Ramblings on Music, Texas, Etc.

New Allison Moorer track! "The Broken Girl"

 You can hear a track from Allison Moorer's new album Crows (due Feb. 9 on Ryko).  The song is called "The Broken Girl" and, to my ears, seems to fully realize Allison's more pop-oriented ambitions from Miss Fortune and Getting Somewhere.  I believe in the press materials, she calls this track the best pop song she's ever written.

You can go here to check out the new song.

Best Albums of 2009: Honorable Mentions (and a preview)

Well, Josh Hurst is busily compiling his list, which means I better get started since I expect some overlap (and know that Josh will have infinitely more incisive things to say about his selections).  Christianity Today has published their list (to which both Josh and Andy Whitman contributed), and in what has to be a first, there are a couple of albums on their list that will show up near or at the top of my list.

In fact, this year will probably have one of the biggest disparities I ever recall between my #1 and #2 slots and the rest of my list.  I simply lived inside these two records for months at time and have continually found new angles to my appreciation of them.  So I'll make every effort to make it seem like I'm not blowing through the list just to get to the Top Two, but I can't promise anything.  Who knows - I might even feel differently after making my way through the Top 10.

With that out of the way, how about some Honorable Mentions for 2009 (in no particular order)?

• Tift Merritt - Buckingham Solo
• Lyle Lovett - Natural Forces
• Miranda Lambert - Revolution
• Rosanne Cash - The List
• John Doe & The Sadies - Country Club
• Mark Olson & Gary Louris - Ready For The Flood
• Justin Townes Earle - Midnight At The Movies
• Over The Rhine - Live From Nowhere, Vol. 4
• Grant-Lee Phllips - Little Moon
• The Avett Brothers - I And Love And You
• Bill Frisell - Disfarmer
• Tim Easton - Porcupine
• Ramblin' Jack Elliot - A Stranger Here
• Sara Watkins - self-titled

New Sam Phillips Christmas song available for free download

If you sign up for Sam Phillips' newsletter by Dec. 31, you will receive a link to download the new holiday track "It Doesn't Feel Like Christmas".

Of course, if you're already a member of Phillips' digital download club The LP, you already have a copy of the entire Cold Dark Night EP, which features a duet with Joe Henry (!) on "Silent Night".

Favorite Albums of the '00's

It has become quite the fashion lately to mark the end of the decade with obligatory 'Best Of' lists.  Though I'm a slave to fashion, I have far too many doubts in my critical opinion to trim my favorite albums into such a list.  But in keeping with the spirit, I've compiled a rather extensive list of my favorite albums from the past 10 years, all of which sit comfortably in my Top 100 of All Time. 

I can dust off any of these albums pretty any moment of any day and marvel at its greatness.  In no particular order...

• Joe Henry – Civilians
• Joe Henry – Tiny Voices
• Joe Henry – Blood From Stars
• Allison Moorer – The Duel
• Allison Moorer – Mockingbird
• Tift Merritt – Tambourine
• Tift Merritt – Another Country
• Buddy Miller – Universal United House Of Prayer
• Buddy Miller – Midnight and Lonesome
• Buddy & Julie Miller – (self-titled)
• Buddy & Julie Miller – Written In Chalk
• Sam Phillips – Fan Dance
• Sam Phillips – A Boot and A Shoe
• Sam Phillips – Don’t Do Anything
• Gillian Welch – Time (The Revelator)
• Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
• Wilco – Kicking Television: Live In Chicago
• Solomon Burke – Nashville
• Solomon Burke – Don’t Give Up On Me
• Aimee Mann – The Forgotten Arm
• Drive-By Truckers – Decoration Day
• Drive-By Truckers – Brighter Than Creation’s Dark
• Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga
• Patty Griffin – Children Running Through
• Susan Tedeschi – Back To The River
• Susan Tedeschi – Hope & Desire
• Susan Tedeschi – Wait For Me
• Over The Rhine – Drunkard’s Prayer
• Over The Rhine – Snow Angels
• Over The Rhine – The Trumpet Child
• Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker
• Ryan Adams - Gold
• Mary Gauthier – Between Daylight & Dark
• Hayes Carll – Trouble In Mind
• Hayes Carll – Little Rock
• The Jayhawks – Smile
• Steve Earle – Transcendental Blues
• Robert Plant & Allison Krauss – Raising Sand
• Grace Potter & The Nocturnals – This Is Somewhere

Looking ahead: 2010

Well, my year-end list is nearly complete.  There were, as always, some real gems in 2009, but on the whole, I'd say fewer keepers than usual.  2010, on the other hand, looks to be full of promise, primarily on the female singer-songwriter front, which - let's face it - pretty much makes or breaks my music year.

First, comes word that Tift Merritt is in the studio with producer Tucker Martine, who has produced a whole slew of great albums, not the least of which was the 2007 album from Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter.  Speaking of whom, Sykes & Co. should have a new release in 2010 as well.

On Jan. 26, Patty Griffin will release the delayed Downtown Church, produced by Buddy Miller (whose heart problems likely delayed the project).  Allison Moorer will release Crows on Feb. 9.  The album reteams her with producer R.S. Field, who also produced her best record The Duel.  Grace Potter has a new album due in the spring, but unfortunately it appears that the sessions with T-Bone Burnett were scrapped.  I'm extremely interested but also a little worried about the direction of that project.

The Drive-By Truckers supposedly have not one, but two, new albums in the can, and those will presumably be released by ATO Records in the near future.  Spoon unexpectedly announced the release of a new album Transference, due Jan. 26 on Merge.

Sam Phillips will continue to release new work with her self-released digital project The LP, including three more EP's and a full-length album.

What else in 2010?  Might we hear the anticipated reteaming of Alison Krauss and Robert Plant?  Will Gillian Welch follow David Rawlings' 2009 lead and drop a new album after almost seven years of waiting?  Aren't Over The Rhine long overdue for a new studio album?

Favorite Films of the '00's

Note the wording above - I am in no way qualified to render a comprehensive "Best" Films of the Decade list.  For that, I refer you to Josh Hurst's ongoing series, which includes quite a few films that I'll list here.  In no particular order, with no particular criteria for inclusion...

• Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
  Is there a more neglected film in the Jim Carey ouvre?  There's certainly not another one that comes close to the heartbreaking truths that this so-odd-it's-almost-sci-fi premise reveals.  Director Michel Gondry hits the grace notes of Charlie Kaufman's script perfectly.
• No Country For Old Men
  A philosophical potboiler (just like the book).  The Coen Brothers hit arguably their career high-point, and having watched this film many times since its release, I can attest to its lasting impact.
• Anything by Pixar
  I think maybe I haven't seen Cars in its entirety, but I love the rest of 'em.  My favorite?  I have a soft spot for the films of Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc. and Up), but it's hard to not rate Wall*E as the best thing Pixar has ever created.
• Anything by QT
  I'm on record as a Quentin Tarantino apologist and defender.  And though his 00's output doesn't quite reach Pulp Fiction-Jackie Brown levels of excellence, his recent films show a director interested in creating something singular and audacious.  I've watched Death Proof and Kill Bill recently, and I still absolutely love both.  QT ended the decade on a controversial high note with Inglourious Basterds, which many critics rate as his best since Pulp Fiction.  Can't wait to see it again when it is released on DVD on December 15.
• There Will Be Blood
  A quintessential American epic, and one of Daniel Day-Lewis's most remarkable performances.  Is PT Anderson's film unwound by the last 20 minutes?  I dunno, but I love pondering the question.
• The Departed
  Scorsese could make films like this in his sleep, but is there anything better than seeing a stupendous cast (DiCaprio, Damon, Nicholson) chew on each other.  Definitely the only crime drama of the decade that jumps into my head.
• Lord Of The Rings
  Still beautiful and perfect.  What more is there to say?
• Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith
  Not beautiful or perfect by any means, but I was awfully relieved that Lucas found a way to wind down his saga in a respectable fashion.  A convincing performance from Ewan MacGregor, and one of the best lightsaber duels in the saga's history.  It's a shame that Lucas didn't figure out how fertile the Clone Wars would be as a backdrop until this film, but it's currently being mined on the Cartoon Network.
• The New World
  Terence Malick's ode to the Jamestown colony is really a gorgeous tribute to the natural world and is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.
• Children Of Men
  I saw this when my daughter was about three months old, and I cried my eyes out.  A dystopian nightmare that ends on a note of unqualified hope.
• Miami Vice
  No shit -- really.  I love this flick and was just totally shocked how great it turned out.  I guess this is the other crime drama that sprung to mind.
• Star Trek
  Well, obviously this will be high on my Best of 2009 list, but based on my subsequent reaction to the DVD release, I'll just go ahead and call this probably the best Star Trek film of all time.  The fact that it lets non-Trekkies in on the fun (so says Mrs. K) is an added bonus.
• Batman Begins/The Dark Knight
  Greatest superhero franchise ever?  Yeah, I'll buy that.  Best reboot ever?  Without a doubt.
• The Royal Tennenbaums
  Not my favorite Wes Anderson film (that would be Rushmore), but his best of the decade.  I was very relieved to find that this year's (stop-motion-animated) The Fantastic Mr. Fox was every bit as clever and fun as his earlier films, coming after the disaster that was The Darjeeling Limited.  Here's hoping for a live-action return to form in the next decade.
• I'm Not There
  Todd Haynes' bizarro Bob Dylan non-biopic is probably the best film about a rock star I've ever seen.  Certainly the best soundtrack of any film in recent memory.  Also has one of Heath Ledger's best performances.
• Serenity
  The only film on this list that sits comfortably in my Top Five Films of ALL TIME.  And why shouldn't it?  Because it sprung from a canceled TV series (albeit a terrific one)?  I can't entirely judge whether Serenity can stand alone without the TV backstory, but I suspect it does.  Do yourself a favor and see this movie!
• The Bourne Trilogy
  Not a clunker in the bunch and trumps James Bond by a mile.  In fact, the most recent Bond films with Daniel Craig are virtual knockoffs of the Bourne films, imho.  As spy films go, these are pretty much now the gold standard and for good reason.
• Almost Famous
  The best filmed love letter to rock and roll ever created.  Criminally ignored by audiences at the time, I think this will stand the test of time.  Notable for launching Kate Hudson's career and being about the only non-sucktastic thing she's ever been in.

I'm sure I missed something.  Most of the above films would probably find a spot in my Top 50 Films of All Time.  Interestingly, there's not much in the way of arthouse fare to be found in this list.  Maybe my tastes have mainstreamed too much, or perhaps the finer elements of arthouse films of the '90's have made their way into the mainstream.

Allison Moorer's 'Crows' gets covered

The new album from Allison Moorer will be released on February 9.  Sticking with a tried and true formula (i.e. Allison's face = really nice picture), Crows now has an album cover...

Dave Rawlings Machine - 'A Friend of a Friend': The Ramblings Review

If you can get past the hopes for the Dave Rawlings Machine - presumably that it would fill the void left by the six-year drought since the last Gillian Welch album - you might (like me) be pleasantly surprised by the first album under Rawlings' name, A Friend of a Friend.

My first listen was consumed by what I didn't hear - not enough of Rawlings' elegant guitar work, too few narcotically gothic folk songs.  Rawlings' voice, by his own admission, is a slight instrument on which to hang a full album.  To compensate, the arrangements are less sparse and more upbeat than those on Welch's records.  Only the medley of Bright Eyes' "Method Acting" and Neil Young's "Cortez The Killer" sounds as if it could be lifted from those previous albums.  Heck, there are even string arrangements that bookend the album.

Elsewhere, Rawlings and Welch get help from their buddies in Old Crow Medicine Show, lending the record a ramshackle charm that is decidedly less mannered and meticulous than Welch's albums.  Those distinctive qualities ultimately make A Friend of a Friend a thoroughly worthwhile - and sometimes enlightening - effort.

So even if the Dave Rawlings Machine fails to fill the void left by Gillian Welch's absence - what could, after all? - it does reveal more facets of the duo's considerable talents.  That's probably not exactly what you were hoping for in 2009, but it'll do nicely in the meantime. 

Paste interview with Dave Rawlings

The new Dave Rawlings Machine album is out, and Paste has a great interview with Rawlings, probably the most revealing information we've read yet about the long-gestating new Gillian Welch album.

For my part, I really like the Machine album.  It is distinct enough from a Welch album to justify its existence, but it doesn't quite fill the void I've been feeling for the six-plus years since the last Gillian album.

Beck, Wilco, et al, cover Skip Spence

I don't know if you've been following Beck's Record Club project, but the latest installment is a set of songs from Skip Spence's cult classic Oar.  And this time, he was joined in the studio by Wilco, Feist and Jamie Liddell.

The first track (of eight) is "Little Hands"...

Record Club: Skip Spence "Little Hands" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.