Closing with a rush

Last day of the year, last chance to test some music that slipped through the cracks in 2009. (Of course there's always next year.)

First up ... Monsters of Folk. A late gift from a friend. I didn't know what to think of this one as I was struggling to release it from its anti-thieving shackles. (Why do they still do that?) M. Ward gets together with Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes and Jim James of My Morning Jacket, and there you have it.

It ain't folk. No sir. And neither is it monstrous. It's just pretty damn good music by some talented young artists who have figured out collaboration. So good it could have made the 2009 SSS most-played list had it been scored sooner. (Disclosure statement: Monsters of Folk just made the seriously flawed Rolling Stone's 25 Best Albums of 2009 list, dialing in at No. 24. But we can't let that disqualify a band's supreme effort.)

Remember the Traveling Wilburys? Not the music -- you're not going to duplicate that -- but the musical chemistry? It clicks like that. Some great hooks that are going to hang with you without driving you crazy. If you want to test drive a song, SSS recommends these after the first listen: "Baby Boomer," "Ahead of the Curve" and "Magic Marker."

Seriously good stuff. I have no suggestions how to improve the music, but as far as identity goes: Try on some Orbison black-rimmed glasses. All four of you. At the same time. Nice...

Break out the candles

You say it's your birthday
It's my birthday too--yeah
They say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you

What was that song doing on the Beatles' White Album? (I was just wondering.)

It comes in handy today, because look at the impressive lineup of birthday boys and girls we have assembled. Blues, folk, punk, funk, country -- even a couple o' Monkees are included in this diverse lineup, each of whom was birthed on the very same day as Eldrick Woods (happy 34th, Tiger, and good luck with all that!):

Bo Diddley (1928-2008): Guitar, "Bo Diddley"
Skeeter Davis (1931-2004): Vocals, "End of the World"
Paul Stookey (1937): Vocals, "Leaving on a Jet Plane"
Del Shannon (1939-1990): Guitar, falsetto, "Runaway"
John Hartford (1937-2001): Banjo, "Gentle On My Mind"
Michael Nesmith (1942): Guitar, "I'm a Believer"
Davy Jones (1945): Vocals, "Daydream Believer"
Patti Smith (1946): Vocals, "Because the Night"
Jeff Lynne (1947): Vocals, guitar, "Don't Bring Me Down"

Wisconsin's white-knuckle winter

It didn't take me long to remember what it's like here in the winter. My drive home to Whitehall for Christmas was an adventure in treachery. I barely made it halfway the first night before being waylayed by the second blizzard of the season.

That motel room in Portage seemed very comfy after driving four hours in near-impossible conditions. I could've used a Magic Fingers, but was in no position to complain. At least I had a room. When my head hit that pillow I was a goner.

This is what my truck looked like the next morning after I had chipped away the snow to reveal my license plate. Florida! Man, I miss that place. (Click on image for the full brrr-ific effect.)

The chorus to songwriter Larry Crane's "Snow Plow" is more than ringing in my ears. It's my Sermon for the Winter Solstice. These, my friends, are words to live by:

Then old man winter reared his ugly head
And the snow was drifting across the road ahead
He said 'Son don't you worry none just take your time
And stay behind the the snow plow you'll be fine'

'I know time flies so quickly...'

Click on the link below and become the 1,384,102nd person to view John Lennon's "(Just Like) Starting Over."



"Starting Over" was the last song produced and the first single released from the Double Fantasy album. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 on Nov. 1, 1980 at No. 38 and climbed to No. 6 by the time Lennon was murdered outside the Dakota in Manhattan on Dec. 8.

Nineteen days later -- on this day -- it reached No. 1 and remained there for five weeks.

Most of us who had been following the careers of the ex-Beatles at the time wondered if we'd hear from Lennon again following the birth of his son Sean in 1975. He had slipped into retirement and become a doting father to Sean and, of course, a loving companion to Yoko Ono, who was managing the family's business affairs.

This record, with its beautiful lyrics and smooth Orbison-like sound, answered the question for us and built great anticipation for Double Fantasy. And then a deranged bastard shot Lennon dead.

Two other songs from Double Fantasy became hits: "Woman" (No. 2) and "Watching the Wheels" (No. 10), and Double Fantasy would win the Grammy for Best Album in 1981.

No telling what Lennon might have done in the next 30 years.

Merry Christmas and Peace on Earth

(click on the image for a larger view of Rick Hotton's Holy Mole panel)

Community-supported radio rocks

OK, now here's a list: The 50 albums that received the most airplay in 2009 on my old favorite independent FM station, WMNF in Tampa.

Listener-supported stations like WMNF certainly seem to be more in tune with their audiences than some of the schlock noise venues out there. It's a wonderful concept, stations and listeners in tune with each other.

(Boldface listings indicate albums and rankings from the SSS most-played list.)
1. Various Artists - Tales of Lust and Longing
2. Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles – The Stars Are Out
3. M. Ward – Hold Time
4. Wilco - Wilco (8)
5. Cracker – Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey (1)
6. Avett Brothers - I And Love and You (3)
7. Damon Fowler - Sugar Shack
8. Eilen Jewell – Sea of Tears (4)
9. Raphael Saadiq - The Way I See It
10. Various Artists – Dark Was the Night
11. N.A.S.A. – The Spirit of Apollo
12. Monsters of Folk – Monsters of Folk
13. Andrew Bird - The Noble Beast
14. B.C.- Time Capsule
15. Chuck Prophet- !Let Freedom Ring!
16. Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3
17. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
18. Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires
19. Will Quinlan and the Diviners
20. Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers - Songs in the Night
21. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
22. Lady Sovereign – Jigsaw
23. Passion Pit - Manners
24. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
25. The Gourds - Haymaker!
26. Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles
27. Bob Dylan - Together Through Life
28. MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
29. Neko Case – Middle Cyclone (9)
30. Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
31. Metric - Fantasies
32. Peaches - I Feel Cream
33. Elvis Perkins in Dreamland – EP in Dreamland
34. Rosanne Cash - The List (6)
35. Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women – Dave Alvin & the GW
36. Buddy and Julie Miller - In Chalk
37. Eels – Hombre Loco
38. Various Artists – Soca Gold 2009
39. Rebekah Pulley - Back To Boogaloo
40. Grizzly Bear - Vectamist Warp
41. Iron and Wine - Around the Well
42. Santogold - Santogold
43. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
44. Cyril Neville - Brand New Blues
45. Roppongi’s Ace – Into The Night
46. Bob Schneider - Lovely Creatures
47. Have Gun Will Travel - Casting Shadows Tall As Giants
48. Bob Marley - B Is For Bob
49. Beres Hammond - A Moment In Time
50. Steve Earle - Townes (5)

Rolling Stone's decade of decadence

I tried to stay away from this, I really did. When Rolling Stone posted its Songs of the Decade I had every intention of ignoring the list. The magazine has become so irrelevant to fans of rock 'n' roll, what's the sense in getting all shook up again over one of their inane compilations?

Because I needed a blog, and they're such an easy mark. The list itself is comical, and the "methodology" used is ridiculous. Apparently the magazine's editors and writers don't have the expertise, the musical sensibilities or the balls to choose the songs themselves. Why not then have a readers' poll? At the least the choices might reflect the pulse of their target audience. Guess it's time to ask: What is Rolling Stone's target audience these days?

It's not worth wasting space to list all 100 songs. But we'll throw the top 10 at you to give you a taste, along with their summation of the decade's very best song, which is Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy":

Everybody loved this song, from your mom to your ex-girlfriend's art professor. It blasted in punk clubs and Burger King bathrooms. Every sucky band on earth tried a lame cover. For the summer of 2006, "Crazy" united us all into one nation under a groove.

That doesn't speak very well for 2006. As for the decade, if this list truly is representative of the music that has driven our world since 2000 -- hey, it's possible, look what the Grammys have become -- then it's time to head for the bomb shelter with my iPod loaded with Johnny Cash.

Top 10 Songs of the Decade

1. Gnarls Barkley, "Crazy"
2. Jay-Z, "99 Problems"
3. Beyoncé, "Crazy in Love"
4. Outkast, "Hey Ya!"
5. M.I.A., "Paper Planes"
6. The White Stripes, "Seven Nation Army"
7. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Maps"
8. Amy Winehouse, "Rehab"
9. U2, "Beautiful Day"
10. Eminem, "Stan"

You don't really want to see the other 90 do you? I didn't think so. However, the commenting from baffled and disgruntled readers is excellent so we'll give you a taste of that as well:

Pip1498 | December 18, 2009 10:21 PM EST
is it weird that several of the songs on this list make me want to kill myself when i hear them?

tonyadams | December 15, 2009 4:07 PM EST
...I just don't care about you anymore, Rolling Stone(if that's even your real name).

null | December 11, 2009 7:15 PM EST
"Hurt" is #15? That song and artist's impact will still be felt twenty year's hence and beyond. Conversely, a good portion of your choices preceding it most likely will only surface as an 8 second pull on a VH 1 progeny retrospective "Whatever happened to?" hosted by the disembowled liver of Amy Winehouse.
#15...REALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!