Best Album of 2015 #1

No No No by Beirut

I refer to the post about the song No No No for some background. This album grows on me with every listen. It's not heralded by many reviewers compared to other Beirut albums. Some are turned off by the length (only 29 minutes), some by the minimalism-less orchestration of past albums. These are actually reasons to love it for me. Zach Condon doesn't need to lengthen these songs to 5-6 minutes -they are what they are and when he feels it's done it's done. This band is so hard to define, classical folk with a world music twist. His voice and tone remind me of Jens Lekman the Nordic humorous crooner, but Condon's music is much more thought out, there's an independent uniqueness maybe cross Lehman with a band like Gogol Bordello (shout out to Nick-just wanted to work in a Gogol Bordello reference though I've heard them maybe twice.) Piano, drum, a little bass sparse chamber horns- that's pretty much it. Courtney Barnett weighing in at #3 shares 100% of her thoughts into her lyrics, Condon-not so much, maybe 10% of his thoughts are in the words, but he is expressing himself 100% through the music. In between the lush harmonies the space if filled warmly via the sound. Apparently Condon has had writers block, a divorce, and had some physical problems in last year, so he's 180 degrees from Jason Isbell place in karma and both were able to create beautiful songs and get there through their own path.

Gibralter

Jens Lekman

Gogol Bordello

Maybe?

The more unassuming a song appears on this album the more attracted I feel to the music. 

Romani Everybody 

August Holland

2015 Music Summary

I enjoyed several artists this year especially enjoyed finding new ones such as Hop Along and Courtney Barnett. Overall this year was not as good as last in regard to great releases. None of my top 5 may make top 4 last year. That's not to insult anybody but last year I felt were more complete albums start to finish. Even on my #1 (coming soon) there were a few songs I wanted to be better. This years list also feels very fluid to me, if ranking today I would move Hop Along as high as 3-4.

Also I see patterns in what I like at any given time of course. My list is my list and I don't pretend to be an expert. I can't play a note or sing, I might be able to write some good lyrics but I just know what I like to hear and what I value. I do think I have a wide open mind to music from several genres. That comes from a diverse background growing up and being in touch with multiple parts of our society. I listen for the artists truth no matter what genre, love a good lyric but also someone who can challenge me and take me to a new place. I went to a SABR convention in Phoenix this year with my 2 best friends (going back to high school) and I loved listening to my friends IPOD. We share a lot of taste but he definitely listens to things I would not think to. I love that because that's when life surprises you and you find the unexpected beauty.   Also the context of the situation and how music enhances those moments is big. Being someone who works around autism a lot I've learned to appreciate context and a good song takes you back to a specific moment that nothing else can. When I listen to Ryan Adams "Kim" it puts me in a specific place and my reaction to Beat the Champ strikes a chord I wasn't even aware was still a part of me.

Here's past best album lists

2014
1. Beck - Morning Phase
2. War on Drugs - Lost in a Dream
3. Chrissie Hynde - Stockholm
4. Ryan Adams - Ryan Adams
5. Lost Horizon The New Basement Tapes

2013
1. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
2. Jason Isbell - Southeastern
 Biiig drop
3. The Mavericks - In Time
4. Bruce Springsteen - High Hopes

2012 - weak year
1. Frank Ocean Channel Orange
2. Langhorne Slim - The Way We Move
3. Gary Clark Jr- Black and Blu
4. Tie Kendrick Lamar - Swimming Pools
    Jack White - Blunderbuss

2011 Incredible year so many good albums
1. Ryan Adams - Ashes and Fire
2. Lucinda Williams - Blessed
3. Radio Head - King of Limbs
4. Shelby Lynne - Revolution Road
5. Fountains of Wayne- Sky Full of Holes
6. Tie The Decemberists - The King is Dead
      Death Cab for Cutie - Codes and Keys

2010
1. Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
2. Raul Maulo - Sinners and Saints
3. Broken Bells- Broken Bells
4. Drive By Truckers - The Big To Dio

Best Album 2015 #2

Beat The Champ - The Mountain Goats

This one is personal. If I had my own band or wrote/performed my own songs this is what I would sound like, this is what I would be writing about (maybe add in some Strat-O-Matic songs). John Darnielle created the Mountain Goats concept first as an expression of himself but now it's evolved into a full band. Darnielle writes about many interesting and obtuse subjects often autobiographical. He's made albums about his experiences growing up in an abusive/neglectful home and his adolescent survival (The Sunset Tree-2005),  an album I consider a master class in the use of dissociation and fantasy as survival skills for teenage boys. Now he has written an ode to 1970's Texas circuit wrestling. Of course this is deeper than just wrestling, though many of the characters (Chavo Guerrero and King Kong Brody) are real but this is using wrestling also as a metaphor about life-death and basically being in uncomfortable life places. As silly as wrestling is, I look at the world we live and this vast need to escape and of all things wrestling holds up pretty well. Wrestling isn't subtle, the characters are broad and good/evil are clearly marked. For a large % of the population this is a pretty harmless place to hide for a few hours and have something -even if fake represent a world that is clear where someone can represent YOU and maybe even win,
 "I need justice in my life, here it comes", " You let me down but Chavo never did".  Then you can go back into a world that will not play fair and screw you every day but no one is left to actually represent you. It's simple but it needs to be for some. Think about the Republican debates- c'mon isn't WWE truer and better skilled, what someone could do with a foreign object in those debates.

The Legend of Chavo Guerrero

Foreign Object

Darnielle is also a writer and published Wolf In White Van last year which won a major book award. 

Wolf in White Van is the first novel by the American author and singer-songwriter John Darnielle. Wolf in White Van tells the story of Sean Phillips, a reclusive game designer whose face has been severely disfigured. One reviewer characterizes Sean as someone "steeped in video games, bad sci-fi movies, and Conan the Barbarian comic books". The plot, which is told non-chronologically, alternates between Sean's childhood, adolescence, and adulthood to describe the circumstances surrounding the incident that disfigured him. A fictional play-by-mail role-playing game called Trace Italian figures prominently in the novel. The play by mail feature especially struck a note reflecting a 70's thing for those of us who partook. I am reading the book currently and see a lot of the same themes as his music.

Here's a video which gives some more insights into Darnielle as he talks about "Stabbed to Death Outside San Juan" This may not make anyone else's top 10 20 30 whatever but I really connect with his music and it scares me that I hear character thoughts that feels like deja vu. The Sunset Tree is in my opinion the best capture of child abuse dynamics I've experienced and many of his songs-reflections are quite funny because the truth often is in reflection. 

Best album #3

Sometimes I sit and Think and Sometimes I just Sit 
by Courtney Barnett

Pedestrian at Best

This is the debut album from this 29 year old Australian. I was shocked that someone this talented and creative is releasing a first album at near 30. She's had a few EP's and played in a band but man she should have been up front. This for me is an old fashioned rock n roll guitar album with a little jam band sound at times. Other's have commented there is a lot of 90's bands in her work -Nirvana - Pearl Jam, I kind of see that but that wasn't my era, I hear Lou Reed and the Kinks but just a strong boom boom boom from the guitars- also lots of distortion in the sound which plays off her rambling fast paced lyrics. 

Barnett's allure is in how unremarkable she comes across, her voice isn't elite (but fits these songs perfectly), she writes about mundane every day things we all can relate to, Should I get up? Do I want to go out or stay in? Do I really want to live in the suburbs? What separates her from everyone else is she plays a wicked guitar, can write the hell out of a song and takes these mundane every day moments to an eventual jewel of an observation that means something. What's the saying "average people doing average things in a profound way"  Her songs are quite witty but you have to pay attention her stream of consciousness style goes quick, at times in rap like rhythm. It reminds me of the line from the old Mathew Modine move Vision Quest, when he's a high school wrestler. He can't understand why his fry cook mentor wants to see him wrestle at the state meet, the guys never taken a day off in his life. Modine says, "It's just 2 minutes on the mat that's all?" The fry cook blows back intensely with "It's not the 2 minutes it's what can happen in those 2 minutes." Barnett lets out 100% of what's she's thinking and seeing, we just have to trust her it's going somewhere. She also has this thing where she is good at combining 2 words to make a point. The first video Pedestrian at Best - "Don't put me on a pedestal, I'll only disappoint you"-  uses pedestal and pedestrian in same context to emphasize a theme. In the second video she's contemplating how her life would change to move to a suburb (Preston). 

Depreston

Elevator Operator

"I'm not suicidal, just idling insignificantly"

Best Album 2015 #4

Strange Trails - Lord Huron

I spoke a lot about the band in the Fool for Love Post. This is an easy album to listen to maybe too easy. What I mean by that is that as a sound they are initially unique to the ear (yet hearkens to an older rock-a billy Buddy Holly-Everly Brothers tone) but they are in danger of not being diverse enough in their songs. This album is excellent-duh I ranked it 4th best of year, but the next album may be crucial. I heard this before I listened to their first album Lonesome Dreams and this album feels very similar to that one with perhaps better execution and songs. Other performers have had this same challenge to varying abilities to grow as a sound. The best recent example is Vampire Weekend. I personally thought I would tire of their sound despite enjoying their first album a lot- then when they released Modern Vampires of the City they went to the next level. Another band I have wanted to do this is Gaslight Anthem and they really haven't despite claiming each new album is a wide turn from their past ones...they never really are. I still love the band but each release seems to fade a little more. Chris Isaak is another who has to work hard at this, maybe the best voice around but every song can't be the same. Here are some samples -including 1 or 2 I think go a different direction slightly. Band leader Ben Schneider likes to tell a story each album and leans toward the western themes, which is great count me in but he needs to push the band into their Modern Lord Hurons of the City next album. 

Hurricane

The World Ender

The Yawning Grave

Best Album 2015 #5

Something More Than Free - Jason Isbell

This is a breakthrough album for Isbell who landed in top 10 in several genres as well as received critical acclaim. It has several strong songs and Isbell is an excellent writer. I've had 2 songs from this album on or near my top 20 for the year BUUUUUUUUT frankly as much as I liked the album I felt Southeastern (his previous album) was much better. Isbell is a different man on this album, as he's conquered alcohol demons reportedly and recently re-married (Amanda Shires who he tours with). He is in a place of contentment and I applaud the man but contentment often breeds safety and this album as a whole is a little too safe despite the technical excellence.  A song like Cover Me Up on Southeastern is a perfect example, not a traditional love song but one with some danger and strong passion, there is some rawness in it's beauty. The producer of Southeastern Dave Cobb gave some insight into how he helped Isbell get that edge- 

" He encouraged Isbell to record his vocals in one take: "I think the big difference is that during the process we kept a lot of live vocal takes and I’ve not done that in the past. I was sort of terrified, really. Before, we’d spend a couple days at the end of the sessions tuning everything. Dave Cobb really encouraged me to sing with the live tracks while we were recording it."

Also on Southeastern Isbell wrote about some tough subjects- cancer  in "Elephant", sexual abuse in "Yvette". These are strong powerful songs with a personal stamp. I compare that to a song on Something More than Free- "Children of Children" which focuses on teen pregnancy. This song just doesn't feel right, like an After School Special it touches on a topic but not from a personal point of view more from someone who saw a commercial and sent a check. 

I'm not suggesting Mr. Isbell start drinking and get divorced, being a happy person is cool with me and I still love his music, I am saying he's approaching a point in his career where things will influence his work whether that be his frame of mind or success in a industry that values vanilla will force some choices. Darrell Porter was a former catcher of the Royals  a fall down drunk but had his best baseball seasons right in the middle of those days. He cleaned up, he was still good enough to be a major league baseball player and played for a WS winner in St. Louis sober but his performance deteriorated. Darrell Porter had a better life but likely sacrificed one aspect of it that gave him a fearless edge. The pros far outnumber the cons in making that life change but it is what it is.

Best Albums 2015 #6

Painted Shut - Hop Along

The Knock

I went 6 instead of 5 because I wanted to acknowledge this album. This year as I whittled down my list I have noticed I am more and more drawn to bands that are willing to take some risk show some edge. This is the third album from the Philadelphia band. Frances Quinlan is the amazing voice and different sources identify Hop Along as more a solo project for her than a collaborative band. This may not be the case as it's inconsistent on various descriptions. Hop Along’s front woman’s vocal  acts like a pummeling, emotive and unmistakable instrument. That emotional vulnerably-power and almost nakedness is the driving force of the album. You feel a little fatigued after a listen. 

Waitress

I like this description in a review from Mike Powell
"The songs on the second album by the Philadelphia band Hop Along seem to have come whirling out of a fairy tale, visceral but ornate, outside reality but still scarred by it. Their energy comes from punk but their style comes from somewhere older and more obscure—a Victorian attic, maybe, or the kind of basement where the band’s singer Frances Quinlan got turned onto punk in the first place."
Horsehoe Crab

Best Songs 2015 #1

Fool For Love- Lord Huron

Do you like Buddy Holly, if so this is the song and album for you, I even think there is a cricket sound embedded. Lord Huron is an indie folk/rock band out of LA lead by Ben Schneider. Schneider born and raised in Michigan which I would credit more to his roots than LA - Lord Huron is named after the Great Lake he visited often as a kid so fuck this LA Band thing- nobody is from LA and certainly no one one was inspired in LA. This is off Strange Trails their second album.One review describes the sound as

" Strange Trails is an anthology of weird fiction - a new collection of tales from the world introduced on Lonesome Dreams. Schneider explains, ''There's no direct narrative connection between the two albums. The stories here are separated by time, location and characters. Many of the themes have carried over and evolved.'' 

Best Songs 2015 #2

No No No - Beirut

This song is definition of infectious. Beirut is a band I keep getting drawn back to since Postcards From Italy on Gulag Orkestar. I assumed this was an individual artist from some Eastern European country and was a one off for me. Then every few years I hear something new and love it more and learn a little bit about the band and this year I'm officially on board big. The band is a product of Santa Fe native Zach Condon, who is listed as playing trumpet, flugelhorn and ukulele, which gives you an indication of the diversity of sound being offered. I would still assume Mr. Condon has some ethnic influence on his music from eastern Europe.

Here is an explanation of band's name by Condon: “One of the reasons I named the band after that city was the fact that it’s seen a lot of conflict. It’s not a political position. I worried about that from the beginning. But it was such a catchy name. I mean, if things go down that are truly horrible, I’ll change it. But not now. It’s still a good analogy for my music. I haven’t been to Beirut, but I imagine it as this chic urban city surrounded by the ancient Muslim world. The place where things collide"

Best Songs 2015 #3

Don't Wanna Fight - Alabama Shakes

Brittany Howard is the amazing vocalist for this roots band but the backing band is as tight as they come. This sound reminds me of watching a Bettye LaVette concert on TV a few years ago and acknowledging the powerful vocals I was hearing but more drawn into the deep groove and syncopation of the band in driving the song in perfect harmony with the singer. Once I realized LaVette was being backed by the Drive By Truckers there was a shall we say the moment of clarity for me. Shonna Tucker's bass for DBT was always a foundation for their sound and the same can be said for the Zack Cockrell bass for Alabama Shakes. Howard is a once in a lifetime talent but this is a band and they produce a complete sound experience.

Best Songs 2015 #4

Speed Trap Town by Jason Isbell

24 Frames and the title track get more play and they are great songs but this one hits me in my Midwestern gut. I love songs about small towns, the apparent trap-need to escape but also the acknowledgement the place had some positive impact, the character just needs more now and is ready to explore, sees the truth about his history, his family and the world all he knows. This is a song about a father and leaving the town suggests ready to heal and move on. I love the writing,

 " Well it's a Thursday night but there's a high school game
Sneak a bottle up the bleachers and forget my name
These 5A bastards run a shallow cross
It's a boy's last dream and a man's first loss" 

 That's just strong writing, something this world needs more of.

Another favorite in the genre is a song called "Long Gone Long" by the Kansas City based Rainmakers. To be more precise, I love the acoustic version by author and lead singer Bob Walkenhorst.  Speed Trap Town reminds me a lot of this one, Speed Trap Town is coming from a place of loss and anger, This song has a little more wonder - urgency by acknowledging the past has value.  Like Isbell,  Walkenhorst paints a vivid picture - rinkydinks may be a Missouri term

Best Songs 2015 #5

Beatnik Walking  - Richard Thompson

Hello old friend. As reliable as rain in London. This is off "Still" his 16th album and he's just so solid in everything he produces. This album and especially this song take me back to his roots a bit. Faintly sounds like Linda could be backing, she's not but it's got that lilt. Jeff Tweedy plays guitar on the album. This may be from an aging man but he's still got some fire and some purpose just needs a little help from a good pair of walking shoes.  

Best Song 2015 #6

Fast Lane by Rationale

Another new artist I know little about. He's not really new but new to performing. He is a British producer and this is his first recording as a performer. This was released as a single and I believe an EP has come out. It's the most soulful song I've heard this year. The vocal are unique and the beat hypnotic. The best description I read was Morrissey meets Drake. Clearly a song you listen to a night, slight buzz or not and just want to think or not think, not sure about this video though

. Let's give one more nod to Ziggy

Best Songs 2015 #7

Trying- Bully

Bully was founded by Rosemount, Minnesota native Alicia Bognanno, who earned a degree from Middle Tennessee State University in audio recording before getting an internship at  Electrical Audio studios in Chicago. She started recording demos of her own material before relocating to Nashville where she worked as an engineer at Battle Tapes Recording and The Stone Fox venue. She joined Nashville power pop band King Arthur before starting her own band in mid-2013, recruiting drummer Stewart Copeland (not that 1), guitarist Clayton Parker, and bassist Reece Lazarus.

I know nothing about this band except I love this song. It's not one of the highlighted songs I when I read reviews but it's the one that resonates with me... and by a long shot

It only seems fair if we are throwing out a new band as best of...anything at the time of David Bowie's death we add something of his. Ziggy Stardust is my favorite of his as with many. This seems appropriate a song about end of a fictional world

Pushing through the market square, so many mothers sighing
News had just come over, we had five years left to cry in
News guy wept and told us, earth was really dying
Cried so much his face was wet, then I knew he was not lying
I heard telephones, opera house, favorite melodies
I saw boys, toys electric irons and T.V.'s
My brain hurt like a warehouse, it had no room to spare
I had to cram so many things to store everything in there
And all the fat-skinny people, and all the tall-short people
And all the nobody people, and all the somebody people
I never thought I'd need so many people

A girl my age went off her head, hit some tiny children
If the black hadn't a-pulled her off, I think she would have killed them
A soldier with a broken arm, fixed his stare to the wheels of a Cadillac
A cop knelt and kissed the feet of a priest, and a queer
Threw up at the sight of that
I think I saw you in an ice-cream parlor, drinking milk shakes cold and long
Smiling and waving and looking so fine, don't think
You knew you were in this song
And it was cold and it rained so I felt like an actor
And I thought of Ma and I wanted to get back there
Your face, your race, the way that you talk
I kiss you, you're beautiful, I want you to walk

We've got five years, stuck on my eyes
Five years, what a surprise
We've got five years, my brain hurts a lot
Five years, that's all we've got

We've got five years, what a surprise
Five years, stuck on my eyes
We've got five years my brain hurts a lot
Five years, that's all we've got

We've got five years, stuck on my eyes
Five years, what a surprise
We've got five years, my brain hurts a lot
Five years, that's all we've got

We've got five years, what a surprise
Five years, stuck on my eyes
We've got five years, my brain hurts a lot
Five years, that's all we've got

Five years
Five years
Five years
Five years

Best Songs 2015 #8

Heaven Sent - Best Coast

I said this was a year of great female pop bands. Best Coast is actually a duo. Bethany Cosentino is the vocalist, Bobb Bruno is the instrumentalist. So when I talk about female pop bands I'm talking more about a sound than actual make up. There's a lot of Go Go's here (who were a great pop band).  Best Coast has made several good albums and are adding some edge to their sound. This is their most complete album. I love her voice and in summer it's hard not to want the top down and just cruise with this on. 

Best Songs 2015 #9

Hood Go Crazy - Tech N9ne

That's right KC's own Tech found the best hip hop groove of the year. I worked with a boy who works for Strange Music and Tech currently, I like a lot of what I hear about Tech. There are not a lot of rappers who can keep recording QUALITY music for as long as he has. He's easily in his 40's right? (yes 45) He's very creative and not afraid to write about tough subjects, still the only artist I know who wrote a song about abortion (Real Killer).

"His stage name originated from the TEC-9 semi-automatic handgun, a name given to him by rapper Black Walt due to his fast-rhyming Chopper style. Yates later applied a deeper meaning to the name, claiming that it stands for the complete technique of rhyme, with "tech" meaning technique and "nine" representing the number of completion"

Gotta give it up to him for brilliant marketing as well "He covers all his bases black girls, white girls, college girls everyone in the hood... maximize that base. Tech does get a lot of crossover fans, hey I'm a 56 year old white guy who's been a fan since Einstein Tech N9ne. 

Best Songs 2015 #10

This Love - Ryan Adams

Most people know Ryan's last album was a remake of Taylor Swift's 1989. I buy anything Adam's puts out and no one covers songs as well as Mr. Adams. This one was on faith for me as I really am not a fan of Taylor Swift. I listened and the songs sounded good, like Ryan Adams songs. I think I call it the 4 stages of denial of Taylor Swift -anger/rejection/fear/bargaining/acceptance. It went from  "This is going to weak" to "A few songs are good only because Ryan Adams is so great" to "Geez this isn't a bad song she wrote to "Damn girl may not write in my genre but she can write." 

This Love was actually a song I liked the least on first listens. Another end of year list put this on it and that's when I told myself "listen to the songs with fresh unbiased ear." I did and I started to connect with it once I got past all the back story and assumptions just listening to the song. It was good and evolved as I listened more and soon it was my favorite song on the album and this is where it lands. 

and just for fun here's the original artists version- except Taylor Swift won't allow her songs on YouTube - this is instrumental so I go back to my original position Taylor Swift- fuck off- good song from Ryan though

Best Songs of 2015 #11

Beryl - Mark Knopfler

Admittedly I have not listened to much of Mark since college/high school even,  when he was in Dire Straits. That's more on me likely than him. Knopfler has such a unique sound, both his singing voice and his lauded guitar work that if you hear it in any context you immediately recognize it as him. That's how I found the Tracker CD. He's been solo sing 1996 and 3 years since last album. Beryl” was inspired by the British writer Beryl Bainbridge.

Best Songs of 2015 #12

Lakes Song by The Decemberists:

Hard to believe it's already been 15 years since their first album. They keep exploring new expressive avenues and as they age they are tending to simplify their sound more. They enjoy a unique relationship and interactional dialogue with their fans. They are from Portland and that totally fits. They have to have had a cameo on Portlandia right?  They've always been a smart band, bordering on too smart with heavy references and theme.  Their last album, The King is Dead was a 180 - basic, direct almost rustic. What a Terrible,  What a Wonderful World is more of a balance between their last and early stuff like Crane Wife, melodic folk. Colin Meloy has one of the more beautiful-easy voices around and Lake Song is simply a beautiful song. 

Best Songs 2015 #13

How'm I Gonna Find You Now - James McMurtry

A very under-rated artist. McMurtry is at his best when he's telling a story usually about people assumed on the outside the lines of the "real world" but where McMurtry is a genius is shedding the light on the reality that we all know, live with and see these people all the time, they are all of us. His characters are both the bizarre and everyday people who are just trying to get through the bullshit, "it's a damn short movie". 

 He can connect the dots with the common everyday things that flash through our minds during incredible moments of life, maybe it's realizing you left a pack of cigarettes on the dash during a hurricane, or the biker bar in Baxter Springs you pass by on a family reunion or that fucking rattle in the dashboard as you hunt down a girl. This is a funny video to match the song. This song reminds me of Choctaw Bingo a little, so I'll tie in that video too.

Best Songs 2015 #14

I Follow Rivers - Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires

This surprise nugget comes from a 2 song EP called Sea Songs. The other song was a Warren Zevon cover "Mutineer".  This is a good song for a new husband and wife to sing (released on Valentines Day), Shires has her own chops and they blend together perfectly.  

Best Songs 2015 #15

Rats in The Wall - Ryan Adams

This is off Adam's Live at Carnegie Hall album, a good album that captures the Ryan Adams concert experience accurately with all the audience dialogue, OCD moments  and improvisational creativity which is fantastic to be a part of live but becomes tedious on an album that is listened to frequently, those 6-7 minute songs are not as special, thus this album will not make my top albums but the songs are still great. There are a couple of special song versions live,  I chose this one a lesser known commodity off an EP 1984 he made last year. Adams is primarily know as alt country now but he is who he wants to be, I enjoy his hard core country of Whiskeytown or Jacksonville, his Rock n Roll album, his softer acoustic of Ashes and Fire, perfect pop/folk sound and when he dabbles on the edge of a punkier sound on this EP. As you can see from the lyrics Ryan is working through some spiritual and relationship things here- 

you can’t go home anymore
rats in the wall, rats in the wall
I can hear them crawl 

you don’t know, you don’t understand
everything to you it was already planed 
by a man in the sky

who chooses who he keeps
shelters from the bombs and choppers and napalm

blood on the beach, blood on their hands
all of the people that you fuckin’ defend
and there’s no guarantee 
it's even gonna come
so step into the rays of the burning sun

Best Songs 2015 #16

The Garden - A Million Billion Dying Suns

I don't know much about this band and there isn't much to find. They are from San Francisco (Haight Ashbury supposedly -but that may be an image enhancer) and are described by others as psychedelic rock, I get that it's trippy in a sense but mainly The Garden just kicks ass in the old fashioned way. As I age my tastes become mellower but it's nice to find that I can still get cranked up when the sound is there. On the bands website this is how they describe themselves:

"As the million billion suns die, they coalesce into one singular form of energy, before they explode into super nova. It is the vanishing point, where you and me don't matter, but we do. And so do you. Yes You. We are all Dying Suns, sewn into the same fabric. Endlessly dying, constantly living, in the pattern of the infinite universe." 

I don't know about all that but The Garden blows a few more holes in 
"in Blackburn, Lancashire 
And though the holes were rather small 
They had to count them all 
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall. 
I'd love to turn you on."

Best Songs 2015 #17

Call Ya Momma - Justin Townes Earle 

Justin is the son of Steve Earle, his middle name comes from his dads mentor Townes Van Zandt (not that one). His dad left the family when Justin was 2 and he was raised by his mom Carol Anne Hunter. Justin's last 2 albums were titled Single Mothers and this years Absent Fathers.....so yeah maybe he's working some things out. He's a fantastic artist in his own right. He's got his own sound yet has also learned from the best. Harlem River Blues (2010) was a really strong album and he's not one to stay comfortable with any sound, he goes where he wants. Some critics were rejecting of this album as being "too somber". I would disagree with that. This song is evidence of what I often talk about - honest writing but there is some good honky tonk carrying Earle's truth down the road

From reviewer Henry Hauser (I think a more accurate view)

"Absent Fathers, Earle’s sixth album, is a distinct and deeply personal statement about the search for a rock, an anchor, anything to keep from floating into the ether when it feels like there’s nothing left to hold on to. If you hadn’t already guessed, the title references Earle’s own father, singer-songwriter Steve Earle. Between getting thrown in jail for weapons possession and a heroin addiction that nearly claimed his life....By also presenting himself as the source of pain rather than its recipient, he shows that hurt begets hurt, and those who are abandoned today become the heart-breakers of tomorrow. JTE sends a soon-to-be-ex lover crying to mommy on “Call Ya Momma”. With lyrics that starkly contrast the song’s jaunty tempo, he grapples with the guilt of inflicting the same kind of pain he’s spent his life trying to mitigate. “Shame, shame, I wanted to cry in shame,” he rasps."

Best Songs 2015 #18

Airplane by Langhorne Slim: Disappointingly Langhorne is not his real name (Scott Scolnick) but he is from Langhorne, PA and is slim so I give him a pass.The Way We Move in 2012 was a breakthrough album - deservedly so. I would describe Slim as an Americana artist evolved from Wood Guthrie, throw in some Avett Brothers. His songs provide powerful images and he pours everything he's got into them. Banjo is his primary weapon of choice but I would not limit his musical description to that. For some reason a lot of his songs end up as commercials. He's know for wearing hats I think and if you share that passion check this out
Dear friends,
It’s with great pleasure that I reveal to you a wild dream come true. About a year ago this time, I met up with the legendary Stetson hat company and expressed to them a deep and somewhat giddy desire to design a hat someday. To my surprise, they replied, ‘Cool, tell us more.’ I told them about a magical hat that I once owned. I found it in a second hand shop in Oregon and wore it almost every day for about two years – I loved that hat.  Upon leaving for a tour one morning, I decided to leave it behind in Nashville.  While gone, a flood hit Tennessee and took with it what it wanted, including my hat.  I imagined the beautiful black brim floating down a river somewhere, or perhaps finding its way to the bottom. I wanted in part to bring that hat back to life. I also told them that I’d dreamt of a hat that was part Charlie Chaplin, part Buster Keaton, part Huck Finn, and part Oliver Twist – and that if you added all those delicious ingredients together, you’d wind up with the perfect hat.  When I stopped talking, they looked at me for a few moments and said, incredibly, ‘Let’s do it.’  Sometimes you just have to ask. I’m so glad I did because we made that hat and now we’ve got 300 limited edition brims to offer you. It’s the hat of my dreams, and I’m truly honored to present it to you here. Ladies and gents, the Stetson x Langhorne!

Two other songs that really stood out for me on this album, the title track When the Spirit Moves and the powerfully revealing Wolves (which I was inches from choosing). 

Best Songs 2015 #19

White Wine and Fried Chicken- Hot Chip

Hot Chip is more a techno/dance music band that occasionally (or regularly probably)  write some of the most soulful humanistic songs I've ever heard. I rarely buy full albums but some of my most cherished IPOD songs are theirs. The Warning their 2006 album included my favorite pure soul song of this decade Look after Me -

Another fun song from this year is Huarache Lights- these guys pack some groove into their autotron

Best Songs 2015 Near Misses

Some great songs that just missed the list:

A Children's Game -The Roseline

A local band from Lawrence I feel bad about cutting out, but this is a strong first album

Long Cool Girl- Mark Knopfler- been awhile since we last met but Tracker is excellent

24 Frames - Jason Isbell- one of several great efforts by one of my favorite artists

Tennessee Whiskey - Chris Staplelton- some great throw back country coming out last few years Sturgill Simpson was example in 2014, he is one this year

2015 top 20 Best Songs: #20

Make that 21 as I have a tie for 20. Female Pop bands are growing in quantity and quality like nothing I've seen since my days at KU in Lawrence Ks. where I saw the Go Go's, The Bangles and The Tourists (Annie Lennox-Dave Stewart original band). I'm a sucker for these bands, so expect to see some representation. Best Coast and Allo Darlin' are good examples of female pop bands that are churning out quality music. Tied for #20 are 2 additions one has a more punkish (called bubblegum punk I think) and the other feels like an authentic garage band, meaning I think this song was recorded in someone's garage... in a good way.
Diet Cig  besides also winning the greatest band name of 2015 is technically not a girl band.
"Diet Cig burst out of the Hudson Valley college town and musical hotbed New Paltz, N.Y.  Singer Alex Luciano and drummer Noah Bowman met at a house show when she interrupted a set to ask him for a lighter; a few months later, they were playing shows and getting ready to record their first songs at a studio in New Paltz. Luciano also writes the lyrics, their music is simple, clever, honest and very danceable. 

Trash Talkin'- Thee Tsunamis: from Dylan Tupper Ruppert, " Thee Tsunamis are proud daughters of the twisted, pop-camp aesthetics of the director John Waters, the jagged and tender-hearted jammers of ’60s era “girl groups”, and the enduring partnership between good times, riffs, and leather jackets.... and all you’ll want to do is tease your hair, move your feet, and find something fun to do tonight, stat."