The 100 Best Songs of 2016

1. In Bloom - Sturgill Simpson

2. Gold - Kiiara

3. Spirits - The Strumbellas

4. Waves [Remix] - Miguel featuring Kacey Musgraves

5. My Church - Maren Morris

6. Take It All Back - Judah and the Lion

7. Lake By the Ocean - Maxwell

8. River - Bishop Briggs

9. The Sound - The 1975

10. Nobody Speak - DJ Shadow featuring Run the Jewels

11. We the People.... - A Tribe Called Quest

12. After the Afterparty - Charli XCX featuring Lil Yacgty

13. Get Out - Frightened Rabbit

14. Yellow Eyes - Rayland Baxter

15. Way Down We Go - Kaleo

16. Capsized - Andrew Bird

17. Shine - Mondo Cozmo

18. Send My Love (To Your New Lover) - Adele

19. Up&Up - Coldplay

20. When We Were Young - Adele

21. 24K Magic - Bruno Mars

22. I Don't Care About You - Lake Street Dive

23. Ain't No Man - The Avett Brothers

24. Happiness - Needtobreathe

25. Angela - The Lumineers

26. All We Ever Knew - The Head and The Heart

27. Hardwired - Metallica

28. White Flag - Joseph

29. Love Me - The 1975

30. Small Bill$ - Regina Spektor

31. Hurtin' (On the Bottle) - Margo Price

32. Longer - Lydia Loveless

33. Blended Family (What You Do For Love)\ - Alicia Keys featuring A$AP Rocky

34. Hotel Pool - Lily and Madeleine

35. River - Leon Bridges

36. SOS (Overboard) - Joseph

37. Cleopatra - The Lumineers

38. Vaporize - Amos Lee

39. Bury It - Chvrches featuring Hayley Williams

40. I Forgive It All - Mudcrutch

41. Sleep on the Floor - The Lumineers

42. I Go Through - O.A.R.

43. For the Weak - Lily and Madeleine

44. I Need Never Get Old - Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats

45. Part One - Hey, No Pressure - Ray Lamontange

46. Carry On - Norah Jones

47. A Change of Heart - The 1975

48. She Burns - Foy Vance

49. Help Me Out - The Wild Feathers

50. You Belong To Me - Bryan Adams

51. Lost Weekend - Pete Yorn

52. Underneath - Maia Sharp

53. On Hold - The xx

54. Fire - Barns Courtney

55. Black River - Sierra Hull

56. Born Again Teen - Lucius

57. Waste a Moment - Kings of Leon

58. Tragedy - Norah Jones

59. Starving - Hailee Steinfeld and Grey featuring Zedd

60. You Don't Get Me High Anymore - Phantogram

61. Left Handed Kisses - Andrew Bird featuring Fiona Apple

62. House of Mercy - Sarah Jarosz

63. Brace for Impact (Live a Little) - Sturgill Simpson

64. Into You - Ariana Grande

65. Hymn for the Weekend - Coldplay

66. Rhythm & Blues - The Head and The Heart

67. Off the Ground - The Record Company

68. Bleeding Heart - Regina Spektor

69. UGH! - The 1975

70. Lose It - Oh Wonder

71. Fade - Kanye West

72. True Sadness - The Avett Brothers

73. Better Man - Leon Bridges

74. Love Me Now - John Legend

75. Black America Again - Common featuring Stevie Wonder

76. Bang Bang - Green Day

77. Prophets of Rage - Prophets of Rage

78. Sit Here and Cry - Aubrie Sellers

79. I Can't Stop Thinking About You - Sting

80. No Hard Feelings - The Avett Brothers

81. Dark Necessitiess - Red Hot Chili Peppers

82. Ophelia - The Lumineers

83. The Runners - The Naked and Famous

84. Rock Bottom - Hailee Steinfeld featuring DNCE

85. Bring My Baby Back - Dr. Dog

86. Ain't It a Sin - Charles Bradley

87. Heartlines - Broods

88. Run - Bell Biv DeVoe

89. Light of Day - Aubrie Sellers

90. Wish I Knew You - The Revivalists

91. Wow - Beck

92. Devil In Me - Anderson East

93. Hourglass - Lily and Madeleine

94. Rise Up - Andra Day

95. Painkillers - Brian Fallon

96. Mr. Rodriguez - Rayland Baxter

97. Fire Away - Chris Stapleton

98. Stop Where You Are - Corinne Bailey Rae

99. Higher - The Naked and Famous

100. No Love Like Yours - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

I Want My Music Television: 5/16/16

Ain’t No Man – The Avett Brother


I do not know if this The Avett Brothers attempt at a pop song, but that is a weirdly danceable bassline. I do not know if this will get them on the pop charts but I kind of dig it and am really looking forward to their next album after their last one was just okay. What I a, looking forward to is whatever the continuation to this video ends up being. Seriously people, stop it with the “To Be Continued…” nonsense.


Rise Up - Andra Day


When I saw M. Night Shyamalan directed the new music video from Andra Day I thought weird and kind of random. But instead of a big twist at the end, it came at the beginning when we learned the guy was paralyzed (and no there was no twist at the end where he rises up). Though the timing is a bit weird because the theme mirrors exactly the new Daenerys Targaryen movie whose trailer is been in heavy rotation recently where the raven-haired Khalissi becomes the caretaker (and then probably more) to a paralyzed man.


Better Place - Rachel Platten


Wow, Rachel Platten certainly has very culturally diverse fan base. I am glad I was not invitred because I would have just starred creepily for a minute before the other person left. Actually, I probably would have been the person who brought a dog with me.


Go Insane – Lucius


Interesting concept from Lucius, 3107 photos making up the video, but I guess there is not much difference between this and stop motion animation, at least the effects were weird and interesting.

I Want My Music Television: 3/10/14

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


The Man - Aloe Blacc


I happy for Aloe Blacc to finally be having a moment, but it is hard for me to get into this song. You cannot sing, “You can tell everybody,” like that and follow it up, “I’m the man,” instead , “this is your song.” And it is weird to have a music video that goes through the civil rights era and start it off with an awkward shameless promotion for a music streaming service.


Temple - Kings of Leon


It is family day in the latest Kings of Leon video complete with a Super 8 video. But with all the family around, I thought the lead singer was married to a Victoria Secret model. Why marry a Victoria Secret model if you are not going to shameless put her in your videos? Simon le Bon his shaking his head at this video right now.


Morning Song – The Avett Brothers


The latest The Avett Brothers music video was produced by Judd Apatow. I was expecting some wacky antics and some cameos from the Apatow comedy tree, but alas, it look like most every other simple video from the band.


Never Gonna Change - Broods


C’mon, if your sweater holds that much water, maybe you should think about taking it off. But anyway. This is just another cool track from Broods.

Previewing Nashville 2.0: The Rise of Americana

When you think of the Nashville music scene, it probably conjures up images of rednecks in a beat up pick truck blaring music that is played at the CMA’s but the city has been attracting more and more musicians that do not fit in the traditional country ideals like Jack White and The Black Keys. Nashville 2.0: The Rise of Americana premiering tomorrow on PBS (check your local listings) takes a look at that burgeoning sub-genre of country music: neo-folk from Emmylou Harris up to the new boom that bands like Mumford and Sons created.

The special includes an impressive list of artist performances and discussions about the genre and songwriting in general including Alabama Shakes, The Avett Brothers, Billy Bragg, Laura Cantrell, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Rosanne Cash, The Civil Wars, Elizabeth Cook, Rodney Crowell, Dawes, Jerry Douglas, John Fullbright, Shakey Graves, Emmylou Harris, The James Hunter Six, Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires, Jim Lauderdale, The Lone Bellow, The Mavericks, The Milk Carton Kids, Buddy Miller, Mumford and Sons, Shovels & Rope, Richard Thompson, and Dwight Yoakam. You may want to keep that list handy because I found myself searching many of them out after watching the special. Nashville 2.0: The Rise of Americana is a much watch for any fan of the genre or anyone who needs a deep dive into the scene. Sure there were a few holes (Fleet Foxes, Ryan Adams) and I was hoping it would take more of an Metal Evolution approach to storytelling where they took a deep dive into the lineage, but still a great watch.

Nashville 2.0 kicks off the “PBS Americana Music Weekend,” which pairs this documentary with an Americana music concert from PBS’ iconic Austin City Limits (ACL) series. In a special episode, ACL travels to Nashville to capture performance highlights from the 2013 Americana Music Association Honors & Awards. ACL Presents: Americana Music Festival 2013 airs November 23rd on PBS in select markets (check local listings for broadcast dates and times) with an incredible line-up of artists that highlights the best of Americana. Recorded in September at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium, the program -- like Nashville 2.0 -- showcases both established and rising stars. Many of the Americana Music Association award winners perform and participate in musical collaborations. ACL Presents features Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, Shovels & Rope, Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison, The Milk Carton Kids, Old Crow Medicine Show, Holly Williams, Dr. John, Duane Eddy, John Fullbright, Stephen Stills, Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale. Full ACL episodes are available online at acltv.com following their initial broadcast.

Nashville 2.0: The Rise of Americana premieres tomorrow (Friday) at 8:00 on PBS (check your local listings).

Let Me See Your Skeleton Well Before Your Life Is Done

Back in August, John Mayer dropped his second album in fifteen months. Paradise Valley pretty much sound like the cheerier B-side to Born and Raised. Something must be in the water supply on the folk-rock circuit because The Avett Brothers are back with Magpie and the Dandelion just thirteen months after the release of their last one. After recording the folk version of U2 album I and Love and You, the band reconvened with producer Rick Rubin to release their most mellow, traditional folk album The Carpenter and had enough material left over to release an entirely new album.

Much like the latest John Mayer album, Magpies and Dandelion definitely sound like it was recorded during The Carpenter session (probably because it was) but may even be mellower than its predecessor. One of the few upbeat tracks, which happen to be the best song, Another Is Waiting which harkens back to the group’s pre-Rubin days ware their sound was more raw and unrefined. Other than that, one of the few other upbeat tracks is the album opener Open Ended Life which featured a rare electric guitar. Do not worry Avett purists, it is a sign of a new direction and the song also features plenty of banjo and even a harmonica for good measure.

I do wish that Open Ended Letter was sign of a slight change in direction because most of the rest of the album just comes off as B-sides of songs off The Carpenter. Really. Magpies and Dandelion and The Carpenters is essentially just a double album just happened to be released a year apart. The album does deviate a few other times from the mellower side of folk, Morning Song soars like then anthemic songs from I and Love and You or the sweet vocals and acoustic guitar live track Sounds Like the Wheels (if you have never seen The Avett Brothers live or at the very least listen to one of their live albums, remedy that soon). Still, if The Avett Brothers release another album in just thirteen months, I will not be complaining.

Song to Download – Another Is Waiting

Magpies and Dandelion gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

I Want My Music Television: 10/7/13

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


Dust to Dust – The Civil Wars


I got excited when The Civil Wars showed up together in the same music video thinking that have solved their differences but it turns out all the “new footage was recently found footage from 2011. Bummer.


Another Is Waiting - The Avett Brothers


Even though the song is entitled Another is Waiting and included the line, “Let me see your skeleton” I still do not see how a model being replaced by skeletons waiting in the wings really fits into The Avett Brothers song.


Kinks Shirt - Matt Nathanson


What the frack was that Matt Nathanson? The girl in the Kinks shirt was a dude!?! I know arguably the most known Kinks song is about a transvestite, but c’mon, this video was uncalled for.


High Road - Cults


The lo-fi band Cults are back with what I thought was gong to be a high concept version of the Seven Nation Army video, but it turned out to be a hodgepodge of just random ideas and images.

The Ten Most Anticipated Albums of Fall 2013

It has been an abysmal year for music. In the first eight months there were only four marquee albums released by Daft Punk, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, and Jay-Z. Except Yeezus bombed, Magna Carta... Holy Grail and The 20/20 Experience will probably end up being the two best selling albums of the year but were still disappointing, and Random Access Memories has yet to garner a second hit. Just think that the next biggest release this year was the Fall Out Boy comeback. Was anyone even hoping for a Fall Out Boy reunion twelve months ago?

What is worse, the music industry has yet to create a breakout artist this year. Just think back to this time last year when Gotye, Fun., and Carley Rae Jepsen all had massive hits while The Lumineers and Of Monsters and Men were still building steam. The closest thing the music industry has to a breakout star this year is Anna kendrick. No shots at Cups because it is extremely catchy but it is sad that an acapella song by an actress from movie released in December of last year is still hovering around the iTunes top ten in September. With that said, I really hope Anna capitalizes on the success and goes into the studio to create a full version of No Diggity. At any rate, rumors are there is a Pitch Perfect Christmas album coming our way this winter.

Yeah the year in music has been extremely bad this year, but hold off declaring that 2013 has overtaken 1999 as the worst year in music ever. Usually it is hard for me to come up with five albums to make up my Most Anticipated Albums list each quarter, but this Fall I could have easily come up with a top twenty this time around and that is not even using the albums that are just rumored to be coming out sometime in the next four months like U2 and The Black Keys. Although I hope all of those marquee albums named in the TBA category hold off their albums until early next year so 2014 does not start off as abysmal as this year. Here are some albums that are scheduled to come out over the next four months. Click on the album title or art to pre-order on Amazon and the artists name to go to their iTunes page.

1. Magpies and Dandelions – The Avett Brothers (October 15): After putting out steller folk albums on their own, The Avett Brothers hooked up with uber-producer Rick Rubin for their best album to date, I and Love and You four years ago. Just last year, they collaborated again for another good album The Carpenter. So my hopes are high when they hooked up for the third time with a new batch of songs recorded during The Carpenter sessions.

2. Wise Up Ghost – Elvis Costello & The Roots (Tomorrow): When The Roots signed up as The Late Night house band, I thought it was slow down their output, but they have managed to put out as much, if not more music than ever. And it has opened them up to unexpected collaborations, The Dirty Projectors, Jim James, and Joanna Newsome have appeared on their albums and The Roots did a whole album with John Legend. And now maybe their weirdest collaboration yet with Elvis Costello. And like the previously mentioned collaborations, this one weirdly works.

3. Pure Heroine – Pure Heroine - Lorde (September 30): If you had at the start of the year a sixteen year old from New Zealand who spouts anti-materialism anthems as the breakout star of 2013, you would be raking it in right now. And while Miley is off twerking, Lada Gaga is trying to hard to be shocking, Katy is recycling songs, and Britney trying too use profanities again to jump start her career, the pop world really needs Lorde right now. Her five song EP was great and though Royals will pop up on the full length debut everything she has done so far has been great. Seriously, she even made a song off of Yeezus listenable.

4. From Here to Now to You – Jack Johnson (Tomorrow): At this point, Jack is not changing anyone's mind, and the new album will not be changing anyone's mind. But if you are already on the Jack Johnson bandwagon (like me, I own all of his albums), he has put together another set of songs that will help you remember the summer as the days start getting shorter.

5. Days Are Gone – Haim (September 30): This fall is so jammed packed with music, the two highest profiled debuts arrive on the same day (not so coincidentally, I believe this is the last day to be eligible for the 2014 Grammy Award which is why so much music is being released on a Monday instead of the usual Tuesday; and Haim and Lorde are pretty much a lock for Best New Artist along with Kacey Musgraves with the other two slots taken by Capital Cities and... um... could Anna Kendrick really get the last spot? Actually the Grammys will probably not realize 2 Chainz has been around for a decade and give him the final spot). Like Lorde, Haim put out a solid EP which mixed southern California pop with nineties RnB and somehow makes it sound awesome. Listening to Heartache Tonight biting first single, their full length debut will be more of the same (but unlike Lorde, much of their EP shows up on Days Gone By).

6. Lightning Bolt – Pearl Jam (October 14): After some unremarkable albums durning the late ninties to the early 00's, Pearl Jam has had a bit of resurgence with their last two album. They go full agro on first single Mind Your Manners which brings up memories of Spin the Black Circle off their best album. Here is hoping Lightning Blt turns out to be their best album yet, or at the very least the best since Vitology.

7. The Marshall Mathers LP 2 - Eminem (November 5): I cannot say I have ever anticipated an Eninem album, but that all chanced with the release of Berserk and word that the album is being co-produced by Rick Rubin and Dr. Dre. As you can tell by the cameo in the video Rubin was responsible for the beat, the first he has done since 99 Problems a decade ago (both sample a Billy Squire which make me wonder if Rubin will try to resurrect his career Johnny Cash style in the near future). No word of Eminem goes full retro on the whole album, but I certainly hope so.

8. New – Paul McCartney (October 15): Another artist I usually do not get too excited for, because aside from Spies Like Us, is there any other solo songs from Paul McCartney to get excited about? But for his next album, the former Beatles has teamed up with probably the best new producer of the past decade, Mark Ronson whose retro soul style helped launch the careers of Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and Adele.

9. Speak a Little Louder - Diane Birch (October 15): As Ronson ushered in a new age of retro female British singers, American Diane Birch was unfortunately ignore with her retro leaning debut Bible Belt which was one of my favorite debuts from last decade. From what I have heard, the follow up is a bit darker with influences from eighties shoe-gazers. Hopefully the whole album is as good as the first one.

10. To All the Girls… - Willie Nelson (October 15): Willie Nelson is jumping on the duets bandwagon, but as the title suggests, he is just singing with his favorite ladies including featuring Dolly Parton, Mavis Staples, Sheryl Crow, Loretta Lynn, Wynonna Judd, Rosanne Cash, Alison Krauss, Miranda Lambert, Tina Rose, Carrie Underwood, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, Secret Sisters, Brandi Carlile, Lily Meola, Shelby Lynne, Melonie Cannon, and Paula Nelson.

I put together a Spotify playlist of the first singles off of the albums listed above which you can listen to at right while you peruse seventy other albums coming out this fall that should at the very least be worth a spin on Spotify.

Last Week
The Electric Lady – Janelle Monáe
AM – Arctic Monkeys
Feels Like Home – Sheryl Crow
Kiss Land – The Weeknd
B.O.A.T.S. 2# Metime – 2 Chainz
Dynamics – Holy Ghost!
Now, Then and Forever – Earth, Wind and Fire
Say That to Say This – Trombone Shorty
Sound System - The Clash

Tomorrow
New Constellation – Toad the Wet Sprocket
In Rolling Waves – The Naked and Famous
Spreading Rumours - Grouplove
Battle Maximus - GWAR
Bookmarks – Five for Fighting
MGMT – MGMT
Sun Will Rise – Animal Years

September 24

Mechanical Bull – Kings of Leon
The Diving Board – Elton John
The Last Ship - Sting
Seasons Of Your Day – Mazzy Star
Build Me Up From Bones – Sarah Jarosz
Negativity – Deer Tick
Bones of What You Believe – CHVRCHES
Wishbone – Oh Land
Shout! - Gov't Mule
Sammy Hagar and Friends – Sammy Hagar
My Brothers Keeper – K-Ci and JoJo
Metallica Through The Never (Music From The Motion Picture)
In Utero (3CD+DVD Super Deluxe Edition) – Nirvana

October 1
VII – Blitzen Trapper
Blur the Line – Those Darlins
B-Room – Dr. Dog
I'll Find A Way – The Blind Boys of Alabama
Innocents – Moby
Unvarnished – Joan Jett and The Blackhearts
Lucky Numbers - Dave Stewart

October 8
Back to Forever – Lissie
Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song – Amos Lee
Bitter Rivals – Sleigh Bells
Tin Star – Lindi Ortega
You Can't Make Old Friends - Kenny Rogers
Frame By Frame – Cassadee Pope
High Rise – Stone Temple Pilots with Chester Bennington
Melophobia – Cage the Elephant
My Name Is My – Pusha T

October 15
Let's Be Still – The Head and the Heart
Make A Move - Gavin DeGraw
Static – Cults
No Poison No Paradise – Black Milk
Mary Christmas – Mary J. Blige
Unplugged: Expanded and Remastered (2xCD+DVD) - Eric Clapton

October 22
Smoke and Mirrors – Brett Dennen
Fade Away - Best Coast

October 29
Reflektor – Arcade Fire
Night Time, My Time - Sky Ferreira
Get There – Minor Alps (Juliana Hatfield and Matthew Caws of Nada Surf)
Wrapped in Red – Kelly Clarkson
Recharged - Linkin Park

November 5
Magic Hour - Luscious Jackson
Mantangi – M.I.A.
Avril Lavigne – Avril Lavigne
Loved Me Back To Life - Céline Dion
Miami Pop Festival - The Jimi Hendrix Experience

November 12
Black Panties - R. Kelly
Under the Covers, vol. 3 – Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs
November - Grace and Tony
Inside Llewyn Davis Soundtrack
Let It Snow: A Holiday Collection - Jewel

December 3
Love, Marriage and Divorce – Toni Braxton and Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds

TBD
blackSUMMERSnight – Maxwell
The Art of War: World War III - Bone Thugs-n-Harmony
Fading West - Switchfoot
Beck
Better Than Ezra
Beyoncé
The Black Keys
Common
Danielle Bradbery
Ed Sheeran
Lily Allen
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
U2

And of course I have to mention the obligatory this may be the quarter that Dr. Dre finally releases Detox.