Random Notes from a Crank

The BBC has an interesting article about the world's safest countries: "Five of the World Safest Countries for 2025." The article also provide the top ten but just features the top five in detail. 

There were some surprises for me. Neither Norway nor Sweden are in the top ten. Ireland was a bit surprising to me, but Denmark and New Zealand are usually in the top ten of most lists of countries where people are happy and safe. And I've heard good things about Portugal. 

This week's Existential Comic is a good one. It's a commentary on imperialism and the rationales people have used for conquering countries: "The Philosophy of Julius Caesar." 

The character asks a great question of Caesar: "How do you justify it philosophically?"

James McMurtry is a great songwriter. On his most recent album, The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy, he has a song about Pinocchio as an adult: "Pinocchio in Vegas." 

Today is National Dog Day. Treat your dog/s right. 

Music Friday: "South Texas Lawman"

I recently discovered that James McMurtry has a new album out titled The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy. 

I haven't listened to it thoroughly yet, but here's the second tune on the album. 

Music Friday: "Canola Fields"

I missed last Friday's post. It slipped my mind, and I realized it on Sunday. 

I've been so busy with all kinds of crap. 

Anyway, James McMurtry came out with a new album this month titled The Horses and the Hounds. 

Today I'm featuring the opening tune on the album. At first listen, it's a solid album. 

Stay Positive: Five Sad Songs

 I mentioned this in a recent Music Friday post, but after reading Ander Monson's "The Sadnesses of March" in his collection I Will Take the Answer, I thought about the two-person committee's selection of "Here Comes a Regular" from The Replacements. 

I noted another sad song from The Replacements that is an opus of sadness: "Answering Machine." 

I also like sad songs. They make us empathize with the precarious, pathos-laden nature of the human condition.  

So I'm featuring some other sad songs that the committee might want to check out if they ever revive the tournament with songs from different eras. I will note that most of them are about death in some way, so I'm thinking about doing another post of this ilk to focus on sad songs not necessarily related to death. 

"Elephant" by Jason Isbell 

Nothing like a song about cancer to make people cry when he performs this in concert. As is typical of Isbell's fine work, he's a master storyteller. The song's persona is the husband of a woman who has cancer. 

 

Lyrics of Note: "We burn these joints in effigy and cry about what we used to be/ and try to ignore the elephant somehow."

"Puttin' People on the Moon" by the Drive-By Truckers

I thought about a number of songs by DBT to put here, especially from their last few albums that are strongly political, but this is a classic DBT sad song that features healthy smidges of anger and despair. And I like this live version better than the one on The Dirty South.

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Lyrics of Note: "Another joker in the White House said a change is coming 'round./ But I'm still working at the Wal-Mart and Mary Alice in the ground." 

"Ballad of the Dying Man" by Father John Misty

Mr. Tillman is adept at social commentary. I wouldn't call this a traditional sad song, but it's one that makes us think about one's addiction to technology, which harnesses a certain kind of Black Mirror kind of sadness.

 

Lyrics of Note: "What he'd give for one more day to rate and analyze/ the world in his image as of yet/ to realize what a mess to leave behind." 

"Holiday" by James McMurtry

This song is so fitting for the holiday season. McMurtry is one of the finest lyricists alive right now. For me, this tune explicates a regret for people like me who no longer have their parents in this world. Some of my fondest memories are when my large family would get together for Xmas eve. Aside from my personal reaction, the lyrics expose the dread some people have for the holidays and presents images of loneliness.

 

Lyrics of Note: "Silent and shattered and numb to the core,/ they count themselves lucky/ they got through one more holiday." 

 

"Speed Trap Town" by Jason Isbell

Here we go with Isbell again. Like "Elephant," it's a tightly constructed narrative about visiting a father for the last time in an ICU and the persona's decision to leave.

Lyrics of Note: "Drank a cup of coffee by an Indian mound/ a thousand miles away from that speed trap town" 

The reference to the Indian mound reminds of the University of Alabama's Moundville Archeological Park. 

Music Friday: "Bayou Tortuous"

I read somewhere on the InterWebs that James McMurtry might have a new album coming out this year. 

If that's the case, I'm looking forward to it. 

Here's the opening song on Just Us Kids. 

Music Friday: "Fireline Road"

Here's a song with lyrics that'll get your attention. 

A classic tale told by James McMurtry.

Top Twentysomething Albums of 2015

It's that time of the year again.

Like I did in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014, I'm providing my top twenty some albums that came out this year. After the top twenty, there's a list of albums that deserve honorable mention. 

As for the year in music, I see it as a decent year. On a personal level, halfway through the year, my car's cd player malfunctioned, so I've had the misfortune of having to listen to the radio stations around here. iTunes and my iPad have given me solace. 

The year saw some solid albums from artists who have been on my end-of-the-year list before, but there are some new bands featured. 

If there are other albums you would recommend, please let me know in the comments section.

1. Josh Ritter, Sermon on the Rocks

I listened to this album a lot this year. Like his other albums, Ritter puts together interesting arrangements and lyrics. On first listen, some of the songs will surprise you from a musical standpoint. Some sonic curveballs. This is one guy who has the misfortune of not getting noticed enough by the mainstream music scene. If we were still in the 90s, he would have racked up a number of hits. "Getting Ready to Get Down" is one of my favorite tunes of the year. 

Favorite songs: "Homecoming," "A Big Enough Sky," "Where the Nights Goes," and "Getting Ready to Get Down"

2. Jason Isbell, Something More Than Free

Some readers might be surprised that Isbell's album got second on this year's list. He shows off his songwriting craftsmanship again on this album. It's an opus that bears witness to listening to it from start to finish, especially the lineup of songs five, six, seven, and eight in the middle of the album. My only minor complaint is that I want more uptempo, rock-oriented songs. Isbell is a very good guitarist, and I wish he showed that off more often. Still "Speed Trap Town" is the best song of 2015, and in these times it's easy to understand these lyrics from "24 Frames": "You thought God was an architect./ Now you know he's something like a pipe bomb ready to blow./ And everything you built was all for show goes up in flames." 

Favorites songs: "Palmetto Rose," "Speed Trap Town," "24 Frames," and "The Life You Chose"

3. The Bottle Rockets, South Broadway Athletic Club

Huzzah for straightforward rock and roll. As is the band's character, this album gives you the perspective of the everyman, the regular joe who might visit the South Broadway Athletic Club in South St. Louis to watch wrestling matches. Themes include Monday sneaking up on you, just relaxing, building cars, and man's best friend.

Favorite songs: "Building Chryslers," "Big Fat Nuthin'," "Shape of a Wheel," and "Monday (Everytime I Turn Around)"

4. Punch Brothers, Phosphorescent Blues

This outfit has put out albums and EPs at a steady clip over the past few years, which makes me wonder what will happen once Chris Thile takes over for Garrison Keillor on Prairie Home Companion. Regardless, this is a stunning album with the usual intricate arrangements and soaring lyrics. I've sat on the couch and just let the album wash over me. It's something. 

Favorite songs: "Little Lights," "Magnet," "My Oh My," and "I Blew It Off"

5. Chris Cornell, Higher Truth

Soundgarden is one of my favorite bands, and Chris Cornell is one of the major factors why I like the band so much. I only have one other of Cornell's solo albums. I like this one much more. And it's not often you see an artist put out an album with sixteen songs. There's a lot to listen to here. The album's lineup generally alternates between slower and more uptempo songs. It's a fun ride. Lyrics to ponder: "Time ain't nothing if ain't fast,/ Taking everything that you ever had,/ Giving nothing in return but a cold bed in the quiet earth." It's a modern day "Thanatopsis." 

Favorite songs: "Before We Disappear," "Let Your Eyes Wander," "Our Time in the Universe," and "Murderer of Blue Skies"

6. Courtney Barnett, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit

This is a fun record. Though this description could lurch toward an oxymoron, this album could be described as introspectively peppy. Barnett is an Australian singer-songwriter who was recommended to me by a reader of this blog. I guess if people are going to label her work, it could get filed under alternative rock or college rock. The songs certainly have a young person's perspective to them although the lyrics reveal an old soul. 

Favorite songs: "Nobody Cares If You Don't Go to the Party," "Dead Fox," "An Illustration of Loneliness (Sleepless in New York)," and "Pedestrian at Best"

7. Dawes, All Your Favorite Bands

Dawes' fourth album is another strong offering. If you like their sound like I do, you'll enjoy this album. Like Ritter, this band would have done well in an earlier musical era. They compose strong rock-pop musical arrangements and have good lyrics. "I Can't Think about It Now" is yet another song that makes me wish the band had more songs in which Taylor Goldsmith had guitar solos. That song has great lyrics too. 

Favorite songs: "I Can't Think About It Now," "All Your Favorite Bands," "Things Happen," and "Somewhere Along the Way"

8. Langhorne Slim & The Law, The Spirit Moves

Even if you're not familiar with this artist, you've probably heard the first part of one of his songs, "Changes," via a commercial for something I can't remember. Once again, Mr. Slim brings his distinctive voice to the fore often with jangling guitars that remind me of early R.E.M. (to a small degree). The album is gritty, fun, and jaunty. 

Favorite songs: "Strangers," "Bring You My Love," "Southern Bells," and "Spirit Moves"

9. The Bad Plus Joshua Redman

Combine one of the most innovative jazz trios with one of the best jazz saxophonists, and you get a fine album. Pretty simple math.

Favorite songs: "Dirty Blonde," "County Seat," "Lack the Faith but Not the Wine," and "Friend or Foe"

10. Brandi Carlile, The Firewatcher's Daughter

This young lady has some pipes. Offering a mix of rock, country, and bluesy tunes, this album is on par with Bear Creek. 

Favorite songs: "Mainstream Kid," "The Eye," "The Things I Regret," and "The Stranger at My Door"

11. James McMurtry, Complicated Game

The salty singer-songwriter put out another fine album this year. Like Isbell and The Bottle Rockets, he spins narratives about common folks. One of my favorite songs on the album, "These Things I've Come to Know," has the persona talking about and admiring a female bartender. 

Favorite songs: "How'm I Gonna Find You Now," "Deaver's Crossing," "These Things I've Come to Know," and "Carlisle's Haul"

12. Lucero, All a Man Should Do

Some fans of Lucero complain about the band's new sound. I don't. I certainly like the older albums that are gritty and very guitar oriented. But I like the more recent sound (with horns) that Lucero is putting out. I like this album better than Women & Work. It seems like a more complete album. 

Favorite songs: "Can't You Hear Them Howl," "Young Outlaws," "Baby Don't You Want Me," and "I Woke Up in New Orleans"

13. The Yawpers, American Man

This is one of the stranger album covers I've seen in a while. I have very little background on this band, but they play a strong brand of rock ~ no frills, guitar-oriented rock and roll.  They take their name from Walt Whitman's Song of Myself, and their music is reminiscent of "barbaric yawp"s. I'd like to see them perform. I imagine they'd put on a fun show. 

Favorite songs: "Doing It Right," "Burdens," "Deacon Brodie," and "Walter"

14. JD McPherson, Let the Good Times Roll

I got introduced to this artist this year. This is his second album, and it's a raucous, 50s-rock-inspired affair. Good stuff, people.

Favorite songs: "Let the Good Times Roll," "It's All Over But the Shouting," "It Shook Me Up," and "Mother of Lies" 

15. Radkey, Dark Black Makeup

The Wikipedia article on this band describes them as a "garage punk band." That's a fair description of what they do. The band consists of three brothers who were home-schooled in St. Joseph, Missouri. Their first major performance was opening for Fishbone. That's awesome.

Favorite songs: "Love Spills," "Le Song," "Feed My Brain," and "Glore"

16. The Railsplitters, The Faster It Goes

I always have time for some traditional bluegrass, and this album fills that need. The singers have beautiful voices backed by sometimes traditional sounding arrangements. 

Favorite songs: "It's a Little Late," "The Estuary," "Goosetown," and "Tilt-A-Whirl"

17. American Aquarium, Wolves

I've enjoyed AA's raucous rock over the years. Dances for the Lonely and Small Town Hymns are excellent albums. Wolves is a good one though some of the lyrics tend to either complain about the road or discuss personal demons. Those are decent themes, but the former can get tiresome. "Southern Sadness" is one of my favorites: "There's a certain kind of despair/ that hangs heavy in the air./ And everywhere I go I always smell the Piedmont pines./ There's a Southern sadness that won't let go of this heart of mine." 

Favorite songs: "Southern Sadness," "Wolves," "Wichita Falls," and "Old North State"

18. JJ Grey & Mofro, Ol' Glory

If this dude puts out an album, it's highly likely it'll be on my annual list. His soul-rock-funk sound moves me. I wish he'd play the harp more often because he's an outstanding harmonica player. Regardless, it's another fine album by Mr. Grey. 

Favorite songs: "Light a Candle," "Turn Loose," "Brave Lil' Fighter," and "Everything Is a Song" 

19. The Turnpike Troubadours, self-titled

Along with Sturgill Simpson and Hayes Carll, this outfit is one of finest country artists out there right now. There isn't Nashville-inspired pop-country @#$% smeared all over their sound. It's good stuff.

Favorite songs: "Bossier City," "Ringing in the Year," "Down Here," and "The Bird Hunters"

20. Joe Pug, Windfall

It's not that he ever had a weak voice, but on this album Joe Pug's voice sounds stronger. Maybe it's just me. If you like traditional folk-rock songs, this is a good choice.

Favorite songs: "Stay and Dance," "Burn and Shine," "Bright Beginnings," and "Veteran Fighter"

Honorable Mentions

Blitzen Trapper, All Across This Land

Ben Folds, So There

John Moreland, High on Tulsa Heat

The Lone Bellow, Then Came the Morning

Robert Earl Keen, Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions

Death Cab for Cutie, Kintsugi

Jayme Stone, Lomax Project

Gary Clark Jr., The Story of Sonny Boy Slim

Justin Townes Earle, Absent Fathers

Calexico, Edge of the Sun

Craig Finn, Faith in the Future

Music Friday: "These Things I've Come to Know"

A couple of new albums came out this Tuesday. The first is J.J. Grey and Mofro's Ol' Glory. The second album is James McMurtry's Complicated Game. 

I'm featuring a tune from McMurtry's album today, and it's "These Things I've Come to Know." This song reminds me of one of my favorite Jason Isbell tunes, "Streetlights." 

Music Friday: "Too Long in the Wasteland"

I've been in a cranky mood lately. There are various causes for this, which I won't bore you with. 

However, I'll provide a video today from an artist who usually provides a skeptical and cranky view on all manner of subjects. 

Below is James McMurtry and his band playing "Too Long in the Wasteland." 

Music Friday: "Holiday,"

I've featured the work of James McMurtry before on Music Fridays. 

Today's song takes an acerbic look at Thanksgiving. And as I stated when I featured Choctaw Bingo last year, "Dark realism rarely sells." 

"Holiday" is certainly dark and realistic, and I've provided the lyrics below the video.  





Holiday by James McMurtry
The in-laws are waiting; the games have begun.
The cell phone keeps ringing: “Just don’t answer it hon.”
The whole thing’s arranged just to aggravate Dad.
And it’s amateur day on the old super slab.
The kids are strapped down like a half load of pipe,
All safe in their car seats they fuss and they gripe.
Well, you can’t hardly blame ‘em. 
It must be a bitch, counting the crosses off down in the ditch.
This one’s got flowers, this one’s got a wreath,
This one’s got a name painted down underneath.
Was the road all iced up, were they going too fast?
Here’s five in a circle left from the last holiday.

Holiday.

There’s a three-trailer rig just a throwin’ up spray,
Not legal to run on this kind of a day.
But god damn the smokies and the four wheelers too.
Stay offa my bumpers, or the same goes for you.
Because they'll be none for him,
He that wants it the most
As he hauls it on out to the Oregon coast.
No turkey, no gravy, no Zinfandel wine,
You stay off to the right, and we’ll get along fine.
He’s missing the football, missing the fun.
He’d play with the grandkids, but he’s off on a run.
And some hat’s on the radio singing his song.
But it don’t make a damn--
He’s in for a long holiday.

Holiday.

Now granny she’s yelling,
She’s ready to eat.
She’s havin’ conniptions
‘Cause they won’t take their seats.
But she’s got ‘em all gathered now under one roof.
With her camcorder loaded,
She’s gonna get proof.
But do you have to wear that,
Well I just don’t see why,
Please pass the potatoes,
Aw eat shit and die,
Did you hear about Ellen, she’s leaving, you know
How ‘bout those Packers, think it’ll snow?
And the minute it’s over they’ll scatter like quail
Off down the freeway in the teeth of a gale.
Silent and shattered and numb to the core,
They count themselves lucky
They got through one more holiday.

Holiday.

The highway patrolman,
He stands in the rain.
He just lets it run down to soften the stain
Of the blood on his pant leg
From working that wreck.
And he won’t forget it
In time for the next holiday.

Departing Chicago at 9:52
In clean desert camo, all baggy and loose,
Sits an Iowa Guardsman alone by the gate.
The place sure looked different in 1968.

When he traveled with mom, first time on a plane,
To visit some kin, he’s forgotten their names,
But he remembers the soldiers, still in their teens
In their spit polished shoes and their pressed army greens,
With the creases so sharp, and their faces so smooth,
But their eyes looked so heavy, he wondered how they could move.
And now he’s got that same look, like his insides are black.
He’s in his mid-forties, and he has to go back.
And he can’t even smoke while he waits for his plane.
The uniform’s different, but the mission remains:
To do like they tell you, don’t make a fuss,
Why’s not an issue, so don’t think too much,
You just do what you have to, shut up and drive.
If you come apart later, well at least you’re alive.
You can get you some help, you can deal with it then,
And life will be better ‘til it happens again

‘Cause there’s something inside us that won’t let us be.
It stalks through our days ‘til it’s too dark to see.
And it’s damn near as deadly as Texans on ice.
Lord don’t they beat all.
Y’all have a nice holiday

Holiday. 

America's "Fiercest Songwriter"

For whatever reason CNN did a short feature on James McMurtry on Monday.

It's neither long nor detailed, but it showcases his no nonsense, acerbic ethos. At least there's that.

When I get to thinking about the shallowness of the piece, at least going by his song lyrics, I think I can channel what McMurtry might say about the CNN piece: It exemplifies the lack of depth produced by the corporate media outlets.

Infotainment.

In somewhat related matters, I doubt FoxNews will ever do a short feature on McMurtry because he's been particularly critical of a fellow "Texan," George W. Bush. For example, see "Cheney's Toy."

Other than the annoying question I'm sure he has to answer all the time about his famous father, there wasn't a lot of discussion about McMurtry's influences, his long and distinguished career, his own musical style, and his lyrics that provide social commentary and sometimes dark humor about the American human condition.

From what I recall, the article I linked to in a Music Friday post in 2010 does a much better job of profiling the artist.

Music Friday: "Choctaw Bingo"

This song by James McMurtry, the son of Larry McMurtry, isn't really about bingo much at all. It's about a family reunion narrated from the point of view of someone who is anticipating the event.

As he sings, "we're gonna have us a time."

McMurtry deserves more critical attention. I don't know why he hasn't garnered more. Maybe it's because his songs are dark and realistic commentaries on the American experience like "I"m Not From Here," "Out Here in the Middle," "Hurricane Party," "Holiday," "Too Long in the Wasteland," and "We Can't Make it Here," which I featured on a Music Friday back in September.

Dark realism rarely sells.

In this song, one of his "hits," McMurtry pulls off song lyrics that string together feeding kids vodka on a car trip, perhaps a mail-order bride, "a great big ol' blue cat," Uncle Slayton cooking up meth instead of making moonshine, an interstate smoke shop, a fatal car wreck, high school football in Texas, a couple buying rifles and handguns with ammo, Rolling Stones lips outside a lingerie store, the narrator being attracted to second cousins in Daisy Dukes, his imagined boner, his uncle filching people with bad credit, and the uncle drinking at a gentlemen's club.

As you can tell, he sees the world through dark lenses.

Music Friday: "We Can't Make It Here"

I'm in a grouchy mood this morning, and one of the musicians who best channels my inner grouch is James McMurtry.

Click HERE for the dark and insightful "We Can't Make It Here."

And if you're interested in reading an article in Garden & Gun about Mr. McMurtry, click HERE.