Sale

Today, January 20th, in 1978, the Mekons released their first single "Never Been In A Riot"  on the indie Fast Records.

That first incarnation of the The Mekons consisted of Kevin Lycette and Tom Greenhalgh on guitar, Jon Langford on drums, Mary on bass and Mark White and Andrew Corrigan sharing vocals.

It was described in NME as "making the Sex Pistols look like Paper Lace.'"

So, in honor of this day in music history, we're offering up ANY Waco Brothers or Jon Langford CD on a buy one get one free basis.  Order any of these fine albums, and then write in the comments section of the order form which freebie you'd like!

Act fast, this is for today only (I'll take down the offer whenever I wake up tomorrow morning, so as to give all you folks in UK and Australia who are already asleep a chance to act on this.)

And keep in mind, this is for CDS ONLY (no books, or LPs)

Get yourself a Black Friday treat without even leaving the couch! For the next week, Amazon is offering deep discounts on the following MP3 albums:

Alejandro Escovedo, A Man Under The Influence ($5.99)

Old 97s, Wreck Your Life ($5.99)

Scott H Biram, Bad Ingredients ($6.99)

JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound, Want More ($6.99)

Justin Townes Earle, Harlem River Blues ($6.99)

Go here for all Amazon.com Black Friday Deals.

Well, spring is in the air and that means baseball, BBQs and some group claiming the end of the world is nigh.

We thought it might be nice to help provide a soundtrack for the day AND (just in case they are wrong) give you a chance to pick up some music on a BUY ONE GET ONE FREE basis

Here's our list (with, cryptically enough, 13 songs):

Judgement Day by Scott H Biram from Something's Wrong/Lost Forever
Ain't Gonna Worry No More by Wayne Hancock from Tulsa
Take Me To The Fires by The Waco Brothers from Waco Express
No Way Out But Down by Graham Lindsay from For A Decade of Sin
Lost Soul by The Handsome Family from For A Decade of Sin
Highway To Hell by Red Star Belgrade from Down to the Promised Land
I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive by Rosie Flores from Executioner's Last Songs
Forever to Burn by Rex Hobart & the Misery Boys from Executioner's Last Songs Volume 2
God's Eternal Love by Mark Eitzel from Executioner's Last Songs Volume 2
I See the Light by Scott H Biram from Dirty Old One Man Band
We'll Burn Together by Robbie Fulks from Country Love Songs
Get Right With Jesus by the Yayhoos from Fear Not The Obvious
Tomorrow Never Comes by Johnny Bond from Country and Western
You Don’t Knock by Detroit Cobras from Baby

Order ANY of these records before the "end of the world" and pick ANY other record off this list for FREE!!  Just put your choice in the Special Instructions section of your order.

No limit.  Pick 2, get 2 others for free.  We'll ship these out lickety-split so they get there "in time."

If they don't get there in time and the world DOES end, we owe you.....

It's starting to be that time of year when pointy-headed scribes pull together their faves.

Justin Townes Earle's Harlem River Blues has already made a splash on some biggies.

#15 on Paste Magazine's  Best of 2010

#7 Top 10 Country Albums of 2010 on Amazon

#40 Top 100 Songs of 2010 on Amazon for "One More Night in Brooklyn"

AMAZON ALERT!  Pick up Harlem River Blues CD at Amazon for $9.85 or the mp3 version for $4.99! thru the end of the month

We've got more than 90 titles discounted right now during our annual holiday blowout—and you might feel a little overwhelmed with all the fantastic options for aural merriment we have. So, why not start with some of our staff picks from the sale? Check out what Nan, Rob and the rest of the Bloodshot crew have highlighted!

To celebrate the one-year anniversary of Ha Ha Tonka's lauded sophomore album, Novel Sounds of the Nouveau South (really—just take a look at all the nice things people have said about the album), we're putting the CD and LP on sale! Already have a copy? Buy one for your dad for Father's Day! Or for your bestie for Xmas in July! But that's not all, if you buy the CD or LP from our site between now and Friday, June 18 at 5p, you'll also receive an MP3 of "12-inch, 3-speed Oscillating Fan" from the out-of-print 7''. Wait, but there's more! Everyone who purchases the CD or LP is also entered to win an autographed copy of the OOP 7''!

Hate the malls?  Don't trust the postal service? Lazy?  Like to shope while drinking beer?

Us too.

Thus, Bloodshot is participating again in the annual HIDEOUT HOLIDAY SALE.

Get fine crafts and gifts from some of Chicago's finest crafters and artisans.  And also us.

Pick up t shirts, CDs, kiddie gifts, pint glasses, and other nifty goodies for that Bloodshot fan on your list (Or you, even.  Someone's got to look out for you, you know)

6 to 9 pm on December 15th and 22nd at the Hideout, of course.

Semi-weekly, quick links to interesting Bloodshot things.

• The Deadstring Brothers are returning in 2009 -- and have JUST ANNOUNCED new US summer tour dates in support of their upcoming long player, São Paulo. The album's not out for a minute, but we can't wait for you to hear it cos it's hot. And, I mean, SMOKING HOT. Just check out that artwork, folks.

• Word's out! Justin Townes Earle's show in McCabe's in LA this weekend sold out! Check out an interview he did with the LA-based blog, When You Awake, here. And while we're talking JTE, here's your reminder that for just TWO MORE DAYS, we have Midnight at the Movies on super-sale for $10 LP/CD. Why, you ask? Well, as we reported last week, Midnight is nominated for THREE AMA awards -- Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Emerging Artist.

• If your looking for some new, free music, please check out The Free Music Archive, which is spearheaded by the great freeform radio station, WFMU. Besides the dipping yr toes into Free Music Archive's Bloodshot catalog, there's A TON of other great (legal) music to check out there.

• And finally, our gastronomically intrepid Radio guy, Swank, showed up to the office on this fake Monday morning with samples of his Bacon pizza. Nope, not pizza with a bacon topping -- a pizza where bacon has REPLACED THE CRUST. The sample had my arteries hardening with just a whiff, but it's tasty! Atkin's friendly, too!