Long days working on the farm hoeing, weeding, tying up tomato plants, picking beans, or sitting in the barn cleaning garlic...just what is it that keeps them going??

Music, News...RADIO !!

We probably wouldn't survive our long days of boring repetitive tasks without our constant companion, the radio.  We were fortunate in 1998 to have a new radio station start up nearby after more than 15 years of mediocre (to put it nicely!) radio.  We had gotten to the point where we hardly ever tried to listen to the local "rock" stations, and ended up spending our days with Public Radio. (Good for news, but lousy weekday programming!)
Enter WRVG 89.9fm!!  We're saved!!
They play an eclectic mix of blues, rock, reggae, soul, bluegrass, folk...you name it!  We strongly encourage you to give them a listen at www.wrvg-fm.org  and, if you like them, listen often, and consider joining them by making a pledge!  We almost lost them last year due to financial strains, but local folks rallied behind them and came up with enough to keep them going for awhile longer.
R.I.P. WRVG.....We have recently heard the bad news that our beloved WRVG has been sold and will undergo a complete change of programming as of April 1, 2004.  They will be greatly missed.

Another radio show we have enjoyed (and learned from!) over the years is Terry Gross's "Fresh Air" on National Public Radio.  She may be the best radio interviewer ever, and there are very few subjects she can't make interesting.  She interviews folks from ALL walks of life including musicians and artists, film, TV and stage actors, comedians, medical and business professionals, sports people, politicians, you name it!  And she definitely has the best laugh on radio!  Check your local public radio schedule.  "Fresh Air" is often on just before or just after "All Things Considered".  If you can find it during your 'drive time' you'll thank us forever!

At Blue Moon Farm we still live in the days of record albums (we do not own a CD player)  and this year for Christmas Jean found a Ry Cooder album thru Amazon.com's "Z-Shops".  It wasn't cheap, but it was a used album in wonderful condition, and we wanted to pass this guy's site along to you.  It's-Melodies and Memories ,or go to amazon.com and look for Z-Shops, search for record albums.

Want to know some of our favorites of the moment?
I never thought I'd be a fan of his, but have you heard the Tom Waits album
Mule Variations?  Our favorite cut is "Get Behind The Mule" (a great work song!). I just read about, but haven't heard yet, another Tom Waits album that sounds very interesting.  It's a collaboration between Tom and John Hammond called Wicked Grin.

Some of the "tribute" albums that came out in 2000 are terrific!  It's fun to hear non-original artists' interpretations of classics.  For instance there's  "Return of the Grievous Angel: Tribute To Gram Parsons" that's really great, and another called "Tangled Up In Blues: Songs Of Bob Dylan".  For 2001 we recommend the Bruce Springstein tribute album "Badlands"- what a great collection of covers of the boss's "Nebraska" album (a classic!!)!  And Mark Knopfler's "Sailing to Philadelphia" (with James Taylor, of course!)!!!
We have been quite taken with a young group called Nickel Creek. Their talent is incredible.  Visit their website .
Ry Cooder is a perennial favorite, along with Bonnie Raitt, Van Morrison, Etta James, Shawn Colvin, James Taylor, Stevie Ray Vaughan,  Jimmy Cliff and on and on!  But we listen to all kinds of music, from classical to rock, and there's very little we don't appreciate.  I have to admit that modern jazz does nothing for me (except hurt my ears). Maybe I just don't understand!
That's all for now!

"Click" right through to Amazon.com to browse their music, books, or anything else!