By now you’ve seen what most of us were listening to on our MP3 or CD players last year. Â So I thought I’d add my favorite live sets from last year. Â 1) Roger Waters: I got a chance to see The Wall at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. Â Holy cow. Â As far as I’m […]
Eli’s Picks: Best of 2011
2011 was another pretty damn good year for music. #1 was the easiest pick on the whole list. Frank Turner blew my mind this year. I re-discovered his back catalog just prior to the release of England Keep My Bones and now have a new favorite songwriter. Other notables on the list include several “new” […]
80s Love Fest
As a twangville writer, I rarely listen to the 80s stations. I can’t stand the production and electronic drums. It’s tough to hear songs by the Boss and Lucinda Williams choked by the little knobs behind the glass. But still, some of those songs are irresistibly fun. They have an undeniable upbeat nature to them […]
Photos that ROCK! Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band
Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band Photos taken at 2 separate concerts: Mass MoCA in North Adams, MA and the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC Post by Suzanne D. McMahon (Suzanne Davis Photography) I have had the privilege of seeing Josh Ritter and his band play numerous times. My favorite show was an outdoor […]
Shawn’s Best of 2011
 1) R.E.M. – Collapse Into Now: OK, I’m willing to admit maybe this was a little bit of a sentimental choice for me since it may be their last album.  But darn it, I still think this is their best effort since the 80’s and 91’s Out Of Time.  The jangly guitars, the inexplicable Stipe […]
Mayer’s Picks: Best Songs of 2011
I posted a best songs list for the first half of 2011 back in July (here). Rather than replicate that list for my full year review, consider this the addendum — the best songs from the second half of the year. When My Time Comes, Barnstar! (from the self-released C’Mon!) I somehow missed this song […]
Murray McLauchlan – Human Writes
The invisible line separating the United States from Canada appears to be an impenetrable wall for Murray McLachlan. One of the most respected singer-songwriters in Canada, McLauchlan doesn’t seem to have much of a following south of the border. Perhaps he doesn’t care. Over the years, McLauchlan has won 11 Juno awards (Canadian Grammys) and […]
Tom’s Picks: Best of 2011
The Decemberists hit hard in January with The King Is Dead and maintained their number one status with me for the entire year. Butch Walker‘s The Spade was the best I’ve heard yet from the Master of Hooks. Let’s hope his work with The Black Widows will continue. In at #21 was Telekinesis the highest […]
Mayer’s Picks: Best EPs of 2011
Many of my favorite releases from this year were 5-6 song eps rather than 8-10+ song full-length releases. It is, perhaps, a statement on modern music industry that, with one exception, all of these were self-released. As John Lennon said, “Power to the people.” Here, in no particular order, are a few favorite EPs from […]
Savoy Brown – Voodoo Moon
Kim Simmonds and some form of the band Savoy Brown have been around pretty much since the beginning of time – or at least since the middle years of the British Invasion. In its original form, the band was comparable to the early Peter Green-led Fleetwood Mac (before they became a Top 40 pop group), Cream and Ten Years […]