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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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Friday, January 12, 2007
Bill Bentley's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Neumu's Michael Goldberg writes: In case you're wondering why things slowed down to a crawl at Neumu last year, the answer, in a word (and in a web site), is MOG (www.mog.com). I've been spending most of my time working on MOG, the awesome music-focused social
networking site, and Neumu has suffered (and if you haven't been there yet, check out my MOG: www.mog.com/Michael_Goldberg). Still, with 2006 over, I asked Neumu contributors and friends to share some of the albums that rocked their world. Today, music expert Bill Bentley provides us with his faves of last year.
Bill Bentley writes: Always a fun exercise in frustration, choosing
only 10 albums for a list like this calls for the knife. Leaving out worthy
releases by Watermelon Slim & the Workers and James Hunter, plus Willie Nelson's touching tribute to songwriter Cindy Walker, Dion's blues bash and country killer James Hand, was hard, but that's life in the big city. Have fun.
Joseph Arthur, Nuclear Daydream (Lonely Astronaut): This artist has been a critic's darling for many years, creating music that
is as dense as it is addictive. On Nuclear Daydream, Joseph Arthur has
opened the windows all the way, with songs that should appeal to a much
wider audience. But even better, he's accomplished that without losing an
ounce of originality, proving that accessibility doesn't have to come at the
price of vision.
Cat Power, The Greatest (Matador): It takes nerve to call yourself
The Greatest, but it worked for Muhammad Ali, just like it does for Cat Power,
AKA singer Chan Marshall. Recording
with a few of Memphis' finest soul men on their home turf, Marshall zeros in
on the sound of eternity, never blinking but always believing in redemption
and the power of love.
Jesse DeNatale, Soul Parade (Jackpine):
If you love Steve Forbert or John Prine, this man is for you. Not that Jesse
DeNatale sounds like either, because he doesn't, but he does have their
poet's ear for words, capturing the up-and-down spirit of his San Francisco
home with an eye for the ages. Easily the best lost album of the year.
Brett Dennen, So Much More (Dualtone):
No other release this year was a stronger surprise. Brett Dennen's debut
came out in 2005, but remained a complete secret. That's OK, because it
just made So Much More an even deeper delight.
There is joy, heartbreak, life and death on these 10 songs, and you won't
hear it done better anywhere else. By the end of next year, the whole world
will know.
Ali Farka Toure, Savane (Nonesuch):
If Savane doesn't get your mojo working, it's time for a tune-up. Ali Farka
Toure left the planet this year, but not before he completed the ultimate
signoff set. This is music for the ages, made in the one of the oldest
civilizations on Earth, and something we can savor forever.
Stefon Harris, African Tarantella (Blue Note):
Though it seems like contemporary jazz is in a holding pattern, that's not
really right, because now that the entire history of the music is being
reissued, it's not a fair fight to compare what's new with the tidal wave of
old. Vibraphone heavyweight Stefon Harris has been a huge talent since first
stepping onto the stage a decade ago, and his interpretations of two Duke
Ellington suites, along with one original piece, are simply stunning.
Bert Jansch, The Black Swan (Drag City):
For too many years, it felt like true folk music had gone the way of the
turntable, with very few artists focusing on the style. Leave it to one of
the most intriguing of the lot to remind us how original it can be in the
hands and heart of a master, and show the emerging folkedelic crowd just how
it's done.
Jenny Lewis With The Watson Twins, Rabbit Fur Coat (Team Love):
Jenny Lewis made her bones with the band Rilo Kiley, which is all well and
good, but on this solo set Lewis proves she can stand apart and not give an
inch. Her voice has the seductiveness of a woman all grown up, but she also
keeps the shy wonder of a wide-eyed twentysomething. That's a treacherous
combo, and with the Watson Twins adding their soulful voices in glorious
harmony, Rabbit Fur Coat announces the arrival of a real star.
Bo Ramsey, Stranger Blues (BRR):
Blues is such personal expression it's a revelation when someone comes along
with a whole new slant on that most elemental of sounds. Bo Ramsey usually
stays behind the curtain, but lucky for us, he recently sent this message in
a bottle that is a love letter to the blues. Between striking covers of the
masters, an undercover instrumental of Elizabeth Cotten's "Freight Train”
and an album ender, "Where the Sun Never Goes Down,” guaranteed to leave you
breathless, we can only hope for a local appearance so this Iowan can
demonstrate the deed done live.
Silversun Pickups, Carnavas (Dangerbird):
Turn up the guitar, crank the bass, tell the drummer to hit them harder and
make the keyboard player add more amps, because there comes a time when only
a loud rock band will get the job done. And it better be one with songs as
fine as their sound, like the Silversun Pickups. The group's got it covered
in aces on all fronts, and has burst through the marine layer to become Los
Angeles' bright new hope. Here's betting they go all the way.
The InsiderOne Daily Report appears on occasion.
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