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