Favorite Albums of '09 - First Quarter Report

Click on underlined artist names for their Myspace pages to listen! (Ben doesn't have a solo Myspace, but you can listen to samples on the Amazon link)

Feel free to comment on any of these, or to suggest some other great albums of early 2009!

1. Ben Nichols - The Last Pale Light in the West
A collection of gritty narratives based on Cormac McCarthy's gore-soaked epic, "Blood Meridian," it's as passionate and powerful as anything I've heard this year (and much of last), despite the narrow focus. I'm a huge fan of Ben's full-time gig, Lucero, and looking forward to their major label debut later this year, but it'll have to really be something to top this.
Prime track: "Toadvine"

2. Justin Townes Earle - Midnight at the Movies
This is the one where son overtakes father. Justin's warm, reedy vocals and classic country sound with a modern feel make this quite an engaging album.
Prime track: "Mama's Eyes"

3. The Gourds - Haymaker!
Ridiculously fun as always, but the song-craft never suffers for the sake of party and vice versa. Not quite up to the high bar set by their previous release, Noble Creatures, but still a very strong effort.
Prime track: "Shreveport"

4. Phosphorescent - To Willie
A loving ode to a legend. Nelson's songs retold through a filter of reverent indie folk sound great and remind you that Willie's not just an entertainer and troubadour, but a songwriter of the highest order. Phosphorescent's not bad either, putting their own stamp on the songs, not just performing rote covers.
Prime track: "The Last Thing I Needed (First Thing This Morning)"

5. Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels
An indie-folk band with some of the most beautiful vocals you'll ever hear, Great Lake Swimmers take a step in a new direction on this outing, upping the tempo a bit and eschewing the stripped down approach for an array of new instruments, to nice effect. "Pulling on a Line" is my favorite song of the year thus far.

6. Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Metal! Smart, masterfully technical and fairly innovative, but still headbangingly hard, Mastodon's beast of a record should appeal to fans of anybody from Iron Maiden and Metallica to Coheed and Cambria. Great music for working out, or washing the dishes.
Prime track: "Oblivion"

7. The Deep Dark Woods - Winter Hours
Prime track: "All the Money I Had is Gone"

8. Scott Miller - For Crying Out Loud
Prime track: "Sin in Indiana"

9. Eric Church - Carolina
Prime track: "Where She Told Me to Go"

10. Strand of Oaks - Leave Ruin
Prime track: "End in Flames"

Fun With Charts & Graphs

JR's Songwriting Tip of the Week #3

You need to think about who you're writing for - the singer or group that will perform it. Like when I wrote "Mississippi Girl" for Faith Hill, which was like, her massive #1 comeback song... anyway, I knew my subject... she's a lil country girl from Star, Mississippi, where they only wear ballcaps and frequently ride their kids around on their backs because there's nothing else to do. And Faith's career had fallen off so bad, man, she was probably on her way to working at a nail salon or something until I brought her back onto the map. -JR


Not actually written by John Rich. Please don't assault me, John.

Badass-o-meter 2

Click for a closer view.

Kenny Chesney Parody

Living in Bass Ackwards
(Parody of Kenny Chesney's "Living in Fast Forward")

The body's a church house, well most of them are
But I've treated this 'un like a trashy strip bar
Gap-toothed blonde dancers and loud Motley Crue
My mama would beat me but she ain't got a clue

I been livin' in bass ackwards
Bud drinkin' sadsack out of control
I'm living in bass ackwards
Now I need to get off parole

My bar tab is up, my hair's matted down
Under trailer arrest on the outskirts of town
I worked at the Quik-Mart, until they caught me
Scratchin' off lotto, stealin' skin magazines

I been livin' in bass ackwards
Bud drinkin' sadsack out of control
I'm living in bass ackwards
Now I need to get off parole

I'm always runnin'
Police are comin'
I've been on Cops, yeah it's true
And the way that I'm headed
Might end up dead if
It's left up to my I.Q.
Uh huh ...

(Repeat Chorus 2x)
Yeah I need to get off parole
Oh, I still got two trials to go