1. Ha Ha Tonka – Lessons: like the Tonk would break their own streak of topping my lists the years they release albums. This is a flawless record, comprehensively from start to finish, that packs an intense emotional punch and gorgeous harmonies. Probably my favorite band working right now. (Album review.) 2. Josh Ritter –…
the first album i ever bought: herman’s hermits – herman’s hermits
The First Album I Ever Bought is an occasional guest post series where friends, family, and strangers talk about, well, the first album they ever bought. A new piece runs every Wednesday, and sometimes more often. If you’d like to submit, please see the guidelines here. The first album that I bought for myself was…
christmas mix: joy to you baby
I’ve been making what I call a Christmas mix — that is, not holiday songs but a mix made at the holidays — since 1997; first they were tapes, then for a few years cds, and finally, in the digital age, the last seven nine years have been downloadable zip files, and this year is…
best of: favorite songs of 2013
How I made this list: these 25 songs are the five-star songs in my iTunes library that I listened to most in 2013. You’ll see a few repeated on my Christmas mix — spoiler alert! — but not most of them. Stream them below via Spotify (tracks not available on Spotify are linked individually), and…
the first album i ever bought: counting crows – august and everything after
The First Album I Ever Bought is an occasional guest post series where friends, family, and strangers talk about, well, the first album they ever bought. A new piece runs every Wednesday, and sometimes more often. If you’d like to submit, please see the guidelines here. There’s a small possibility that the first album I bought…
justin townes earle @ southland ballroom
I didn’t see nearly as many show this year as I have the past three. There are reasons for that, but they’re not particularly relevant. As I was finishing my work day yesterday, though, I reflected that even in a small sample size, I got to see so many bands I adore, it was worth…
song share: the breedings – big blue christmas
Sometimes people you love have flaws. Take my friends Erin, Willie, and Jesse, for example: they’re Kentucky basketball fans, but I look past that flaw, because I love them, and they’re my friends. And Erin and Willie, as the Breedings, have written a great Christmas song, the sentiment of which is one that every college…
video share: frank turner – “river” (joni mitchell cover)
Seasonally appropriate Frank Turner cover.
the first album i ever bought: monty python – monty python sings!
The First Album I Ever Bought is an occasional guest post series where friends, family, and strangers talk about, well, the first album they ever bought. A new piece runs every Wednesday, and sometimes more often. If you’d like to submit, please see the guidelines here. Long before I was a music geek, I was…
album review: mason jennings — always been
Mason Jennings’ newest album, Always Been, takes its title from track 2, “Patti & Robert”, where the phrase is a repeating chorus; the song itself was inspired after Mason met Patti Smith at a benefit concert in New York City and read Just Kids while flying back to Minnesota. So basically that’s a sentence that…
brand new kind of photography 