I couldn’t get a few songs by the Tallest Man on Earth out of my head in 2009

I’m not going to make a best-of 2009 list (thought I did post one other best of 2009 list). I have about 2/3 of the year covered well but the rest of the year’s releases I haven’t covered as well. I still listen to music obsessively, though and so I can make this list without fear of inadequate preparation. As always with song obsessions, I don’t really choose the songs, they choose me. I wish I always knew why a song sticks in my head, but it doesn’t happen that way.

If you’re interested in this, check out my 2008 and 2007 lists.

I know that this is much later than many year-end lists, but as a semi-retired music blogger, I have the luxury of setting my own schedule. It’s pretty nice.

1. the Tallest Man on Earth – the Gardener (mp3) (buy)
   
   Nearly every track on Shallow Grave was among my top listened songs according to last.fm, but this one stood out a bit more than the rest. It has that incessant, but interesting strumming, and beautifully melodic and poignant vocals.
2. Adele – Hometown Glory (mp3) (buy)
   
   I initially wrote Adele off. I thought she was just another manufactured British retro-soul artist. Then I saw her perform “Chasing Pavements” on a few late night shows and my opinion started to turn. But it was when I saw her perform this song on Conan’s show (I can’t find a video, but here’s a similar performance of the song on Letterman) that I realize she was for real. This really is a stunning song. She’s got a great voice and the simple and subdued orchestration works well.
3. David Ruffin – Anything You Ask For (mp3) (buy)
   
   Definitely not a 2009 song but one that I was obsessed with during the year. From the stutter-start drums to the funky guitar to the lush strings to Ruffin’s gravely-but-sweat voice, there’s nothing about this song I don’t like.
4. the Gaslight Anthem – the ‘59 Sound (mp3) (buy)
   
   Another band that I initially wrote off but I came around on. I actually like this whole album, but this song is definitely a stand-out. It’s just so catchy and sincere.
5. Shirley Ann Lee – There’s a Light (mp3) (buy)
   
   This is the song that made me want to get yet another of Numero Group’s fantastic releases, Downriver Revival (which I did get and later reviewed). It’s so simple: straight forward guitar work and absolutely burning vocals. One couldn’t ask for more from a soul gospel number.
6. Henry Lumpkin – Don’t Leave Me (mp3) (buy)
   
   I got a lot of Motown in a hurry so some of it slipped by the wayside. In particularly the early stuff didn’t get a full listen. With this year being the 50th anniversary of Motown’s founding, I went back to listen to some of it and found some true gems, like this anguished soul number from someone I’d never heard of. It quickly went into heavy rotation.
7. Tallest Man on Earth – I Want You (mp3) (free at Daytrotter)
   
   If the beginning if the year was dominated by songs from Tallest Man’s Shallow Grave, the latter bit was dominated by this song, a Dylan cover, and others from the Daytrotter session. I’m a sucker for good banjo work and this song is nothing if not a display of great banjo work–it’s also a lovely tune.
8. Dawes – When My Time Comes (mp3) (free at daytrotter, buy original)
   
   This is a good tune with a great and very endearing chorus. It’s that simple. It’s also noteworthy that this is essentially a live-to-tape track—I don’t think there are any overdubs on Daytrotter sessions—so it’s impressive that they just nail the harmonies throughout without any dubs.
9. Alberta Cross – Low Man (mp3) (buy)
   
   Hearya and others have been talking about Alberta Cross for a while so when his new album came out I decided to check out a few tracks. This one played on repeat for much of my time in rural South Africa and later when I was getting settled again in Cape Town.
10. Jonsi + Alex – Happiness (mp3) (buy)
    
    This is another situation where I was really obsessed with an entire album and this song just has a slight lead over the others. Even before I knew this was Sigur Ros-related—it was released on the Dark was the Night comp as a Riceboy Sleeps track—I loved it. Ambiant, long, moving, gorgeous, and slowly developing, it reminds me both of what I like best about Sigur Ros and modern, melody-driven composers like Aaron Copland.
11. Mayer Hawthorne – Your Easy Lovin’ Ain’t Pleasin’ Nothin’ (mp3) (buy)
    
    Retro-soul like any genre has its hits and its misses and I really think Hawthorne’s A Strange Arrangement is a hit. Great production, interesting songs, good beats. This is one of the first songs I heard from it and I really enjoyed its breezy oldies vibe enough that it kept me coming back.
12. J. Tillman – When I light Your Darkened Door (mp3) (buy)
    
    Sometimes I have a problem where if I decide [x] is my favorite album by an artist, I’ll listen to that to the exclusion of their other albums. Trying to fix that (my favorite Tillman album is Minor Works), I went back to some of his other work and this song really struck me. Crushingly beautiful is one way to put it.
13. Jay Z and Santogold – Brooklyn Go Hard (mp3) (buy)
    
    I’m not from Brooklyn and I’m not a big fan of either Jay Z or Santogold, but something about this song had me coming back for it again and again. I think it may be how incessant and intriguing the phrase “we go hard” is to me.
14. Kid Cudi – Alive (mp3) (buy)
    
    It’s pretty easy to pinpoint what had me hooked to this song: the weird swooping synth sounds in the verses. I also like the flow of Common’s verses a lot; they fit the beat well.
15. John Vanderslice – Too Much Time (demo) (mp3) (buy original)
    
    I was obsessed with at least three different versions of this song this year, including the beautiful version with the Magik*Magik orchestra which I first heard at the Tiny Telephone 10th Anniversary Show and later in the linked video above. It’s a good song with a great chorus. I love the demo’s subdued collection of synth sounds under JV’s plaintive vocals.
16. Fanfarlo – I’m a Pilot (mp3) (buy)
    
    I’ve long been a Fanfarlo fan and so when the first hints of their new album came out, I was listening with keen interest. With keen interest over and over and over.
17. the Welcome Wagon – But for You Who Fear My Name (mp3) (buy)
    
    It’s funny that I have two stomp-clap songs in a row. I like this rousing Sufjan-produced campfire song.
18. Passion Pit – Sleepyhead (the One AM Radio remix) (mp3) (from tour only b-sides compilation)
    
    My most recent obsession on the list[1]. It’s an obsession entirely because it’s so ridiculous. And that it’s on the makes-me-smile side of the ridiculous line.
19. The Swinging Tigers – Snake Walk, Part 1 (mp3) (buy)
    
    If you’ve paid attention to my mixes or when I used to do soul sets on my radio show, you know I’m a sucker for hard swinging soul instrumentals. I found this one listening back to some early Motown stuff early on in the year. Every time I heard this one, I want to do an anachronistic and over-the-top dance to it.
20. the National – Wasp Nest (mp3) (buy)
    
    I don’t know who or what pointed me this song midway through the year, but I quickly got the rest of the Cherry Tree EP and found myself wondering why didn’t anyone tell me this EP was so good?. I really like the interplay between the vocals and the shimmery instrumentation on this one.

[1] But not my last obsession of 2009. That would be “Prarie Night (Card Game at Night” from Aaron Copland’s Billy the Kid

Sandy from Slowcoustic asked me if I wanted to take part of his “Best of…Bloggers” series and I was happy to take part. This originally appeared at there. I had a bit of a hard time deciding what “Best of” I could do for 2009 since my music involvement has been very different for the last four months of it, so I decided to do this.

–

Of possibly everything related to music that people rate, probably one of the most subjective is live performances. There’s so much besides the music that factors into the experience–what else happened that day, were you with friends or alone, what your expectations were, what the people standing near you were like–that one’s review sometimes not even up to the performers.

With that in mind, I present to you, in chronological order, very personal list of most memorable music moments from 2009.

• David Bazan @ house show, Berkeley (2/18)
  I saw two of Bazan’s house shows this year but this was easily the better. Attentively sitting on someone’s living room floor, about thirty big-time Bazan fans watched him perform without amplification a few feet away. The music was great, the between-song conversation was good, the crowd was awesome–there wouldn’t be a lot of ways to make this show better.



• Yoni Wolf @ Apple Store (2/28)
  I hadn’t much considered Why? before this. This show with the frontman and an electric piano changed that somewhat. But what is most memorable about this performance was the once-off cover of “This is the Day.” I remember the hymn from church growing up but Wolf’s version that day was dark and haunting and still sticks with me.



• Les Savy Fav @ the Mezzanine, San Francisco (3/1)
  I’d heard many stories about the antics of Les Savy Fav live show and, in particular, frontman Tim Harrington’s antics. This show did not disappoint whatsoever. Harrington came out covered in toilet paper but quickly stripped down to his shorts. Before the night was up he spit beer into the crowd, licked the lens of the photographer standing next to me and ducked taped a girl to him. In between all of this, he managed to sing some songs.



• The Rural Alberta Advantage @ Central Presbyterian, Austin (3/19); @ Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco (7/9)
  Two very different shows but both very memorable. At the Central Presbyterian show during SxSW, I saw the band completely win over an audience of people largely unfamiliar with their music. They were on top form and I had chills for about half the show. When the finished the show acoustically in the main aisle of the church, I was in awe like everyone around me. The Bottom of the Hill show was the last Ipickmynose Presents show and it was a rousing success. Two days after their debut album came out to much acclaim, the band seemed to still be surprised by their success and performed a fantastic show.



• The Tallest Man on Earth @ the Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco (3/25)
  I’d been obsessing about Shallow Grave for months leading up to this show, which was just a week after I’d seen the Swede, Kristian Matsson, at SxSW. This show was more noteworthy than the SxSW in that this performance was just perfect. Matsson has a way of performing that is just as much about movement as it is about music. He sits during the slow beginning of a song and then stands moves fluidly to the front of the stage and looks out into the audience. After this show nearly everyone I talked to said they thought he was looking right at them, bringing the performance to each audience member in a way few artists do.



• Damien Jurado @ Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco (5/5)
  I’ve seen Jurado perform about six or seven times now, but this show seemed to have what would have been my hand-picked setlist of favorites performed with intensity. In his first four songs were “Ghost of David”, “Medication” and “Ohio” and I knew it would be a good night.



• Iron & Wine @ Swedish America Hall, San Francisco (5/7)
  I’d seen Iron & Wine a few times, including one magical time in 2004 at the Great American Music Hall, but even that time wasn’t at a venue as small as the Swedish American. Maybe this show stuck with me because his setlist, chosen by fans on his website, was filled with nostalgic favorites. Maybe it was because the Swedish American has great acoustics for solo shows. Maybe it was just a great performance.



• Or, the Whale @ the Independent, San Francisco (6/6)
  I love Or, the Whale and this show was good, but the experience here wasn’t about the music (which was great as always). Two months before I was to leave for South Africa, the experience was noteworthy because every time I turned around there was a friend of mine or someone I wanted to talk to. It was a blast and I went home thinking I might be making a mistake moving away.



• John Vanderslice @ Secret House Show, San Francisco (7/25)
  I’m still not sure how this all came together but my going away party in San Francisco was a secret show by John Vanderslice in my apartment to me and thirty of my friends. Completely without amplification, JV was accompanied by Jamie Riotta on upright bass and vocals. My cheeks hurt from grinning so much. It was utterly spellbinding and will probably go down as one of my most memorable music experiences in my entire life.

White Plains from ipickmynose on Vimeo.

• “Oh How I’d Miss You” @ my apartment, San Francisco (7/25)
  Following JV’s performance, I played a killer soul playlist with this Marvin Gaye/ Tammi Terrell number on it. After people trickled out, my lady friend and I spontaneously danced in an empty living room to this song. But, given that I was leaving the country a week later, the lyrics were a bit too topical and near the end of the song I looked up to see her crying.
• Sangoma Ceremony @ private home, Khayelitsha, South Africa (8/15)
  Saying yes to a series of opportunities led me to be in a tiny tin-sided house off a dirt path in a township outside Cape Town. A new sangoma (sometimes translated as ‘witch doctor’) was being initiated and there was much dancing, singing and clapping among the couple dozen people packed into the house. It was an experience that few outsiders get to have.



• Zulu hymns @ small church, Ingwavuma (9/6)
  This church is at the end of the road, literally. The tar road ends about 2km before it and the dirt road ends right at it. A few hundred meters father, the hill drops off steeply into Swaziland. The hymns during the actual service were sung in both Zulu and English but were largely not noteworthy. While I was sitting waiting for the service to begin, though, women scattered around the room spontaneously and seemingly without coordination started the most beautiful hymns I’d ever heard. Four part harmony filled the room. It was baking hot in that room and I still had chills.

–

What have been your most memorable music moments this year?

I have some strong opinions on how to write and run a music blog. I thought I’d share some of my recommendations on that. If you don’t feel like reading my opinions about this, tune in tomorrow for a different post entirely. I realize I’m not the right person to tell you how to start a music blog that’ll get huge but I have a decent readership and more importantly, I think what I’ve done here is good.

Originally, this was going to be a rant called What’s Wrong with the Music Blogosphere, but I thought I’d turn it into something a little more positive. If you’re interested in the technical aspects of how to run a music blog, I’m sure they’re covered elsewhere.

1. Create original content
   This is the most important thing here. What sets your blog apart if all you do is post mp3s that other people are posting with the same promo photo that everyone else is posting? Write interesting things about the music you like or shows you see. Take and post your own photos. Make original videos or post mp3s of exclusive sessions with bands. Do interesting interviews with bands. There are so many different ways you can create original content. Be, well, original.
2. Don’t do it for money or page views
   You’re not going to become rich or famous starting a music blog in all likelihood. You might make some pocket change from advertising or you might choose to do without ads, but the point is you should have a blog because you love music and want to share it. If you find yourself changing your blog just for the hits or posting something just because you think it’ll bring page views, reconsider.

   I think it’s okay to want more readers, but the way you get new readers and the way you get page views are different.

3. Respect artists
   We all do this because we love music and want to promote great artists, right? Posting full albums doesn’t help an artist. Posting without linking to where someone can buy the record or failing to inform readers of an upcoming live date when you post mp3s doesn’t hep the artist. And if an artist asks you to take down an mp3, do it politely.
4. Write the blog you want to read
   Don’t write the blog you think people want to read. Besides a few comments here and there, you probably won’t get a good idea of what most of your readers want to read, so just write what you think is good. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t ever listen to constructive criticism, just that you shouldn’t tailor your blog to something you think people want.
5. Have a singular vision
   I really think the biggest benefit of music blogs, besides being able to point readers directly to music (as mp3 or video), is that they can have a singular vision: a consistent opinion or taste. After reading a blog for a while, I’ll get to know what the writer’s taste is and how much trust I put in their opinion. For example, I know I should at least consider any band Frank at Chromewaves highlights. Does this mean I think you shouldn’t have co-writers? Not necessarily as it is possible for people to have similar enough tastes that the site still has a consistent taste, but few multi-writer sites achieve a singular vision. HearYa is one of the better ones at having multiple writers while having a consistent taste.
6. Know what you’re talking about
   No one is immune from mistakes and no one can known every band, but nothing makes me want to read a blog less than obvious factual mistakes or a gross lack of knowledge of bands.
7. Share news in limited quantities
   This is a tricky one and I know some people disagree with me on this, but I really think you can assume every music fan reads Pitchfork news, Brooklyn Vegan or Stereogum, so they know when Band Goes on Tour! or Band Reveals Album Art! Of course there are times when news is appropriate. That artist you love is doing a house concert in your area, tickets will sell out quickly and you haven’t anything about it elsewhere? Go for it. An alternative to posting a list of tour dates is to use the tour stop in your town to do a feature about the artist where you write about why they’re good.
8. Make your blog’s presence multi-faceted
   Promote live shows with bands you support, have bands into the studio, or have a radio show or podcast. I just think it’s more interesting than a straight-up mp3 blog.
9. Find your niche
   Whether it be a region or a genre or whatever, I think blogs with a more specific focus tend to be more interesting and have a more loyal readership. What could be a more narrow focus than digitized cassettes from one continent? But Awesome Tapes from Africa is incredible.
10. Ask for what you want
    There’s no point in wondering why another blogger got a press pass to an event or an interview with an artist if you didn’t even bother to ask for it. Do you want to do an exclusive session with a band? Ask for it. You might get rejected, but it’s worth a try.
11. Be mindful of hyperbole, but be enthusiastic
    Blogger hyperbole is almost a cliche at this point, so be weary of saying everything is the best ever. At the same time, no one wants to read emotionless chatter. Every time I hear someone talk about I am Fuel, You Are Friends, they say they love how enthusiastic Heather is in her writing.
12. There’s nothing wrong with criticism, but don’t spend all your time doing it
    I really think there’s value to honest criticism. If all you’re saying is that everything is incredible then the value of your praise becomes diminished. On the other hand, if all you’re doing is criticizing, you may come across as ornery or overly snarky.
13. What’s with all the redesigns?
    Especially in an era where a lot of people read their blogs in RSS readers, if your site is readable and fairly easy to navigate, there’s no reason to redesign it every six months. Spend your time creating content instead.
14. Figure out what to do when you get burnt out.
    If you post all the time, you’re probably going to get burnt out. Figuring out what works for you when you get burnt out is important. I tend to shift focus a bit, talking about types of music I like but don’t blog about a lot. For you it might be going through some old favorites or reviewing some out-there concert or who knows.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know why in the comments.

I sold my car recently. I’ve had the same 6 CDs in the multi-disc player for the past six months or so:

• Octopus Project Hello, Avalanche
• The Lightning Bug Situation A Leaf; A Stream
• Kings of Leon Because of the Times
• The Dodos Visitor
• The National Boxer
• Fionn Regan The End of History

IPMN is winding down and there are a few things I’d like to talk about. First is my recommendations to bands about how to approach music blogs.

Ipickmynose is certainly not in a class with Stereogum, Brooklynvegan or Gorilla vs Bear, but I still post about bands I like and bands still try to get me to post about them. I’ve gotten a lot of emails over the last 2+ years from bands. Sometimes I get dozens a day (and more from labels and PR companies). Basically this means I’m probably not going to listen to everything a band sends in. How do I decide what I’ll listen to then? Some of it is random but often it’s what is in the band’s email.

How to promote your band to music blogs/ bloggers:

1. Remember music bloggers are people
   Less a specific recommendation than a general reminder. Few music blogs are so big that they have hierarchy or paid music writers. The vast majority of music bloggers do it because they love music and want to find and share music. I like being approached as a person and a music fan.
2. Personal attention from you helps get personal attention in return
   If you want me to spend 10+ minutes with your music–at minimum I’ll listen to four of your songs on myspace–you may want to spend more than 2 seconds adding my email address to some big mass mailing. I don’t expect you to write a completely new email to every different blogger, but some personal attention at the beginning is nice. Bloggers often put their names on their blogs; use it. Showing that you actually understand the blog and truly think the blogger might like your stuff based on his taste is even better.
3. Be honest
   The single worst email I’ve gotten said “I’ve been a fan of your blog for three years!” At the time, I’d had a blog for a year and a half. I like to be flattered just like everyone else, but it’s easy to tell if you just searched for “indie folk music blog”, found my blog and then email me about your indie folk band; in such a case, claiming you love my blog doesn’t get you anywhere. Also, don’t pretend you’re a fan of a band that’s trying to share a new discovery with the blogger if you’re actually in the band. There’s no need to lie.
4. Send music you’re proud of
   I’ve received a lot of emails with links to demos or live recordings. Or the email will say “we recorded these in a hurry”. If you’re saying things like that, it’s time to record the songs better, not to try to promote them. I know music bloggers loved Lily Allen’s demos, but in most cases, sending demos will just cause the blogger to discount your band.
5. Find out how the blogger wants the music
   Music bloggers are all different (that’s important to remember in general!). Most will tell you how they like to get music, though. I like myspace links with an offer to send a digital/ physical copy of the album if I like it. Some hate myspace; some love getting mp3s in the emails. Some would rather you just send the CD. Figure out what the blogger wants and do it.
6. Give the blogger an idea what (or who) you’ll sound like
   I get emails with “Hey, check out our music” and then just a myspace link. Unless I’m in a mood to click on random links, I usually don’t listen to these. In your email, give a general description of what your band sounds like. You can also compare yourself to bands the blogger knows (or may know). But think this through; little pisses me off like feeling duped by a band who claims to be “indie pop” or “post rock” or to sound like Neutral Milk Hotel when they sound nothing like that.
7. If you offer something, do it
   If you said you’d mail the CD, do it. If you said you could get them on the guest list for the show, do it.
8. I hate when bands “follow up”…but it’s effective
   Despite not liking it, I have to admit that there’s a better chance I’ll listen to their music when a band follows up.
9. If a blogger replies to let you know he didn’t like your music, politely accept it
   I understand most bloggers don’t let bands know if they listened to their music and don’t like it. If I were in a band, I would want to hear back, even if it’s in the negative, so that’s what I do. I don’t like writing emails like that, so it’s even harder when a band comes back with a hard-sell or a plea to reconsider after that. Also, don’t ask why I didn’t like it as I’d rather not detail out why I don’t like a band.
10. Don’t add a blogger to your mailing list
    This goes along with the “personal attention” one. Though there might be exceptions if you know a blogger really loves your stuff (though wouldn’t they just add themselves in that case?), just don’t add people to your mailing list without asking. If I didn’t like your stuff to begin with, getting constant reminders about your shows will only get me to mentally filter your band out entirely.
11. Give the blogger something they can post
    Myspace links are great, but I’m going to have to be ridiculously psyched about a band to tell readers to go to a band’s myspace page without having an mp3 or video in the post.
12. Find the sweet spot time-wise
    I’ve gotten emails about a show two months off and I’ve gotten an email about a show the next day. In both cases, I ignored it; in the first case because it was too far off to even consider and in the second because it was so close I already had plans. Two weeks before a show is about right (for me) while a month or two before an album comes out is fine.
13. Actually read the blog/ be a fan of the blog for a while before you send in music
    This may be the hardest to do. There are just too many blogs out there to read them all. But if I notice a regular reader/ commenter (bloggers remember who these people are, trust me) sends in their music, I always make time to listen to it. I’ll even give it a few chances if I don’t like it initially.

I recognize that doing all these things isn’t easy. Promoting your music well isn’t easy. It’ll take time and effort.

Andrew Bird, changing the way I hear his music, at the Fillmore, May 2007

Usually, I like a bands’ recordings and then I’ll see them live. Sometimes, though, something about a band’s music won’t click until I see them live. I find the oddest part of this phenomenon not that I’ll like bands live whose recordings didn’t work for me, but that when I go back to listen to the recordings afterwards, I’ll hear them differently often forever.

For example, I’d listened to Mumford & Sons before SxSW and thought they were ‘meh’. I saw them there and really liked their show and now I love listening to their recordings, though they’re the same recordings I thought were ‘meh’ before.

Bands whose live show changed how I listen to their recordings [in chronological order from first show]

1. Mates of State
   (first seen: October 2001 at the Middle East (upstairs), Cambridge)
2. the Polyphonic Spree
   (first seen: August 2003 at the Paradise, Boston)
3. Ted Leo
   (first seen: March 2007 at the Great American, San Francisco)
4. the Dodos
   (first seen March 2007 at the Cafe du Nord, San Francisco)
5. Mount Eerie
   (first seen April 2007 at ATA, San Francisco)
6. Andrew Bird
   (first seen May 2007 at the Fillmore, San Francisco)
7. Frightened Rabbit
   (first seen: November 2008 at the Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco)
8. Mumford & Sons
   (first seen: March 2009 at the Flamingo Cantina, Austin)

So which bands changed the way you heard them?

“You rock!” may be an appropriate thing to yell between songs at an indie rock concert. Here are some things that may not be appropriate to yell:

1. “If you were on the radio I would not change the station!”
2. “I am not bored!”
3. “I liked that last song much better than the one before it”
4. “I am undecided whether to buy your CD or not!”
5. “Your instruments seem to be in tune!”
6. “You guys are OK!”
7. “Does your band consider Flannery O’Connor an influence on your lyrics because you have a similar Southern Gothic-like narrative voice with twisted characters and an eye toward redemption?!”
8. “That was almost as good as the version on the CD!”
9. “Your singing voice has really improved since last time I saw you!”
10. “Your bassist is not unattractive!”

So what don’t you yell between songs at shows?

(This is a follow up to Friday’s teaser post.)

As I walked in to see Iron & Wine (myspace) at the Swedish American Hall last Thursday, it was not lost on me that, even though I saw his early tour through the Great American, I had never seen the band in such a small venue. And I probably won’t have another chance.

After a short set from the opener, Magic Leaves, Sam Beam came on stage alone with just his Taylor acoustic guitar. After a short introduction and asking who in the audience had been to the previous night’s show–a few, incidentally–he launched into “Upward Over the Mountain”, a gorgeous song on, and contains the title lyrics to, Creek Drank the Cradle. From there, he went through a set of songs that were from all over his catalog, and even some new songs and ones that were only released in very limited form. You’d think this might be to promote his upcoming rarities compilation but a) the set list was decided by a poll on his website and b) some of the rarities that he played aren’t on that compilation.

Anyway, he played really well and, more than that, he was fully invested in his performance. Let’s be honest–the type of fan that buys tickets the minute they go on sale aren’t the type that needs to be won over, so it can be easy for the artist to give a good-but-not-great performance. Beam was giving 100% here, though he did flub or forget a few words, to the amusement of the audience. He was funny througout–he’s got the banter nailed at this point and it seems he enjoyed the conversation with the audience that was allowed by the small venue.

Besides “Upward Over the Mountain”, other highlights were a sublime version of “Southern Anthem” that included a falsetto line that I’ve never heard before and “Such Great Heights” that produced an almost unreasonably giddy response. The final two + encore were an amazing little part of the set: “Naked as We Came”, “Trapeze Swinger” and “Sodom, South Georgia”. Despite some of my overwhelmingly positive reaction to the show undoubtedly coming from nostalgia, I can say that this was a great show on many levels. Days later I still have a grin on my face when I think about it.

Set list for the 5/7/09 show:

• Upward Over the Mountain*
• Jesus the Mexican Boy
• Woman King
• God Made the Automobile
• Cinder & Smoke
• Peng? [in the printed set list I oversaw but not in my notes]
• Southern Anthem*
• Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car
• Her Tea Leaves
• House By the Sea
• Such Great Heights*
• Bird Stealing Bread
• Godless Brother in Love
• Innocent Bones
• Naked as We Came*
• Trapeze Swinger*
  =encore=
• Sodom, South Georgia*

* there was magic in these.

Last night I saw Damien Jurado (myspace) and Laura Gibson at the Bottom of the Hill.

In the cool and misty rain–something that must have made both Pacific Northwest artists feel somewhat at home–I made my way to the club at the bottom of the north slope of Potrero Hill.

Joining the show shortly after Ms. Gibson[1] started, I noted that her band was the same set up as when I saw her during Noise Pop at the Great American: Laura on guitar and two others each on half a drum set and a number of other instruments. I believe they’re both a part of Musee Mecanique. Laura’s quite awkward on stage, but in an endearing and lovable way. She told a few stories between songs, some funny and some heartfelt.

The band played well throughout and the two backing members brought some nice elements to the table. Perhaps my favorite song of the set, though, was one Laura played solo–”Funeral Song”–that was very beautiful and sparse.

With a small set up for Laura and a solo set coming up, it was only a short change over until Damien Jurado was on. Sitting on a chair with his guitar, Jurado only had a mic and a stool (to rest his set list on) with him on stage.

If you saw my Damien Jurado primer last week and then glance at the set list below, you’ll notice that he came out with the big guns, especially early on. After “Ghost of David”, “Medication”, “Abilene” and “Ohio” right in a row, I was already ready to declare it a good show, but he just continued, pulling songs from throughout his career from very early releases through a song he wrote on this very tour.

Jurado didn’t speak much between songs and when he did it was a mixture of longing for home–missing his wife–self deprecation and admitting he was crazy after five weeks on the road. One quick story involved playing in Austin one night and then deciding to drive through to Tuscon, which turned out to be a 15 hour drive, the same night and he’s the only driver in his car. Another time after a couple more upbeat songs, he said, ‘Enough happy songs,’ adding after some laughter and applause, ‘Yay depression!’

I know some people who prefer people preferring as part of a full band rather than solo, but I find more opportunity to connect to the songs when they’re stripped down. With ever-changing arrangements of songs like ‘Ghost of David’ and ‘Ohio’, those stay fresh to me even in an acoustic arrangement.

With eyes cast at the floor, Jurado played a great set–a killer set, even. I’m still reeling from it. Better song selection than I could have asked for and new and different arrangements of old songs were good to hear too. The climax of the set was ‘Killer’, a song I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him do live before. It was dark and strong and mesmerizing. There was an intense look in his eyes and an edge in his voice and, though the narrator is obviously a fictional persona, it seemed as though Jurado was thoroughly invested in the song and the character.

Damien Jurado’s setlist, 5/5/09, Bottom of the Hill, SF:

• Ghost of David
• Medication
• Abilene
• Ohio
• [not sure]
• Last Rights
• Coats of Ice
• Sheets
• [new song]
• Johnny Go Riding
• Letters and Drawings
• I Can’t Get Over You
• Denton, TX
• What Were the Chances
• Killer
• Lose My Head

Lastly, can I say how much I love two band bills? Big fan.

[1] Do you think I should adopt the New York Times style guidelines in regards to names?

Record Store Day at Amoeba last year

I’m just going to assume that you’re going to Record Store Day on Saturday because that’s what all the cool kids are doing. What are you going to get among all the exclusive releases?

Here are some of the things I’m going to keep my eye out for:

• Andrew Bird / Loney Dear split 7″
• Booker T Warped Sister 7″
• Gaslight Anthem Live at Park Ave 10″ (maybe)
• Guided By Voices Hold on Hope LP (maybe)
• Lykke Li / El Perro del Mar split 7″
• Magnolia Electric Co It’s Made Me Cry 7″ (this is the one I’m probably most excited about)
• Modest Mouse Satellite Skin / Guilty Cockerspaniels 7″ (maybe)
• Elvis Perkins Lorraine Lookout 7″

There’s also an Iron & Wine live disc that I’d consider getting but apparently they’re handing it out to all the people attending the Iron & Wine Swedish American dates in May.

There are a lot of Bay Area stores this year. We’ve come a long way since last year when I think only Amoeba and maybe a couple others participated locally. I remember going into Aquarius last year a few days before and asking “Are you guys participating in Record Store Day?” only to get the response “Oh, I didn’t know that existed.” They certainly do this year.

Here are the participating Bay Area stores for Record Store Day: (in San Francisco unless I note otherwise)

• 1-2-3-4 Go! Records (Oakland)
• Amoeba (SF and Berkeley)
• Aquarius
• Bedrock Music and Video (San Rafael)
• Creative Music Emporium
• Down Home Music (Berkeley and El Cerrito)
• Last Record Store (Santa Rosa)
• Medium Rare Music
• Mod Lang (El Cerrito)
• Rasputin Music (Berkeley, SF, Mountain View and others)
• Recycled Records (Monterey)
• Red Devil Records (San Rafael)
• Space Cat (San Jose)
• Streetlight Records (San Jose, Santa Cruz)
• The Music Hut (Half Moon Bay)
• Vinyl Revolution (Monterey)
• Vinyl Solution Records (San Mateo)

New & Used Records has a cool new feature called Jukebox where he asks local musicians, bloggers, etc. for their opinions about four buzzed-about tracks and then asks what four tracks they think should be buzzed about. You can read my feature here.

For completeness, here are my four should-be-buzzed-about tracks:

• Tallest Man on Earth – Pistol Dreams[1] (mp3) (buy)
  
• Shirley Ann Lee – There’s a Light (mp3) (buy)
  
• Fanfarlo – I’m a Pilot (mp3) (buy)
  
• Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man (mp3) (buy)
  

The Deli SF ran a feature recently about local musicians, bloggers, etc’s SxSW experiences and they asked me to participate. You can read that here.

[1] This could easily be “The Gardener” instead.

(I didn’t intend to hit two milestones in one week, but what are you going to do?)

I wouldn’t take “Money (That’s What I Want)”, but I would take some Motown. Photo by Adrian Bischoff

For my 1000th post, I’ve decided to compile some of my desert island picks: 10 albums and 100 songs that I’d take take with me if I had to pick some music for the rest of my life[1]. These aren’t necessarily my 10 favorite albums and 100 favorite songs but they fulfill some need. And they’re good.

Here they are, in chronological order.

The 10 [albums]:

• Sam Cooke Portrait of a Legend [recorded 1951-1964; release 2003]
  The man who invented soul, they call him. This is a great retrospective of his incredible music.
• New York Philharmonic Bernstein Century – Copland: Appalachian Spring, Rodeo, Billy the Kid [1960]
  Aaron Copland’s music is so grand and so American. Blending beautiful traditional songs with gorgeous orchestrations, this would fulfill my needs for classical music.
• Beatles Revolver [1966]
  I’d have to bring one Beatles album at least, and this is my favorite. I love the harmonies and orchestrations they bring to the table here. “For No One” is probably my favorite Beatles song and its on here.
• Paul Simon Graceland [1986]
  I loved this album when I was 12 and I love it now. Besides its warm nostalgia-value for my childhood and my parent’s country, it’s just a great album of pop music, blending Africa, Zydeco and American music effortlessly.
• U2 Joshua Tree [1987]
  For all the musical revisionists and contrarians, I still think this is U2’s best album and I think it’s one of the best rock albums of the last 20 years. It’s not without false steps, but they’re so minor in the scope of this album that I can listening it front to back repeatedly.
• Neutral Milk Hotel In the Aeroplane over the Sea [1998]
  I’ve already gone on at length about how incredibly meaningful this album is to me. An epic fuzz-folk masterpiece about Anne Frank.
• Pedro the Lion It’s Hard to Find a Friend [1998]
  I don’t listen to Pedro the Lion constantly but I have seen Bazan a ridiculous amount of times live–are there such things as Bazanheads? not that I’d want to be labeled one of those–and I love his music, so obviously I connect with it. Sometimes Control best fulfills my Pedro-need but this is a more balanced effort in the end.
• Notwist Neon Golden [2002]
  Part of this is nostalgia–it reminds me of my summer in Germany, where I bought this and listening to this constantly–and that is reminds me of the people and places I saw there. The other part is that it’s a great blend of electronic and organic elements into a fantastic album.
• Sufjan Stevens Seven Swans [2004]
  Suf’s one of my favorite artists and this is my favorite album of his, so it’s got to come along. Beautiful, stripped-down (by Sufjan standards) folk with no less incredible songwriting behind it.
• Bon Iver For Emma, Forever Ago [2007]
  It wasn’t all that long ago that I went all gah-gah over this album (again). Gorgeous and heart-wrenching, it’s a perfect example of what an album should be: greater than the sum of its parts.

The 100 [songs]:
1940s:

• Horton Barker Two Sisters [recorded around 1943, traditional song]

1950s:

• Clifford Brown & Max Roach Quintet Cherokee [1955]
• Almeda Riddle Bury Me Beneath the Willow [recorded around 1959, traditional song]
• Alabama Sacred Harp Singers Sherburne [recorded around 1959, traditional song]

1960s:

• the Crystals (/ the Blossoms) He’s a Rebel [1962]
• the Crystals Then He Kissed Me [1963]
• Bob Dylan Girl from the North Country [1963]
• the Ronettes Be My Baby [1963]
• the Supremes When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes [1963]
• the Wright Specials Nintety-Nine and a Half Won’t Do [1963]
• Bob Dylan The Times, They Are a-Changin [1964]
• Bob Dylan When the Ship Comes In [Bootleg Series version] [1964]
• the Beatles You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away [1965]
• the Impressions People Get Ready [1965]
• the Miracles Tracks of My Tears [1965]
• the Beach Boys God Only Knows [1966]
• the Beach Boys Wouldn’t It Be Nice [1966]
• the Four Tops Bernadette [1967]
• Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell Ain’t No Mountain High Enough [1967]
• Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell Oh How I’d Miss You [1967]
• Smokey Robinson & the Miracles the Tears of a Clown [1967]
• the Tremeloes Here Comes My Baby [1967]
• Elvis Presley Suspicious Minds [1969]

Check out the rest of the list after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

I have nothing against the Pogues or U2 or the Dropkick Murphys[1]. Black 47 was probably my first exposure to “Celtic” music. But there’s always something around St. Paddy’s[2] Day, where I start cringing: there’s a lot of great Irish music that people don’t get

Before we get into this too much, I’ll admit I have my tendencies: I love reels and hornpipes; I love fiddle and uilleann pipes. I’ve tried to balance those tendencies out with some vocal songs and slower songs.

I’ll post this a day early so you have a day to get into it. The zip file of all these tunes is at the bottom.

14 great traditional Irish tunes for St. Paddy’s Day 2009

1. “The Salamanca/ Trim the Velvet”
   The Salamanca is my favorite Irish reel. It’s just a great tune. And this live version has so much energy to it.
   Seamus Connolly & Brenden Mulvihill – The Salamanca/ Trim the Velvet (mp3)
   
2. “Jolly Beggar/ Reel”
   The Jolly Beggar[3] is best known as a reel and this version eventually goes into that, but it starts with the song. Planxty is one of the groups that popularized the Irish bouzouki and the bouzouki work on this song is great.
   Planxty – The Jolly Beggar/ Reel (mp3)
   
3. “Walsh’s Polkas”
   Polkas aren’t just for Polish music. Patrick Street is made of up some hard hitters in the traditional Irish world–they’re still playing, too, I believe. You’d recognize one of their songs (”Music for Found Harmonium” is used at the end of Napoleon Dynamite), so here’s another one.
   Patrick Street – Walsh’s Polkas (mp3)
   
4. “Floating Crwobar/ McGlinchey’s/ the Almost Reel”
   Lunasa is one exciting band, both live and on record. It’s probably my favorite of the current crop. Their guitar and bass rhythm section adds a backbone to their solid melody instruments. Here’s the song that got me hooked on them.
   Lunasa – Floating Crowbar/ McGlinchey’s/ The Almost Reel (mp3)
   
5. “The Dawn/ Music in the Glen”
   Leo Rowsome is credited with keeping the uilleann pipes alive in a time when there wasn’t a lot of interest in them. He was also a heck of a player, as you can tell in this tune. It takes a lot of control to go into the upper register of the pipes and he just seems to fly through third octave while playing the regulators at the same time.
   Leo Rowsome – The Dawn/ Music in the Glen (mp3)
   
6. “Peggy’s Nettles/ Butlers of Glen Avenue/ Mountain Top”
   Danu’s another current band that’s doing well with the traditional material. Interesting arrangements and good players are key to their sound. This one does particularly well switching between the three reels.
   Danu – Peggy’s Nettles/ Glen Avenue/ Mountain Top (mp3)
   
7. “The Banks”
   78s were pretty important in the continuation of traditional Irish fiddle music. People often cite the 78s of fiddlers like Michael Coleman as inspirations and sources for songs. This track comes off of a collection of Irish fiddle tunes from old 78s.
   Louis E. Quinn & James O’Beirne – The Banks (mp3)
   
8. “Flags of Dublin/ Wind that Shakes the Barley”
   Seamus Ennis was an ethnomusicologist, song collector, and uileann piper. He a particularly loose and fluid–open, as its called–style on the pipes. While he’s not technically perfect, he’s a joy to listen to.
   Seamus Ennis – Flags of Dublin/ Wind that Shakes the Barley (mp3)
   
9. “Stick to the Craytur” (aka the “Humours of Whiskey”)
   I absolutely love this drinking song. It’s clever and it’s got a good narrative arc. It’s got a great tune and a nice lilt to it.
   The Green Fields of America – Stick to the Craythur (mp3)
   
10. “Roll out the Barrel/ Lafferty’s/ House of Hammil”
    I love the bow work and the sliding, driving Sligo fiddle style style on this one.
    Kevin Burke & Dale Russ – Roll out the Barrel/ Lafferty’s/ House of Hammil (mp3)
    
11. “Banks of Red Roses”
    I’ll be the first to admit that this song isn’t slick or pretty, but that’s sort of what I like about it. This is an old ballad.
    De Dannan – Banks of Red Roses (mp3)
    
12. “The Blackbird”
    The Bothy Band may be my favorite traditional Irish band and it’s in no small part due to Paddy Keenan being their piper. He’s the best uilleann piper alive, in my opinion. This shows off his virtuosic control of the instrument. The full band comes in later.
    The Bothy Band – the Blackbird (mp3)
    
13. “Sunnyside”
    Niall and Cillian Vallely are two talented brothers. Cillian is the piper–he’s also in Lunasa. Niall plays the Irish concertina. Here’s a nice duet of the two
    Niall & Cillian Vallely – Sunnyside (mp3)
    
14. “Colonel Fraser”
    Jerry O’Sullivan comes to uilleann piping from Scottish piping, where there’s often more emphasis on precision and it shows here. Colonel Fraser is a wonderful hornpipe and here it’s delivered perfectly, not a note out of place.
    Jerry O’Sullivan – Colonel Fraser (mp3)
    

Ipickmynose 2009 Irish Mix (zip file, mediafire)

[1] I do, however, have something against the Chieftains. They play watered down versions of traditional songs for the PBS crowd.

[2] Paddy is a much more common version of the name in Ireland than Patty, so I’m going with Paddy.

[3] I don’t endorse the thematic matter of this song.

In third grade, our school bus ride home went down a hill past some woods–the trees are always bare in my mind–and a soccer field. Near the top of the hill, there was a bump where the road went from being slightly downhill to quite steep downhill. If you sat near the back of the bus and the driver was going a fast that day, you could get some air as the back wheels whiplashed over the bump. I’m sure it was not far–an inch or two–but our young minds thought it was a mile, that we were flying, momentarily weightless.

It was around this hill, after our air-inspired laughter subdued, and we neared the soccer field that we started singing. I’m not sure why we did, but usually one of the fourth graders[1] would start singing and we’d all sing along. Here are the songs we sang:

Beach Boys – Barbara Ann (mp3) (buy)

The Righteous Brothers – You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’ (mp3) (buy)

My present-day mind can’t help overanalyze these: these songs are related because Phil Spector–who produced the Righteous Brothers track–helped inspire Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys’ production. Yet, this track, from the Party! album, doesn’t feature Wilson’s famous production.

But of course we knew none of this. We just knew that they were fun songs to sing. They still are. Maybe sing them on your Muni ride home today and see if people join in?

[1] Incidentally, among the daily song leaders was Ryan Malone.

a reissue of Barrett Strong’s “Money (That’s What I Want)”, Motown’s first big in-house hit

As I mentioned earlier this week, Motown (official site) turns 50 years old this week. Back then it was called Tamla Records, becoming Motown in 1960.

By my count, Tamla released all of 13 singles (A and B sides, 26 songs) in their first year. I really started digging into these songs a couple weeks ago. I’ve been going in depth into the Motown stuff for a couple years now, but my time has largely been concentrated on the 1963-67 era.

I’ve been reticent to explore the early years because I figured it’d be cheesy or unpolished. (After all, the songs produced in the Motown hit factory were polished at every step and were great before it.) 1959 was before Holland-Dozier-Holland and other famed production teams came to define the Motown Sound. As it turns out, in some case these early Motown songs are cheesy or unpolished, but in wonderful and charming ways. There are also hard hitting doo wop tracks, great instrumentals and classic R&B songs in there.

Lastly, I just didn’t know that many songs from that era. I knew “Money (That’s What I Want)”, but just not that many of the songs were familiar. I certainly don’t think a song–Motown or otherwise–needs to be well-known to be good, but as I found while listening to later Motown collections, having some hits helps guide you through and to the unknown songs and gems.

3 great tracks (that you might not know) from Motown’s first year

• The first single and the first hit for Motown/ Tamla was Marv Johnson’s “Come to Me”. Well, that’s a bit misleading. It was a hit for United Artists after it got too big for Tamla to handle. This song definitely doesn’t have that “Motown sound” yet, but it’s great. I love fluid vocals, the bass/ bass vocals line and the light backup vocals.
  Marv Johnson – Come to Me (mp3)
  
• I’m a total sucker for hard-edged, swaggering soul instruments. This one has more swagger than it knows what to do with, anchored by that baritone sax line. When I listen to this, I know why people used to go out dancing to pop music.
  the Swing Tigers – Snake Walk (Part 1) (mp3)
  
• This song is just a bit goofy, but in a very charming way. It’s got a pretty 50s sound to it, pretty doo-wop. The harmonies during the pre-chorus are my favorite.
  The Satintones – Going to the Hop (mp3)
  

All of these are available on the amazing The Complete Motown Singles, Vol 1: 1959-1961. If you’re into digging for Motown gems, it’s worth the investment.