No. & M. Ward Hold Time

Since numbers 3-7 on my best of list have been covered previously, I am going to forgo posting on them. However, number 7, M. Ward - Hold Time, did not get the coverage it deserved here on AWT, even though it is high on my list. The album is simultaneously, Folk, Indie and Americana. The sound is wispy but not too ethereal. Just listen to the duet with Lucinda Williams, which is a cover of Hank Williams "Oh Lonesome Me." He captures all the pain of the original but makes it uniquely his own. The album is permeated with passion and exhibits clever lyricism.

Check out this ACL performance

The best of 2009

The Winner is...
Tis the season... The best of lists are coming out in force. So I am going to get ahead of the curve. This year is particularly interesting if you want to check out the top "Twang" lists. Keep your eye on Twangville for a collaborative list for those of us in the Posse, as well as individual lists. The best best of list will be The Bird List, but there will be more on this later. For now let's just focus on my humble list here on AWT.

In my mid-year list, Buddy and Julie were on top, but they have been replaced by Band of Heathens in the final list. This was actually a close call and was decided by addiction. Once I listened to the first song, One Foot in the Ether became audio crack. Other new entries into the top ten are Roseanne Cash, Two Tons of Steel, Sam Bush and Grant Langston. Enough banter the list is below and then I will spend the remainder of the year writing individual posts on my top 12. (Sort of a twelve days of Christmas with no turtle doves.)

1 Band of Heathens - One foot in the Ether
2 Buddy & Julie Miller - Written in Chalk
3 Roseanne Cash - The List
4 Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses - Roadhouse Sun
5 Roman Candle - Oh Tall Tree in the Ear
6 Two Tons of Steel - Not That Lucky
7 M. Ward - Hold Time
8 Charlie Robison - Beautiful Day
9 Sam Bush - Circles Around Me
10 Grant Langston - Stand Up Man
11 Lucero - 1372 Overton Park
12 Wrinkle Neck Mules - Let the Lead Fly
13 Monsters of Folk - Self Titles
14 Wilco - The Album
15 Slaid Cleaves - Everything You Love Will be Taken Away
16 Justin Townes Earle - Midnight at the Movies
17 Stephen Kellog and the Sixers - The Bear
18 Brendan Benson - My Old Familiar Friend
19 Sarah Jarosz - Song Up in Her Head
20 Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles - The Stars are Out
21 Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Speed of Life
22 Elvis Costello - Secret, Profane and Sugarcane
23 Guy Clark - Sometimes the Song Writes You
24 Scott Miller & the Commonwealth - For Cryin' Out Loud
25 Hill Country Review - Self Titled
26 Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band - Outer South
27 The Gourds - Haymaker!
28 Donna Ulisse - Walk this Mountain Down
29 Bottle Rockets - Lean Forward
30 The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
31 Bob Dylan - Together Through Life
32 Chuck Prophet - Let Freedom Ring
33 Derek Trucks - Already Free
34 The Flatlanders - Hills and Valleys
35 Dallas Wayne - I'll Take the Fifth
36 Red Stick Ramblers - My Suitcase is Always Packed
37 Chuck Mead - Journeyman's Wager
38 Bruce Springsteen - Working on a Dream
39 Gina Villalobos - Days on Their Side
40 Cracker - Sunshine in the Land of Milk and Honey
41 Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit - Self Titled
42 Kieran Kane - Somewhere Beyond the Roses
43 Radney Foster Revival
44 Mindy Smith - Stupid Love
45 Mark Olson & Gary Louris - Ready for the Flood
46 Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey and the Gru Grux King
47 Pter Holsapple and Chris Stamey - Here and Now
48 Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
49 Sara Watkins - Self Titled
50 Dierks Bentley - Feel that Fire

Best of 2009 So Far ...

There is no better way to return and get things kicked up again than with a best of list. But a little healthy debate never hurt anything. I actually have fun doing it but the truth is rankings can change with moods or the weather. Plus the music industry is so prolific these days with all of the new media it is difficult to choose. So I just assembled the necessary tools and started ranking. In case you are wondering the essential tool needed for such an endeavor as this are, Shiner Bock Beer, Blanton's Bourbon, a dartboard, little pieces of paper in a hat, Corn Nuts, and a Moon Pie for energy. The results of this combination are below for you to read and then tell me what the hell I missed:

1) Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses - Roadhouse Sun
2) Buddy & Julie Miller - Written in Chalk
3) M. Ward - Hold Time
4) Wilco - The Album
5) Roman Candle - Oh Tall Tree in the Ear
6) Justin Townes Earle - Midnight at the Movies
7) Elvis Costello - Secret, Profane and Sugarcane
8) Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles - The Stars are Out
9) Charlie Robison - Beautiful Day
10) The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
11) Slaid Cleaves - Everything You Love Will be Taken Away
12) Bob Dylan - Together Through Life
13) Deer Tick - Born on Flag Day
14) Scot Miller & the Commonwealth - For Cryin' Out Loud
15) Hill Country Review - Self Titled
16) Bruce Springsteen - Working on a Dream
17) Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band - Outer South
18) Donna Ulisse - Walk this Mountain Down
19) Gina Villalobos - Days on Their Side
20) The Gourds - Haymaker!
21) Derek Trucks - Already Free
22) The Flatlanders - Hills and Valleys
23) Dallas Wayne - I'll Take the Fifth
24) Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit - Self Titled
25) Son Volt - American Central Dust
26) Chuck Mead - Journeyman's Wager
27) Todd Snider - Excitement Plan
28) Red Stick Ramblers - My Suitcase is Always Packed
29) Sarah Jarosz - Song Up in Her Head
30) Old Californio - Westering Again
31) Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
32) Sara Watkins - Self Titled
33) Pter Holsapple and Chris Stamey - Here and Now
34) Kendal Carson - Alright Dynamite
35) Cracker - Sunshine in the Land of Milk and Honey
36) Mark Olson & Gary Louris - Ready for the Flood
37) Sam Roberts - Love at the End of the World
38) The Greencards - Fascination
39) U2 - No Line on the Horizon
40) Dierks Bentley - Feel that Fire
41) Wayne Hancock - Viper of Melody
42) Otis Gibbs - Grandpa Walked a Picket Line
43) Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey and the Gru Grux King
44) Fiction Family - Self Titled
45) The Damnwells - One Last Century
46) Romi Mayes - Achin' in Yer Bones
47) Webb Wilder - More Like Me
48) Michelle Malone - Debris
49) Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels
50) Patteron Hood - Mudering Oscar