I remember racing against the sun to reach the Badlands before nightfall, but I didn’t make it because I kept pulling over to photograph lonely gas stations and motels in towns with names like Alliance and Interior. When I finally arrived at the edge of South Dakota, the bluffs and spires lay out there unseen, crouching in the dark. Here are two pitched-down dub 45s that meander through a field of mid-century blues and ballads, paired with big sheets of reverb, vinyl crackle, moments of silence, and five variations on the idea of a blue moon. Best served in headphones after dark.

  • A Rocket in Dub – Rocket #8 on 33⅓
  • Betty Lavette – Let Me Down Easy
  • Don Percival – One More Kiss
  • Roy Orbison – Crying
  • Dave “Diddle” Day – Blue Moon Baby
  • Pole – Fahren on 33⅓
  • The Cascades – Rhythm of the Rain
  • Françoise Hardy – Voilà
  • Dirty Beaches – Lord Knows Best
  • The Ronettes – Keep On Dancin’
  • Dirty Beaches – True Blue
  • Oscar Peterson – Blue Moon
  • Elvis Presley – Blue Moon in Kentucky
  • Santo & Johnny – Blue Moon
  • Dean Martin – Blue Moon
  • Big American Loop #3

Blue Motor Lodge

Dub Ballads | 57 minutes | Download
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Blue Motor Lodge
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