Let’s follow last year’s mojo:

• Date is in the range: 01 Jan 2009 – 25 Dec 2009. Any cutoff point is arbitrary, but this makes sense to me. I’ve been willfully listening to Christmas music lately, so this helps hold the list growth down.
• Kind does not contain AIFF [to filter out unprocessed bootlegs and demos].
• Album Rating is greater than three stars.
• Genre does not contain Concert Bootleg.

This list is unoptimized; it’s actually done in alphabetical order by artist. At the end, I’ll give a best-of list, countdown style. Because I like embracing constraints, I’ll give a one-sentence statement about each album as to why it’s just so darn good. If you’ve ever talked to me for longer than 90 seconds, you know that one sentence is an unreal constraint.

• The Silent Stars, Alli Rogers. A worthy follow-up to her 2008 Christmas EP, but with new tracks and more Alli goodness. The Silent Stars, Nov. 29.
• I and Love and You, The Avett Brothers. Glorious harmonies, well-crafted lyrics, and fine instrumentation: worth your purchase. I and Love and You, Sep 29.
• Noble Beast, Andrew Bird. Lush, dense, expertly-crafted pop/folk, with whistling. Noble Beast, Jan 20.
• Blood Bank, Bon Iver. A fun follow-up EP to his groundbreaking solo debut. Blood Bank Jan 20.
• Posthumous Success, Tom Brosseau. Less reedy pop/folk than he’s crafted in the past, but this modernization of his sound is still quite good. Posthumous Success, Jun 23.
• Oh, My Darling, Basia Bulat. Lovely pop songstress; bought this when I was after a girl who liked her music, too. Oh, My Darling, Feb 16.
• E.C. Was Here, Eric Clapton. Classic blues/rock from the master. E.C. Was Here, 15 Apr.
• Eric Clapton, Eric Clapton. More classic rock from a guitar god. Eric Clapton, Jun 4.
• Across a Wire: Live in New York, Counting Crows. Across a Wire: Live in New York City (disc 1: VH1 Storytellers) and Across a Wire: Live in New York City (disc 2: MTV Live From the 10 Spot), 31 Mar.
• The Hazards of Love, The Decemberists. Surprising for a major-label release, THoL returns our musical heroes to their literary roots to craft what lesser reviewers would call a concept album. The Hazards of Love, Mar 24.
• Hotel California, Eagles. Unlike The Dude, I do not hate the fuckin’ Eagles.Hotel California, Sep 6.
• Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes. Ridiculous harmonies, lush instrumentation.Fleet Foxes, Feb 7.
• Dirty Birds, Kat Flint. Red-haired songstresses always get me.Dirty Birds, Jan 30.
• Great Escape, Nick Flora and Film at Eleven. Nick isn’t just a friend—he’s a very good songwriter. Great Escape, Apr 2.
• A Kiss in Time, Patty Griffin. I love live music, and while Patty is anti-bootleg [booooo], this is good [yaaaaay]. A Kiss in Time, Mar 19.
• The Law of Gravity, Andy Gullahorn. I’m pre-disposed to love AG’s records, but this one really is good. The Law of Gravity, Dec 5.
• Around the Well, Iron & Wine. So, you’re looking at me, saying, “Really? A B-sides and rarities compilation?”, but it’s the second disc that just kills it—and Paul is right when he says Sam Beam compares to Elliott Smith and Nick Drake. Around the Well (disc 1) and Around the Well (disc 2), May 19.
• The Black Album, Jay-Z. I’m not hugely into hip-hop, but I like Jay. The Black Album, May 5.
• The Ultimate Blue Train, John Coltrane. Just a classic jazz album. The Ultimate Blue Train, Apr 18.
• Lie to Me, Jonny Lang. Bought this because I saw him live; feel like he’s better live, but good in the studio. Lie to Me, Apr 21.
• Three Flights from Alto Nido, Greg Laswell. Just plain good song-writing. Three Flights From Alto Nido, Jul 18.
• Blue Lines, Massive Attack. Portishead begat a love of trip-hop that I expect will extend into 2010 as I enforce my completionist ways. Blue Lines, Sep 22.
• The Luxury of Time, David Mead. Just plain solid songwriting, with a great pop voice to boot. The Luxury of Time, Nov 16.
• Jaydiohead, Minty Fresh Beats. Jay-Z and Radiohead, mixed together: yes, please! Jaydiohead, Apr 21.
• Monsters of Folk, Monsters of Folk. I think I have to make an obligatory Traveling Wilburys reference here; anyway, it’s got M. Ward, which means I was gonna buy it—and the album isn’t ill-titled. Monsters of Folk, Sep 30.
• The Sunset Tree, The Mountain Goats. Honest, heartfelt songwriting, honestly sung. The Sunset Tree, Feb 22.
• Z, My Morning Jacket. I love putting this record on when I need to rock out to something smooth. Z, Jan 4.
• Bleach, Nirvana. Yeah, I’m behind the times on this one. Bleach, Apr 19.
• Choosing Sides, Andrew Osenga. Get your copy fast!—Andy only printed 500 of them. Choosing Sides, Dec 14.
• Letters to the Editor, Vol. I and II, Andrew Osenga. Who cares that he put these songs out for free—they’re worth buying. Letters to the Editor, Vols. I & II, didn’t get blogged about this year.
• Live from Nowhere, Volume Four, Over the Rhine. It’s a great live record, and keeps you going between increasingly-distant OtR albums. Live From Nowhere, Volume Four (disc 1) and Live From Nowhere, Volume Four (disc 2), Aug 17.
• Chrome, Eric Peters. Eric Peters’s music rips right through my guts and makes me think. Chrome, .
• Behold the Lamb of God (10th Anniversary Edition), Andrew Peterson. A new turn on a classic record. Behold the Lamb of God (10th Anniversary Edition) (disc 1) and Behold the Lamb of God (10th Anniversary Edition) (disc 2), Dec 15.
• That Kind of Love, Pierce Pettis. Northeast Alabama’s best musical act [move over, Alabama] does it again. That Kind of Love, Apr 2.
• The Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd. Yeah, I’m as surprised as you are that I didn’t own this before 2009. The Dark Side of the Moon, Jan 1.
• Dummy, Portishead. My addiction to trip hop would be annoying if I didn’t live alone; instead, it’s kinda awesome. Dummy, Jan 10.
• Kid A, Radiohead. I’m a completionist, but it’s a great record. Kid A, Jan 16.
• Rook, Shearwater. Makes me think of a warm blanket on a cold evening. Rook, Feb 21.
• Dial M, Starflyer 59. Buying J.R.’s top ten CDs turned out to be a great endeavor. Dial M, Mar 29.
• April, Sun Kil Moon. Wonderful late-night music. April, Feb 23.
• Strict Joy, The Swell Season. It’s as good as people have told you. Strict Joy, Nov 2.
• Illinoize, Tor. Sufjan Stevens’s music, mixed with rap—kinda awesome. Illinoize, not blogged.
• Dear Science, TV on the Radio. I don’t know how to begin to describe them, but I like them. Dear Science, Mar 27.
• Hold Time, M. Ward. Not as good as his earlier stuff, but still a great record. Hold Time, Feb 17.
• Stockholm Syndrome, Derek Webb. Worthy of the controversy. Stockholm Syndrome, which I had before it ever came out, natch.
• Wilco (The Album), Wilco. I’d buy a record of Jeff Tweedy reading the Chicago phone book. Wilco (The Album), Jun 28.

5. Wilco (The Album), Wilco. There are so many good songs on this album, but I thought I’d start with the opening track—it’s a treatise for the record and, frankly, for Wilco as a band at this point.
   

   Are you under the impression
   This isn’t your life?
   Do you dabble in depression?
   Is someone twisting a knife in your back?
   Are you being attacked?
   Oh, this is a fact that you need to know

   Oh

   Wilco
   Wilco
   Wilco will love you baby

   As someone who “dabbles in depression”, yeah, I love this track … and this album … and this band.
   

4. Letters to the Editor, Vol. I and II, Andrew Osenga. Yes, this is a compilation of tracks that he gave away for free; if you’re cheap, you can get Volume I and Volume II online still. But if you like it, buy the disc and support independent music. I chose “Staring Out a Window (My Confession)” because it just hits home for me.
   
3. Stockholm Syndrome, Derek Webb. Okay, you can argue that, as a friend of Derek’s and one of the three guys behind derekwebb.net, I’m predisposed to loving his music. You’re right. But this is a worthy buy for the following reasons: a) it tackles prickly issues of sexuality that most Christians are uncomfortable dealing with b) Fred Phelps gets made fun of c) it’s Derek and Josh Moore doing their best Gnarls Barkley impersonation, without sounding like a cheap knockoff and d) he says “shit” on the record and gets away with it. Sorta. I picked “The Spirit Vs. The Kick Drum” because it’s just a kickin’ little track.
   
2. The Hazards of Love, The Decemberists. Many long-time Decemberists fans [of which I cannot claim to be; I'm late to the game] would argue that they feared what being on a major record label would do to their music. But give Capitol all the credit in the world for letting Portland’s finest put out what lesser reviewers would call a concept album, and what I think of as “literature set to music”. The arc of this album is one unbroken story, and it’s just so well-done, with themes repeated and twisted as the album builds on itself. That makes it difficult to pick out one song, but I chose “The Rake’s Song” because that will tell you whether or not you’ll want to listen to the whole thing.
   
1. Noble Beast, Andrew Bird. I really thought that Armchair Apocrypha was going to be the apex of AB’s music for me. I didn’t think that he’d make a better record, but to my ears, he did with Noble Beast. Musically, it’s just so strong: songs with movement are just such a rarity in popular music these days that hearing tracks like “Masterswarm” is simply astonishing. It’s impossible for me to pick out a track I love the most, because I love them all, but I picked “Tenuousness” for this GeofCast episode.
   

If you made it this far, thanks!

My model for this podcast is Steven Garrity’s Acts of Volition Radio, which has introduced me to some cool music. I hope to do the same.

Songlisting [and a bit of why I chose it]:

1. The first song is “Epistemology” from M. Ward’s latest album, Hold Time. Hold Time isn’t as highly-rated in my world as Matt’s last two albums, but that doesn’t mean it’s not great.
2. The most infectious song off the new eponymous Wilco album: “I’ll Fight”.
3. I next chose “The Snow Leopard” from Shearwater’s album Rook. I came across Rook from my friend and fellow Whiskerino J.R. Caines, who is my closest musical neighbor on Last.FM. Rook was one of his top-ten albums of 2008, so I gave it a shot, and I’m glad I did.
4. My favorite track from Iron & Wine’s recent demo and B-side vehicle, Around the Well, is “Love Vigilantes”. Often, these type of releases end up being so much filler between studio releases, but coming on the heels of The Shepherd’s Dog, this has some great tracks, and “Love Vigilantes” is in the top five songs I’ve heard in 2009.
5. I next chose “The Wanting Comes in Waves / Repaid” off of the epic new album from The Decemberists, The Hazards of Love. As it’s just one big sonic work of art, it’s hard to strip one song out from the entire thematic arc of the story, but I have. If you know me, you know I love Shara Worden’s vocals, and she makes an appearnce in this track.
6. There’s really no good way to follow that up, so I just took a massive left turn. One of the things I’ve come to in the last year are mashups, sonic creative destruction when multiple songs are put together. One of my favorite mashups to cross my ears in 2009 has been Jaydiohead from Minty Fresh Beats. Here’s the mashup titled “Dirt Off Your Android”.
7. Let’s go from hip-hop to trip-hop. Somehow I missed Portishead in the 1990s, when I was listening to really bad contemporary Christian music and far too much 311 for my own good. A friend was playing this as house music before a concert I was recording, and I whipped out my iPhone to fire up Shazam to find out what I was hearing. It was “Numb” from Portishead’s Dummy, and in case you missed it back then, too, here it is:
8. Hang on, folks, as I take another musical detour. This one takes us to the fields of Illinois, where songwriter Andrew Bird toils in solitude. His last effort, Armchair Apocrypha, was one of my favorites last year, so I jumped on his latest, Noble Beast, the moment it came out. Noble Beast focuses even more on musicality, providing depth and movement to his songs in an age when most music sounds the same at the end of the song as the beginning. To highlight this, I chose “Masterswarm”.
9. For this last track, I figured I’d throw my friends a bone and send out a [then-]unreleased track. Yes, I’m going to bend the good will of my friend Derek Webb and play one of the tracks off of his upcoming album, Stockholm Syndrome, that he hasn’t yet leaked to the world. If you like it, please buy the album so the wee bald man doesn’t kick my ass. Most of us will remember the case of the Jena Six, and the female in this song shares that spelling. Keep that in mind as you listen to
   “Jena & Jimmy”

iMix of GeofCast Episode 001

Please leave me comments, including whether you want show notes, links, etc. I have them to provide and will go back and update this post. Mainly now, I want to go to bed.

Update, 1149 Monday: The download option will now work. Myyyyyyy bad.
Update, 2053 Monday: Show notes added.

• Date is in the range: 01 Jan 2008 – 31 Dec 2008
• Kind does not contain AIFF [to filter out unprocessed bootlegs and demos].
• Grouping does not contain Extant [to filter out where I migrated my library off of my old Mac to my new one]; I then did a manual check of the Extants with a similar list and my Musiclogging archives.
• Album Rating is greater than three stars.
• Genre does not contain Concert Bootleg. If desired, I’ll cover the best of the best concert bootlegs in a separate post, probably no earlier than Friday because I’m still adding bootlegs. [I am not adding any more studio releases at this point.]

This list is unoptimized; it’s actually done in alphabetical order by artist. At the end, I’ll give a best-of list, countdown style. Because I like embracing constraints, I’ll give a one-sentence statement about each album as to why it’s just so darn good. If you’ve ever talked to me for longer than 90 seconds, you know that one sentence is an unreal constraint.

• Andrew Bird, Armchair Apocrypha, grabbed in January. Intelligent, charming folk/pop … with whistling.
• Blind Faith, Blind Faith, grabbed in August. It’s too bad that these guys couldn’t keep it together, but I’ve come to the conclusion that one-off groupings for albums can be a killer thing.
• Tom Brosseau, Late Night at Largo, grabbed in February. Recorded after everyone left the bar that night, it’s a live record without an audience that showcases Brosseau’s brilliance as a songwriter.
• City and Colour, Bring Me Your Love, grabbed in May. Dallas Green’s writing is enough for me to forgive him for using his Canadian ou.
• Matt Costa, Songs We Sing, grabbed in December. Just when you think that you’re done with singer/songwriters, someone like Matt Costa comes along.
• Matt Costa, Unfamiliar Faces, grabbed in December. Oh Miss Magnolia … oh Mr. Pit, oh Mr. Pitiful.
• Death Cab for Cutie, Narrow Stairs, grabbed in May. I would lock Ben Gibbard up in Dick Cheney’s “undisclosed location” if he’d make another killer record like this one.
• Death Cab for Cutie, Transatlanticism, grabbed in July. It’s a good thing that emo bands like this weren’t big when I was 15.
• Deb Talan, A Bird Flies Out, grabbed in April. I would ask Deb Talan to marry me if Steve Tannen hadn’t done so first.
• Deb Talan, Sincerely, grabbed in May. Even if her voice is a bit … unique.
• Alejandro Escovedo, Real Animal, grabbed in September. I had read No Depression rave about Escovedo for some time, and dammit, they were right.
• Five O’Clock People, Temper Temper, grabbed in March. Now if they can only go less than half-a-decade before putting out another disc.
• Gnarls Barkley, The Odd Couple, grabbed in August. I’m still picking up pieces of my mind blown apart by this record.
• Gnarls Barkley, St. Elsewhere, grabbed in August. Gnarls Barkley makes me want to buy a bunch of old soul records, which I’d argue is a good thing for my musical self-education.
• Randall Goodgame, Bluebird, grabbed in November. If you ever wanted Randall Goodgame to stop playing the guitar all the time, these tracks are for you.
• Andy Gullahorn, Reinventing the Wheel, grabbed in November. Gully’s ability to have you laughing in one verse and hating yourself in the next is still with it; it feels like he’s got a Greg Maddux-like songwriting career ahead of him.
• Iron & Wine, The Shepherd’s Dog, grabbed in August. I used to sorta like Sam Beam, and this record made me love him.
• Jackopierce, Promise of Summer, grabbed in September. This is a NoiseTrade success story, and it turns out my friend David manages them, too, which is fun.
• Matthew Perryman Jones, Swallow the Sea, grabbed in August. There is a reason that MPJ started getting his songs played on TV, and it’s because the man cuts deep into his soul and bleeds all over your ears … in a good way.
• Carole King, Tapestry, grabbed in April. Thank you, Gilmore Girls, for making me feel like a natural woman … I think.
• Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin, grabbed in January. I am of the opinion that great blues/rock bands have a shelf life, but man, these guys hit it hard early, eh?
• Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin II, grabbed in January. And then they followed it up with a record at least as good as the first one.
• Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin III, grabbed in January. Hats Off (to Led Zeppelin) for making another killer record.
• Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV, grabbed in February. Been a long time since rock and roll sounded like this, but hey, paying homage to this would sound weaksauce.
• Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti, grabbed in February. For “Kashmir” alone, but the rest of the record is really fucking good.
• Nathan Lee, Down at the Rutledge, grabbed in February. If you stuffed the soul of The Boss and The Piano Man into a muscled, keyboard-banging dude who lights up Nashville, you’d get Nathan Lee.
• Sandra McCracken, Red Balloon, which I had in August, long before it came out, neener neener neener! I still feel like Sandra’s best record is yet to come, which is both a compliment and not, if you think about it.
• Nirvana, Nevermind, grabbed in August. I can’t believe I didn’t have a copy in the 1990s; I had the plaid shirt jackets from Eddie Bauer, dammit.
• Over the Rhine, Live From Nowhere, Volume Three, grabbed in August. I don’t care that there are great tapers for Over the Rhine: I will buy every damn one of these yearly records if only to support Karin and Linford as they continue to make beautiful music.
• Andrew Osenga, Letters to the Editor: Volume Two, which I helped distribute in September. I am admittedly quite biased, but hey, he didn’t play my guitar on this one, so back off.
• Andrew Peterson, Resurrection Letters, Volume Two, which, um, I never blogged, apparently. Looks like I got it in mid-August according to iTunes metadata. Not as good as previous AP albums, but still very good.
• Portishead, Third, grabbed in December. From everything I read, it’s like Portishead and Trent Reznor had a baby, but it’s one beautiful, industrial baby.
• Radiohead, The Bends, grabbed in December. It’s good enough that I’m overcoming my “don’t put the shiny new bauble on the year-end list” sentiment.
• Radiohead, Hail to the Thief, grabbed in December. Wacky song titles, impenetrable lyrics, and a shitload of rock and roll.
• Radiohead, In Rainbows, grabbed in July. You could have had this for free, and you don’t still have it?
• Alli Rogers, The Silent Stars EP, grabbed in December. Iowan singer/songwriter makes a homespun Christmas record.
• Alli Rogers, You and the Evening Sky, grabbed in March. I really feel like Alli gets lost in the sea of Midwestern-bred female songstresses, which is a damn shame.
• She & Him, Volume One, grabbed in March. I don’t like this as much as Paste does [really, #1, guys? REALLY!?], but it’s a fun listen.
• The Soft Drugs, Get Back – Side A, which I never blogged because I downloaded this one on the recommendation of one of the music blogs I read. And, of course, now I can’t find it. Who cares where I got it, it’s four tracks of fun pop/rock.
• Steven Delopoulos, As If Love Was a Sword, which I also appear to have never blogged, nor have any URLs for. Sad. You either love Delopoulos’s ethnic-tinged songwriting and fingerpicking, or you don’t; I do.
• Waterdeep, Heart Attack Time Machine, which is a NoiseTrade download, and as such, is something I can’t link to here something I have now linked to since Derek was the bus driver and drove me to school. John Wilson, you were right to pimp these guys to me all these years.
• Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken, Ampersand EP, grabbed in February. I think I’m contractually bound to put them on there for making a record I’d wanted them to make for at least 18 months.
• The Weepies, iTunes EP, which I never blogged but love. And before you fuss, that’s an iTunes Plus link. These exclusive EPs are fun ways to get into a band’s history, as this does in bringing songs from both Deb and Steve’s solo careers into The Weepies’ sphere of influence.
• The Weepies, Happiness, grabbed in February. This is not the record to start with, but it’s good.
• The Weepies, Hideaway, grabbed in April. I would call this a bit of a major-label sophomore slump, but it’s still good; shame they didn’t tour it.
• The Weepies, Say I Am You, grabbed in January. This record makes me want to be in love, which is the best compliment I can think of to give it.
• Wilco, Kicking Television, grabbed in April. I’ve got bootlegs that are better than this, but it’s pretty damn solid, and I’m a completionist.

That’s 47 albums. Yowza! About one a week … that’s a very, very good year.

Now, I’m gonna take it to 11 … and be a bit more verbose.

1. Radiohead, In Rainbows. There is nothing that I can add to all that has been said about this album, from the distribution to the music itself. I didn’t buy this until it came out on a physical disc [I'm a curmudgeon and have this problem, which I'm hoping to lick in 2009], but this is the album that made me a Radiohead fan, much as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot made me a Wilco fan. Favorite Tracks: “Nude”, “Reckoner”, “Jigsaw Falling Into Place”.
   
2. The Weepies, Say I Am You. 2008 was a weird year for me; I spent a lot of it pursuing a relationship that didn’t ultimately work out, and a lot of this album was my soundtrack. This is right in my wheelhouse, to be sure—singer/songwriter-y, acoustic guitar-driven, solid melody and harmony. In a world where In Rainbows doesn’t exist, it’s my best album of the year. Favorite Tracks: “Painting By Chagall”, “Riga Girls”.
   
3. Andrew Bird, Armchair Apocrypha. I bought this album on a lark, because it was well-regarded. Some of my best musical purchases are done that way, and this is definitely one of them. I think what gets me about Andrew Bird is that he’s a self-comfortable artist who is willing to experiment and do big things with his sound. The analog to an artist I’m friends with is the amazingness of Jeremy Casella’s Recovery [and if Jerry ever sees this, he's gonna hit me for putting him and Bird in the same sentence]. This is one of those albums I find myself singing often, and there is no greater tribute to me than that. Favorite Tracks: “Darkmatter”, “Plasticities”, and “Scythian Empires”. I never will forget whistling the last as I was walking through the Nashville airport on my way back from Philly after a whirlwind, 20-hour trip to see Caedmon’s Call play.
   
4. Five O’Clock People, Temper Temper. I was a big fan of 5OCP when they were making music in the 1990s, and so I grabbed this as soon as I heard it came out. It was … nothing like their old sound, in a lot of ways, but man, it frickin’ rocks. Favorite Tracks: “Gold Rush”, “Aftermath”, and “February”.
   
5. Gnarls Barkley, The Odd Couple. I had heard all this buzz about Gnarls Barkley, but just … dismissed it for whatever reason. I do that; I’m dumb. But then one day “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul” was highlighted on NPR, and I almost had to pull over to the side of the road, I was so blown away. Favorite Tracks: “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul”, “Run (I’m a Natural Disaster)”.
   
6. Death Cab for Cutie, Narrow Stairs. Like with Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago, a lot has been made about this record coming out of Ben Gibbard taking residence where Jack Kerouac did at Big Sur. I’m of the mind that creative pursuits are often terribly lonely affairs, so I think this was a good idea. This record brought the lyrical brilliance and nose for melody that Death Cab’s always had, but they also exhibited their musical chops on it, too. For whatever weird reason, I want to draw parallels to this and Elliott Smith’s Figure 8. Favorite Tracks: “I Will Possess Your Heart”, “Cath…”, and “Long Division”.
   
7. Iron & Wine, The Shepherd’s Dog. I simply did not think that Sam Beam had this much awesome within him. I am very glad to be wrong. Very, very glad. Favorite Tracks: “House of the Sea”, “Wolves (Song of the Shepherd’s Dog”, “Peace Beneath the City”.
   
8. Tom Brosseau, Late Night at Largo. At this point, you have to mail a check to Tom Brosseau’s management to get a copy. It is worth your time in doing so. I’ve written about Brosseau before, but here he is in a nutshell: North Dakota boy moved to LA that writes about home because he both misses it and hates it, in a way. If you grew up in a cold climate and have moved to warmer latitudes, you know where he’s coming from. His music has a sense of ironic detachment, but it’s also just plain good. Also, he sings so high that he makes Thom Yorke in falsetto sound like Barry White. Favorite Tracks: “Rose”, “Broken Ukulele”, and “Young and Free”.
   
9. Matt Costa, Unfamiliar Faces. Okay, I’ve got a thing for young guys who write songs about not getting the girl, or getting the girl and losing the girl, but … dude, this guy can rock it up. Favorite Tracks: “Emergency Call”, “Heart of Stone”, and “Miss Magnolia”.
   
10. Matthew Perryman Jones, Swallow the Sea. Unlike most years, this is the only time when an artist I personally know appears on the list. I think that most of that is because I’m becoming harder on my friends’ more recent albums, honestly. But MPJ made a killer, killer record here, a worthy followup to Throwing Punches in the Dark, which I was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to top. He topped it, though. Favorite Tracks: “Save You”, “Motherless Child”, and “Feels Like Letting Go”.
    
11. Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV. There is nothing I can add to this that hasn’t been said, eh? This is my favorite Zep album, even if it doesn’t have all of my favorite songs. Favorite Tracks: “Black Dog”, “Rock and Roll”, “Stairway to Heaven”. I mean, duh.
    

What about you? Do you have some of these records and violently disagree? Did I overlook something to the point that you’re ready to shake me for not listening to it? I wanna know.

• Feist’s Open Season.
  
• Alejandro Escovedo’s Real Animal.
  
• The Velvet Underground’s eponymous album.
  
• 15 Jun 2006 [Northampton, MA, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. 2006-06-15: Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton, MA, USA.
  
• 24 Jun 2007 [Northampton, MA, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. 2007-06-24: Pines Theater, Northampton, MA, USA (disc 1) and 2007-06-24: Pines Theater, Northampton, MA, USA (disc 2).
  
• 29 Jun 2007 [Nashville, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Sandra McCracken, Derek Webb, and Bleu. 2008-06-29: 12th and Porter, Nashville, TN, USA (disc 1) and 2008-06-29: 12th and Porter, Nashville, TN, USA (disc 2).
  
• 6 Aug 2008 [Boston, MA, USA] concert bootleg of Gnarls Barkley. 2008-08-06: Wilbur Theater, Boston, MA, USA
  

Last week was uneven, but the good stuff was very good:

• Sandra McCracken’s Red Balloon. Predictably, I love it. There are a couple moments on the record that I don’t get, but all in all, I think this lives up to the hype that Derek has been giving it. Four stars.
  
• Nirvana’s In Utero. Sadly, it doesn’t have the punch that Nevermind did, probably understandable as a sophomore major-label release. That, plus a dalliance into noise rock that I didn’t enjoy, got it two-and-a-half stars from me. The goods are great! The bads are … meh.
  
• Jackopierce’s Promise of Summer. Quite, quite enjoyable. A four-star record for me, and I’ll be getting more JP records from the back catalog. [See? Giving stuff away for free works.]
  
• 3 Feb 2006 [Las Vegas, NV, USA] concert bootleg of Coldplay. So meh. A distant recording from the audience, and … eh. Two-and-a-half stars.
  
• 26 Oct 2007 [New York, NY, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. Fan-fucking-tastic. Four-and-a-half stars. If you love OtR, get it. Go. Now. You. NOW.
  
• 17 Jul 2008 [London, England] concert bootleg of Death Cab for Cutie. Also kinda distant, but with a better base to start with. Three stars.
  
• 26 Jul 2008 [Anchorage, AK, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. No, I didn’t pick this in honor of Sarah Palin. This is the band whose debut release was titled A.M.; sadly, it sounds like it was recorded from an AM broadcast: over-compressed, tinny, and muddled. An example: when the band does their Wall of Noise trick in the opening cut, “Via Chicago”, everything is … the same sound level. Jeff is clearly heard. This … just isn’t the way it ought to be at all. Having looked at the mic used in the recording, I’m guessing that this is the sound guy’s fault, or perhaps just crappy mains. But, you know, if I lived in Anchorage, I really wouldn’t give a shit, because Wilco rocks. The good thing is that we get two new songs out of it, and new songs? Always good. The rating is two stars.
  

My Brightest Diamond’s A Thousand Shark’s Teeth.

Sigur Rós’s Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust.

21 Apr 2002 [Toronto, ON, Canada] concert bootleg of Wilco. 2002-04-21: Convocation Hall, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.

14 Nov 2003 [Los Angeles, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Death Cab for Cutie. 2003-11-14: Henry Fonda Theater, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

22 Apr 2005 [St. Paul, MN, USA] concert bootleg of M. Ward. [Thanks to emdot for the use of her photo for this cover art.] 2005-04-22: Turf Club, St. Paul, MN, USA.

5 Nov 2005 [Dayton, OH, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. 2005-11-05: Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, OH, USA (disc 1) and 2005-11-05: Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, OH, USA (disc 2).

4 May 2008 [Birmingham, AL, USA] concert bootleg of Derek Webb & Sandra McCracken. 2008-05-04: Workplay Theatre, Birmingham, AL, USA and 2008-05-04: Workplay Theatre, Birmingham, AL, USA.

Last week was abbreviated in an effort to catch up:

• Sloan’s Parallel Play. Three stars: almost three-and-a-half, but not quite. Fun power-pop, though.
  
• Eric Peters’s Bookmark. Two-and-a-half stars: it works as a tide-me-over album, which is what it was intended to be, best as I can tell. A worthy grab for EP fans and completionists.
  

• Death Cab for Cutie’s Narrow Stairs.
  
• 7 May 1999 [Chicago, IL, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. I’m sneaking two in here to try to work off the backlog. 1999-05-07: Riviera Theater, Chicago, IL, USA (disc 1) and 1999-05-07: Riviera Theater, Chicago, IL, USA (disc 2).
  
• 3 Nov 2004 [Portland, OR, USA] concert bootleg of The Delgados. 2004-11-03: Music Millenium, Portland, OR, USA.
• 4 Nov 2005 [Dayton, OH, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. 2005-11-04: Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, OH, USA (disc 1) and 2005-11-04: Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, OH, USA (disc 2).
  
• 28 Sep 2006 [Santa Monica, CA, USA] concert bootleg of M. Ward. 2006-09-28: KCRW-FM, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
• 3 May 2008 [Nashville, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken. By my own hand! 2008-05-03: 3rd & Lindsley, Nashville, TN, USA and 2008-05-03: 3rd & Lindsley, Nashville, TN, USA.
  
• 5 May 2008 [Missoula, MT, USA] concert bootleg of Wilco. 2008-05-05: Harry Adams Center, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA (disc 1) and 2008-05-05: Harry Adams Center, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA (disc 2).

Two weeks ago turned out pretty well:

• Deb Talan’s Sincerely. A solid, four-star effort. The rendition of “How Will He Find Me” is the strongest track.
  
• City and Colour’s Bring Me Your Love. Another four-star release for me; “The Death of Me” and “Body in a Box” are both good little numbers.
  
• 4 Sep 1967 [West Hollywood, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Cream. Two-and-a-half stars, which is what I’d expect for a four-decade-old recording.
  
• 27 Aug 2005 [Cincinnati, OH, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. Four stars; “The World Can Wait” and “Firefly” just sparkle. Fun between-song banter, too. It’s OtR with a hometown crowd—hard to beat that.
• 4 Feb 2006 [Malmö, Sweden] concert bootleg of Death Cab for Cutie. It starts a little slow, but they really fly in the second half of the concert. The renditions of “Crooked Teeth” and “What Sarah Said” are the best to my ears.
• 26 Mar 2008 [Melbourne, Australia] concert bootleg of Wilco. Three stars. I was terribly bored.
• 9 Apr 2008 [Louisville, KY, USA] concert bootleg of Son Volt. Two stars. Just not a good recording.

Deb Talan’s Sincerely, a live album that’s only available these days as a digital download.

City and Colour’s Bring Me Your Love, which I was introduced to by Adam.

4 Sep 1967 [West Hollywood, CA, USA] concert bootleg of Cream. 1967-09-04: Whiskey A Go-Go, West Hollywood, CA, USA (disc 1) and 1967-09-04: Whiskey A Go-Go, West Hollywood, CA, USA (disc 2).

27 Aug 2005 [Cincinnati, OH, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. 2005-08-27: Moonlite Gardens, Coney Island, Cincinnati, OH, USA (disc 1) and 2005-08-27: Moonlite Gardens, Coney Island, Cincinnati, OH, USA (disc 2).

4 Feb 2006 [Malmö, Sweden] concert bootleg of Death Cab for Cutie. 2006-02-04: Kulturbolaget, Malmö, SWE.

26 Mar 2008 [Melbourne, Australia] concert bootleg of Wilco. 2008-03-26: Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Australia (disc 1) and 2008-03-26: Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Australia (disc 2).

9 Apr 2008 [Louisville, KY, USA] concert bootleg of Son Volt. 2008-04-09: Headliners Music Hall, Louisville, KY, USA (disc 1) and 2008-04-09: Headliners Music Hall, Louisville, KY, USA (disc 2).

Last week:

• The Weepies’ Hideaway. This one did not grab me the way that Say I Am You did, but I’ve also not given it car/road trip time. I will be correcting that this weekend. Three-and-a-half stars, and I expect that’ll rise.
  
• Carole King’s Tapestry (Legacy Edition). This was a bit of an impulse buy, although it was well-regarded in last month’s Paste. Very much worth my money. Four stars.
  
• 18 Feb 1997 [Ottawa, ON, Canada] concert bootleg of Wilco. It’s hard to believe that this was recorded onto tape, at least for me. It sounds quite good! Three-and-a-half stars.
• 26 Aug 2005 [Lexington, KY, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. Oh my holy heck. This is a fine, fine, fine recording. If you like Ohio and Drunkard’s Prayer, GRAB IT. Four-and-a-half stars.
• 15 Mar 2008 [Austin, TX, USA] concert bootleg of M. Ward and Jim James. Sadly, during Matt’s solo stuff, the recording is very distant sounding, which is surprising for Church Audio cardioids; must’ve been a hard room to record. I give it three stars.
  
• 4 Apr 2008 [Dyersburg, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Derek Webb. I’m happy with how this one came out; I’m giving it four stars only because the songs off of The Ringing Bell really deserve to have a band behind them. I understand why that didn’t happen on this tour, but man … if Derek had been able to have Todd, Garett, Jeff, Josh, and Andrew backing him on these songs … that would have been awesome. Anyhow, some folks would probably like more of the SBD in this mix, but I’m a fan of how a recording actually sounds in a room. For those people, I’ve seeded the SBD and AUD recordings in their uncut forms on IndieRiver; they can do with it what they like.
  
• 4 Apr 2008 [Dyersburg, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Caedmon’s Call. The longer I think about this, the more I think about re-mastering it. It just could be better. That said, it’s decent. Three-and-a-half stars, mainly because of Andy O’s two killer guitar solos. That kid really can shred.
  

• The Weepies’ Hideaway.
  
• Carole King’s Tapestry (Legacy Edition). You can blame this one on me watching lots of Gilmore Girls episodes.
  
• 18 Feb 1997 [Ottawa, ON, Canada] concert bootleg of Wilco. 1997-02-18: The Cave, Ottawa, ON, Canada (disc 1) and 1997-02-18: The Cave, Ottawa, ON, Canada (disc 2).
• 26 Aug 2005 [Lexington, KY, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. 2005-08-26: The Dame, Lexington, KY, USA (disc 1) and 2005-08-26: The Dame, Lexington, KY, USA (disc 2).
• 15 Mar 2008 [Austin, TX, USA] concert bootleg of M. Ward and Jim James. 2008-03-15: St. David's Church, Austin, TX, USA and 2008-03-15: St. David's Church, Austin, TX, USA.
  
• 4 Apr 2008 [Dyersburg, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Derek Webb. Really happy with the ability to do SBD-AUD matrixes now. 2008-04-04: Dyersburg State Community College, Dyersburg, TN, USA.
  
• 4 Apr 2008 [Dyersburg, TN, USA] concert bootleg of Caedmon’s Call. This one took a lot of work, because my feeds got slightly out of sync from time to time during the set, so I continually had to monitor for sync issues. Worth doing, though. I’ve got some ideas of how I’ll do that better next time. Could’ve spent more time mastering it, too. Ah well. 2008-04-04: Dyersburg State Community College, Dyersburg, TN, USA (disc 1) and 2008-04-04: Dyersburg State Community College, Dyersburg, TN, USA (disc 2).
  

Last week was good in the studio spots, meh otherwise:

• Deb Talan’s Something Burning. Unlike with her husband, I liked her sophomore release much better. This is good, but the melody is better on the next record. Two-and-a-half stars.
  
• Deb Talan’s A Bird Flies Out. Lots and lots of fun here. Three-and-a-half stars.
  
• 11 Jan 1997 [Chicago, IL, USA] concert bootleg of Jeff Tweedy. Pretty standard Tweedy solo fare of that era; nothing special. Two-and-a-half stars. The fun bit for me is the cover of “Thirteen”, which I’m used to hearing Elliott Smith do.
  
• 7 Jul 1999 [Stuttgart, Germany] concert bootleg of Wilco. Very meh. Two stars.
  
• 12 Aug 2002 [New York, NY, USA] concert bootleg of Coldplay. Sounds thin and reedy. Two-and-a-half stars.
  
• 25 Jun 2005 [Chicago, IL, USA] concert bootleg of Over the Rhine. Good mics, well-implemented. Feels sluggish, but that’s because the performance is slow and muted. Sometimes when OtR goes this way, it’s really cool, like listening to jazz with a good glass of $alcohol [I'd say wine, but I don't drink wine], and sometimes, it’s like this, just a tad too mellow. Three-and-a-half stars.
• 17 Apr 2006 [Toronto, ON, Canada] concert bootleg of Death Cab for Cutie. Sadly, an audience rig not up to the task. Two stars.

When you perform
It’s so intense
When the critics pan
I write in your defense

I understand I am just a fan
I’m just a fan

Wilco, “The Lonely 1“, Being There

Andrew wrote about going to see Sixpence None the Richer play on Sunday night in Nashville, and a good chunk of what he wrote resonated with me.

I’ve lived here for eleven years and I’ve had the real honor of working with just about everybody I listened to in high school who’s not dead or in U2, Pink Floyd or the Beatles. It’s shocking and amazing at first, but it wears off and you realize they’re just dudes like you, and the magic fades away a little bit.

Except for this band Sixpence. I don’t care. I just freaking love them. They’re one of my favorites. They always have been and they always will be. I’ve played a few things with Matt, mostly at Andy P’s Christmas shows, and Leigh sang on the first Normals record. But somehow, they never faded to me. I’m a fan. And I love it.

Despite it all, Caedmon’s Call is still that way for me. [Derek or Andy solo? Not so much. Both of those are very much old hat, to the point that if either asked me to sing BGVs or something during a show, I wouldn't be intimidated.] Every show is still pretty special for me, because the music takes me back to a far more formative period of my life. I connect to it in ways that really only I know about, because I’ve never talked about with anyone in the band. [Unlike, say, some of Andrew's stuff.]

Another thing I want to note here: I try to maintain a certain distance with Over the Rhine. I freaking love them, and while I guess there are chances for me to get to know them—and they’re certainly inviting of those opportunities—I really just want to remain a fan. Unlike most of the shows of bands I attend whenever they’re in my area, I go to those shows, make my recording, take my photos, and go the hell home. No waiting for two hours after the show to talk to the band [because we want to talk to each other, but I'm willing to wait out the other fans] or anything. I just watch the show, capture it, go home, and revel in the remembrance later. I like that.

I think I set the trend with OtR when, at the first show I attended, Rick and I sat right along the walkway from the green room to the stage. Didn’t talk to them then … probably won’t in the future.

That was fun, but I really don’t want to do it again anytime soon. But like Bryan said in a forum post yesterday: if that’s the last Caedmon’s Call show I ever see, I can die a happy man.

[Yes, I recorded it. Yes, I'm releasing it. This is just a busy week.]

“Oh, hey, I’m gonna be late on the 25th.”

“What is that?”

“Monday, the week we ship [the hardware job we're shipping on Friday that week].”

“Oh, I don’t think that’ll be a big deal. Where ya gonna be?”

“Well … I’ll start the morning in Philadelphia, and I’ll be in Nashville by 0815 and here by 1030 or so.”

And the fun thing is that my boss didn’t even bat an eyelash. He … well, he knows I’m insane.

Indeed, I am: after two hockey games that weekend, I’ll drive to Nashville Sunday morning, hop a plane to PHL, land, get a rental, drive almost to Trenton, New Jersey, watch Caedmon’s Call in concert [and hang out with Bryan and Mark, which is reason enough to go in and of itself], chill with the band after the show, then mosey back down to PHL and fly home first thing Monday morning.

Won’t be the first time I’ve grabbed a little shuteye at an airport before winging my way back home and then to the office.

Yeah, I’m insane. But this is how I roll. [And I have new camera equipment to roll with! My Canon EF 28mm f/2.8 showed up yesterday, and my EF 85mm f/1.8 USM arrived today. My mics show up, well, whenever Sound Professionals gets off their duffs and ships it to me.] And yes, I’ll have more equipment than other baggage.

Derek Webb (and band) @ Exit/In

That said, I’ve had no problems with photos being used in quasi-commercial work; not only has Bryan used photos of mine in layouts for [derekwebb.net] and [andrewosenga.net], but Andrew used one of my photos for the link to the [andrewosenga.net] forum that he has on his sidebar. And if someone wanted to use one of my works commercially, well, I’d do it for a fee.

I feel like I’m starting to find my way with my photography, although concert photography is really still the only thing that really cranks my tractor. Last night, I dumped the photos off of my camera from last Saturday night’s DW show, and I was really happy with what I was seeing come out from the thumbnail view, which I hardly ever am. I guess Understanding Exposure took a little for me.

It wasn’t the best-kept secret ever, but … Derek Webb recorded with Caedmon’s Call for their upcoming album.

Yep.

I took a bunch of photos when I was in the studio, and they’re available in a photoset on Flickr. But Derek and Andy, together? This is a beautiful sight to my eyes. It’s great to see this, for me. You may not feel the same way, and you know … that’s okay with me.

Well, as I’m doing 24 Hours of Flickr, my mind is on photos, so I took some time to sort photos for the 19 Apr 2007 Derek Webb show down in Birmingham.

I love that the UCF House had some color-changing on their lighting system—it gave me reason to take more photos than I might normally take. I love how the blues and the greens came out in this set. Now if I’d only had a 105mm lens, I might have had some even better shots … ah well.

Woke up, went to hit Pancake Pantry with Andy O. Can’t raise Andy on the phone. [No big.] See the Sunday-morning-level line outside, decide to bolt. Hit Cracker Barrel at, amusingly, the exit right by Osenga’s house. Fuel up on Southern breakfast, hit the road.

Now, the truck had been a little hard to start the last couple of days, and I was also hearing some belt squeal—but only very, very intermittently and for very short periods. No worries, really.

Around mile marker 30 on I-65 southbound, any additional current draw—such as running my wipers—drops off the XM Radio. My brain starts to think, “Alternator issues,” as I’d just had those back in August. I say to Bryan, “Okay, we’re going to take a detour on our way down. We have plenty of time, and I want to get this checked out.” He agrees, as we do have lots of time.

11:58. We past Exit 22 at Pulaski, TN. My battery light comes on. “Alternator issues, I say.” I crest the ridge past the exit. I glance at my temperature gauge. Holy shit! I hit the heater and crack my window, slowing the vehicle. It continues to spike, I pull onto the shoulder. I shut down the engine, come to a stop, and … GOOSH! Steam. Not knowing that it’s only steam, I tell Bryan to grab everything valuable and throw it in the bed of the truck, and we do. After a minute or two, it’s clearly coolant containment loss. :sigh:

I call my insurance company to have them get me a wrecker. The wrecker comes after a half-hour wait, and we get to his shop. Hearing my symptoms, the mechanic checks … no alternator belt. It clearly broke off without us noticing, which caused all the issues. How is this related to the coolant? The same belt also turns the water pump. No circ, no activce cooling, and … BLAMMO. Mechanic fixes belt, thinking that this is the only issue, and it’s just and overflow or something. [Given how it spouted steam, I thought that perhaps a hose let go.] After more work, he finds the culprit … a crack in the radiator, one that has clearly grown significantly as it has cooled. Bryan has photos.

So, when it was the belt, I thought I was home free … I’d get it fixed, take the bill to the people who just did that work 60 days ago, and demand an explanation and compensation. I’ll still be doing that, but …

New tires.
New battery.
New alternator.
New radiator.

This truck is wearing out.

I’m fixing the truck to improve its resale value [a running truck beats a non-running truck], and … I expect to not drive it more than 7-10 days longer.

The radiator wasn’t in stock in Pulaski, so the truck is there, and we rented a car and came on to Birmingham. We’re now in Cullman, having driven most of the way home so that we can have it easy in the morning. I’ll drive Bry to the airport, head in to the office, do a few things, then head back to Pulaski and settle up on the truck and get it back to Huntsville [and the rental back in under 24 hours].

:sigh: Good show, though.

The afternoon was spent with the lovely Katy Bowser, where I shot some photos that she might end up using on her site. Good times.

After that, Bry and I met up with Casella again at Bongo Java East and shot the breeze over some coffee. I would love to encapsulate that conversation, but it was so wide-ranging that I’d never attempt it. Afterwards, Jer played some of his new disc, which is gonna own. Seriously. This is not the music that you expect from Casella.

We’ve driven around a while, but now we’ve landed at a Nashville spot for a beer with Mr. Webb. Enjoying the wireless and the company, although Derek just busted me for blogging instead of talking. [But to be fair, it was him and Bry talking until Erica called.] Crazy day, and the night is still young!

Okay, time to get moving this morning…

I think this trumps last year’s Eight Days of Awesome.

• Sat 17 Sep: Off to Chattanooga with Rick [and hopefully Jessica ] to go see Derek, Sandra, and Cason play at Covenant College. Hanging with my people is awesome. It’s Sarah H.’s, concert, and it’ll be good to see her again.
• Fri 23 Sep: Off to the DC area to go see Caedmon’s play in Maryland. I’m hoping to get to hang out with Chrissy during the day before the show; haven’t seen her since before she went to Ireland, and I want to hear all her stories. Bryan and Erica and Joe and Rhonda will be at the show for sure, and I’m really hopeful that Christiana, Mark, and Karyn will be there. My heart may not be able to take the awesomeness.
• Sat 24 Sep: Shake off the awesomeness hangover, drive back to IAD, hope a plane to GSO, and hopefully drive down to Charlotte real fast, kidnap Brandon and Sarah, then bring them to the Greensboro area for Mike’s birthday party. I’m ready to see him and Kari, Brian and Sarah, and hopefully Charles, Jason, and Susan. I don’t know that I’ll be able to take two days in a row like this!

Also, looks like I’ll be headed back to KSC for more of the same in October.

I jokingly suggested this the other day on the Rumor Forum, and then … I just felt like I shouldn’t be joking about it. I fired an email off to Derek, and he told me that he’d support me. Derek’s been working with Blood:Water and raising money for them out on tour for some time now.

I would appreciate your support for Blood:Water, whether you donate through the Blogathon campaign that I’ve set up or directly on your own. If you do feel like you want to support me in this, do so with a link, some fun IMs while I spend next Saturday on a posting spree, and whatever other ways you can think of.

At least 48 posts in 24 hours? I can probably pull off 60. I’ll start my research this weekend so that I have some links at the ready for my perusal and postage when next Saturday rolls around.

That was a heckuva lot of fun, and a good day all around.