Favorite Non-Heavy Records of 2015

Yesterday was the heavy records, meaning metal, stoner rock, doom,  psychedelic, etc etc. Today I am going to do the comparatively mellower stuff. So this will be power pop, indie rock, alt country and that sort of thing.

The way I cull these down to ten is by thinking "If I could only listen to ten from 2015, which would they be?" So with that as the basis I narrow it down. I'd rather have this than that, even though I really like that.

Again, no order to these. Scratch that. My #1 of the album actually isn't on the list, because it is my band Braddock Station Garrison's album: A Hint of Recognition. Shameless self promotion. In fact, unlike the other list, these are bands that I would love to open for. In fact, we have played with one of them before!

The Dark Beautiful Sun by William Duke: Jangle-pop goodness. Has a real Byrds' flavor, if they stuck to playing their poppy stuff. Opening track "The Golden Ring" has a tempo change in the middle that I swear I am going to steal.

1989 by Ryan Adams: Sure, it is his Taylor Swift cover album, but that doesn't stop it from being amazingly good. I have a lot of respect for Taylor Swift. This album shows that she is a good song-writer; a cover can be well done and interesting, but the song needs to be strong or the whole thing falls apart. Ryan just puts his stamp on each of the songs, and it works. When Taylor decides to record a stripped down record, Ryan Adams should be behind the board.

Laugh In The Dark by Tommy Keene: I took my guitar player Tom to see him at Iota and he was impressed. The song-writing is just a clinic. Every track, both old and new, was fantastic. Tommy's new record is more of the same. Just great power pop songs, perfectly written and executed. I tried desperately to get on the bill when he played Iota, but to no avail.

Parking Lot Regrets by The Silverites: Disclaimer, these guys are friends. But that doesn't stop them from making the list. Again, great melodic, smart power pop songs.  Out of all the bands we play with, they are the ones I hate to follow, because it is damn hard to be as good as they were. That said, I will play with them any time, any where.

Lessons From A Shooting Star by Rene Bo: I heard this guy on a Swedish power-pop podcast that my band was honored to be included on. The thing about power-pop is that when it's done well, it really affects me musically. It makes me want to pick up a guitar and play, and write, and borrow. HA! And hearing this makes me want to write songs.

Monterey Canyon by John McAteer and Gentleman Firesnakes: Disclaimer 2, John is a friend from high school. And if his band ever got out of Little Rock and played DC I would beg to play with them. This record has a bunch more keyboards on it; has a positive 80s vibe to it.  John has a very strong vocal style that works very well with the songs. And the songs, they are great!

Earthquakes & Tidal Waves by Dot Dash: Another local band that I think are just great. These guys have an edge to them more than the others, power-pop mixed with punk in a good way, not in a cheesy Green Day way. They were the other band on the bill with Tommy Keene I was desperate to get on to, to no avail.

Kintsugi by Death Cab For Cutie: Knowing that Ben Gibbard broke up with Zooey Deschanel, you can hear where that seeps into the songs.  When it was about to come out, I read interviews where he said this would be a different DCFC album and fans might not dig it. That is true, but if you don't like it, then you really aren't interested in seeing the band evolve. It's not a drastic evolution; it feels natural for them.

California Nights by Best Coast: This record I was most torn about putting on my list, because it is very simple lyrically.  One of the things I like about the other records is that they are all smart. Clever. That isn't happening here, and that is not meant to be a swipe at them. It is what it is. But the music and the melodies and the performances are fantastic. I keep coming back to this record because it's great to listen too.

The Traveler by Rhett Miller: This record was the last to make the list and had to fight it's way out of a very good crop. But Rhett always does great stuff. Another of his power-pop records he gets to make when not with the Old 97s. It's more of that and it's just plain good.

Most Messed Up

Like all the hipsters, I went through my alt-country phase. If you're unfamiliar, I guess technically it means rock bands that have a country flavor. This was before the Modern Country thing happened, before Rascal Flatts and Lady Antebellum and Florida Georgia Line and Zac Brown Band decided that playing electric guitars but still singing about being a shitkicker was enough the make you a rocker. Those are country bands that think they are rock bands. And they are barely country artists. They don't belong in the same breath with Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson and Townes Van Zandt Waylon Jennings and Loretta Lynn and Hank Williams and Patsy Cline. And that's about all I'll say on that subject, because it ain't for me and I try to be nice here.

One of my favorites out of the alt-country scene were the Old 97s. They hail from Dallas. Dreamy lead singer Rhett Miller went to my rival high school. But I was lame in high school and didn't have a blood vendetta against anybody, so that doesn't really mean much to me. The Old97s followed in the footsteps of my finding Wilco and Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt. This was around 1998 and 1999. The first record of theirs I bought was Fight Songs. But the one that really hooked me, and hooked most of the people who love them, was Too Far To Care. It's a great dose of cowpunk. Snarling Strats, great melodies, swinging rhythm section.

The cool thing about them is that they always had an outstanding melodic sense, almost as much power pop and alt-country. Rhett Miller's solo records all lean much more Big Star than Waylon. That had started to rub off on the band a bit, but the last couple of records find them returning to their roots. Their latest is Most Messed Up and it 100% follows that path.

You can tell by the names of the songs: "Let's Get Drunk & Get It On" and "This Is The Ballad" demonstrate the sense of humor they have always had. Opening cut "Longer Than You've Been Alive" sounds like Rhett telling his kids why they have a rock star for a dad. "Wheels Off" sounds like it could have come right off Fight Songs. Every country-ish band needs a song about "Nashville" and they do theirs here.  "Wasted" starts off like lots of Old 97s, acoustic intro but cranking up the amps, singing about not being a square and getting blotto. Bassist Murray Hammond, who is the secret weapon of the band, gets another great track to sing, this time "Ex Of All Your See."

The cowpunk moniker sticks. It's ragged and rough in spots. It's noisy. The back of the record says "Play this album real loud." It's under 40 minutes long, so it starts, kicks ass, says see you next time.

Where bands often find themselves in ruts or bored by what they do, the Old 97s seem to revel in it. They don't break much new ground these days, but they seem to have found their groove. There are good songs in that groove. Growth isn't always needed. Knowing what you are good at is an excellent skill to have.

Favorite Records of 2013 - Number 10

First things first...I do not claim that this is a "best of 2013" list. As copious as my music listening is, I have not heard everything, so any claim to best is silly. For example, the latest record from a psychedelic band called Earthless should be landing on my doorstep sometime today. And after a couple of listens on Spotify that record would have had a good chance to make the list.

But time waits for no man!! And...here...we...go!!!!

Around about the turn of the century I was way into alternative country. Ha ha! Turn of the century. That was ten years ago. Technically 13 years ago. Whatever. I was huge into Wilco and Son Volt and Uncle Tupelo and The Jayhawks and Ryan Adams and Whiskeytown and Old 97s and all the bands of that ilk. I still like those bands a ton but the current state of alt country sort of bores me. That's not the music's fault, that is my fault. My ear, my sensibility, whatever you want to call it, has shifted. Right now, I am much more tuned into harder music, heavy music.

Caitlin Rose is neither hard nor heavy. What she is is a damn good song-writer and a damn good singer. Her latest record is The Stand-In is a great bar-room friendly, classic-country sounding record. If you like that show "Nashville" you should be checking out Ms Rose.

She also knows it is smart to surround herself with talented people, especially The Jayhawks' Gary Louis who helps out on a couple songs, two of the songs that happen to be the best on the record: "Only A Clown" and "Silver Sings." Both those tracks have an unmistakable Jayhawks-vibe, those shimmering 12-string guitars that seemed just a little bit amped up than usual, that great country meets rock with a heavier lean toward rock.

But what's best about Caitlin Rose is her voice. She has a sensational voice. Most importantly it is an interesting voice. It is not a hard-road kind of voice, like a Lucinda Williams, but is very unique, more like that of a young woman starting to see the mess that haunts the honky-tonks. The band that supports her is top shelf, switching between rockier numbers to more hard core classic country tunes without problem.

Nashville is a concept I have railed about a ton. The majority of music that is coming out of their factories is uninteresting, dull, not-really-country. Country is a vibe, country is a mood. It's more than sombre; Johnny Cash knew how to get jaunty when he felt like it. Too much country music comes across as fake. And nothing about Caitlin Rose comes across as fake.

Other lists I have seen feature young country artists like Kacey Musgraves and Ashley Monroe. Those young women are definitely talented compared to a lot of the junk Nashville is putting out, but Caitlin Rose is hands down my favorite of the group.

Here's "Only A Clown," my favorite song off the record and one of my favorite songs of the year.

Next up...more mellowness from way up north!

Works In Progress

Bill Mallonee has long been one of my most favorite song-writers. I was first exposed to him through his band Vigilantes of Love. I remember reading about them in an issue of No Depression magazine, which at the time was my preferred music reading rag because I was deep into the alt-country scene. Me and my buddy Clay would go to Tower Records every month or so and I would pick up the latest copy. The record they were writing about in this case was Audible Sigh and it said all the things I wanted to hear in a record.

When looking at the metadata associated with Bill and with VoL you'll probably see things like Contemporary Christian and Christian and Religious. To me that is a stretch. Those genres are the compilation discs you see advertised late at night on Fox News where you see people in the crowd swaying their arms and singing along to incredibly bland and lyrics. I have no problem with an artist exploring his faith, to each his own, right? Bill Mallonee does explore his faith deeply but not in an insulting or overt or pushy way. He's a man who has faith and is struggling with it, struggling with the day to day challenges of life, and using his faith to get through it. The songs are often questioning, looking at the hardships of life and how we get through them in our own ways. It's exhilarating song-writing.

I had a chance to meet Bill very briefly at a show he did with VoL at Iota in Arlington VA. It's a small club, very intimate. I remember the crowd was not that big, but he and his band put on a great show. He was a great presence on stage; he looked a bit nerdy but he commanded the stage with tics and hand waves and tilts of his head. After the show he and the band were selling their merchandise in the lobby. Usually I am very shy in these scenarios but I bucked up and bought a VoL tee-shirt, which I still proudly wear.  What I remember most is the genuineness with which Bill thanked me for coming out and taking a tee shirt home. I always try to buy something at a show, especially for bands that are out there working hard doing their thing maybe struggling from show to show.

Bill records under his own name now. He's been doing a long-running series of download-only recordings he calls Works Progress Administration. I urge you to check them out and if you can download one or two. They feature his and his wife on all instruments. I have downloaded several of them. Right now I have "Heaven In Your Heart"/WPA 18 playing. That's the last one I got and two more have come out since then. Right now "(I'm Always) The Last To Know" is playing. It's typically great. Here's a taste of the lyrics:

There's a place out here
where the sky gets clear
and tired world holds it's breath
the light finds a curve
undisturbed
and that whisper...it's either God or death

His music is a challenge against the difficulties of life. And there is always grains of hope in the trials. Sometimes that's all we need. And sometimes's that all the music needs.

Here's Bill doing the title track form the record that first caught my ear:

Favorite Albums of 2012 - Number 7

A melancholy day with the terrible doings in Connecticut. But one of the things about music is it can help heal, help people get through difficult times, it can just help in a small but maybe meaningful way.

Ryan Bingham - Tomorrowland

I've written about Ryan Bingham before, specifically how I think he carries on the tradition of Springsteen-esque rock. He is the type of artist whose music fits the image: jeans, flannels, stubble-faced.  This record is a great mix of acoustic-based folk and harder barroom stompers. It is the former collection of songs that hit the hardest. His songs reflect the darkness that makes up the shadows of life.  A big part of life is the sadness, is the loss. Life really is all loss, from the day we are born we are on a path towards dying. The struggle of life is to fight through that and reach for the light on the other side of the shadows, for the things that make it all bearable.

It is sort of appropriate this record comes up today. Here's "No Help From God."

The (Latest) Next Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen is about as iconic an artist you can get. I think even if some people don't care for his music they have to respect him. I've written before about how I was in that group until I started playing guitar and writing songs of my own. It was at that point that the music of artists like Springsteen and Neil Young really began to speak to me.

You always hear about the new Springsteen. I've written about a couple of those bands, like The Gaslight Anthem and Titus Andronicus. The fellow who best reflects Springsteen through a modern prism is a song-writer by the name of Ryan Bingham.

I first heard of him as the fellow behind the songs in the great Jeff Bridges movie Crazy Heart. In it Bridges plays an old outlaw country singer who gets a chance to redeem himself. The music is classic alt-country in the Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings vibe. The movie is great and the music is one of the catalysts. He deservedly won an Academy Award for "The Weary Kind."

After the movie came out I bought Ryan's current-at-the-time record Junky Star. I thought it was pretty good but it didn't really stay with me. His 2012 record, Tomorrowland, has. And it's that record where the Springsteen vibe comes to me. Especially Bruce's The Ghost Of Tom Joad record.

Here's a tune off Tomorrowland called "Flower Bomb." It's not the best song off the record but it's a good song and it serves a point.

The rest of the record has a rockier and grittier sonic-texture, but the vibe from this clip flows throughout. The thing about Springsteen is that he makes you really feel the music and lyrics. I listened to Tom Joad again today and was struck by the power of it; songs like "Highway 29" and "Youngstown" and "The Line" have a power to them. It's a real master flexing his muscle. It's a record that makes you stop and listen. And for me I really appreciate the depth and strength of the song-writing.

Listening to Ryan Bingham, you can feel that kind of power. The song titles alone show that Ryan is up to something a bit more: "Rising of the Ghetto," "No Help From God," "The Road I'm On." Where Bruce is telling other people's stories Ryan is still telling stories that feel, to me at least, more from inside himself. To me this is the development of an artist. He's not a master but he's a damn good apprentice and he's well on his way. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a Tom Joad or a Nebraska inside Ryan Bingham waiting to bust out, waiting for the right songs to come along and for the spark to strike them. He's definitely a talent to keep tabs on. I recommend checking him out. Tomorrowland is pretty much guaranteed a spot on my year end favorite list.

Burning the Nite Club (930) Down

I saw two shows in 72 hours this week. I'll talk about the second first and the first one some other time.

One of the most entertaining live acts out there is the Old 97s. If you're not familiar (shame on you!) it's sort of country-punk from my grew-up-in-town of Dallas. This tour was celebrating the 15th anniversary of their great Too Far To Care album. Since it's the thing to do now they did the album in it's entirety start to finish. I've commented on this before, but (there's always a but) this album is so great it's fine with me.

Here's a video of them doing the album's (killer) opener "Time Bomb." It's about 5 years old but you'll get the idea.

Yeeeeee-haw!

I think Rhett Miller is one of the best front men around. He's good looking, a great lyricist, and a very engaging performer. I try (horribly) to model my stage presence on good old Rhett. I think if you're watching a band, you should be entertained. It is entertainment, right? I read that in a manual somewhere. And the Old 97s definitely enterain. High energy, lots of fun, great songs.

They did TFTC to start the show. For the second half they did (from memory) "Mama Tried," "Victoria Lee," "Murder (Or A Heart Attack),""Jagged,""Valentine," "Rollerskate Skinny," "Dance With Me," "Champaign, Illinois," "Every Night Is Friday Night (Without You)"and "Brown Haired Daughter." I might have missed something but that sounds right.

Rhett himself opened the show with a 20 minute acoustic set. Very cool. The support band was called The Travoltas. Not much to say of them except the singer has produced the 97s last few records, the keyboard player seems like a cool dude to hang around with, and they got nice suits. My neighbor said it best: "It went from cool to kitchsy to long." Another plus, there was not much dead time between sets, Very fast turnaround and I am old now so I like that.

Here be some photographic evidence of the good-time-had-by-all.

This man is Stewart Ransom Miller and he's a serial lady-killer

The Travoltas. Nice suits.

Just a little band from Texas

A Song For You, Gram

A little over two weeks after I was born Gram Parsons died. He died at Joshua Tree National Park in California for reasons all too common for musicians of the day: too much morphine and alcohol.

When I was starting to play guitar and sing and write my own songs I was heavy into alt country. Bands like Wilco and Son Volt and Whiskeytown and Old 97s were in heavy rotation. As I am want to do with music I am always searching for more more more and that led me to the grand-daddy of alt country records: Sweetheart Of The Rodeo by The Byrds. I've talked about Roger McGuinn before and The Byrds are popularly known as a contemporary of The Beatles and The Beach Boys, but Roger  originally was a banjo player (hence his distinctive guitar playing style) and bassist Chris Hillman was a country kid to his core. After David Crosby got the boot McGuinn starting dipping his toe in the world of country music where they weren't particularly welcomed (i.e. their Grand Ole Opry show in 1968). Chris Hillman knew Gram and invited him into the band and for one record they became a hard-core country band thanks to Gram.

Now when I say country I don't mean the garbage you see on CMT. I mean real country. Cash. Haggard. Waylon. Kristofferson. Real outlaw stuff. Not this pop junk done by morons in jeans and giant hats singing about getting barbecue sauce on their t-shirt. Deep, man.

I don't think there has ever been an artist who spent as little time in a band yet had such a profound effect on a record as Gram Parsons did with The Byrds on Sweetheart of The Rodeo. For legal reasons his voice was taken off the original record or at least pieces of the original record, whatever, but the re-issue has him singing a bunch of tunes like "Hickory Wind" and "The Christian Life" and "One Hundred Years From Now." Listening to that record it is unlike anything else in The Byrds canon, even with Clarence White joining and pretty much playing slide the next few records. It's hard to imagine this is the same band (mostly) that did "Eight Miles High" and "So You Want To Be A Rock n Roll Star."

After that Gram and Hillman went on to form The Flying Burrito Brothers. If somebody tells you they like country rock and how awesome the The Eagles and Jackson Browne are tell them to shut up and listen to something like "Sin City" or "Hot Burrito #1" or "Christine's Tune." And I LIKE The Eagles (except for the non-Joe Walsh tunes on The Long Run).

TFBB didn't last long and Gram went solo making two amazing records (G.P. and The Return Of The Grievous Angel), discovering Emmylou Harris (see below), hanging out with Keith Richards and damn near turning THEM into a country rock band, and doing an ungodly amount of drugs and booze. That got him dead but the music lives on and it is awesome and sounds as vital today as it must have seemed strange to the country boys back then, a long-haired young hippie kid doing hard core country music. You might have heard some of those tunes from those records done by other people: maybe "Streets Of Baltimore" and "$1000 Wedding" by Evan Dando (who wore a Gram t-shirt in the video for "Mrs. Robinson") or more likely "Love Hurts" by Nazareth.

I don't listen to much alt country anymore. I am however listening to The Burritos do "Sin City" right now and it reminds me of when me and my buddy Clay did that song at the old Grog & Tankard in Georgetown and I said to the meager crowd "We're going to do a Flying Burrito Brothers tune now" and one guy by a pool table let out a yell and a cheer and applauded mightily after we did "Sin City." At least we touched one guy. Gram touched a helluva lot more than we could dream of doing. I guess that's good enough.

Gram would've been 66 years old if he were alive today. What a waste. What a damn shame.

Here's a treat: Gram and and an incredibly young Emmylou doing "Streets of Baltimore."