustygroove.com/item.php?id=ncns7g4cq9&ref=browse.php&refQ=label%3D133316%26amp%3Bincl_oos%3D1%26amp%3Bincl_cs%3D1%26amp%3Bformat%3Dall

^^ good EP.

When I was a puppy dog...

This music is like the most comfortable shirt in your wardrobe. Love it.
― Trip Maker, Tuesday, 6 October 2009 00:06 (9 months ago)

this

also-- what's this "blue mountain" vinyl scheduled for release soon? a new album? old material?

No idea about the vinyl, but I listened to Hi Fi Snock AND Snockgrass on a long drive today and it was perfect.

I got Blue Hills in the mail today. It's new recordings (2007-10 iirc) Side A features Snock on piano and electric organ, B side on guitar. Three long-ish tracks on each side. I think it's great.

And a new version of tea song, which is great, cuz I don't have that first record.

!!! what label!?!?

Mississippi again. Great record.

oh man my store better have that in tomorrow

saw it last friday. didn't pick it up due to no money.

still dragging my heels on abner jay 2 for the same reason

abner ii is rad; a lot of full on messy group sounding stuff, like the version of depression that came out as a 7" (koko) - lord randall sounds like nothing else he's done. can't wait for blue hills; the ida record's still going round and round.

yeah, psyched on the abner 2 band stuff, new version of "im so depressed" so sweet

schlump, are you back in the UK?

did pick up abner j 2, but not the m hurley. timing is everything. like the abner j, but miss the chatting between tracks.

xp
sure am: otherwise i'd come and patronize academy and pick up the new MSR things; being here means it takes a couple of weeks. i'm pretty jazzed about all the bienalle recs. the blurb for the hurley record makes it sound pretty special.

just got the new one. am enjoying it.

oddly the LP album art reminds me of CD art.

wish mississippi would always use heavy-duty folkways-style sleeves.

you'd better stop that drinkin
whiskey willy

My digniteeee would be besmirched
if ya hit me in the face
with a poooiiiiiieeeee

i drive a lousy rusty car
and in that rig i can't get far
i can't keep it under control
i about lost
the steerin pole
i'm a wild child
i aint so mild
im reconciled
to the bluuuues

and down the street come two twin girls
their necks all wrapped in diamonds and pearls
and one stand on the left
the other stand
on the right

some savage has lifted all of the Hurley lps from the community radio station.
Seeing red, tbh. Good thing I made dubs of the ones I don't own.

hope it was just a borrow!

jerks!!!

btw my wish should not be construed as approval of radio station library borrowing

our radio station doesn't even have a library :(

kinda related - peter stampfel is playing glasgow tomorrow night... w jeffrey brown, who i don't really know but kinda mistrust cos a few lame ppl i know, comic fans mostly, seem to think he's hot stuff... so i dunno, i mean those first few holy modal albs are genius, love have moicy etc - anybody else seen this combo?

Was worried about that too, so skipped the London shows.

some friends saw the show a few days back, i heard peter stampfel was great. supporting jeffrey lewis though, right? i guess but for their chosen mediums there is not much between them. i think jeffrey lewis's set was a lot of talk about stampfel & the rounders & all.

tried to repost ian's SMOKEY THE BEAR/eyes lyric i remember popping up here ages ago but couldn't find it.

lol yeah sorry, jeffrey lewis (they both draw comics tho, rite?)

oh i see the dishes over there, they fill me with despair

Finally checked out Armchair Boogie and Snockgrass after only having Ancestral Swamp...glad to hear the older stuff is less slow-Oldhamy

"The Tea Song" made me sob and sob the first time I listened to it on the Mississippi reissue of First Songs that a buddy of mine picked up for me.

have you heard the blue hills version? it's even sweeter, such a highlight. (did MSR do first songs, btw? i thought it was folkways or someone).

framing hurlz in the context of oldham seems sorta gauche to me but perhaps this will unravel upon further listening

Well, he lives in Portland, and he said he went to the store the day that they became available. It looks like a MR job, real heavy duty jacket with pasted on covers.
There's no label on it anywhere, I think.
Truthfully, I'm a little confused over the various iterations of the early stuff.
There's a Folkways version, Smithsonian Folkways reissue, there's Blueberry Wine...
So Blue Hills looks like its a newer recording, then, right? I've only heard it on First Songs.
But I did just pick up Ancestral Swamp at my public library and I'm digging it.

use your left hand / feels like someone else

Catalog #: MR 094LP
"A full LP of never before released Hurley recordings from 1972-73! Great early versions of classic Hurley songs such as 'Automatic Slim & the Fatboys,' 'Drivin' Wheel,' 'Ghost woman Blues,' 'Watchin' the Show,' and 'The Portland Water' that come off for the most part better than later releases of these songs. Hurley is backed up by The Fatboys - not the rotund hip hop crew from the film Disorderlies, but rather a bunch of not so fat nice guys in Vermont who played mostly for the local dairy farmers. (Later they were known as Sheriff Mocus & the Deranged Cowboys) A laid back countryish album sure to please the hardcore Hurley fan and casual listener too. Deep and breezy. Cover painting by Michael. A co-release with our friends label in San Francisco - Secret Seven."

that sounds like just the thing. will buy

there's a stack of new mississippis that i read about + am just all oh i guess there's where my money's going.

i don't play parsnip snips all that much, & this sounds kinda similar, but sure it sounds nice. i like him playing with other groups.

oh I think this will be better than Parsnips, this is fabulous news.

lookin forward to this

also does snock tour much anymore? i saw him 2x in chicago years ago but he hasn't come to the midwest for a long while i think

played some shows in the northeast a few months ago i believe, i was trying to find some radio stuff i heard he did without any luck. yeah i think he's still around, though maybe not doing whole rambling circuits.

he is playing at the Laurelhurst pub in Portland every wednesday in August, fyi. but I don't think he goes as far to play shows anymore.

yeah, tons, tons of portland shows. dude was def out east recently though

...I'll just go away, and I won't no where I'm going...

I ordered that new album, excited.

some brief thoughts on Fatboy Spring...

contrary to Mississippi hype, I do not find the versions of the 5 songs previously released in diff versions to be superior. Nice enough though. The real draw here is the 4 "new" tracks, including Hank Williams' "Move It On Over". Very minimal liner notes make it difficult to figure out when (and with which band, they mention two) the tunes were recorded. Thought it was live, but nope! Studio versions.

I ain't sad
I ain't mad
but I'm feelin' kinda bad
since I moved to the county
where I live
it's somewhere between
a piece of firewood
and a food stamp
and an ol'
ten dollar gig (ten dollar gig)
comin' up (comin' up)
at the
end of the week

any thoughts on "Back Home With Drifting Woods"?

I finally tracked down Bellemeade Sessions and Down In Dublin, now all I need is the Excrusiasion '86 cassette (LOL). If any of y'all can hang w/CDs I got them from CDbaby.

Bellemeade Sessions is awesome, killer version of "Girl On The Billboard", instrumentals, and the aforementioned "$10.00 Gig" along with great drawings and anecdotes.

bump 4 the work week

oh i see the dishes over there, they fill me with despair
― sonderangerbot, Monday, June 13, 2011 6:07 AM (1 year ago)

Greatest line from one of my favourite songs ever.

I was singing that line to my wife last night! We sing it on a regular basis.

he played it last time i saw it & sung a bunch of new (/diff) verses. it is a beaut.

Sleeve: "Dishes over the-ere..."
Mrs. Sleeve: "Fill me with despai-air..."

so good

Forgot to post this hype here for those who might be interested... in the new issue of Arthur (now costs $5, new broadsheet format):

"ON THE TRAIL OF THE LONESOME SNOCK: Wily folkplayer MICHAEL HURLEY (aka Elwood Snock) has charmed hip audiences for over fifty years now with his timeless surrealist tunes and sweetly weird comics, all the while maintaining a certain ornery, outsider mystique. Longtime Snockhead/Arthur Senior Writer BYRON COLEY investigates this Wild American treasure in an enormous 11,000-word, 8-PAGE feature replete with rare photos, artwork, comics... and a giant color portrait by Liz Devine. Snock attack!"

arthur feature on hurley is amazing. funny that he nixed both the doc about him and the tribute album. guess he's not quite as laid back as his on-record persona suggests.

haven't read but I can totally get behind avoiding an artist doc in today's oversaturated Awesome Lost Musician Rediscovered climate

I found Hi Fi Snock Uptown at a goodwill in Oklahoma, and I've been playing it daly now for the past week. I'm in love with this record! Are the rest of his albums low key/late night cowboy music?

the next one you NEED is Armchair Boogie, but he's one of my absolute faves... buy anything you see, imo.

The OP in this thread makes me really wanna go back to 2003 and go to that show.

yeah Jacob they are all good to great (xxp)

arthur feature on hurley is amazing. funny that he nixed both the doc about him and the tribute album. guess he's not quite as laid back as his on-record persona suggests.

― tylerw, Friday, August 30, 2013 2:44 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

wait what? is that why that documentary never happened?

TBF i'm totally sick of "obscure musician documentaries" and could do with a moritorium on them for the next 25 years

to anyone following his career and music it's obvious that hurley is pretty willful and wily and not just kind of folksy naïf wandering around pacific NW in a cloud of pot smoke. which is as it should be

hope he's made good money off of all the covers of "werewolf"

From the article (by Byron Coley):

... It was around 2007 as well that Lisa Foti-Straus' ill-fated documentary, Elwood Snock & the Land of Lo-Fi, was in the works. Much footage was shot, many folks were interviewed, and Lisa had just about a final cut of the thing. Hurley didn't like the way it came out, though, so he nixed its release. Too bad. I thought it was pretty cool. There's even some boss animation of Boone & Jocko. But Hurley is picky about this stuff. “Yeah, I told them to go back to the drawing board,” he says. I mention that he did the same thing with the Snockument compilation that was being assembled by Non Sequitor in the early '90s. He objected to the versions of songs that Jad Fair and Loren Connors had recorded. ...

so good

― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Wednesday, July 17, 2013 2:20 PM (1 month ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

my partner ordered that issue of arthur weeks ago and it hasn't showed up, do you hear me arthur folks??

wait that documentary was in the works in 2007? i think I only happened across their website a few years ago, i wonder if it already was defunct by then. the website still promised the film was "forthcoming" and even had a way to "sponsor a song" (i.e. contribute to the project).

loren connors doing michael hurley is a really weird proposition

(Flesh - Yeah we got overwhelmed with orders but are almost caught up.)

whoa, you answered my internet call. nicely done. will look for it in the mail.

(Flesh - I'm here often!)

HURLEY, MICHAEL
Title: Land of Lo-Fi
Label: MISSISSIPPI RECORDS
Format: LP
Price: $13.00
Catalog #: MRP 052LP
"You could be sitting there wondering why Mississippi releases such a huge amount of records by Michael Hurley (this is our eighth). To put it as mildly as we can - Hurley is by and large one of the greatest song writers of all time and we consider it an important part of our mission to get the world aware of his awesome talent. Here we have Hurley's latest batch of home recordings and believe me when I say they are some of his best songs ever. It's unusual for a man 50 years into his recording career to come up with some of his greatest songs yet, but here 'tis. Hurley plays heart breakers solo with guitar and/or organ accompaniment, along with three tracks where he is joined by the beautiful voice of Jolie Holland. Some incredible new songs such as the eerie 'Alligator in the Water,' the poignant and all too true 'Disaster at the Wheel,' the utterly cosmic 'Corridor,' the near avant garde 'Doin' the Opossum,' the stone cold intense 'You Got to Die' and on and on. True geniuses are hard to come by, so wake on up and give this record a long hard listen. If it doesn't move you, then I don't know what will."

i want

yeah. jolieee, too.
i really like the first side of the last new record he made & then the second i kinda like but mainly just cause the electric piano sounds so nice. ian you are at the front lines of this hurley dispatch, report back when you hear it.

I Still need a real copy of Blue Hills. And this new one, now, too.

was looking for this in my store yesterday, not there yet.

anyone have a link where I can order that one? is it on forced exposure?

ok, found it, nevermind!

i kinda wanted one of the black friday RSD things this year --
michael hurley 78rpm covering E.C. Ball's "Early Bird Always Gets The Worm."

― ian, Tuesday, 3 December 2013 02:01 (1 hour ago) Permalink

oh, i guess that cover is not on the 78... just on the new tribute comp.
still want the 78.

― ian, Tuesday, 3 December 2013 02:02 (1 hour ago)

FE has these, not sure if they are still in stock

my copy of Land Of Lofi has a pressing flaw on the first side, I need to return it :( the dreaded "rhythmic swish".

been listening to Long Journey a bunch. "In The Garden" is unnnnnnbelievable.

Are his new records that campfire cowboy folk like some of his older ones?

yep, there is not a whole lot of stylistic variation which is a plus imo

unless you mean First Songs - this sounds more like Armchair Journey and Hi Fi Snock Uptown.

I need all his records.

everyone needs all his records...!

i don't even have that many, but it makes me happy that there are so many more left for me to hear...

and they're all good to great!

I mean, I finally tracked down Bellmeade Sessions this past summer after looking for years (it was on CD Baby, duh!) and there were several unheard-by-me tracks on it that just totally blew my mind, and I have been listening to the dude for a while.

how come 10 years passed and no one mentioned this relatively famous masterpiece:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFQcALI_EPE

plenty of Armchair Boogie love on this thread

I am going to see him on Friday!!!

sweedeedee might be my fave hurley song

is he touring around the USA or just playing around the pacific NW?

i don't even have that many, but it makes me happy that there are so many more left for me to hear...

This is one of those discographies that I'm happy to take my time with.

xp

he's just doing one of his regular Portland gigs

Land of Lo Fi came today, and the MR reish of Hi Fi cuz I needed it too.
Blue Hills was in the online catalog, too, but was discovered to be out of stock.
shoot.

some old news, and a new free download of his anti-Monsanto compilation

http://www.snockonews.net/

http://www.coastweekend.com/cw/music/20150730/five-minutes-with-michael-hurley

What are you working on now?

I’m working on three albums at the same time. One is we are releasing a tape from 1976. Another is my new Mississippi Records release, which is a current events kind of thing. And then I’m going to do what you call a vanity publishing — put out my own CD. It’s on my own label, you might say, but I really don’t have a label. Mostly I will handle the distribution myself, but if it starts to sell rapidly I might hook up with a distributor. It’s my own merch table project.

wonder if that '76 tape is the live 'Redbirds' prev. released as cassette/CDR

Yeah that Redbirds tape (if I'm thinking of the right one) is probably my fave Hurley thing ever

I haven't seen the redbirds cdr, but there's a full version of that 1976 folk city show floating around with more tracks than what discogs lists on the cassette. Hopefully that's what they're preparing for release.

yeah the CDR is the same as the cassette, just part of that great great show

oh ok, i'm thinking of a different show (though the folk city gig is amazing too!). think it's the same era, though -- with "oh carol," "i can't help it if I'm still in love w/ you" etc...
some live stuff here: http://www.ousterhout.net/mp3/mhurley.html

whoah that link has some shows I don't have, thanks

flac too if that's what you're into: http://www.ousterhout.net/lossless/mhurley.html

fuck yeah

nice video footage & a cover of "Pastures Of Plenty"!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnxQ1uh354Q

and another one... there's also some videos from PDX

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6-mLGuOvEY

for any interested people in nz: free michael hurley performance in aotea square this month! also playing queenstown & port chalmers!

http://www.undertheradar.co.nz/news/10631/Michael-Hurley-To-Perform-Three-New-Zealand-Shows-Next-Week.utr

^^^o man, that was magic! getting to see hurley play live (to use a cliche) was a dream come true... amazing!

long set but he really was mesmerising. short opening set from david kilgour was like icing on the cake!

I'll actually be in town for the Aotea Square show, which should be great (the Chills were surprisingly suited to a balmy afternoon). Wish I could have made it to the Chicks show with it closing soon ... last time I was there was Lines of Flight yeeears ago.

l.o.f. is always a good time! last night's crowd was like playing spot the flying nun recording artist. & yeah, chicks closing is a major bummer :-/

limited edition cassette "tour release" from AUS/NZ:

https://www.discogs.com/Michael-Hurley-Australia-New-Zealand-2016/release/8615401

anybody know anything about the Korean reissues of Blue Navigator? With obi strips, supposedly remastered. I have an mint OG Blue Navigator LP so no real need for a reissue. Are these CDs legit?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Michael-Hurley-Blue-Navigator-MINI-LP-CD-NEW-SEALED-/322148911938?hash=item4b01924b42:m:mNJjwLLCPdXsG1n-gPFeH_A

i was told by michael hurley that they are /not/ legit

lame!
sleeve, i will buy your mint OG Blue Navigator LP for $25 thank u

i think you mean, "sad!"

xxp thanks, I assumed as much.

the two Future Days CD reissues (Armchair Boogie and Hi Fi Snock Uptown) are remastered for real and sound very very good, fwiw

yeah, the recent vinyl and CD reissues sound better than the mississippi records reissues which (while officially approved of by hurley, at least) were probably needledrops.

btw what is future days? it's just an imprint of light in the attic? the copyright info on those CD reissues is confusing... they say manufactured by warner bros special products/rhino records, copyright warners/raccoon, but released by light in the attic. but then they have the "future days" logo and catalogue number.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

i just saw this dude in louisville btw.

limited edition cassette "tour release" from AUS/NZ

^would buy. was talking to a guy after the show i saw & apparently at the kurt vile show the night before there'd been a jam involving hurley & alastair galbraith o_O

also new lp on the way... release date has been moved forward a couple of times since i first heard about it.

needledrops: reminds me, I've read that Hurley used to mail out his own homemade needledrop cassettes, made w dirty needles--- at least, this was reportedly allegedly the experience of a writer's friend (uh-huh), who responded to the offer on the back of a Hurley LP, think it was, according to The Spin Guide To Alternative Rock, published in the mid-90s.

Caveat, 90s fans!

well, i once sent him a check for some LPs and never got it. i emailed him about it, he apologized, but i still never got anything. i figure the enjoyment i've gotten out of his records over the years is worse losing $40.

needledrops: reminds me, I've read that Hurley used to mail out his own homemade needledrop cassettes, made w dirty needles-

I have a few of these and don't remember them sounding any worse than any other nth generation dub, but it's been years and years since I've listened to them. For a while it was the cheapest version of Armchair Boogie available and the LP seemed to get even more scarce after Cat Power covered a few of his songs back in the day.

I love these reissue-crazy times!

I have an extra ticket at union pool right now! Just in case anyone needs it

so is hi fi snock uptown like weird kkk level racist? i'm thinking "old black crow" and "the twilight zone".

uh... no?

"twilight zone" is monster-ist i guess...?

maybe the line in "trinidad" about squeezing a monkey man but that is a huge stretch.

never got that vibe

p sure "Old Black Crow" is about a bird.

Saw him at Big Ears this year, Hurley's totally delightful.

p sure "Old Black Crow" is about a bird.

Saw him at Big Ears this year, Hurley's totally delightful.

don't wanna get anyone's hopes up too much but I had to share this exchange that I had with the new Rounder Records prez, who is an acquaintance of mine w/many mutual friends (same scene, different years)

sleeve: sooo... apparently the sessions for the Unholy Modal Rounders/Michael Hurley/Clamtones all time classic "Have Moicy" album on Rounder (1976) included 19 songs, and the official release has 12... sure would be nice to have an expanded reissue! just sayin'

prez: I can make this a priority. We're on the same page bro.

was wondering what to listen to this morning. thread comes to rescue.

<3

feel so lucky to have seen him three times now.

omg

I made a 5-disc collection of unreleased live tracks, mostly covers with a few Hurley gems in there. Spanning 40 years (and 40 shows, by chance):

http://shardsofbeauty.blogspot.com/2018/06/michael-hurley-40-years.html

1st disc is the cream of the crop, then the next four discs cover the 40 years chronologically.

this really is the best — thank you for putting it together.

thanks for boosting the signal!

Awesome thanks so much for putting this together

will be listening! amazing effort.

semi-recent interview, nice and long:

https://www.cyclicdefrost.com/2018/04/michael-hurley-its-just-a-compulsion-it-wont-go-away-interview-by-erica-dunn/

he was just incredible last night, first time he's come back to Eugene in almost ten years (the last time was when he played at our house). I counted eight songs I was unfamiliar with/had never heard, out of a 90-minute set.

at this point he's the best living American singer/songwriter as far as I'm concerned.

wow....going to see him in Portland in 2 weeks

where? Laurelthurst?

https://hollywoodtheatre.org/events/lonnie-holley-toody-cole-ural-thomas-michael-hurley-and-more/

whoa that looks amazing

pretty excited, a friend of mine is playing with Lonnie.

yessssss

https://michaelhurley.bandcamp.com/album/the-time-of-the-foxgloves

July is when the foxgloves bloom in Astoria, Oregon. July is also Michael Hurley’s favorite month, whether it finds him at home in Astoria or somewhere else. He’s often somewhere else, but last summer he was home, as reasonable people were, which is where and when The Time of the Foxgloves began.

The Rope Room studio, in the Fort George brewery complex, was the place. After several sessions transferring home recordings Michael had made over the past few years on his stalwart TEAC A-3340S four-track tape machine, friends and colleagues—some local, some further flung—sang, played, and engineered what is the most varied, hi-fi Snock album heard in a while; arguably since 1988’s Watertower. Four different banjos are played by four different banjoists; there’s a battery of harmony singers (Kati Clayborn, Lindsay Clark, Josephine Foster, Betsy Nichols); upright bass, baritone ukulele, and bass clarinet address the lower ends. Beloved songs from albums past—“Lush Green Trees” (from Watertower); “Love Is the Closest Thing” (as “Time Is Right” on 1995’s Parsnip Snips)—are reassembled with some new elements (e.g., xylophone) but, lacking none of their original wonder or impact, the new versions impart an uncanny sense of continuity, as though they’ve been slowly but unceasingly evolving in the interim. (This phenomenon is a central quality of Michael Hurley performances on both records and stages). “Se Fue En La Noche” will be familiar to anyone who’s seen a Snock show over the last half-dozen years—“better put your shoesies on before you die of the cold” being among Michael’s more unforgettable adjurations—but surprisingly this is its first appearance on record. The old reliable Wurlitzer A200, instantly identifiable to all fans of Bellemeade Phonics productions, leads the way on “Blondes and Redheads,” where it’s accompanied by a nylon-stringed slide guitar. One of the banjos—this one played by Snock—is joined on “Knocko the Monk” by a sighing pump organ, making a prototypical Hurley instrumental into something disorientingly but satisfyingly wistful. Twin fiddles fiddle on opener “Are You Here For the Festival?”, this listener’s favorite recent song of Michael's since “The Corridor" (c. 2010).

“Are You Here...” came to Hurley this past June. He was out in the yard, cutting back wild blackberry. It was his second June running without a trip to Ohio for the Nelsonville Festival; it was called off this year too. Home in July to witness the foxgloves bloom again, he saw them torched come August by the extreme heat that assaulted the Pacific Northwest. But time and Snock soldier on undaunted. He’ll turn 80 in December, just after this record’s release. The Time of the Foxgloves is now.

–Nathan Salsburg, October 2021
credits

Time Of The Foxgloves is out today, at least the vinyl showed up in my mailbox. Sounds great.

I'm excited about it!

Also I've trying to research how to inquire about purchasing any of his artwork and cannot seem to get anywhere with that...

tolerable writeup in The Guardian, glad to see him getting recognition

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/dec/13/folk-singer-michael-hurley-interview

i adore hurley but it's really tied up with a past relationship that still hurts

Mine is delayed, but excited to get it next week.

Fucking lol at the "weird kkk level racist" shit. Never change ILM!

cool username, jackmyfruit

new record is fantastic — there are times when his vocals are gruff (even for Hurley), but by the end, he's crooning beautifully. long live snock!

I really love the instrumental that opens side b, "Knocko The Monk" I think?

First listen: distinctive, and sometimes subtle, turns in all these, as written, played: his Wurlitzer piano emphasizing the colors of "Blondes and Redheads," also digging the bass clarinet x half-circle of other voices around his (didn't really notice the wear that much, not after those 100 songs of Peter Stampfel's 20th Century, which I was amazedballed by over on the Holy Modal Rounders thread).

Ian and me in chat:

floyd's head
Steve…, Mississippi is reissuing sweet korn on LP, but without two of the best cuts wtf
No Barbara Allen?? Negatory romance??

floyd's head
Please have a word with someone about this

You sent
I SAW THAT

You sent
an absolute outrage

You sent
I blame Hurley himself tbh

You sent
he always does shit like that, see also Wolfways

floyd's head
Inappropriate

floyd's head
I’m still gonna fucking buy it tho 😕

You sent
lol same

You sent
gotta have the unreleased track

https://michaelhurley.bandcamp.com/album/sweetkorn

Seen him 3-4 times already this year in Portland, once opening for Will Oldham in a midsize theater, once in a little cider bar releasing this album ^^, and two more times at a bar he plays regularly. Always enjoying him.

last time I saw him (2019? pre-pandemic, also saw a pandemic zoom kitchen show) he was incredible, he's at some kind of peak

With an incredibly heavy heart the Hurley family and his close friends are sad to announce that Michael Hurley passed away on April 1st. Despite not feeling well Michael had just completed a brief tour that culminated in two appearances at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN. Very sad times.

Aw man, I saw him at one of those, he was in good spirits

RIP

I feel like it's appropriate that he died on April lst

RIP to the real GOAT

rip :'(

I just saw Will Oldham's What's in My Bag this morning, he chose two Hurley records, v sad.

I feel like it's appropriate that he died on April lst

Absolutely.

Look at this beautiful man --

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLVv9Xx13ro

A "past year" YouTube search yields so much great stuff!

Oh shit, wow. Glad he was well enough to do Big Ears. I saw him a few times in Portland over the past few years: he'd play small bars, farmers' markets, whatever.

Where was this posted? Not seeing it yet on his official Instagram.

via Byron Coley on bluesky

:(

RIP to a real one.

such a drag. but it's hard to stay sad listening to sleeve's incredible comp — LONG LIVE SNOCK.

hurley doing that george jones song "old old house," fucking devastating

<3 tyler

part of why I made that comp was because there are just so many incredible songs (incl. originals) that never made it onto a record.

I saw him do a totally mindblowing show right before the pandemic in late 2019, like half the set was stuff I had never heard before. I got to give him a set of the five CDRs! I am currently bugging my contacts for a tape of that show, as I know it was in fact recorded.

rip to one of the best. so glad i got to see him when he played out here must be around a decade ago now!

regarding my comp, "In A Dress" is the one that always slays me, esp cause I was actually at that show

I heard a little more about his final days but not sure if I’m allowed to share.

Some charming voicemails with songs and greetings.

damn I don't do IG. YSI?

I don't have any way to download it or anything, but I think it's possible to view/hear without logging in (but understand if you don't want to do that - maybe she'll add them to YouTube or something).

oh I see, thanks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLOzSfsWEn4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=letOfJmWb2k

From the Guardian's obituary:

Mike Quinn, founder of No Quarter Records, said that Hurley had “just finished a new album. It was mastered the week before he died, and he was very proud of it (as he should be… it’s outstanding). Hopeful it will see the light of day soon.”

Thanks for these posts yall! The music keeps coming.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh6GOGbLnU8

just seen this. RIP to a great. loved seeing him play. some great great songs in his book.

re-listened to the Ida Con Snock album today, really great one with my fave versions of "Wildegeeses" and "Hog Of The Forsaken"

dumb question because I think I know the answer: are the Feeding Tube live records worth it? Redbirds at Folk City and Living Lujbuanja(sp)

yep they're great! (n.b. I am biased)

yeah i love both of 'em. there should be more live snock releases!

there's also this one, but digital only:
https://www.discogs.com/release/18600946-Michael-Hurley-Live-Ateliers-Claus

and the Growlin'Bobo release which was originally tape and then CDr:
https://www.discogs.com/master/633398-Michael-Hurley-Growlin-Bobo

ah, don't think I've heard the ateliers one, thanks! someone should put the growlin bobo thing on LP, it's killer.

thanks. growlin bobo is so great--i really want it on vinyl for the music but having the cover art be the tape cover would be amazing.

also this one is new to me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpsWd288fDI

^^ that's the gig on the Feeding Tube "Redbirds"! I think, there are two consecutive nights recorded

ooooh sweet, i just ordered Redbirds

i bought the other one too. sleeve that comp you put up is killer, thank you!

<3

Does Michael use any swear words in his songs BESIDES Slurf Song? I can't think of one.

Nat'l Weed Growers Assoc has one, I think that's it though!

oh and on the live "Blue Navigator" from Growlin' Bobo too

those FUCKin lil Martians

From a friend who talked to his manager (please refrain from sharing in print without consent):

Michael insisted on playing the Big Ears Festival in spite of not doing at all well. He came off the plane in a wheelchair and was in very bad pain. Everyone was concerned and urged him to go the hospital. He refused, saying “If I go in, I’m not coming out.” Word is the four shows he did (three in addition to Big Ears) were quite good, in spite of everything. Back on the plane to Portland via wheelchair; a friend met him at the airport and he died in the car on the way home.

fucking hero

Truly the greatest

Friends think he knew it was the end. Michael had said “I love you,” to [his manager] a couple times on the phone, something he’d never done before.

a legend <3

holy shit

damn

have we learned the cause of death? benevolent badassery?

Thanks a lot for that, Evan.

really great stuff here

https://www.furious.com/perfect/michaelhurleyrip.html

I met Michael Hurley in 1963, through Steve Weber, who I met through my ex, Antonia. Hurley had red hair, and looked like a cute idealized leprechaun, but bigger, of course. However, when I saw him a few months later, he looked like hell. Unsurprisingly, soon after this, he went into the hospital. It was months after that when I heard a knock on my door.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"A yoyo," a familiar voice replied.

I opened the door. It was Hurley. A robustly, red cheeked, healthy Hurley. Glowing, even. I was shocked.

"What happened to you?," was all I could say.

"I was really sick, so I went to the hospital. They said I had mono, TB, and a heroin habit. They told me, 'boy, are you sick,' and made me check in."

I think he said he had one or two other things as well, but I've forgotten what.

"You look great!" I said, and repeated, "What happened?"

"I got this book. Someone brought it to me in the hospital."

He handed me a paperback teach-yourself-yoga book.

"I learned to stand on my head," he said. "I started doing it on the bed, but I kept falling off, so I used the floor instead."

"Are you done with the book?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Want it?"

He handed it to me. That's when I started doing yoga.

Thanks! Stampfel's memory profile is a great compliment to Hurley's amazing two-part interview, and answers in writing seem to be perfect for him (linked herein, yall).
Democracy Now! continues (not every night, but pretty often) to play excerpts from Hurley performing in their studio: rich stuff, and sometimes I don't realize who it is 'til Amy Goodman says his name---had a range.

Yo sleeve: if you (or any of yall) can ever link some Weber-led (Pacific Northwest only?) Rounders, I would very much like to hear that thx agn

yah sure

Holy Modal Rounders
December 1972
Jekyll and Hyde's Tavern
Portland, OR
fm>?>cdr circa early 2000's
cdr>xact>flac March 28 2018

cd1
1 Year Of Jubilo
2 Snake In the Grass
3 STP
4 Open Book
5 Pink Underwear
6 Half A Mind
7 Low Down Dog
8 Bird Song
9 City Women
10 Hop-Eyed Lady

cd2
1 Bossa Nova
2 Band Intro
3 TV Song
4 Smoky Joe's Cafe
5 Euphoria
6 Snappin' Pussy
7 Moving Day

Steve Weber - vocals, guitar
Teddy Deane - tenor, alto saxophones, clarinets, flute
Robin Remaily - vocals, guitar, fiddle, mandolin
Dave Reisch - bass
Roger North - drums
Richard Tyler - piano
plus guests
Billy Holtz - washboard
John LeRoy Williams - conga

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/7zwvth2fvl1yab2o1wjgl/AEbCsfmB6rXkvtIXxUX8eY4?rlkey=gc3ucz7t80t02mrf3ldfcfqoy&dl=0

Sweet, thanks so much!

Thanks sleeve!

https://michaelhurley.bandcamp.com/album/broken-homes-and-gardens

Great lead single. Eternity and bananas.