Sunday, March 22, 2020

No Longer On Track

Song 504: This week the playlist puts the spotlight on Wreck of the 809 by The Long Ryders, written by Stephen McCarthy and Tom Stevens. You can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I had heard a bit about The Long Ryders but then quickly became a major fan after being handed a cassette with a bunch of their songs on it. The guy who gave me the cassette led a quartet that I briefly played bass for back in the middle of the 1980s, and we shared an appreciation for the folk-rock style of 1960s acts like The Byrds and Simon and Garfunkel who obviously influenced the Ryder crew. On a side note, last week's track took us on a train ride, and the singer Hank Snow also did a record called The Wreck of the Old 97 so I guess this cut about a train wreck makes an appropriate follow-up. As the current pandemic situation unfolded, I couldn't believe what was happening before my eyes, though fortunately, so far I haven't heard people screaming or seen a fire lighting up the sky, but sadly, some people won't be coming back home today. Hopefully we can get a handle on this virus thing one day soon.

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