This week's playlist:

• I Dream A World by Langston Hughes (read by Paul Miles), and Sock It To Me Santa, both from the brand new holiday EP Sock It To Me Santa (2006) by Detroit Women. The EP can be ordered directly from Detroit Women's Web site, DetroitWomen.org. Their next new full-length album, Sassitude, is slated for release in early 2007. Their 2005 CD Rattle Your Cage is available from CD Baby, Silk City Records, the iTunes Music Store and Amazon.com. I Dream A World is included in The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes (an Amazon link).

• Treat Me Right by The Scotty Meyer Band, from Pay The Price (2004), available from CD Baby. For more information, visit ScottyMeyerBand.com and/or their MySpace page.

• Missing You by Blue Matters, listed here at the Podsafe Music Network. This group is not to be confused with the Portsmouth, N.H.-based indie rock band with a very similar name.

• Nobody's Fool by Rick Fink and his Gas House Gorillas, from the album Rick Fink and his Gas House Gorillas (2004), available from the iTMS and CD Baby. Visit GasHouseGorillas.org for more information.

• When Gentle Snowflakes Fall by Steve Stellavato. For more information, visit SteveStellavato.com, his Garageband page or his MySpace page.

• Give Me A Second Chance For Christmas by Candy Butchers, from Let's Get Christmas (1999), available from MikeViola.com (Mike is the driving force behind Candy Butchers). Nine other recordings by Viola and/or Candy Butchers, some dating back to 1996, are available from Mike's online store. Visit Mike's MySpace page for more information.

• Love Me Tonite by Sophia Ramos, presumably slated for inclusion on a new album due in 2007. Her previous CD, Her Majesty (2005) is available from CD Baby. For more information, visit either of her MySpace pages: here and here.

• Love Bones by Root Doctor and The Sofa King Horns, from Been A Long Time Coming (2006), available from CD Baby, Amazon.com, CD Universe and Barnes & Noble. Visit RootDoctorBand.com for more information.

• New Day by Life Has Teeth, led by Glen Swainston of Newcastle Upon Tyne in the UK. LHT has an album scheduled for release in 2007. Visit the LHT MySpace page for more information.

• If Every Day Was Christmas by Podsafe for Peace (the PMN link) and Podsafe For Peace. You can purchase and download a copy of the song from either site, and all net proceeds go to UNICEF.

Excellent online resources for more information about the blues: The Blues Foundation and the Delta Blues Museum; and be sure to download and listen to the DBM's top-notch (and free) podcast, the Uncensored History of the Blues.

(Music on Murphy's Saloon #53 courtesy of the artists and the Podsafe Music Network, where I obtained many of these tracks)