To Be the Best, You Must Beat the Best ...

... And you just can't beat Album 88, suckas!

We've just received word that WRAS-Atlanta was voted "Best Overall Radio Station" by both the critics and the readers in Creative Loafing's "Best of Atlanta 2008." Pretty sweet!

You can check out that article here.

ALL YOUR RADIO ARE BELONG TO US. (Pop culture reference? Anyone? No? Okay. haha)

Shoeless

Prepare To Be Dazzled

Wednesday, September 24, 2008 - "If I Can't Dazzle You With Brilliance, I'll Baffle You With B.S."

I honestly wish we could share with you all the magic we experience while in the studio. It's always a rollicking good time just between the two of us bantering, playing air guitar, and bemoaning the fact that we haven't slept in four days, but the addition of friends, fellow WRAScals, and callers aplenty (some odder than others) all combine for an absolutely, insatiably joyful time to be had by all, especially Johnny and I. The aforementioned quote is from Pappy Mahan, a regular caller and extended member of our 'Roads family. We were so delirious by the time he called that I laughed (hysterically) at his (highly quotable) antics. His call was one among many that we received last night - the phone was ringing off the hook with requests (some of which I have yet to fill amidst all our scrambling, but I will get to) and all sorts of fun, friendliness, and conversation. I said it after our first show and it still holds true: the communal experience here is absolutely unparalleled. The Crossroads and WRAS communities are truly, truly something to behold. That said, thank you again, and I can't wait for next week. I know Johnny feels the same ... I just hope he survives his grueling schedule. It's a tough life when you're Blind John Johnson. The work just never ends. Here's the set:

Intro
The Amboy Dukes - Baby Please Don't Go / The Amboy Dukes
Sonny Boy Williamson II - Lonesome Cabin / Nine Below Zero
Mark Lanegan - On Jesus' Program / I'll Take Care of You
Robert Nighthawk - The Moon Is Rising / Bricks In My Pillow
Whispering Smith - I Don't Need No Woman / Over Easy
R.L. Burnside - Peaches / First Recordings [for our main man Bryce ... we <3 QCS]
Muddy Waters - Iodine In My Coffee / Audio Archives (Collector's Edition) [Cliff's Pick]

First Break

The Black Keys - Countdown / The Big Come Up
Champion Jack Dupree - Bad Whisky and Bad Women / Junker's Blues
Five Horse Johnson - So Low / Fat Black Pussy Cat
Elmore James - Person To Person / Dust My Broom
Tom Waits - Black Market Baby / Mule Variations [for Jeff]
Led Zeppelin - I Can't Quit You Baby / Led Zeppelin I [for that guy who called in and asked who performed this song ... these guys did it fairly well, I'd say ...]
Memphis Slim - Big Bertha / Volume II

Second Break

James Cotton - Coast Blues / Cut You Loose!
Luther Allison - Bad News Is Coming / Bad News Is Coming
JJ Grey and Mofro - She Don't Know / Orange Blossom
Mississippi Joe Callicott - Come Home To Me Baby / Ain't a Gonna Lie To You
The Allman Brothers Band - Stormy Monday / At Fillmore East

Third Break

Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup - Crazy House Blues / Crudup's Mood
The Yardbirds - Smokestack Lightning (Live) / The Very Best Of [for Lincoln]
John Lee Hooker - Bluebird / Free Beer and Chicken
B.B. King - Lucille / Lucille

Again, thanks for tuning in! See you next week. Until then, stay positive.

Shoeless

"Do You Know Where You Is, Boy?"

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 - The Most Fun We've Had So Far

Intro
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Mississippi Kid / Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd
J.B. Hutto and the Hawks - Too Much Alcohol / Chicago: The Blues Today!
ZZ Top - Mushmouth Shootin' / Rio Grande Mud [for Brian]
Blind Lemon Jefferson - Dry Southern Blues / The Best of Blind Lemon Jefferson
Junior Kimbrough - You're Gonna Find Your Mistake / God Knows I Tried
Jeff Beck Group - Blues De Luxe / Truth [also for Brian]
Lightnin' Slim - The Things I Used To Do / High and Low Down [Cliff's Pick]

First Break

Janis Joplin - Ball and Chain (Live at the Monterey Pop Festival, June 17, 1967) / Cheap Thrills [for Uncle Milo]
Sunnyland Slim - Have a Good Day Now / Be Careful How You Vote
The Black Crowes - Sometimes Salvation / The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
Little Milton - Blue Monday / Walkin' the Back Streets

Second Break

Little Walter - Ah'w Baby / Boss Blues Harmonica
B.B. King - No Money No Luck / Lucille
Elmo Williams and Hezekiah Early - Natchez Fire / Takes One To Know One
Tom Waits - Jesus Gonna Be Here / Bone Machine
Chuck Berry - Deep Feeling / After School Session
The White Stripes - China Pig / The B-Sides Collection
The Rolling Stones - Parachute Woman / Beggar's Banquet
Duane Allman - Goin' Down Slow / An Anthology

Third Break

Memphis Slim, Tampa Red, & Lonnie Johnson - Jelly Whippin' Blues / Bawdy Blues
Eagles of Death Metal - Chase the Devil / Death By Sexy
Wilbert Jenkins - Married Woman Blues / Modern Chicago Blues
Hound Dog Taylor - Things Don't Work Out Right / Release the Hound
Doctor Oakroot - Happy Birthday / Happy Birthday [for DEZ!]

This week was merely another exercise in being awesome, so I hope you enjoyed it. (ha) You guys are incredible and I truly cannot express what a joy it is to spend two hours a week with all of you. Send us your requests! Until next week ... stay positive.

Shoeless

Everyone Gets the Blues

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 - The One With a Mini-Ode to T-Bone

So here's the scene: Johnny and I are sitting around at the studio, set long-since prepared, unwinding after a long day of backbreaking labor (read: class), and enjoying the company of Mrs. Scarlett O'Sara of Cowtipper's Delight. The phone in the studio rings, and whose voice do I hear on the other end of the line? None other than my brother T-Bone Roane (also of Tha Bomb fame), who rang the station in order to inform me that he "got the blues." My delight soon sank into dismay as I realized it wasn't the good kind - heartbreak of some kind had befallen him. T-Bone being family, I thought it necessary to try to lift his spirits by dedicating the entire first set to him, so, with the exception of this week's Cliff's Pick "Heartbreaker" (as ironically fitting as that may have been), everything up to the first break is dedicated to the legendary - the one and only - T-Bone. Here's the set:

Intro
Elvis Presley - Heartbreak Hotel / Elvis' Golden Records
Pinetop Perkins - I'd Rather Quit Her Than Hit Her / Sweet Black Angel
Howlin' Wolf - Forty-Four / Moanin' In the Moonlight
Bo Diddley - I'm Bad / Bo Diddley (1957)
Tom Waits - The One That Got Away (Live in Bremen, Germany, April 26, 1977) / Invitation To the Blues
Led Zeppelin - Heartbreaker (Live) / BBC Sessions [Cliff's Pick]

First Break

Honeyboy Edwards - Next Time You See Me / Mississippi Delta Bluesman
Sleepy John Estes - Poor John Blues / I Ain't Gonna Be Worried No More
ZZ Top - Down Brownie / Rio Grande Mud
Muddy Waters - I Got a Rich Man's Woman / Audio Archives (Collector's Edition)
Cream - Crossroads (Live at the Fillmore) / Wheels of Fire [for Elron]
John Lee Hooker - This Is Nineteen and Fifty-Two, Baby / King of the Boogie
Earl Hooker and Junior Wells - You Sure Look Good To Me / Earl Hooker and Junior Wells

Second Break

Jeff Beck Group - I Ain't Superstitious / Truth
Albert King - You Sure Drive a Hard Bargain / King of the Blues Guitar
T-Bone Walker - The Sun Went Down / The Complete Imperial Recordings 1950-1954
Geeshie Wiley - Skinny Legs Blues / Paramount Records #12951 (March 1930)
AC/DC - Show Business / '74 Jailbreak
Hound Dog Taylor - Wild About You, Baby (Live) / Release the Hound
Hound Dog Taylor - The Dog Meets the Wolf (Live) / Release the Hound
Third Break

Koko Taylor - I'm a Little Mixed Up / What It Takes: The Chess Years [for Uncle Milo]
Robert Johnson - Little Queen of Spades / Red Hot Blues
Papa Charlie Jackson - You Put It In, I'll Take It Out / Vocalion 03048-A (Recorded November 26, 1934)
Homesick James and Snooky Pryor - It's All Over Now / Sad and Lonesome
Five Horse Johnson - Odella / The No. 6 Dance

Also, just as we were ready to head home, our computer system went on the fritz. As we scrambled to assemble regular rotation tracks, I left some jams on to play at will. If you stayed with us for that little something extra, here's that set:

Encore:
The White Stripes - Little Room / White Blood Cells
Charley Patton - Moon Going Down / Pony Blues
Chick Willis - Stoop Down Baby
Mississippi Fred McDowell - Goin' Down to the River / Mississippi Blues
Albert King and Freddie King - The Sky Is Crying (Live) / Blue on Blues
Taj Mahal - Keep Your Hands Off Her / Giant Step
Tom Waits - Fumblin' With the Blues (Live) / Invitation to the Blues
Eagles of Death Metal - Poor Doggie / Death By Sexy
Dr. Ross - Mean Old World / The Flying Eagle
Lowell Fulson - Let Me Ride In Your Automobile / I'm a Night Owl, Vol. 2
Bullmoose Jackson - I Want a Bowlegged Woman / Greatest Hits: I Want a Bowlegged Woman

See you guys next week! Until then, stay positive.

Shoeless

No Sleep 'Til Clarksdale

Wednesday, September 3, 2008 - Labor of Love

Sorry if we got too silly on you guys last night ... we were absolutely loopy and on the back end of fourteen-hour days. HA, they've got us workin' like dogs! We absolutely enjoyed the set, though, and all the amazing calls. You guys really are awesome. We'll try to drink more Red Bull next week. Here's the set:

Intro
Albert King & Otis Rush - Won't Be Hanging Around No Mo (Live) / Door To Door
Jesse Fuller - Morning Blues / San Francisco Bay Blues [for Uncle Milo]
Bobby "Blue" Bland - Chains of Love / Ask Me 'Bout Nothin' (But the Blues) [for Pappy Mahan]
Muddy Waters - Mean Mistreater / Audio Archives Collector's Edition [also for Pappy, despite not being Grand Funk's version]
John Lee Hooker - Backstabbers / Mr. Lucky [Cliff's Pick]
Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers - Sitting At Home Alone / Natural Boogie

First Break

My Morning Jacket - Honest Man / At Dawn
Booker T. & the MGs - Green Onions / Green Onions
Tom Waits - Low Side of the Road / Mule Variations
The Allman Brothers Band - Statesboro Blues / At Fillmore East [for Elron]
Ry Cooder - Vigilante Man / Into the Purple Valley [for Dookie]

Second Break

Buddy Guy - She Got the Devil In Her / Sweet Tea
Jimi Hendrix - Born Under a Bad Sign / Blues
Robert Cray - I'd Rather Be a Wino / Who's Been Talkin'
Son House - Jinx Blues, Part II / The Complete Library of Congress Sessions 1941-42
Fatso Jetson - Superfrown / Cruel & Delicious

Third Break

Lightnin' Hopkins - Stool Pidgeon Blues / Lightnin' Hopkins [for Chris]
Jimmy Rogers - The World Is In a Tangle / That's All Right
Will Hoge - Woman Be Strong / The Man Who Killed Love
Jimmy McCracklin - Suffer / Everybody Rock, Let's Do It!
Etta James - W-O-M-A-N / Good Rockin' Mama
Lowell Fulson - It Took a Long Time / West Coast Blues
Sublime - Freeway Time In L.A. County Jail / Robbin' the Hood

You guys are simply awesome. E-mail us any requests and we'll see you next week - same time, same place, same sweetness. Until then, stay positive.

Shoeless