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Our latest posts
  • [ February 20, 2026 ] Something for the weekend: Toad the Wet Sprocket “California Wasted” Tracks
  • [ February 20, 2026 ] Live Review: Midlake + The Bretheren, Electric Ballroom, London – 6th February 2026 Live Reviews
  • [ February 20, 2026 ] Anniversary Cheers: Slim Dunlap’s “Every Little Word” is a reissue of his two solo albums 30 years on, with added extras Anniversary Cheers
  • [ February 20, 2026 ] Exclusive AUK Mini-Gig: BIRD AUK Mini-Gigs
  • [ February 20, 2026 ] Classic Clips: Chris Whitley “Big Sky Country” – Live At Les Nuis L’Emission, 29th February 1992 Classic Clips
HomeColumnsPolitical Pops

Political Pops

AUK’s Paul Villers has a weekly look at the news with an accompanying Americana song

Columns

Pick of the Political Pops: Billy Bragg “The Lonesome Death of Rachel Corrie”

May 21, 2021 Mark Whitfield 3

The Israel-Palestine issue is often presented as something complex, and undoubtedly there are complexities to it, but presenting it as almost unsolvably complex conveniently makes people think there’s nothing they can do about it and so […]

Columns

Pick of the Political Pops: Drive By Truckers “Surrender Under Protest”

March 19, 2021 Paul Villers 0

Well it’s been a slow week for news (said no one this week with access to a wireless/newspaper/laptop/television). We quite thought that we would have nothing to write about in our usual snarky way (we didn’t […]

Columns

Pick of the Political Pops: k.d. lang “Big Boned Gal”

March 12, 2021 Paul Villers 0

This week at Americana-UK Towers we have been in full celebration mode in respect of International Women’s Day. The slight fly in the ointment is that in the twenty-first century we still need to have such […]

Columns

Pick of the Political Pops: Willie Nelson “If You’ve Got The Money I’ve Got The Time”

March 5, 2021 Paul Villers 0

This week we had what grown-ups call The Budget which is essentially where important people in London scribble down a few sums on the back of a fag packet (fags didn’t go up you’ll recall so […]

Columns

Pick of the Political Pops: The Raconteurs “You Don’t Understand Me”

February 26, 2021 Paul Villers 1

This week we were (once again) amused that Facebook was in the news this time in a face-off with the Australian government. The argument was pitched by the vast majority of the mainstream media worldwide as […]

Posts pagination

1 2 … 29 »

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our latest posts

Something for the weekend: Toad the Wet Sprocket “California Wasted”

Tracks
February 20, 2026 1

Live Review: Midlake + The Bretheren, Electric Ballroom, London – 6th February 2026

Live Reviews
February 20, 2026 0
Slim Dunlap at The Mad Riplle Hootenanny 27thNovember 2007

Anniversary Cheers: Slim Dunlap’s “Every Little Word” is a reissue of his two solo albums 30 years on, with added extras

Anniversary Cheers
February 20, 2026 0

Exclusive AUK Mini-Gig: BIRD

AUK Mini-Gigs
February 20, 2026 0
Chris Whitley from a 1990s benefit concert in New York City

Classic Clips: Chris Whitley “Big Sky Country” – Live At Les Nuis L’Emission, 29th February 1992

Classic Clips
February 20, 2026 1

  • Something for the weekend: Toad the Wet Sprocket “California Wasted”
  • Live Review: Midlake + The Bretheren, Electric Ballroom, London – 6th February 2026
  • Anniversary Cheers: Slim Dunlap’s “Every Little Word” is a reissue of his two solo albums 30 years on, with added extras
  • Exclusive AUK Mini-Gig: BIRD
  • Classic Clips: Chris Whitley “Big Sky Country” – Live At Les Nuis L’Emission, 29th February 1992
  • Rose’s Pawn Shop “American Seams”
  • Charley Crockett makes it a hat trick of albums in a year with “Age of the Ram”
  • The latest AUK podcast is available now featuring Katherine Priddy and Band of Heathens
  • Awolk “Into The Void” – sometimes the void looks back
  • Video: Tenderness “The Salt Flats” – living in the moment of gentle panic
Billy Bragg Bob Dylan Bruce Springsteen Chuck Prophet Courtney Marie Andrews Dean Owens Drive By Truckers Emmylou Harris Jason Isbell Johnny Cash John Prine Lucinda Williams Margo Price Neil Young Peter Bruntnell Robert Vincent Ryan Adams Steve Earle Sturgill Simpson The Band The Byrds The Delines Tom Petty Wilco Willie Nelson
  • Debbie: Well said! Loved Living With The Law when it came out and think it is a masterpiece. I have played…
  • Jay: Linda Ronstadt was the 1970s Queen of Rock.
  • Jonathan Hincks: Good call Mark. Added to my California playlist, in close proximity to California Sober (Billy Strings/Willie Nelson, or Post Malone/Chris…

Latest interviews

Interviews

Interview: Mean Mary answers six of one and half a dozen of the other

February 18, 2026 0

The banjo is a glorious instrument that can do a lot of ill in the wrong hands. It’s not easy to proudly, confidently pluck out some hot licks and really hard to play it with the […]

Behind the Songs

Behind the Songs: Polite Company “Please Go Wild”

February 17, 2026 0

Alan Gregg is a native Kiwi transplanted to North London with a spotty resumé to his credit. Not intending to be impolite, but prospective employers might be taken aback, curious as to what he has been […]

Interviews

Interview: Jim White on Trey Blake and the backstory of “Precious Bane”

February 12, 2026 2

If you’ve heard anything about Jim White, you’ve probably heard about the surfing, the modeling, the cab driving, and the unlikely way David Byrne changed his life with a record deal. You’ve heard about the junk […]

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Live Reviews

Live review: Will Sheff + Julie Odell, Omeara, London – 8th March 2023

March 22, 2023 0

A fine dusting of snow can be very pretty – particularly when viewed from a warm building with perhaps a beverage of choice close at hand.  It’s less amusing when standing on a railway station platform […]

News

Hiss Golden Messenger announces new album

July 26, 2017 0

Some nice news this morning from Consequence of Sound on an AUK favourite. Awesome cover art too.  They report: “Last October, North Carolina folk artist M.C. Taylor released his latest album as Hiss Golden Messenger, Heart Like a […]

News

Graham Nash announces late summer UK tour dates

April 14, 2023 0

Following on from AUK’s February news regarding Graham Nash’s first studio album of new material in seven years, titled ‘Now’, which is due for release on May 19th via BMG, Nash has announced his most ambitious […]

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