I've really fallen down on the blog lately. I usually try to update my Music category with recent purchases but I've been too busy. So here are some a acquired a while back. At least I'll be able to comment on the "staying power" of each release.

Blood of the Ram, The Gourds. This could be my favorite Gourds album yet. Too many favorite tracks to mention. Still too difficult to categorize. Medium-high on the staying power meter.

Buttermilk & Rifles, Kev Russell's Junker. Russell is the front man for the Gourds. This is a side-project of his and includes folks from the Gourds as well as others. It's at least as obscure as any Gourds release and equally entertaining. Again, medium-high on repeat listens.

Kimi Ga Suki * Raifu, Matthew Sweet. Back in the 90's I was a hardcore Matthew Sweet fan. Then at some point (maybe Son of Altered Beast) I dropped him. When he reappeared on the Jayhawks' Rainy Day Music release I started wondering what he's been up to so I bought this album. It was originally only released to his Japanese fan club. It is outstanding. I'm so glad I got it. The guitarist from Girlfriend (one of the greatest pop albums ever) is back on this album but only a couple of tracks remind me strongly of Girlfriend. Medium staying power.

Welcome Interstate Managers, Fountains of Wayne. I got hooked on Fountains of Wayne back in the 90's when I saw them open for someone who's name I no longer recall. Like Matthew Sweet, Fountains of Wayne is pure pop but I can't get enough of them. With their intelligent (sometimes corny) lyrics I tend to lump them into the Weazer/Ben Folds bucket. I had to send Bright Future in Sales to all of the folks in Business Development at Navigator because I thought they might find it motivational. High repeat plays. I went for a week straight listening to nothing but this album.

The Dirty South, Drive-By Truckers. This is my most favorite recent addition. My friend, Dave, had been recommending these guys to me for a while and I just never got around to pulling the trigger. I'd call it a hard-driving "southern rock" album. If I had a pick-up truck I'd throw a keg in the back and drive to the nearest lake with this album playing full blast. If that doesn't sound appealing you might want to skip this one. Off-the-chart on repeat listens. Co-workers are getting a bit tired of this as I "always" have it in the changer. "Oh yeah, these are the Lynyrd Skynyrd guys..." 

Broke Down, Slaid Cleaves. This is a follow-up purchase to Wish Bones. As I mentioned this is another Dave recommendation confirmed by hearing Meredith Miller's cover. I like the album--I'm just not crazy about it. I just can't get into Slaid for some reason. Out of this batch, this is definitely the one with the least number of re-plays. 

9:47:17 PM    

Drag It Up, Old 97's. Solid Old 97's. I thought they had broken up and that I'd never see another album so I was happy to get this one. My favorite line on the whole album is from Bloomington, which is, "The existence of God was confirmed / by the way she unfolded herself alongside / and I tried to harden up my heart / but she wouldn't let me."

OCMS, Old Crow Medecine Show. The surprise hit of this particular Amazon order. I had heard Wagonwheel on Prairie Home Companion and thought it was great so I ordered the album. It was better than expected. It's essentially bluegrass but just calling it bluegrass doesn't do it justice. Many (most?) of the songs on the album are traditional songs that they've re-arranged and even added their own lyrics to. Wagonwheel, a Bob Dylan tune they've augmented, gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. I recently went to Amazon with the intention of buying everything else they've ever done but couldn't find anything other than OCMS.

Revolution Starts Now, Steve Earle. If it is possible, this album is even more political than Jerusalem. Home To Houston is a cool song about a contractor driving trucks in Iraq. Rich Man's War is about how countries tend to send their poor to fight. Warrior is a poem (about war) spoken over crunchy guitar riffs. Condi, Condi is a calypso love song to a certain cabinet member. And F The CC is aimed at not only the FCC but the CIA and FBI. So it's not hard to tell what's been on Steve's mind of late. I like the album but I don't think it's my favorite Steve Earle.

Wish Bones, Slaid Cleaves. My buddy, Dave, to whom I can never offer a music recommendation for which he isn't already on top of has been trying to get me to listen to Slaid and go to his shows for a long time. So I broke down and threw it in the cart. I'm glad I did. He's got a good voice and is a good storyteller. Instrumentally, there's nothing unique or noteworthy (that I've picked up on) but I still like it. His best known single, Broke Down, is from a previous album. I've actually never heard him sing it but Meredith Louise Miller covered it at a private benefit concert a few weeks ago and I really liked it. It made me want to get Slaid's version.

Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Alejandro Escovedo, Various Artists. I like my Alejandro CD's but they aren't albums I can just leave in the player and listen to all of the time. There's no doubt he's a great writer but the music itself doesn't grip me for some reason. This tribute album was put together to help him with medical costs as he undergoes treatment of Hepatitis C. I figured if I liked his writing maybe it'd be cool to have a bunch of covers by some of my favorite artists. And the line up is stellar. Some of my favorites are on here: Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Jayhawks, and Son Volt--they got back together to cut this track and then decided to do another album. This was a good way to hear other artists, get exposure to older Alejandro material I've never heard, and help a good cause.

New Roman Times, Camper Van Beethoven. Prior to this album, the only thing I really knew about Camper Van was their big hit Matchstick Men from the 80's/90's and that members of the band started Cracker. When I saw they came out with their first album in twenty years I decided to give it a shot. At first I was a little worried. The opening sounds like one of those big 20 piece rock bands like Yes or something. Then, I checked out the liner notes and noticed that the album tells a story--the notes help you figure out what's supposed to be happening with each song in case you can't figure it out for yourself. Being a new Camper Van listener I have nothing to compare it to. Other than the instrumentals, which I'm just not a fan of in general, I like the album. The story gives it an interesting twist that makes you want to listen to and appreciate the album as a unit rather than pick apart each song which is a tendency I worry about in the age of 50 cent/track song downloads.

10:10:08 PM    

Stadium Blitzer, The Gourds. Not my favorite Gourds album, but then again, I probably haven't given it a fair shake yet.

Shinebox, The Gourds. Excellent bluegrass cover of Snoop Dogg's Gin & Juice. Shockingly enough to my friends at work, I had never actually heard the original. I've since corrected that.

Near Truths & Hotel Rooms Live, Todd Snider. If you've never seen a Todd Snider show you should. He's an extremely talented songwriter and pretty hilarious in-person. The CD captures a bit of what that's like--great songs and funny--sometimes lengthy--stories in-between. A bunch of us recently got together to go see him at Club Dada but that night there was a huge storm. Todd was trapped in Houston. We made the best of it, though. The road manager sold me a copy of his new one, East Nashville Skyline, and we convinced the sound guy to throw it in. I had already listened to my pal Jim's copy so I already knew the words to greats like The Ballad of the Kingsmen and Iron Mike's Main Man's Last Request. I, along with a good chunk of his loyal Dallas following, had planned on singing along with Todd but the weather and the Wright Amendment put an end to that.

White Blood Cells, The White Stripes. I think I like Elephant better, but it is hard to go wrong with the White Stripes. It's a nice change from my usual alt-country fare.

9:32:45 PM    

Stone, Steel, & Bright Lights, Jay Farrar. A great live album featuring mainly stuff from Terroir Blues and Sebastopol plus two covers. It also comes with a DVD called Live at Slim's that contains 11 live songs (including both covers).

A Ghost is Born, Wilco. I love it. What can I say that hasn't been said by countless music critics. One of my favorite aspects of it is the harsher guitar solos spread throughout the album.

Upside Downside, Scott Miller and the Commonwealth. Scott Miller is the former frontman from the V-Roys. The V-Roys are great so I knew I'd like it. I also bought Thus Always to Tyrants. I haven't yet listened to the latter but I like Upside Downside. Patty Griffin sings backup on a couple of tracks.

Blue Sky, Bottle Rockets. I liked it from the first track, Lucky Break. It's about a guy who's thankful he's suffered an on-the-job injury because he gets to collect workers' comp. There are a couple of tracks sung by Robert Kearns. Good songs but I prefer Brian Henneman's distinctive vocals. Robert was not on the album 24 Hours a Day. I'm not sure when he was added to the lineup.

Next in the To Be Listened To stack are two 1998 releases from The Gourds, the new live album from Todd Snider, and the White Stripes' White Blood Cells.

10:34:05 PM