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.

Sting Me

Last night Tom and I went down to the 930 Club to see the Black Crowes. I've liked them ever since their first record came out. That was back in high school when I was listening to classic rock and metal exclusively. Outside of metal I didn't think there were any new bands really worth listening to. I remember being excited for the new Rush tape or the new AC/DC CD or scraping enough money together to buy ...And Justice For All on tape.

The Black Crowes were one of the few young bands I genuinely liked in 1990. Back then the whole rock revival thing was kicking into gear again. Even though they sounded just like the Stones they didn't really sound like anything on radio or on MTV. Maybe Guns n Roses, but GnR weren't exactly fun like the brothers Robinson, they were frightening (at the time at least). Their copying of the classics was to me new and exciting. It was anachronistic but it was fresh in its way.  Instead of the same old same old on Q102 it was kids a little older than me making a record I actually dug. It wasn't anything transcendental, I am not equating them with Bob Dylan, but to a 17 year old kid it was cool.  This was  few years before I got acquainted with Nirvana and Pearl Jam and Soundgarden and their ilk.

Young Rich Robinson

The first three Crowes records are easily the best. The second one, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion is awesome and the follow-up Amorica is almost as good. Those were the records Marc Ford played on and he was my favorite BC lead player. He also played on Three Snakes and a Charm but that oine was a bit too jammy for me. After that the albums blur together. I liked Lions when it came out.

Chris Robinson

They aren't touring behind any new record right now. They did just release a big live set that I listened to but wasn't terribly impressed with. I thought the guitars sounded kind of dull. They didn't roar. It was alright. The show though was great. They are a killer live band. The only originals left are Rich and Chris and drummer Steve Gorman. The other guitarist and bass player (Sven something-or-other who's been with them a long time) and the keyboard player all sounded great. They seemed to rotate guitars every couple songs, so many different guitars. Rich looked like he lost some weight; I remember seeing him a couple years back and thinking he was looking real chunky. He looks great now. Chris looks like a wraith still but the great thing about him is how utterly comfortable he is as a lead singer. He doesn't play an instrument; he just sings and does he goofy hippie dance. But for a band that has long jam breaks during the songs, you get no sense of him being uncomfortable or bored or not knowing what to do or irritated that another 5 minute guitar solo was going on. He just twirls around and plays with his shirt and bangs the tambourine and has a good time. I admire that. He's a great front man.

"She Talks To Angels" naturally

This was the fourth time I have seen them. First time was at DAR Constitution Hall on the SH&MC tour. Second time was a surprise gig at 930 Club around 1997. Last time was when they toured with Jimmy Page and did Zeppelin tunes all night. I remember the DAR show was great; the first 930 Club was fine; the Page show was kind of weird. This was a very good show. They are tight and accomplished and know how to groove. They played over 2 hours. They did most of the songs you'd want to hear: "Twice As Hard," "She Talks To Angels," "Stare It Cold," "Jealous Again," "Remedy," "Sting Me." Happily they didn't do that stupid "Stop Kicking My Heart Around" song; that one is so meh. Tom said the other guitarist must be real new because he was looking at song sheets a bunch of times. Man's got to eat, right?

As it goes for a meat and potatoes rock band, you can't get much better than The Black Crowes.