Again, this is my list. Any CD released from November 1, 2010 to October 31, 2011 are eligible. To be considered a CD, it must be greater than 30 minutes.

With that being said, here’s my Top 10 for 2011, in order

1. Ollabelle – Neon Blue Bird
2. William Elliott Whitmore – Field Songs
3. Amos Lee – Mission Bell
4. Tim Easton & THe Freelan Barons – Beat The Band
5. Bobby Long – A Winter Tale
6. Lydia Loveless – Indestructible Machine
7. The Decemberists – The King Is Dead
8. Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
9. Shane Sweeney – The Finding Time
10. The Horrible Crowes – Elsie

The Next 10:

11. Over The Rhine – The Long Surrender
12. Eleanor Friedberger – Last Summer
13. Dum Dum Girls – Only In Dreams
14. Phantods – Creature
15. Neil Taylor – No Self Control
16. Cowboy Junkies – Sing In My Meadow
17. Florence + The Machine – Ceremonials
18. Sarah Jarosz – Follow Me Down
19. Ryan Adams – Ashes & Fire
20. Paul Tabachneck – Here Goes Nothing

For those beneath the 30 minute time limit, i.e. the EP’s just not long enough to include … here are my top five:

1. Mikey Chuck Rivers – Last Night’s Beer
2. Strangers in Daylight – Strangers In Daylight
3. Enemies! – Enemies!
4. Erica Blinn – Eric Blinn EP
5. The 2011 Collected singles of Colin Gawel & Lonely Bones

Just Missed My List For one Reason or Another … they were in the mix all year, but just didn’t cut it when the final list was played.

Wilco – The Whole Love
Adele – 21
Kasey Chambers – Little Bird
Lenny Kravitz – Black & White America
Fiest – Metals
Colbie Caillat – All Of You
Neil Taylor – No Self Control
Wild Flag – Wild Flag

After reading other’s blogs and top lists, here are the CDs others are raving about I flat out didn’t like:

The Black Keys – El Camino
M83 – Hurry Up We’re Dreaming
Kate Bush – 50 Words for Snow
Gillian Welch – The Harrow and the Harvest
Bon Iver – Bon Iver

Things that came out too late to give a fair shake to but will probably be in my Best of 2012 list:

Red Wanting Blue – From The Vanishing Point
Micah Schanbel – I’m Dead, Serious

Becasue of work or my not knowing they were released or things I didn’t get to listen to yet for one reason or another …

Glossary – Love Live Us All
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Here We Rest
Amanda Shires – Carry Lightning
Kasey Anderson & The Honkies
Theressa Anderson – Birds Fly Away

Things I don’t consider:

Live albums
Greatest Hits collections
Box Sets
Things that have a majority of previous-released material or re-issues, otherwise Father’s Children would have been on the big list.

That’s my list. Did I miss something? Agree? Disagree? Let me know.

It really comes down to the money.  I used to get a lot of bang for my buck with you. In fact, when I started, we’re talking songs were as low as 17 cents … based on how I purchased and paid … and there were lots of other options.

Lots of great music at cheap prices … albums as low as $3.00 and exclusive tracks that nobody else had, not to mention that there were bands that nobody else had in a digital format.

Then, as you grew, you got more expensive .. but you were still the best bargain around … even at 40 or 50 cents, you were great.  Your catalog was expanding, your exclusive tracks and impressive collections of whole discographies were amazing to me.

Then you had to big-time us.

Adding Columbia and RCA and all sorts of major labels that, quite frankly, none of us wanted.  As a bunch of introverts who would stare at our own shoes, mixed with the occasional extrovert who stared at other people’s shoes, we wanted our indie rock legal, and cheap.

We wanted Ryan Adams, not Bryan Adams.  Bruce Cockburn, not Bruce Springsteen.

The final straw, though, was switching from download credits to actual cash … I’d rather get my 30 credits at 50 cents a month than a flat out $12 dollars and 89 cent songs.

You’ve become Amazon without the selection. iTunes without the iPod. I see you heading down the same road as the download services once offered by WalMart and Sony and Napster … you went from a niche player that ruled your market to the smallest fish in your pond.

And I’m taking my tackle box and leaving.  Good luck to you.

Two Cow Garage – Sweet Saint Me

Once again, this band blows me away by constantly and consistently upgrading the quality of their music.  2010 was a HUGE year for this band from Columbus, Ohio … from bassist Shane Sweeney discovering the joys of fatherhood to Micah Schnabel releasing a solo album (see “When The Stage Lights Go Out” below for more on that) to blowing up SXSW and leading an impromptu parade through Comfest and two tours that crossed the country, these boys were never home.  Now that the line-up is complete and they’ve been playing together for two complete albums now, Cody Smith (drums) and Andy Schell (keyboards) round out the amazing sound of the fifth full-length release from the best band you’ve probably never heard of.

Highlights: Jackson, Don’t You Worry; Sweet Saint Me; What Dying Is For; Brothers In Arms

http://www.twocowgarage.com

#2 .. only because #1 was so great:

The Madison Square Gardeners – Taste The Thunder & Tune It Up, Dime It Out

Released as two separate EP’s in 2010, the six-track “Taste The Thunder” and the five-song “Tune It Up, Dime It Out” make a terrific 43-minute trek through the greatness of this band. Aaron Tasjan’s lyrics continue to grow and I’d listen to Rich Hinman play me anything on that slide lap steel guitar he has.  They’re spending December recording new tunes and playing a residency at Rockwood 2 in New York City; and I can’t wait to hear what goodness comes out of these sessions.

Highlights: Blessing; Shoe Gaze Band; Everybody’s Girl; Cross The Line; Love’s The Only Way

http://www.facebook.com/madisonsquaregardeners

The rest of the Top 10 … in no particular order:

David Ford – Let The Hard Times Roll

My favorite troubadour is back again with thirteen more tunes that have been in heavy rotation in my iTunes/iPod since earlier this summer.  He’s had some problems with his record companies seemingly closing up shop overnight, but continues to putting on shows, working his way across America and his native UK.  The lyrics keep getting better, starting with the CD’s first song, “Making Up For Last Time” and “Nothing At All” … introspective, outlandish and socially commentary all at the same time.  It’s nice to see him continue to evolve and keep his fires burning.

Highlights: To Hell With The World; Making Up For Lost Time; Nothing At All; Hurricane

http://www.davidfordmusic.com

Semi-Precious Weapons – You Love You

I was hesitant to put this on here because it contains four previously released songs from their two independent releases, but they’re still opening for Lady Gaga, they’re still delivering the glam and the glitz and showbiz to people who either love them or hate them.  The new material is good, I really love “Leave Your Pretty To Me” … in the words of frontman Justin Tranter, “The Midwest loves a fucking power ballad.”  Same with “Look At Me” … but “Sticky With CHampagne” and “Statues of Ourselves” are just kick-ass fun tunes about living a rock-n-roll lifestyle on the glamour side of the tracks.  Subtlety is not his strength, so listener beware!

Highlights: Look At Me; Statues of Ourselves, Put A Diamond In It; Her Hair Is On Fire (2010)

http://www.semipreciousweapons.com

Mary Chapin Carpenter – The Age of Miracles

I’ve been an MCC fan going on 20 years now (thanks, neighbor who turned me on to her) and am glad she continues to make great American music that’s no longer classified as ‘country’ … it’s more folk, alt-countrish … what we now call Americana.  This 13-song collection features a lot of stripped down acoustic tracks that let her voice, and her lyrics, shine.

Highlights: I Have A Need For Solitude; We Traveled So Far; The Way I Feel; Zephyr

http://www.myspace.com/marychapincarpenter

Gaslight Anthem – American Slang

It’s not as great as their first release, “The ’59 Sound” … but it still has been rocking my world. They’re so throwback to when all you needed was three verses, a bridge, a catchy chorus and a great hook and riff. This album brings all that.  From the title track to “The Queen of Lower CHelsea” to “Old Haunts” …. there are tracks here that will stay with me my whole life.  “I called for my father but my my father had died. And you told me fortunes in American slang.”  … fucking genius.

Highlights: American Slang; We Did it When We Were Young; Queen of Lower Chelsea; Boxer

http://www.gaslightanthem.com/

Chumbawamba – ABCDEFG

Say what you will about how tired you got of “Tubthumping” … you still sing it.  That was really NOTHING like the band is about (as the disappointing album sales to folks who love/loved that song show). I’ve played songs of this CD for people and they all say the same thing … “I like this, who is it?” followed by “Really? I never would have guessed that.”  They’re really rather mellow and fun to listen to. This album includes such fun songs as “Torturing James Hetfield” by forcing him to listen to their greatest hits album (to which Hetfield sings along); “Dance, Idiot Dance” and “The Same So-So Tune” … none of which have any resemblance to “Tubthumping” …

Highlights: Torturing James Hetfield; Dance, Idiot, Dance; Singing Out The Days; Missed

Cee Lo Green – The Lady Killer

I had no real desire to listen to this CD … a friend asked me if it was on my pirate sites … so I broke all sorts of international copyright laws and downloaded it for her.  After I delivered said pirate CD she asked if I had listened to it .. I said “No, I’m not a fan of Gnarls Barkley.”  She gave me the STFU look and said, “You really need to listen to this.”    So I did.

And then I decided that Cee Lo Green was the love child from an orgy of The Temptations, Gladys Night, Aretha Franklin, all the original members of Chicago, Earth Wind and Fire, and several members of the Pips.  It’s all sorts of 70′s soul and the Motown sound mashed up with all that’s good about today’s rap/R&B that doesn’t involve autotune.

Yeah, I was floored.

Highlights: Fuck You; Satisfied; I want You; Fool For You; Wildflower

Victoria Vox – Exact Change

Step by step, left right left, this CD just hooked me with the multitude of hooks in songs, choruses, bridges and verses in a way that no other album did in 2010.  Victoria’s approach to songs, songwriting, singing and performance blew me away when I saw her in Columbus. She’s a blast to watch live for both the ukulele and mouth trumpet.  She love you. And she sings songs in French.  Without surrendering to invading German armies.

Highlights: Oh I Wonder; Technicolor Way; Make  A Mess; Shake It Up; Shake It Up

http://victoriavox.com/

Patrick Park – Come What Will

I don’t know how or where this CD came into my collection … all I know is it really blasted me out of some unhappy mindframes to some happy mindframes.  That’s what I love about music .. that ability to transform my mood from shitty to perfect with just a guitar and some words.  “You Were Always The One” is my song of the year for 2010 … because … well … yeah … it so fits my life and makes me smile. Because I found my one. And lost her. And found her again. So yeah … when he sings this, I get it:

“Now mistakes it’s true I’ve made more than a few
and I’m goin to make many others
And it’s hard to see why we go through this sometimes
All the things that we do to each other
And I don’t understand while I play these games and I trade the truth for lies
Cuz you’re always the one I was looking for babe, it just took time to realize”

Highlights: You Were Always The One; You’ll Get Over; Silence and Storm; Starry Night

http://www.myspace.com/patrickpark

Bonus CD:  Emma Pollock – The Law of Large Numbers.

She’s Scottish. She writes killer lyrics. She sings like she’s chasing Satan back to hell to take over. She doesn’t give a shit what you think.  I wanna have her babies. That’s why she gets the Bonus CD

Highlights: I Could Be A Saint; Letters To Strangers; House On The Hill; Hug The Piano

The Next Ten:

Doug Keith – The Lucky Ones

Dar Williams – Many Great Companions

Bookmobile – The New Patriot

British India – Avalanche

Ed Kowalczyk – Alive

Steven Page – Page One

Spoon – Transference

The Hold Steady – Heaven Is Whenever

Kings of Leon – Come Around Sundown

Lady Antebellum – Need You Now

I mention this because they’re playing three times in Ohio (and once in PA) in the next two weeks with Stone Temple Pilots.

Tuesday, August 17, Columbus at the LC (Outdoors)
Sunday, August 22, Cleveland at the Tower City Pavilion
Wednesday, August 25, Cincinnati at the PNC Pavilion
Saturday, August 28, Pittsburgh, First Niagra Pavilion

You know you like STP … so go early and give Cage The Elephant a chance to blow you away … or check back early next week for a review and some killer photos from my friend Meghan Ralston from http://www.photolosophys.com!

Doug was a member of The Gods Hate Kansas … which I tried to research but couldn’t find … so I don’t know what kind of punk music they played, but Doug Keith’s solo album “The Lucky Ones” … which comes out in March,  is a great collection of Americana. Nice use of strings, acoustic and electric guitar and both simple and complex arrangements.  I’m particularly digging “We Left Everything” which just builds throughout the entire song both musically and lyrically and is perhaps the best song on the CD to lead the album.  Other favorites are “Arms Heavy” and “The Lowest Low.”

Feel free to download (for FREE)  “The Lucky Ones” in MP3 format (right-click / save as) and give Doug Keith a listen … and then decide if you’re ready to get out of the snow and into some hot indie rock, you can check him out Wednesday in Pittsburgh at Howler’s Coyote Cafe, 4509 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh; or Thursday at the Treehouse, 887 Chambers Road in Columbus.

Complete Tour Dates:

02/10: Pittsburgh, PA @ Howler’s Coyote Cafe
02/11: Columbus, OH @ The Treehouse
02/13: Ann Arbor, MI @ Hathaway’s Hideaway
02/15: Chicago, IL @ Quenchers
02/16: Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews
02/17: Champaign, IL @ Aroma Cafe
02/18: Indianapolis, IN @ Lazy Daze Coffeehouse
02/19: Lexington, KY @ Common Grounds
02/20: Louisville, KY @ Sunergos Coffee
02/22: Winston-Salem @ Wake Forest Radio in studio session
02/22: Winston-Salem @ The Garage with Della Mae
02/26: Greensboro, NC @ The Green Bean with North Elementary
02/27: Chapel Hill, NC @ The Cave with North Elementary

(For the record, I’ve listed in them alphabetical order by artist first name. Because I’m weird like that. You are free to format your list any way you want it.  A lot of this stuff I found on eMusic … send me an email and I’ll hook you up with 50 free DRM-free MP3 downloads just to try it out. And, yes, eMusic has changed their policy … most single albums with 12 or more songs are now 12 credits and they’ve added bands like REM and Springsteen and lots of mainstream stuff.)

Anyway … here’s my list. And if you read carefully, you’ll find I did pick one favorite, despite not wanting to rank albums this year. It was *that* good I couldn’t resist.

Angel Taylor – Love Travels

iTunes • eMusic • Amazon

This popped up as a suggestion from an eMusic friend based on some things in my list. I’ll admit when I was listening to the previews it really hit me as a “wow can this girl sing”  … then when I got into the album it was like “WOW … this girl CAN sing!”  Although it is mostly mainstream pop, the lyrics are great and it’s fun to listen when you’re in the mood for love songs and straight out pop music. She’s in the Brandi Carlile /Cobie Caillat genre of young, talented female singer songwriters …this album is is a lot about getting over lost love and looking for new love.

Favorite Songs: Too Good For Words, Lightning Strikes

Austin Lucas – Somebody Loves You

iTunes • eMusic • Amazon

I saw Austin Lucas on the Suburban Home tour with Two Cow Garage and Jon Snodgrass. There’s a lot of twang and bluegrass in his sound, he’s soft, he’s loud, he says a lot with a little. I like it. A lot. The songwriting is very free-form, not stuck in the traditional verse, chorus, bridge structure. It’s way to indie to be country, but there’s a lot of country influences here.  Give him a listen … if he’s friends with the boys from Two Cow Garage and toured with Chuck Regan, that’s good enough for me!

Favorite Songs: Somebody Loves You, Precious Little Heart

The Avett Brothers – I And Love And You

iTunes • Amazon

It’s not often someone says, “Hey, you should check out” … random band name and I do. I’m a music elitist. I’ll admit it.  But a friend said, “Check out The Avett Brothers. You’ll like them.”  And wow, was she right. The harmony, the melody, the guitar work … this album is outstanding from top to bottom and one of my favorites for the year … well beyond Top 25.  I can (and have) listened to this for hours on end.  And their show at the Beachland Ballroom was outstanding, too.  This one is not to be missed if you’re a fan of Americana.

Favorite Songs: I And Love And You, Ten Thousand Words

Bob Mould – Life and Times

iTunes • Amazon

Bob Mould became a favorite of mine when Andy Gray invited me to see Sugar.  I was a Husker Du fan in high school (wasn’t everyone? No? Just me. And Dan, probably), but wasn’t aware of Bob’s solo records. I immediately picked them both up (Black Sheets of Rain and Workbook).  I’ve seen Bob solo four or five times now, including one of my favorite shows ever at Little Brothers where he did a half-acoustic, half-electric two-hour show then hung out after talking to people, signing anything you purchased and taking photos with damn near the whole crowd.  This album was a long time coming, and worth the wait.

Favorite Songs: I’m Sorry Baby, But You Can’t Stand In My Light Anymore, City Lights (Days Go By)

Chantal Kreviazuk - Plain Jane

iTunes • Amazon

Another long-time favorite of mine just keeps putting out another collection of great songs. This album is a bit different, she’s branching out into some jazzy riffs (“Plain Jane”) and piano-heavy ballads (“5000 Days,” “Say The Word”), but my favorite is the simple acoustic stylings of “Halfway Around The World.”  The CD ends with perhaps her strangest stretch … “Na Miso” … which is in both English and Swahili … regardless, it’s a keeper.  Chantal just keeps getting better with each album.

Favorite Songs: Halfway Around The World, Invincible

The Clarks – Restless Days

iTunes • Amazon

For 20+ years The Clarks have just kept putting out music that helps define Americana … Scott Blasey’s voice, Greg Joseph’s lyrics, Rob James on the guitars and Dave Minarik on drums. It kills me how a band can put out such consistent music and still not get noticed anywhere outside of 100 mile radius of Pittsburgh.  After both Greg and Scott released solo albums, the Clarks come back with another collection of solid rock songs that will be rocking bars and small stages for years to come.

Favorite Songs: Inside, Midnight Rose, True Believer

Cracker – Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey

iTunes • eMusic • Amazon

David Lowery is one of those guys that could sing the ABC Song and people would either trash or praise it.  Every time you think Cracker is dead, he whips up a bunch of classic Lowery tunes, turns up the amps and lets it rip. This album is your typical 11-track with all eleven of them showing up on favorite lists of Crumbs all over the planet. Quirky lyrics, sweet guitar riffs and hooks for days.  Yep, that’s Lowery, in a nutshell.  And that’s why we love him.

Favorite Songs: Show Me How This Thing Works, Turn On Tune In Drop Out With

Craig Lyons – On Reflection

iTunes • eMusic • Amazon

“Dude. Walk with me. I have something you have GOT to hear.” This is how Mark Nye introduced me to the new Craig Lyons CD. Well, two songs, as it wasn’t officially released yet. The first was Craig’s incredible cover of the Beatles “Across The Universe” … which has some amazing strings and “If It Helps You Sleep” … I was hooked. The album has two distinct feels to it, which works when listening straight through, and the songs stand out enough on their own for a shuffle. The writing is top notch, and the production of this is amazing. If I was ranking, this would be up in my top 10, easily.

Favorite Songs: Moonburn, Across The Universe

The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love

iTunes • Amazon

The Decemberists have such a distinct sound you instantly know who you’re listening to as soon as Colin Meloy starts singing.  “The Hazards Of Love” is a great conceptual album that shows the growth of their songwriting and delivery and musicianship … and how it’s possible for an indie rock band to still make indie rock despite being on a major label. And anytime you have a line like “The prettiest whistles won’t wrestle the thistles undone” I’m hooked.

Favorite Songs: The Hazards Of Love #I, Annen Water

Elvis Costello – Secret, Profane and Sugarcane

iTunes • eMusic • Amazon

Every couple of years you hear there’s a new Elvis Costello album coming out and you wonder …  what’s left?  The 70′s and 80′s were angry, and mellow, and questioning. The 90′s were all over the place and I was starting to wonder if his sun was setting.  Then he hooks up with T-Bone Burnett for this collection of acoustic, bluegrass, Americana and some country stylings that made me realize that yes, Elvis Costello’s still got it.

Favorite Songs: She Was No Good, Sulphur To Sugarcane

Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown

iTunes • Amazon

The first three times I listened to this CD I wasn’t impressed.  I was confused to see how it all fit together.  Then … I got it. This album is just the opposite.  Covertly political, even more ideological than direct … more about how we got here than where we are.  Billie Joe Armstrong has described the album as a “snapshot of the era in which we live as we question and try to make sense of the selfish manipulation going on around us, whether it be the government, religion, media or frankly any form of authority.”  That’s about as good as it gets. I listened to this CD more than any other in 2009. It just resonates with me.

Favorite Songs: East Jesus Nowhere, Last of the American Girls

Gomez – A New Tide

iTunes • eMusic • Amazon

They drift from acoustic to psychedelic to melodic, but they don’t drift far from their format: Hooky indie rock that benefits from having three different vocalists in the band.  We have horns, upright bass, lots of great lyrics and songs that could be on any of their previous releases … staying the course is good when you’re one of the pioneers.  The only thing I didn’t like about this album was it checks in just under 44 minutes … Gomez has always been a bit of a jam band … but they don’t jam much here, at all … not a song over five minutes on the CD.

Favorite Songs: Natural Reaction, If I Ask You Nicely

Heartless Bastards – The Mountain

iTunes • eMusic • Amazon

Once of two bands from Cincinnati I can spend hours listening to is Heartless Bastards (Over The Rhine is the other).  Sometimes softly acoustic, sometimes driving, this album shows off the growth of Erika Wennerstrom, the only member of the band from start to finish.  The album was produced by Spoon producer Mike McCarthy and shows off some of the more broader elements of Wennerstrom’s lyrics by simplifying the music behind them.

Favorite Songs: Early In The Morning, Wide Awake

Madeline – White Flag

iTunes • Amazon

Madeline Adams has one of those unique voices that you just don’t confuse with anyone else.  Her tales of heartbreak and happiness mixed with a folksy blend of music behind them highlight her Athens roots but allow her to branch out into the bluegrass, folk and country styles … I love when a song from this CD comes up in shuffle mode.  Simple music, great lyrics, smooth delivery … she’s grown significantly since her 2007 release “The Slow Bang.”

Favorite Songs: You Can’t Break My Heart, Rain, Fire and Brimstone, Shotgun Wedding

Madison Square Gardeners – Don’t Name The Pig

iTunes • Amazon

How could I NOT have this in any top album list I ever make?  Aaron Lee Tasjan and Ramblin’ Rob Heath and John Kengla and Mark Stepro and Rich Hinman and Bryn Roberts? That’s six helpings of musical genius all on one CD.   Lyrics by Tasjan, tunes by those boys? Hell, they’ve backed some of the biggest names in Americana … I’ve driven probably thousands of miles to see them in various arrangements with or without each other … so yeah, in my world, this is all good.  (BTW, did you see Tasjan on Letterman with Findlay Brown? Sweet). Rumor has it the follow-up is even better.  I’m just sayin’ …

Favorite Songs: My Ex-Girlfriend Is A Bad Lesbian On Drugs, Lightnin’ Don’t Strike Twice, Lean On Into Me

Marykate O’Neil – Underground

iTunes • eMusic • Amazon

I first heard the name Marykate O’Neil when talking to Kate York in Pittsburgh when Kate was opening for Katheleen Edwards.  I went home and grabbed her self-titled debut.  I’ve been a fan ever since. Underground is recorded with, as she calls them, the usual suspects, including Ken Maiuri (Pedro The Lion) and Mickey Grimm (Over The Rhine) and is really a great piece of work.  Her voice is kind of Aimee Mann-like in a couple of places, but she’s far from being a clone of anyone.  This is a great collection of wonderful songs.

Favorite Songs: So Long, One Thousand Times A Day

Matt Hoover – Talking To Ghosts

iTunes • Amazon

I’ve seen Matt Hoover solo and with two bands (The SuperSaints and The Peachbones).  He’s always delivered good music and great lyrics. But on his solo debut, he really hits both right out of the park. “Talking To Ghosts” is amazing from start to finish. It’s great songwriting, but the arrangements and choice of instruments and how they’re played show Hoover’s ability to create good music, not just play it. Still, that being said, for me, the lyrics and voice are what make this CD so amazing.  Matt’s vocal delivery is top notch.  I know I said I wasn’t ranking albums this year, but from the open notes of “Nothing’s Fair” to the final fade of “Pass You By” … “Talking To Ghosts” is far and away my favorite of 2009.  Oh, and it’s my mom’s favorite, too. She asked for a copy!

Favorite Songs: Talking To Ghosts, The Whiskey, Pass You By

Razorbliss – American Gomorrah

iTunes • CDBaby

If you want my attention … reach out through the speakers and grab me from the opening note. And don’t let go.  If you’re going to rock me, rock me from the opening note. And don’t stop.  This album does both of those.  From the crashing intro of the title track until the end of “The Mark You Leave” I can’t think of a better three songs to entice you into an album that that.  Add in “A Brand New Creature” and “Year of the Dead Celebrity” and you’ve got a total keeper of a rock and roll CD. The grown on this album in both words and music from “A Comedy of Errors” is readily apparent and exponential. Well done, boys!

Favorite Songs: Arsenic Angel, A Brand New Creature, A Brand New Creature

The Receiver – Length Of Arms

iTunes • eMusic • Amazon

It’s hard for me to write about this album because it’s so good it just frustrates me that people don’t get what Casey and Jessie Cooper are trying to show. Music can be complex, yet simple. Astonishing and subtle. Loud and soft. And all at the same time. The way these two have changed up everything they did on their debut “Decades” yet left it all the same for “Length of Arms” shows their amazing grasp of the music they’re making.

Favorite Songs: Strength In Numbers, Castles In The Air

Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles – The Stars Are Out

iTunes • eMusic • Amazon

It’s no wonder that Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles captured the Americana Act of the Year for 2009 from the Boston Music Spotlight. “The Stars Are Out” is an outstanding piece of rock and roll like nobody else is making. Interludes in songs with soft vocals mixed with straight out rock and roll … it’s tough to call this anything but American music. Sarah Borges reminds me of Jennifer Trynin NOT in the shadow of Alanis Morrissette.

Favorite Songs: No One Will Ever Love You, Better At The End Of The Day

Son Volt – American Central Dust

iTunes • Amazon

“The truth is not free and everyone must pay the price,” sings Jay Farrar on “Dynamite” … the opening song. Someday, when the truth is free, I hope people look back at the great American voices of this generation and give Jay Farrar his due.  There’s not a single song on this CD I skip past. From the simple and complex arrangements to Farrar’s lyrics and voice, this CD needs to be heard.  Outstanding isn’t good enough to describe it. If this isn’t in your CD collection you’re missing a great piece of work.

Favorite Songs: All of them. Every.Single.One  (Especially Dynamite and Dust of Daylight and No Turning Back)

Stephen Lynch – 3 Balloons

iTunes • eMusic • Amazon

Comedy is hard work. Musical comedy is harder. A man like Stephen Lynch makes it look easy. From the whorific “Waiting” to the album-ending tribute to 36D breasts “Hallelujah” Lynch tackles a lot of humor in short tracks, reflections of his career as a teacher, reflections of diary entries of famous people and the Ballad of Scarface … but the topper is America: “Our human rights record is something of note / We freed all our slaves and gave women the vote / Everyone’s equal forever always / Unless you’re one of them gays” … some of the most biting sarcasm you’ll find!  Lynch is amazing in his ability to point out the obvious in a unique song.  And his take on the Peanuts Gang is as outrageously funny as it is offensive.  Which makes it priceless!

Favorite Songs: America, Crazy Peanuts, You (Prettier Than), Halleluhah

Sweet Billy Pilgrim – Twice Born Men

iTunes • Amazon

For a short album (8 songs / 41 minutes) this collection of songs from London-based Sweet Billy Pilgrim is the sonic equivalent of a slam dunk. Every single sound is just perfect.  From the distortion microphone intro of “Here It Begins” to the end of “There Will It End” this is a total treat to the ears.  It’s no wonder it’s received the awards it has (5 stars/CD of the Week by the London Times and 4 stars from Mojo and Uncut).

Favorite Songs: Here It Begins, Longshore Drift, Future Perfect Tense

Todd Snider – The Excitement Plan

iTunes • eMusic • Amazon

I could spend days talking about how Todd Snider is the Jack Kerouac of my generation, but armed with a six-string and a sharp sense of what’s going on … but I won’t.  From his debut in 1994 (Songs From The Daily Planet) nobody has captured the past 15 years in song and mood like Todd Snider. Paycheck aside, he’d rather play for 10 people who dig him than to 5,000 who may or may not. He’s toured everywhere  you can play with a guitar, from redneck hole-in-the-wall bars to small arenas to folk festivals to farmhouses.  And his songs and on-stage banter show that off. This CD continues in the tradition of wonderfully entertaining lyrics, great stories, good fun and a great mix of serious and silly.

Favorite Songs: Unorganized Crime, Slim Chance

Wilco – Wilco (The Album)

iTunes • Amazon

It’s kind of normal to name an album after yourself.  But a song, too? Then again, it is Wilco. And I feel the same about this album as I did Sky Blue Sky … it’s a great collection of songs that you can assemble in any random order and enjoy … There’s your typical experimental stuff, the steady-on Tweedy tunes and the quirky two or three tunes you can always count on from America’s Radiohead, as they’re called.  I think they’re well beyond Radiohead, but that’s just my opinion.

Favorite Songs: You Never Know, I’ll Fight

I got laid off by the State of Ohio on January 2, 2009 … only to get rehired by the job I left in March 2008 to take the job with the state … however, I was working in Cincinnati two or three days a week.

Then, instead of moving to Cincinnati, I returned to Youngstown in September and have been unpacking and trying to get used to living back in the Mahoning Valley. And my job has been rather time consuming because of a huge project I’m working on until the end of March.

And since I’m no longer in Columbus, I can’t really write a Columbus, Ohio, music blog … so I’ve changed the name to Just Another Crappy Opinionated Music Blog.

So, while my updates may not be all that often, they will at least be happening here, again … up next is my Top 25 albums of 2009!

Welcome to 2010 and Just Another Crappy Opinionated Music Blog!

Hello. Yes, I know, it’s been a while. Had lots of stuff I needed to do, but new year, new attitude and soon a new job!

So look for more here on a more regular basis.

Hayseed – Live at Ruby Tuesday
Part of the Twang Alliance of Central Ohio

Mark Peppercorn of the Whiles – Live at Skully’s

Jesse Cooper of the Receiver – Live at Skully’s

Drake Tulloh and Mark Nye of Razorbliss – Live at the Kickstand

Content to come here this week as we get back to business here at JACOMB