After some unnecessary ugliness at the hands of a blogging platform to be left nameless, White Ray at Echoes In The Wind is back in business. Please visit him and help him roll out the next chapter in one of music blogdom’s best written sites. As for me: too much to do, not enough time. A real job will do that to you.

But, I’ll take a minute to post a few songs I’m digging right now…

Dan Auerbach – Trouble Weighs A Ton
Diane Birch – Nothing But A Miracle
Diane Birch – Ariel
Patterson Hood – Murdering Oscar
Shemekia Copeland – Dirty Water

As we say ’round the table at Fusion Family 45: Life is Good, Monkey On A Skateboard.

This morning, we took a combined team of a half dozen kids from two different teams to a baseball tournament about 20 minutes north of home. It was a bit of a bloodbath in our favor (no score to be divulged) but the better part was seeing all the kids having a good time.

There were a few remarkable games in my Little League career. I remember catching a 2-0 no-hitter in All-Stars, around the age of 12 or 13. But the friends are what I remember more.

Mojo magazine loved Keep it Hid, the new solo record from the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, and I can’t blame them. Yeah, it’s bluesy, it’s country but, in the case of two of these three cuts, it’s dirty rock and roll.

I get to sit on the back deck, listen to the birds sing alternately with Dan Auerbach, watch the kids slam whiffle balls into the woods and…well, life is good, monkey on a skateboard.

Dan Auerbach – Trouble Weighs A Ton
Dan Auerbach – I Want Some More
Dan Auerbach – Heartbroken, In Disrepair