Weekend Playlist

“My earliest memory is shouting: at what and for what reason, I don’t know. Probably a tantrum; or I may have been rehearsing. I was always an early starter.” ~ Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead

Michael Nesmith & The First National Band | Magnetic South

LCD Soundsystem | LCD Soundsystem

Whiskeytown | Pneumonia

M. Ward | Hold Time

Various Artists | I’m Not There Soundtrack

James Brown | Star Time

The Rolling Stones | A Bigger Bang

The Kleptones | A Night At The Hip-Hopera

Mark Lanegan | Whiskey For The Holy Ghost

Buzzcocks | Singles Going Steady

Kasabian | Kasabian

Daft Punk | Discovery

William Shatner | Has Been

The Pharaohs | In The Basement

Radiohead | In Rainbows

INXS | Listen Like Thieves

Motorhead | No Remorse

Andres Segovia | The Segovia Collection

The Isley Brothers | 3 + 3

Kruder & Dorfmeister | The K&D Sessions

Weekend Playlist

“All is spontaneity.” ~ Can lead singer Damo Suzuki

Junior Wells | Coming At You

Van Halen | Van Halen II

Guy Clark | Old No. 1

Ween | The Mollusk

The Meters | Cabbage Alley

The Incredible String Band | Wee Tam

Iron & Wine | The Shepherd’s Dog

Ray Charles | Ray Charles Live

Eric Clapton | 461 Ocean Boulevard

Little Feat | Waiting For Columbus

The Black Crowes | Before The Frost…

Ramones | It’s Alive

Metallica | Metallica

Miles Davis | Tutu

Lee Morgan | Lee Morgan

The Jimi Hendrix Experience | Live At Clark University

Can | Ege Bamyasi

The Byrds | Untitled

Memphis Slim | The Blues Of Memphis Slim: Steady Rolling Blues

Lightnin’ Hopkins | Lightnin’ Strikes
[album cover not pictured]

Various Artists | I’m Not There Soundtrack

Weekend Playlist

With stardust in his hair, moonbeams in his eye and liquor in his belly, your intrepid blogger is currently traveling all over this great country of ours. From the home base of Oakland, CA to Newport, RI for a long weekend with the in-laws, I’m now halfway back and enjoying a quick visit with an old friend in Chicago. Many thanks to Orville & Wilbur Wright, for inventing the airplane, and then following that up with an even cooler invention – the iPod…

Various Artists | I’m Not There Soundtrack

Miles Davis | Ascenseur Pour L’echafaud

The Beta Band | The 3 EPs

The Budos Band | Budos Band II

David Holmes | Let’s Get Killed

Gorillaz | Demon Days

Beastie Boys | Root Down EP

Kings Of Leon | Youth & Young Manhood

M. Ward | End Of Amnesia

Kruder & Dorfmeister | The K&D Sessions™

David Bowie | The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars

Prince | Sign O’ The Times

Whiskeytown | Strangers Almanac

Herbie Hancock | Headhunters

Outkast | Speakerboxx/The Love Below

Josh Ritter | Golden Age Of Radio

Rakim | The 18th Letter/The Book Of Life

Minutemen | Double Nickels On The Dime

INXS | Shabooh Shoobah

Tom Waits | Rain Dogs

Ol’ Dirty Bastard | Nigga Please

Zeph & Azeem | Mixed Messages
[Album cover not pictured]

Sonny Clark | Leapin’ And Lopin’

Various Artists | Until The End Of The World Soundtrack

The Yardbirds | Roger The Engineer

Steely Dan | Gaucho

Beck | Guero

Dr. Feelgood | Down By The Jetty

Furr | Furr

Madhouse | Serve ‘Em

Temple Of The Dog | Temple Of The Dog

Black Sabbath | Vol 4

Motorhead | Iron Fist

Iggy Pop | Cleveland, OH 3/21/77
[Album cover not pictured]

Top 10: November 2007

Most of my listening lately has been in preparation for a certain ‘Best Of 2007′ list, so this month’s countdown features a number of albums that were produced this year. Because I’m going to be writing about these albums again shortly – and I don’t want to tip my hand too much on my overall impressions – I’m going to name some names and keep it brief.

With that, here are 10 albums that made November sound a little better:

10) Ministry * The Last Sucker – We’re well beyond the point where every American with half a conscience should be screaming at the top their lungs about what our corrupt government and insane president have been up to. Fortunately Al Jourgensen and Ministry do a good deal of the screaming for the rest of us on The Last Sucker.

9) Blue Mitchell * Blue’s Moods – That smoke coming off his trumpet is no joke – Blue Mitchell is one of the most underrated trumpeters in all of jazz.

8) Andres Segovia * The Segovia Collection – This four disc box features some of the best music for the holidays that doesn’t go ‘fa-la-la-la-la’ or involve jingling bells.

7) Sly & The Family Stone * There’s A Riot Goin’ On – Please see #10…

6) Robert Plant & Alison Krauss * Raising Sand – This one looked like a disaster on paper, but sounds great. Guess that’s why T-Bone Burnett is a big-shot producer, and I’m sitting around blogging in my underwear.

5) Pink Martini * Hey Eugene! – The group’s third album features a high school choir, songs in Portuguese and Arabic, and the immense talent of vocalist China Forbes.

4) Black Sugar * Black Sugar – White-hot Peruvian funk from 1971 that’s just recently been reissued on disc. You won’t be sorry…

3) The Black Keys * Chulahoma – This ep features the group doing covers of Junior Kimbrough songs, and ends with his widow praising their efforts on an answering machine message. These six tracks pack a bigger punch than most full-length albums.

2) Iron & Wine * The Shepherd’s Dog – Sam Beam’s (aka Iron & Wine’s) first three albums were all stripped-down, man-and-guitar affairs. Here he adds just the right amount of lush orchestration and cryptic wordplay to create an album that rivals the finest psych-folk albums of the 60′s. Mesmerizing.

1) Various Artists * I’m Not There OST – Hands down one of the best albums of 2007, I’m Not There refracts Bob Dylan’s music through a new generation of artists, including Calexico, Jim James, Iron & Wine, Cat Power, Anthony & The Johnsons, and Mark Lanegan – to name but a half-dozen. Outstanding covers by old-timers like Richie Havens and Willie Nelson tie the generational knot tightly, proving that Dylan will always influence musicians of every age.