Best of 2009 So Far: June

I just started listening to the new Buddy and Julie Miller and it's great so far... but it didn't make the cutoff for this chart. Take a good look and see what you think might interest you that you haven't heard or purchased yet... this chart will come into play over the next couple of weeks.

1. Son Volt - American Central Dust*

2. Ben Nichols - The Last Pale Light in the West

3. Charlie Robison - Beautiful Day

4. Justin Townes Earle - Midnight at the Movies

5. Slaid Cleaves - Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away

6. The Devil Makes Three - Do Wrong Right

7. Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears - Tell 'em What Your Name Is

8. Deer Tick - Born on Flag Day

9. Steve Earle - Townes

10. Wilco - Wilco (The Album)*

11. Phosphorescent - To Willie

12. Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels

13. Roman Candle - Oh Tall Tree in the Ear

14. John Moreland & The Black Gold Band - Endless Oklahoma Sky

15. Ryan Bingham - Roadhouse Sun

16. The Deep Dark Woods - Winter Hours

17. Todd Snider - The Excitement Plan

18. Holly Williams - Here With Me

19. The Gourds - Haymaker!

20. Mastodon - Crack the Skye

21. Wayne Hancock - Viper of Melody

22. Eric Church - Carolina

23. The Fox Hunt - America's Working So We Don't Have To

24. Strand of Oaks - Leave Ruin

25. Doug Paisley - s/t

26. The Extraordinaires - Electric and Benevolent

27. Scott Miller - For Crying Out Loud

28. Dale Watson - The Truckin' Sessions (v.2)

29. Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit - s/t

30. Terry Anderson & The Olympic Ass Kickin' Team - National Champions

*Due for release Tuesday

Darius Rucker Parody

All White

(parody of Darius Rucker's "Alright")

All white, all white,

Yeah, it's all white, all white

Don't take a Sherlock observation

To see the difference that's so well defined

My workplace lacks diversity

Been like that, don't ya know, since the days of Patsy Cline

You can throw a dart and hit the same skin tone

Sometimes it makes a brother feel mighty alone

Cause I've got some shade here in my skin,

But the industry that I'm workin' in

Oh, it's all white, all white

Now I've got boots under my feet

And the whole music chart except for me

It's all white, all white

Just check out CMT

Yeah, it's all white but me

It's no big deal, no, to me it ain't no drama

That I'm an anomaly yes it's true

If not for Charley, I'd be Obama

But the bigs have pride in me as long as I pay dues

Now that I'm well on my way to being a star

I wish Coe'd stop telling me to park his car

Oh, I've got some shade here in my skin,

But the industry that I'm workin' in

Oh, it's all white, all white

Well I've got boots under my feet

And the whole music chart except for me

It's all white, all white

Just check out GAC

Yeah, it's all white but me

It's all white but me, yeah yeah

When I look out at crowds there's just one thing missin'

Nobody in the audience can dance in rhythm

Oh, I've got a whole bunch of melanin,

But the industry that I'm workin' in

Oh, it's all white, all white

Well I've got boots under my feet

And the whole CMA show but me

It's all white, all white

Check out Walmart CDs

Yeah, they're all white but me

R.I.P. MJ

Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was the first album I ever owned. Loved it. Still do. I'm gonna do my best to remember him for stuff like that. Farewell to a genius performer and creator of great pop music, regardless of the negatives that went along with him.

Fun With Charts & Graphs: Relative Size Chart #5

Click for a closer view.

____Deserves a Sackpunch #3

Anyone Who Doesn't Like Music

In college, during my junior and senior summers, I worked at a state park on the landscaping crew. My supervisor was a hilariously cranky old guy named Buddy who shared my tastes in jokes, professional wrestling... and not much else. We got along fine, but the first day I hopped in his truck in my gray state issue t-shirt and torn up jeans, headed to a campsite to weed-eat, I found out our biggest difference. I reached over to flip on the radio to listen to the latest 90's hat act on the local country station and he said "Eh Ehhhh... I don't like music." "Come again?" asked me, confused by his foreign words. "I don't listen to music" he repeated. "Umm, okay Buddy..." I trailed off, rolling down the window to listen to the slap of road seams against the balding tires. I dealt with the situation respectfully, because I needed that 5.75 an hour to take my woman out to Jake and Rips and The Sportscenter and keep gas in my Corsica. In my mind though, I was delivering Buddy a tightly clenched fist into his groin area with all my might. I mean, he was cool and all, but who doesn't like music??

I still run into people now and then who claim to not care for music. What? Why? Do you not have a soul? What say you?

"I don't have time" you say. Don't have time to breathe? That's what it would be like for me to go without music. I'm addicted, admittedly, but I listen to music probably at least 50% of my waking hours so I can't fathom its absence. Sure, silence is cool.. and rare, but since it's darn near impossible to find silence, I'd rather have a tune going than listen to machines running, cars driving, people complaining and all the other parts of the din of everyday life. There are 24 hours in a day, there's plenty of time.

"Music sucks now" you say. Wrong answer. Most of radio music sucks now, but music doesn't. Do you have internet access? If not, your local library will happily hook you up with some online time as long as you haven't been abusing your privileges. With that tool, tool, you can find any kind and quality of music you desire. There's still tons of good new albums being released - in every genre. In fact, I'd say the last 5 years of non-mainstream music has been flat out excellent. Heck, listen to the old stuff again... it's still great. It doesn't spoil. There are at least 4 oldies stations on my dial and I live in a fairly small metropolitan area. Or maybe, get your ears checked. That could be the problem. Or ask the devil for your soul back. If not, keep quiet around me, or risk an eyewateringly painful sackpunch!