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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 28, 2018 11:44:37 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2018
#64 - "My Favorite Things" - John Coltrane
TRANE! Okay. So that's out of my system. The advertising in the video is a bit annoying. But it's Trane and company live playing one of his signature tunes. This is one of those songs I can put on in the background while I'm writing a brief and it just keeps me churning.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 28, 2018 13:00:17 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2018
#63 - "Stuff That Works" - Guy Clark
Another one that shows Guy Clark's mastery of lyrics. An ode to the stuff that just keeps on going and works for us.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 28, 2018 17:22:49 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2018
#62 - "What's Going On" - Marvin Gaye
I'm not a big Motown fan. Now I love me some classic soul. But I much prefer the Stax sound or any of a number of other options. Motown just always sounded too prefab. The exception is Marvin Gaye. And the ultimate exception is this album, which is easily one of the great albums of all time.
And this title track is just as relevant as it was in 1971. We haven't come nearly as far as we should have come.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 29, 2018 11:10:51 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2018
#61 - "In the Jailhouse Now" - The Soggy Bottom Boys
I have a long history with this song. I heard both the Webb Pierce and the Jimmie Rodgers versions a lot as a kid. This is just a great rendition of the song from the greatest movie soundtrack ever.
I don't think I'd come across this video before. Love that it features Tim Blake Nelson, who is great on this song. And moreso that Pat Enright gets a bit of a spotlight for his yodeling.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 29, 2018 11:35:38 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2018
#60 - "If it Takes a Lifetime" - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit.
In the past I've equivocated. But with each succeeding album it becomes very clear. Jason Isbell is simply the best songwriter in the U.S. today. I'll equivocate that much because I don't listen to much non-English music.
This one is really not prototypical Isbell. It's a bit rootsier. It definitely showcases The 400 Unit more than usual. But it still has those tight thought-provoking lyrics that are his hallmark.
"I got too far from my raising, I forgot where I come from
And the line between right and wrong was so fine
Well I thought the highway loved me
But she beat me like a drum
My day will come, if it takes a lifetime"
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Post by beccabear67 on Dec 29, 2018 15:29:40 GMT -5
I really like Coltrane, Marvin Gaye, and what Guy Clark I've managed to get, but just wanted to add I love Johnny Rodriguez! Love Put A Song In My Heart was huge around here.  Right now I'm digging into the music of a lady named Barbara Lynn. I saw her playing and singing on some old '60s Texas tv show called 'The Beat!' and she stood out even with Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown and Freddie King on the show. Great left-handed electric guitar, and also like Hendrix she played a white Fender, and this was before Jimi was even in England. Well anyway, I recommend anything on youtube you can find of her, but also the '60s Jamie, Jet Stream and Tribe label releases I'm listening to now. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 31, 2018 13:55:16 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2018
#59- "Freight Train to Ride" - Louisiana Red
This one was a little bit of a surprise. I haven't listened to a huge amount of blues this year. If it had been Philip Walker or Robert Cray it would have been less of a surprise.
I do remember this coming up on my Discovery at one point. And I listened to a bit of Louisiana Red who I wasn't super familiar with. This is a pretty good electric delta blues track.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 31, 2018 15:05:31 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2018
#58 - "La Bamba" - Los Lobos
This is the first of two songs by Los Lobos that we'll see. A cover of the Richie Valens classic and the song that largely put Los Lobos on most peoples map. The fusion of latin sound and classic rock and roll is a thing of beauty.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 31, 2018 17:05:35 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2018
#57 - "Little Boxes" - Pete Seeger
This one was pretty surprising. Seeger made a hit (more of a cultural hit than a commercial hit) of Malvina Reynolds' satire of suburban conformity. I don't remember listening to this one that much in the last year, but it's certainly possible.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jan 2, 2019 11:19:36 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2018
#56 - "Weird Thought Thinker" - Joshua Hedley
Another track from Hedley's 2018 debut album which dominated a lot of my listening in 2018. Another classic sounding track that hit s solid spot between honky-tonk and countrypolitan.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jan 2, 2019 11:26:55 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2018
#55 - "Betty 5-0" - Andy's Automatics
One of the great things about the interweb is that you can come across great music you very likely would not find in any other way. One of the frustrating things is watching acts you are convinced should be huge...not be huge. Because, by and large, the buying public sucks.
I came across Andy's Automatics many moons ago on Pandora. As best I can tell they released one album and one EP and that was it. They do still seem to be playing music in Wisconsin and good for them.
I love this album. It's just a great bunch of honky-tonk songs.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jan 2, 2019 13:14:22 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2018
#54 - "Dynamite" - Son Volt
There was a fair bit of time when I listened to jazz and a bit of blues and that was pretty much it. Some time around 2008-09 I started delving into what is variously called alt-country or americana or what have you. One of the earlier albums I came across was Son Volt's "American Central Dust." I was very happy with it, not knowing at the time that this was Son Volt.2 and that "Trace" was out there ready to blow me away.
Still it was a very good album and I still love this track. And I was super happy when I got to see Son Volt with my middle son and we got to say howdy to Jay Farrar on the streets of Boise.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jan 2, 2019 18:48:17 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2018
#53 - "I Hung it Up" - Junior Brown
Oh man I love Junior Brown. Why he's not a huge star I will never know. Never underestimate the public's lack of taste.
This was one of his singles off Semi-Crazy. And as usual Junior wails on his guit-steel.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jan 2, 2019 19:53:44 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2018
#52 - F*ck This Town - Robbie Fulks
Yeah...this one isn't safe for work. This is part of my "Screw Nashville" playlist. Fulks clearly was not enamored of his experience in Nashville. And probably fairly so. He actually came, fairly rapidly, to regret the song because it became something of an 800-pound gorilla in his songlist. It also hasn't aged super well because there are parts of it that are...problematic.
He has recently been singing an updated version as he tours with Linda Gail Lewis. And he slags on Travis Tritt and Sugarland. So that's a good thing.
Oh...and Connor Schneider loves this song.
I won't add a video...because it isn't safe for work. But you can Google it.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jan 3, 2019 13:14:08 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2018
#51 - "Bar Exam" - The Derailers.
This one goes out to all my lawyer friends.
We've seen the Derailers before. Now they hit the Honky-Tonk again with a paean to the places that we drink when life just ain't what we want it to be.
To be fair...I did a lot of drinking prepping for the bar exam.
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