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 rusty gas stations and lonely 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