Journal

Recommendation (11/52): Video for Iron by Woodkid

2011-06-23T03:24:29Z

Here's a cool one. I'm not even sure that I like the music that much (but I think I do), but this video is one of the most visually stunning things I've seen in a long time. Really, really good.

Woodkid - Iron from WOODKID on Vimeo.

The Reviews Are Dead: Long Live the Recommendations

2011-04-22T01:56:03Z

So, obviously, my New Years Resolution of posting one fully realized and well-considered album review per week for the entirety of 2011 has failed. And yet, I don't feel like a failure. What I realized was that I just wasn't enjoying not getting to know the albums that I really enjoyed. That, and I just don't seem to have time to spend the 3-4 hours per week that I really think the music I love really deserves.

Which leads me to my second point...

To be honest with myself, I was never going to spend that much time really tearing apart something I don't enjoy. Why? Because this is a labor of love. If someone out there wants to pay me to deconstruct some of the truly awful stuff out there (and there is plenty of it), I'd be happy to accommodate.

In the meantime, I'm going to move to doing "recommendations." And they might not be quite as involved. But trust me that my quest to find great music and share it with you remains undeterred.

My next recommendation is coming forthwith...

Noah & the Whale's "Last Night on Earth" (Recommendation 10/52)

2011-03-20T03:53:35Z

I've never listened to Noah and the Whale before, but this album, Last Night On Earth, is instantly likable. In fact, it was this album that made me decide to change my weekly "review" into a "recommendation." As I was listening to this album several weeks ago, it occured to me that I just wasn't ready to move on to the next review. I wanted to savor this album: coming back to it after a couple of weeks hiatus makes me realize this is exactly the kind of thing that I've consistently enjoyed for years.

To set the stage, Noah and the Whale is an English "indie folk" band from London. According to Wikipedia, the band's name is "is a combination of the title of one of the band's favourite films, The Squid and the Whale, and the director of the film's name, Noah Baumbach." Sounds good enough for me, so that can stand without further comment.

At this point, I'd say that this is my favorite album of the year. That's not to say it's the best or the most important, but it's the one that occupies the "sound of the first part of 2011" in my head right now.

Compared to some of the darker, more edgey music that I've listened to thus far this year, this is a simpler and more upbeat album. It is a more forward looking and ultimately optimistic collection that doesn't extract the emotional toll that so much "indie" and "alternative" music takes on a listener. Combined with some great hooks and catchy lyrics, it's a thoroughly satisfying album that I expect will stay in my permanent rotation for quite a while.

The first single that the band released from this album is L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. It's a pithy, catchy song with a great video:

L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. (Live from RAK Studios) from charlie fink on Vimeo.

Tonight's the Kind of Night is probably my favorite song on the album. Charlie Fink posted an interesting piece on the bands website where he compared an earlier version of the song:

Tonight by charliefink

with the final version:

TONIGHTS THE KIND OF NIGHT DEMO MSTRD by charliefink

Aside from being a great song, I really want to compliment Fink for having the guts to post an early version of the song for public consumption. If there's one thing that I've learned from my short tenure in the music business, it's the tendency to not want to release anything before it's time. It's hard to expose the underbelly of the process, but it's a great way for the audience to really learn more about the it; and I appreciate it immensely.

Here's the video for Give it All Back:

Give It All Back (Live from RAK Studios) from charlie fink on Vimeo.

In the interest of moving on to the next review, I'm going to leave this one here, but I encourage you to buy and listen to the whole album if you like what you've heard.

Frightened Rabbit "Winter of Mixed Drinks" (Album Review 9/52)

2011-03-14T05:46:06Z

Just over a year ago (February 22, 2010), I posted a video for a forthcoming album from the band Frightened Rabbit. Since the album "Winter of Mixed Drinks" was released last march, I have to say that it's moved me as much as any other musical work ever has.

As I was looking back at the albums I've reviewed since this little project started in January, it struck me that while I've really enjoyed them all, nothing has moved me the way that "Winter of Mixed Drinks" did last year. So, as I was trying to decide what to review this week, I decided to bring this album back to the top of the pile.

I'm not naturally attracted to sad and depressing emotions in music, so this is an odd choice as one of my favorite albums ever. But the raw emotion of Scott Hutchison's singing, the cohesive emotion, and the complete treatment of the thethroughout the album more than offset my natural sunniness.

In her preview of the album last year, Heather Armstrong makes a point of saying that the "Winter of Mixed Drinks" tells a story of a man healing, compared to the downright oppressive "Midnight Organ Fight" (the band's previous album.

One of the things I find so interesting about this album is that so often now, you find an album is a collection of singles. Of course, that model makes perfect sense in today's music market. If you have any interest in the market for music, you should have seen this post about the current state of music sales.

The fact that this album makes sense the way albums used to - as a coherent work of art - makes me love it even more. There is a progression in this album from pain to hopefulness. In the post from the I Am Fuel Your Are Friends blog above, Heather totally nailed it, based on what she heard from the one song available at the time, but it hold all the way through the album.In the first part of this album, the songs evoke the pain of a break-up; but by the end you start to see the glimmer of recovery.

A couple of weeks ago, we were having the perentheme nial discussion of the greatest lead-off songs on an album. I'd like to nominate "Things" in that category. In this song, Hutchison sorts through the physical detritus of his relationship, but acknowledges that its not the things he misses, but the person:

Never need these things
I'll never need them, oh
This is you and me, you are human heat
And the things aren't holy things
And the things bring me light, they bring me
Never need these things
I'll never need them, oh
Never going back, so we can drop the past
And we'll leave it on the floor and run for dear life for the door

The second song "Swim Until You Can't See Land" is equally powerful. I mean, at it's heart it's a song about a man considering suicide. Doesn't get more bleak than that. The emotional kick of this song blows me away every time I hear it. Heres the video:

The bleakness (and the emotional punch) continues with "The Loneliness and the Scream"

Finally, however the pain starts to resolve and you begin to see the light. My favorite song on the album is "Nothing Like You." Although it's a long way from resolution, you can see a glimmer of hope in a new relationship:

While it's the least interesting video of the bunch, it is remains my favorite songs after a million listens. The healing continues in the song "Not Miserable Now"

Though the corners are lit
The dark can return with the flick of a switch
It hasn't turned on me yet, yet

(I am)
Not miserable now
No one knows
No one knows
I'm not miserable

By the time we get to the last several songs on the album, you can feel the pain beginning to recede and the songs begin to look forward. We're still a long way from hopefullness, but signs of life return. The song "Living in Color" promises a future:

Though i dreamt with a rapid eye
By day i hope to rapidly die
And have my organs laid on ice
Gave to somebody thatll treat them right
And as the night started swallowing
You put the blood to my blue lips
Forced the life through still veins
Filled my heart with red again

Bottom line: I hope that you will buy and listen to this whole album. It's an under appreciated classic. Plus - let's just admit it - to an American, almost anything sung in a Scottish accent sounds cool.

Beady Eyes "Different Gear, Still Speeding" (Album Review 8 of 52)

2011-03-07T04:49:58Z

First and foremost, Beady Eye's debut album "Different Gear, Still Speeding" is an homage and an evolution of the sounds of English rock and roll that have explicitly influenced frontman Liam Gallagher. While I was surprised to hear it as explicitly as it comes across on this album, I think it really works. As weird as it sounds to say this in 2011, if you love the Beatles, you have to give this album a listen.

Former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher and the rest of the most recent iteration of Oasis announced in 2009 that they were separating from Noel Gallagher. After a number of tumultuous years between the brothers (Noel and Liam), it surprised few that this would happen eventually.

Also not surprising is the evolution of the sound of Liam Gallagher's music. Although Liam Gallagher has consistently acknowledged the influence of the Beatles in his music, it has never been more readily apparent than it is in this album. Pick any track on this album and the influence is unmistakable. Personally, I could hear it in Oasis' albums from the 90's. But it's right up front here, and they do nothing to allay that perception in the look, sound and feel of the band's image.

For example, take a look at this screenshot from the front page of their website. I know that it comes straight from a Beatles or Stones photo, but I just can't place it. If it doesn't, then they've accomplished the feat of creating memories that don't exist. Your help in ID'ing this memory for me would be much appreciated.

On to the music: There are any number of great tracks on this album, but let's start with the first single, "The Roller."

I'll take you somewhere you never knew you'd been
I'll give you something you never knew you'd feel
The only thing is everything is really tonight, tonight, tonight
Just call me the roller
I'll squeeze and unfold ya
Call me the roller
I just go to show ya

Just look at Liam Gallagher in this video and tell me he's not channelling John Lennon.

It's a cool song and a great video.

One last note about the Beatles sound on this album. Gallagher embraces the comparison and shows that he's confident in his ability to stand up to it in a song unapologetically titled "Beatles and Stones". How many bands do you think could get away with a lyric like this:

I’m gonna stand the test of time
Like Beatles and Stones
I’m on my way home,
just get back to what’s mine
And when I get home, well I’ll be alright
What’s that you say?
Get out the way!

Beyond the "English sound", there are some exceptionally strong rockers on this album. The song "Four Letter Word" has a thoroughly modern musical drive to it. Interestingly enough though, the look of the video is all The Who with the Mod look.

So, I've gone on and on about comparisons to the Beatles. Is there room for a "New" Beatles in the rock world. My answer is yes. Thus sound and the feel of this music sounds fresh. If anything, it rekindles my appreciation of the great legacy that Beady Eye has inherited and moves forward on this album. Thanks, Beady Eye. Now I think I'm going to go listen to a little John Lennon before I go to sleep.

The Civil Wars' "Barton Holow" (Album Review 7/52)

2011-02-28T04:29:17Z

When I was soliciting suggestions for interesting and different music to review a couple weeks ago, a friend recommended The Civil Wars (thanks Kirk - @dkirkmcdonald). I guess that I've seen them mentioned on some of my regular music blogs a couple times, but hadn't really given them a second thought. Also, I've never gotten into Grey's Anatomy, where the song Poison & Wine was featured (more on that later).

Anyway, I decided to give it a non-casual listen - and I'm glad I did, not only because I really like his album, but also because my wife actually likes it too (which isn't the case with everything I play for the whole family). So, thanks for that, Civil Wars.

The Civil Wars are a duo based in Nashville consisting of John Paul White (various guitars and vocals) and Joy William (various keys and vocals). Here's their website.

One other bit of business before I move on to the music: the first time I listened to it, I was already formulating comparisons in my head to The Swell Season. The comparison is obvious on the most elemental level - a man and woman playing acoustic songs about relationships. But the more I listened, the bigger the differences become. The Civil Wars draw heavily from a country/bluegrass/Southern vibe that differentiates them from the Swell Season. In fact, the more I listen, the less apt the comparison seems... In a good way.. For both groups... Comparisons may help us to simplify and compartmentalize what we hear, but I caution myself, and you, not to let simplification limit our horizons.

The Southern influence is most pronounced in songs like the title track Barton Hollow. This song owes a more to great blues traditions than anything else. Joy White's beautiful harmonies on this song belie the desperation in the lyrics. This is my favorite song on the album.

So, I ask you does this lyric look like it comes from a an indie music duo or Robert Johnson?

Ain't going back to Barton Hollow
Devil gonna follow me e'er I go
Won't do me no good washing in the river
Can't no preacher man save my soul

Here's the official video:

For comparison and as a "live performance check", here's a 1 guitar, 2 voice acoustic performance of the song:

One of the great things about YouTube is that you can now see how artists actually sound in live performance. It's one of my favorite ways to gauge artists. As much as I appreciate a great studio recording, if an artist can't pull off a version that's as good or better live, I always think a little less of them. The Civil Wars performance here is every bit as compelling as a studio recording, to my ear.

The group's breakthrough was when their song Poison & Wine" was picked up by Grey's Anatomy and played in it's entirety over a montage of two characters' relationship during season 6 of the show. Here's the video to Poison & Wine

Here's another cool thing. Early in their careers, (their second show, actually) they played at Eddie's Attic in Decatur, GA. The club's sound guy recorded the show and gave them a copy. They released the complete recording and you can download it for free here. That's cool; props to the band for making that available. It's a great show.

That's all for this week, music lovers. Thanks for reading, and let me know what you want to hear about next.

Album Review: The Phantods "Creature" (6 of 52) AND a Rant About Music

2011-02-21T05:57:15Z

The Phantods are a current hometown favorite on the independent alternative scene here in Columbus. They are in rotation at CD-101 (at 102.5) and play regularly throughout the area. But the question comes up in many people's mind when they hear a local act get airplay on their favorite station is "Do they stand up to the national acts I hear on the radio everyday?"

In this case, theanswer is an emphatic "yes." In short, the music is exciting, the lyrics make you think and their live performances live up to the promise of the music. Take a close listen to this whole album and you will find a variety of styles ranging from driving energetic rock of the title track "Creature" to the rockabilly-influenced "Just Like You", to the gypsy-rock "Thieves".

Taken as a whole, it works beautifully and I recommend highly. The opening track on the album is the title track "Creature". It announces a self-confident thread that I found runs through the album. Not a cocky arrogance, but a mature confidence borne of time and experience.

I've been waiting for the right time
But I've no heart to ask them
Why they do all the things they do
And if it's any consolation
I'm my own creation
And the same should apply to you.

In recent reviews, I've talked about a sense of place (Kings of Leon) and sense of time (Iron & Wine). In this album, the theme that strikes me is a sense of self. The lyric "I'm my own creation, And the same should apply to you" perfectly illustrates the point. This is a song of strength and self-confidence. It's the kind of song I want my kids to take to heart and God knows, I've played it for them enough times this week thinking about what this album says to me. Here's the video:

The song "Blood of Kings" is a rock and roll gem. It's got a great hook that drives through the song with urgency.

We're both so lost and broken
Guided by words unspoken
We may be better off alone
It is the blood of kings
That moves within my veins
Take the name away from me
But their mark will still remain
You ask me am I to be
Sensitive to what you sing
The light inside has made me this way

Another songs that struck me on this album is "Under the Moon"

I've got my reasons to feel like I do
You can't take them from me
Cause it's what I've been through

Again, the self-awareness and acknowledgement the past in this song is gut-wrenching, but it doesn't ask for pity. It boldly announces without apology a point of view and insists that we acknowledge.

The finale of the album is "Our Last Goodbye". It's a song that reflects on the past, but also takes a confident stand in the present:

We're still here after it all
Through the night I can still hear you call
It's your voice that haunts me inside
It's your voice that keeps me alive
I've got my reasons to feel like I do
You can't take them from me because it's what I've been through

Once again, it's getting late on Sunday night and rather than fully develop a couple of other thoughts I have on this album, I'm going to pull the old bulletize trick and lay them out for you. I'd welcome your thoughts and helping me hash out these ideas:

Sometimes, I'm listening to this and I hear a cross between Joan Jett and James McMurtry.
I like the production values of the whole album. Consistently good musicianship throughout. Great guitar and drum abounds.
Gretchen King has a powerful voice that rings true and stands up to the big sound that accompanies her.

A Rant About Supporting Local Music

In the digital world, it's easy to dismiss your hometown team as good, but not as good as the "national acts." But you're missing out if you don't appreciate your own homegrown talent. Columbus is thick with great musical talent. Great musical talent is all around us, and we have a responsibility and a self-interest in supporting a vibrant homegrown music scene.

Let me just give you a vignette about the type of connection you can have with a local artist. I ordered the Phantods' new album "Creature" shortly after release. Since I still like to have a piece of plastic in my hand and I appreciate album art, I try to buy albums rather than digital downloads (although I do buy a lot of music on digital download). Unfortunately, when I go the CD a couple days later, it was broken into pieces by the USPS. I sent a note to the Phantods via their website, and within a matter of hours, I got not one, but TWO replies from members of the band apologizing for the inconvenience and promising a replacement, which I promptly received.

I don't expect that one day when I meet this band that they'll remember this, but I will. It's an object lesson in actual connection with fans that every artist should take to heart. It makes a difference in the way that fans think about you. The Phantods earned my admiration not only for their music but with their responsiveness and willingness to interact. I love U2, but I don't expect that if I received a broken CD from them that I would get a reply from Bono.

Anyway, enough about this. I think you get my point: a lot of great music comes not from the remains of the mainstream music industry but from our own backyard. Support local artists and you can enjoy a relationship with them that you simply will never get from the majors.

Local Natives' "Gorilla Manor" - Album Review (6 of 52)

2011-02-14T04:08:55Z

"Gorilla Manor" is a nuanced,layered, atmospheric work. Pretty much, you could say that it was written for someone with precisely my taste in music. My bottom line on this album is that it is very good but just a tad bit short of outstanding. In the end though, I chose to review this because I found myself thinking about it late in the day after having listened to it while working early on Thursday, i.e. the music stayed with me. And that's the kind of visceral, subconscious reaction to music that makes me love it.

Once again this week, I was sifting through suggestions and new releases, looking for something to inspire me... something I just HAD to write about. I posted a Facebook and Twitter status soliciting suggestions and got a lot of good ones. Ohio musician, and friend of friends, Lizard McGee of the band Earwig (Review of "Gibson Under Mountain" forthcoming) reminded me of this album, which I bought several months ago, but hadn't really paid enough attention to.

To start off with, a little background on the Local Natives. I love these guys' story: basically, they formed as a band in high school, graduated and moved into a house together in an LA suburb. This album is self-funded, and they kicked off their career by heading off to on a European tour. Kudos for chutzpah and self confidence. The other thing I love about their bio (at least as told on Wikipedia, which I assume is their own story) is that EVERYTHING is 100% collaborative. I like the vibe and I like the result.

Anyway, on to the songs: the first song on is "Wide Eyes" Here's the video:

Interesting video to say the least. I like the message, obviously a song about confronting inner demons. I love the texture and feel of this music: that feel runs throughout the album and makes it very enjoyable to my ears. But could they have gotten a less cheesey-looking shark? Nevertheless, if that's a sound that works for you, read on.

The second song is "Airplanes". Despite the silly intro, this is my favorite song on the album. Here'sYouTube:

It's a great song because it's so simple. Compared to the lyrics to the last couple albums I've reviewed, the lyrics to this song are like a Tweet. But they're powerfully delivered. At the end:

It sounds like
We would have had a great deal to say too each other
I bet when I leave my body for the sky
The wait will be worth it.

It's now getting late, and I need to start closing this up. However, I do want to add that this album maintains a consistent quality throughout. There are a couple of weaker (to my ear) songs, but overall, I like most everything they offer up on this album. In particular, I'd direct your attention to "Shape Shifter," "Warning Sign," and "Stranger Thread."

I guess that one of the hesitations that I have about a full-on 100% endorsement of this album is that I really do like this sound. But there is already someone else (as it were) who's captured my ear. I think this sounds like, but not quite as good as The Whiles "Colors of the Year", which is hanging in there as one of my favorite albums of all time. But I shouldn't hold that against the Local Natives, I just encourage you to get both...

And with that, I'm going to start doing one of the things I really want to do on this blog, which is introduce my friends in Columbus and everywhere else to some of the great music coming out of Columbus, Ohio. Next week, I'll tell you why I love "Creature" by the Phantods.

Iron & Wine "Kiss Each Other Clean" - Album Review (5 of 52)

2011-02-07T03:26:17Z

The most important thing I have to say about this album is that it rewards careful, active listening. Even after a week of listening to this album I'm not exactly sure what it's all about, but the curiousity keeps bringing me back to it. To me, that's a great characteristic for an album: It's not easily deciphered, but it's interesting enough that I want to figure it out.

My process for this reviewing experiment has been to listen to an album several times over the course of a week. (Maybe one of these days, I'll get some broader pre-release access to big acts, but for now we'll have to settle for bringing you things on release or on NPR Music (where a surprising number of really cool artists are previewing releases now, by the way)) Anyway, this was a tough week because I thought I was going to be reviewing "Kaputt" by Destroyer. While I liked it, it wasn't inspiring me. So I decided to go with this album based on a recommendation by my solar energy business parter Eric. Bottom line, it was a great call. I love this whole album and recommend it for anyone who likes the whole Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz thing - or anyone like them.

I'll start with "Tree By the River", since that seems to be the single on which everyone is focusing. I didn't even realize how much I liked it until I found myself humming one morning as I was waking up. The word that keeps coming to mind when I listen to this is wistful. It transports me to a time, a place and a feeling. The lyrics to this song speak to the growing-up me:

I recall the sun in our faces

Stuck and leaning on graces

And being strangers to change

Radio and the bones we found frozen

And all the thorns and the roses

Beneath your window pane

Now I'm asleep in a car

I mean the world to a potty-mouth girl

A pretty pair of blue-eyed birds

"Time isn't kind or unkind," you liked to say

But I wonder to who

And what it is you're saying today

IRON & WINE - Tree by the river by MarMat7681

Several other songs on this album strike me as being particularly worthy of your time to listen to and enjoy.

"Monkeys Uptown" is a great example of my point earlier that this album requires active listening. In particular, the first time I listended to it as I was doing some other work, I though it was a mess: too many things happending and unnecessary sound effects. But once the tune became familiar, I started to appreciate the complex instrumentation and different layers of the song. I really don't know whether I'll choose this song in two, five or twenty years to play by itself, but it totally works for me now.

The second song on this album, "Me and Lazarus," kept me thinking all week. I wanted to find a connection to the song "Po' Lazarus" that was recorded by Alan Lomax and included on the great soundtrack to "O Brother Where Art Thou," but I just couldn't find it. I hear musical and sound effect references to it in this song, but thematically I'm not seeing it. Maybe someone can help me out with that.

In the end, I have more questions about what this ablum means than I have answers after listening it. That makes me like it. I find myself actively puzziling over it even after 10 or 12 listens. Maybe there is no big metaphysical meaning here and Sam Beam has snowed me into thinking there is with complex, beautiful instrumentation and opaque lyrics. But I don't think that's right. I know that I'm intellectually intrigued by these songs and I expect I will be for some time to come. And that's enough for me to recommend this to my friends...

By the way, here's a link to Iron & Wine's website.

John Hiatt and Lyle Lovett: Show Notes and Album Reviews (4 of 52)

2011-01-31T04:18:39Z

So, we just got back from seeing John Hiatt and Lyle Lovett playing together on acoustic guitars at the Midland Theater in Newark, Ohio.

I'll try to keep the superlatives to a minimum here because I'm still on a concert high from watching two giants perform in close quarters for over two hours. Let's start with the details.

First of all, if you are in one of these places, you should seriously consider doing whatever it takes to get to one of these shows.

January 31 - Ann Arbor, MI - Michigan Theater

February 02 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater

February 03 - Kalamazoo, MI - State Theatre

February 04 - Orillia, ON - Casino Rama

February 05 - Fort Wayne, IN - Embassy Theater

February 07 - Minneapolis, MN - State Theatre

February 09 - Midland, MI - Midland Center for the Arts

February 10 - Bloomington, IL - Bloomington Center for Arts

February 11 - Joliet, IL - Rialto Square Theatre

February 12 - Indianapolis, IN - Murat Theater

February 13 - Louisville, KY - Whitney Hall

The format of these show is dead simple and stripped of any pretense or cover for the artists. Basically, there are two chairs on the stage. Lovett and Hiatt make an unceremonious entrance, sit down and start playing songs on their acoustic guitars. They take turns playing songs and in between they talk about whatever is on their mind. It could not be more simple. At the same time, it's obviously a huge exposure artistically. There's not a backing band or vocals to cover your wavering voice or missed note on the guitar. The fans are sitting quietly in their seats hanging on every note.

What I'm saying is that while it is a simple format, it also lays bare the artists true talent.... In this case, what it lays bare are two very different but exceptional talents. My friends Dan and Stephanie and my wife Cathy were talking about the differences on the way home. Lyle Lovett has a very precise approach to his music. He was relaxed and genial in his banter with Hiatt and the audience, but once his songs started he was focused. While I have no way of backing this up, I'm guessing the songs sound pretty much the same from night to night. That sound features pure and strong vocals accompanied by and extremely precise guitar. He hit every note vocally and on the guitar with perfect tone. He's an absolute craftsman and the intensity of his emotion is palpable.

Complimenting Lovett's style, John Hiatt plays every song with a certain wide-open flair. One gets the impression that even if here were to play one of his songs twice in a row, it could sound completely different. He wears his heart on his sleeve in his musical interpretation. Toward the end of the set, Hiatt played "Have a Little Faith in Me;" this is one of my top 100 songs of all time, but the emotional and cerebral interpretation that Hiatt gave it tonight shed new light on an already nearly perfect song for me.

Enough about the show, let me tell you a little bit about their recent releases before I hit the sack. Lovett's most recent album is "Natural Force" (get it here on Amazon MP3). This is an interesting album in that it mixes some beautiful music with some songs that I would characterize as silly. The opening song on the album is the title track "Natural Forces." It's a song about truckers, Native Americans, soldiers and cowboys. Basically, it's about people riding the currents of their lives and history, hoping for the best - not passively, but with a sense that there are larger forces that we deal with every day and through history.

Now as I sit here safe at home
With a cold Coors Lite an' the TV on
All the sacrifice and the death and war
Lord I pray that I'm worth fighting for

I'm sitting here with my Coors Light and thinking about those things too, Lyle. Thanks for this song.

Now that I'm thinking about it, the next two songs on the album aren't really silly, but they are definately more light hearted and fun. "Farmer Brown/Chicken Reel" and "Keep It in Your Pantry" lighten up the tone for the rest of the album which has some great other songs like "Empty Blue Shoes" and "Whooping Crane" that are more in the country tradition that Lovett nails.

John Hiatt's newest album (from last March) is "Open Road." Like his other albums, it's a lyrical and songwriting clinic for anyone interested in that art. The chorus of the title track is a melancholy lyric about wandering:

The open road where the hopeless come
To see if hope still runs
One by one they bring their broke down loads
And leave 'em where the hobo dreams are stowed

This is a great album. I highly recommend it.

That's all for this week, folks. Not sure what's on tap for next week, but stay tuned. Thanks for reading.