Outlaws & Tumbleweeds

Written By Matt Williams
“As the riders loped on by him he heard one call his name
If you want to save your soul from hell a-riding on our range
Then cowboy change your ways today or with us you will ride
Trying to catch the devil’s herd, across these endless skies”
— (Ghost) Riders in the Sky, Johnny Cash

You can enjoy the Outlaws & Tumbleweeds playlist in its entirety on Spotify. Just click on the included Spotify plugin.

Featured Find: (Ghost) Riders in the Sky, Johnny Cash

While many of our playlists are focused purely on discovery, oftentimes great playlist is a little like a wine pairing. I love the challenge of building a playlist that captures the perfect vibe for an occasion, a shared experience, or a memory,

This playlist is one that I built for a road-trip I took with my mom in Arizona, travelling north from Phoenix into the Prescott Valley. Having grown up in suburbia, travelling to the Southwest feels almost like visiting another planet, or maybe a different time. (Ghost) Riders in the Sky captured the perfect aesthetic for me of driving through the desert and maybe capturing just a little of what it would be like to have lived in the Wild West. The song was originally written by actor and song-writer Stan Jones in 1948. It is ranked the #1 western song by the Western Writers of America. There are numerous covers across multiple genres - I got a kick out of this one from the movie Blues Brothers 2000, the sequel to the better-known Blues Brothers comedy.

I built this playlist around (Ghost) Riders in the Sky, blending it together with tracks from Quentin Tarantino and Clint Eastwood films, the theme from the TV show Westworld, and traces of americana, country western, and blues rock. Outlaws & Tumbleweeds is a road-trip playlist, but I’ve found that it also pairs perfectly with a game of poker or pool, and a glass of bourbon. Enjoy!

If you have a specific song that you’ve recently discovered or come to love, we’d love to hear from you. Just email us at freshcutfinds@gmail.com.

Each month, we put together a playlist of our favorite discoveries new & old. Each playlist will be about the length of a mix CD (80 mins) and will be sent on the 1st day of the month. Subscribe with your email address to receive the monthly Unearthed playlist, plus other occasional speciaty playlists.

Matt Williams
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