Death Metal Rooster

When I have a bad day, I watch this over and over and it cheers me up. I don't know much about metal as a genre, but when I am having a shit week, metal always cheers me up.

Pantera - A New Level.mp3
Buy: Vulgar Display of Power (1992)

The Pocket Co.

For months one of my buddies has been trying to get me to see one of his favorite local bands. I finally got off of my ass last Sunday evening and headed to The Cameron House to catch The Pocket Co. And holy crap, am I glad that I did!

The five piece band warmed up with Merle Haggard's "(Tonight) The Bottle Let Me Down." Note, if you are a band that is new to me, you will always catch my attention by playing The Hag. Not that The Pocket Co. is a country music band. Far from it. But they are way too diverse to pigeonhole into one genre. They combine elements of country, funk, blues, soul, and rock, sometimes all at the same time. Some of their songs have a Steely Dan 70s-rock feel, which others are straight up James Brown soul. They are amazingly talented musicians, with each band member taking turns at solos on their respective instruments: guitar, bass, piano, drums, or bad-ass vocal solos.

Here is one of their videos which I really dig because it mostly takes place in my 'hood in Toronto. And yes, the dude's hair is real.


I was exceptionally blown away by the presence of Don Francks, who recently joined the band. At the time I didn't know the name "Don Francks," but upon researching this post I gave myself a big "Duh!" Francks is 78-years-young, and has a better vocal range than professional singers one third of his age. Pay attention you American Idol chumps! He's had a 60-some year singing, dancing, acting, performing with everyone from Ian Tyson to Fred Astaire. He's acted in numerous films, television shows, and live stage productions; his IMDb entry has 134 acting appearances! And now he's hanging out with musicians young enough to be his grandchildren at the freakin' Cameron. Amazing. Last Sunday he sang a killer rendition of Tom Waits "$29.00" which I am sure would have blown Waits himself away. He introduced one other song (I'm blanking on the name) by saying, "the first time I heard this song Bessie Smith sang it." Wow. Here is a great article about Francks from CBC.

The Pocket Co. perform every Sunday evening from 6 to 8 at The Cameron House (408 Queen St. West) except for the first Sunday of each month. Their most recent album is called Saturday Night at Morley Gibson's. It was recorded a few years ago, and I actually think that they sound much, much better live than they do on the album. So get off your ass this Sunday, January 31, and join me at the Cameron. The Stupid Bowl is next week (Feb. 7), so you have no excuses! Both the live show and their album are "Pay What You Can." Bring lots of Toonies!

Pay for Your Sins.mp3
All I'm Doin' (Is You).mp3
Buy (CD Baby): Saturday Night at Morley Gibson's (2006)

Feel Bad for 2009 - Side B

This is the follow up post from Monday, January 18: Side B of the first Feel Bad for You comp of 2010. I asked the forum members of AltCountryTab.ca to submit their favorite tracks from 2009 which other members may not have heard. The comments on the songs are from the people who submitted them.

Side B - download the zipped comp for one week only.

1. Stephen Simmons - Hey Shannon.mp3
Buy (CD Baby): Girls (2009)
Comment: This is a song I feel confident that practically all ACT users will like. Heck, I think practically everyone would like the whole album.

2. Rosanne Cash with Jeff Tweedy - "Long Black Veil"
The List (2009)
Comment: Classic song, perfectly rendered. The whole CD is amazing.

3. Delbert McClinton - "Can’t Nobody Say I Didn’t Try"
Acquired Taste (2009)
Comment: A honky-tonk weeper. Belt buckle polishin’ on a saw dust covered floor. This is pure country. George Strait, call your office…

4. Golden Silvers - Magic Touch.mp3
Buy: True Romance (2009)
Comment: Another pop song I tapped my foot to in 2009, because there ain't much country that this board has missed.

5. Tiny Television - "C.R.E.A.M."
Mission Statement (2009)

6. The Shants - "So Strange, These Days"
Russian River Demos (2009)

7. Paul Burch - "Ballad of Henry & Jimmy"
Still Your Man (2009)

8. The Pines - Heart and Bones.mp3
Buy: Tremolo (2009)
Comment: What really makes this such a beautiful album is that Benson Ramsey’s father produced the album. With Bo Ramsey. This album conjures another beautifully produced Ramsey album, 2006’s Jeffrey Foucault’s Ghost Repeater. "Heart and Bones" is the most beautiful 3-verses song you will ever hear. Hauntingly beautiful.

9. Carolyn Mark & NQ Arbuckle - “Too Sober to Sleep”
Let’s Just Stay Here (2009)
Comment: What a great take on Justin Rutledge’s original.

10. Grand Salvo - Brother.mp3
Buy: Soil Creatures (2009)
Comment: A real sad beauty, with a sweet minor drop move make you cry. Haha.

11. Nanci Griffith - “Up Against the Rain”
The Loving Kind (2009)

12. Richmond Fontaine - The Boyfriends.mp3
Buy: We Used to Think the Freeway Sounded Like a River (2009)

13. Mos Def - “Quiet Dog”
The Ecstatic (2009)
Comment: The syncopated, vibrant single from Mos Def’s impressive new record marked the welcomed return of an artist whose artistic credibility, while never in jeopardy, had certainly taken a few hits thanks to three years’ worth of questionable film roles and one clearly phoned-in record. Please let that be the last creative hiatus, Mos. We need you.

14. John Doe & The Sadies - "It Just Dawned on Me"
Country Club (2009)
Comment: Great original on an otherwise mediocre album of covers. Written by John Doe and Excene Cervenka, with Kathleen Edwards on background vocals.

15. Phosphorescent - "The Last Thing I Needed (First Thing This Morning)"
To Willie (2009)
Comment: Love the original by Willie, love this one too -- sounds like it's being sung in the desperation of the current economic meltdown by someone with not much more to lose...

16. The xx - “Islands”
xx (2009)

17. Chris Smither - I Don't Know.mp3
Buy: Time Stands Still (2009)
Comment: Not an outstanding album, but I love this guy’s music... amazing guitar, good turn of phrase, interesting vocals.

18. Buddy and Julie Miller - “A Long, Long Time”
Written in Chalk (2009)
Comment: Julie has a sexy, sultry jazz singer voice.

19. Drew Kennedy - "Cincinnati"
An Audio Guide to Cross Country Travel (2009)

20. Damien Jurado - “Predictive Living”
Caught in the Trees (2008)

21. Micah Schnabel - "American Static"
When The Stage Lights Go Dim (2009)

VooDoo Pat

I saw this on eBay last week and laughed and laughed and laughed.

Description: This item is a PAT ROBERTSON VOODOO DOLL. All proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders. To learn more about Doctors Without Borders, visit: http://doctorswithoutborders.org/

Bid early and bid often! I first saw this on Monday, January 18, and the bidding was over $1000, but it got yanked for some violation of some eBay policy, and was reposted on Wednesday. As of early this afternoon, bidding was up to $700! Bidding ends on January 29!

Here is some more voodoo that Pat Robertson would not approve of. Jimi Hendrix's famous version of "Voodoo Child," song number 101 on Rolling Stone's 500 greatest songs of all time, started out as a May 3, 1968, jam session with Mitch Mitchell of The Jimi Hendrix Experience on drums, Steve Winwood of Traffic on B3 organ, and Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane on bass. The "Voodoo Chile" recording took only three takes, and the final 15 minute version was Hendrix's longest studio recording.

According to Rolling Stone and Wikipedia, later on the same day as they recorded "Voodoo Chile," while an ABC camera crew was filming Hendrix and his band (drummer Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding), Hendrix improvised the wah-wah guitar riff for "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" on the spot, and one of the greatest guitar riffs of all time was born.

Voodoo Chile.mp3

Voodoo Child (Slight Return).mp3

Buy: Electric Ladyland (1968, reissued 1997)

Franz Nicolay leaves the Hold Steady

In "aw, that sucks" news today, I learned via The Hold Steady's twitter feed that keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Franz Nicolay has left the band, presumably to focus on other projects, and Nicolay's website confirmed as much.

I love rock piano, and Nicolay's keyboard work for The Hold Steady is one of the reasons why I love this band so much. Its gonna be tough to replace him. Below are two tracks that demonstrate his keyboard prowess, although he is also well versed in accordion, guitar, and banjo.

I have to admit that I have not heard any of Nicolay's solo work, but Daytrotter has a nice session of his from last April.

Good luck, Franz!

Massive Nights.mp3

Buy: Boys and Girls in America (2006)

One for the Cutters.mp3

Buy: Stay Positive (2008)

Blue Monday

A geek that I work with pointed this out today at a meeting, and since I am also I geek, I found it incredibly amusing. Per Wikipedia, yesterday was Blue Monday, the saddest day of the year, according to some crazy British marketing group working for a travel agency. And, it even has an equation! Yay math!

On the third Monday of every January:

[W + (D - d)] x T^Q
M x N_a

Where, W = weather, d = debt, T = time since Christmas, Q = time since failing our New Year’s resolutions, M = low motivational levels, and N_a = the feeling of a need to take action. 'D' is not defined, since all good equations have an unknown. If only the marketing geniuses had included a differential equation. Then we could talk some serious calculus.

So, I just plugged my info into the above equation, and guess what the answer is? Come on nerds, think real hard! Hint: Its Fox Mulder's apartment number. Another Hint: Its one of the LOST numbers. Oh god, I just out-nerded myself! So? So let's dance....

My favorite "Blue Monday" is by New Order. This song was originally recorded as a 12" single in 1982, and charted numerous times in the UK. With two official remixes in 1988 and 1995. The original can be found on the superb New Order complication Substance, which I completely wore out on cassette circa 1989.

Blue Monday.mp3
Buy: Substance (1987)

Blue Monday (88).mp3
Buy: The Best of New Order (1995)

Feel Bad for 2009 - Side A

For the first Feel Bad for You comp of 2010, I asked the forum members of AltCountryTab.ca to submit their favorite tracks from 2009 which other members may not have heard. My ACT peeps submitted a ton of songs, so I split it up into Side A and Side B to keep it a reasonable download size. Side B will be posted next week. The comments on the songs are from the people who submitted them. Guess which one I submitted?

Side A - download the zipped comp for one week only.

1. The Black Hollies - "Everything's Fine"
Softly Towards The Light (2009)
Comments: It tickles the bottom of my power pop feet.

2. Devon Sproule - "Good to Get Out"
¡Don't Hurry for Heaven! (2009)
Comments: Catchiest Song of 2009?

3. Will Stratton - Nineteen.mp3
Buy: No Wonder (2009)
Comment: If you like Mark Kozelek rock songs, you will like this song. Guaranteed. The big surprise on Will Stratton's new album is how awesome the rock songs are on it. His previous album didn't have any rock songs.

4. Stephen Steinbrink - "Overpassing"
Ugly Unknowns (2009)
Comment: One of several killer songs from this album. Just great catchy acoustic indie-pop.

5. Miranda Lambert - "Me and Your Cigarettes"
Revolution (2009)
Comment: Yeah, it’s commercial, but it is also cool and sexy and I like it! I listen to Miranda’s CD the way I used to listen to music…the whole work, all the way through…

6. Soothsayers meet Red Earth Collective - River Effra.mp3
Buy (Tunes UK): One More Reason (2009)
Comment: Some sweet reggae from 2009!

7. Nolan McKelevy - Sign Of The Times.mp3
Buy (CD Baby): A Matter of Time (2009)

8. Mark Lennon - Down The Mountain.mp3
Buy (CD Baby): Down the Mountain (2009)

9. Headlights - "I Don't Mind At All"
Wildlife (2009)

10. K’Naan - “Take a Minute”
Troubadour (2009)
Comment: Brilliant album from an up and coming artist from Toronto via Mogadishu.

11. Lee Harvey Osmond - “Blades of Grass”
Quite Evil (2009)
Comment: Tom Wilson, Josh Finlayson (Skydiggers) and Michael Timmins (Cowboy Junkies) did the majority of the writing on the album's (A Quiet Evil) eight original songs. As for the other two songs, one is a cover (Lou Reed) and the other was penned by Scott Garbe (Parkland). Michael Timmins produced the album. Wilson, Finlayson and Timmins came together in the spring of ’08 while recording another Timmins’ project, The Kennedy Suite, a series of songs dealing with the assassination of JFK. There hasn’t been much love either, south of the border, for Wilson’s other supergroup, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. Blades of Grass is a song of murder and love which fits perfectly on this dark and overlooked album.

12. Star Anna & the Laughing Dogs - “All Her Ghosts”
The Only Thing That Matters (2009)
Comment: Move over falling stars Lucinda Williams and Mary Gauthier, here is Star Anna & the Laughing Dogs. All Her Ghosts is a standout and it’s the last song on this great album.

13. Ducktails - “Beach Point Pleasant”
Daytrotter Session (2009)
Comment: A kinda humorous nouveau techno lounge instrumental.

14. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy -“I Am Goodbye”
Beware (2009)

15. Jeffrey Foucault - "Far From Me"
Shoot the Moon Right Between The Eyes (Sings John Prine) (2009)

16. Adam Hansbrough - Stratus.mp3
Buy (CD Baby): Infestation (2009)
Comment: This is a local St. Louis jazz guitarist -- been playing for years and he's younger than me. Decent cocktail hour music. Mmm... scotchy scotch scotch.

17. Ox - “Burnout”
Burnout EP (2009)

18. Danny Schmidt - “Accidentally Daisies”
Instead the Forest Rose to Sing (2009)
Comment: I like this album a lot, would have made my list last year easy, just too much going on this year.

19. The Ethers - "Years Ago"
Early Winter (2009)

20. Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears - “Get Yo Shit”
Tell 'Em What Your Name Is!! (2009)
Comment: a booty shaker and I'm not normally know to shake it... It has also kinda become my Monday morning almost-to-work song... You know how it is... almost to work, not entire thrilled about it, but then put that on for some toe-tappin', head-bobbin', get to work in a good mood .. yeah...

21. William Elliott Whitmore - "Hell Or High Water"
Animals In The Dark (2009)

Hip-Hop on ACL

I must admit that I am not usually a hip-hop fan. Most of the mainstream hip-hop that I have been exposed to has been all about bitches, hos, gunz, Benjamins, or gangstas. In other words, not my thing. But two albums came out this year that made me reconsider the genre.

First, for months I had been hearing about the Toronto via Mogadishu rapper K'Naan, but it wasn't until I listened to the Polaris Music Prize gala, where his performance made me step back. Whoa, this dude is the real thing. Amazing performance, and and even better album.

Wavin' Flag.mp3

Buy: Troubadour (2009)

Mos Def has a long career as a musician, producer, and actor. In fact, he helped produce some of Troubadour. A friend recommended this record to me, and its incredible.

Workers Comp.mp3
Buy: The Ecstatic (2009)

K'Naan and Mos Def are the first hip-hop artists to ever appear on Austin City Limits. This appearance is pretty remarkable as ACL is usually reserved for Americana, country, or roots artists. ACL's next few guests include The Avett Brothers, Heartless Bastards, Kris Kristofferson, and Steve Earle. But what could be more "American" (or "Canadian" for K'Naan) than Hip-Hop? Especially when their songs tell stories in the tradition of the great country and folk artists.

K'Naan and Mos Def appear on ACL tomorrow, Saturday, January 16. Check your local PBS listings. In the Toronto area, we get WNED out of Buffalo, and like so many things in Buffalo, we are a week behind. K'Naan and Mos Def will air on ACL on Friday, January 22 at 11:30 pm.

New Madrid and Haiti

This is the lamest post ever, among many, many lame posts on this blog. I wanted to update My Aimz is True tonight, but I don't have anything important, or even mildly interesting, to say. Too much bad shit is going on right now.

Below is my favorite song about an earthquake. Its actually the only earthquake song that I know of. Let me know if you know of any others.

Uncle Tupelo - New Madrid.mp3

Buy: Anodyne (1993, reissued 2003)

And here's another excellent version of it by Jeff Tweedy and the late Jay Bennett.

New Madrid.mp3

From: Old Town Music School Fest, Chicago, IL, USA, July 25, 1999

The song "New Madrid" is about the New Madrid seismic zone in southern Missouri, and if it ever moves like the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault that demolished Port-au-Prince, the entire central US is fucked.

One more track here about Haiti. Régine Chassagne of the Arcade Fire is of Haitian descent. Her parents immigrated to Canada in the 1970s to escape the totalitarian reign of then "president for life" Jean-Paul Duvalier.

Arcade Fire - Haiti.mp3

Buy: Funeral (2004)

Lots of great humanitarian organizations are helping the relief effort in Haiti. I just donated to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Others are donating to the Red Cross, OXFAM, and Google Crisis Response has a page of information on how you can help.

Okkervil River back Roky Erickson

I saw this on Pitchfork this morning and I said, "DUDE!" Roky Erickson is a music legend, pioneering the psychedelic garage-rock sound with his band 13th Floor Elevators in Austin, TX, in the mid-1960s. Various drug, mental, and legal problems have plagued Erickson for most of his career, and he hasn't published any original music in 14 years. His new album True Love Cast Out All Evil will be released on April 20 on Anti-. My favorite indie rockers Okkervil River back Erickson on this album, and OR lead singer Will Sheff produces. If nothing else, it will a very interesting collaboration.

13th Floor Elevators - You're Gonna Miss Me.mp3
You can find this song on a number of psychedelic compilations. This particular one is from the below soundtrack. Sadly, there is no proper compilation of 13th Floor Elevators recordings.
Buy: High Fidelity Soundtrack (2000)

Okkervil River - You Can't Hold the Hand of a Rock and Roll Man.mp3
Buy: The Stage Names (2007)

Remember When Kings of Leon Didn't Suck?

Remember back in the good old days, around 2003-2007, when Kings of Leon didn't suck? I first became aware of KOL back when I still read Spin magazine in early 2003, and I got their Holy Roller Novocaine EP. Every year I make a list of CDs that I want for Christmas and my family randomly picks a few, and for Christmas of 2003 my brother gave me Youth & Young Manhood. I was in love with this album. Finally, a new generation of southern blues-rock! Their 2005 release, Aha Shake Heartbreak was even better. They lost me a bit on Because of the Times, their 2007 album, mainly because the first two songs on the album were awful (the song about babies, "Knocked Up," and the screaming song, "Charmer"). But the rest of the album was really good. I even saw them in concert that summer and they put on a damn good show.

But then in late 2007 I read an article about them and lead singer Nathan Followill was intoxicated and bitching to the reporter about how they should be more respected in US. Apparently they had this huge following in the UK, which didn't translate to the US market. I thought, "who the fuck is this guy to have such a sense of entitlement? He should appreciate what he has." Since day one this band has been on a major label (RCA). Hell, they were signed before their bass player even knew how to play, and their guitarist was only 16. Most bands dream of this kind of opportunity and success. Bob Stinson is rolling over in his grave!

On one of the rare times I was listening to the radio last year, I heard this band that sounded like Kings of Leon, but the song was awful. It couldn't be Kings of Leon, could it? Yep, it was that horrible "Sex on Fire" song. Or, as one of my Twitter followers said, "that firecrotch song." Frankly, I was shocked KOL was getting radio play. The firecrotch song is from Only By the Night, which reached #1 in the UK, #5 on the Billboard charts in the US, although Pitchfork mercifully trashed it, giving it a 3.8 out of 10 (for once, I agree with Pitchfork).

Late last summer I heard about Nathan Followill insulting a mild-mannered crowd at the Reading Festival. "We're the goddamn Kings of Leon, so fuck you." Ah yes, the son of a minister. Who would Jesus tell off?

But the real nail in the coffin, the reason I am finishing with KOL, is that, like Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance before them, they launched a clothing. And not any clothing line, but a "high end" clothing line that their tweeny fans can't even afford. For example, the bandanna to the right which I screen captured off of the Vogue website, sells for 65 British pounds. According to the Bank of Canada, for today, Friday, January 8, 2010, 65 pounds is $107.52 Canadian dollars or $103.95 US. I may not know much about retail, but I know enough cowboys to know that a $107.52 (presumably) cotton bandanna is a retail markup of approximately 20,000 percent.

So thanks KOL, its been fun, but you have abandoned your early fan base. I'll still listen to your first few albums, and I wish you well, but, we are breaking up. Although you are not over yourselves, I am over you.

Holy Roller Novocaine.mp3
Buy (MP3 only, CD out of print): Holy Roller Novocaine EP (2003)

Wasted Time.mp3
Buy: Youth & Young Manhood (2003)

Taper Jean Girl.mp3
Buy: Aha Shake Heartbreak (2005)


Edit: Spin just posted a blurb about their "band of the year" and their fashion line. Love the comments section. S-E-L-L-O-U-T!

Matt Berninger: Sexiest Voice in Indie Rock

I've been reading a lot of other people's "Best of the Decade" lists and I've seen a lot of very good albums mentioned (especially that Slobberbone record). One that I keep seeing mentioned over and over again is Alligator by The National. I hopped onto The National bandwagon late, so I don't really have an opinion on Alligator, but I do know that The National lead singer Matt Berninger has the sexiest voice of the decade. Even my heterosexual male friends swoon when they hear him sing. He doesn't have the greatest vocal range (see "Sleep All Summer" below), but he does have a deep, rich baritone which makes me weak in the knees. Plus, he's a hell of a song writer, and his band is incredible. Sexy voice + strong songwriting + killer band = Aimz in indie rock nirvana.

"...my voice has been [compared] to every different type of whiskey."

- Matt Berninger, 2007 interview with the AV Club

Hmmmm......whiskey......you all know how I feel about the dark liquors.

The National is a releasing a yet-to-be-name album sometime this spring.

Lucky You.mp3

Buy: Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers (2003)

Lit Up.mp3

Buy: Alligator (2005)

Start a War.mp3

From: Live at KEXP Vol. 4 (2008, out of print)

Sleep All Summer.mp3 (Crooked Fingers cover, with St. Vincent)

Buy: Score! 20 Years of Merge Records (2009)

Most Listened to Songs of 2009

I'm steeling this idea from another blog, and for the life of me I can't remember who posted it first. I know it was someone off of my twitter feed, but I went back through the feeds last night and I still have no clue who originally posted this. But anyway....

Are the songs that we call our "favorites" the same songs that we listen to the most? I went back through my media players to determine which songs from 2009 I actually listened to the most. The top 18 are listed below (38 tracks total as there are lots of ties). A few interesting notes: some albums I listened to almost exclusively on my MP3 player (Corb Lund, Slaid Cleaves), a few I listened to mostly through my computer (Carolyn Mark & NQ Arbuckle, Tim Easton), and others tracks just can't be quantitated because I know I mostly listened to them on my CD player (Mark Olson & Gary Louris, Drive-By Truckers), and some were listened to by all three methods (Son Volt).

1. Carolyn Mark & NQ Arbuckle - "Downtime" - Let's Just Stay Here
2. Justin Townes Earle - "Can't Hardly Wait" - Midnight at the Movies
2. Son Volt - "Down to the Wire" - American Central Dust
4. Carolyn Mark & NQ Arbuckle - "All Tim Low" - Let's Just Stay Here
5. Corb Lund - Game in Town Like This.mp3 - Buy: Losin' Lately Gambler
6. Carolyn Mark & NQ Arbuckle - "Second Time" - Let's Just Stay Here
7. Carolyn Mark & NQ Arbuckle - "Officer Down" - Let's Just Stay Here
7. Carolyn Mark & NQ Arbuckle - "Saskatoon Tonight" - Let's Just Stay Here
7. Corb Lund - "Horse Doctor Come Quick" - Losin' Lately Gambler
7. Doug Paisley - "What About Us?" - Doug Paisley
11. Corb Lund - "Long Gone to Saskatchewan" - Losin' Lately Gambler
11. Corb Lund - "The Only Long Rider I Know" - Losin' Lately Gambler
11. Doug Paisley - "We Weather" - Doug Paisley
11. Phorsphorescent -I Gotta Get Drunk.mp3 - Buy: To Willie
11. Slaid Cleaves - "Beautiful Thing" - Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away
11. Son Volt - "Dust of Daylight" - American Central Dust
11. Tim Easton - "Burgundy Red" - Porcupine
18. Ben Nichols - "The Last Pale Light in the West" - The Last Pale Light in the West
18. Ben Nichols - "Toadvine" - The Last Pale Light in the West
18. Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears - Get Yo Shit.mp3 - Buy: Tell 'Em What Your Name Is!
18. Carolyn Mark & NQ Arbuckle - "Itchy Feet" - Let's Just Stay Here
18. Carolyn Mark & NQ Arbuckle - "Let's Just Stay Here" - Let's Just Stay Here
18. Corb Lund - "Talkin' Veterinarian Blues" - Losin' Lately Gambler
18. Corb Lund - "This is My Prairie" - Losin' Lately Gambler
18. Eilen Jewell - "Rain Roll In" - Sea of Tears
18. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit - "Cigarettes and Wine" - Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit
18. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit - Good.mp3 - Buy: Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit
18. Justin Townes Earle - "They Killed John Henry" - Midnight at the Movies
18. Justin Townes Earle - Halfway to Jackson.mp3 - Buy: Midnight at the Movies
18. Slaid Cleaves - "Beyond Love" - Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away
18. Slaid Cleaves - "Cry" - Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away
18. Son Volt - "Cocaine and Ashes" - American Central Dust
18. Son Volt - "Dynamite" - American Central Dust
18. Son Volt - "Roll On" - American Central Dust
18. Tim Easton - "Northbound" - Porcupine
18. Tim Easton - "Stone's Throw Away" - Porcupine
18. Those Darlins - "Wild One" - Those Darlins
18. William Elliott Whitmore - "Who Stole the Soul" - Animals in the Dark

Here is the artist that I listened to the least in 2009 (graphics from Last.FM):

The Sadies on New Years Eve

The first time I saw The Sadies was on New Years Eve in 2006. I was with this really hot dude, and I spent the entire show - both the 11:30 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. sets - looking like this (actual photo):
Mind. Blown.

And I never saw that hot dude again.

Since 12/31/2006, I have seen the Sadies at least 10 times. Their records are good, but their live shows are unbelievable. They are easily my favorite live Canadian artist, and in my top five of all live touring acts.

I rolled into 2010 with the Sadies again this year, and it was no different. Kick fucking ass! Even my recovering-metalhead buddy Dan commented on how amazing brothers Dallas and Travis Good are on their geetars. Dallas announced that they have a new album that should be released in May (yipee!), and they played a few tracks from the upcoming release. I was drinking and didn't catch the track names, but they sounded more twangy than their last album, New Seasons. I love me some twang.

And it wouldn't be a Sadies show if they didn't bring the rest of the family along. Dallas and Travis' mom Margaret sang a few tunes, father Bruce sang and played the harmonica, and cousin Darcy played a mean fiddle. I loved watching Ma and Pa Good shake their heads and roll their eyes at their boys, especially as Dallas is cursing up storm on the countdown to midnight.

My only complaint about the night was that it was hotter than fuck inside of the Horseshoe Tavern. It was unseasonably warm that night, and the 'Shoe didn't compensate by turning down the heat or starting the overhead fans. I can't imagine how the musicians made it without fainting. I had to leave before the end of the show. There is only so much Bud Light one can drink to rehydrate.

Anna Leigh.mp3
Buy: New Seasons (2007)

Rat Creek.mp3
Buy: In Concert, Vol. 1 (2006)