Here we are again, me, my wife, my mom, and you, yes you.
You took the time to click on a link to see what this old washed-up singer/songwriter
was listening to in 2019. Looking back at my blog, if you can still call it
that, this is my 10th year of posting a Top 10 list. There are some
familiar faces here, but, like always, some new artists moved me this year.
Like previous years, I’ve got rules and shit. Number one rule: I
had to actually purchase the CD. If I didn’t love it enough to own it, then it
is not list worthy. Seems pretty logical to me. I know you streamers, who
cannot wrap your head around buying an album, are #SYDHs, to which I say, GET OFF
OF MY LAWN!!! This is my list, after all. The other rules, with no particular
weight, include: how often I listened to the album; how good the artist can
pull it off live (yes; I know that doesn’t seem to fit an album review, but,
again, it’s my list, and I do what I want up in this piece); quality of
recording; strength of lyrics; no EPs; no live albums – it has to be new music,
if an artist did a live CD of all new songs, I would consider it; and, for
artists that have multiple albums under their belts, how this album compares to
their other work.
Alright, let’s dive in…
I am pretty sure every recording Dallas Green has done
since I started doing these Top 10s has made the list. I have a tattoo that pays
homage to Sometimes for fuck’s sake. He is brilliant with the voice of
an angel. No one. And I mean NO ONE can duplicate the purity of his falsetto,
and his instrumentation is always inspiring. The recording is a thing of beauty,
the placement of the instruments, the harmonies, the explosions of sound that
create interesting sonic layers. It is exactly as it is billed, a pill for
loneliness. When I wake-up, and I am just not feeling it, I get it spinning and,
immediately, I feel comforted.
I am a SUCKER for harmonies, if you’ve ever read any of
my Top 10s or followed my Facebook
Music Page where I post what I am listening to daily, you know this. When
the singers are related, the harmonies are always the best. I cannot explain
it, but there is something about the shared experiences dancing with shared
genetics that makes them glorious. Enter Joseph. Three sisters. Two of them
twins. Yeah; glorious. Good Luck, Kid represents real growth for the band.
I’m Alone, You’re Not, their 2016 effort always seemed overproduced to me.
It didn’t seem authentic. It didn't sound as incredible as they do live, but this album really displays the strength of the
unit without overwhelming it with slick production. Lyrically they have always
been strong. They provide very personal stories that have universal appeal. Thirteen tracks and not one of them seems forced (Yeah you read that right; 13. In the
age of the 7 song CD, they gave us 13). “Green Eyes” stands out to me. The
build into the chorus gets me jazzed every time.
I mean, it’s Norah Jones. Can Norah put out of flop? I do
not think so. She is a genius. She is an incredible musician, lyricist, and singer,
and she knows no boundaries. Her creativity is limitless. My only knock on this
recording is it is only seven songs. I want more! But the seven songs are so
damn strong it could not be denied. I am listening to it as type. My mind is fully
engaged, and my ass is busting a move in my chair, feet all tapping and shit. When
well written words are married to music that causes your body to move
involuntarily, you know you’ve done something right. “Wintertime” may be a
perfect song. The instrumentation is tastefully offered with amazing spacing,
allowing breath, and the words weave a blanket we can all use to keep us warm.
Y’all, Clark is a master musician. He plays with an
honesty that most of us can only dream of achieving, and he will not allow
himself to be boxed in by Blues norms. Yes, he is a Blues musician, but he is
pushing those boundaries, and hopefully attracting new artists to the genre. This
Land will go down as one of the best protests albums of the 45 era. I could
say so much about Clark and this recording, but I want to save the space so you
can read the lyrics for “This Land.”
Paranoid and pissed off
Now that I got the money
Fifty acres and a model A
Right in the middle of Trump country
I told you there goes a neighborhood
Now mister Williams ain't so funny
I see you looking out your window
Can't wait to call the police on me
Now that I got the money
Fifty acres and a model A
Right in the middle of Trump country
I told you there goes a neighborhood
Now mister Williams ain't so funny
I see you looking out your window
Can't wait to call the police on me
When I know you think I'm up to something
I'm just eating out but still hungry
And this is my analogy
I ain't even near you can't 'til you put me
I remember when you used to tell me
I'm just eating out but still hungry
And this is my analogy
I ain't even near you can't 'til you put me
I remember when you used to tell me
Nigga run, nigga run
Go back where you come from
Nigga run, nigga run
Go back where you come from
We don't want, we don't want your kind
We think you's a dog born
Fuck you, I'm America's son
This is where I come from
Go back where you come from
Nigga run, nigga run
Go back where you come from
We don't want, we don't want your kind
We think you's a dog born
Fuck you, I'm America's son
This is where I come from
This land is mine
This land is mine
This land is mine
This land is mine
This land is mine
This land is mine
This land is mine
Up 'til the sun comes up
No I can't stop grinding
And I can't let 'em break me
No I can't let 'em find me
You can meet my friend the governor
Only if you wanna try me
Or you can meet my other friend the judge
Just in case you think I'm lying
No I can't stop grinding
And I can't let 'em break me
No I can't let 'em find me
You can meet my friend the governor
Only if you wanna try me
Or you can meet my other friend the judge
Just in case you think I'm lying
And I know you think I'm up to something
I'm just eating out but still hungry
And this is my analogy
I ain't leaving here you can't take it from me
I remember when you used to tell me
I'm just eating out but still hungry
And this is my analogy
I ain't leaving here you can't take it from me
I remember when you used to tell me
Nigga run, nigga run
Go back where you come from
Nigga run, nigga run
Go back where you come from
We don't want, we don't want your kind
We think you's a dog born
Fuck you, I'm America's son
This is where I come from
Go back where you come from
Nigga run, nigga run
Go back where you come from
We don't want, we don't want your kind
We think you's a dog born
Fuck you, I'm America's son
This is where I come from
This land is mine
This land is mine
This land is mine
(This land is mine)
This land is mine
This land is mine
(This land is mine)
This land is mine (this land is)
This land is mine (this land is)
This land is mine (this land is)
This land is mine (this land is)
This land is mine (this land is)
This land is mine (this land is)
This land is mine (this land is)
Brittany Howard cannot be contained;
she is a force of nature that knows no master. Jaime is the height of artistic
expression. The recording serves up so many courses for hungry ears. It perfectly
balances modern production and vintage instrumentation, never allowing one to
dominate the other. Her voice is as powerful as ever, and her story is more
honest than ever. “Georgia” opened my eyes and allowed me to get a little
closer to this songwriter that I have respected for so many years while “Goat Head”
reminded me that there is still a lot of work to be done on this American
experiment.
See, tomatoes are green
And cotton is white
My heroes are black
So why God got blue eyes?
My daddy, he stayed
My grandmama's a maid
My mama was brave
To take me outside
'Cause mama is white
And daddy is black
When I first got made
Guess I made these folks mad
See, I know my colors, see
But what I wanna know is...
Who slashed my dad's tires and put a goat head in the back?
I guess I wasn't s'posed to know that, too bad
I guess I'm not 'posed to mind 'cause I'm brown, I'm not black
But who said that?
See, I'm black, I'm not white
But I'm that, nah, nah, I'm this, right?
I'm one drop of three-fifths, right?
Son Volt, like City and Colour, is one of those bands that
always makes the list when they drop a CD, largely based on the strength of Jay
Farrar’s lyrics. In my opinion, Jason Isbell, Jay Farrar, and Benjamin Gibbard
are the best lyricists of the generation. Union is the quintessential protest
album, and Farrar is able to accomplish that without beating the listener over
the head with obvious phrases. Sometimes you need a “Fuck you I’m America’s son”
and sometimes you need a “They can fill up the jails but it won't make a dent,
the sins don't wash away in the sea of discontent,” from “The 99.” Like all of
Son Volt’s recordings, this latest album is clean. The production is timeless.
The instruments are well placed in the mix with throaty and twangy guitars being featured throughout.
The vocals sit upfront, and the harmonies help fill the space beneath. The groove on “Broadsides”
is probably my favorite of the album. It’s one of those that just impels you to make a stank face while your body gyrates.
For most of the year, this album sat at #1. I absolutely
love von Kampen’s voice. Her YouTube presence is incredible, dropping multiple
live videos making it clear she is the real deal. If I wrote this list next
week, she may move back up. The top four are always so fickle. Day to day. After Another Day, Desdemona, and an amazing Audiotree recording, Old Country finally gave us what we have been waiting for, for years, a full disc. Eight songs to
sink our teeth into, and they did not disappoint. Not one throwaway in the
bunch. What I love most about this recording is it is understated. In the age
of electronics and big production, von Kampen stays true to her Americana
roots, highlighting the beautiful tones of real instruments that help to
showcase her lyrics and incredibly pure vocals.
I always feel somewhat strange about including artists
that I actually know, like somehow it invalidates the strength of the
recording, but I defy you to find a better recorded CD in 2019. The production
on Evergreen is the shit I dream about. The layers are tasty. The vocals
are perfectly placed. The harmonies are so beautifully positioned that you don’t
even realize they are there unless you are really, really, listening for them. The
guitar tones drop my jaw and weaken my knees. Maybe it’s because Evergreen
sits in my musical wheelhouse, but damn it I love this CD, and I have been publicly
gushing about it since it dropped. It’s a toe tapper. It’s sultry. It’s a showcase
of great songwriting and musicianship. It’s everything a timeless CD should be.
Y’all this CD came out of no where for me. I hadn’t even
heard of the Black Pumas. I was just using YouTube to listen to music while I
was getting shit done at work, and ol’ YT decided I needed to hear “Colors,”
and I did. They are a merger of everything I really love about music. So much diversity
and soul, paying homage to the past, but pushing the music forward. Marvelous
musicianship and songs that actually say something. You can dance to it, get butt-ass
naked and make love to it, or just chill while sipping on a nice glass of Woodford
Reserve, allowing the sounds to sooth your soul. Hell, if you are really
skilled, you could probably push play on Black Pumas, get butt-ass naked and
make love while sipping on some Woodford. It’s your world. You do you, just make
sure you give this one a spin.
1.2, you may be saying. Well, I just realized Cuz I
Love You was released in 2019. Some singles from the album were release much earlier, so it seems like it has been out forever. Despite bending my own damn rules, I am including it because it
is too damn good. “Tempo” is my jam of the year. When
I am really wanting to get down, I put that bad boy on and just love life. The
thing that is so great about Lizzo is she has broad appeal. I cannot count how many
times I have been carting members of my son’s 4th grade football
team around and we are all breaking it down to this album. You want to have a good time. You want to dance your ass off. You want to appreciate an incredible musician that is totally authentic and inspiring, put in some Lizzo and try not to bounce.
Those that are really connected to me saw this coming.
Unlike Black Pumas, Bombara, City and Colour, Son Volt, and von Kampen who all make
music similar to the music I make, I have no idea how Elena Tonra does it. It’s
not just the instrumentation or the the downbeat, it’s her phrasing, her
control. It's the sparseness. She is able to get so much out of every beat, every syllable. No CD
got more play from me this year than Ex:Re. More than anything, I want
music to make me feel, and I do not care what the emotion is, I just want real,
true, emotions. I cannot listen to this album without getting all up in my
feelings. While Lizzo gave me my party CD, Ex:Re gave me my I’d like a good cry
CD. Lyrically it is pure poetry. I’ve listened to “The Dazzler” seven times in
a row. I could put it on repeat and never tire. The images Tonra pens are vivid
and heart breaking. They are everything I want.
The night is young at the
Dazzler
I spiked my own drink, took
myself to bed
Alone I pondered the cheap
thrills of hotels
The miniatures, the endless
throwaway towels
One for my hair, one for my foot
Another for my other foot
My face, my neck, my spilt
beverages
Drunk in my hotel room, I look
perfect
I look like I'm 24 before I
caught your coldness
God, I'm gorgeous
I keep begging for late
checkouts
Let me stay here, let me live
here
In room 232 till I expire, I can
shower for hours
Leave the lights on, I'm not
paying those bills
The neighbours are quiet, no one
is back yet
I think about the falsity of
hotel sex
Expensive bed sheets and the
orange glowing filaments
The way you used to say you love
me
In the heat of it, holiday
feeling
When it wasn't over too quick
Yeah, I'll throw the TV out the
window
And I'll paint the whole room
gold
I'll make potions with the
minibar here
Yeah, I feel unbalanced, put my
feet on the walls
Trying to meet you all night,
I'm not paying for calls
Oh, this is heaven
Alone
Yeah, this is living
Alone
I don’t think I’ve ever done this before, but here are
the other albums I purchased this year. Again, they were good enough to get
beyond a simple stream, good enough that I had to own them, just not enough
room in the Top 10. There may be something here you also want to check out.
Andrea von Kampen
|
Twlights & Evening Bell (EP)
|
Beyonce
|
Homecoming (Live)
|
Copeland
|
Blushing
|
Glen Hansard
|
This Wild Willing
|
Jesse Gannon
|
Jesse Gannon (EP)
|
Lowland Hum
|
Glyphonic
|
Maybe April
|
The Other Side
|
Patty Griffin
|
Patty Griffin
|
Sara Bareilles
|
Amidst the Chaos
|
Seth Walker
|
Are You Open?
|
Silversun Pickups
|
Widow's Weeds
|
Tank & the Bangas
|
Green Balloon
|
The Black Keys
|
Let's Rock
|
The Lumineers
|
III
|
Tool
|
Fear Inoculum
|
While I do think being a singer/songwriter affords me a certain amount of credibility, I am certainly not saying these are the only recordings worthy of listening to from 2019. I am sure many of you have different lists of great albums I should check out, so please post them in the comments. I am always open to being moved by new music.
Until next year...
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