Joy to Bajor The Emissary Has Come: Part 2

The ladies are back for the second half of their chat with Akie Bermiss of Set Phasers: A Highly Illogical Star Trek Podcast. The trio makes sure this podcast lives up to its name, taking trips through several wormholes to discuss Picard, Discovery, and of course, favorite moments from the final episodes of DS9, its beloved Emissary, and all their favorite characters from Odo to Weyoun. Thanks for the memories! Happy New Year, everyone!


Subscribe to catch all the new episodes and follow @intothewormhole.podcast on Instagram for more!

We Own This Town Wrapup 2021

By all weights and measures, 2021 was a better year than 2020. Granted, the bar was extremely low but we saw vaccines be released and administered to millions of people, we saw in-person events return and, to some degree, embraced a version of normalcy. There were still plenty of challenges, losses and disappointments (including the current Omicron variant that we’re facing down this very moment) but 2021 had more good things than bad things. That’s a win.

In last years wrapup, I made the somewhat corny declaration that the ethos of We Own This Town is that we’re stronger as a community when we support one another. I hope we’re able to continue lifting one another, fighting the battles that need to be fought together and working to save the places that deserve to be saved (see: The Groove).

We Own This Town is a phenomenally small operation and we are incredibly grateful to everyone that has listened to any of our podcasts, liked any of our posts or generally interacted with us at all over the past year. There are countless options for entertainment out in the world and it means a lot that you’d spend any of your time with us. In other words, Thank You from the bottom of our hearts.


Our 2021

152

New Episodes Posted

143

Hours of Entertainment

73k+

Podcast
Listens

Based on the high level metrics shown above, We Own This Town had a solid year. We actually produced fewer podcasts than the year before but I’m not one of those folks that insists on a trending graph up and to the right at all times. For all the bad of 2020, it did leave people with more time to make media. It’s a good thing that we did less because, hopefully, it means that everyone involved in this little endeavor got to return to living their lives a little bit.

That’s not to say 2021 wasn’t without it’s notable events! Let’s Face the Music wrapped their first season of investigating the stories behind the Great American Songbook. Memento Stori wrapped their first season with a memorable episode featuring Dycee Wildman. The Hills Are Alive both wrapped their first season and kicked off their second season (a walk through the decades of musical cinema). San Dimas Today put a bow on their series as a whole by interviewing Bill & Ted co-creator Ed Solomon. Ladyland had an insightful third season of interviews with the likes of Betsy Phillips, Odessa Kelly and Ciona Rouse to name but a few. Into the Wormhole kicked off a new season and dove into some deep tangents about the realms of Trek. Liquid Gold kicked off a fourth season (a first for any WOTT show) and spoke with the likes Alice Randall, Lisa Donovan and Amy Stewart – authors who appreciate the literary connections to booze. Nashville Demystified returned from their slumber and published some great episodes; including the wonderful Bell Witch series. Filmography Club returned for a third season examining the body of work from auteur Denis Villeneuve, an ongoing effort. This is the Place kept us informed on some of their favorite new places to eat and drink. WOTT Music managed to publish a new episode every week focusing on the myriad of genres pouring out of Nashville; the third year in a row it’s been a weekly endeavor!

Oh, and we welcomed Mom Cult to the roster of shows available from our platform. Hosts Joy Todd and Sarah Parker Masse talk with various mothers to discuss the trials and tribulations of parenthood. Their tagline is likely our best ever: Real moms. Real talk. Real tired.


As I noted above, We Own This Town is a small operation. For the most part, the editing of each show is taken care of by the hosts and almost every bit of text you read on this site is written by one person (hi!). That’s all to say, there’s an extraordinary amount of work involved with everyone involved here and that just makes your recognition of our undertakings that much more appreciated. If we were some mega-corporation, your listens would go unnoticed but we’re aren’t and they don’t!

We’re already planning on some new shows for 2022 and hope to keep building a community that lifts one another up, while also providing some entertainment both virtually and in real life.

Please feel free to get in touch if you have any thoughts, ideas, requests or general feels. We’re also available on Instagram and Twitter, should you prefer a DM over an email.

Our work here is only worthwhile because of the community supporting it. That’s you. It may be corny but We Own This Town has always meant to be inclusive. It’s You. It’s Me. It’s Us. We Own This Town.. Together.

Thank You

284: Don’t Call it a Best Of: Selections from the Randomizer Machine

At the end of every year there’s always a smattering of “Best Of” lists that pop up across the Internet; ranking the best of a given genre or all of music as a whole. It’s ridiculous. Music is a subjective experience and ranking what is best couldn’t possibly be accurate. It’s a fools errand and there’s no sense in trying to say one piece of music is better than another.

That said, we do like to wrap up the year with some sort of summary. So, we compiled 100 tracks that were played on previous episodes of WOTT Music and let our Randomizer Machine (aka Shuffle) pick twenty of them. It’s still a subjective system because the list was culled from our own tastes but, hey, it’s a system!

The full list – or the twenty selections we play this week – are by no means holistic. There’s so much music that comes out in a given year, trying to play all of the songs that were interesting, impactful, important or just plain enjoyable would take days. If you’re looking for more than what’s in this list, just go back into our archives and you’re guaranteed to find something enjoyable.

Thanks to everyone who has listened, liked or interacted with us in any way over the past year. It means a lot and we thank you for it.

Follow us or submit your music:
Facebook: /weownthistown
Twitter: @weownthistown
Instagram: @weownthistown

“Main Theme” by Upright T-Rex Music.


Tracks Selected by the Randomizer Machine

Reaux Marquez
“FOREVER”

Intro
“Welcome”

Bendrix Littleton
“Deep Dark South”

Jordan Xx
“Peace of Mind”

NGC 4414
“Zavitz”

Future Crib
“Most Likely Never Going to Die”

Jack Silverman
“Mixed Signals”

Ross McReynolds & Juan Solorzano
“Where Have You Been”

R.A.P. Ferreira
“East Nashville”

Volunteer Department
“Shitten”

Thad Kopec
“Misinterpreted Text”

Wallis Allen
“Sugar Sugar”

SNOOPER
“FRUIT FLY”

F.U. Stan
“Say it Louder”

Bantug
“High Worry”

Wilby
“Mush”

Bled To Submission
“Bury Them In The Graves They Dug For You”

Tommy Scifres
“Whats at the Bottom of Your Heart”

Zwil AR
“Zellen”


2021 Notables Playlist

Artist Track Album
A.J. and the Jiggawatts “Wrong Step” Wrong Step b/w Karma Is A Bitch
Anchor Thieves “The Weekend” Delete Delete | Enormous Normalcy
$avvy “Shameless (feat. Chuck Indigo) ” Boys Wear Pearls
B. Stokes “Never Loved Us ” Never Loved Us
Baerd “Holy Dancers” Canyon
Bantug “High Worry” 12 Songs About Loneliness
Bea Troxel “Gettin’ Where” Gettin’ Where
BeHoward & FU Stan “Dope Boy ” Dope Boy
Belly Full of Stars “Pattern 4” Aura
Bendrix Littleton “Deep Dark South” Deep Dark South
Bled To Submission “Bury Them In The Graves They Dug For You” Bury Them In The Graves They Dug For You
Burm, Chuck Indigo and Ron Obasi “LORDY LORDY ” LORDY LORDY
Chuck Indigo “MAKE IT THROUGH (PROD. BY MIXEDBYCOLE)” Shades of Indigo EP
cosmic collective “should be how it could b” afraid 2 die – EP
Da Real A1yo “Take It Der” Vendetta
Daisha McBride “Do What I Want” Do What I Want
Dungeon of Skeletons “Run Towards It” Run Towards It
Erin Rae “True Love’s Face” True Love’s Face
F.U. STAN “Say It Louder” Say It Louder
The Feature “Space Freeway” Space Freeway
Full Mood “Beats Me” Beats Me
Future Crib “Most Likely Never Going To Die” Full Time Smile
Great Grand Sun “Father Sun & Mother Moon” Father Sun & Mother Moon (single)
Hans Condor “All Messed Up on Death Metal and Shit” Breaking & Entering
HB Mandella “Lemon Drop Freestyle ” Lemon Drop Freestyle
Houston Kendrick “Ugly Vybes” Ugly Vybes
$hrames & Demo & Jordan Xx & Jody Joe “TACO TUESDAY ” A LOTTA BULLSHIT
Imaginary Baseball League “Steeple to Steeple” The Inevitable Parting
Intro “WELCOME ” Welcome To Next Year
Jack Silverman “Mixed Signals” Now What
Jackson+Sellers “Waste Your Time” Breaking Point
Jaffee Judah “SOLID (feat Big 6)” Solid
Jasmin Kaset “Have You Met Me Yet?” Have You Met Me Yet / I Will Never Let You Go From Me
Jay Leo Phillips “You Might Not Like What You See When You Get There” DAYS
Jesop “My Daily Existential Crisis” My Daily Existential Crisis
Jessica Breanne “The Letter” The Letter
Jordan Lehning “Just A Place” Three Colored Wall
JORDAN Xx “Peace of Mind ” Peace of Mind
Kaitlyn Raitz “nature / nurture” Me, Myself, Myself, and I
Katy Kirby “Peppermint” Cool Dry Place
Kentucky Derby Con Man “KDCM” KDCM
L.Z.R. “LZRDZ” Lizards
L’Orange & Namir Blade “Gassed Up ” Imaginary Everything
Lava Gulls “Work” Transience
leisureware “sally” sally ep
local spells. “chemical burns” majorsequence:THEWORLD
Love Montage “no matter where i go” no matter where i go
Mike Floss “Never Ran ” Oasis
Morgan “Tomorrow’s Where That Future Wasn’t” Time To Fall
MOUTHO “Gut Feeling / (Slap Your Mammy) (Devo)” Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are MOUTHO!
MT Vice “it’d be nice” it’d be nice / feelin’ down
Nashville Ambient Ensemble “Conversion” Cerulean
Negro Justice & Gee Slab “MR. WONDERFUL” RESPLENDENT
NGC 4414 “Zavitz” Zavitz
nickybaby “Heavy Hand” Nothing’s Perfect
No Stress “Freedomlove” Prelude No.1
Notelle “Doctor Sign” Doctor Sign
ommahdi “Grapevine” Everything Is Quantum
Ornament “Clara” Clara
Palm Ghosts “Blind” Blind
Petty “Explode (feat. Chuck Indigo) ” Explode (feat. Chuck Indigo)
The Phantoms of Saturn “Night Of The Lycan” Night Of The Lycan
Pink Callies “Do What You Want But Don’t Do It Here” Pink Callies
Pretty Shy “Gettin’ Ratchet” Gettin’ Ratchet
Quez Cantrell “Vent ” Vent
R.A.P. Ferreira “east nashville (prod. vast ness.)” the Light Emitting Diamond Cutter Scriptures
RashadThaPoet “Get Paid” Get Paid
Reaux Marquez “FOREVER (feat. Lul Lion & Brian Brown)” NO RENEGADES
*repeat repeat “Dearly Departed” Dearly Departed
The Robe “Summer Secret” The Jason EP
Ross McReynolds & Juan Solorzano “Where Have You Been” Instrumentals
samday “ooo9000” release
The Shindellas “Feeling the Pain” Hits That Stick Like Grits
SirMarko “Bankroll” da perfect picture
Snooper “FRUIT FLY” **Compilation Of The…Hits
Sparkle City Disco “Shadow Lane” Shadow Lane
ST. SLUG “NAYSAY” ST. SLUG
Styrofoam Winos “Stuck In A Museum” STYROFOAM WINOS ST
Tan “Straight Tequila (George Strait / John Anderson)” The Tan Side Of Lonesome
Tape Deck Mountain “NOMO” True Deceiver
Tedadore “Dancing with Another” Circumstantial Confidence
Terry Presume “Act Up” What Box?
Thad Kopec “Misinterpreted Text” Misinterpreted Text
Thirdface “Villains!” Do It With A Smile
Tom Violence “Reaper” Offhand / Tom Violence Split
Tommy Scifres “What’s at the Bottom of Your Heart” Last Legs
Total Wife “Hypoxia” To Make Sound
Trash Man “When You Die” When You Die
Trip God F’RF’R “2021” 2021
Tristen “Athena” Aquatic Flowers
Various Artists “When We Rise (feat. Corduroy Clemens, Trip God F’RF’R, & Gee Slab)” The Soul in the Ville
vast ness. “abrasion.” big sun king instrumentals.
Vera Bloom “Blue” Vera Bloom
Virghost “Biggie Freestyle” Biggie Freestyle
VOID CAT “COOL” NICE
Volunteer Department “Cows of Tomorrow” Cows of Tomorrow
Volunteer Department “Shitten” Shitten
Wallis Allen “Sugar Sugar” Sugar Sugar
Wilby “Mush” Mush
Zwil AR “Zellen!” Rebell-Diamanten / d Küste

A.J. and the Jiggawatts — “Wrong Step”
Wrong Step b/w Karma Is A Bitch

Anchor Thieves — “The Weekend”
Delete Delete | Enormous Normalcy

Savvy — “Shameless (feat. Chuck Indigo) ”
Boys Wear Pearls

B. Stokes — “Never Loved Us ”
Never Loved Us

Baerd — “Holy Dancers”
Canyon

Bantug — “High Worry”
12 Songs About Loneliness

Bea Troxel — “Gettin’ Where”
Gettin’ Where

BeHoward & FU Stan — “Dope Boy ”
Dope Boy

Belly Full of Stars — “Pattern 4”
Aura

Bendrix Littleton — “Deep Dark South”
Deep Dark South

Bled To Submission — “Bury Them In The Graves They Dug For You”
Bury Them In The Graves They Dug For You

Burm, Chuck Indigo and Ron Obasi — “LORDY LORDY ”
LORDY LORDY

Chuck Indigo — “MAKE IT THROUGH (PROD. BY MIXEDBYCOLE)”
Shades of Indigo EP

cosmic collective — “should be how it could b”
afraid 2 die – EP

Da Real A1yo — “Take It Der”
Vendetta

Daisha McBride — “Do What I Want”
Do What I Want

Dungeon of Skeletons — “Run Towards It”
Run Towards It

Erin Rae — “True Love’s Face”
True Love’s Face

F.U. STAN — “Say It Louder”
Say It Louder

The Feature — “Space Freeway”
Space Freeway

Full Mood — “Beats Me”
Beats Me

Future Crib — “Most Likely Never Going To Die”
Full Time Smile

Great Grand Sun — “Father Sun & Mother Moon”
Father Sun & Mother Moon (single)

Hans Condor — “All Messed Up on Death Metal and Shit”
Breaking & Entering

HB Mandella — “Lemon Drop Freestyle ”
Lemon Drop Freestyle

Houston Kendrick — “Ugly Vybes”
Ugly Vybes

Shrames & Demo & Jordan Xx & Jody Joe — “TACO TUESDAY ”
A LOTTA BULLSHIT

Imaginary Baseball League — “Steeple to Steeple”
The Inevitable Parting

Intro — “WELCOME ”
Welcome To Next Year

Jack Silverman — “Mixed Signals”
Now What

Jackson+Sellers — “Waste Your Time”
Breaking Point

Jaffee Judah — “SOLID (feat Big 6)”
Solid

Jasmin Kaset — “Have You Met Me Yet?”
Have You Met Me Yet / I Will Never Let You Go From Me

Jay Leo Phillips — “You Might Not Like What You See When You Get There”
DAYS

Jesop — “My Daily Existential Crisis”
My Daily Existential Crisis

Jessica Breanne — “The Letter”
The Letter

Jordan Lehning — “Just A Place”
Three Colored Wall

JORDAN Xx — “Peace of Mind ”
Peace of Mind

Kaitlyn Raitz — “nature / nurture”
Me, Myself, Myself, and I

Katy Kirby — “Peppermint”
Cool Dry Place

Kentucky Derby Con Man — “KDCM”
KDCM

L.Z.R. — “LZRDZ”
Lizards

L’Orange & Namir Blade — “Gassed Up ”
Imaginary Everything

Lava Gulls — “Work”
Transience

leisureware — “sally”
sally ep

local spells. — “chemical burns”
majorsequence:THEWORLD

Love Montage — “no matter where i go”
no matter where i go

Mike Floss — “Never Ran ”
Oasis

Morgan — “Tomorrow’s Where That Future Wasn’t”
Time To Fall

MOUTHO — “Gut Feeling / (Slap Your Mammy) (Devo)”
Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are MOUTHO!

MT Vice — “it’d be nice”
it’d be nice / feelin’ down

Nashville Ambient Ensemble — “Conversion”
Cerulean

Negro Justice & Gee Slab — “MR. WONDERFUL”
RESPLENDENT

NGC 4414 — “Zavitz”
Zavitz

nickybaby — “Heavy Hand”
Nothing’s Perfect

No Stress — “Freedomlove”
Prelude No.1

Notelle — “Doctor Sign”
Doctor Sign

ommahdi — “Grapevine”
Everything Is Quantum

Ornament — “Clara”
Clara

Palm Ghosts — “Blind”
Blind

Petty — “Explode (feat. Chuck Indigo) ”
Explode (feat. Chuck Indigo)

The Phantoms of Saturn — “Night Of The Lycan”
Night Of The Lycan

Pink Callies — “Do What You Want But Don’t Do It Here”
Pink Callies

Pretty Shy — “Gettin’ Ratchet”
Gettin’ Ratchet

Quez Cantrell — “Vent ”
Vent

R.A.P. Ferreira — “east nashville (prod. vast ness.)”
the Light Emitting Diamond Cutter Scriptures

RashadThaPoet — “Get Paid”
Get Paid

Reaux Marquez — “FOREVER (feat. Lul Lion & Brian Brown)”
NO RENEGADES

*repeat repeat — “Dearly Departed”
Dearly Departed

The Robe — “Summer Secret”
The Jason EP

Ross McReynolds & Juan Solorzano — “Where Have You Been”
Instrumentals

samday — “ooo9000”
release

The Shindellas — “Feeling the Pain”
Hits That Stick Like Grits

SirMarko — “Bankroll”
da perfect picture

Snooper — “FRUIT FLY”
**Compilation Of The…Hits

Sparkle City Disco — “Shadow Lane”
Shadow Lane

ST. SLUG — “NAYSAY”
ST. SLUG

Styrofoam Winos — “Stuck In A Museum”
STYROFOAM WINOS ST

Tan — “Straight Tequila (George Strait / John Anderson)”
The Tan Side Of Lonesome

Tape Deck Mountain — “NOMO”
True Deceiver

Tedadore — “Dancing with Another”
Circumstantial Confidence

Terry Presume — “Act Up”
What Box?

Thad Kopec — “Misinterpreted Text”
Misinterpreted Text

Thirdface — “Villains!”
Do It With A Smile

Tom Violence — “Reaper”
Offhand / Tom Violence Split

Tommy Scifres — “What’s at the Bottom of Your Heart”
Last Legs

Total Wife — “Hypoxia”
To Make Sound

Trash Man — “When You Die”
When You Die

Trip God F’RF’R — “2021”
2021

Tristen — “Athena”
Aquatic Flowers

Various Artists — “When We Rise (feat. Corduroy Clemens, Trip God F’RF’R, & Gee Slab)”
The Soul in the Ville

vast ness. — “abrasion.”
big sun king instrumentals.

Vera Bloom — “Blue”
Vera Bloom

Virghost — “Biggie Freestyle”
Biggie Freestyle

VOID CAT — “COOL”
NICE

Volunteer Department — “Cows of Tomorrow”
Cows of Tomorrow

Volunteer Department — “Shitten”
Shitten

Wallis Allen — “Sugar Sugar”
Sugar Sugar

Wilby — “Mush”
Mush

Zwil AR — “Zellen!”
Rebell-Diamanten / d Küste

Joy to Bajor The Emissary Has Come: Part 1

Let Bajor recieve her Emissary! Or… maybe he’ll fall into a pit of flames. In a special two part Holiday/Ha’mara themed episode, the ladies are joined by special guest Akie Bermiss, musician extraordinaire (Lake Street Dive) and co-host of Set Phasers: A Highly Illogical Star Trek Podcast to discuss everyone’s favorite Bajoran Jesus, and the somewhat contentious ending of DS9. TIME IS NOT LINEAR, Y’ALL.


Subscribe to catch all the new episodes and follow @intothewormhole.podcast on Instagram for more!

Aireline – Sons & Daughters

Back in the early aughts, Aireline was a well-known band around the Nashville, Murfreesboro and regional areas. They released their full-length album Ocean Songs from the Year of the Horse in 2001 and the follow-up EP Winter Song in 2003. They always put on an incredibly engaging live show but, as many bands formed during college do, they disbanded in 2005.

Over a decade later, the band decided to reform and raise recording funds via Kickstarter. It’s been some fits and starts since that 2015 campaign but it seems that the band is finally starting to emerge in proper fashion. Over the course of December 2021, they posted all of their prior releases to the streaming services along with a batch of unreleased demos from 2005 and the first three songs from their forthcoming Sons & Daughters EP.

Details about the rest of the recordings are still under wraps but this peek into what the band is capable of twenty-one years after their initial forming is extremely promising. All three of the tracks – “Patterns Repeat”, “Jettison the Lifeboats”, “Ripples in Reverse” – are instantly recognizable as Aireline not just because of Mason Frenzel’s distinct vocals but they carry the same energy and nuanced layering that the band was always keenly adept at. The songs aren’t simply a rehash of old territory either; they’re working with new instrumentation and taking the textures of the record further than they had before.

While it’s only three songs, this preview of Sons & Daughters is a testament to the band’s original chemistry remaining as potent as ever. One might expect a group of now 40-somethings to turn down the energy, simplify and release a stripped down acoustic record but Aireline looks to be moving in the opposite direction; providing plenty of energy and nuance to their new compositions.

We’ll be diligently following along on Instagram for future updates. We recommend you do as well.

David Argyle Thacker – The Mouth Trumpet Christmas Album

Every holiday season, it is traditional around We Own This Town to revisit the magical offerings of David Argyle Thacker’s greatest offering to the Planet Earth; The Mouth Trumpet Christmas Album. We’ve been singing its praises since 2012 and will continue to do so far into the future!

Why give such ongoing praise to a six song holiday album with such a ridiculous premise? Quite simply, it permeates with good feelings. There’s really no sense in going full-on analytical with the release but the usage of the “Mouth Trumpet” is instantly familiar and comforting in its absurdity. The release doesn’t present itself as a joke but it clearly isn’t trying too hard to be consider a masterful work of art. It’s just… fun.

With the standard stress of the holidays (and the extra stress of a global pandemic at hand), it’s nice to have a comforting refuge of holiday music that provides a reprieve from it all. If family or shopping or travel or melancholy is getting you down, just throw on “Jingle Bells” and levity will be instantly granted. There’s no better gift.

Holiday Music and Booze News Spectacular

Hosts Mike and Kenneth are joined by playlist professional and DJ Patrick Goodspeed aka Patrick Wayne the Selector for a boozy holiday music primer. Patrick gives plenty of music and playlist recommendations to make your holidays more enjoyable, and even shares a few of his favorite recipes for this time of year. Producer Michael Eades even joins the fray to discuss a holiday party playlist hack which involves playing old tapes of Kmart music.

Kenneth catches up on all the booze news happenings of the last few months, discussing (among other topics): flight attendants defending themselves against a slew of attacks on planes, athletes getting really into wine, tequila in New Zealand, espresso martini cheese, alligators opening beers with their teeth, and master sommeliers getting into a LOT of trouble.

Find the full Kmart Music Archive over here. Find a special Christmas playlist from Pat over on Spotify; The Unusual Christmas Music Episode.

Music by Upright T-Rex Music.
Logo by Jess Machen

Enjoy Your 2021 Local Holiday Playlist Queue

Our sixth annual Holiday Special Extravaganza episode of WOTT Music dropped this week. It’s an hour of festive and merry tunes all brought to you by Nashville (and surrounding area) artists. It’s also an enjoyably eclectic grab bag of styles and genres; not just your run of the mill standards.

Fortunately, since this is the sixth iteration of said offering, there’s many more enjoyable episodes to queue up and enjoy as you wrap gifts, prep a big meal or just order pizza for yourself. We’ve called this “a veritable sack full of goodies for your ears” in years past and that still seems apt! Click on through to the episodes below to hear more holiday cheer or just find We Own This Town: Music in your favorite podcast app and subscribe.

2021: Volume 283

2020: Volume 229

2019: Volume 175

2018: Volume 123

2015: Volume 72

2012: Volume 58

We can’t fit every single holiday offering into our podcasts so if the above list of episodes is still not enough for you, here’s some other recent offerings that you should queue right up and enjoy.


Back in 2016, Sad Baxter posted a cover of The Beach Boys “Lil’ Saint Nick” but this is a slightly reworked version for 2021. Get it over on Bandcamp.


If you think holiday music and beats are an unlikely pair, you’re wrong! They go great together. Christmas Beatday from Dallas Holladay is eight tracks of seemingly familiar samples chopped up and set to various original beats; great for zoning out or writing your own holiday verses to.


Quite deservedly, Allison Russell received a lot of praise this year for the full-length album Outside Child. However, that wasn’t the only release this year! You can also check out her moving rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” complete with a surprising French version to boot!


That’s nowhere close to an exhaustive list of available local holiday tunes but it’s a helluva start. If you want to continue your deep dive, here’s a random smattering of additional offerings:

Have a great, safe, holiday and be sure to keep your soundtrack local. There’s no reason not to.

283: The 2021 Holiday Special Extravaganza

Our sixth annual Holiday Special Extravaganza! This episode goes full NPR style but embraces our usual eclectic offerings of local Nashville offerings; a playlist entirely of original, cover and traditional songs steeped in the holiday spirit.

Check the playlist links below for more music and be sure to follow Mr. Talkbox, PETTY, The Features, Liza Anne, Kaitlyn Raitz, Donors, Vista Blue, Quichenight, Lawndry, Da Real A1yo, Rock Eupora, Zeke & Ross, Bloopr, Wallis Allen and Dave Paulson for updates direct from the artists.

Follow us or submit your music:
Facebook: /weownthistown
Twitter: @weownthistown
Instagram: @weownthistown

Mr Talkbox
“This Christmas”

PETTY
“All I Want for Christmas”

The Features
“Father Christmas”

Liza Anne
“I’ll Be Home for Christmas”

Kaitlyn Raitz
“Carol of the Bells”

Donors
“Merry Christmas”

Vista Blue
“Christmas Time is Coming”

Quichenight
“A Real Tree This Year”

Lawndry
“Christmas Cruise”

Da Real A1yo
“Big Xmas”

Rock Eupora
“We Need a Merry Christmas”

Zeke And Ross
“A Very Omnichord Christmas”

Bloopr
“Myrrh”

Wallis Allen
“All I Want For Christmas”

PETTY
“Not the Same Ole Christmas”

Dave Paulson
“Sleigh Ride”

“Main Theme” by Upright T-Rex Music.

Getting Verbose with the 2021 Rock ’n’ Roll Poll

Namir Blade photo by Lance Conzett

The “Year in Music” issue from The Nashville Scene is out this week. It’s a great read from cover to cover, including the Top Local Albums Countdown, The Year in Jazz Review, The Year in Hip-Hop and, of course, The 2021 Rock ‘n’ Roll Poll.

I have the honor of being invited to contribute answers to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Poll but, truth be told, I am a little too verbose with my answers for everything to make it to print. I’m passionate about the local scene and struggle to give a short answer to a question like “What’s the best release of the year?”. So, included below are my full answers to the poll; if for nothing more than my own documentation of the year.


What local artist/band ruled Nashville in 2021?
Every year I find this question harder to answer. The list of phenomenal releases for a given year gets more and more overwhelming as Nashville continues to prove it has goodness in every corner.

Negro Justice + Gee Slab absolutely crushed it with Resplendent. Houston Kendrick created a stone cold classic with Small Infinity. Nashville Ambient Ensemble is still in heavy rotation. Eve Maret consistently blew my mind. Notelle, Bantug, $avvy, Wilby, Daisha McBride, PETTY, Palm Ghosts, *repeat repeat, Anchor Thieves, Bea Troxel and so many more worth mentioning.

My ultra biased answer is all YK records of course: No Stress, Jay Leo Phillips, Jack Silverman, Jasmin Kaset, The Robe and continued releases from Tower Defense.

What local artist/band is going to rule in 2022?
Rumor has it the Six One Tribe collective has an absolute treasure trove of material for next year including works from Gee Slab, Negro Justice, Rio Tokyo, Corduroy Clemens and more.

Beyond that I’m excited for new Ron Obasi, Erin Rae, Sundaes, Da Real A1yo, B. Stokes, Tim Gent, Chuck Indigo, Lawndry, Flesh Eater and anything on To-Go Records / Cold Lunch Recordings.

What’s your favorite discovery this year?
Nashville’s emerging noisy shoegaze scene courtesy of Tape Deck Mountain, Total Wife, Your Gaze, Rig B and Kentucky Derby Con Man in particular.

What’s helped you the most in coping with the ongoing pandemic?
I always look forward to Bandcamp Friday and posting about the deluge of discoveries that come from that. On that note, more Nashville Hip-Hop artists need to embrace Bandcamp!

One thing you hope doesn’t come back once the pandemic ends?
I dunno if it’s a pandemic thing or not but now that shows are back, early doors are the best. Every band in town should be booking 6pm shows. Doors at 8, show at 9 should be a relic of the past.

Who deserves more coverage than they got in 2021?
There’s a ton of albums that flew under the radar: Les Ailes – Tennessee, Lawndry – Day Storm, Future Crib – Full Time Smile, FU Stan & BeHoward – Claude & Ray, Anchor Thieves – Delete Delete | Enormous Normalcy, St. Slug – Self-titled, Zwil AR – Rebell-Diamanten, Thad Kopec – I Hold Out My Hands, et al.

What’s the best music story of the year?
I am hopeful that the best music story of the year is yet to come when The Groove raises enough funds to buy their building on Calvin Ave.

What’s your favorite local record of 2021?
No way to pick one! Styrofoam Winos self-titled release, Negro Justice + Gee Slab’s Resplendent, Ross McReynolds & Juan Solorzano’s Instrumentals and $avvy’s Boys Wear Pearls just to name a few.

What’s your favorite local song of 2021?
Styrofoam Wino’s “Stuck in a Museum,” Total Wife’s “Reveal Sky”, Gee Slab + Negro Justice’s “Mr. Wonderful,” Jack Silverman’s “Mixed Signals” and Jasmin Kaset’s “Have You Met Me Yet?” makes for a nice mini-mix tape.

Best performance you saw this year?
I have never once left a Tower Defense show with an ounce of disappointment.

After the Episode with Jenny Black: Julia Vega

Joy and Sarah sit down once again with marriage and family therapist, Jenny Black and have a discussion about their episode with Julia Vega. Together, they touch on the uniqueness of how individuals process grief, managing expectations, and the fingerprints our moms leave behind on us.


Follow Momcult on Instagram @momcultpodcast.