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Playlist: The Unemployment Blues

Posted Thu 5 Nov 2009 2:25PM NZDT by Robert of the Radish in The Y! Music Playlist Blog

In case you haven't noticed, unemployment is currently a serious issue and a major roadblock to a sustained economic recovery. The unemployment rate for the US is expected to come in at 9.9% this Friday in a government labor market report. And many analysts don't expect the downturn in unemployment to peak until sometime in the second half of 2010. Not good news, no, not good news at all. If you haven't lost your job, chances are good that you have friends and.or co-workers who have. It's a tough time for millions of people. However, there is hope and you should always have confidence that opportunity is on the horizon. But sometimes it's good to just have a drink and lose yourself in the blues.

No genre can connect better in times like these than the blues. For this playlist I've selected a dozen excellent blues recordings that speak to the plight of the unemployed.

Playlist: The Unemployment Blues

   1. I Ain't Got No Job - Blues Busters 

   2. No Job Blues - Ramblin' Thomas 

   3. Don't Need No Job - Lightnin' Hopkins  

   4. Unemployment - JJ Cale  

   5. Unemployment Stomp - Big Bill Broonzy  

   6. Welfare Shoes Blues - Harmonica Shah  

   7. Welfare Store Blues - Sonny Boy Williamson

   8. Welfare State Blues - Slim Lightfoot  

   9. The Welfare Blues  Johnny Otis  

   10. When The Welfare Turns Its Back On You - Albert Collins  

   11. I Fell In Love With A Woman In The Welfare Line - Michael Coleman   

   12. Bad Luck - B.B. King  

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9 Comments

1. George -
Don't forget welfare line by Jimmy Dawkins from the
Blisterstring LP.
Check it out.

2. Yahoo! Music User -
That Albert Collins song is excellent.

3. Yahoo! Music User -
"Brother Can You Spare a Dime?"- Yip Harburg.

4. Gerry -
"Ballad Of A Useless Man"-Paul Revere and The Raiders

5. Yahoo! Music User -
Later this afternoon, I am going to this little club, where I know everyone, and playing a few of these tunes. The barmaid and I love playing old blues tunes on the jukebox. Then, I will get very drunk and curse myself (later) for wasting several hundred dollars.

6. Yahoo! Music User -
But seriously, Robert, you made a very good point. Just the other day, I was talking to my favorite barmaid about how the old blues songs are relevant in these times of financial woe. As a matter of fact, it was when I was playing the same Albert Collins song you listed above. Good list, my friend.

7. Robert -
Wow, unemployment came in at 10.2%. Very bad indeed.

8. Vic -
Why is Offspring's "Why Don't You Get A Job" not on that list?

9. Yahoo! Music User -
Vic, is the Offspring's "Why Don't You Get A Job" a BLUES song? Did you read the post?
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