The Lists: Top 20 Albums of 2009 (11-20)

Here it is folks! Expanded for 2009, my
Top 20 Albums of the Year - Part I.

20. Wye Oak - The Knot
Merge, 7.21.2009
It's a loud, alt-rock album kept country with a heavy dose of steel guitar. Wye Oak is Jenn Wasner (guitar, vocals) and Andy Stack (drums, vocals). If being signed to Merge Records isn't enough, the beauty of The Knot, their sophomore album, should help bring some attention going into the next decade.

Wye Oak - For Prayer
[Direct][CD][MP3][eMusic][iTunes]

19. Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
Nonesuch, 6.26.2009
The boldly titled seventh album from alt-country mainstay Wilco did not disappoint. Jeff Tweedy continues to provide welcoming melodies and infectious guitar licks overlain with his unmistakably heavyhearted vocals. Each time I listen, I find a new favorite track. In fact, as I write this, I already wish I would have placed it higher in this list.

Wilco - I'll Fight
[Direct][Vinyl][CD][MP3][iTunes]

18. Slaid Cleaves - Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away
Music Road, 4.21.2009
Folk storyman Slaid Cleaves may not pump out albums, but for our patience we get carefully crafted song showcases that continually impress. While Everything You Love doesn't have a 'Broke Down,' there remain 11 songs filled with first-person experience that only Slaid could recount with such ease and grace.

Slaid Cleaves - Black T-Shirt
[Direct][CD][MP3][eMusic][iTunes]

17. Stephanie Briggs - Birds Barely Know Us
Smith Entertainment, 3.31.2009
It's strange that out of all the Texas acts I used to follow, a female, Stephanie Briggs, would bring an album that follows the general direction to which my musical tastes have shifted. What's not so strange is that running around with the likes of Cody Canada, Stephanie learned how to use a guitar the right way. Calling New Braunfels, TX home, Stephanie (guitar, vocals) and husband Matthew (percussion, vocals) offer a freshly energetic album with an indie-edge.

Stephanie Briggs - Private Parts
[Direct][CD][MP3][eMusic][iTunes]

16. The Felice Brothers - Yonder Is The Clock
Team Love, 4.7.2009
Since 2007's Tonight At The Arizona, each of The Felice Brothers' albums have become slightly less enjoyable - mainly due to too much album-filler. But just as I passed through Yonder Is The Clock to check inventory, I remembered just how good the good ones are. Ian Felice can strike my fancy just as easily with a raucous barn-burner as he can with a plaintive dirge. Read my original review.

The Felice Brothers - Boy From Lawrence County
[Direct][Vinyl][CD][iTunes]

15. Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses - Roadhouse Sun
Lost Highway, 6.2.2009
Another product of the Texas Music scene, Ryan Bingham emerged with the basics only to build upon them to gain national success. I'll admit, if I hadn't found this album for $3.99 on Amazon, I most-likely wouldn't have given it a shot this year. Sure glad I did - Roadhouse Sun is a dustblown disc expertly arranged with the fullest sound to come from Ryan yet.

Ryan Bingham - Change Is
[Direct][Vinyl][CD][MP3][iTunes]

14. Great Bloomers - Speak of Trouble
Maple Music Recordings, 4.21.2009
The Great Bloomers came out of nowhere (actually Canada) and brought us an easy choice for a top 20 list. Lowell Sostomi and crew offer piano-fueled, guitar-aided, harmony-highlighted folk-pop that oozes optimism. Listed first in their 'influence' column are The Beach Boys, and nowhere does that 'influence' ring truer than when they institute deft 4-part harmonies. Speak of Trouble jauntily guides you though 11 tracks of unique arrangements and sticky melodies.

Great Bloomers - Admit Defeat
[Direct][CD][MP3][eMusic][iTunes]

13. Brendan Benson - My Old, Familiar Friend
ATO, 8.18.2009
This is Brendan Benson's fourth solo album, but remains the only one I've heard. I was first introduced to Brendan when he joined forces with Jack White in The Raconteurs. When I heard My Old, Familiar Friend, it was quickly evident how much of Consolers was influenced by Brendan. If you like the pop melodies and smooth vocals from The Raconteurs, Brendan Benson comes highly recommended. First order of business for 2010: check out Benson's back catalog.

Brendan Benson - Garbage Day
[Vinyl][CD][eMusic][iTunes]

12. The Avett Brothers - I And Love And You
Sony/American, 9.29.2009
Just two short years after The Avett Brothers topped my list of albums, it seems they are already the clichéd choice. Good news for them, but as you'll remember from my original review, (sorta) bad news for me. Their meteoric rise from obscurity landed them in the studio with Rick Rubin for 2009's I And Love And You. His polished touch on the album created a different sound that initially rubbed some of us the wrong way. From the small sampling of reviews I found that weren't fawning over the disc, one common theme emerged: This album will grow on you. While in its second listening round, the album hit me in a different way. Once I got over the production choices, all that was left were the songs. And they were good.

The Avett Brothers - And It Spread
[Direct][Vinyl][CD][MP3][eMusic][iTunes]

11. These United States - Everything Touches Everything
United Interests, 9.1.2009
Reigning Best Album champs These United States released their third disc in just two years. Last year's Crimes was my choice for Best Album last year, but interestingly enough, I couldn't find a song from it to include in my Best Songs list. The same approach was taken with 2009's Everything Touches Everything, in which Jesse Elliot crafted a cohesive album. None of the songs were written with a single in mind, but rather each was written as an equally important element to the disc. Maybe it's not quite as good as Crimes (due mainly to the fact that its opener was a stellar, thematic lead-in), but still an immense joy to listen to - and that's all that matters.

These United States - I'm Gonna Assemble A City
[Direct][CD][MP3][eMusic][iTunes]


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Continue to Part II (Albums 1-10)....
2009's Top 5 EP's
2009's Best Videos

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Refresh your memory with last year's lists:
Top EPs
Top Songs
Top Albums, pt 1
Top Albums, pt 2

New Digs......

Awww Yea-uh!

Back again with a handful of tunes I've been diggin' on lately.
You know the drill: listen... enjoy... buy.

Wilco - Jolly Banker
A couple weeks ago, Wilco made this Woody Guthrie cover tune available for download on their site. It's another example of music completely transcending time and history - the satirical song that was penned back in the dust bowl days as a slight to the fat-pocketed bankers rings just as true today. Nice choice Jeff. In related news, Wilco has announced their newest effort will be titled Wilco (The Album) and will feature a special appearance from Feist. Pick it up June 30th.

Sara Watkins - Will We Go
Sara Watkins was once 1/3 of the bluegrass-crossover giant Nickel Creek. Both Chris Thile and Sara's brother Sean dabbled in solo albums throughout the bands' tenure, but Sara has just released her debut solo album. The self-titled effort is well worth your time - especially if you are/were a Nickel fan - if only because of her fiddle skills and the fact that Gillian & Dave make an appearance. Buy It.

The Duke & The King - If You Ever Get Famous
I mentioned that Simone Felice decided to leave his band of brothers earlier this year. His new outfit, The Duke & The King, features Simone and Robert Chicken Burke. Their US debut, Nothing Gold Can Stay, will be available in August through Ramseur Records.

Band of Annuals - Blood On My Shirt
I came to know of Salt Lake City folk group Band of Annuals thanks to a reader recommendation (thanks Jeff). This six-piece band creates great folk rock, highlighted by a male-female vocal combo that sounds a lot like This Mornin'... favorite The Gougers. Get their latest album, Let Me Live, here.

J. Tillman - When I Light Your Darkened Door
Fleet Foxes drummer Josh Tillman recently recorded a session over at Daytrotter, showcasing some of his amazing solo work. It's mostly mellow, sounding somewhat like a mix between Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver. This tune is from Cancer and Delirium. He more recently put out Vacilando Territory Blues.

Robin Pecknold (Fleet Foxes) - It Ain't Me Babe
I found a nice video of Fleet Foxes' frontman doing his best Dylan - and ripped the audio for you.

Guest Post: Desolation Row - The Early Songs of Jeff Tweedy

A friend of mine, Tim Regetz – with whom i generally need to have a dictionary handy just to have a conversation with – told me he wanted to write a sort-of guest post here at This Mornin’. A grad student in English, if Tim isn’t the smartest cat i know, then he sure knows how to talk like it.

While choosing Jeff Tweedy as the topic of his piece fits right in with the theme of this blog, i was a little anxious over his decision. i consider myself an Uncle Tupelo fan; however, i tend to favor Jay Farrar’s output (both with Uncle Tupelo and since) quite a bit more. Maybe it’s because most of Son Volt’s stuff is initially catchier, sonically, than Wilco’s (this does not ring true for the most recent efforts from each band, though). But with just one read through of Tim’s words, i was immediately excited to begin my exploration of Tweedy’s work. Tim delves deeply into the most introspective songs that Jeff has recorded, all the while deciphering the puzzle of lyrics he uses as a release.

Without further adieu, here is Tim’s superbly insightful look into the muse of Jeff Tweedy (complete with mp3's):

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Desolation Row: The Early Songs of Jeff Tweedy

There are some artists who I wouldn’t want to sit down with, not because they wouldn’t be insightful, but because what they had to say might leave me really depressed. I think of Jeff Tweedy as that kind of artist. Sure, alt-music in general is full of its share of sad-bastard sorts, but very few (e.g. Ryan Adams or Joanna Newsom) who should be mentioned in the same breath of contemporary greats like Tweedy in terms of their artistry and the maturity with which they treat their lyrical content.

What makes the Wilco front man so sad? For one, I think he gets the contentious, sometimes funny, always disputatious conundrum that is the male-female relationship, an understanding which makes him prone to the effects of some pretty stark observations about the way we treat the ones we love and how we deal with ourselves. It makes sense, then, that the early work of Jeff Tweedy displays, as far as I can tell, almost no straightforward love songs, fitting for an artist who wisely rejects conventionally held, romantic notions of idealized relationships and self-respect.

Consider one of Tweedy’s most successful interpretive efforts with Uncle Tupelo, “I Wish My Baby was Born,” a song about a man considering his life after his wife’s death. It’s not a song about the baby, and that he ignores the regenerative capabilities normally associated with newborns reveals his dissatisfaction with those “healthy” modes of grieving. Instead, he’s struggling with how he’ll live without someone who grounded his life, hinting at both a return to the ways of a man left unchecked and “the day… / When you and I will walk as one.” Suicide? Maybe it’s a stretch, but at least a man with a pretty good reason to look forward to death, and the second-half of all of this little song’s 1:40 running time is instrumental, providing a backdrop for reflection on those despairing few verses.

mp3: Uncle Tupleo - I Wish My Baby Was Born

from March 16-20, 1992

Probably my favorite Wilco track, “We’re Just Friends” makes Tweedy sound absolutely at rope’s end: he can’t do anything else to promise his woman of his fidelity. His voice is deliberate, worn-out. The only beautiful vocals are the harmonies, which boost his promises (“I can’t imagine ever being apart / I’ll come back to you / It’ll be brand new”) in contrast to his debilitating reflections, but even these sentiments come across like they’ve been delivered by the same man to the same woman scores of times. Taken as a whole, if this woman doesn’t give him another shot, Tweedy sounds like he’s about run out of options.

mp3: Wilco - We're Just Friends
from the Summerteeth Demos

On a somewhat lighter note, the bar-stomp of “Casino Queen” follows the formulaic downfall of the new groom. The line “The wife that I just met / She’s lookin like a wreck” sets up the predicament quite nicely: man gets hammered at the casino, finds himself at the table, married to his mirror image. But Tweedy, avoiding any of the lyrical pitfalls of such a perfect country song premise, focuses on the other woman in his life, the dealer: “Casino Queen! / My lord you’re mean / But I’ve been gambling like a fiend / On your table so green.” What does a man do when he realizes his relationship is a wreck? He tries to change his fortunes with another woman. Considering the context of his predicament, his lyrics (coupled with a complementary stomping beat and guitar/fiddle riff) are humorous in spite of the song’s weight and severity. As like most dreams realized in a bar, this one doesn’t seem like it’s likely to pan-out.

mp3: Wilco - Casino Queen
from A.M. (1995)

One thing I’ve always had against commercial country singers is their insistence on trying to come-off as the ubiquitous badass. A brief overview of the songs and topics discussed on this blog should be evidence enough of some of those problems the discerning taste has with a country-machismo stance. One of the most endearing qualities in Tweedy’s music, the one which drew me especially to his early Wilco work, was the fact that I didn’t have to dumb myself down or lower my expectations of the artist for my enjoyment of his music.

Rest assured, Jeff Tweedy can tell you about being a man: it’s lonely, you question your behavior and (im)maturity, and your only goal is to be with someone who doesn’t remind you so much of your shortcomings. As the title suggests, “How to Fight Loneliness” is the perfect example of Tweedy’s zeitgeist: this should be the anthem for any guy who feels like he doesn’t fit-in. His solution is dry, morose, and sarcastic, but it also seems to work: “Just smile all the time / Shine your teeth till meaningless / And sharpen them with lies.” If you’re smart enough, you can bullshit the room and get away with it (note: Jeff Tweedy is smart enough; of course, singing about it kinda gives away your secret). But maybe that’s the point: he’s tired of hiding, and his art is his catharsis, his confession. Maybe I shouldn’t fear Jeff Tweedy, since he’s a self-confessed chameleon, doing his best to conceal (not fight, mind you) his loneliness.

mp3: Wilco - How To Fight Loneliness
from the Summerteeth Demos

Oh, it gets worse. “A Shot in the Arm” examines the depths to which he’s willing to follow a friend into self-destruction. “The ashtray says / You were up all night / When you went to bed / With your darkest mind / You’ve changed.” It sucks realizing you’ve lost a friend, and he does what is convenient and painless for that problem: he considers shooting up. Tweedy perfectly realizes the druggie’s solution to all problems: “Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm… / Something in my vein bloodier than blood.” That he repeats the line seven times consecutively, each line delivered with growing intensity until it becomes a howling confession, convinces us that he’s convincing himself. Sad part is, if he went through with the horse-ride, he probably would forget the friend and accomplish his goal of avoiding the confrontation. But he realizes something much more about himself and the friend by coming up with that perfect, confrontational one liner probably heard on every episode of Intervention: “What you once were isn’t what you want to be anymore.” He’s addressing everybody: the subject of the song, himself, and an audience that, in 1999, was preparing for the sonic deconstruction which he would front into the next millenium. As Townes once said “I’m through with that kind of living.” I think, at the end of “A Shot in the Arm,” Tweedy shows that he acknowledges this same sentiment, but much like the former, he may be embracing only part of the solution to his own problems.

mp3: Wilco - A Shot In The Arm

from the Summerteeth Demos

To close with, I chose another song from Uncle Tupelo, this one a Tweedy original, “Black Eye.” The song, like much of Tweedy’s early(-ier) work, leaves us with a plethora of examples of reflection and despair but little hope of where to go. What always affected me in this song, apart from what would become those trademark illusively haunting (read: depressing) Tweedy lyrics, was the incessant pace of that guitar picking; it’s like a headlong pursuit of this guy’s life, his coming to terms with the masculine legacy which he cannot escape, to the point that “he took down / all the mirrors in the hallway / and thought only of his younger face,” leaving us with a distinct sense that it’s not just the character noticing these things, it’s the artistic self-reflection of a man who may have never resolved some of these issues.

mp3: Uncle Tupleo - Black Eye

from March 16-20, 1992

For the forum in which to discuss this art which all your readers embrace, many thanks to the proprietor of this site, a man of inscrutable musical taste and a member of that noble crusade which seeks the accumulation of and appreciation for all great music.

~ Tim Regetz

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