My listening habits changed dramatically this year. I ripped all my CDs into iTunes, which, for the first time, gives me a database, something I have wanted since I first began collecting singles and albums. Shuffling 31,000 songs is, for this listener, heaven. The jukebox in my head is still playing tracks whenever I’m not here in my office, and I occasionally fire up the 1974 stereo system when I want to hear something loud and in decent fidelity or to play a vinyl album (yes, I still have my turntable) for the stuff I never bought on CD. But in 2007 I listened to music mostly through my computer.
The music these days comes in may ways. The Shuffle offered up hundreds of songs I had forgotten or didn’t know I had. Twelve of the songs came from the wildly eclectic playlists of Denver’s adventurous radio station KCUV. But I found a lot of great stuff through YouTube, and I am thankful to my many friends with whom I trade music and wind up turning me onto great stuff I would have missed. I don’t go to shows much anymore, but as you’ll see with the Wilco tune below, videos of live performances have given me glimpses into some of those five-minute magic moments I used to have to drive a hour and stand for three more to enjoy back in the rock-crit days.
Without further ado, here they are: the 19 songs, not in any particular order, that made me click the replay button on iTunes the most often. And I linked to YouTube performances of most of the songs and/or performers below so you can enjoy them, too. Cheers.
1. “Ain't Nothing Wrong With That,” Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Colorblind. I really dig the Sacred Steel music tradition from whence Randolph’s music springs. Using the steel guitar instead of an organ turns traditional church music onto its ear, so to speak. Randolph has taken the secular route, and this joyful, funk bit of sassiness shows he knows what to do with it. Ain’t nothing wrong with that. (3:30)
2. “Impossible Germany,” Wilco, Sky Blue Sky. I don’t get much out of the lyric here, but Nels Cline’s guitar solo, which takes up much of this lovely tune’s length, is worth the price of admission. Cline, whose background is more in jazz than rock, just takes this one home – shades of the famous coda that ends “Layla.” Evidently, I’m not the only one who is awed by this particular lead guitar performance; YouTube is full of live takes of this song, here and here that show only the lead section. Go Nels. (5:58)
3. “The Picture,” Son Volt, The Search. I have poked fun at Jay Farrar for being the cleanest man in alt-country, but I really admire his last couple of records. The horns really take this one to a different place. For comparison, here is Farrar doing the song solo. (3:27)
4. “Fifties French Movie,” Carrie Rodriguez, Seven Angels on a Bicycle. Rodriquez appeared with sometime collaborator Chip Taylor on a memorable KCUV morning show I hosted. She was kinda embarrassed about singing back then; obviously she got over that. (3:02)
5. “Brand New Kind of Actress,” Jason Isbell, Sirens of the Ditch. Isbell was with the Drive-By Truckers, one of my preferred bands. My top Truckers’ song was always “Never Gonna Change,” a crunching guitar tune of Isbell’s. “Brand New Kind of Actress” is in the same vein. Couldn’t find the song, but here’s the next best thing: the Truckers shred “Never Gonna Change.” Inspirational lyric: “just put the piece away, just put the piece away.” (5:35)
6. “Sing It All Night,” deSol, On My Way. There is always some tune that brings back the summer, and this is my “Under the Boardwalk” for this year. Reminiscent of everything I loved about the early E-Street Band. Here’s a cool in-studio version. (3:26)
7. “Rich Woman,” Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Raising Sand. Out of the blue, T-Bone Burnett (the real force behind this) brings together the King of Hair Chest and the Queen of Bluegrass and adds atmospheric guitar master Marc Ribot. Unlikeliest and to my ears the album of the year. I could have chosen at least four other songs for this list, including the old Everly Brothers’ “Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On).” Meanwhile, enjoy this short documentary about the making of the album. (4:05)
8. “The Road Leads Down,” Chris Whitley & Jeff Lang Dislocation Blues. I never really got Whitley, but this posthumous release creates a sound that, like the Plant/Krauss discs, I keep going back to. Like that one, I could have included several songs from this one. Recorded in 2005, less than a year from Whitley’s death at 45. No vids for this one, but you can download a podcast of Jeff Lang talking about how the album was made. (2:52)
9. “Ain't Nobody Home,” Sterling Harrison, South of the Snooty Fox. The old Howard Tate/B.B. King classic, a fave soul tune from the 1960s. redone by the late Harrison, one of those little-known soul singers that never caught mainstream attention. (2:42)
10. “You Know I'm No Good,” Amy Winehouse, Back To Black. Speaking of the 1960s, this fine track from her terrific soulful album has been overshadowed by the never-ending tableau of Winehouse’s personal problems. Hope she gets the help she needs. (4:21)
11. “Icky Thump,” The White Stripes, Icky Thump. Jack White is often just too damned busy when he’s half of the White Stripes, but on this immigration rant, I don’t mind. (4:15)
12. “1234,” Feist, The Reminder. I dare you not to succumb to the charms of this catchy pop bauble . All I could think of, besides buying a new colored iPod, was Katrina and the Waves. (3:06)
13. “Punish the Monkey,” Mark Knopfler, Kill To Get Crimson. Standard-fare Knopfler from this most tasteful of lead guitarists. (4:38)
14. “Four Winds,” Bright Eyes, Cassadaga. Clever song. Killer acoustic riff and violin. Clever video! (3:28)
15. “Tell Me Bout It,” Joss Stone, Introducing Joss Stone. Don’t know much about Stone, but those are some promising soul pipes. (2:51)
16. “Spotlight,” Anders Osborne, Coming Down. I just love the melody and the style, which reminds me of early Van Morrison. Generally, he doesn’t sound like this. Here’s Osborne and Andrew Field tearing it up at a wedding. (4:49)
17. “Lord God Bird,” Sufjan Stevens, NPR. This was commissioned by NPR in 2005 for a story after two people claimed to have seen the extinct woodpecker in Arkansas. But it had its impact on me this year while in the midst of a reading obsession on ivory-bill. The historical references are fuzzy, but the music perfectly captures the mystery, awe and sense of lost opportunity the ivory bill represents. “Lord God Bird” is still only available as a free download here. And here’s a vid of Stevens explaining how to play the song. (3:43)
18. “Punkrocker,” Teddybears featuring Iggy Pop, Soft Machine. This is about as much of a 1980s fix as I’ll probably ever need. Inspirational lyric: “I’m bored with looking good.” (2:53)
19. “Treetop Flyer,” Stephen Stills, Just Roll Tape. Pilots have adopted this song about displaced Viet pilots, and it is favored music for videos of small planes flying “15 feet over the Rio Grande.” And don’t miss this inspired version from 2006 with special guest Neil Young (7:04)
CD happily available upon request.