This week’s podcast features a number of hard to pronounce international tracks, which luckily, Scrappy does not slaughter. Also, Scrappy is set straight by a listener as to what kind of music is truly danceable. Add to that tracks from the likes of Beth Orton, The Trashcan Sinatras, Ryan Adams, Neil Young, Sinead O’Connor and more, and you’ve got one hour’s worth of pure Scrappy goodness.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:00:02 — 55.0MB)

This week Scrappy looks back at some artists who used to make great music before they achieved Orson Wells status. He also pays tribute to Texas with a rousing set from Joe Ely, James McMurtry, Townes Van Zandt, and more great artists from the Lone Star State.

If you want to know Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad and why Things Ain’t What They Used to Be, stick with Scrappy, he has the answer – For You.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:00:21 — 55.3MB)

Yesterday I experienced what NPR refers to as a “driveway moment” – one of those times when you are so engrossed in a story on the radio that you can’t leave your car until the story is finished. While running errands here in Ann Arbor I listened to the story of Emilie Gossiaux as broadcast on the NPR show RadioLab. I was riveted and deeply moved by the story of a 21-year-old artist who is nearly killed when she was hit by a truck while riding her bicycle last fall. I challenge the most hardened person to not tear-up when you hear the recording of Emilie speaking her name for the first time after her accident.

Radio has always been my favorite medium and when it is done well it is poetry incarnate. This story as is beautifully produced and as moving as any I have ever heard. Please take 18 minutes and listen, it is about the power of love, the power of not giving up, and the power of remarkable radio storytelling.

Listen to the story here:

Serendipitously, this morning I saw a post on Facebook from my friend Malika where she noted that her babysitter is a friend of Emilie’s and that her friends are trying to raise $200,000 to help cover the cost of Emilie’s care.

If you head to Emilie’s website you can not only learn more about this remarkable woman, but you can also help support her, either through a direct donation or by purchasing artwork from the Etsy store that features the donated work of many artists.

Broadcasting from home makes it to the quarter century mark with a show that features tunes from Mutabaruka, The Republic Tigers, Jellyfish, Elvis Costello along with a track from the new Devotchka album.

Come join Scrappy and his love vibration! You won’t see it coming, but it will make you want to stay home.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:00:04 — 55.0MB)

Spring is here and Scrappy is celebrating with the appropriate tunage.

This week’s podcast features a St. Patty’s set in honor of Scrappy’s native home along with songs from Sweden’s First Aid Kit, Ween and and a little Egoverride from Bob Mould. Come join the springtime podcast and if you need to rank it you’d bet on they that canter and them that need fly spray.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:01:42 — 56.5MB)

Fresh from a trip to see Jo Jo in concert, this week’s podcast features a thee-part journey to Jerusalem and new music from Ron Sexsmith. Fanfarlo, and Scrappy’s boyhood hero, Jonathan (Jo Jo) Richman.

Join Scrappy this week as he explains that you can’t blame the woes of the world on him. He also explains that all a man really needs is love, tenderness and macaroons – really, he does.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:53 — 54.8MB)

Last week at the request of my doctor, I started a two month stint on the Paleo Diet. My doctor is an M.D. who is also trained as an acupuncturist, and so he tries to treat the whole body. He charted out his nutritional beliefs as a triangle, with glucose/insulin on one point, the thyroid on another point, and the adrenal gland on the third point of the triangle. He told me my systems were not in balance and so he ordered a two month course of vitamins, minerals and the Paleo Diet.

The concept behind the Paleo Diet is that humans were built to eat a significantly different diet than we do today. The idea is that prior to the beginnings of agriculture 10,000 years ago, humans existed primarily on lean meats and fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. The advent of agriculture started a gradual shift towards grain, fatty meats and dairy based foods, and according the author of the diet, Loren Cordain away from the natural foods that the human body evolved to eat.

Being on such a restrictive diet, the biggest challenge is to have foods that don’t bore me and provide lots of flavor. I am a big fan of pasta, bread and dairy and now those foods are verboten (at least for two months).

In order to make the diet a lot more enjoyable, I have been looking for recipes that look good to my semi-foodie palate. Looking on the web I have not found too many Paleo Diet recipes, so I figured I’d just share the recipes that I am making up as I go along. My thought is that maybe someone who is on the diet and looking for recipes will stumble upon mine.

Please note that as a little bit of this – a little bit of that kind of cook, I am going to just give an overview of the recipes rather than an exact re-creation.

Spaghetti Squash with Ground Beef and Tomato Sauce

1. Split and de-seed 1 spaghetti squash and bake face down on an olive oiled baking sheet
2. Bake until the squash is very soft and easily turns to threads
3. Split and chop a large onion into big half-moon shaped pieces (so it can give the sauce more texture)
4. Sauté onion and two cloves of garlic until light brown and soft (10 minutes or so)
5. Add in whatever Italian-type spices you like.
   If you like spice, add in a sprinkle or two (or three or four) of crushed red pepper. For me the heat of the pepper makes up for the fact that I can’t add cheese to the finished product
6. Add 1 lb very lean beef (96% lean) and saute until cooked
7. Add large can organic whole tomatoes (look for ones that have no salt or sugar added)
8. Cook all the ingredients together for 10-15 minutes

Serve over the spaghetti squash.

Scrappy fights back against the endless winter with a spirited and upbeat start and a set of summer songs.

Join Scrappy on this week’s podcast as he features the new Lucinda Williams album as well as playing tracks from The Crusaders, Fatboy Slim, Aaron Copland, Eliza Carthy and more. So tune in and consider yourself Blessed.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:01:34 — 56.4MB)

Yes, the podcast is a day late, but there’s a good reason – the podcast decided to celebrate turning 21 by going out on the town with Charlie Sheen. While on the town they dealt with soft targets, and according to the podcast, “it’s just strafing runs in my underwear before my first cup of coffee…”

That said, this week’s podcast features songs to a Sweet Pumpkin, celebrates Peter Pumpkinhead, and gets down with some funky saxophone from the grandfather of soulful screamin’ sax, Pharaoh Sanders. More importantly the podcast’s got magic and poetry in its fingertips, most of the time, and this includes naps.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:03:28 — 58.1MB)

On this week’s podcast Scrappy comes out in support of Wisconsin teachers and denies culpability in the hair pulling “incident”.

Join him as he wishes upon the moon and celebrates old friends.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:02:32 — 57.3MB)