Tag: Justin Townes Earle

You’ll Miss The Time You Waste

Justin Townes Earle passed away on August 23, 2020, leaving behind an impressive catalog of music starting with a debut song on one of his father’s albums.

Justin Townes Earle

The first time I heard Justin Townes Earle’s voice was on the final song of his father Steve Earle’s 2003 album, Just An American Boy. The father gave his son the final track on the album on the son’s song, “Time You Waste.” Although I still had to wait several years for an album from the talented son, that wonderful debut led to a career of stellar music and albums. So, like many fans, I was heartbroken to learn that 2020 had claimed the life of Justin Townes Earle at the age of 38.

The news sent me back to listen to many of his albums that I had in my collection, including from his debut EP Yuma (2007) through his much acclaimed Harlem River Blues (2010) through his personal exploration in Single Mothers (2014) and Absent Fathers (2015) to his latest The Saint of Lost Causes (2019). Earle had carved out his own niche, separate from his father, but still influenced by him as well as the singer-songwriter he was named for, Townes Van Zandt.

Like his father and the man he was named for, Justin Townes Earle faced his own substance abuse problems throughout his life. We always rooted for him to succeed in controlling the demons, as his father had done. So we are heartbroken that he died even so much younger than his namesake, who had died at the age of 52.

Thinking about the music of Justin Townes Earle in this age of the pandemic where we have lost so many, I keep going back to that debut recording of “Time You Waste.”

Don’t think that I,
I wouldn’t take every minute back
If I could bring myself
To live like that.

Cause all the other ones,
You only get one chance;
It’s seeing life through the eyes of the innocent;
So take it slow;
No need in haste,

Because the time you’ll miss
Is the time you waste;

Yeah the time you’ll miss, babe
Is the time you waste.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and family of Justin Townes Earle, including his wife and daughter, his mother, and his father Steve Earle.

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    Runner of the Woods Debut Album: “Thirsty Valley”

    Nick Beaudoing

    The band Runner of the Woods has released its debut album, Thirsty Valley. I like the alt-country sound of this group, which is fronted by Nick Beaudoing, who used to play with the Doc Marshalls of New York City.

    In Beaudoing’s voice on some of the tracks, I hear a sound a little like Justin Townes Earle with a touch of Ryan Adams, partly affected by Beaudoing’s move south to Nashville. On Runner of the Woods’s website, it describes the new Thirsty Valley album as “the sort of record a man makes when love has gone good but something else is still missing. It’s the thousand-yard stare that accompanies boozy recollections of perfect northern lakes or some girl you used to know.”

    Below is a solo acoustic version of one of the songs from Thirsty Valley, “Good Things Will Come.” Check it out.

    To hear other songs from the new debut album, head over to the band’s website. Runner of the Woods, whose band’s name is a reference to both the natural beauty of Tennessee and to Beaudoing’s French-Canadian heritage, consists of: Nicolas Beaudoing (Guitar/Vocals); Jonathan Gregg (Pedal Steel); Craig Aspen (Bass); and Nic Wiles (Drums).

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    “Call Ya Momma” from Justin Townes Earle (& Ambrose Bierce)

    Call Ya Momma

    In the new video for “Call Ya Momma” from Justin Townes Earle, the storyline pays homage to Ambrose Bierce’s short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” Chimesfreedom has already recounted how that story also inspired Alfred Hitchock and Rod Serling (including a classic Twilight Zone episode).

    Earle uses the story to illustrate his kiss-off song, where “Goodbye is all we’ve left to say.” “Call Ya Momma” is the advice Earle gives to a former lover, someone who has disappointed the singer. The main character in the video, however, gets even worse treatment. Check out the video.

    “Call Ya Momma” is from Justin Townes Earle’s new album Absent Fathers.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Trying to Make Sense of the Short Life of Justin Townes Earle (Book Review)
  • In Praise of Fuel Efficiency: Justin Townes Earle’s “Champagne Corolla”
  • Virginian Jake Kohn’s Young Soulful Voice Sounds Older Than the Hills in “Dreams”
  • On the Hill Where Angels Sing: John Prine and Justin Townes Earle Singing “Far From Me”
  • Steve Earle Covers Justin Townes Earle’s “Harlem River Blues”
  • You’ll Miss The Time You Waste

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    Alt-Country Tribute to Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.”

    Producers Logan Rogers and Evan Schlansky have gathered some artists to put an alt-country spin on Bruce Springsteen’s 1984 album, Born in the U.S.A. The result, Dead Man’s Town: A Tribute to Born in U.S.A. (2014), features artists such as North Mississippi Allstars, Holly Williams, Joe Pug, Apache Relay, Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires, Justin Townes Earle, and Blitzen Trapper.

    For now, you can listen to a stream of the full album below. Each of the artists puts a new spin on the one of the twelve tracks on the album. Check it out.

    Standout tracks includes Holly Williams mining the sadness underlying “No Surrender,” Justin Townes Earle reworking and slowing down “Glory Days,” and Quaker City Nighthawks finding the country heart of “Darlington County.” Dead Man’s Town will be available September 16.

    What is your favorite song on the album? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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