Category Archives: Music

Jack’s Top Ten for 2009

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1. Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown
As the album looks like it’s dying a slow death Green Day creates
a mini rock opera that demands to be heard in it’s entirety.
A bold gamble that paid off in 2009.

2. Bob Dylan – Together Through Life
Dylan gets in his time machine and lands in Chess Studios circa
1950 for this juke joint work out.

3. Buddy & Julie Miller – Written in Chalk
Americana album of the year. It covers it all country, blues, gospel
and blues with an open honest heart.

4. Bruce Springsteen – Working on Dream
Springsteen’s ruminations on the end of the decade. Full of hope,
lost causes and minor triumphs all powered by the legendary
E Street Band.

5. Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
Few voices can command your attention like Neko Case. Combine
that with her cinematic writing and you have a force of nature
coming at you from your speakers.

6. Monsters of Folk – S/T
A rare “super group” album that works and is greater than the
sum of its parts. Not really folk as it covers a wide range of
styles from pop to roots rock.

7. Lily Allen – It’s Not Me, It’s You
Media magnet Allen looks at the contradictions of fame.
Clever lyrics and beats abound. My guilty pleasure of 2009.

8. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz
The YYYs take their propulsive rock energy and channel
it to the dance floor. The work of a band not content to
rest on their reputation but one that is pushing themselves to
new sounds and colors.

9. Leonard Cohen – Live in London
At age 73 Cohen returns to the stage for this heartfelt and
emotionally satisfying performance. Age and experience has
deepened the meaning of these Cohen classics. 
The AARP album of the year.

10. U2 – No Line on the Horizon
With Eno & Lanois back in the fold U2 create a look back at the
classic U2 sound but updated it with enough new sounds for
U2 to remain relevant when most of their peers are living
off their back catalog (yeah I’m talking to you Mick Jagger!)
any one of these could have been in the Top 10
Avett Brothers – I and Love and You
Rosanne Cash – The List
Miranda Lambert – Revolution
James McMurtry – Live in Europe
Pearl Jam – Backspacer
Dave Rawlings Machine – A Friend of a friend
Todd Snider – The Excitement Plan
The Derek Trucks Band – Already Free
M. Ward – Hold Time
Wilco – Wilco (the album)
Box Set / Anthology

The Beatles
Tom Petty – The Live Anthology
Jayhawks – Music From The North Country

EPs

Paull McCartney – Ameoba’s Secret
Green Day – Last Night On Earth (Live in Tokyo)
Josh Rouse – Valencia
Bon Iver – Blood Bank
My Morning Jacket – iTunes Live from Las Vegas
Got the Blues?

Billy Boy Arnold, John Primer, Billy Branch & Lurrie Bell – Chicago Blues A Living History
Nick Moss and the Flip Tops – Live at Chan’s – Combo platter #2
Jason Ricci – Done with the Devil
Biggest Disappointment

Neil Young – Archives Vol. 1 1963-1972

Another 2008 best music of the year list

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Best of the Year 2008
drowning in a sea of digital of music


1. Nick Cave – Dig Lazurus Dig
An intoxicating blend of song craft and passion.

2. Alejandro Escovedo – Real Animal
A tough as nails journey through the 70’s music scene.

3. Bob Dylan – Tell Tale Signs
Amazing wide ranging set of outtakes, alternate versions and live cuts.

4. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
A fragile beauty that just draws you in again and again.

5. James McMurtry – Just Us Kids
A compelling look at the American political landscape and its victims.

6. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
A mindless fun concoction of Afrobeats and 80’s alternative.

7. Gary Louris – Vagabonds
The singer-songwriter cd of the year, for fans of 70’s California pop.

8. Lucinda Williams – Little Honey
She finds love and her electric guitar, it rocks from the heart.

9. Mudcrutch – Mudcrutch
High school band reforms for a homage to classic country rock.

10. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
The voices and the vibe mix together into an ethereal listening experience.

Slightly flawed favorites

The Rolling Stones – Shine A Light
B.B. King – One Kind Favor
R.E.M. – Accelerate
She & Him – Volume One
The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges
Ra Ra Riot – The Rhumb Line
Santogold – Santogold
Coldplay – Vival La Vida …
Death Cab For Cutie – Narrow Stairs
Hayes Carll – Trouble in Mind
Duffy – Rockferry
Jenny Lewis – Acid Tongue
AC/DC – Black Ice
Raphael Saadiq – The Way I See It

From the Vaults:
Clash – Live at Shea Stadium
Neil Young – Live at Canterbury House 1968
T.Rex – The Best of the BBC Recordings

World:
Buena Vista Social Club – At Carnegie Hall
Amandou & Mariam – Welcome to Mali

Blues:
B.B. King – One Kind Favor
Buddy Guy – Skin Deep
Tab Benoit – Night Train to Nashville
James Hunter – The Hard Way

Things that keep me awake at night

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I’ve been plagued by thoughts of what will happen to my music collection in 2008. I think I’ve lost my musical roadmap. I wonder if there is a musical GPS I can buy to get back on track? It used to be that I followed the historical branches and roots of rock n roll to guide my purchases and that has led me to collect a very healthy music library (first on lp then on cd) that can take you on a trip from the “Georgia Pot Lickers” to “Radiohead”. So where do I go from here? That is what is keeping my awake at night.

Do I….

  • Buy another round of remaster / reissued / bonus tracked titles that I already own? That cul du sac of collecting is getting a bit old for me. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve purchased “My Aim Is True”. I will say that I’d be first in line for remastered Bruce Springsteen and Beatles catalogs since they now sound compressed and flat compared to current production standards. But I’m bored buying the same title again and again.
  • Save all my money to buy the long rumored Neil Young rarities box set? Maybe as a protest I’ll not buy another release until Neil’s. I’ll withhold my rock n roll dollars and force the industry to release it as they see their revenues plunge by my bold stance.
  • At what point do I stop buying physical cds and go straight download? If I go straight digital download then I’ve essentially turned my cd collection into a mere back ups. That seems to devalue their status as my collection.
  • How many hard drives to you need to feel safe that your entire collection will not just disappear in a computer crash
  • What is the music format of the future? Is the cd dead? Will we now either download music or buy it on a flash drive for loading on to our computers?

No wonder I can’t sleep at night. I think I’ll go have a nap.