February through March, 2008 Writing
Matthew Ryan - Matthew Ryan vs the Silver State (Review, PopMatters)
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Street Survivors: Deluxe Edition (Review, PopMatters)
Bo Ramsey - Fragile (Review, PopMatters)
Highlander: The Source (DVD Review, PopMatters)
The Selmanaires - The Air Salesmen (Review, PopMatters)
Counting Crows - Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings (Review, PopMatters)
Robyn Hitchcock - Sex, Food, Death ... and Insects (DVD Review, PopMatters)
The Bodeans - Still (Review, PopMatters)
Jim White - Transnormal Skiperoo (Review, PopMatters)
The Blind Boys of Alabama - Down in New Orleans (Review, PopMatters)
Field Studies: Anger with Stoic Dignity (Column on Protest Music, PopMatters)
January 2008 Writing
PopMatters:
The Eels: Useless
Trinkets: B Sides, Soundtracks, Rarities and Unreleased 1996-2007 and Meet the Eels:
Essential Eels 1996-2006, Vol. 1
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: A Eulogy for the E-Street Sound
It's That Time of Year: My Favorite CDs of 2007
2007 was a year when the indie stuff just didn't do it for me. I checked out a lot of the heavily-buzzed bands and they just left me cold. A notable exception is Band of Horses, which I just didn't hear until late enough in the year to include here with any confidence. However, that record's blowing me away. So is the new Avett Brothers disc, which I absolutely hated at first, but I guess time (and repeated plays on the local NPR station) did the trick. Now I think it's pretty darn strong.
If 2008 follows the traditional pattern, the early months will consist of me catching up on lots of things I missed in 2007.
I'm also late getting this in and very tired, so I'll try to limit the hyperverbosity. Let the links to the songs do the talking...
1Bettye Lavette - The Scene of the Crime (Anti)
The fiercest, most unapologetic thing I heard all year. The Truckers keep themselves
in check here, but their backing for Lavette is still rough-edged and thorny, the
perfect complement for Lavette's take-no-prisoners
vocal style.
2Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests
of Josh Ritter (Sony)
I was about to write Ritter off, thinking he'd let too much sleepiness creep into
his music. But he raises his game on Conquests, with a broader sound that does a
great job of supporting those precision-crafted lyrics. I'm still not sure, though,
how one of his best songs ever, "The Temptation of Adam", gets buried in the middle
of the album -- that's a lead or closing track for sure. I keep coming back to this
disc, as much as any record that came out all year.
3Band of Bees - Octopus (Astralwerks)
These guys just sound like they're having fun, and I'm amazed at the retro feel they manage
to pull of on "Listening Man". Seems like every song has a head-turning moment.
This never should have worked. Even after he lost the upper part of his range, Plant
rarely showed the control necessary for this kind of project. But man, do these
two sing well together. Plant, Krauss, Marc Ribot, T-Bone Burnette, it all adds
up to a really nice listen. Even the cover of "Nothin'", which I initially hated
because I thought Van Zandt's version was perfectly perfect, thanks very much, has
even started to win me over. By the time those mournful strings get going, the song
has its own internal momentum that just sweeps you along.
Robert Plant Official Site
Alison Krauss Official Site
Plant and Krauss Official Site
5Laura Veirs - Saltbreakers (Nonesuch)
Veirs is kind of like Ritter: an artist whose emphasis on precision threatens to
swallow them up, but somehow their personality and thoughtfulness break through.Laura Veirs Official Site
Laura Veirs MySpace Page
6Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (Merge)
It wasn't until my most recent time seeing Spoon live that I realized why I was
having such a hard time describing Spoon's sound. It's because Britt Daniels doesn't
feel driven to use the guitar as a lead instrument, often just using it to throw
flourishes on top of what his rhythm section's doing, and creating empty spaces
that do plenty of work all on their own. It's just ... different. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
might also be Spoon's funkiest album yet. Some great bass lines hidden on this one.Spoon Official Site
Spoon MySpace Page
7Bright Eyes - Cassadega (Saddle Creek)
I usually straddle the fence when it comes to Bright Eyes, as I definitely
see the argument that bandleader Conor Oberst can get more
than a little precious.
But this one just works for me. The slightly countrified arrangements seem like
a natural fit for Oberst's lyrics (which, this time, seem in check and to have a
point).Bright Eyes Official Site
Bright Eyes MySpace Page
8Sea Wolf - Leaves in the River (Dangerbird)
This one crept up on me. I thought "You're a Wolf" was a great single, but the rest
of the album was much quieter and delicate, and didn't offer anything to latch onto.
But danged if this thing didn't keep finding its way into the CD player, getting
its hooks
deeper into me each time. Unassuming, but well worth a listen or two or
three.Sea Wolf Official Web Site
Sea Wolf MySpace Page
9Magnolia Electric Co - Sojourner (Secretly Canadian)
Slightly uneven, but some of this (especially the Nashville Moon disc) ranks with
the best stuff Molina's released so far. If I remember correctly from interviews,
Molina's quick to discard songs that don't make it onto albums. I'm glad some of
these were able to see the light of day.Magnolia Electric Co Official Site
Magnolia Electric Co MySpace Page
10Th' Legendary Shack Shakers - Swampblood (Yep Roc)
Lordy. I don't like parts of the second half, which find the Shack Shakers easing
off the gas a little bit. But when this record's firing on all cylinders, it sounds like they have the angry ghost of Slim Harpo trapped in a mason jar.Th' Legendary Shack Shakers Offical Site
Th' Legendary Shack Shakers MySpace Page
Past Years' Lists
Top 10 of 2006Top 10 of 2005
Top 10 of 2004