My RIYLmusic Top 30 list for the week beginning May 29, 2006 [Where I get to pretend I'm a program director at my very own hip radio station (full story here)].
Before we get to the list, I want to let you know that voting has begun on the shittiest mix tape contest. Out of all the people who entered, it looks like I'm the only one who went the quality music/shitty mix route. Go over to Paige's site and vote (on the sidebar) for the best worst mix. Or, you know, you could vote for mine.
Now on to this week's list:
Dave Alvin West Of The West Dave Alvin might not be as smart as his older brother (and Blasters co-founder) Phil - who has a PhD in Mathematics - but he sure knows his music history (as does Phil, come to think of it). Dave, who has earned a chapter or two of music history himself for his time with the Blasters and fellow L.A.-based rockers X, has a disc of California-based covers coming out today. Like he did on 2000’s Public Domain, Alvin takes other songwriters’ music and infuses it with his slow Cali drawl and campfire guitar – resulting in beautiful tunes that offer only fleeting hints of the originals (which on West includes songs from Jackson Browne, John Fogerty, Brian Wilson, and other well- and lesser-known songwriters). Streaming at MSN’s new release page.
Chatham County Line Speed of the Whippoorwill Each Tuesday I make sure to hit the MSN and AOL new release pages because they offer some full-album streams. Usually I only click on the artists I’ve heard (or at least heard of) before, but something made me click on this disc today. I’m glad I did. Chatham County Line sounds like a 1950’s bluegrass quartet that got mixed up with people like Roger McGuinn and Gram Parsons on their way through the 60's and 70’s and then Dwight Yoakam in the 80’s and 90’s. There’s some all-out bluegrass pickin’ and fiddlin’ - but there’s even more ballads that don’t seem to fit under the bluegrass heading, despite their fiddles and mandolins. A nice little surprise that’s worth a listen whether you’re a fan of bluegrass or not. Streaming at MSN.
T-Bone Burnett The True False Identity It’s been fourteen years since his last album, so it’s no wonder that T-Bone Burnett is better known as a producer than a performer these days (that and the fact that he produced the bazillion-selling O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack). No O Brother bluegrass here, just a lot of difficult songs; songs that take more than one listen before they really get into your system - just like the songs on his last album, 1992’s the Criminal Under My Own Hat. His songwriting is up there with Elvis Costello’s but his singing voice is closer to Dylan’s. Not exactly everyone's cup of tea. It doesn’t help his cause that he doesn’t seem to be streaming the album, but there are samples available at his website.
Jolie Holland Springtime Can Kill You If you’re going to spin the new Neko Case (of the New Pornographers) solo disc and the new Jenny Lewis (of Rilo Kiley) solo disc, then shouldn't you give the new one by Jolie Holland (formerly of the Be Good Tanyas) some attention, too? Actually, Holland deserves a listen simply because she was responsible for the Tanyas song “Littlest Bird,” a peppy little tune that you’ll never completely be able to get out of your head (see the video for it here in Quicktime, and consider yourself warned). Springtime may have just come out today, but it sounds like some dug-up 78 from the twenties – unhurried, cool, and very bluesy. A couple of the new songs (and a couple of her old ones) can be found at her myspace page.
New additions are in GREEN.
- DAVE ALVIN West of the West
- THE HEAVY BLINKERS The Night and I Are Still So Young
- VARIOUS ARTISTS Big Star Small World
- BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
- THE RACONTEURS Broken Boy Soldiers
- FLAMING LIPS At War With The Mystics
- WORLD PARTY Dumbing Up
- T-BONE BURNETT The True False Identity
- MASON JENNINGS Boneclouds
- JOLIE HOLLAND Springtime Can Kill You
- BIG STAR In Space
- THE SILVER JEWS Tanglewood Numbers
- PAUL SIMON Surprise
- NEKO CASE Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
- CHATHAM COUNTY LINE Speed of the Whippoorwill
- SNOW PATROL Eyes Open
- FIELD MUSIC Field Music
- JIM & JENNIE AND THE PINETOPS Little Birdy
- JENNY LEWIS WITH THE WATSON TWINS Rabbit Fur Coat
- NEIL YOUNG Living With War
- MATES OF STATE Bring It Back
- RHETT MILLER The Believer
- MARAH If You Didn't Laugh, You'd Cry
- MASON JENNINGS Use Your Voice
- LOOSE FUR Born Again In The USA
- STEVE WYNN & THE MIRACLE 3 ...Tick...Tick...Tick
- THE A-SIDES Hello, Hello
- SONDRE LERCHE Faces Down
- CAT POWER The Greatest
- GNARLS BARKLEY St. Elsewhere
Dropping off the list this week:
- THE GO TEAM Thunder, Lightning, Strike
- DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS A Blessing And A Curse
- MATTHEW SWEET AND SUSANNA HOFFS Under The Covers Volume 1
- EMMYLOU HARRIS & MARK KNOPFLER All The Roadrunning
Comments