The Corners Best of 2011

I can't help it if I fall in love with you again, I'm calling just to let you know it dawned on me... (Wilco - Dawned On Me)

2011 was a great year for me personally and another fine year in terms of music. As usual, there was music that seemed to come from nowhere: The Decemberists, The High Dials, R.E.M. (sounded a bit like earlier R.E.M.); music from old reliables: Wilco and John Hiatt. I saw some great shows this year: John Prine, Steve Earle, My Morning Jacket, The Avett Brothers and much to my surprise Paul McCartney.

Sadly we lost some artists including the great Clarence Clemons. Bruce Springsteen is planning to release new music and tour in 2012, but it is hard to imagine E Street without the Big Man. The White Stripes and R.E.M. annouced their breakups from their web pages. Music will continue in 2012, but let's look back.

Top 10 CDS of 2011

1. The Decemberists - The King is Dead - The music is classic "folk rock" with a twist of R.E.M. Peter Buck plays on several songs and you can hear the R.E.M. influence.. Highlights include Down By the Water, The Calamity Song, Rox in the Box and This Is Why We Fight. The lyrics are interesting and the CD is solid throughout.

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2. Wilco - The Whole Love - Another outstanding outting from Chicago's best. Jeff Tweedy and company seem more confident and the CD is more even than recent releases Highlights include Dawned On Me, Born Alone, Capitol City, Standing O and The Art of Almost.

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3. R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now - R.E.M.'s comeback album was short live whent the band annouced thier breakup later in the year. This release hearkens back to earlier R.E.M. Highlights include Mine Smell Like Honey, It Happened Today, Uberlin and Oh My Heart.

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4. My Morning Jacket - Circuital - I must admit that after 2008's CD of the year Evil Urges, I was a bit disappointed with Circuital. It's not that it is not a fine record, my expectations were probably too high. Circuital contains several really good songs including Victory Dance, First Light, Circuital and Outta My System.

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5. The High Dials - Anthems For Doomed Youth -Music like this is a breath of fresh air. They don't make music like this anymore or do they? The High Dials play homage to the 60's or 70's but manage to still sound fresh. Plenty of highlights abound, but Teenage Love Made Me Insane, I'm Over You (I Hope It's True), Uruguay and Snowed In should be heard.

6. John Hiatt - Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns
7. Steve Earle - I'll Never Get Out of this World Alive

8. Old 97's - The Grand Theatre, Vol. 2
9. The Jayhawks - Mockingbird Time
10. Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto

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Top 10 Songs of 2011

1. The Decemberists - Down By the Water
2. The Decemberists - The Calamity Song
3. Wilco - Dawned On Me
4. R.E.M. - Mine Smell Like Honey
5. The High Dials - Teenage Love Made Me Insane
6. The Decemberists - This is Why We Fight
7. R.E.M. - It Happened Today
8. My Morning Jacket - First Light
9. The Decemberists - Rox in the Box
10. Wilco - Born Alone

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Top Concert 2011

2011 was really a fantastic year in terms of concerts. I saw John Prine, My Morning Jacket, Steve Earle and The Avett Brothers. However, the best concert of the year was hands down (or hands up) Paul McCartney at The Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, OH. Paul was fantastic, sounded and looked great. He ran through classic song after classic, from The Beatles All My Lovin', Blackbird, Elanor Rigby to his great solo stuff from Band On the Run, Mrs. Vanderbilt and Jet. One of the best concerts that I have ever seen period.

Good Bye Ear X-Tacy

And there goes your freedom of choice, there goes the last human voice and there goes the last DJ... (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - The Last DJ)


It's sad times as the local music stores fade. One of my favorites Ear X-tacy in Louisville, Ky annouced it's closure this week. This store along with Lexington KY's CD Central are 2 of the best music stores that I have ever visited. Digital music has it's good points, but there is nothing like searching through those music bins looking for the rare, hard to find, out of print or even a common everyday disc. Time moves forward, but I long for the old days. Ear X-tacy you will be missed.

The Local Record Store

Buys every rock and roll book on the magazine stand; Every dime that he get is lost to the jukebox man... (The Beatles - Bad Boy)

The one thing about life is that it constantly changes... for worse and for better... all at the same time. The same goes for music. We lose great artists and we gain great artists. The styles and trends constantly change; I grew up really loving 1960's era music...The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and so forth. As a teenager I can remember pouring through record bins looking for those records and the latest releases. In those days there were good record stores all around. Later in my college days I discovered Cut Corner Records in Lexington, KY. The store was magical. It had rare albums and records from groups that I was just discovering. As records gave way to cd's, Cut Corner Records became CD Central.

I still visit CD Central whenever I am in Lexington. Another one of my all time favorite record shops is in Louisville and is the famous Ear X-Tacy. We need to support these stores any chance we get.
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Paul McCartney On the Run in Cincinnati

Maybe I'm amazed at the way you help me sing my song... (Paul McCartney - Maybe I'm Amazed)

I saw Paul McCartney in Cincinnati, OH at The Great American Ballpark last thursday. What a great show! Paul looked fit and young for a man of 69; he acted like a man enjoying what he was doing and sounded like Paul McCartney. The setlist included classic after classic; 5 songs from Paul's Band on the Run album and some of Paul's great Beatle songs from All My Lovin' to Blackbird to Eleanor Rigby... Paul did tributes to George Harrison playing Something on ukelele and to John Lennon with A Day in the Life/Give Peace a Chance.

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The show started with the appropriate Hello Goodbye and finished with an awesome medley from Abbey Road Golden Slumber/Carry That Weight/The End. The band did an excellent job of recreating the sounds of the records. Fantastic....

The E Street Band Should Be In the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

I'm gonna sit back right easy and laugh when Scooter and the Big Man bust this city in half... (Bruce Springsteen - Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out)

With the passing of Clarence Clemons, we now have lost two of our comrades on E Street (Danny Federici passed in 2008). I think it is time (way overdue) that the E Street Band are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

It is has been a bit confusing to me why they weren't incucted along with Bruce Springsteen in 1999, but on the other hand maybe Bruce deserved a night of his own. If that is the case then The E Street Band should have been inducted immediatley after that.

The rules for the eligibility of performers into the Hall are simply as follows:

Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria include the influence and significance of the artists’ contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll.

The Foundation’s nominating committee, composed of rock and roll historians, selects nominees each year in the Performer category. Ballots are then sent to an international voting body of more than 500 rock experts. Those performers who receive the highest number of votes - and more than 50 percent of the vote - are inducted. The Foundation generally inducts five to seven performers each year.

1. The E Street Band as we know it has been together at least since Born To Run which was released in 1975 (36 years ago). Nils Lofgren and Patti Scialfa didn't play in the E Street Band until the Born in the U.S.A. era around 1984 (still 27 years ago).



2. I can't think of a band not in the Hall that has had more influence on rock music; just look at today's young artists from The Hold Steady to The Gaslight Anthem.



3. Perpetuation of Rock and Roll? How many concerts do you have to play? By my count on the Born in the U.S.A. tour alone the band played over 140 shows.
   

So your honor I rest my case. Let's get a movement started to get these guys into the Hall, before we lose anymore of them.

Happy Independence Day everyone!!

Clarence Clemons: 1942-2011

May your strength give us strength; may your faith give us faith; may your hope give us hope; may your love give us love... (Bruce Springsteen - Into the Fire)

I just heard the news that Clarence Clemons passed away after having a massive stroke earlier in the week. Life is so precious and fragile like the house of cards that Bruce sang about in Living Proof. It's hard to imagine the E Street Band without Clarence, but their music will live on.

Clarence Clemons: Countin' On a Miracle

I'm countin' on a miracle,baby I'm countin' on a miracle,darlin' I'm countin' on a miracle to come through... (Bruce Springsteen - Countin' On a Miracle)

By now everyone has heard that Clarence Clemons has suffered a massive stroke earlier in the week. The news since has been cautiously positive, but our thoughts and prayers are with the Big Man.

From one of my all time favorite songs, my all time favorite sax solo - Clarence we love you man.

The Decemberists: Down By the Water

See this ancient riverbed, see where all our follies are led, down by the water and down by the old main drag... (The Decemberists - Down By the Water)

The reason for this post is 2 parts: (1) I wanted to check to see how Soundcloud worked (2) I really love this song; I just realized that that is Gilian Welch singing with The Decemberists. This is one of my favorite songs of the year so far.


The Decemberists: Down By The Water by TheMusicFile

Bob Dylan is 70

How does it feel to be on your own; With no direction home, like a complete unknown... (Bob Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone)

Bob Dylan was born as Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941. Happy Birthady Bob! Here are 10 of my favorite Dylan covers.


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The King is Dead

Had a dream you and me and the war of the end times... (The Decemberists - The Calamity Song)

I bought the new Decemberists cd The King is Dead based on hearing the fine song Down By the Water. After repeated listens I have to put the cd in my early list for best of 2011. The King is Dead is so solid with no weak spots and a lot of high points.

Down By the Water is sort of a cross between a Springsteen & R.E.M. song, musically along the lines of The One I Love; The Calamity Song reminds me of Murmer era R.E.M., a song about the end of the world (come to think of it didn't R.E.M. do a song about the end of the world...); Rox in the Box is a nice work-sing along song about a working in a granite mine; another high point is This Is Why We Fight; I highly recommend the King is Dead.


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