Playlist for 1/26

Beach Boys - Friends
Beach Boys - 20/20
Beach Boys - Carl & the Passions
Beach Boys - Holland
Kate Tempest - Everybody Down
Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn - s/t
Ty Segall - Manipulator

2014 Nashville Scene Critic's Poll

Once again I got to vote in the Nashville Scene Critic's Poll.
Below is the link for the 2014 Poll, but there's no list this year of the actual voters.  You'll just have to take my word for it.

2014 Nashville Scene Poll

Albums

1.  Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds In Country Music

2.  Miranda Lambert - Platinum

3.  Parker Millsap - s/t

4.  Lee Ann Womack - Way I'm Livin'

5.  Nikki Lane - All or Nothin'

6.  Angaleena Presley - American Middle Class

7.  Rodney Crowell - Tarpaper Sky

8.  Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis - Our Year

9.  John Fullbright - Songs

10. Rosanne Cash - River & The Thread

Songs

1. Turtles All The Way Down - Sturgill Simpson

2. Quarterback - Kira Isabella

3. Bottoms Up - Brantley Gilbert

4. I Don't Dance - Lee Brice

5. Right Time - Nikki Lane

6. Going Home - John Fullbright

7.  I Backslide On Friday - Paul Thorn

8.  Destination - Nickel Creek

9.  Day Drinking - Little Big Town

10. Song About A Girl - Eric Paslay

Winter 2015 Fave TV Shows Update

Shows I watch, updated for the Winter 2015 season.

Listed in random order:

Walking Dead
Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown
Portlandia
Louie
Little Couple
Game of Thrones
Shameless
Episodes
Saturday Night Live
Homeland
Sherlock 
Downton Abbey
Falling Skies
Lilyhammer
Orange Is The New Black
House of Cards
House of Lies
Veep
Girls
Broad City
New Girl
American Idol
The Voice
So You Think You Can Dance
American Pickers
Little Couple
Silicon Valley
Whitechapel
Strike Back
Americans
Hell on Wheels
Real Time with Bill Maher
Mad Men
Rectify
Moone Boy
Wrong Mans
Lilyhammer
Ray Donovan
Masters of Sex
30 for 30
Key & Peele
Inside Amy Shumer
Silicon Valley
Sleepy Hollow
POV
Frontline
Nova
Independent Lens
Dan Rather Reports
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
Banshee
Ripper Street
Vikings
Orphan Black
Mindy Project
Looking
Da Vinci's Demons
Red Sails
Veep
Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Conan
60 Minutes Sports on Showtime
Maron
Broadchurch
Vice
Knick
Affair
Flash
Outlander
The Fall
Togetherness
Please Like Me
Transparent
Alpha House
Mozart In The Jungle
Black Mirror
Marco Polo
Ubreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Bridge  (Sweden)

One Quick Note

One quick note:  I will be posting a link to my Village Voice Pazz & Jop ballot when that issue hits the web.

Although I've already posted my Nashville Scene ballot, I'm going to do the same with that one, even though they don't link individual ballots, they do list the voters.

So, I'll link both on the same page.

The reason I do this is to make sure people don't think I'm making it up when I say that I'm a voter in those 2 polls.

Not bragging about it, just want to show some proof.

Playlist for 1/15

Link of Chain-Songwriter's Tribute To Chris Smither - Various
Robert Randolph - Lickety Split
Joan Baez - s/t
Michael Hedges - Aerial Boundaries
John Fahey - America
Ariana Grande - My Everything
Azealia Banks - Broke With Expensive Tastes
Iggy Azalea - New Classic
Nicki Minaj - Pinkprint

2014 Pazz & Jop Ballot

Just so people don't think I'm making this up.  I've been voting in the Village Voice Year-end Pazz & Jop critics poll for a while now.

So, here's my ballot for 2014.  From there you can check out other links from the the Poll.

2014 Village Voice Pazz & Jop Ballot

ICYMI: My Top Albums/Singles/Reissues of 2014

Top Albums

1.  Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds In Country Music
2.  Miranda Lambert - Platinum
3.  Parker Millsap - s/t
4.  Lee Ann Womack - Way I'm Livin'
5.  Nikki Lane - All or Nothin'
6.  St. Paul & The Broken Bones - Half The City
7.  Angaleena Presley - American Middle Class
8.  Benjamin Booker - s/t
9.  Rodney Crowell - Tarpaper Sky
10. Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis - Our Year
11. Lake Street Drive - Bad Self Portraits
12. Curtis Harding - Soul Power
13. New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers
14. Lily Allen - Sheezus
15. John Fullbright - Songs
16. Rosanne Cash - River & The Thread
17. Lydia Loveless - Somewhere Else
18. Ray Price - Beauty Is..Final Sessions
19. Willie Nelson - Band of Brothers
20. War On Drugs - Lost In The Dream
21. Jack White - Lazaretto
22. Shaver - Long In The Tooth
23. Drive-By Truckers - English Oceans
24. Lost on the River:New Basement Tapes
25. Ryan Adams - s/t
26. Jack Clement - For Once And For All
27. Old 97's - Most Messed Up
28. Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence
29. Weird Al Yankovic - Mandatory Fun
30.  Little Big Town - Painkiller

Top Singles/Tracks

1.  Happy - Pharrell Williams
2.  Am I Wrong - Nico & Vinz
3.  Problem - Ariana Grande
4.  Stay With Me - Sam Smith
5.  Bang Bang - Jessie J, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj
6.  Turtles All The Way Down - Sturgill Simpson
7.  Jealous - Nick Jonas
8.  Seasons - Future Islands
9.  Latch - Disclosure f/Sam Smith
10. Quarterback - Kira Isabella
11. Jealous - Chromeo
12. Bad Self Portraits - Lake Street Drive
13. Take Me To Church - Hozier
14. All Of Me - John Legend
15. All About That Bass - Meghan Trainor
16. Bottoms Up - Brantley Gilbert
17. Boom Clap  - Charli XCX
18. Call Me - St. Paul & The Broken Bones
19. I Don't Dance - Lee Brice
20. The Man - Aloe Blacc
21. Fancy - Iggy Azalea
22. Right Time - Nikki Lane
23. Going Home - John Fullbright
24. Empire - Shakira
25. Turn Down For What - DJ Snake & Lil Jon
26. I Backslide On Friday - Paul Thorn
27. Digital Witness -  St. Vincent
28. Ain't It Fun - Paramore
29.. Leave The Night On - Sam Hunt
30. Cool Kids - Echosmith
31. Habits - Tove Lo
32. Yellow Flicker Beat - Lorde
33. Red Eyes - War On Drugs
34. Water Fountain - Tune-Yards
35.  Do You - Spoon
36.  Tacky - Weird Al Yankovic
37.  Song About A Girl - Eric Paslay
38.  Destination - Nickel Creek
39.  Pompeii - Bastille
40.  Blank Space - Taylor Swift
41.  Marching Orders - New Pornographers
42.  Violent Shiver - Benjamin Booker
43.  Disappear - Parker Millsap
44.  Hurt You - Toni Braxton & Babyface

Top Reissues

1. "5" Royales - Soul & Swagger: Complete
2. Ned Doheny - Separate Oceans
3. Country Funk Volume II - Various
4.  Wilco - What's Your 20? Essential Tracks
5.  Otis Taylor - Collection
6.  Best of Blue Note - Various
7.  Bangles - Ladies and Gentlemen...The Bangles
8.  Johnny Cash - Out Among The Stars
9.  Jerry Lee Lewis - Knox Phillips Sessions
10. Elvis Presley - That's The Way It Is  (Box Set)
11. Cracking the Cosimo Code - 60's New Orleans R&B and Soul - Various
12. Bob Dylan - Basement Tapes Complete
13. Soul of Designer Records - Various
14. Ricky Nelson - Definitive Collection 57-62
15. Bryan Adams - Reckless  (reissue)
16. Donna Summer - Wanderer  (reissue)
17. Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road  (reissue)
18. Carrie Underwood - Greatest Hits
19. Zac Brown Band - Greatest Hits So Far
20. Chicago Bound: Chess Blues, R&B and Rock 'N' Roll - Various
21.  Professor Longhair - Last Mardi Gras  (reissue)
22.  Henry Gross - Release/Show Me To The Stage (reissue)
23.  L.C. Cooke - Complete SAR Recordings
24.  Joe Ely - B4 84
25. Michael Bloomfield - From His Head to His Heart to His Hands
26.  Jerry Lee Lewis - Southern Roots:Original Sessions  ('13)
27.  Elvis Presley - Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis  (reissue)

Elvis at 80

Nothing more needs to be said about Elvis?  I often wonder about that myself.  At this point it's about keeping the legacy alive.   Letting the kids know that there was more to Elvis than those 70's jump suits.  I often focus on his voice.  This is one of the most distinctive stylists in Popular music history.  On a list of greatest voices you might pick Sinatra, Aretha and Elvis as the Top 3.  

For years I thought his vocals were getting shorted whenever I read something about him.  But it seems to be coming around.

Finally, there are still those who say Elvis didn't do anything good after he came back from the Army in 1960.  Those tepid movies he made certainly didn't help him with the hip 60's crowd that was turning on to the Beatles and the decade's new sounds.  But starting with the 1968 comeback special, Elvis made some of his most lasting records.  It got patchy after the 1973 Hawaii special.  Elvis no longer wanted to make Rock records, instead recording mostly Country/Pop/Gospel ones.  

Which brings me to another annoying thing that's bothered me. The idea that the 70's were a barren one for Elvis classics.  They are there, and there's more to explore than 1972's "Burning Love".   "Promised Land", "Moody Blue", "Steamroller Blues", "Hurt", "I've Got A Thing About You Baby" are just some of my faves.

So, the state of Elvis is a strong one.  On his 80th birthday, I'm not concerned about the legacy fading.  

Rock Hall Wish List (Updated 2015 Inductee Announcement)

This is in no particular order:

Roxy Music
Neville Brothers/Meters
ELO
Yes
Spinners
Clovers
Gram Parsons/Flying Burrito Brothers
Chic
Janet Jackson
Def Leppard
Smiths
Spaniels
Teddy Pendergrass/Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes
Ashford & Simpson
Junior Wells
Barry White
Luther Vandross
Patti LaBelle
Moody Blues
Link Wray
Dick Dale
Chicago
Whitney Houston
Dionne Warwick
Cyndi Lauper
Joe Cocker
Los Lobos
Monkees
Zombies
War
Steve Miller Band
Steve Earle
Cars
Chaka Khan
Kool & The Gang
Todd Rundgren
Commodores
Warren Zevon
Billy Preston
Willie Nelson
J.J. Cale
B-52's
Bon Jovi
Deep Purple
Rick James
Ohio Players
Doobie Brothers
Joe Tex
Paul Revere & The Raiders
Marvelettes
Billy Ward & The Dominoes
Richard Thompson/Fairport Convention
New York Dolls
Replacements
New Order/Joy Division
Depeche Mode
Sonic Youth
LL Cool J
N.W.A.
Patsy Cline
Emmylou Harris
Joan Baez
Lesley Gore
Cheap Trick
Doug Sahm/Sir Douglas Quintet
Chuck Willis
Wynonie Harris
Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'n' Roll Trio
Chantels
Mary Wells
Go-Go's
Bangles
Dire Straits
Mott The Hoople
Stylistics
Devo
Captain Beefheart
Duran Duran
Love
Jim Croce
Harry Nilsson
Glen Campbell
J. Geils Band
Cure
Pet Shop Boys
MC5
Johnny Winter
Journey
Little Feat
Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels
Gary "U.S." Bonds
Three Dog Night
Turtles
Bad Company/Free
Jimmy Buffett
Boz Scaggs
Raspberries
Big Star
Steppenwolf
Soundgarden
Gap Band
Neil Sedaka
Chubby Checker
Sonny & Cher
Shangri-La's
Tommy James & The Shondells
Kris Kristofferson
Conway Twitty
Afrika Bambaataa
Kate Bush
Eric B. & Rakim
De La Soul
Tribe Called Quest
Lou Rawls
Judas Priest

Playlist for 1/5

TV On The Radio -  Seeds
One Direction - Four
Charli XCX -  Sucker
Beach Boys -  Keep An Eye On Summer
Jim Croce - Lost Recordings
Damien Rice - My Favourite Faded Fantasy
Kelsey Waldon - Goldmine
Ex-Hex - Rips
Lori McKenna - Numbered Doors
Kindred The Family Soul - Couple Friends

2014 Nashville Scene Country Music Ballot

Voted again this in the Nashville Scene Country Music Poll.
Issue to be published January 22.

Albums

1.  Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds In Country Music

2.  Miranda Lambert - Platinum

3.  Parker Millsap - s/t

4.  Lee Ann Womack - Way I'm Livin'

5.  Nikki Lane - All or Nothin'

6.  Angaleena Presley - American Middle Class

7.  Rodney Crowell - Tarpaper Sky

8.  Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis - Our Year

9.  John Fullbright - Songs

10. Rosanne Cash - River & The Thread

Songs

1. Turtles All The Way Down - Sturgill Simpson

2. Quarterback - Kira Isabella

3. Bottoms Up - Brantley Gilbert

4. I Don't Dance - Lee Brice

5. Right Time - Nikki Lane

6. Going Home - John Fullbright

7.  I Backslide On Friday - Paul Thorn

8.  Destination - Nickel Creek

9.  Day Drinking - Little Big Town

10. Song About A Girl - Eric Paslay