Showing posts with label Hayes Carll. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hayes Carll. Show all posts
Aug 30, 2012
On Twitter and Musicians - by Mike Brooks
How does one work this Twitter thing? I am way outside the age demographic chronologically, and relatively new to the medium. I have found amazing resources and bands, no shortage of assholes and a bunch of acronyms I don't understand.
The ability to interact with an artist is great! However, I can't help feeling slighted when I see a tweet from a person I follow answering a question I have asked previously without a response.
I'm not talking about Gaga or Beiber not responding to my "go away" requests. I don't follow people with millions of followers, which is sad because those I follow IMO deserve them.
It is such a rush when an old man like me, that had lost all faith in music, gets a "thanks" from @hayescarll, or when @jasonisbell and I share a Clarence Carter reference. My highlight this year was @bonniewhitmore telling me I should come to her birthday show!
Chad Sullins, Blackberry Smoke, C-leb and the Kettle Black...Wow...way to make an guy feel like he is part of it. @USaquarium, I would never have found out about the band were it not for Twitter.
Of course, my iTunes account has not been the same since @twangnation!!
Keep us fans in mind, you artists and bands. After all, we think you are looking directly at us individually at the Shows, and in my case, you have read my diary before you wrote the songs.
I'm building you fans in Canada..hoping to drag you here...hey...maybe we can hangout!?
@1960Strat
Jul 6, 2012
Mar 19, 2012
Country Stars With F'ed Up Teeth: Texas Edition
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| Eli Young |
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The Rankin Twins
|
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| Hayes Carll |
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| Jack Ingram |
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| Rich O'Toole |
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| Ali Dee |
Dec 29, 2011
FTM 101 Best Albums of 2011: 1-50
My tastes were more oriented towards roots-music this year than any in recent memory and The Damn Quails put out a stunning debut that satisfied my yearnings like no other. The unique voices of Bryon and Gabriel combine for divine harmonies and their writing is the class of contemporary bands that fall into the "red dirt" scene, or nearly any scene for that matter. There isn't a weak song on the offering and what's more, nearly every tune spent time lodged in my brain on replay at one point or another. Brilliant work, epic even. Best songs: All of them, but if you must have 1 or 2 …"Fool's Gold" and "Mary" always slay me.
Wrapped around the undeniable song of the year, "Codeine," is an album that more than pulls its own weight. Isbell fans may have hoped for something louder, but what they got was an artist-defining gem of a southern rock and soul record. Strong lyrics, excellent musicianship and plenty of easy-to-love melodies make this an album most anyone can appreciate, and true music lovers will adore. Best tracks: Codeine, Alabama Pines.
The boys went and growed up on us. While Hellbound Glory is still infatuated with the darker subjects - addiction, dysfunctional families and death, in particular - their songwriting has improved a great deal since their last album. Not that it was ever bad. It's just that this time around the songs are better developed. The hooks are hookier and the subject matter comes across more naturally - it no longer feels like they're trying to shoehorn in every deviant behavior and curse word they can, just because they can. This is a band on the rise and with material this good, they may eventually break down the wall between alt and country. Best tracks: Better Hope You Die Young, Knocked Off the Horse.
What else is there to say about Hayes? Rapier wit. Songwriting that recalls the greats of country and folk music. Memorable, affable voice. Actually has something to say. Just enough weirdness to keep him a little mysterious. Check, to all of those. This guy's the real deal; one of the few artists I'll buy an album from without hearing a single note. He never disappoints, never rests on his accolades. Thanks for another winner, Hayes! Best tracks: Another Like You, Chances Are.
Jimbo calls this "catfish music," and I see no better way to describe it. Confederate Buddha is a melting pot for southern music - R&B, rock, folk, country and swamp soul, all mixed, matched and sifted out at different times on the record. Mathus' writing is in turns poetic, straight-forward or abstract, all expertly crafted and emotionally performed. Best tracks: Cling to the Roots, Aces and Eights.
Bonnie Raitt, Janis Joplin and Neko Case in a blender vocals. Transgendered Hayes Carll songwriting chops. That was weird. …this album is great.
Best tracks: Are You Ready to Die, Hell's Bells
The in-demand producer of #6/former hair band member/former 90's alt-rock band, the jack - nay master - of all trades turns in this hook-driven smorgasbord of power pop, hard rock and jangly country-flavored rave-up goodness. This album alongside #8 would make a killer party soundtrack. Best tracks: Synthesizers, Suckerpunch
If this is a sellout, I wish every artist who's been accused of such had such a well-done betrayal of ideals. The Black Keys expand their blues rock sound to (bluesy) glam rock and power pop without missing a step or making it sound contrived. Sometimes you just need to turn off your inner-critic and enjoy. Fun, fun, fun! Best tracks: Gold on the Ceiling, Nova Baby
Adele somehow straddles the huge divide between modern pop and "old people" soul music with great success. Even the songs that lack lyrically are made great by Adele's huge (but never diva-esque) voice. There hasn't been an artist in some time that brought together so many people in mutual admiration. This is a chick album that dudes can be unashamed to love. It's an old-school album that kids can groove to. Excellence. Best tracks - Rolling in the Deep, Someone Like You.
Sounding like the Black Crowes by way of Muscle Shoals, Ponderosa is a super-talented band of southern rockers who mostly steer clear of the clichés of the genre. Kalen Bush's lead vocals are stirring and the harmonies take their sound over the top. Ponderosa isn't reinventing the wheel here, but what they do, they do very well. Best tracks: Old Gin Road, Devil on My Shoulder.
13. Stoney Larue - Velvet
15. Ryan Adams - Ashes and Fire
16. Pistol Annies - Hell on Heels
17. Wilco - The Whole Love
18. Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears - Scandalous
19. Mastodon - The Hunter
20. Will Hoge - Number Seven
22. Miranda Lambert - Four the Record
23. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
24. Justin Haigh - People Like Me
25. Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, Ultra
26. Frank Turner - England Keep My Bones
28. Bon Iver - s/t
29. Sunny Sweeney - Concrete
31. Bad Meets Evil - Hell (The Sequel)
32. Left Lane Cruiser - Junkyard Speed Ball
34. Big KRIT - Return of 4Eva
35. The Decemberists - The King is Dead
36. F*cked Up - David Comes to Life
37. Merle Haggard - Working in Tennessee
38. Eli Young Band - Life at Best
39. Adam Hood - The Shape of Things
41. Glossary - Long Live All of Us
43. Blitzen Trapper - American Goldwing
44. Dawes - Nothing is Wrong
45. Cody Canada and The Departed - This is Indian Land
46. The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow
47. George Strait - Here for a Good Time
48. Robyn Ludwick - Out of These Blues
50. Jason Boland and the Stragglers - Rancho Alto
Dec 23, 2011
Jun 8, 2011
Mar 31, 2011
Best Songs of 2011: 1st Quarter Report
Click the song titles to listen.
(tie) Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Codeine (free & legal mp3 download of this song at the link)
3. Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears - She's So Scandalous
4. Hayes Carll - Bottle in My Hand
5. Left Lane Cruiser - Pig Farm
6. Chris Young - Tomorrow
7. Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin'
8. Alison Krauss & Union Station - My Love Follows You Where You Go
9. Austin Lucas- Thunder Rail
10. Ponderosa - Devil on My Shoulder
11. Sunny Sweeney - Staying's Worse Than Leaving
12. Amos Lee - Flower
13. Drive-by Truckers - Mercy Buckets
14. John Popper & the Duskray Troubadors - Champipple
15. The Decemberists - Don't Carry It All
Jan 6, 2011
YouTube Gems: Hayes Carll
From his upcoming album KMAG YOYO (& Other American Stories), here's the fantastic Hayes Carll with "Hard Out Here."
Aug 16, 2008
Based on what you've seen here, you probably think I hate all music, but that's not true. I live, breathe and love music. I even dig many of the artists I make fun of (not you, R Kelly). Anyway, as another non-humor aside, here are my top 30 albums of '08 to this point. Feel free to chime in with your faves.
1. Drive-by Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark
2. Kathleen Edwards - Asking For Flowers
3. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
4. Hayes Carll - Trouble in Mind
5. Jamey Johnson - That Lonesome Song
6. Sun Kil Moon - April
7. Reckless Kelly - Bulletproof
8. Fleet Foxes
9. Justin Townes Earle - The Good Life
10. The SteelDrivers
11. Mudcrutch
12. Drag The River - You Can't Live This Way
13. Vampire Weekend
14. Aaron Watson - Angels and Outlaws
15. Damien Jurado - Caught In The Trees
16. The Black Crowes - Warpaint
17. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III
18. Paul Thorn - A Long Way From Tupelo
19. Candlebox - Into the Sun
20. Old 97s - Blame It On Gravity
21. Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers - Turbo Ocho
22. Langhorne Slim - s/t
23. The Black Keys - Attack and Release
24. Nada Surf - Lucky
25. Snoop Dogg - Ego Trippin'
26. Chris Mills - Living In The Aftermath
27. Trent Willmon - Broken In
28. R.E.M. - Accelerate
29. George Strait - Troubadour
30. Alan Jackson - Good Time
And I just got Chris Knight's "Heart of Stone" in the mail so it'll certainly be on this list soon.
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