On Music Worth Checking Out

My brother and some other people have been trying to get me to listen to more Country music, but the big name artists I checked out (explanation below) didn't impress. I thought I'd check out more of Wilco and Drive-By Truckers, two artists I'd already been impressed with, as well as to listen to the albums of theirs I'd already heard, as well as some other artists that make Country music or something similar, and I'm very glad that I did. If you're one of many people who won't give Country a chance, please give these songs an honest chance. I'd dismiss the genre too if I were only going by stuff on the radio, like Toby Keith giving beer to his horses or telling terrorists what's what.

Everything below's not Country, though. There's a bunch of other songs/bands that I've listened to recently but forgotten to share, so enjoy!

Old Crow Medicine Show
As you can see, I really liked the debut album from these guys.

OCMS - Take 'em Away
This sounds like a traditional or a riff on a traditional. Check out these lyrics:
Take ‘em away, take ‘em away, Lord
Take away these chains from me
My heart is broken ‘cause my spirit’s not free
Lord take away these chains from me

Some birds’ feathers are too bright to be caged
I know I’m not that colorful but a bird just the same
Open up your gate now, let me put down my load
So I can feel at ease and go back to my home


OCMS - Wagon Wheel
No matter what the lyrics may be about or what they show in the video, something about this song is just so sweet.


OCMS - We're All In This Together
I think my favorite part of this song is how the twangy strings in the back and the singer both seem to crack and wail together.


OCMS - Hard To Tell
They get to show off their speed and musicianship in this song.


OCMS - CC Rider


OCMS - Hard To Love
A twist on the old theme of unrequited love:


OCMS - Poor Man


OCMS - Big Time In the Jungle
A song about a young man going to Vietnam in specific, and to war in general.


Wilco
I'd heard of Wilco for some time, though I'd never listened to them until I really grew to love a VW ad campaign that had songs from Sky Blue Sky in it, so I checked that album out and liked it, though I didn't think much more of it at that point. I relistened to it recently, along with other albums, which I'm still going through. I wasn't enamored with Wilco's songs--which are solid throughout, without a doubt--as with the artists I've placed before and after them, but I still want to share a few songs of theirs from their first album.
Wilco - Pick Up the Change
Wilco - That's Not the Issue
Wilco - Should've Been In Love


Drive-By Truckers
I heard all of Alan Jackson's music and most of George Strait's after my brother wouldn't stop criticizing me for loving Iron & Wine, whose brilliance I explained to him mostly in terms of Sam Beam's deep, complex and poetic lyrics. He said if I want something poetic, I should listen to George Strait, and he'd been telling me to check out a bunch of country artists as it was. Unfortunately, my brother's started doing something he never used to do, which is to listen to mainstream radio stations. Sure, Country has a lot of great artists and fans of the genre bristle at all the people who dismiss it as a whole, but mainstream, formulaic country is no better than mainstream, formulaic anything. Strait is like Mariah Carey, let's say. He has hits undeniably, and a great deal of talent, as well as songs that most anyone can be fond of, but having staying power on the charts for decades (this guy has 50 #1 singles!), you have to be broad and not so deep, so while there are songs here and there in his albums that I can really appreciate, they're drowned out by a whole bunch of stuff that lyrically and musically sounds exactly the same as every other song of his or anyone else's on the radio. Alan Jackson I found to be a similar, though less successful, story.

I was really pleased, then, to listen to Drive-By Truckers, whose Country/Southern Rock music is skillful, adventurous, and dignified, amongst other things. The first song below is what really caught my ear and appealed to my reason.

Drive-By Truckers - Outfit
Country has a LOT of songs that are about how Southern/Country/Hick the artist is, replete with illustrative examples. It's really just pandering, touching on hot topics and key words the way politicians do in their debates and the way political ads have eagles and flags and puppies and children in them. Here's a song that bucks the trend, something that's not meant to make a bunch of drunk people chant U-S-A! or the equivalent, something that's rooted in real pride and dignity, as well as honest self-reflection.


Drive-By Truckers - The Living Bubba
A song about an artist who has AIDS and may die soon, but he "can't die now cuz I got another show to do." The lyrics are so representative of DBT...honest, real, unashamed. "Don't give me no preachin' no self servin'. I ain't no angel but nobody's deserving...I ain't got no political agenda, Ain't got no message for the youth of America 'cept 'Wear a rubber and be careful who you screw' and come see me next Friday cuz I got another show..."


Drive-By Truckers - Late For Church
Reverend Bob is pointin' his finger
Mom and Dad follow every last word
All this hollerin' makes me wonder
Does a whispered prayer get heard?


Drive-By Truckers - Why Henry Drinks
Wow, speaking of honest, these lyrics hit hard and pull no punches...at least, the person in the song doesn't.

Drive-By Truckers - Buttholeville
I love the dirty sound of Why Henry Drinks and this song as well. I just love the energy of this song. It reminds me a bit of ZZ Top or The Black Keys.

Drive-By Truckers - Steve McQueen
This song showcases how playful and clever DBT is. They're not content to stick to the well-trodden path, and if they're going to praise an idol of their, it's not going to be without some digs at other people (Alec Baldwin catches a bit of their dismissive ire here).




Drive-By Truckers - The Deeper In
Wow, heart-breaking and real, this song was apparently based on a magazine article about a brother-sister couple in jail for consensual incest.

Drive-By Truckers - Sink Hole
Wow...the singer shows both pride in the land that's being taken from him (this is apparently based on the film The Accountant) and shameless, murderous anger at the man who's taking it from him.

Drive-By Truckers - Hell No I Ain't Happy
I think the first line of this song, "There’s a lot of bad wood underneath the veneer," is the perfect summary of the anger bubbling underneath that the singer feels.

Drive-By Truckers - My Sweet Annette
Heartbreaking and penitent

Drive-By Truckers - Sounds Better in the Song
Heartbreaking and stripped down, fittingly.
"Dreams are given to you when you’re young enough to dream them
before they can do you any harm.
They don’t start to hurt, until you try to hold on to them after seeing how they really are.
She used to dream them with me, every single crazy one,
until they started hurting her too, now she’s got some of her own
and outgrowing me, might be the best thing for her she’s ever done."

Drive-By Truckers - Your Daddy Hates Me
Again, honest, to the point, repentant, flawed, but proud. I'd respect someone who showed these qualities in his life and can't help but love DBT for all exhibiting them in their songs.

Drive-By Truckers - Decoration Day
Oh my God...such a moving tale of bad blood and violence between two families for reasons the singer can't remember or doesn't know, but which affect him through and through all the same.

Levon Helm
I like the earnest and articulate lyrics, the heartfelt/wailing singing, the beautiful strings and the simple, yet lively drumming from Helm, drummer of The Band, amongst other projects. The songs span or touch on Country, Traditionals, Folk and Blues, if not other styles, and feel as organic as the title of the album from which these came, Dirt Farmer.

Levon Helm - False Hearted Lover Blues
I love how absolutely catchy this song is and Helm's wailing, bluesy delivery.


Levon Helm - Poor Old Dirt Farmer
As with "Poor Man" above, sometimes artists, even really successful ones, just get the plight of the commonest of men, and it shows here. I also really like the style of this song, how everything quiets down at the start of each verse, and how everyone joins in after he sets up the latest description of the poor old dirt farmer.


Levon Helm - Little Birds
Sparse, especially considering Helm's a great drummer, but I love the harmonies:


Levon Helm - Calvary
There's something so epic about this song, like it's some Negro Spiritual or something, as if it predates even The Blues.


Levon Helm - Anna Lee
Again, I really enjoy how heartfelt Helm sounds, how much meaning he gives his words (and the words themselves--"...hold your sweet, weary head to my breast") and the wonderful harmonizing:


Levon Helm - A Train Robbery
A great telling of a folk tale, that of Frank and Jesse James, in epic fashion:


Levon Helm - Single Girl, Married Girl
I love this song for its simplicity and the lead/chorus style (especially that wailing chorus):


Levon Helm - The Blind Child


Dntel
Jimmy Tamborello is Dntel, minus vocal contributions from artists including Ben Gibbard, of Death Cab for Cutie, who wrote/sang for (This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan (below), which they liked enough that they collaborated to form Postal Service and give us the great Give Up album as well as other singles/B-sides/remixes. I thought I'd give Dntel a try because I'd heard good things about it...some of the same things I'd heard about the instrumental group Explosions in the Sky. Other than the Evan/Chan song, though, it mostly seemed like random noises. Still, I gave it multiple tries and the benefit of the doubt because of my love for Postal Service, and I'm glad I did. I'd still have trouble explaining to people why some songs aren't just noise, but I think it's something that needs to be experienced, preferably with a good pair of headphones that also block out or cancel outside noises--as much of the sound is atmospheric--and preferably with one's eyes closed. I sometimes grow tired of certain Dntel songs when I pay close, critical attention to them, but when I don't, I find it easy to get lost in them. It's like you can't miss the forest for the trees with Dntel songs, like the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, which don't make as much sense on their own.

Dntel - High Horses Theme
What I love about this song is how atmospheric, how ethereal it sounds, the lush fades and the tight snare beat underneath them.


Dntel - Tybalt 60
This song reminds me of Track 13, I believe, of the music from an old Wu-Tang video game, though I'm hard-pressed to figure out a way to play that for you:


Dntel - Casuals
Answer me this...how can you listen to this song and not tap your foot and drum along in any way you know how?


Dntel - Jewel States
This reminds me of Old Goats, which reminds me of Gotan Project. See below for both.



Dntel - (This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan
So this is the song that started it all for the side project that came to be known later as Postal Service. The lyrics are so sweet, and the description of a dream brought to an end by a ringing phone..."Your eyelashes tickled my neck with every nervous blink. And it was perfect...until the telephone started ringing, ringing, ringing, ringing, ringing off."


Dntel - (This Is) The Dream Of Evan And Chan (Superpitcher Kompakt rmx)
This is my favorite remix of the song.


Dntel - (This Is) The story of Evan and Chan (Lali Puna Remix)
I often feel remixes do nothing more than make a song playable in a club if it wasn't otherwise so. I'm learning more about electronica-type music and appreciating it more, slowly getting to the point where I can pick out real gems from what I described just now. This is a remix I really enjoy because it takes this song that I really love and retains its preciousness even without the lyrics or Ben Gibbard's singing:


Old Goats
...weird...I can hardly find any record of this band or its album 22 Songs From Brazil, online. Does it no longer exist? Hmmph. Wow, even iTunes and CDDB.com have no record of it. Well, you can hear their song Marinheiro here, as well as the band and some of their music here.

As for Gotan Project, they're a French tango group and I was very happy to see the following song of theirs featured in the Chuck episode "Chuck vs. The Tango."

Gotan Project - Santa Maria (Del Buen Ayre)


Gotan Project - Triptico
Now, I haven't recently rediscovered Gotan Project. I've appreciated them for a while. But I was reminded of them while listening to these other songs, so I might as well also share this song, which makes me want to get up and dance...and I don't even really like to dance:


Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
I actually got to know Nick Cave through his writing of the wonderful movies The Proposition and The Road before checking out his music, about which I'd heard great things. If you like Tom Waits' music for its deep, dark themes and honest beauty, or if you appreciate the music/singing from Murder By Death, you'll probably really like this. The following are just four random songs that happened to play together when I searched for Nick Cave on Grooveshark, and they're all beautiful. (haha, Nick Cave is comically awkward and unintentionally hilarious in his videos, so try to ignore that and just pay attention to the songs if his expressions and movements and hairstyle are turning you off to his music)

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Where the Wild Roses Grow (featuring Kylie Minogue? Wow, that's random)
Apparently from an album called Murder Ballads


Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Henry Lee (featuring Polly Jean Harvey)
(also from Murder Ballads)


Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - As I Sat Sadly By Her Side
This simple piano melody, which could easily be found in an R&B song on the radio, is put to much better use here:


Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Red Right Hand
I like the sparse, effective arrangement, and that it reminds me of the Tom Waits song that served as The Wire's theme song. This is the only Nick Cave song with which I was already familiar, because of the cover below from the Arctic Monkeys:


Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys - Red Right Hand
I've heard a bunch of covers of this song, but I think only my beloved Arctic Monkeys got it right, as they don't lose the emphatic, through restrained, energy, even as they amp things up.


While we're here, I might as well share some songs from their new album, Humbug, which I really enjoyed, and for which Red Right Hand is a great B-side. The album veers toward the dirtier, slower songs they've done on their previous two albums, and I'm tempted to put every song on the album here, but I have to resist that urge.

Arctic Monkeys - Dangerous Animals
This is representative of the cool guitar parts and darkly jaunty beats they've had in songs before.


Arctic Monkeys - Fire and the Thud
This is more representative of the pace of this album, with things a bit more deliberate and the themes personal, but still cynical, or at least presented askance (did I use that word properly? Well you know what I meant).


Arctic Monkeys - I Haven't Got My Strange
And this is another B-side or bonus that I really enjoy, especially as its strangeness matches the titular theme.


Reverend and the Makers
I loved the first album from these guys for some of the same reasons as my love for Arctic Monkeys, though their music seems more electronic and their world view more contently cynical. This first song should make that latter point clear. This album seems to be less pop/electronica than the last, if my impression/memory of them is based on anything substantial, and it took me a while to get into. I was disappointed at first, and am now hooked. Go figure. I sometimes fall in love with the sound of a band so much that I don't tolerate even the slightest changes.

Reverend and the Makers - Hidden Persuaders


Reverend and the Makers - Professor Pickles
I absolutely love the sound of this and the song just below it, starting with the great music.


Reverend and the Makers - Manifesto/People Shapers
I especially love the great hits in this song, and the wonderful transition to its second part. Lest you think these guys say the same thing all socially critical high schoolers say with a bit more linguistic skill, this is the band's statement against the far-right British National Party. "Since when did it get passe to be having a say? Retrospective rebels aren't enough."


Reverend and the Makers - Hard Time for Dreamers
These guys can do slow and pensive as well as Arctic Monkeys, even ramping up the energy in a similar way at one point. As with the Arctic Monkeys album, I'm so fond of all the songs here that I struggled to pick just a few.


The Strokes
These NYC rockers' debut album, Is This It? made a lot of Best of the 00s lists, so I checked them out again. I realized that there were a lot of times in recent memory when I had heard a song that reminded me of The Killers or Franz Ferdinand or something, but seemed better, more confident, but I couldn't remember what artist made those songs...and they all turned out to be by The Strokes. I don't know enough to be able to say why this album deserves to be on all those lists. It's especially hard for me to compare albums/artists from this style/genre of music, but it's definitely good. The music is catchy, energetic, dynamic (a big factor in separating the real bands from the posers...do they play just chords and have very familiar song structure or do they actually vary things, layer their music, have drumming that can't be replaced by the same from any other random group/song?). The singing is surprisingly subdued, muffled in sound, laid back and nonchalant for the subject material. It and the title of the album seem self-consciously modest. Here are a few samples:

The Strokes - The Modern Age


The Strokes - Soma
Is the soma mentioned in this song a reference to the drug from Brave New World? Anyway, I like how the music is so catchy and in contrast with the lyrics and the way everything slows down for "stop...and go."


The Strokes - Someday


The Strokes - Alone, Together
The music in the beginning reminds me of Take Me Out (also really good) by Franz Ferdinand, especially at the 0:45ish point in that song. Granted, the Franz Ferdinand album came out later, but I knew it first.


The Strokes - Last Nite
Probably one of the more recognizable songs by these guys that I still didn't realize was them until just a few days ago


The Strokes - Hard To Explain


The Strokes - When It Started
This reminds me of The Fratellis' album, Costello Music, only I like this better. As before, the other songs from this album are also great, but I have to stop posting them at some point.


The Weepies
The Weepies - Can't Go Back Now
This is kinda random. I happen to love The Weepies already, but haven't listened to their music lately. I just stumbled upon this great video while looking for the videos above, so I'm sharing this song as well.


Okkervil River
I also relistened to Okkervil River's Black Sheep Boy album and saw the glimpse of something special that I saw way back when, but both times, I listened in my car and didn't keep my focus through the album, so I have to check it out again to get a good sense of it as a whole. I'm tired right now and need to lie down, so I don't feel like commenting on the following songs, but they're a good sampling of what I really like from this album.

Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy
Okkervil River - For Real
Okkervil River - In a Radio Song
Okkervil River - Black
Okkervil River - Song Of Our So-Called Friend