newport folk festival – free streaming from NPR

archived streams of the following shows are available @

Jim James At The Newport Folk Festival
August 2, 2008

The solo sets of Jim James have become somewhat of a hushed spectacle, the kind that leaves a person spellbound for days afterward. Performing with just an acoustic guitar and a little help from M. Ward, the bearded singer practically hypnotized his audience with his stunning voice.

She & Him At The Newport Folk Festival
August 2, 2008

Technical difficulties didn’t deter M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel from plugging on ahead, even if that meant plugging in an electric guitar instead of an acoustic guitar. And then Newport’s infamous rain came down… hard. But that didn’t stop them either with special guest appearances from Jim James and Becky Stark.

Steve Earle At The Newport Folk Festival
August 2, 2008

Right from the beginning, Steve Earle called out the spirit of Woody Guthrie, realizing that we need him now more than ever. Out of all the artists at the Newport Folk Festival, Earle’s invocation is the most appropriate — he would have fit in best at the festival’s inception.

Jakob Dyan At The Newport Folk Festival
August 2, 2008

With a small backing band, Jakob Dylan came to the Newport Folk Festival not only with songs from his debut album, Seeing Things, but with music from the entire Wallflowers catalog.

On Sunday sets by: Gillian Welch, Trey Anastasio, Calexico & Brandi Carlisle will be streamed live and archived for later availability.

all streams are available @

what’s on god’s i-pod?

in concert, linford detweiler of over the rhine, while introducing the title song from their new record “the trumpet child” often brings up the rhetorical question that he wonders “what’s on god’s i-pod?” you would think, being god and all, that he’s got a spiffy 160g that would hold a lot of music.

i think it’s a fun and interting question…

i’d guess there would be some classical; bach, beethoven, schubert, and the likes, but i have little knowledge of classical so i’ll move on.

i’m sure there would be some miles, coltrane, and mingus. the beatles would have to be there. along with the redemptive music of johnny cash and the carter family and the pain and lonliness of hank williams. there is little doubt to me that he would include the consciousness of woody guthrie & pete seeger and their more modern counterparts; dylan, marley and springsteen. the soul of marvin, aretha & ella and the blues of robert johnson, bb and muddy would also seem appropriate. i once heard the voice of tom waits described as “the sound of god clearing his throat” and can’t imagine his words, passion and humor would be skipped. i would also like to think that every once and a while, he’d like to rock it a little with the likes of the clash and maybe jam a little with the grateful dead. and of course, the soundtracks for “woodstock” and “the last waltz” would have to be among the first things he downloaded.

i’ve not even started on “current” music, but i’d have to think if i created something as beautiful as the voices of karin bergquist (over the rhine), chan marshall (cat power), margo timmins (cowboy junkies), ryan adams, patty griffin i’d sure be listening to them on a regular basis with a smile on my face and the accomplishment of a job well done.

and i’m sure i missed some obvious choices…your thoughts? drop them in the comments. i’d love to hear…

*also, this is meant to be a lighthearted music discussion, not a religious debate. so depending on your religious beliefs, feel free to answer the question as “if there is a god, what would be on his/her i-pod?”