20) Black Kids - “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You” (AG/Columbia)
I’m not sure why Black Kids singer-guitarist Reggie Youngblood starts this song with the words, “You are the girl that I’ve been dreaming of/Ever since I was a little girl.” Um, what? By the time keyboardists Dawn Watley and Ali Youngblood start their cheerleader-like vocals on “Dance! Dance! Dance!” on the chorus, you’ll have forgotten about the sexual ambiguity and feel like having someone teach you to dance.
19) Santogold - “L.E.S. Artistes” (Downtown)
This collective that revolves around singer Santi White recently had to shorten their name to Santi for legal reasons. Hopefully the name change won’t impact their ability to make catchy songs that that fuse punk, reggae and indie rock with electronic music. I couldn’t tell you if the lyrics of “L.E.S. Artistes” are an accurate description of the new generation of people who inhabit that neighborhood, not having been a regular on Manhattan’s Lower East Side for more than a decade. But I guess my subconscious knows the answer, since I first wrote “inhibit that neighborhood” and missed that mistake the first three times I edited this damn thing. Oh my brain, does your hatred of scumbags in lower Manhattan know no bounds?
18) What Made Milwaukee Famous - “Sultan” (Barsuk)
I wish I knew why this slice of addictive power-pop was called “Sultan.” It doesn’t seem to be about Babe Ruth (“The Sultan of Swat”) or Hassanal Bolkiah (“The Sultan of Brunei”). I do know that it stayed in my head for a couple of days after I saw them play the Austin City Limits Festival and that “If you don’t cut your losses before you get lost/They're never going to leave you alone” is one helluva line for a chorus.
17) Cold War Kids - “Something is Not Right With Me” (Downtown)
It’s a shame that Cold War Kids second full-length Loyalty to Loyalty turned out to be such a letdown. When I heard this first single I was definitely anticipating a strong disc. Instead we got an album where the band tries to rock too hard and seemingly forgets how to come up with a melody. Only “Something is Not Right With Me” strikes the right balance, with Nathan Willett's crazy-sounding vocals matching up perfectly with the paranoid narrator of the song.
16) Estelle featuring Kanye West - “American Boy” (Atlantic)
For the first time in say, oh, eight years, I feel proud to be American. And I credit it all to U.K. singer Estelle and this song. Okay, maybe she doesn’t deserve all the credit. It did take until after our Presidential election for this bouncy and oh so hummable song to click in my mind. I heard it all throughout the summer but thought it was the last single from West’s Graduation, an album that didn’t really hold up for me after repeated listens. Then the first Saturday after the election I heard “American Boy” cranked in the NHL store in midtown Manhattan. Standing there next to a batch of Sidney Crosby jerseys the lines “I just met this 5 foot 7 guy who’s just my type/Like the way he speak here, his confidence is peaking” and “Take me to your hood/I neva been to Brooklyn and I'd like to see what's good” hooked me. She’s a very attractive singer (who also has an English accent, which always slays me) proclaiming she likes guys from the good ol’ U S of A. How could you not like this song? If we’re lucky, perhaps Estelle will lead a cultural revolution around the globe that makes us American boys seem just slightly less evil than we look right now to the rest of the planet.
15) Kings of Leon - “Sex on Fire” (RCA)
I can’t believe it took until my 18th listen (that is a rough estimate) to this song for me to understand these lyrics. I mean, with words like “Soft lips are open/knuckles are pale/feels like you’re dying” and a chorus of “Your sex is on fire/consumed with what’s to transpire,” how dumb could I be? It’s plain as day what’s going on here—the subject of the song is talking about passing a kidney stone.
Wait, why are you laughing? Oh. Oh. Um, yeah. Forget that kidney stone thing.
14) Morrissey - “That’s How People Grow Up” (Decca/Universal)
Apparently for the former Smiths singer, growing up includes a big ol’ cowbell being played for three minutes straight and wasting time looking for love. And holy crap, I think I agree with him. “That’s How People Grow Up” was one of the two new tracks on Moz’s Greatest Hits: Deluxe Edition and it's the rare new song on a best of that stands up with all of the previously released material. I haven't liked a Morrissey song this much since “The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get.” It’s wickedly catchy. And the following may just be the best line I’ve heard this year: “I was driving my car/I crashed and broke my spine/So yes there are things worse in life than/Never being someone's sweetie.” Brilliant, just brilliant.
13) She and Him - “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?” (Merge)
She is actress Zooey Deschanel, Him is singer-songwriter M. Ward. The two met on a movie set, discovered they enjoyed some of the same types of music and ended up working on one of the most surprising releases of this year. This isn’t some vanity project like those from Scarlett Johansson, Keanu Reeves or that old guy from The Sopranos. Throughout She and Him’s debut disc Volume One Deschanel proves herself as very capable songwriter and as a fine singer. “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here” is a charming tune that exists in the sweet spot where ’60s pop meets country and up-tempo folk. And Deschanel’s highly overdubbed a capella breakdown towards the end of the song sucks me in every time. I wonder if Deschanel will go back to acting full time? I’d be comfortable letting her stay on music side of her career for a long time. (And with the news just before press time that she’s engaged to Death Cab’s Ben Gibbard, I’m sure she’ll continue her path in music.)
12) The Delta Spirit - “Trashcan” (Rounder)
Someone in The Delta Spirit actually plays the lid of a trashcan throughout this song. That is just too fucking cool. Who wouldn’t want to be in a band and spend three and half minutes banging the crap out of a metal trashcan lid? Sign me up for that right now. And the rest of the song, which reminds me a bit of Cold War Kids, is pretty good too. Seriously, a trashcan lid. Awesome.
11) The Raconteurs - “Old Enough” (Third Man/WB)
Brendan Benson really shines on this second single from The Raconteurs’ Consolers of the Lonely. This mash up of country (hear that fiddle go!) and 70s organ-driven pop features Benson doing some great harmony and lead vocals that were a bit in short supply from him on the band’s debut. And “You're too young to have it figured out/You think you know what you're talking about/You think it will all work itself out/But we'll see” is a great stanza that anyone 40 and over can quote to anyone 29 and younger. Damn kids. Get off my lawn.
10) Ingrid Michaelson - “Be Ok” (Cabin 24 Records/RED)
It’s not often I really connect with someone I interview. Ingrid Michaelson is one of the very few exceptions. I spoke with in the fall of 2007 when her song “The Way I Am” was in every Old Navy commercial and within minutes we were cracking each other up like old friends. I spoke to her this past summer about her upcoming EP called Be Ok, and within a minute we were bantering like a longtime morning drive show. I don’t usually dig this kind of music, but knowing that there’s such a cool person behind it somehow removes that barrier. (Um, and she’s incredibly cute and a native New Yorker as well, which certainly doesn’t hurt her cause.) “Be Ok” is wickedly catchy and is done in under 2:30, which plants it right in my wheelhouse. And part of the proceeds will go to the Stand Up 2 Cancer. So basically you'd have to be an asshole not to dig this song. Wait, I am an asshole. Well there’s a conundrum…
9) Kathleen Edwards - “The Cheapest Key” (Zoe/Rounder)
Kathleen Edwards has followed the path made by Lucinda Williams for country-rock female singer-songwriters. But I don’t think Williams has ever written an opening pair of lines as funny as these: “A is for all the times I bit my tongue/B is for bullshit and you fed me some.” “The Cheapest Key” takes the musical keys and breaks them down into a laundry list of slams against some dude with a guitar that picked the wrong woman to fuck with. It’s also got a very funny bridge where Edwards spits out the line “Don't write me off, here comes my softer side,” and then 3 seconds of a fanciful piano roll flies by and then she snarls, “And there it goes!” “The Cheapest Key” is easily the funniest “I’m pissed off” song of the year.
8) The Hold Steady - “Sequestered in Memphis” (Vagrant)
In July I went in for my second stint of jury duty in Brooklyn—and once again I got picked. In 2003 I served two weeks on a murder trial. Fortunately this year it was a civil case that got settled before we went into the courtroom. And each time I walked to the court building I found myself singing this Hold Steady song. It's another great slab of (I almost hate to write this phrase but I will) Springsteen-esque rock with frontman Craig Finn spinning the tale of a guy being questioned by the cops. It was the perfect antidote to being wrapped up in the clutches of our jurisprudence system. At least I don't have to go to jury duty for another eight years. By that point society might have broken down completely and vigilante justice will rule. Woo-hoo!
7) Joe Jackson - “Too Tough” (Rykodisc)
This second single from the Rain album is reminiscent of Jackson’s more mellow work on Night and Day and Body and Soul. Like those discs Jackson went guitarless once again, playing in a piano trio with his original rhythm section of bassist Graham Maby and drummer Dave Houghton. “Too Tough” features some gorgeous piano playing, especially when Jackson hits the chorus. And oh my gosh, it’s a somewhat bitter chorus. Who would have thought I would enjoy a line like this? “And if I try hard enough/to do or die/when we push and shove/I know that I will be too tough/Too tough to fall in love/With you.” After transcribing that line I realized that “Too Tough” might be my favorite Joe Jackson song in at least 17 years...and that the last Jackson song I liked this much (“Stranger Than Fiction”) was released when I graduated college. Sigh.
6) Carrie Underwood - “All American Girl” (19 Recordings/RCA)
And now the most shocking entry anywhere on this year’s list. Yes, an American Idol winner who went on to a country career released a song I liked a whole lot. Let’s file this one under “Reasons I Have CMT and GAC Among My Programmed Favorites on My Remote.” The video features Underwood (who, um, is kind of an attractive 25 year old) in a parade of outfits you’d find all-American girls in: cheerleader, swimmer, waitress, nurse, stewardess, army ranger, police officer, firewoman and beauty queen. Yeah, I kind of felt like a pervert the first time I watched the entire video. Then I found myself actually humming the melody one day on the train home. That’s when I knew this song was more than just a pretty face (so to speak). Underwood and her co-writers Ashley Gorley and Kelley Lovelace came up with some damn fine hooks on this one. Just as the second chorus is about to end with “girl,” they skip it and head back to the beginning of the chorus, building up the tension in the next go around, where they proceeds to skip it again until they finally reach the end of the chorus on the third try. It’s almost a relief when they finally get to that resolving note. And it’s pure hit songwriting genius.
5) R.E.M. - “Supernatural Superserious” (WB)
This might not be the best song on Accelerate, but it was certainly the perfect song to reintroduce a revitalized R.E.M. to the world. There’s the chiming of Peter Buck’s Rickenbacker, a great (and at times wordless) backing vocal from Mike Mills and one great hook after another. It’s yet another entry in Michael Stipe’s line of lyrical pep-talks. It was the first time in a long while (since “What’s the Frequency Kenneth”) where I dug an R.E.M. single from the very first listen.
4) Mudcrutch - “Scare Easy” (WB)
This is the best Tom Petty original song in many years—and the members of the Heartbreakers not in Mudcrutch must be pissed they didn’t get a chance to record it. Mudcrutch is the band that Petty, guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench were in before the Heartbreakers were born. I’m pretty sure this country-rock/psychedelic sound wouldn’t have brought them a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame career like the Heartbreakers. However, Petty and company got to do something most of us who will never have that opportunity to do—get back together with some old friends and see if that magic from long ago was still there. And it’s obvious the revisiting his roots inspired Petty, as “Scare Easy” is catchy as hell, it has a great “let’s get this down on tape live here in our rehearsal space” sound, Mike Campbell plays the hell out of the solo and the chorus is one of Petty’s strongest in age. He sounds absolutely recharged, which I’m grateful for after seeing some average Heartbreakers performances over the past two tours. I love how Petty spits out this chorus: “I don’t scare easy/I don’t fall apart/When I’m under the gun/You can break my heart/And I ain’t gonna run.” I hope this Mudcrutch reunion isn’t just a one shot deal.
3) Bob Mould - “The Silence Between Us” (Granary Music/Anti)
The best work of Bob Mould’s post-Hüsker Dü career has seen him explore the fraying edges of relationships. “The Silence Between Us” is a surprising exception to that rule. This time Mould is describing an event in a relationship that seems solid—or will at least be solid when his partner relaxes and realizes how good they have it. A simple trip to the woods (“There were trails of fallen trees/Deciduous and weeding marsh/The lowland birds and crickets roared/The final sound of fall”) has never sounded this hooky before, as Mould revisits the power-pop that made Sugar such a joy for the first time in more than a decade.
2) Nada Surf - “Whose Authority” (Barsuk)
Damn, this song is so fucking catchy. I’ve always thought “Whose Authority” was kind of odd because there are two lengthy verses before the chorus kicks in. Then one day while I was walking to a gig the chorus just hit me. I had to start pumping my fist and soundlessly mouth these words: “On whose authority/I have none over me/on whose authority/there's none that I can see/on whose authority/I have none over me/on whose authority/nothing speaks to me/on whose authority/I have none over me” It's hard to describe just how anthemic it is—or even what frontman Matthew Caws is singing about. I do know that the video has the older brother from The Adventures of Pete & Pete riding his bike around New York, and there’s a point at about 1:57 in where he just throws his hands in the air as the chorus is going...and it’s absolutely perfect. This song brings me that moment of exhilaration on every listen. I can't explain why, I can only revel in it.
1) Okkervill River - “Lost Coastlines” (Jagjaguwar)
Okkervill River frontman Will Sheff is by far the best lyricist in rock today (might have been that schooling at Macalester in St. Paul, I'm not sure). Each one of his songs is a compelling, funny, sometimes heartbreaking, yet always tautly constructed short story. "Lost Coastlines" is ostensibly about a crew departing on a ship, yet it's a great metaphor for a band leaving on what looks to be a hard slog of a tour. (“Leaving behind/All the faces that I might replace if I tried/on that long ride/Looking deep inside/but I don't want to look so deep inside yet.”) And departed keyboardist-vocalist Jonathan Meiburg makes a great counterpoint to Sheff's distinctive off-kilter delivery with a smooth baritone that takes two verses. A great leadoff track to a fantastic album.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Compilations, Reissues, EP's, Soundtracks, Etc.
10) Warren Zevon - Warren Zevon (Asylum/Rhino)
Since his passing in 2003, Warren Zevon’s recording career has finally been getting the attention it so well deserves. Last year saw a sonically improved reissue of 1978’s Excitable Boy as well as an expanded version of the great live album Stand in The Fire. Those two reissues are fantastic, but they’d be hard pressed to top the treasure trove of outtakes on the second disc of Zevon’s 1976 self-titled album. Zevon’s solo piano demos of “The French Inhaler” and “Mohammed’s Radio” (with a wicked Dylan impression thrown in on a few lines) are perhaps even better than their fully fleshed out versions. The alternate take of “I’m Sleep When I’m Dead” crackles with energy as Zevon and the band gleefully rip through it. Oh, and let’s not forget that the original album (which sounds so much warmer than the previous CD version) is pretty damn good too. From the Western tale “Frank and Jesse James” (originally written for Zevon’s former employers The Everly Brothers, and includes harmony vocals from Phil Everly) to one of the best drug tales ever committed to song, “Carmelita,” Warren Zevon is chock full of great tales of losers, hustlers and other seedy characters from L.A. Zevon’s somewhat abrasive edge is taken off a bit by producer Jackson Browne, yet he shows good restraint in not allowing the huge list of guests (Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Bonnie Raitt) not overshadow Zevon’s genius. Somehow I don’t even mind that Glenn Frey and Don Henley are on a couple of tracks. (Of course, I still wonder why those two didn’t get cancer instead.)
9) ZZ Top - Eliminator (Collectors Edition) (Rhino/WB)
Here’s a simple fact—ZZ Top’s pre-Eliminator albums have held up better sonically than Eliminator (and much more so than Afterburner) 25 years later. The Eliminator drums (a mixture of triggers and wickedly e-qued actual toms) and the rudimentary synth patterns totally date all of this material. The extra tracks on the first disc are a bunch of previously unreleased live versions that simply sound like hell. So why is it on this list? Because my friends, I fucking love every single one of those sounds. Those live tracks are so low-fi and feature the sound of what I swear is a synthesizer actually dying—and it makes me cackle in joy. “Gimme All Your Lovin” comes on and once again I’m that 14 year old kid discovering how rebellious it can be to listen to that “heavy rock” station out of Albany called PYX (as in picks) 106. I figure I’m turning 40 next year, I might as well just fully let go of any shame I have about enjoying the rock of my youth. (Yes, I did download Sammy Hagar’s “There’s Only One Way to Rock” this year. Okay, I didn’t pay for that download, but I still had to seek it out.) I almost forgot to mention that this Collector’s Edition comes with a DVD with all three of the classic Eliminator car videos. No more relying on YouTube or the two hours a day VH1 Classic still shows videos.
8) Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - Magic Tour Highlights (Columbia)
This digital only tour EP would have made this list if it just had one song—the last appearance Danny Federici made with the E Street Band before his death in April. (All proceeds the sales of the EP are being donated to The Danny Federici Melanoma Fund.) Add in the best guest appearance at an E Street Band show that I’ve ever heard and you’ve got something I had to download at 9 a.m. on the day of its release. Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello joined Springsteen on a duet of “The Ghost of Tom Joad” at two Anaheim shows back in April. Rage had done their own cover of “Joad” back in 1997 (I even interviewed Morello specifically about their take on it), so one would figure Morello would be well prepared for his guest shot. Who knew he would steal the entire performance? Springsteen takes the first verse, Morello the second, they split the third and the trade solos in the middle. All of which are great. Then Morello takes over and delivers a solo that uses his whole bag of tricks. It’s simply jaw-dropping, and the accompanying video with the EP shows Springsteen and the rest of the band just in awe of Morello. It’s good to see that when one artist respects another artist’s work and are invited to share the stage, they take that responsibility very seriously.
7) Nada Surf - Vinyl Box Set 1994-2008 (Barsuk)
Don’t go looking for this box set in your local store or on Amazon. They only made 1,000 of them and they’re all gone. And with good reason too. This set is one of the best packages I’ve ever seen. The booklet that comes with their five studio albums (and a repressing of their debut 45) is gorgeous, with reproductions of many tour posters, pictures from the road and the lyrics to every song. The best part of the set is the download code that comes inside—those eight letters get you get digital copies of their last four albums as well as a 16 track compilation of rarities. Just like many of my favorite acts, Nada Surf leave lots of great songs off of their albums. Hopefully very soon I’ll actually get a new receiver so I can use my turntable and hear how these albums sound the old fashioned way.
6) Whiskeytown - Strangers Almanac: Deluxe Edition (Outpost/Geffen)
There are deluxe editions, and then there are truly deluxe editions. Count this Stranger’s Almanac reissue in the latter category. The first disc has a remastered version of the amazing original album plus five unreleased NPR performances. The second disc has 17 unreleased tracks, including acoustic demos of “16 Days,” “Avenues” and “Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart” and seven unreleased songs that didn’t make the cut for the album. Two of these songs, “Nurse With The Pills” and “10 Seconds,” are as strong as anything else Ryan Adams has written in his post-Whiskeytown career. (And kind of makes me sad he hasn’t fulfilled the potential he had more than a decade ago.) It’s amazing that a 22 year-old kid could have come up with so many great songs in such a short time period. And I haven’t even mentioned the great covers on here—Fleetwood Mac's “Dreams,” Gram Parsons' “Luxury Liner,” and Johnny Cash's “I Still Miss Someone.” Many years ago I wrote about how Stranger’s Almanac was a “full service depression effort” because Adams’ lyrics fit various depressing parts of my life. Those memories and accompanying bouts of depression have faded away (whew) and thankfully I can still get enjoyment every time I play Stranger’s Almanac.
5) Pavement - Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition (Matador)
Matador Records sure knows how to do reissues right. This latest deluxe edition from the Pavement catalog is packed with a great booklet of previously unreleased pics and artwork, 10 B-sides, 10 outtakes, and 14 live radio performances. What’s the most surprising about the reissue is discovering that most of the B-sides for their next album Terror Twilight were drawn from the Brighten the Corners era. I applaud Matador for including those B-sides on this reissue so that they’re in their proper context time wise. Pavement won over many critics with 1992’s Slanted and Enchanted and its follow up 1994’s Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. But time and time again Brighten the Corners is the Pavement album I return to. It’s one beautiful and majestic recording, and Pavement’s most accessible. Well, I suppose I should use that term loosely when it comes to Pavement. The guitars of Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg intertwine to create a symphony of mid-tempo delights that are just downright pretty in songs like “Shady Lane” and “Type Slowly.” And 11 years later, “Date with IKEA” has come true as the Swedish giant set a new store up near the docks here in Brooklyn. So does one get the meatballs when you go on a date there? (On a side note, I preordered the reissue for Matador as it came with a previously unreleased live album on vinyl. So here’s another reason to get my ass to Best Buy and get a new receiver so I can actually listen to all the vinyl I’ve purchased in the past year. That Minus 5 EP ain’t gonna play itself.)
4) Big Dipper - Supercluster: The Big Dipper Anthology (Merge)
The career of Boston’s Big Dipper could be the template for college rock/indie rock/CMJ new music bands of the late 80s—have a small but loyal following, release a couple of well reviewed albums, get signed to a big deal by a major label, then overdo it on your major label debut, have fans revolt, watch one member leave, get dropped from same major label, try to carry on for a couple of years and then quietly break up. Big Dipper were one of those quintessential bands of my college era. They made jerky, rhythmic, angular pop songs with lots of guitar hooks. Their subject matter was not typical “Boy meets girl, boy never gets girl.” They wrote songs about hunting down the Loch Ness monster, former bandmates and their destructive house parties and UFO enthusiasts and astronomers. And people who liked Big Dipper really liked Big Dipper. My pal Dev kept the band’s catalog alive when his band covered the ultra catchy minor Boston hit “All Going Out Together” at every single gig I saw them do. My college friend Scott almost always brought up “Ron Klaus Wrecked His House” as one of the tunes he wished he could find on CD. Supercluster made Scott’s dream (and many others I assume) come true. This three disc set combines the band’s debut EP and two full length albums they recorded before making the jump to a major label. The third disc, subtitled Very Loud Array, serves up 15 tracks the band recorded after their major label failure. It’s a shame that this material didn’t see the light of day 15 years ago, as songs like “Edith” and “The Beast” hold up just as well as their “hits” like “She’s Fetching” and “Ron Klaus.” It’s said that Tom Scharpling, WFMU radio host and executive producer and writer on Monk, is the reason for this reissue and the band’s few reunion shows this year. If that’s the case, I’d like to ask Mr. Scharpling to start work on a Scruffy the Cat reunion right now.
3) Eels - Useless Trinkets-B-Sides, Soundtracks, Rarities and Unreleased 1996-2006 (Geffen)
50 songs. 50 tunes that have never appeared on an album. Jeebus, eels mastermind e (Mark Everett) is one productive mofo. Maybe next year I can subcontract some of this list out to him. Useless Trinkets has everything an eels fan could want. Drastic reworkings of favorites (“Novocaine for the Soul (Live From Hell)” makes that hit positively chilling); songs about hate (“Fucker”); thoroughly depressing tales (“Stepmother,” the collection’s title track) crazy covers (“I Put a Spell On You”), genuinely moving covers (“The Dark End of the Street”); a ton of BBC performances and a bunch of the soundtrack songs e and company seem to release every year. It’s a shame that eels will go down in most people’s minds as a one hit wonder. Just one listen to this collection of songs that didn’t even make the cut for albums proves that they’re one of the most consistently engaging acts of the past decade.
2) Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo’s Factory (Concord/Fantasy)
If you are an American male between the ages of 35 and 65, it’s more than likely than at least 10 Creedence Clearwater Revival songs are imprinted upon your DNA. And there’s nothing wrong with that. John Fogerty and company crafted some of the strongest and most timeless songs of the rock era. (What artist in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame wouldn’t have killed to write a song like “Proud Mary” or “Fortunate Son?”) CCR’s 1976 20 song best of album Chronicle just might be the best greatest hits album ever released by a band whose name doesn’t rhyme with meatles. Alas, Chronicle kept me from truly exploring the CCR catalog while growing up. Who needed to hear those other album tracks when “Down on the Corner” and “Up Around the Bend” and “Bad Moon Rising” were all on one hit-packed album? (Gosh, now I sound like I’m about to pitch you the latest album from the Time-Life collection.) Fortunately Fogerty buried the hatchet with his old label Fantasy Records and sort of buried the hatchet with his remaining former bandmates Stu Cook and Doug Clifford so the CCR back catalog could get a proper reissue. And 1970’s Cosmo’s Factory stands taller than the rest. Normally I would follow that up with a big ol’ “duh” since the heart of Cosmo’s Factory is three double-sided singles that hit the Top 5 in 1970 (“Travelin’ Band”/”Who’ll Stop the Rain,” “Up Around the Bend”/”Run Through the Jungle” and “Lookin’ Out My Back Door”). This reissue is better than the other five that came out this year because of the clarity of the sound. Reissue producer Chris Clough (who was in charge of the whole catalog) was definitely on his game the day it came to remaster Cosmo’s Factory. The handclaps on “Up Around the Bend” sound as if they’re happening right next to your left ear. Fogerty’s always biting guitar leads cut through like never before. Clough and his team have pulled off an amazing feat—these songs I’ve heard thousands of times over the past 35 years or so sound as fresh as the first time I heard them. And lastly, I was able to type this entire entry with time to spare while spinning Cosmo’s Factory’s tour de force jam, “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.” Damn, they really don’t make albums this good all that often any more.
1) (tie) The Replacements - Tim, Pleased to Meet Me and Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash (Rhino/Ryko/Sire)
I could have easily put all eight of the Replacements reissues at number one. Each one is a fantastic album. And they each have a generous helping of bonus tracks. So I picked 1981’s Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash, 1985’s Tim and 1987’s Pleased to Meet Me because they had the highest quality bonus material. Sorry Ma would have made it even if it just included the first proper CD release of the drunkard’s lullaby “If Only You Were Lonely.” Add in the band’s original four song demo (with the immortal “Shut Up”) and an over-the-top version of “Customer” and you’ve got a winner. Tim includes an absolute stunning acoustic band take on “Can’t Hardly Wait,” the great B-side “Nowhere is My Home” and a blistering fast take on “Kiss Me on the Bus” that just might be better than the original. (For those who know the original track, you know that is high praise indeed.) And Pleased to Meet Me includes fascinating alternate takes on “Alex Chilton” and “Can’t Hardly Wait.” There’s so much good extra stuff it makes me wonder what else could be in the vaults for when the long-rumored Replacements box set finally sees the light of day. I for one can’t hardly wait. And I can’t believe I just went for the joke.
Since his passing in 2003, Warren Zevon’s recording career has finally been getting the attention it so well deserves. Last year saw a sonically improved reissue of 1978’s Excitable Boy as well as an expanded version of the great live album Stand in The Fire. Those two reissues are fantastic, but they’d be hard pressed to top the treasure trove of outtakes on the second disc of Zevon’s 1976 self-titled album. Zevon’s solo piano demos of “The French Inhaler” and “Mohammed’s Radio” (with a wicked Dylan impression thrown in on a few lines) are perhaps even better than their fully fleshed out versions. The alternate take of “I’m Sleep When I’m Dead” crackles with energy as Zevon and the band gleefully rip through it. Oh, and let’s not forget that the original album (which sounds so much warmer than the previous CD version) is pretty damn good too. From the Western tale “Frank and Jesse James” (originally written for Zevon’s former employers The Everly Brothers, and includes harmony vocals from Phil Everly) to one of the best drug tales ever committed to song, “Carmelita,” Warren Zevon is chock full of great tales of losers, hustlers and other seedy characters from L.A. Zevon’s somewhat abrasive edge is taken off a bit by producer Jackson Browne, yet he shows good restraint in not allowing the huge list of guests (Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Bonnie Raitt) not overshadow Zevon’s genius. Somehow I don’t even mind that Glenn Frey and Don Henley are on a couple of tracks. (Of course, I still wonder why those two didn’t get cancer instead.)
9) ZZ Top - Eliminator (Collectors Edition) (Rhino/WB)
Here’s a simple fact—ZZ Top’s pre-Eliminator albums have held up better sonically than Eliminator (and much more so than Afterburner) 25 years later. The Eliminator drums (a mixture of triggers and wickedly e-qued actual toms) and the rudimentary synth patterns totally date all of this material. The extra tracks on the first disc are a bunch of previously unreleased live versions that simply sound like hell. So why is it on this list? Because my friends, I fucking love every single one of those sounds. Those live tracks are so low-fi and feature the sound of what I swear is a synthesizer actually dying—and it makes me cackle in joy. “Gimme All Your Lovin” comes on and once again I’m that 14 year old kid discovering how rebellious it can be to listen to that “heavy rock” station out of Albany called PYX (as in picks) 106. I figure I’m turning 40 next year, I might as well just fully let go of any shame I have about enjoying the rock of my youth. (Yes, I did download Sammy Hagar’s “There’s Only One Way to Rock” this year. Okay, I didn’t pay for that download, but I still had to seek it out.) I almost forgot to mention that this Collector’s Edition comes with a DVD with all three of the classic Eliminator car videos. No more relying on YouTube or the two hours a day VH1 Classic still shows videos.
8) Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - Magic Tour Highlights (Columbia)
This digital only tour EP would have made this list if it just had one song—the last appearance Danny Federici made with the E Street Band before his death in April. (All proceeds the sales of the EP are being donated to The Danny Federici Melanoma Fund.) Add in the best guest appearance at an E Street Band show that I’ve ever heard and you’ve got something I had to download at 9 a.m. on the day of its release. Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello joined Springsteen on a duet of “The Ghost of Tom Joad” at two Anaheim shows back in April. Rage had done their own cover of “Joad” back in 1997 (I even interviewed Morello specifically about their take on it), so one would figure Morello would be well prepared for his guest shot. Who knew he would steal the entire performance? Springsteen takes the first verse, Morello the second, they split the third and the trade solos in the middle. All of which are great. Then Morello takes over and delivers a solo that uses his whole bag of tricks. It’s simply jaw-dropping, and the accompanying video with the EP shows Springsteen and the rest of the band just in awe of Morello. It’s good to see that when one artist respects another artist’s work and are invited to share the stage, they take that responsibility very seriously.
7) Nada Surf - Vinyl Box Set 1994-2008 (Barsuk)
Don’t go looking for this box set in your local store or on Amazon. They only made 1,000 of them and they’re all gone. And with good reason too. This set is one of the best packages I’ve ever seen. The booklet that comes with their five studio albums (and a repressing of their debut 45) is gorgeous, with reproductions of many tour posters, pictures from the road and the lyrics to every song. The best part of the set is the download code that comes inside—those eight letters get you get digital copies of their last four albums as well as a 16 track compilation of rarities. Just like many of my favorite acts, Nada Surf leave lots of great songs off of their albums. Hopefully very soon I’ll actually get a new receiver so I can use my turntable and hear how these albums sound the old fashioned way.
6) Whiskeytown - Strangers Almanac: Deluxe Edition (Outpost/Geffen)
There are deluxe editions, and then there are truly deluxe editions. Count this Stranger’s Almanac reissue in the latter category. The first disc has a remastered version of the amazing original album plus five unreleased NPR performances. The second disc has 17 unreleased tracks, including acoustic demos of “16 Days,” “Avenues” and “Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart” and seven unreleased songs that didn’t make the cut for the album. Two of these songs, “Nurse With The Pills” and “10 Seconds,” are as strong as anything else Ryan Adams has written in his post-Whiskeytown career. (And kind of makes me sad he hasn’t fulfilled the potential he had more than a decade ago.) It’s amazing that a 22 year-old kid could have come up with so many great songs in such a short time period. And I haven’t even mentioned the great covers on here—Fleetwood Mac's “Dreams,” Gram Parsons' “Luxury Liner,” and Johnny Cash's “I Still Miss Someone.” Many years ago I wrote about how Stranger’s Almanac was a “full service depression effort” because Adams’ lyrics fit various depressing parts of my life. Those memories and accompanying bouts of depression have faded away (whew) and thankfully I can still get enjoyment every time I play Stranger’s Almanac.
5) Pavement - Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition (Matador)
Matador Records sure knows how to do reissues right. This latest deluxe edition from the Pavement catalog is packed with a great booklet of previously unreleased pics and artwork, 10 B-sides, 10 outtakes, and 14 live radio performances. What’s the most surprising about the reissue is discovering that most of the B-sides for their next album Terror Twilight were drawn from the Brighten the Corners era. I applaud Matador for including those B-sides on this reissue so that they’re in their proper context time wise. Pavement won over many critics with 1992’s Slanted and Enchanted and its follow up 1994’s Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. But time and time again Brighten the Corners is the Pavement album I return to. It’s one beautiful and majestic recording, and Pavement’s most accessible. Well, I suppose I should use that term loosely when it comes to Pavement. The guitars of Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg intertwine to create a symphony of mid-tempo delights that are just downright pretty in songs like “Shady Lane” and “Type Slowly.” And 11 years later, “Date with IKEA” has come true as the Swedish giant set a new store up near the docks here in Brooklyn. So does one get the meatballs when you go on a date there? (On a side note, I preordered the reissue for Matador as it came with a previously unreleased live album on vinyl. So here’s another reason to get my ass to Best Buy and get a new receiver so I can actually listen to all the vinyl I’ve purchased in the past year. That Minus 5 EP ain’t gonna play itself.)
4) Big Dipper - Supercluster: The Big Dipper Anthology (Merge)
The career of Boston’s Big Dipper could be the template for college rock/indie rock/CMJ new music bands of the late 80s—have a small but loyal following, release a couple of well reviewed albums, get signed to a big deal by a major label, then overdo it on your major label debut, have fans revolt, watch one member leave, get dropped from same major label, try to carry on for a couple of years and then quietly break up. Big Dipper were one of those quintessential bands of my college era. They made jerky, rhythmic, angular pop songs with lots of guitar hooks. Their subject matter was not typical “Boy meets girl, boy never gets girl.” They wrote songs about hunting down the Loch Ness monster, former bandmates and their destructive house parties and UFO enthusiasts and astronomers. And people who liked Big Dipper really liked Big Dipper. My pal Dev kept the band’s catalog alive when his band covered the ultra catchy minor Boston hit “All Going Out Together” at every single gig I saw them do. My college friend Scott almost always brought up “Ron Klaus Wrecked His House” as one of the tunes he wished he could find on CD. Supercluster made Scott’s dream (and many others I assume) come true. This three disc set combines the band’s debut EP and two full length albums they recorded before making the jump to a major label. The third disc, subtitled Very Loud Array, serves up 15 tracks the band recorded after their major label failure. It’s a shame that this material didn’t see the light of day 15 years ago, as songs like “Edith” and “The Beast” hold up just as well as their “hits” like “She’s Fetching” and “Ron Klaus.” It’s said that Tom Scharpling, WFMU radio host and executive producer and writer on Monk, is the reason for this reissue and the band’s few reunion shows this year. If that’s the case, I’d like to ask Mr. Scharpling to start work on a Scruffy the Cat reunion right now.
3) Eels - Useless Trinkets-B-Sides, Soundtracks, Rarities and Unreleased 1996-2006 (Geffen)
50 songs. 50 tunes that have never appeared on an album. Jeebus, eels mastermind e (Mark Everett) is one productive mofo. Maybe next year I can subcontract some of this list out to him. Useless Trinkets has everything an eels fan could want. Drastic reworkings of favorites (“Novocaine for the Soul (Live From Hell)” makes that hit positively chilling); songs about hate (“Fucker”); thoroughly depressing tales (“Stepmother,” the collection’s title track) crazy covers (“I Put a Spell On You”), genuinely moving covers (“The Dark End of the Street”); a ton of BBC performances and a bunch of the soundtrack songs e and company seem to release every year. It’s a shame that eels will go down in most people’s minds as a one hit wonder. Just one listen to this collection of songs that didn’t even make the cut for albums proves that they’re one of the most consistently engaging acts of the past decade.
2) Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo’s Factory (Concord/Fantasy)
If you are an American male between the ages of 35 and 65, it’s more than likely than at least 10 Creedence Clearwater Revival songs are imprinted upon your DNA. And there’s nothing wrong with that. John Fogerty and company crafted some of the strongest and most timeless songs of the rock era. (What artist in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame wouldn’t have killed to write a song like “Proud Mary” or “Fortunate Son?”) CCR’s 1976 20 song best of album Chronicle just might be the best greatest hits album ever released by a band whose name doesn’t rhyme with meatles. Alas, Chronicle kept me from truly exploring the CCR catalog while growing up. Who needed to hear those other album tracks when “Down on the Corner” and “Up Around the Bend” and “Bad Moon Rising” were all on one hit-packed album? (Gosh, now I sound like I’m about to pitch you the latest album from the Time-Life collection.) Fortunately Fogerty buried the hatchet with his old label Fantasy Records and sort of buried the hatchet with his remaining former bandmates Stu Cook and Doug Clifford so the CCR back catalog could get a proper reissue. And 1970’s Cosmo’s Factory stands taller than the rest. Normally I would follow that up with a big ol’ “duh” since the heart of Cosmo’s Factory is three double-sided singles that hit the Top 5 in 1970 (“Travelin’ Band”/”Who’ll Stop the Rain,” “Up Around the Bend”/”Run Through the Jungle” and “Lookin’ Out My Back Door”). This reissue is better than the other five that came out this year because of the clarity of the sound. Reissue producer Chris Clough (who was in charge of the whole catalog) was definitely on his game the day it came to remaster Cosmo’s Factory. The handclaps on “Up Around the Bend” sound as if they’re happening right next to your left ear. Fogerty’s always biting guitar leads cut through like never before. Clough and his team have pulled off an amazing feat—these songs I’ve heard thousands of times over the past 35 years or so sound as fresh as the first time I heard them. And lastly, I was able to type this entire entry with time to spare while spinning Cosmo’s Factory’s tour de force jam, “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.” Damn, they really don’t make albums this good all that often any more.
1) (tie) The Replacements - Tim, Pleased to Meet Me and Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash (Rhino/Ryko/Sire)
I could have easily put all eight of the Replacements reissues at number one. Each one is a fantastic album. And they each have a generous helping of bonus tracks. So I picked 1981’s Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash, 1985’s Tim and 1987’s Pleased to Meet Me because they had the highest quality bonus material. Sorry Ma would have made it even if it just included the first proper CD release of the drunkard’s lullaby “If Only You Were Lonely.” Add in the band’s original four song demo (with the immortal “Shut Up”) and an over-the-top version of “Customer” and you’ve got a winner. Tim includes an absolute stunning acoustic band take on “Can’t Hardly Wait,” the great B-side “Nowhere is My Home” and a blistering fast take on “Kiss Me on the Bus” that just might be better than the original. (For those who know the original track, you know that is high praise indeed.) And Pleased to Meet Me includes fascinating alternate takes on “Alex Chilton” and “Can’t Hardly Wait.” There’s so much good extra stuff it makes me wonder what else could be in the vaults for when the long-rumored Replacements box set finally sees the light of day. I for one can’t hardly wait. And I can’t believe I just went for the joke.
Concerts
10) Letters to Cleo, Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY December 11th
Perhaps it’s seeing that dreaded age of 40 coming up in less than 11 months, or just acting more like an adult this entire year that has made me a fan of reunions. The latest reunion I had to was Letters to Cleo. The band hadn’t played together in over a decade (and I hadn't seen them in over 11 years), so I was rather excited when their gig at Bowery Ballroom was announced. I let my old roommate and fellow LTC huge fan Joe S. know immediately and we grabbed tickets. This was a reunion that did not disappoint. Kay Hanley might just be a better frontperson now than she was a decade ago. Her voice has a warmer tone nowadays, which made songs like “Co-Pilot” and “Awake” sound better than I remembered them. She seemed to work the crowd more easily, which she might have picked up having to entertain thousands of kids as one of Miley Cyrus's backup singers. (Um, and she has gotten hotter in the past 10 years too.) The rest of the band (minus original bassist Scott Riebling) now plays with more confidence in their own abilities and material. Drummer Stacy Jones (who happens to front a great band of his own called American Hi Fi) is just a monster behind the kit. And it wasn’t just the great performances that made the night so much fun. It was the chance to reveal in the memories the band’s music brought back (their album Go! was in heavy rotation at 288 5th Avenue in 1997) and to catch up with some of the band’s friends (like Jed and Pete from The Gravel Pit). Yeah, I guess getting old can be fun sometimes. I’d like to give LTC guitarist USA Mike (Michael Eisenstein) the last word on the Bowery show with a post he left on the Kay Hanley message board: “What a great night. I haven’t done an official ranking, but that was in the top 10 (maybe 5) Cleo shows of all time.” I’d have to agree.
9) Nada Surf, Terminal 5, New York, NY April 11th
So why does this Nada Surf show stand above the other four I’ve seen this year? Well, I’d have to say it was a certain part of the crowd at New York’s latest shitty venue. (The sound at Terminal 5 is NOT meant for rock shows. No freaking way). I went with Moria the concert pal, and we were convinced that the show was made better by these three kids (it was an all ages show, they might have been 21) in front of us who knew every single word—even the songs from the relatively new Lucky—and danced around and took pictures like they were having the time of their young lives. Heck, they probably were having the time of their lives. Their enthusiasm was infectious and made me enjoy a show that under normal circumstances wouldn't make it onto my Top 10 concerts for the year. An added bonus was how they pissed off this snooty couple in front of us. They both looked as if they swallowed a box of sour balls. Screw them if they can't have fun.
8) Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, ACL Festival, Zilker Park, Austin, TX September 27th
I knew that the Bright Eyes frontman was staying away from doing songs from that catalog on this solo tour, yet I didn't expect his hour-long set to be focused almost exclusively on his self-titled solo album. It’s apparent that escaping from the Bright Eyes name has freed up Oberst. He seemed very relaxed on stage. For once I didn’t expect him to throw a tantrum. He looked like a guy just having fun playing with some friends. That relaxed attitude went well with the one tremendous cover in the set—Paul Simon’s 1973 solo hit “Kodachrome.” I started chuckling as Oberst sang the opening line and I wondered if any of this mostly under-30-looking crowd had even heard the song. There were a few pockets of people dancing and clapping—and I was pretty sure those folks were definitely my age or a bit older. No matter, we old folks and Conor had fun, and that’s all that mattered.
7) Big Dipper, Southpaw, Brooklyn, NY April 25th
I stupidly missed Big Dipper when they played at The Haunt in Ithaca 18 years ago. I wasn’t going to miss my chance this time when they did a few dates in support of the anthology that the always great Merge Records released this year. (Even if I did get food poisoning from a pre-show catfish burger, yuck.) These four guys looked a whole lot older, but played just as well (and as loud, my left ear thought for about 36 hours) as they did back in the day. The next to last song in the set, "Ron Klaus Wrecked His House," was still stuck in my head a few days after the show. One can only hope we don't have to wait another 18 years for a Big Dipper show here in New York.
6) Neil Young, Wilco, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY December 16th
Eight years. Yes, it had been eight freaking years since I had seen Neil Young play an entire show (I did catch his Farm Aid set at New York's Randall’s Island in 2007) without the baggage of CSN on stage. It’s not that I haven’t had the chance to do so. I boycotted the 2003-4 Greendale tour with Crazy Horse as there was no way I was spending money to watch him perform his worst album ever. And the ticket prices for last year's theater tour behind Chrome Dreams II were just too pricey. However this time the temptation to go was great with the bonus of Wilco as the opening act. I hemmed and hawed about going until my dearest friend April (who was tired of the hemming, hawing and complaining) finally said, “I can buy tickets for you as a birthday present.” Since she had never seen Young, I felt okay letting her buy seats that were really expensive. Wilco did a great opening set, with Jeff Tweedy bringing out his son Spencer to play drums on “The Late Greats.” It was the younger Tweedy's birthday, which certainly must have made that appearance the best birthday present ever. Then Young came out with his Electric Band (made up of a cast of characters from throughout his career) and cranked out a decent version of the Ragged Glory gem “Love and Only Love.” As Young continued playing the hits I've seen many times before (“Hey Hey, My My,” “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere”) I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. I kept thinking “Crazy Horse did these songs better, I wish Crazy Horse was here.” And then these opening lines rang out: “Look out mama, there's a white boat coming up a river." Instantly my doubts went away. I mean, I was seeing Neil freaking Young! Dude, this is fucking “Powderfinger!” This is awesome! The rest of the show was fantastic. It clocked in at over two and a half hours, which is the longest Neil show I’ve ever seen. And to prove that he's got some life in him yet, he mixed in nine new tunes. Alas most of them were subpar, yet it was great seeing an artist I respect taking a chance by performing what basically was an entire unreleased album. It reminded me of the Neil shows I saw in the late ’80s and early ’90s where he would play songs that would end up on his next album. And considering the nostalgia trip I’ve been on during this trying year that was alright with me.
5) The Figgs, Knitting Factory, New York, NY, August 29th
What makes this Figgs gig different than the rest of their shows I saw this year was the element of surprise when they broke into a cover of Neil Young’s “The Loner.” I didn't expect it at all, which made it even more incredible. It had to be one of the Top 5 moments I've ever experienced at a Figgs show. (And there have been over 80 shows now.) Mike Gent, Pete Donnelly and Pete Hayes just rocked the hell out of it, while keyboardist Scott Janovitz absolutely nailed the keyboard parts that Young discarded after he recorded the song for his 1969 self-titled solo debut. I don’t know what else to write. It was one of those rock moments that can probably never be duplicated.
4) Wilco, McCarren Park Pool, Brooklyn, NY August 13th
Wilco + Brooklyn + outdoors on a beauty of a summer night + the horn section The Total Pros, on 11 songs = fucking magnificent.
3) Okkervil River, ACL Festival, Zilker Park, Austin, TX September 28th
Okkervil River + Austin + outdoors as the sun is starting to sink in the Texas sky + a raucous group of hometown supporters = fucking magnificent.
2) David Byrne, Paramount Theater, Austin, TX September 25th
When the Austin City Limits Festival was announced, I was intrigued by the listing of David Byrne “playing the songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno.” My Austin friend (and place-to-crash supplier these past three years) Stacy is a huge Talking Heads fan and was excited by this prospect as well. Alas, when the schedule was released Byrne’s set was on the first day of ACL, which of course was the day Stacy couldn’t go. About a month before the festival a bunch of aftershows were announced for various Austin venues and Byrne was one of them. So we decided to take the plunge and get tix for this ACL aftershow...that was the night before ACL. Huh? In any case, it was a very wise decision. Byrne’s latest collaboration with Eno, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, is his strongest album in years and was the centerpiece of a set consisting only of songs he wrote with Eno. (Or, in the case of the Al Green cover "Take Me to the River," Eno produced.) I am a huge fan of the Jonathan Demme-directed Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense, which takes simple staging and brings it to another level. Byrne’s show that night felt like an extension of all of that. The entire band was dressed in white and supplemented by three dancers. And these dancers were tremendous. The choreography during the songs (I’d say about 75% of the set featured the dancers) adds an extra dimension to the old Heads classics and the strong new material. In times of rising ticket prices, it’s good to see someone who can put on a true show without having to resort to 800 video screens and autotuned vocals.
1) R.E.M., Madison Square Garden, New York, NY June 19th
It’s rare when I can say this about a band, especially an act that I’ve been a devoted fan of for 23 years: this was the best R.E.M. show I’ve ever seen. Ever. You might ask, “Why do you feel this way after 20 years of seeing them perform?” Well, I would reply that the set list was about as diverse as I’ve ever witnessed. The band finally seemed comfortable without Bill Berry behind the drum kit. (Bill Rieflin is the second best Bill the band has ever had.) Michael Stipe, Mike Mills and Peter Buck looked like they actually enjoyed each other’s company and were having a terrific time going through their past (“Harborcoat?” “Disturbance at the Heron House?” OMFG!) and their present (“Living Well’s the Best Revenge” from the great Accelerate is a quintessential set opener). My friend, fellow baseball fanatic and longtime R.E.M. touring guitarist Scott McCaughey was his typical cheery on stage self. And they played “Ignoreland.” “Ignoreland” has always been the stepchild of the mostly downbeat Automatic for the People. It’s got loud guitars, a funky clavinet part and sounds distinctly out of place next to “Monty Got a Raw Deal” and “Star Me Kitten.” Stipe spits out the lyrics about the Reagan/Bush 1 era as co-producer Scott Litt makes Stipe’s voice sound as if it’s being broadcast over distorted speakers at the world’s largest political rally. It’s a song that would fit snugly on Life’s Rich Pageant or Document, yet the band never played it live until this tour. And my oh my, it really was a treat to see and hear. Lastly, I must admit there are times where I am way past my job being cool. Having someone the R.E.M. office calling me two hours before showtime to offer a last-minute pair of free tickets that ended up being eight row? Holy shit, that was fucking cool.
Perhaps it’s seeing that dreaded age of 40 coming up in less than 11 months, or just acting more like an adult this entire year that has made me a fan of reunions. The latest reunion I had to was Letters to Cleo. The band hadn’t played together in over a decade (and I hadn't seen them in over 11 years), so I was rather excited when their gig at Bowery Ballroom was announced. I let my old roommate and fellow LTC huge fan Joe S. know immediately and we grabbed tickets. This was a reunion that did not disappoint. Kay Hanley might just be a better frontperson now than she was a decade ago. Her voice has a warmer tone nowadays, which made songs like “Co-Pilot” and “Awake” sound better than I remembered them. She seemed to work the crowd more easily, which she might have picked up having to entertain thousands of kids as one of Miley Cyrus's backup singers. (Um, and she has gotten hotter in the past 10 years too.) The rest of the band (minus original bassist Scott Riebling) now plays with more confidence in their own abilities and material. Drummer Stacy Jones (who happens to front a great band of his own called American Hi Fi) is just a monster behind the kit. And it wasn’t just the great performances that made the night so much fun. It was the chance to reveal in the memories the band’s music brought back (their album Go! was in heavy rotation at 288 5th Avenue in 1997) and to catch up with some of the band’s friends (like Jed and Pete from The Gravel Pit). Yeah, I guess getting old can be fun sometimes. I’d like to give LTC guitarist USA Mike (Michael Eisenstein) the last word on the Bowery show with a post he left on the Kay Hanley message board: “What a great night. I haven’t done an official ranking, but that was in the top 10 (maybe 5) Cleo shows of all time.” I’d have to agree.
9) Nada Surf, Terminal 5, New York, NY April 11th
So why does this Nada Surf show stand above the other four I’ve seen this year? Well, I’d have to say it was a certain part of the crowd at New York’s latest shitty venue. (The sound at Terminal 5 is NOT meant for rock shows. No freaking way). I went with Moria the concert pal, and we were convinced that the show was made better by these three kids (it was an all ages show, they might have been 21) in front of us who knew every single word—even the songs from the relatively new Lucky—and danced around and took pictures like they were having the time of their young lives. Heck, they probably were having the time of their lives. Their enthusiasm was infectious and made me enjoy a show that under normal circumstances wouldn't make it onto my Top 10 concerts for the year. An added bonus was how they pissed off this snooty couple in front of us. They both looked as if they swallowed a box of sour balls. Screw them if they can't have fun.
8) Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, ACL Festival, Zilker Park, Austin, TX September 27th
I knew that the Bright Eyes frontman was staying away from doing songs from that catalog on this solo tour, yet I didn't expect his hour-long set to be focused almost exclusively on his self-titled solo album. It’s apparent that escaping from the Bright Eyes name has freed up Oberst. He seemed very relaxed on stage. For once I didn’t expect him to throw a tantrum. He looked like a guy just having fun playing with some friends. That relaxed attitude went well with the one tremendous cover in the set—Paul Simon’s 1973 solo hit “Kodachrome.” I started chuckling as Oberst sang the opening line and I wondered if any of this mostly under-30-looking crowd had even heard the song. There were a few pockets of people dancing and clapping—and I was pretty sure those folks were definitely my age or a bit older. No matter, we old folks and Conor had fun, and that’s all that mattered.
7) Big Dipper, Southpaw, Brooklyn, NY April 25th
I stupidly missed Big Dipper when they played at The Haunt in Ithaca 18 years ago. I wasn’t going to miss my chance this time when they did a few dates in support of the anthology that the always great Merge Records released this year. (Even if I did get food poisoning from a pre-show catfish burger, yuck.) These four guys looked a whole lot older, but played just as well (and as loud, my left ear thought for about 36 hours) as they did back in the day. The next to last song in the set, "Ron Klaus Wrecked His House," was still stuck in my head a few days after the show. One can only hope we don't have to wait another 18 years for a Big Dipper show here in New York.
6) Neil Young, Wilco, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY December 16th
Eight years. Yes, it had been eight freaking years since I had seen Neil Young play an entire show (I did catch his Farm Aid set at New York's Randall’s Island in 2007) without the baggage of CSN on stage. It’s not that I haven’t had the chance to do so. I boycotted the 2003-4 Greendale tour with Crazy Horse as there was no way I was spending money to watch him perform his worst album ever. And the ticket prices for last year's theater tour behind Chrome Dreams II were just too pricey. However this time the temptation to go was great with the bonus of Wilco as the opening act. I hemmed and hawed about going until my dearest friend April (who was tired of the hemming, hawing and complaining) finally said, “I can buy tickets for you as a birthday present.” Since she had never seen Young, I felt okay letting her buy seats that were really expensive. Wilco did a great opening set, with Jeff Tweedy bringing out his son Spencer to play drums on “The Late Greats.” It was the younger Tweedy's birthday, which certainly must have made that appearance the best birthday present ever. Then Young came out with his Electric Band (made up of a cast of characters from throughout his career) and cranked out a decent version of the Ragged Glory gem “Love and Only Love.” As Young continued playing the hits I've seen many times before (“Hey Hey, My My,” “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere”) I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. I kept thinking “Crazy Horse did these songs better, I wish Crazy Horse was here.” And then these opening lines rang out: “Look out mama, there's a white boat coming up a river." Instantly my doubts went away. I mean, I was seeing Neil freaking Young! Dude, this is fucking “Powderfinger!” This is awesome! The rest of the show was fantastic. It clocked in at over two and a half hours, which is the longest Neil show I’ve ever seen. And to prove that he's got some life in him yet, he mixed in nine new tunes. Alas most of them were subpar, yet it was great seeing an artist I respect taking a chance by performing what basically was an entire unreleased album. It reminded me of the Neil shows I saw in the late ’80s and early ’90s where he would play songs that would end up on his next album. And considering the nostalgia trip I’ve been on during this trying year that was alright with me.
5) The Figgs, Knitting Factory, New York, NY, August 29th
What makes this Figgs gig different than the rest of their shows I saw this year was the element of surprise when they broke into a cover of Neil Young’s “The Loner.” I didn't expect it at all, which made it even more incredible. It had to be one of the Top 5 moments I've ever experienced at a Figgs show. (And there have been over 80 shows now.) Mike Gent, Pete Donnelly and Pete Hayes just rocked the hell out of it, while keyboardist Scott Janovitz absolutely nailed the keyboard parts that Young discarded after he recorded the song for his 1969 self-titled solo debut. I don’t know what else to write. It was one of those rock moments that can probably never be duplicated.
4) Wilco, McCarren Park Pool, Brooklyn, NY August 13th
Wilco + Brooklyn + outdoors on a beauty of a summer night + the horn section The Total Pros, on 11 songs = fucking magnificent.
3) Okkervil River, ACL Festival, Zilker Park, Austin, TX September 28th
Okkervil River + Austin + outdoors as the sun is starting to sink in the Texas sky + a raucous group of hometown supporters = fucking magnificent.
2) David Byrne, Paramount Theater, Austin, TX September 25th
When the Austin City Limits Festival was announced, I was intrigued by the listing of David Byrne “playing the songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno.” My Austin friend (and place-to-crash supplier these past three years) Stacy is a huge Talking Heads fan and was excited by this prospect as well. Alas, when the schedule was released Byrne’s set was on the first day of ACL, which of course was the day Stacy couldn’t go. About a month before the festival a bunch of aftershows were announced for various Austin venues and Byrne was one of them. So we decided to take the plunge and get tix for this ACL aftershow...that was the night before ACL. Huh? In any case, it was a very wise decision. Byrne’s latest collaboration with Eno, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, is his strongest album in years and was the centerpiece of a set consisting only of songs he wrote with Eno. (Or, in the case of the Al Green cover "Take Me to the River," Eno produced.) I am a huge fan of the Jonathan Demme-directed Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense, which takes simple staging and brings it to another level. Byrne’s show that night felt like an extension of all of that. The entire band was dressed in white and supplemented by three dancers. And these dancers were tremendous. The choreography during the songs (I’d say about 75% of the set featured the dancers) adds an extra dimension to the old Heads classics and the strong new material. In times of rising ticket prices, it’s good to see someone who can put on a true show without having to resort to 800 video screens and autotuned vocals.
1) R.E.M., Madison Square Garden, New York, NY June 19th
It’s rare when I can say this about a band, especially an act that I’ve been a devoted fan of for 23 years: this was the best R.E.M. show I’ve ever seen. Ever. You might ask, “Why do you feel this way after 20 years of seeing them perform?” Well, I would reply that the set list was about as diverse as I’ve ever witnessed. The band finally seemed comfortable without Bill Berry behind the drum kit. (Bill Rieflin is the second best Bill the band has ever had.) Michael Stipe, Mike Mills and Peter Buck looked like they actually enjoyed each other’s company and were having a terrific time going through their past (“Harborcoat?” “Disturbance at the Heron House?” OMFG!) and their present (“Living Well’s the Best Revenge” from the great Accelerate is a quintessential set opener). My friend, fellow baseball fanatic and longtime R.E.M. touring guitarist Scott McCaughey was his typical cheery on stage self. And they played “Ignoreland.” “Ignoreland” has always been the stepchild of the mostly downbeat Automatic for the People. It’s got loud guitars, a funky clavinet part and sounds distinctly out of place next to “Monty Got a Raw Deal” and “Star Me Kitten.” Stipe spits out the lyrics about the Reagan/Bush 1 era as co-producer Scott Litt makes Stipe’s voice sound as if it’s being broadcast over distorted speakers at the world’s largest political rally. It’s a song that would fit snugly on Life’s Rich Pageant or Document, yet the band never played it live until this tour. And my oh my, it really was a treat to see and hear. Lastly, I must admit there are times where I am way past my job being cool. Having someone the R.E.M. office calling me two hours before showtime to offer a last-minute pair of free tickets that ended up being eight row? Holy shit, that was fucking cool.
Discovery of the Year
OKKERVIL RIVER
I suppose it’s strange to say that a band who had an album in your Top 5 last year is a discovery. Yet my fandom kicked up to a higher level this year after it had come full circle. Allow me to explain. At the 2006 Austin City Limits Music Festival I got my first exposure to Okkervil River. In the 100 degree heat at Zilker Park my friend Stacy said, “We should stop and watch some of Okkervil River.” Even though I was wilting, I agreed. The second song we saw them do was “The President's Dead.” I was immediately hooked by this tale about how a simple and beautiful day in someone's life become memorable because of an assassination of a world leader. I found the song online once I got back to New York and it started me on my path to Okkervil River fandom. Flash forward two years—I saw Okkervill River twice in the space of nine days, the first at ACL and the second time at Webster Hall here in New York. Frontman Will Sheff opened this show up with a song that used “The President's Dead” music, but with some decidedly darker lyrics: "The President's alive. I see his face on FOX 5. My friends I feel so terrified.” However, “The President's Alive” isn't about our current ineffective leader. The lyrics go on to mention “The Vice standing by” with “just one tear in her eye.” To open up a show with this song, on the night of second presidential debate, well, damn, it was pretty powerful.
I suppose it’s strange to say that a band who had an album in your Top 5 last year is a discovery. Yet my fandom kicked up to a higher level this year after it had come full circle. Allow me to explain. At the 2006 Austin City Limits Music Festival I got my first exposure to Okkervil River. In the 100 degree heat at Zilker Park my friend Stacy said, “We should stop and watch some of Okkervil River.” Even though I was wilting, I agreed. The second song we saw them do was “The President's Dead.” I was immediately hooked by this tale about how a simple and beautiful day in someone's life become memorable because of an assassination of a world leader. I found the song online once I got back to New York and it started me on my path to Okkervil River fandom. Flash forward two years—I saw Okkervill River twice in the space of nine days, the first at ACL and the second time at Webster Hall here in New York. Frontman Will Sheff opened this show up with a song that used “The President's Dead” music, but with some decidedly darker lyrics: "The President's alive. I see his face on FOX 5. My friends I feel so terrified.” However, “The President's Alive” isn't about our current ineffective leader. The lyrics go on to mention “The Vice standing by” with “just one tear in her eye.” To open up a show with this song, on the night of second presidential debate, well, damn, it was pretty powerful.
Rediscovery of the Year
The Temptations
I spent much of the fall listening to New York's oldies station CBS-FM. Perhaps it was just a function of another birthday rolling around and I felt like reveling in my past. Or maybe I didn't want to sit through another WFUV fund drive. Or perhaps I just didn't want to listen to baseball on the radio done by people not named Howie Rose. Whatever the reason, I woke up one night to hear “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” and it struck me that I haven't owned a single Motown album (and only a couple of tracks scattered on some compilations) since I scored a major case of burnout on all their acts in the early ’90s. “Papa” sounded so good that night I realized I needed to get that song again. And while I was at it, I decided to download all of The Tempts greatest hits. As I was scrolling through the various song selections, I stumbled upon “Shakey Ground.” I didn’t even realize that the funky gem from 1975 (which I remember hearing on WGY-AM growing up) was a Temptations song. Damn, what a killer track. 20 downloads later, I had filled in a crucial gap in my musical history.
I spent much of the fall listening to New York's oldies station CBS-FM. Perhaps it was just a function of another birthday rolling around and I felt like reveling in my past. Or maybe I didn't want to sit through another WFUV fund drive. Or perhaps I just didn't want to listen to baseball on the radio done by people not named Howie Rose. Whatever the reason, I woke up one night to hear “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” and it struck me that I haven't owned a single Motown album (and only a couple of tracks scattered on some compilations) since I scored a major case of burnout on all their acts in the early ’90s. “Papa” sounded so good that night I realized I needed to get that song again. And while I was at it, I decided to download all of The Tempts greatest hits. As I was scrolling through the various song selections, I stumbled upon “Shakey Ground.” I didn’t even realize that the funky gem from 1975 (which I remember hearing on WGY-AM growing up) was a Temptations song. Damn, what a killer track. 20 downloads later, I had filled in a crucial gap in my musical history.
2008's Top 10 Visual Aids
10) Costas Now With Aaron & Mays (HBO)
Full disclosure: Bob Costas tapes his radio show out of the studios on my floor, so I’ve had the chance to actually speak with him a couple of times. After seeing this hour long discussion with two of the greatest living ballplayers, I felt compelled to stop him and pay him a compliment. He replied with the simplest explanation possible about why this town hall meeting style show worked—“With those two up there, I just tried to stay out of the way.” And Costas largely succeeded, gently directing the pair to another topic when it was needed and smartly bringing in some select audience members (Dave Winfield and Jimmy Rollins) to further the conversation. It was an extremely well executed show on every front (most of the reaction shots from the star-packed audience were perfectly placed) and was one of the reasons I’m glad I kept up my HBO subscription this year. (Well, that and the fact that Flight of the Conchords returns in January of ’09.)
9) Psych (USA)
This fake-psychic-plays-detective show seems to draw a divisive line down the viewing audience. Folks like me enjoy the witty banter of James Roday’s character Shawn Spencer. Others can’t stand any line that the character says and feel that Roday comes off a smarmy. (I particularly enjoyed reading one TV critic’s blog where he said that “I’d enjoy watching an episode where Shawn repeatedly gets punched in the face.”) In other words, this Friday night comedy-mystery ain’t for everyone. I’ll admit that every plot is the same every week—Shawn takes a case, his partner Gus (Dule Hill) poo-poos Shawn’s antics, Shawn hits on detective Juliet O’Hara (Maggie Lawson), detective Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) gets annoyed in a laughable way, and Shawn’s dad (Corbin Bernson) gets in a few sarcastic remarks. Fortunately the first half of season three expanded on the show’s blueprint by giving Shawn and his father some emotional depth by bringing Shawn’s long-departed mother (played by Cybil Shepherd) into the mix for a couple of episodes. It brought a new light onto this prickly father-son relationship and gave Roday and Bernson some good scenes in which to explore the motives of their characters. The show also scaled new comedic heights with an entire episode set around a murder on a Spanish telenovella. Roday (whose real last name is Rodríguez) looked especially gleeful in his scenes where he had to speak Spanish in a halting, ill-constructed manner. And now that I have a DVR, I’ll never miss an episode.
8) How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
This year has been a bit uneven on the first CBS show I’ve watched regularly since the days of Northern Exposure. The sitcom that never felt looked like it was shot, acted or written like a traditional sitcom fell into some of those long held plots and jokes that could have been on any other unfunny comedy polluting the networks. More than once I said to myself, “Isn’t this something I saw, or could have seen, on Friends?” Yet the high points have more than made up for the typical plots that are very atypical for this show. And the main reason for that is the award-worthy performance of Neil Patrick Harris. His portrayal of womanizer Barney Stinson discovering he’s in love with his friend Robin (played by Colbie Smothers) has brought a human edge to the character. And Harris was especially outstanding in the episode where Barney tries to resist the lure of single, horny women at a wedding while hoping to reconnect with Robin. Harris should win an Emmy based on those five minutes on screen alone. I’d also like to mention that this year the show has included goats as plot points in two episodes—and you can never go wrong with a goat.
7) Elvis Mitchell: Under the Influence (TCM)
Elvis Mitchell served as one of the New York Times film critics from 1999 to 2004. During that time I always looked forward to Friday’s paper, as I knew I’d get to read a humorous yet thoughtful take on everything from the latest Jerry Bruckheimer blow ’em up blockbuster to the smallest shoestring budget indie film. Mitchell wrote my favorite film review ever, a hysterical indictment of John Travolta’s hard-on for Scientology flick Battlefield Earth. (I still have the clip of it from the paper in my archives.) The opening few lines still make me laugh eight years later: “‘Man is an endangered species,’ announces one of the titles at the beginning. And after about 20 minutes of this amateurish picture, extinction doesn't seem like such a bad idea. Sitting through it is like watching the most expensively mounted high school play of all time…It may be a bit early to make such judgments, but Battlefield Earth may well turn out to be the worst movie of this century.” Ha ha ha! Mitchell’s post-Times career has seen him work for the L.A. NPR affiliate KCRW as an interviewer. This year he brought his ability of drawing the best out of his subjects to a cable talk show about films. Normally I’d yawn at that idea (and maybe even fall asleep typing out that sentence) but Mitchell’s soothing voice and way of posing questions that make his guests think works for me. His ability to get normally press shy actors like Bill Murray and Edward Norton to open up about their favorite films and actors is no small feat. Under the Influence is perfect show for a fan of film or smart, in depth conversation to watch as they wind down their week.
6) Nova: Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives (PBS)
I’d never watched PBS’s Nova before this fall. I’m pretty doubtful I’ll ever watch it again. That’s what made the enjoyment of this episode so surprising to me. Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives is a documentary about eels frontman Mark “E” Everett and his exploration of his father’s theory of parallel universes. Watching the guy who wrote “Novocaine for the Soul” learn about quantum physics from his father’s old college buddies and co-workers while saying he couldn’t even remember his father ever hugging him was damn fascinating. I felt smarter after the show was over—and that I definitely knew where Everett’s dark view of the world was formed.
5) Burn Notice (USA)
I am fearful for the second half of the second season of this lighthearted spy show. It’s coming back in January and I wonder if I’ll love it as much as I did during the summer. Will its mix of inventive action and comedy work when its not 65 degrees at night and I’m not sitting around in shorts sipping on a cold beer? I sure hope so. The first part of second season showed that the writers have really understood what makes these characters so memorable and watchable. The interactions between Jeffery Donavan and Sharon Gless (going to therapy together, Donavan’s Michael Weston sometimes revealing the dangerous line of work he was in) have been superb. Bruce Campbell is the glue that holds this whole action and comedy mix together. Campbell’s Sam is an old army green beret, and his old high school football coach look (a former athlete gone to seed) fits his role to a tee. His peculiar mannerisms and delivery might be a bit campy on another show, but here he's fantastic. I hope Burn Notice makes an easier transition to the “real” TV season. (As if anyone pays attention to the traditional beginning and end of the TV season anymore.)
4) Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog (Timescience Bloodclub)
Here’s how to make comedy/sci-fi fans like me crash a website (and keep checking iTunes day after day to download something new): have Joss Whedon (Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) launch an online only tale in three acts about an evil doctor, a beautiful woman and a smarmy superhero that also happens to be a musical that stars Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillon (Firefly). This hysterical program is the best thing that came out of the lengthy writer’s strike. (The second best is that my number two show of the year got to come back for a second season.) Whedon wrote Dr. Horrible as a way to prove that writers deserved a cut of internet profits networks were getting for showing episodes on the web. And with the amount of online buzz and server crashes that happened this summer, I think Whedon proved his point.
3) The Middleman (ABC Family)
The television landscape is littered with shows that lasted all of one season, got canceled and had a cult following pining for a resurrection that never came. That’s the (still unofficial, yet likely) scenario for The Middleman. The show’s title character, as played by Matt Kessler, is the guy that saves the world from aliens, demons, vampire puppets and other unlikely forms of evil that turn up in California. His sidekick Wendy Watson, as played by Natalie Morales, is a Middleman in training and can kick some serious ass on her own. On paper the idea for the show seems flat out stupid. On screen, it was a pure joy to watch. The Middleman is an almost too decent to be true good guy (drinks milk, doesn’t swear, watches old westerns for their heroic qualities) on TV today. Yet Kessler makes him absolutely believable because he doesn’t play him with a knowing wink to the audience. Kessler believes in the goodness of his character, and we in turn end up believing right along with him. The Middleman also had some of the finest pop culture references ever stacked into TV dialogue. (The show’s blog would list about 30 of them for every episode.) Sadly, the show seemed horrible misplaced on ABC Family, even at a more adult oriented 10:00 p.m. time slot. (And who knew that at 11:00 p.m., Pat Robertson still hosted the 700 Club on there from the old Family Channel days. Wow.) When the inevitable DVD comes out, add it to your Netflix que. You won’t be sorry.
2) Chuck (NBC)
Here’s exactly when I knew that the second season of Chuck might be one of the best second seasons ever for a TV show: a plot about how Missile Command had actual codes to control a satellite buried on the game’s final screen and how Chuck needed to play along to Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” to make it to that screen made complete sense. And inspired some gut busting laughter in my little slice of Kensington. The writer’s strike that shut down production of the first season did wonders for Chuck, as co-creators Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak figured out how to make everything fit together on the series. The main plot of each episode (whatever bad guy is trying to control the world, etc.) now usually has a thematic link with the events at Chuck’s non-spy job, working at the Buy More. They also have squeezed in some top-notch guest stars. John Larroquette as a spy who was once the world's greatest lover and is now the world's biggest drunk, The O.C.’s Melinda Clarke as a Russian black widow and Morgan Fairchild and Bruce Boxleitner as Chuck’s sister’s future in laws. While stunt-casting has killed many a show, it works perfectly here. With such a large ensemble cast and so many different parts of Chuck's life to maintain plot-wise, there's never been much screen time to establish the one-shot characters. Having a Larroquette or a Clarke gives you a stronger sense of each character and helps fill in a lot of blanks. And as I said last year, any show with Adam Baldwin is always a good time.
1) Lost (ABC)
I’m running out of good things to say about this show, which rebounded in second half of season three and hit new peaks in season four. Giving the show’s writers a specific end date for the series was the best idea ever. Not every mystery has been answered (there’s at least 30 things I still don’t understand, some dating back to the freaking pilot) and I’m sure not all of them will. I don’t care. As long as we keep getting the twists and turns of the Oceanic Six and those left on the island for the next two years, I still won’t care. Well, I really would love a real answer about the polar bears on a tropical island.
Full disclosure: Bob Costas tapes his radio show out of the studios on my floor, so I’ve had the chance to actually speak with him a couple of times. After seeing this hour long discussion with two of the greatest living ballplayers, I felt compelled to stop him and pay him a compliment. He replied with the simplest explanation possible about why this town hall meeting style show worked—“With those two up there, I just tried to stay out of the way.” And Costas largely succeeded, gently directing the pair to another topic when it was needed and smartly bringing in some select audience members (Dave Winfield and Jimmy Rollins) to further the conversation. It was an extremely well executed show on every front (most of the reaction shots from the star-packed audience were perfectly placed) and was one of the reasons I’m glad I kept up my HBO subscription this year. (Well, that and the fact that Flight of the Conchords returns in January of ’09.)
9) Psych (USA)
This fake-psychic-plays-detective show seems to draw a divisive line down the viewing audience. Folks like me enjoy the witty banter of James Roday’s character Shawn Spencer. Others can’t stand any line that the character says and feel that Roday comes off a smarmy. (I particularly enjoyed reading one TV critic’s blog where he said that “I’d enjoy watching an episode where Shawn repeatedly gets punched in the face.”) In other words, this Friday night comedy-mystery ain’t for everyone. I’ll admit that every plot is the same every week—Shawn takes a case, his partner Gus (Dule Hill) poo-poos Shawn’s antics, Shawn hits on detective Juliet O’Hara (Maggie Lawson), detective Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) gets annoyed in a laughable way, and Shawn’s dad (Corbin Bernson) gets in a few sarcastic remarks. Fortunately the first half of season three expanded on the show’s blueprint by giving Shawn and his father some emotional depth by bringing Shawn’s long-departed mother (played by Cybil Shepherd) into the mix for a couple of episodes. It brought a new light onto this prickly father-son relationship and gave Roday and Bernson some good scenes in which to explore the motives of their characters. The show also scaled new comedic heights with an entire episode set around a murder on a Spanish telenovella. Roday (whose real last name is Rodríguez) looked especially gleeful in his scenes where he had to speak Spanish in a halting, ill-constructed manner. And now that I have a DVR, I’ll never miss an episode.
8) How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
This year has been a bit uneven on the first CBS show I’ve watched regularly since the days of Northern Exposure. The sitcom that never felt looked like it was shot, acted or written like a traditional sitcom fell into some of those long held plots and jokes that could have been on any other unfunny comedy polluting the networks. More than once I said to myself, “Isn’t this something I saw, or could have seen, on Friends?” Yet the high points have more than made up for the typical plots that are very atypical for this show. And the main reason for that is the award-worthy performance of Neil Patrick Harris. His portrayal of womanizer Barney Stinson discovering he’s in love with his friend Robin (played by Colbie Smothers) has brought a human edge to the character. And Harris was especially outstanding in the episode where Barney tries to resist the lure of single, horny women at a wedding while hoping to reconnect with Robin. Harris should win an Emmy based on those five minutes on screen alone. I’d also like to mention that this year the show has included goats as plot points in two episodes—and you can never go wrong with a goat.
7) Elvis Mitchell: Under the Influence (TCM)
Elvis Mitchell served as one of the New York Times film critics from 1999 to 2004. During that time I always looked forward to Friday’s paper, as I knew I’d get to read a humorous yet thoughtful take on everything from the latest Jerry Bruckheimer blow ’em up blockbuster to the smallest shoestring budget indie film. Mitchell wrote my favorite film review ever, a hysterical indictment of John Travolta’s hard-on for Scientology flick Battlefield Earth. (I still have the clip of it from the paper in my archives.) The opening few lines still make me laugh eight years later: “‘Man is an endangered species,’ announces one of the titles at the beginning. And after about 20 minutes of this amateurish picture, extinction doesn't seem like such a bad idea. Sitting through it is like watching the most expensively mounted high school play of all time…It may be a bit early to make such judgments, but Battlefield Earth may well turn out to be the worst movie of this century.” Ha ha ha! Mitchell’s post-Times career has seen him work for the L.A. NPR affiliate KCRW as an interviewer. This year he brought his ability of drawing the best out of his subjects to a cable talk show about films. Normally I’d yawn at that idea (and maybe even fall asleep typing out that sentence) but Mitchell’s soothing voice and way of posing questions that make his guests think works for me. His ability to get normally press shy actors like Bill Murray and Edward Norton to open up about their favorite films and actors is no small feat. Under the Influence is perfect show for a fan of film or smart, in depth conversation to watch as they wind down their week.
6) Nova: Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives (PBS)
I’d never watched PBS’s Nova before this fall. I’m pretty doubtful I’ll ever watch it again. That’s what made the enjoyment of this episode so surprising to me. Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives is a documentary about eels frontman Mark “E” Everett and his exploration of his father’s theory of parallel universes. Watching the guy who wrote “Novocaine for the Soul” learn about quantum physics from his father’s old college buddies and co-workers while saying he couldn’t even remember his father ever hugging him was damn fascinating. I felt smarter after the show was over—and that I definitely knew where Everett’s dark view of the world was formed.
5) Burn Notice (USA)
I am fearful for the second half of the second season of this lighthearted spy show. It’s coming back in January and I wonder if I’ll love it as much as I did during the summer. Will its mix of inventive action and comedy work when its not 65 degrees at night and I’m not sitting around in shorts sipping on a cold beer? I sure hope so. The first part of second season showed that the writers have really understood what makes these characters so memorable and watchable. The interactions between Jeffery Donavan and Sharon Gless (going to therapy together, Donavan’s Michael Weston sometimes revealing the dangerous line of work he was in) have been superb. Bruce Campbell is the glue that holds this whole action and comedy mix together. Campbell’s Sam is an old army green beret, and his old high school football coach look (a former athlete gone to seed) fits his role to a tee. His peculiar mannerisms and delivery might be a bit campy on another show, but here he's fantastic. I hope Burn Notice makes an easier transition to the “real” TV season. (As if anyone pays attention to the traditional beginning and end of the TV season anymore.)
4) Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog (Timescience Bloodclub)
Here’s how to make comedy/sci-fi fans like me crash a website (and keep checking iTunes day after day to download something new): have Joss Whedon (Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) launch an online only tale in three acts about an evil doctor, a beautiful woman and a smarmy superhero that also happens to be a musical that stars Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillon (Firefly). This hysterical program is the best thing that came out of the lengthy writer’s strike. (The second best is that my number two show of the year got to come back for a second season.) Whedon wrote Dr. Horrible as a way to prove that writers deserved a cut of internet profits networks were getting for showing episodes on the web. And with the amount of online buzz and server crashes that happened this summer, I think Whedon proved his point.
3) The Middleman (ABC Family)
The television landscape is littered with shows that lasted all of one season, got canceled and had a cult following pining for a resurrection that never came. That’s the (still unofficial, yet likely) scenario for The Middleman. The show’s title character, as played by Matt Kessler, is the guy that saves the world from aliens, demons, vampire puppets and other unlikely forms of evil that turn up in California. His sidekick Wendy Watson, as played by Natalie Morales, is a Middleman in training and can kick some serious ass on her own. On paper the idea for the show seems flat out stupid. On screen, it was a pure joy to watch. The Middleman is an almost too decent to be true good guy (drinks milk, doesn’t swear, watches old westerns for their heroic qualities) on TV today. Yet Kessler makes him absolutely believable because he doesn’t play him with a knowing wink to the audience. Kessler believes in the goodness of his character, and we in turn end up believing right along with him. The Middleman also had some of the finest pop culture references ever stacked into TV dialogue. (The show’s blog would list about 30 of them for every episode.) Sadly, the show seemed horrible misplaced on ABC Family, even at a more adult oriented 10:00 p.m. time slot. (And who knew that at 11:00 p.m., Pat Robertson still hosted the 700 Club on there from the old Family Channel days. Wow.) When the inevitable DVD comes out, add it to your Netflix que. You won’t be sorry.
2) Chuck (NBC)
Here’s exactly when I knew that the second season of Chuck might be one of the best second seasons ever for a TV show: a plot about how Missile Command had actual codes to control a satellite buried on the game’s final screen and how Chuck needed to play along to Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” to make it to that screen made complete sense. And inspired some gut busting laughter in my little slice of Kensington. The writer’s strike that shut down production of the first season did wonders for Chuck, as co-creators Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak figured out how to make everything fit together on the series. The main plot of each episode (whatever bad guy is trying to control the world, etc.) now usually has a thematic link with the events at Chuck’s non-spy job, working at the Buy More. They also have squeezed in some top-notch guest stars. John Larroquette as a spy who was once the world's greatest lover and is now the world's biggest drunk, The O.C.’s Melinda Clarke as a Russian black widow and Morgan Fairchild and Bruce Boxleitner as Chuck’s sister’s future in laws. While stunt-casting has killed many a show, it works perfectly here. With such a large ensemble cast and so many different parts of Chuck's life to maintain plot-wise, there's never been much screen time to establish the one-shot characters. Having a Larroquette or a Clarke gives you a stronger sense of each character and helps fill in a lot of blanks. And as I said last year, any show with Adam Baldwin is always a good time.
1) Lost (ABC)
I’m running out of good things to say about this show, which rebounded in second half of season three and hit new peaks in season four. Giving the show’s writers a specific end date for the series was the best idea ever. Not every mystery has been answered (there’s at least 30 things I still don’t understand, some dating back to the freaking pilot) and I’m sure not all of them will. I don’t care. As long as we keep getting the twists and turns of the Oceanic Six and those left on the island for the next two years, I still won’t care. Well, I really would love a real answer about the polar bears on a tropical island.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Song of the Week 12/26/08
Fleet Foxes - "White Winter Hymnal"
There's always one song that catches my ears when I'm down to the nitty gritty on the annual list. This time around it was this Fleet Foxes track. Damn it sound greated as I looked out at the Hudson while on the Amtrak upstate and back for Christmas. As fine a winter song as I've heard in many a year.
BONUS: Here's a live perf from Chicago.
There's always one song that catches my ears when I'm down to the nitty gritty on the annual list. This time around it was this Fleet Foxes track. Damn it sound greated as I looked out at the Hudson while on the Amtrak upstate and back for Christmas. As fine a winter song as I've heard in many a year.
BONUS: Here's a live perf from Chicago.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Song of the Week 12/19/08
Neil Young - "Powderfinger"
Eight years. Yes, it had been eight freaking years since I had seen Neil Young play an entire show (I did catch his Farm Aid set at New York's Randall's Island in 2007) without the baggage of CSN on stage. It's not that I haven't had the chance to do so. I boycotted the 2003-4 Greendale tour with Crazy Horse as there was no way I was spending money to watch him perform his worst album ever. And the ticket prices for last year's theater tour behind Chrome Dreams II were just too pricey. This time the temptation to go to Madison Square Garden was even greater with the bonus of Wilco as the opening act. I hemmed and hawed about going until my dearest friend April (who was tired of the hemming, hawing and complaining) finally said, "I can buy tickets for you as a birthday present." Since she had never seen Young, I felt okay letting her buy seats that were really expensive. Wilco did a great opening set, with Jeff Tweedy bringing out his son Spencer to play drums on "The Late Greats." It was the younger Tweedy's birthday, which certainly made that appearance the best birthday present ever. Then Young came out with his Electric Band (made up of a cast of characters from throughout his career) and cranked out a decent version of the Ragged Glory gem "Love and Only Love." As Young continued playing the hits I've seen many times before ("Hey Hey, My My," "Everybody Knows This is Nowhere") I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. I kept thinking "Crazy Horse did these songs better, I wish Crazy Horse was here." And then these opening lines rang out: "Look out mama, there's a white boat coming up a river." Instantly my doubts went away. I mean, I was seeing Neil freaking Young! Dude, this is fucking "Powderfinger!" This is awesome! The rest of the show was fantastic. It clocked in at over 2 and a half hours, which is the longest Neil show I've ever seen. And to prove that he's got some life in him yet, he mixed in nine new tunes. Alas most of them were subpar, yet it was great seeing an artist I respect taking a chance in "the World's Greatest Arena" by performing what basically was an entire unreleased album. It reminded me of the Neil shows I saw in the late '80s and early '90s where he would play songs that would end up on his next album. And considering the nostalgia trip I've been on during this trying year, that was alright with me.
Here's a nice chunk of "Powderfinger" from MSG on 12/16:
Eight years. Yes, it had been eight freaking years since I had seen Neil Young play an entire show (I did catch his Farm Aid set at New York's Randall's Island in 2007) without the baggage of CSN on stage. It's not that I haven't had the chance to do so. I boycotted the 2003-4 Greendale tour with Crazy Horse as there was no way I was spending money to watch him perform his worst album ever. And the ticket prices for last year's theater tour behind Chrome Dreams II were just too pricey. This time the temptation to go to Madison Square Garden was even greater with the bonus of Wilco as the opening act. I hemmed and hawed about going until my dearest friend April (who was tired of the hemming, hawing and complaining) finally said, "I can buy tickets for you as a birthday present." Since she had never seen Young, I felt okay letting her buy seats that were really expensive. Wilco did a great opening set, with Jeff Tweedy bringing out his son Spencer to play drums on "The Late Greats." It was the younger Tweedy's birthday, which certainly made that appearance the best birthday present ever. Then Young came out with his Electric Band (made up of a cast of characters from throughout his career) and cranked out a decent version of the Ragged Glory gem "Love and Only Love." As Young continued playing the hits I've seen many times before ("Hey Hey, My My," "Everybody Knows This is Nowhere") I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. I kept thinking "Crazy Horse did these songs better, I wish Crazy Horse was here." And then these opening lines rang out: "Look out mama, there's a white boat coming up a river." Instantly my doubts went away. I mean, I was seeing Neil freaking Young! Dude, this is fucking "Powderfinger!" This is awesome! The rest of the show was fantastic. It clocked in at over 2 and a half hours, which is the longest Neil show I've ever seen. And to prove that he's got some life in him yet, he mixed in nine new tunes. Alas most of them were subpar, yet it was great seeing an artist I respect taking a chance in "the World's Greatest Arena" by performing what basically was an entire unreleased album. It reminded me of the Neil shows I saw in the late '80s and early '90s where he would play songs that would end up on his next album. And considering the nostalgia trip I've been on during this trying year, that was alright with me.
Here's a nice chunk of "Powderfinger" from MSG on 12/16:
Friday, December 12, 2008
Song of the Week 12/12/08
Letters to Cleo - "Because of You"
Perhaps it's seeing that dreaded age of 40 coming up in less than 11 months, or just acting like more like an adult this entire year that has made me a fan of reunions. The latest reunion to hit the SOTW is Letters to Cleo. The band hadn't played together in over a decade (and I hadn't seen them in over 11), so I was rather excited when their gig at Bowery Ballroom on December 11th was announced. I let my old roommate and fellow huge fan Joe S. know immediately and we grabbed tickets. Once again, this was a reunion that did not disappoint. Kay Hanley might just be a better frontperson now than she was a decade ago. Her voice has a warmer tone nowadays, which made songs like "Co-Pilot" and "Awake" sound better than I remembered them. She seemed to work the crowd more easily, which she might have picked up having to entertain thousands of kids as one of Miley Cyrus's backup singers. (Um, and she has gotten hotter in the past 10 years too.) The rest of the band (minus original bassist Scott Riebling) now plays with more confidence in their own abilities and material. Drummer Stacy Jones (who happens to front a great band on his own called American Hi Fi) is just a monster behind the kit. And it wasn't just the great performances that made the night so much fun. It was the chance to reveal in the memories the band's music brought back (their 1997 album Go! was in heavy rotation at 288 5th avenue that year) and to catch up with some of the band's friends (like Jed and Pete from The Gravel Pit). Yeah, I guess getting old can be fun sometimes.
I'd like to give LTC guitarist USA Mike (Michael Eisenstein) the last word on the Bowery show with a post he left on the Kay Hanley message board:
"What a great night. I haven't done an official ranking, but that was in the top 10 (maybe 5) Cleo shows of all time."
I'd have to agree. Below you can see why. I love how Kay smiles as the crowd sings along:
Perhaps it's seeing that dreaded age of 40 coming up in less than 11 months, or just acting like more like an adult this entire year that has made me a fan of reunions. The latest reunion to hit the SOTW is Letters to Cleo. The band hadn't played together in over a decade (and I hadn't seen them in over 11), so I was rather excited when their gig at Bowery Ballroom on December 11th was announced. I let my old roommate and fellow huge fan Joe S. know immediately and we grabbed tickets. Once again, this was a reunion that did not disappoint. Kay Hanley might just be a better frontperson now than she was a decade ago. Her voice has a warmer tone nowadays, which made songs like "Co-Pilot" and "Awake" sound better than I remembered them. She seemed to work the crowd more easily, which she might have picked up having to entertain thousands of kids as one of Miley Cyrus's backup singers. (Um, and she has gotten hotter in the past 10 years too.) The rest of the band (minus original bassist Scott Riebling) now plays with more confidence in their own abilities and material. Drummer Stacy Jones (who happens to front a great band on his own called American Hi Fi) is just a monster behind the kit. And it wasn't just the great performances that made the night so much fun. It was the chance to reveal in the memories the band's music brought back (their 1997 album Go! was in heavy rotation at 288 5th avenue that year) and to catch up with some of the band's friends (like Jed and Pete from The Gravel Pit). Yeah, I guess getting old can be fun sometimes.
I'd like to give LTC guitarist USA Mike (Michael Eisenstein) the last word on the Bowery show with a post he left on the Kay Hanley message board:
"What a great night. I haven't done an official ranking, but that was in the top 10 (maybe 5) Cleo shows of all time."
I'd have to agree. Below you can see why. I love how Kay smiles as the crowd sings along:
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Song of the Week 12/5/08
Nada Surf - "Weightless"
I love how things can come full circle. Last October at Union Hall I saw Nada Surf play their first gig after finishing their fifth album Lucky. Monday night at Maxwell's I saw Nada Surf play the last show on their tour behind Lucky (which ended with a guy dressed as a chicken dancing on stage with band and their their crew). I saw them six times while they were supporting the album, and each gig had its own cool highlights. Both of the shows (I also saw them Saturday at Bowery Ballroom) this week featured a great crowd sing-a-long with "Weightless," which has grown to be one of my favorite tracks on Lucky. I couldn't find footage of that song at Bowery or Maxwell's, so Webster Hall will have to do:
BONUS: The band ran a contest for a fan to make the official video for "Weightless." And by this clip below, you can see why it won. Major label videos aren't ever this smart and creative:
I love how things can come full circle. Last October at Union Hall I saw Nada Surf play their first gig after finishing their fifth album Lucky. Monday night at Maxwell's I saw Nada Surf play the last show on their tour behind Lucky (which ended with a guy dressed as a chicken dancing on stage with band and their their crew). I saw them six times while they were supporting the album, and each gig had its own cool highlights. Both of the shows (I also saw them Saturday at Bowery Ballroom) this week featured a great crowd sing-a-long with "Weightless," which has grown to be one of my favorite tracks on Lucky. I couldn't find footage of that song at Bowery or Maxwell's, so Webster Hall will have to do:
BONUS: The band ran a contest for a fan to make the official video for "Weightless." And by this clip below, you can see why it won. Major label videos aren't ever this smart and creative:
Friday, November 28, 2008
Song of the Week 11/28/08
Kanye West - "Paranoid"
Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak is one of the most intriguing albums of the year. Its sound is reminiscent of the early 80s rap tracks that I loved growing up. That doesn't make it some sort of retro album. (The autotune all over West's "sung" vocals places it squarely in the early 21st century.) Its just that most of the backing tracks come off like cold and clinical electro music, as if Newcleus ("Jam On It") had returned as West's producer.
My favorite song so far is "Paranoid." I had planned on writing much more about this track, then I read the always interesting blogger Matthew Perpetua's piece on Fluxblog about the same song. And he summed it up much better than I ever could. So I'd suggesting checking out his entry.
One last thing: 808s & Heartbreak is not for everyone. I can't imagine to many folks wanting to hear a poorly sung rap equivalent of Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks. However, I encourage you to give it a chance. If you "get" this album, it will likely blow your mind and become one of your favorite discs of the year. I know that's the case with yours truly.
Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak is one of the most intriguing albums of the year. Its sound is reminiscent of the early 80s rap tracks that I loved growing up. That doesn't make it some sort of retro album. (The autotune all over West's "sung" vocals places it squarely in the early 21st century.) Its just that most of the backing tracks come off like cold and clinical electro music, as if Newcleus ("Jam On It") had returned as West's producer.
My favorite song so far is "Paranoid." I had planned on writing much more about this track, then I read the always interesting blogger Matthew Perpetua's piece on Fluxblog about the same song. And he summed it up much better than I ever could. So I'd suggesting checking out his entry.
One last thing: 808s & Heartbreak is not for everyone. I can't imagine to many folks wanting to hear a poorly sung rap equivalent of Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks. However, I encourage you to give it a chance. If you "get" this album, it will likely blow your mind and become one of your favorite discs of the year. I know that's the case with yours truly.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Song of the Week 11/21/08
Estelle featuring Kanye West - “American Boy”
For the first time in say, oh, eight years, I feel proud to be American. And I credit it all to U.K. singer Estelle and this song. Okay, maybe she doesn’t deserve all the credit. It did take until after our Presidential election for this bouncy and oh so hummable song to click in my mind. I heard it all throughout the summer but thought it was the last single from West’s Graduation, an album that didn’t really hold up for me after repeated listens. Then the first Saturday after the election I heard “American Boy” cranked in the NHL store in midtown Manhattan. Standing there next to a batch of Sidney Crosby jerseys the lines “I just met this 5 foot 7 guy who's just my type/Like the way he speak here, his confidence is peaking” and “Take me to your hood/I neva been to Brooklyn and I'd like to see what's good” hooked me. She’s a very attractive singer (who has an English accent, which always slays me) proclaiming she likes guys from the good ol’ U S of A. How could you not like this song? I finally broke down and downloaded it Saturday afternoon. If we’re lucky, perhaps Estelle will lead a cultural revolution around the globe that makes us American boys seem just slightly less evil than we look right now to the rest of the planet.
For the first time in say, oh, eight years, I feel proud to be American. And I credit it all to U.K. singer Estelle and this song. Okay, maybe she doesn’t deserve all the credit. It did take until after our Presidential election for this bouncy and oh so hummable song to click in my mind. I heard it all throughout the summer but thought it was the last single from West’s Graduation, an album that didn’t really hold up for me after repeated listens. Then the first Saturday after the election I heard “American Boy” cranked in the NHL store in midtown Manhattan. Standing there next to a batch of Sidney Crosby jerseys the lines “I just met this 5 foot 7 guy who's just my type/Like the way he speak here, his confidence is peaking” and “Take me to your hood/I neva been to Brooklyn and I'd like to see what's good” hooked me. She’s a very attractive singer (who has an English accent, which always slays me) proclaiming she likes guys from the good ol’ U S of A. How could you not like this song? I finally broke down and downloaded it Saturday afternoon. If we’re lucky, perhaps Estelle will lead a cultural revolution around the globe that makes us American boys seem just slightly less evil than we look right now to the rest of the planet.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Song of the Week 11/14/08
Tom Petty - "I Won't Back Down"
I wanted to have an appropriate song to open up Groinstrong-a-thong last night. I think these lyrics prove why it was the perfect choice.
"Well I won't back down, no I won't back down
You could stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won't back down
Gonna stand my ground, won't be turned around
And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down
Gonna stand my ground and I won't back down
(I won’t back down) Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out
(I won’t back down) Hey I will stand my ground
And I won't back down"
We all love you Jonah. (And apparently we all love raffles too.)
I wanted to have an appropriate song to open up Groinstrong-a-thong last night. I think these lyrics prove why it was the perfect choice.
"Well I won't back down, no I won't back down
You could stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won't back down
Gonna stand my ground, won't be turned around
And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down
Gonna stand my ground and I won't back down
(I won’t back down) Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out
(I won’t back down) Hey I will stand my ground
And I won't back down"
We all love you Jonah. (And apparently we all love raffles too.)
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Song of the Week 11/7/08
The Replacements - "Election Day"
Last week I finally got the reissues of the Mats final four albums (Tim, Pleased to Meet Me, Don't Tell a Soul and All Shook Down). This new Pleased to Meet Me disc includes "Election Day," a track first issued on the 1997 compilation All for Nothing/Nothing for All. For some reason I listened to it a lot Monday and Tuesday. I wonder why...
Last week I finally got the reissues of the Mats final four albums (Tim, Pleased to Meet Me, Don't Tell a Soul and All Shook Down). This new Pleased to Meet Me disc includes "Election Day," a track first issued on the 1997 compilation All for Nothing/Nothing for All. For some reason I listened to it a lot Monday and Tuesday. I wonder why...
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Song of the Week 10/31/08
Paul Westerberg - "Love Untold" (Live)
I need to send props out to my friend Mike for sending me the link to the Westerberg boot this track comes from. It's a concert at Fantasy Studios in San Francisco broadcast on KFOG on September 12th, 1996. And this version of "Love Untold," originally on 1996's Eventually, crackles with an energy that makes me think Westerberg was going through his own dose of unrequited love at the time. Westerberg even changes the lyrics to a couple of lines. "They were gonna meet on a crummy little street/It never came to be I'm told" becomes "I'm too old" and "We were gonna meet on a crummy little street" becomes "We were gonna meet but it never came to be," with Westerberg yelling "too bad" right after the line is done.
Just another tremendous performance in a career filled with them. (With additional props to the smoking band that includes guitarist Tommy Keene and drummer Michael Bland. That was a great group.) Download it now. In fact, download the whole damn show while you can.
BONUS: Here's video of the first time I ever saw Westerberg perform the song, at Irving Plaza in New York in July of 1996.
I need to send props out to my friend Mike for sending me the link to the Westerberg boot this track comes from. It's a concert at Fantasy Studios in San Francisco broadcast on KFOG on September 12th, 1996. And this version of "Love Untold," originally on 1996's Eventually, crackles with an energy that makes me think Westerberg was going through his own dose of unrequited love at the time. Westerberg even changes the lyrics to a couple of lines. "They were gonna meet on a crummy little street/It never came to be I'm told" becomes "I'm too old" and "We were gonna meet on a crummy little street" becomes "We were gonna meet but it never came to be," with Westerberg yelling "too bad" right after the line is done.
Just another tremendous performance in a career filled with them. (With additional props to the smoking band that includes guitarist Tommy Keene and drummer Michael Bland. That was a great group.) Download it now. In fact, download the whole damn show while you can.
BONUS: Here's video of the first time I ever saw Westerberg perform the song, at Irving Plaza in New York in July of 1996.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Song of the Week 10/24/08
The Temptations - "Shakey Ground"
I've spent much of this month listening to New York's oldies station CBS-FM. Perhaps its just a function of another birthday rolling around and I feel like reveling in my past. Or maybe I didn't want to sit through another WFUV fund drive. Then again, maybe I just didn't want to listen to baseball on the radio done by people not named Howie Rose.
Whatever the reason, I woke up one night to hear "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" and it struck me that I haven't owned a single Motown album (and only a couple of tracks scattered on some compilations) since I scored a major case of burnout on all their acts in the early 90s. "Papa" sounded so good that night I realized I needed to get that song again. And while I was at it, I decided to download all of The Tempts greatest hits.
As I was scrolling through the various song selections last Thursday, I stumbled upon "Shakey Ground." I didn't even realize that this funky gem from 1975 (which I remember hearing on WGY-AM growing up) was a Temptations song. Damn, what a killer track. I love re-discovering songs from my past.
I've spent much of this month listening to New York's oldies station CBS-FM. Perhaps its just a function of another birthday rolling around and I feel like reveling in my past. Or maybe I didn't want to sit through another WFUV fund drive. Then again, maybe I just didn't want to listen to baseball on the radio done by people not named Howie Rose.
Whatever the reason, I woke up one night to hear "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" and it struck me that I haven't owned a single Motown album (and only a couple of tracks scattered on some compilations) since I scored a major case of burnout on all their acts in the early 90s. "Papa" sounded so good that night I realized I needed to get that song again. And while I was at it, I decided to download all of The Tempts greatest hits.
As I was scrolling through the various song selections last Thursday, I stumbled upon "Shakey Ground." I didn't even realize that this funky gem from 1975 (which I remember hearing on WGY-AM growing up) was a Temptations song. Damn, what a killer track. I love re-discovering songs from my past.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Song of the Week 10/17/08
The Figgs - "The Loner"
Another Figgs show, another amazing take on Neil Young's "The Loner." So this gives me an excuse to post the video of the first time I saw them tackle it.
Quite simply, fucking awesome. And yes, the guitarist Mike Gent does dedicate it to me at the end.
Another Figgs show, another amazing take on Neil Young's "The Loner." So this gives me an excuse to post the video of the first time I saw them tackle it.
Quite simply, fucking awesome. And yes, the guitarist Mike Gent does dedicate it to me at the end.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Song of the Week 10/10/08
At the 2006 Austin City Limits Music Festival I got my first exposure to Okkervil River. In the 100 degree heat at Zilker Park my friend Stacy said, "We should stop and watch some of Okkervil River." Even though I was wilting, I agreed. The second song we saw them do was "The President's Dead." I was immediately hooked by this tale about how a simple and beautiful day in someone's life become memorable because of an assassination of a world leader. I found the song online once I got back to New York and it started me on my path to Okkervil River fandom.
Flash forward two years--I saw Okkervill River twice in the space of 9 days, the first at ACL and the second time time Tuesday night at Webster Hall here in New York. Frontman Will Sheff opened this show up with a song that used "The President's Dead" music, but with some decidedly darker lyrics: "The President's alive. I see his face on FOX 5. My friends I feel so terrified." However, "The President's Alive" isn't about our current ineffective leader. The lyrics go on to mention "The Vice standing by" with "just one tear in her eye." To open up a show with this song, on the night of second presidential debate, well, damn, it was pretty powerful. And got me hooked on Okkervill River all over again.
BONUS: This week's song title links will take you to some cool live recordings. "The President's Dead" links to a recording from the very first time I saw Okkervill River play in 2006, while "the President's Alive" links to the very first performance of "The President's Alive" in Richmond, Virginia on October 4th. Click here to get a free download of the studio version of "The President's Dead."
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Song of the Week 10/3/08
Death Cab For Cutie - "The Sound of Settling"
Simple SOTW addition:
A random WFUV playlist on my trip back into Brooklyn Saturday night
+
The shuffle setting on the Union Hall iPod Saturday night
+
Seeing Death Cab for Cutie do a kicking version of it during a kicking show last night at Radio City
=
SOTW.
I wish all math was that easy.
Simple SOTW addition:
A random WFUV playlist on my trip back into Brooklyn Saturday night
+
The shuffle setting on the Union Hall iPod Saturday night
+
Seeing Death Cab for Cutie do a kicking version of it during a kicking show last night at Radio City
=
SOTW.
I wish all math was that easy.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Co-Songs of the Week 9/26/08
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band - "Kodachrome"
Talking Heads - "Houses in Motion"
Ah, Austin in September. The Austin City Limits Music Festival. (Known in these and other parts as ACL.) Three days of sun, fun and great music in beautiful Zilker Park. My third year of the attending the fest was just as great as the first two trips. I saw 19 artists perform during the festival, most of it really good. If I had to pick the Top 5 performances, I would go with Okkervill River, Robert Plant and Allison Krauss, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, What Made Milwaukee Famous and one of this week's SOTW performers, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. I knew that the Bright Eyes frontman was keeping away from doing songs from that catalog on this solo tour, yet I didn't expect his hour-long set to be just focused on his self-titled album, one new song and one tremendous cover. When Oberst and company broke into the 1973 Paul Simon solo hit, I started chuckling. It seemed that most of the crowd at the AT&T stage had never even heard the song. There were a few pockets of people dancing--and I could tell those folks were probably my age or a bit older. No matter, Conor kicked some serious ass. I really hope that cover ends up being one of the track released when the ACL live recordings come to iTunes next month. Check it out for yourself:
Now David Byrne and his band did a great set at ACL as the sun was setting on the first day of the festival, but it paled in comparison to seeing him at the very tiny Paramount Theater the night before the festival opened. My Austin friend (and place-to-crash supplier these past three years) Stacy couldn't make the first day of ACL due to work, so we decided to take the plunge and get tix for this ACL aftershow...that was before ACL. Huh? In any case, it was a very wise decision. Byrne is touring behind his great new collaboration with Brian Eno, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, and his set consists only of songs he wrote with Eno. (Or, in the case of the Al Green cover "Take Me to the River," Eno produced.) I am a huge fan of the Jonathan Demme-directed Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense, which takes simple staging and brings it to another level. Byrne's current show feels like an extension of all of that. The entire band is dressed in white and are supplemented by three dancers. And these dancers are tremendous. The choreography during the songs (I'd say about 75% of the set features the dancers) adds an extra dimension to the old Heads classics and the strong new material. Go see this show when it comes to your town. I promised you won't be disappointed. Check out one of the dancers in action:
And here you can check out what I thought was the best song of both Byrne sets I saw, "Houses in Motion" from Remain in Light:
Another great time in Austin (and Lockhart for some great bbq). I already have my tickets set for next year.
BONUS: Okkervill River were just so much fun, and I was very pleased to see this video for "Lost Coastlines" when I returned to the old grind:
Talking Heads - "Houses in Motion"
Ah, Austin in September. The Austin City Limits Music Festival. (Known in these and other parts as ACL.) Three days of sun, fun and great music in beautiful Zilker Park. My third year of the attending the fest was just as great as the first two trips. I saw 19 artists perform during the festival, most of it really good. If I had to pick the Top 5 performances, I would go with Okkervill River, Robert Plant and Allison Krauss, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, What Made Milwaukee Famous and one of this week's SOTW performers, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. I knew that the Bright Eyes frontman was keeping away from doing songs from that catalog on this solo tour, yet I didn't expect his hour-long set to be just focused on his self-titled album, one new song and one tremendous cover. When Oberst and company broke into the 1973 Paul Simon solo hit, I started chuckling. It seemed that most of the crowd at the AT&T stage had never even heard the song. There were a few pockets of people dancing--and I could tell those folks were probably my age or a bit older. No matter, Conor kicked some serious ass. I really hope that cover ends up being one of the track released when the ACL live recordings come to iTunes next month. Check it out for yourself:
Now David Byrne and his band did a great set at ACL as the sun was setting on the first day of the festival, but it paled in comparison to seeing him at the very tiny Paramount Theater the night before the festival opened. My Austin friend (and place-to-crash supplier these past three years) Stacy couldn't make the first day of ACL due to work, so we decided to take the plunge and get tix for this ACL aftershow...that was before ACL. Huh? In any case, it was a very wise decision. Byrne is touring behind his great new collaboration with Brian Eno, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, and his set consists only of songs he wrote with Eno. (Or, in the case of the Al Green cover "Take Me to the River," Eno produced.) I am a huge fan of the Jonathan Demme-directed Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense, which takes simple staging and brings it to another level. Byrne's current show feels like an extension of all of that. The entire band is dressed in white and are supplemented by three dancers. And these dancers are tremendous. The choreography during the songs (I'd say about 75% of the set features the dancers) adds an extra dimension to the old Heads classics and the strong new material. Go see this show when it comes to your town. I promised you won't be disappointed. Check out one of the dancers in action:
And here you can check out what I thought was the best song of both Byrne sets I saw, "Houses in Motion" from Remain in Light:
Another great time in Austin (and Lockhart for some great bbq). I already have my tickets set for next year.
BONUS: Okkervill River were just so much fun, and I was very pleased to see this video for "Lost Coastlines" when I returned to the old grind:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)