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.

Obligatory Buys

There are some bands that I will always buy their new record. As a fan I think it is important to continue showing support. Plus my music habit is close to a drug addiction, so it is a nice way of providing cover.

Some of the albums were really good...some were kind of meh.

Mirage Rock by Band Of Horses - I do not like their last two records as much as I liked their first two records. I sense a negative trend. The last two have been more by-the-numbers...less interesting.

The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind by Ben Folds Five - Ben Folds' solo stuff has always been sort of dull, especially when compared to his work with his eponymous band. The song writing here is not as great as the original three BFF records. Not a disappointment here; it is good to hear Ben playing with Darren Jesse and Robert Sledge again. They seem to bring out the best in Ben.

Algiers by Calexico - Best way to describe Calexico is if an alt-country band did the soundtrack for a spaghetti western. This one would probably have been in my top 20 if I thought that hard about it.

One Lovely Day by Citizen Cope - Clarence Greenwood writes great songs. This is another solid entry into his discography. Mellowish R&B-flavored singer-songwriter stuff.

Walking In The Green Corn by Grant Lee Phillips - Grant Lee Buffalo was an amazing band and their leader has turned in some greta solo records since he went solo. He is mellowing with age. Unfortunately it is not as interesting a sit used to be.

Love Is The Plan, The Plan Is Death by James Blackshaw - Young British 12-string acoustic player. Makes great instrumental albums with scary titles. Has experimented with more instrumentation, be it strings or keys or what. Still really pretty music.

Bringing In The Darlings by Josh Ritter - Great singer-songwriter with a new EP. This one is kind of meh.

The Dreamer by Rhett Miller - Kind of growing on me since I saw the Old 97s live.

Point Of Morrow by The Shins - I really liked this when it first came out. Still like it but it dropped out of the top 10.

Among The Leaves by Sun Kil Moon - Mark Kozelek's latest is sort of inert. I just don't dig this one.

Now For Plan A by The Tragically Hip - My second most favorite band on Earth and their latest is just sort of meh. I have thought that for the last couple of records but I eventually came around on them. Maybe I will here!

Tomorrow I will talk about my favorite metal albums of the year! YEAH!

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