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Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Jim Connelly's
Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Monday, January 15, 2007
Jesse Steichen's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Friday, January 12, 2007
Bill Bentley's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Tom Ridge's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Lee Templeton's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Anthony Carew's 13 Fave Albums Of 2006
Monday, March 27, 2006
SXSW 2006: Finding Some Hope In Austin
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Letter From New Orleans
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Jennifer Przybylski's Fave Albums of 2005
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Music For Dwindling Days: Max Schaefer's Fave Recordings Of 2005
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Sean Fennessey's 'Best-Of' 2005
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Lori Miller Barrett's Fave Albums Of 2005
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Lee Templeton's Favorite Recordings of 2005
Thursday, January 5, 2006
Michael Lach - Old Soul Songs For A New World Order
Wednesday, January 4, 2006
Found In Translation — Emme Stone's Year In Music 2005
Tuesday, January 3, 2006
Dave Allen's 'Best-Of' 2005
Monday, January 2, 2006
Steve Gozdecki's Favorite Albums Of 2005
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Johnny Walker Black's Top 10 Of 2005
Monday, December 19, 2005
Neal Block's Favorite Recordings Of 2005
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Jenny Tatone's Year In Review
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Dave Renard's Fave Recordings Of 2005
Monday, December 12, 2005
Jennifer Kelly's Fave Recordings Of 2005
Thursday, December 8, 2005
Tom Ridge's Favorite Recordings Of 2005
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
Ben Gook's Beloved Albums Of 2005
Monday, December 5, 2005
Anthony Carew's Fave Albums Of 2005
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Prince, Spoon And The Magic Of The Dead Stop
Monday, September 12, 2005
The Truth About America
Monday, September 5, 2005
Tryin' To Wash Us Away
Monday, August 1, 2005
A Psyche-Folk Heat Wave In Western Massachusetts
Monday, July 18, 2005
Soggy But Happy At Glastonbury 2005
Monday, April 4, 2005
The SXSW Experience, Part 3: All Together Now
Friday, April 1, 2005
The SXSW Experience, Part 2: Dr. Dog's Happy Chords
Thursday, March 31, 2005
The SXSW Experience, Part 1: Waiting, Waiting And More Waiting
Friday, March 25, 2005
Final Day At SXSW's Charnel House
Monday, March 21, 2005
Day Three At SXSW
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Day Two In SXSW's Hall Of Mirrors
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Report #1: SXSW 2005 And Its Hall Of Mirrors
Monday, February 14, 2005
Matt Landry's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Wednesday, February 2, 2005
David Howie's 'Moments' From The Year 2004
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Lori Miller Barrett's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Noah Bonaparte's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Kevin John's Fave Albums Of 2004
Friday, January 14, 2005
Music For Those Nights: Max Schaefer's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Dave Renard's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Neal Block's Top Ten Of 2004
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Jenny Tatone's Fave Albums Of 2004
Monday, January 10, 2005
Wayne Robins' Top Ten Of 2004
Friday, January 7, 2005
Brian Orloff's Fave Albums Of 2004
Thursday, January 6, 2005
Johnny Walker (Black)'s Top 10 Of 2004
Wednesday, January 5, 2005
Jennifer Przybylski's Fave Albums (And Book) Of 2004
Tuesday, January 4, 2005
Mark Mordue's Fave Albums Of 2004
Monday, January 3, 2005
Lee Templeton's Fave Recordings Of 2004
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Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Neal Block's Top Ten Of 2004
1. The Hold Steady, Almost Killed Me (Frenchkiss): Carefully excising the best parts of his previous
band, Lifter Puller — the proselytizing vocal
delivery, the incisive observations about young people
dedicating the majority of their time and money to
liquor and substance abuse — Craig Finn's new band
rockets right from the AM dial into the vein of
contemporary rock music and highlights all that it's
lacking. Snarled-lipped chords, wordplay worthy of
Dorothy Parker, a tight, explosive rhythm section, all
wrapped around stories and characters colorful enough
to seem penned from real experience (and they probably
are). Live, the Hold Steady are ferociously
charismatic; on record, they're bringing the best of
long-dormant classic rock tropes to new, vibrant life.
2. Wilco, A Ghost Is Born (Nonesuch): Wilco's tender, brutal treatise about death is the
first time the band has sounded completely comfortable
with itself. Free of Jay Bennett's pop-oriented
influence, Jeff Tweedy's music is more akin to the
elliptical lyrics he writes. The album, unlike Yankee
Hotel Foxtrot, never sounds like it's trying too
hard. It takes from Wilco's previous albums at the
same time as it completely diverges from anything
they've done before. Challenging, engaging, and
beautiful.
3. Bonnie Prince Billy, Sings Greatest Palace Music (Drag City): Bonnie Billy, covering his former self, employs Music
City specialists to put a country-Western sheen to
some of his most lasting songs. The fresh arrangements
confirm the timelessness of Palace's best work; quite
often, the new versions sound better than the
originals.
4. Destroyer, Your Blues (Merge): A synthetic/acoustic minor-key symphony from solitary
Destroyer Dan Bejar. Each of his albums is different
and usually better than the one before, and "Your
Blues," with its bagpipe solos, Elvis references, and
high-school drama-club sense of theatricality is no
exception. The surprise here is the album's
considerable emotional strengths — they're never
hidden behind Bejar's liberal use of cleverness or
intellect.
5. Water School, Break Up With Water School
(self-released — www.waterschoolband.com): A clean, powerful debut from this Baltimore band led
by two singers who couldn't have more disparate voices
(which they use to great harmonic effect). Taking cues
equally from Randy Newman, Rivers Cuomo and Brian
Wilson, Water School carefully construct pop songs
replete with memorable melodies, accomplished guitar
playing, and a small, effective amount of country
color.
6. The Mountain Goats, We Shall All Be Healed (4AD): John Darnielle's first foray into
semi-autobiographical territory sounds pretty much
like his fictional songs — detailed, well-drawn,
humorous, and wise. This loose collection of stories
about a group of meth addicts finds Darnielle
returning to a real recording studio for a second time (after last
year's Tallahassee), and sounding more comfortable
with the results.
7. Brian Wilson, Smile (Nonesuch): Though his voice isn't as resonant as it was in 1968,
and though the harmonies of Dennis, Carl, Mike and Al
are noticeably absent, and though the version of "Good
Vibrations" isn't the 15-minute extravaganza from my
bootleg, and though there should be more crunching on
"Vegetables," and though part of Brian Wilson's
mystery is now pretty much extinguished, it's still
Smile for chrissakes. Who am I to complain?
8. Fiery Furnaces, Blueberry Boat (Rough Trade/ Sanctuary): Matthew Friedberger's very big, very long, very
erratic and very good album crams around 40 or 50
songs into its 13 tracks. Like a child with
ADHD, Blueberry Boat, abruptly shifts from melody to
melody, rarely pausing for breath. The result is a big
jumble that is surprisingly consistent at maintaining
its identity. Friedberger wisely lets his sister
Eleanor sing most of the songs.
9. Shearwater, Winged Life (Misra):
The two principal members of Okkervil River have used
their band Shearwater for years as a depository for
songs that weren't quite strong enough to make the cut
for Okkervil records. This time, the band has
established a quiet vision for itself, fleshing out
acoustic tunes into full songs with thoughtful
arrangements. Soon enough, they'll have to start a
third project for all the songs that aren't good
enough for their Shearwater albums.
10. Modest Mouse, Good News for People Who Love Bad
News (Epic): So the NFL plays "Float On" during their broadcasts —
Isaac Brock has been hawking his music for years. Ain't no thang. The Mighty Mouse return from a
tension-fraught four-year hiatus with an album that's
not nearly as aggro as you'd think a tension-fraught
four-year hiatus would produce. While not
revolutionary, the album still stands as one of their best.
The InsiderOne Daily Report appears on occasion.
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