Unpopular Opinion: David Bowie Is Just Ok

One of the girls I dated for a while in high school was a huge fan of David Bowie.

Critics and fans often describe him as a "genius" and consider him one of the best and most prolific musicians of all time. 

I never really felt that way at all. I never bought any of his albums. His music was all right I guess, but it never moved me. I mean the Ziggy Stardust alterego was interesting I guess. 

But I've never been a huge fan of pop music except for some of the alternative stuff in the 80s and 90s. 

So as for David Bowie, he's just ok. 

Unpopular Opinion: The Lyrics of Bon Jovi Suck

I was listening to the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame SiriusXM channel the other day, and a Bon Jovi song came on. 

I immediately turned the channel. 

Bon Jovi's lyrics are terrible. 

It's like the dude picked a bunch of cliches and patched them together. It's just bad writing. 

Take, for example, the lyrics of one of the band's biggest hits, "You Give Love a Bad Name."

Here is a list of tired cliches from that song:

• shot through the heart
• you're to blame
• you give [insert noun here] a bad name
• put me through hell
• loaded gun
• nowhere to run
• damage is done
• play my part
• play my game
• blood red
• school boy's dream

I could go on and on, but I'd rather not analyze more bad lyrics. 

Listeners should demand better songwriting. 

Unpopular Opinion: No Doubt Was Not a Good Band

I'm trying out a new feature for this blog. I'm calling it the "unpopular opinion" feature. 

I love the music of the 90s. I had a lot of fun in the 90s. I graduated high school in 1989 and was in a college environment throughout the decade. And the decade featured some great music when Mtv was still playing videos and "alternative" rock and grunge were king. 

No Doubt, however, never jived with me. I like bands with female lead singers, but I don't think Gwen Stefani is that great. 

To me, No Doubt was just a white bread rip-off of Fishbone. Stefani even admitted that she took her fashion cues from Angelo Moore. And they did the ska-rock thing to a certain extent. 

When one of their songs comes on any of the SiriusXM stations I listen to, I'm very likely to turn the channel. Their songs do nothing for me. 

No Doubt was not a good band. 

My Top Twenty Jason Isbell Songs Prior to Reunions

In anticipation of Isbell's Reunions dropping on Friday, I've seen a number of articles that rank his top twenty songs. 

Of course, musical tastes vary, so the lists have some sleepers, but they also tend to favor slower odes that are introspective. I like those. They are powerful, no doubt. 

I, however, tend to lean toward more rock-oriented songs, so I will just get that bias out of the way. 

Here are my top twenty Isbell songs, and I am not including any songs from Reunions. 

20. "Different Days"

Isbell is a master at presenting narratives of characters we might not focus on. The persona looks back at himself while considering how he would have interacted with a stripper. 





19. "24 Frames"

One of my favorite lyrics is "You thought God was an architect./ Now you know/ he's something like a pipe bomb/ ready to blow./ And everything you built that's all for show/ goes up in flames/ in twenty-four frames." 





18. "Cover Me Up"

The opening tune of Southeastern is a favorite of many Isbell fans if you go by the lists that travel about the InterWebs. It's about recovery and beautifully arranged. It's a solid song. 





17. "Stockholm"

A song about a Swedish city. But it's really about missing a girl. 




16. "Grown"

This song off his first album is sorely under appreciated. It's a tight narrative about a young boy having feelings for an older woman. "Are you still dancing to 'Purple Rain'?" "You taught me how to lust." 




15. "Dress Blues"

This tune was a staple of his early shows, and I suspect he still plays it. As most people know, it was written for his friend who died overseas, which he relates at the start of this video. 





14. "The Life You Chose"

This is a great song about coming back and realizing things are different and regret. In two stanzas he references "Jack and Coke" and The Bell Jar. The man is obviously well read. 





13. "Alabama Pines" 

The jangly guitar riff sets the tone well, and Shires' fiddle works as a backdrop on this tune. To me, it's a song about loneliness. It's a pleasant ear worm. 




12. "Outfit"

I had to get this tune in the top twenty. I debated between this song and "TVA," but this is one of my favorites. This song features good advice from Dad. 




11. "Songs She Sang in the Shower"

This is another underrated song in his catalog that showcases his wry wit. He incorporates Monty Python's "Bring Out Your Dead," for God's sake. 




10. "Never Gonna Change"

This is one of the stronger songs on one of the best ever Southern rock albums: The Dirty South. 





9. "Streetlights" 

This tune has always captured me: a guy sitting at a bar, closing it down, wondering what happened to a lass he wants, and then stumbling back to where he's gonna crash. I guess I can relate. 





8. "Elephant"

I remember when he tweeted about writing this song. As he's stated before, you know it's a powerful song when people cry when hearing it in concert. "We burn these joints in effigy/ and cry about what we used to be./ Try to ignore the elephant somehow./ Somehow..." 





7. "White Man's World" 

A fitting and poignant rumination on white privilege. 





6. "Soldiers Get Strange" 

Of the trio of songs about veterans, this is my favorite. As he stated when I saw him in concert years ago, it's a song about PTSD. 




5. "Stopping By" 

It's a great song about something many people deal with: an absent parent. "I think the best of me is still standing in the doorway." 





4. "Speed Trap Town"

This tune weaves a tightly knit story about loss. At the end when the persona wakes up next to Indian mound, I always think about Moundville, AL. 




3. "Goddamn Lonely Love" (Live from Alabama version)

This is one of his songs that will be played at my funeral. "The sun's a desperate star that burns like every single one before." 





2. "Relatively Easy"

In times like these, you got put things into perspective. 





1. "Hope the High Road"

Whether you agree with statements in the song or not, it's a hell of a tune. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I discovered a new word that I need to employ more often in my vocabulary: Blatherskite. Its definition is "a person who talks at great length without making much sense." 

That's a solid description of Moscow Don. 

I got it from an article in the May issue of Harper's by Thomas Frank: "The Pessimistic Style in American Politics: And Its Eternal War on Reform." 

For someone like me who is rather particular about the type of toilet paper his family uses, people hoarding TP angers me. I'm a regular user of Cottonelle and Quilted Northern, but those brands are rarely in stock at my local supermarket unless I go early in the morning. The highbrow Aldi brand TP gets the job done, but it is not as comforting on the nether regions as the aforementioned brands. 

This weekend apparently was one that The Spectrum on SiriusXM featured Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks songs. Fleetwood Mac is highly regarded band from critics, but it was never a group I got into. 

Their tunes are all right, but they are not one of those bands or artists that make me turn the channel like Aerosmith, the Eagles, and Journey. 

In an interview in Esquire, Jason Isbell mentioned Neutral Milk Hotel, a band that made two highly acclaimed indie rock albums in the 90s. That's a band that I need to check out, which sent me to Amazon Music to listen to the album In the Airplane Over the Sea. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I'm starting to follow Premier League football, so I'm trying to decide on a team to support. In a recent FB post, I queried people on teams that I might support. Initially I thought about following Arsenal, but I found out that the Rams owner also owns Arsenal, so I ruled out that team. 

I've whittled it down to three teams:

• Tottehnam Hotspur
• Wolverhampton Wanderers
• Liverpool

I'm leaning toward the first two. As superficial as this sounds, I like Tottenham's colors and the bird emblem. But I also really like wolves, which is the nickname of Wolverhampton. 

I've been watching the hell out of Bosch on Amazon prime. I usually like a good cop drama, and Bosch is a solid offering. I like the lead actor, Titus Welliver, who plays Harry Bosch, but I only remember him from his past performance as a minor character on Deadwood. 

There are so many good TV series out there to watch via Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon that my book reading is suffering.

I finally finished Punisher, but I still need to get back to The Umbrella Academy and finish that series. 

I started watching the old series Justified with Timothy Olyphant, a series I half-heartedly watched when it aired. I will say that the Nazi/white supremacist crap in episode 1 turned me off considering the current times and occupant of the White House.

As I was walking the dog the other day, I thought about one of these hypothetical questions that sometimes rambles through my brain. My thought was about the icons of classic rock and which artist I could not do without. 

To me, there are four major classic rock icons from the 60s/early 70s era: 

• The Beatles
• The Rolling Stones 
• The Who
• Jimi Hendrix

Of those four, I was thinking about which artist I could not do without. 

This is probably not the most popular pick, but of those four, my favorite artist is Hendrix. I have just always been drawn to his blues-influenced rock. I like all of those four of course. They are incredibly influential bands. But if I could only have one in my musical rotation, I'm going with Jimi. 

I used to listen the hell out of the Beatles, Stones, and The Who though. When I was younger, I taped Beatles LPs from my siblings' collections and got them on cassette tape. I had a number of number of The Who albums on cassette, and I listened to the Stones Greatest Hits album a ton. 

If you drop a penny one day and know you dropped it but didn't pick it up, and if the next day you pick it up, can you say the rhyme and get good luck? Asking for a friend...

Stay Positive: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Last summer when we were in Ohio for my daughter's national dance competition in Sandusky, Ohio, we took a trip to Cleveland and had the pleasure of touring the Rock and Roll Hall of Hame. 

It was a fun experience. In fact, if I'm ever in the area again, I'd like to tour that place again. What follows are some photos/highlights from the trip. 

The front entry when we were there featured recent inductees, of which was Pearl Jam, one of my favorite bands. 

Next is Vedder's notebook, which shows a draft of "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town," aka "Small Town," from Vs.

And here's Vedder's vintage typewriter. 

The museum also had a feature exhibit on Mellencamp. Here's a draft of one of my favorite songs of his, "Longest Days."

Of course, they also like to feature the famous attire of the stars. Below of two of Hendrix's fly outfits. 

And what we have here is a draft of the famous "Purple Haze." 

Of course, guitars are going to be featured. It is the rock and roll hall of fame after all. 

Here is the late Chris Cornell's Les Paul. 

That one above and the one below, Cobain's,was in the case featuring Grunge. 

 

Here's one of Marvin Gaye's smooth-ass jackets.

And of course, the Beatles were featured prominently later in the museum. Here's McCartney's jacket from the early days of the band and Lennon's famous t-shirt. 

It was also awesome to see Muddy Waters's guitar and Bootsy Collins's bad-ass bass. 

Ringo's drum kit was one of the few kits featured when we were there. 

At the very end the Hall of Fame featured bands from the Midwest, which there were a lot. One of the highlights of that display for me was the demo tape from The Replacements. Lay it down, Clowns. 

Random Notes from a Crank

On Sunday the Nasty family was at a performance hall on the campus of Logan University (a chiropractic college). It was an all-day affair because my daughter danced in the early afternoon, and her last dance was in the last session because she's in a duet. The theater where we watched the dance competition is very nice. 

But I have one major gripe. The place didn't have any public water fountains. And I wasn't about to buy any bottled water because bottled water is a scam. 

I hereby propose that any public or private facility built in the future must have public water fountains. Access to clean water should be a universal human right. 

Speaking of dance competitions, I would bet someone a pretty good sum of money that dance competitions will always have at least one of these musical choices: the song "Jet Set," a song from Hairspray, a Michael Jackson number where dancers dress like him, a song from Annie, or a song from Chicago. 

If I had the means, I'd be investing big-time into a legalized sports gambling venture since the Supreme Court has legalized sports betting. 

The article "Power Shift: Fracking Changed Everything. Now What?" by Glen Martin is worth a read if you care about the future of energy. It's a substantial long-form article that takes a realistic look at energy production. 

Music Friday: "Brighter Days"

This fine tune came across my iPod on shuffle this afternoon. 

It's a great track from the first album. 

Random Notes from a Crank

In a recent Grist "Briefly" article, I learned that Volvo is going to be the first big automaker that is getting rid of the internal combustion engine. In two years, the only new cars the company will roll out will be electric. 

In other good news featured in "Briefly," an appeals court is at least slowing down MoscowDon's EPA decision to gut regulations about methane. 

James Hohlman in The Washington Post shows how MoscowDon's asinine "Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity" is not only nonsense but also an attack on the values of some real Republicans: "Principled Conservatives Show Federalism Is More Than Just a Talking Point by Rejecting Voting Data Requests." 

Our new car, a family edition (has a third row if desired) Nissan Rogue, came with SiriusXM radio, so when I get to drive the car (it is Mrs. Nasty's primary car), I like to explore the radio stations they offer. For the most part, I've settled into a number of "Rock" stations that I alternate among: The Spectrum, Lithium, Alt Nation, First Wave, Pearl Jam, E Street, and Underground Garage. I also listen to Real Jazz, Bluesville, Outlaw Country, and Bluegrass Junction from time to time. 

I wish they offered some kind of "Americana" music station. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam wrote "Bushleaguer" about Generalissimo Dubya. I wonder if he's working on any song/s about Moscow Don? 

Mrs. Nasty got a new car, and it has Sirius XM radio. I was pleasantly surprised to see that under the rock category there's a Pearl Jam radio along with stations devoted to Springsteen, Tom Petty, and some station that presents live performances often from "jam bands." I hadn't listened to Yonder Mountain String Band and moe in a good while. 

Swedish officials mocked Moscow Don's bullshit. Check out this article from The Guardian. It's not surprising that 45 takes his policy nonsense from FoxNews because he's unlikely to read anything that has depth and decent analysis. We now have a country being steered by the crap presented by FoxNews. Margot Wallstrom is smart as a whip: “Both functioning democracy and constructive cooperation between states require us to speak with, and not about, each other, to honour agreements and to allow ideas to compete. They also require us to respect science, facts and the media, and to acknowledge each other’s wisdom.”

The former prime minister tweeted this: “Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound." I doubt Moscow Don is a smoker of Mary Jane, but it wouldn't surprise me if he did or does cocaine (remember all that sniffing during the debates?). Regardless, the real drug is the programming on FoxNews. 

And here's an article of real journalism from the Washington Post that shows that crime is not on the rise in Sweden and Germany. Facts vs. Bullshit. Link: "Here's What's Happening There." 

Random Notes from a Crank

Amid all the gnashing of teeth because of Clinton's emails, the whole deal reminds me of the millions of emails that were conveniently deleted during Generalissimo Dubya's regime: "The George W. Bush Email Scandal the Media Has Conveniently Forgotten" from Salon & "Bush Advisors' Approach on Email Draws Fire" from the New York Times. 

Which leads me to this satirical take about why certain people dislike/don't trust/hate Hillary Clinton: "All the Terrible Things Hillary Clinton Has Done - In One Big List." 

Regardless, both cases make me think about how the justice system is rigged for wealthy individuals with connections. 

Nontheless, I'd rather vote for the Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson than Trump. 

My favorite candidate is Jill Stein, Green Party presidential candidate, but I'm still voting for Hillary. 

I'm behind on getting some new music. The Avett Brothers and Sarah Jarosz have new albums, and I'm intrigued by the new album by Sarah Watkins. 

This article will make you think differently about the hot dog. But why do the good ones taste so damn good? 

I've only read two of of Philip K. Dick's novels, The Man in the High Castle and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, both of which I enjoyed immensely. I had heard he had a troubled background as many artists do, and a new book uncovers his troublesome life. "Philip K. Dick's Divine, Amphetamine-Fueled Madness" sheds some light on the author. It's adapted from the writer's full-length book. 

This morning I was looking at a piece of art from another troubled artist, Jackson Pollock. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Austin City Limits hasn't been doing much for me lately, but the latest episode introduced me to a band I had never heard before, White Denim. It's like Southern-tinged prog rock. Me like. 

Lately I've been thinking about either-or decisions/dilemmas:

• Cleaning the bathroom vs. cleaning out the garage
• Explosive diarrhea vs. talking about religion with your mother-in-law
• Explaining what an agnostic is vs. explaining the Gospel of Thomas and why it didn't get into the Bible to a conservative Christian
• Vodka vs. Rum (both are really poor choices)
• Keg stand vs. beer bong
• Donald Trump vs. Ross Perot
• The tax-exempt status of churches vs. corporate welfare
• Listening to someone talk about his or her love for Wilco vs. Listening to someone talk about his or her love for Taylor Swift 
• Someone making comments about teachers getting the summer "off" vs. someone making comments that it's the teacher's fault, not the student's
• Calling someone out on their underlying racist comments vs. calling someone out on their underlying sexist comments

Election season is fast upon us. My fantasy is that Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic nomination, Bernie Sanders runs as an independent, Donald Trump runs as an independent, and whichever clown they choose wins the Republican nomination. I don't know who I would bet on if I had money to bet. 

I belong to a mass group on Facebook called "You Might Be From Waterloo/Cedar Falls Iowa If Your Remember..." A recent post talked about Bishop's Buffet at Crossroads Mall. My parents and I ate at that place all the time. We were regulars. It was one of those old style cafeterias. You'd slide along your tray and pick out what you want. The line would begin with salads. Then it would be desserts and breads. Then you'd turn, and next were entrees followed by sides and drinks. It was a good place to get my pie fix taken care of. Below is a three-part photo array of the place. 

This photo below is from after they renovated, maybe sometime in the late 90s. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Lately I've been thinking of some statements people say all the time that don't have any real counters, any opposites that make sense. For example, here are some statements people would likely never say:

• I love needles. [counter of the often said, "I hate needles."]
• It's the heat, not the humidity.
• I enjoy standing in line. [which reminds me of a humorous story about a guy whose hobby is "queuing"]
• I wish this meeting could go longer. 
• You need to think inside the box [I might actually use this one because I despise the cliche, "thinking outside the box."]
• We need to be retroactive.
• It is what it isn't. 
• Take the low road.
• I don't teach or believe in critical thinking.
• Let's go find my future ex-wife. [I think I've actually said that, however.]

The Nasty household has gotten back to making popcorn the old fashioned way. I use a cast-iron Dutch oven, use three tablespoons of veggie oil, and a half cup of popcorn kernels. Good stuff, people. 

After the watching the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame induction/performance, I promptly got myself a couple of new CDs: The Essential Bill Withers and Green Day's American Idiot. 

The TV channels I frequent often have pecker-pill commercials on them, and I mute them with the kids in the room. Who wants their kids to hear about "erections" and "erectile dysfunction"? Regardless, I'm worried that after seeing so many commercials about erectile dysfunction that I'll suddenly catch it like the commercials with sultry 40some women could spread ED like a communicable disease. 

Top Twentysomething Albums of 2014

It's that time of the year again.

Like I did in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013, I'm providing my top twenty 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, from my perspective, this year didn't produce the quality of albums that I have gotten accustomed to from the past few years. Maybe it's just my personal music tastes, but the previous four years seem stronger in quality and quantity. 

That's not to say these twensomething albums aren't good. They are. However, there weren't many albums that really blew my doors off. 

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

1. Drive-By Truckers, English Oceans

DBT is somewhat cursed by their past success. While The Big To-Do and Go-Go Boots have a number of solid songs on them, Truckers fans are prone to think about the glories of Pizza Deliverance, Southern Rock Opera, The Dirty South (which I would argue is the band's best album), and Decoration Day. Fortunately, this year saw a DBT album that offers a roughly equal number of Cooley and Hood songs. I like that change because I've always felt Cooley has been under-appreciated as a lyricist. 

When I first made a draft of the top albums, I had this album further down the list. Then I listened to it a bit more and moved it up to 1. "When Walter Went Crazy," "The Part of Him," and "Pauline Hawkins" have become three tunes to add to my favorite Patterson Hood songs. "Grand Canyon," written for one of their friends who passed away, is majestic. Cooley's "Primer Coat" is a sober recognition of the passage of time. 

Favorite songs: "Seeing Jimmy Loud," "Primer Coat," "When He's Gone," "Grand Canyon," "The Part of Him," and "When Walter Went Crazy"

2. The Hold Steady, Teeth Dreams

It was good to see this band come out with a solid album this year. I liked Craig Finn's solo effort, but I prefer the more raw, straightforward rock-n-roll of THS with Finn's narrative-based lyrics. "Big Cig" is one of my favorite songs of this year. Some of the songs aren't as brawny as what I consider some of the band's classics like "Stuck Between Stations," "Chips Ahoy!," "Constructive Summer," "Sequestered in Memphis," and "The Sweet Part of the City." However, the band provides a strong offering here, a well rounded album. 

Favorite songs: "Runner's High," "Oaks," "On With the Business," "I Hope This Whole Thing Didn't Frighten You," and "Big Cig"

3. Centro-matic, Take Pride in Your Long Odds

I am a big fan of the band's previous album, Candidate Waltz. But this one has really stuck with me. It's been a go-to listen since I picked it up. It's just a solid album of Centro-matic doing their Centro-matic things. I rarely can figure out what the heck Will Johnson is singing about, but the arrangements and melodies are addictive and hypnotic. 

Favorite songs: "Through the Fog, Then Down," "Salty Disciple," "Academy of Lunkers," and "Cynthia Glass"

4. Hard Working Americans, self-titled

So Todd Snider, Dave Schools (bassist of Widespread Panic), Neal Casel (guitarist of the Chris Robinson Brotherhood), Chad Staehly (keyboardist of Great American Taxi), and Duane Trucks (drummer) got together and created an fine album of covers. Check it out. Support these hard working Americans. 

Favorite songs: "Stomp and Holler," "Straight to Hell," "The Mountain Song," "Welfare Music," and "Run a Mile"

5. Foo Fighters, Sonic Highways

I got sucked into this album because I started watching their HBO show that showcased them recording the songs at famous recording studios. As the show makes us want to believe, they would go to a certain city, talk to influential people there, lay down the tunes, and then Grohl would pen lyrics based on the time spent in the location. I don't know how accurate that method is, but I don't see why they would lie. They might fudge the truth a bit, but Sonic Highways is strong hard rock album with songs that become pleasant ear worms. 

Favorite songs: "Something from Nothing" (about Chicago), "I Am a River" (about New York City), "Outside" (about Joshua Tree, CA), and "Feast and The Famine" (about D.C.)

6. Tom Petty, Hypnotic Eye

The past couple of years I've gotten back into Tom Petty and his fine Heartbreakers. Hypnotic Eye is a solid rock album. It didn't generate the hits like his old albums did, but now is a very different music industry/environment. "Forgotten Man" is reminiscent of a Bo-Diddley riff. "American Dream Plan B" provides some social commentary. And "Fault Lines" reminds me that I'm a  middle-aged man.

Favorite songs: "Forgotten Man," "All You Can Carry," "Fault Lines," and "American Dream Plan B"

7. Various Artists, Dead Man's Town

Yep, that's right. A tribute album to Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. Younger artists take on these iconic songs and make them their own. Joe Pug's rendition of "Downbound Train" is excellent. Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires start off the album with a justly somber and haunting "Born in the U.S.A." Blitzen Trapper has fun on "Working on the Highway." And a band I didn't know about before I got this album, the Quaker City Night Hawks, provides a fabulous cover of "Darlington County."

Favorite songs: Ones mentioned above plus "I'm Going Down" by Trampled by Turtles" and "I'm on Fire" by Low. 

8. Nickel Creek, A Dotted Line

The band got back together and put out A Dotted Line this year. As for Thile's outfits, I prefer the Punch Brothers over Nickel Creek. If you like their work from the early aughts, you'll enjoy this one. It's a return to form although "Hayloft" seems a bit experimental. 

Favorite songs: "Elephant in the Corn," "21st of May," "Elsie," "Hayloft," and "Destination" 

9. John Mellencamp, Performs Trouble Now More at Town Hall

If you like Trouble No More, and I really do, then you'll really like the live album of the songs performed in 2003. There are also revised versions of "Paper in Fire," "Teardrops Will Fall," "Small Town," and "Pink Houses." 

Favorite songs: "Stones in My Passway," "Paper in Fire," "To Washington," and "Down in the Bottom"

10. Bruce Springsteen, High Hopes

Since Mellencamp came in at 9, I might as well follow it up for another aged rock star. Apparently, the skinny on this album is they recorded a bunch of songs that he and the E Street Band usually play live. It has a live vibe that makes me disappointed that I've never seen Springsteen in concert. Tom Morello was part of the recording of this album and he also was part of the tour. So the album presents a significant revision of "The Ghost of Tom Joad" since Rage Against the Machine revised it. 

Favorite songs: "High Hopes," "American Skin (41 Shots)," "Just Like Fire Would," "Hunter of Invisible Game," "The Ghost of Tom Joad" 

11. John Fullbright, Songs

Fullbright's debut album, From the Ground Up, is so outstanding that it was going to be difficult to live up to those lofty expectations. Songs is a slower moving affair than the first album, with only a few songs with drums on them. I prefer his more uptempo tunes. However, there are solid, introspective tracks on this album. 

Favorite songs: "When You're Here," "Never Cry Again," "Going Home," and "The One That Lives Too Far"

12. The Bad Plus, The Rite of Spring

I was between either putting up this album or the band's other one, Inevitable Western, that came out this year. One of the best jazz trios out there takes on Stravinsky's famous work, an opus that people consider to one of the most influential pieces of music in the 20th century. The Bad Plus is considered to be experimental by some jazz purists, so it makes sense they reinterpreted this classic work that was seen as experimental in its day. Well done.

Favorite parts: "The Augurs of Spring," "First Part: Adoration of the Earth: Spring Rounds," and "Second Part: The Sacrifice: Sacrificial Dance" 

13. St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Half the City

If you're looking for some good old fashioned soul music, you need to get this album. These fellows from Birmingham (AL) do it right. The lead singer's voice reminds me of Otis Redding, and Redding is easily my favorite R&B/soul singer. Fun arrangements and soul butter slappin' you upside the head. 

Favorite songs: "It's Midnight," "Half the City," "Like a Mighty River," and "Call Me"  

14. Justin Townes Earle, Single Mothers

For me, because Harlem River Blues is such a strong album, it's difficult for subsequent JTE albums to impress me. I like this one better than the last, and I look forward to the follow up to Single Mothers, which is titled Absent Fathers. This album is standard JTE and worthy of the top twenty of 2014. 

Favorite songs: "Time Shows Fools," "Wanna Be a Stranger," "My Baby Drives," and "Single Mothers"

15. Keb' Mo', Bluesamericana

I hadn't bought a Keb Mo album in a good while. This year's album got good reviews, so I picked it up. Though it's a bit too polished for my taste at times, he offers a strong set of songs on this album. If you're hankering for some blues, this was a good option this year. On some songs, such as "Old Me Better," there are ragtime influences. 

Favorite songs: "Old Me Better," "The Worst Is Yet to Come," "Do It Right," and "Move"

16. The Secret Sisters, Put Your Needle Down

Their debut album was widely lauded by critics. I think their sophomore album is even stronger. In contrast to the old timey feel of the first album, these songs sound more original and a bit more dark. Nice work, ladies.

Favorite songs: "Black and Blue," "Rattle My Bones," "Let There Be Lonely," and "I Cannot Find a Way"

17. Trampled by Turtles, Wild Animals

The bluegrass dudes from Duluth scored another fine album this year. In comparison to other releases, Wild Animals is, in general, a slower paced affair. But it's good. 

Favorite songs: "Western World," "Are You Behind the Shining Star?," "Repetition," and "Winners"

18. Sturgill Simpson, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music

I don't have Simpson's first album, but this album is a definite breath of fresh air for country music. It contrasts, thankfully, to the bro-country offerings of schmucks like Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, et al. This is country music that's old school, and that's a very good thing. 

Favorite songs: "Life of Sin," "Turtles All the Way Down," "It Ain't All Flowers," and "Living the Dream"

19. Counting Crows, Somewhere Under Wonderland

Yes, these guys are still around. I hadn't bought one of the band's albums since Hard Candy (2002). I doubt any of these songs were big hits on the charts like how the band captured the music industry's attention with August and Everything After, but if you yearn for good poppy rock music, this album is worth your time. 

Favorite songs: "John Appleseed's Lament," "Scarecrow," "Dislocation," and "Palisades Park"

20. The Barr Brothers, Sleeping Operator

If you missed their first album, you should start with that one. Sleeping Operator is a good second offering, but I think I could sum up this album in one word: atmospheric. It's a good listen if you're in the mood for that kind of music. 

Favorite songs: "Valhallas," "Even the Darkness Has Arms," "Wolves," and "Static Orphans"


Honorable Mentions

The Bad Plus, Inevitable Western

Delta Spirit, Into the Wild

The Afghan Wigs, Do To the Beast

Rod Picott, Hang Your Hopes on a Crooked Nail

Shovels and Rope, Swimmin' Time