Favorite Music of 2011

Favorite new music 2011, in no particular order:

• Blackie and the Rodeo Kings – Kings and Queens
• The Black Lillies – 100 Miles of Wreckage
• Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Here We Rest
• Wilco – The Whole Love
• Lucinda Williams - Blessed
• The Civil Wars – Barton Hollow
• Kenny Vaugh – V
• Lydia Loveless – Indestructible Machine
• Dale Ann Bradley – Somewhere South of Crazy
• The Decembrists’ – The King is Dead 
• My Morning Jacket – Circuital
• Middle Brother – Middle Brother
• Owen Temple – Mountain Home
• Dawes – Nothing is Wrong
• Ryan Adams – Ashes and Fire
• Nick Moss - Here I Am
• The V-Roys - Sooner or Later

Ranking them would be a difficult and pointless task but do have to say that Blackie and the Rodeo Kings spent more time on my iPod than anything else. The album by the long-time Canadian roots band featured strong female guest accompanists like Lucinda Williams and Emmy Lou Harris, and I was especially taken with Serena Ryder on "Black Sheep".

And The V-Roys make the list as a late entry.  The music on "Sooner or Later" is a rerelease of a couple of albums put out in the late 90s' by this regionally loved Knoxville TN band that broke up in 2000.  I heard them do a reunion performance on Music City Roots this fall and realized they were an Alt Country original and understood why they were so popular in the Americana, country, bluegrass stronghold of Eastern TN, Asheville NC and western VA.

How to Stay Married

“Do I look fat in this?”
“No, you look fantastic”
“Right answer”
“What, you mean the truth?”
“That’s even better”

Kind of a reversal of deny, deny, deny.

Jamey Johnson "The Guitar Song"

The songs on Jamey Johnson’s “The Guitar Song” are so textured and well-written that I’ll be listening to them over and over for a while.

Its a wonderful collection of music for so many reasons. One in particular, the songs don’t end where you think they should, there’s some little riff or noise or laughing/talking at the very end (Hawaii 5-0 violin riff at end of “By the Seat of Your Pants”).

Music Summer of 2010

Can’t resist listing and commenting on some of my favorite new music this summer:

1) “Messenger” by Joe Pug – can listen to this again and again http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I14VInJLnTU
2) “Texas” by Sons of Bill – excellent country rocker; excited and hopeful for the growth of this VA band. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NafltOGRfJY
3) “Mano Negra” by The Famous – hard to pick one song off awesome new CD (July 2010) “Come Home to Me” bc they’re all good but I’m going with this one. Missed this SF band by a night when I was in the bay area a couple of months ago. (bummer) http://www.thefamous.net/
4) “Yes to Booty” (And No to Beer) Elizabeth Cook – classic country theme with modern vernacular
5) “El Camino” Elizabeth Cook – Ms. Cook gives me hope for the future of country music when I hear this fine song with lines like “and if I wake up married I’ll have to annul it, and right now my hands are in his mullet” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKZkM437TiY
6) All songs from The Fox Hunt’s “Long Way to Go” CD – Great sounding (what’s wrong with that) and compelling rock/bluegrass/country. Eagles when they did not suck meets bluegrass.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4uRCdSmWFY&feature=related

What it means to be a Man!

Watched a movie about the Crips and the Bloods, LA Gangs, tonight. Alot of talk about what it means to be a man. And much of it came from youths that did not have fathers in their lives. Like many young men, both poor and even middle class, in the south suburbs of Chicago. So very thankful that my Father gave me so many lessons in being a real man, not having kids, or committing violence, but in particular caring for someone at much personal sacrifice. And not doing it for any other reason than there was no other way to deal with the situation. Thanks Dad, for showing me what it means to be a real man, and so many other things. Love you and miss you and Mom so much.

Country Songs about Jesus

Top Country Songs about Jesus:

• "She Left Me for Jesus" – Hayes Carll (satirical people, satirical! Strong faith doesn’t mean you cant laugh)
• "I Found Jesus on the Jailhouse Floor" – George (set me) Strait (good old country twanger and also inspirational)
• "If I Was Jesus" – Toby Keith. Altho some his songs are a little too right wing for me,TK's phrasings are excellent, Country's Sinatra
• "Getting High for Jesus" – Holly GoLightly and the Broke-offs (honestly, not crazy about the song but just love the name of the band)
• "Prince of Peace" - Leon Russell
• "Roll Away the Stone" - Leon Russell. Some old songs, circa 70s' from the very underrated Leon Russell. Thanks to Owen Temple (another excellent musician) for bringing me back to Leon Russell.

I am a committed Catholic, but ...

Heard 2 wonderful Nuns talk at Mass this evening about the Sisters of Providence and the great work that they do. Sister Lucy and Sister Mary. Inspiring. So why is the Vatican pointing their boys club laser/microscope on one of the few things that makes me proud to be a Catholic - our wonderful committed Nuns who do such great work at such sacrifice? Like the beautiful and holy Virgin Mary.

Do they want to drive out the few remaining Nuns and make it a complete Male cluster-f..., er mess-up. So many bigger problems in the Catholic Church that need to be addresed and this is what Pope Benedict and the questionable Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith are up to. Really? Come on?

What keeps me going is that at my church I know I am part of a wonderful faith community that puts up with all the Archdiosece and Vatican bullshit and archaic rules and still makes me feel closer to grace.

When I take communion at Mass every week I know in my heart I am part of something bigger and far more important than Cardinal George and/or Pope Benedict and the very concerning Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

I just hope I am worthy of the Late Cardinal Bernadin, and all of our Saints and Martys, many of whom were Nuns (and women) that understood far better than me what Christ's words really mean.