Justin Townes Earle - A Playlist [RIP]

Justin Townes Earle died the other day. I was shocked, but not surprised, given his own history and that of his father.  Like his father, he was a very good songwriter. But he sang a lot better than his father.  I won’t do the deep dive on his work like I have on others.  Suffice to say, pick a song, any song, and you’ll like what you hear. “Bro Country” this is not.  This is what country music is supposed to sound like – no frills, no bullshit.  His work reminds me of that of Jason Isbell.  I found a great line about his songwriting – he “turpentined everything down to the essence”.  I can’t write it any better, so I’ll leave it like that.  Like his namesake Townes Van Zandt, he’s gone way too early.  Here’s a playlist I put together today:

Harlem River Blues (Harlem River Blues - 2010)

Lone Pine Hill (The Good Life - 2008)

Rogers Park (Harlem River Blues - 2010)

Yuma (Yuma - 2007)

Mama’s Eyes (Midnight at the Movies - 2009)

Memphis In The Rain (Nothing's Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now - 2012)

Ahi Esta Mi Nina (The Saint of Lost Causes - 2019)

One More Night In Brooklyn (Harlem River Blues - 2010)

Kids In The Street (Kids in the Street - 2017)

Can’t Hardly Wait (Midnight at the Movies - 2009)

Nothing's Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now (Nothing's Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now - 2012)

If I Was The Devil (Kids in the Street - 2017)

White Gardenias (Single Mothers – 2014)

The Saint of Lost Causes (The Saint of Lost Causes - 2019)

Who Am I to Say (The Good Life - 2008)

Won’t Be the Last Time (Nothing's Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now - 2012)

Someday I’ll Be Forgiven for This (Midnight at the Movies - 2009)

When the One You Love Loses Faith (Absent Fathers – 2015)

Champagne Corolla (Kids in the Street - 2017)

Frightened by the Sound (The Saint of Lost Causes - 2019)

Maybe A Moment (Kids in the Street - 2017)

Graceland (Single – 2017)

Appalachian Nightmare (The Saint of Lost Causes - 2019)

Midnight at the Movies (Midnight at the Movies - 2009)

Look the Other Way (Nothing's Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now - 2012)

Christchurch Woman (Harlem River Blues – 2010)

Ain’t Waitin’ (Harlem River Blues - 2010)