Old 97s: Hitchhike to the (2nd) Grand Theatre

In honor of the release of the Old 97s' ninth studio album tomorrow, The Grand Theatre, Vol. 2, I spent some time compiling my personal ranking of all of the band's studio albums. I have included the new album in my ranking, thanks to the availability of the full stream on KXT.org.

I liken my ranking all the Old 97s' albums to asking a parent of 9 to rank their kids in order. Not that the Old 97s albums are like my children, but I have a hard time talking poorly about any of them. And in that respect, being low on the list here doesn't really mean an album was bad, but rather, just not as good, in my mind, as the ones ahead of it. Thus, the lowest ranking album here ranks well above a great deal of other music for me. I made a concerted effort to have no ties, because if I did consider them, then why bother making the list to begin with?

For those of you already skeptical of my competency, credentials, or qualifications to rank the band's catalog, I can only say that I have been a fan since I was 16, which was some time ago (pre-Fight Songs, to be specific), and I have followed the band and its releases throughout that period. On that note, I welcome you to discuss/challenge/argue the rankings in the comments section below.



9. Blame It On Gravity

Somebody had to be last, right? I do not dislike this album by any means, but I simply do not go back and listen to it a great deal. I love "The One" and "Color of a Lonely Heart is Blue" as well as a few others. It was a close call between this and number 8, but my reasoning is explained below.

8. Drag It Up

"Won't Be Home" is easily one of the best 97s songs of all time, and even more importantly a staple of the live show. Other notable tracks include "No Mother" and "Valium Waltz." However, as an entire album, this isn't one I come back to.

7. The Grand Theatre, Vol. 1

The first installment of The Grand Theatre was hailed by many as the band's finest work in years. While I generally agree with that statement and enjoy the album, it has not become a favorite of mine. "Every Night is Friday Night (Without You)" and "Champaign, Illinois" are among the best tracks, and most definitely stand alongside the band's best work.

6. Satellite Rides
Here is where the rankings got a little tricky. What it came down to was a comparison of my personal favorites on this and the next album on the list. I still remember hearing Rhett play "Designs On You" solo at Trees in Dallas before the album came out, and that song probably remains my favorite on the album. Satellite Rides is a great record from start to finish, with other favorites being "Rollerskate Skinny" and "Up the Devil's Pay."

5. Hitchhike to Rhome
The record that started this whole thing. Pretty awesome the band is still around 8 albums later. The songs on this record are pure classics to me: "Hands Off," "If My Heart Was a Car," and "Desperate Times." I have told the story before, but a formative music memory of mine is the first time I heard Rhett play "Wish the Worst" in Dallas with the entire Gypsy Tea Room singing along.

4. Fight Songs
Fight Songs holds a place for me that is tied as much to the time of its release as anything else. It is one of the first new releases I remember being truly excited for. That is, I remember the promo for it and thinking how much I couldn't wait for it to come out, followed by making a special trip to buy it the first week it was out (pre-download days, kiddos). Nostalgia aside, it is a great album, although perhaps poppier than even the band wanted it to be. As much as anything, this album is #4 because of the fact that it has my two favorite Murry songs: "Crash on the Barrelhead" and "Valentine." Pure gold.

3. The Grand Theatre, Vol. 2
"Hey look, it's the new guy." Yes, it may seem a bit premature to rank the new album this high, but I think the songs on this record are incredibly strong. Maybe I do have a bit of "new car fever" over it, but by and large, I think this one is going to have great lasting power. The first three songs are near-perfect, and the rest of the album follows closely behind. I put it at #4 after a couple of listens, and a few more later, it moved to #3. This record stands as a real testament to the band's relevance in indie music, and I hope they see some great success with it. Perhaps it will vault them to the higher level of notoriety they have long deserved.

2. Wreck Your Life
In my estimation, this was the album that firmly established Old 97s' sound. I have to emphasize that this album's rank is not about nostalgia. It is simply a legendary album. Besides the obvious crowd favorite "Victoria," it is filled with amazing songs like "Dressing Room Walls," "Bel-Air," "Old Familiar Steam," and "The Other Shoe." Now out with bonus tracks as a reissue, this album is an essential for any fan.

1. Too Far to Care
I could go on forever about this album, but for the time being, I won't. Perhaps you can expect a more detailed exposition on it next June on its 15th anniversary. In short, Too Far to Care changed everything for me. Start to finish, I maintain it is among the best albums ever made.

Old 97s - Lubbock, TX, 6/11/11

The Old 97s came to Lubbock Texas for (according to my records) only the 2nd time in their 18 year tenure as a band. Even more surprisingly, they came to the typically "Texas Country" venue, The Blue Light. Of course, they could not return to the venue they played the first time, Liquid 2000, as it closed long ago, and the building has since been torn down and made into the new Buddy & Maria Elena Holly Park.

The Blue Light is a venue that, to a large degree, has a built-in crowd, although not necessarily built-in appreciation of good music. That is, it doesn't matter what dog and pony show is playing on any given night, because everyone and their dog seems to show up and pony up the cover charge [you're welcome]. Thus, throughout the night, I watched as countless nightclub-goers came to the entrance with small-town-big-city hair and heels, or alternatively, pressed western shirts and belt buckles, only to be turned away because the show was sold out.

Speaking of the sell-out, the Blue Light is easily the smallest venue in which I have ever had the chance to see the Old 97s, so I won't complain. In fact, the sound was well done and the show went off without a hitch as far as I could tell. What was interesting was watching the crowd dynamic and trying to figure out in what capacity many of the attendees actually knew of the Old 97s. Were they huge fans of The Break-Up? Perhaps they got engaged using the song "Question" as a soundtrack? Maybe they thought Old 97s were a hack Johnny Cash cover band? The young demographic suggested that maybe some were Tech students originally from Dallas whose parents listened to the Old 97s when they were growing up.

It is hard to say where everyone came from, but the crowd produced an interesting evening of music for sure. Opener Brandon Adams & the Sad Bastards got an excellent response, and in spite of the odd choice of covering a Whiskeytown song when opening for Old 97s, it seemed many of the attendees were actually fans of Adams as much or more than the 97s. Sarah Jaffe was the second opener, and received a good response, although the noisy Blue Light was not exactly the ideal forum for her music.

Old 97s took the stage to an energetic crowd, quickly breaking into a couple of numbers off of their most recent record, The Grand Theatre, Vol. 1. [Stream The Grand Theatre, Vol. 2 at KXT.org] What was unclear throughout the night was how many of the fans actually knew any of the music. Not that concertgoers are required to know the words to all the songs, but early on it was evident that the crowd was most responsive to the fast paced rockers. In that respect, long time fan favorites such as "Stoned" and "Wish the Worst" were met with little enthusiasm, whereas a Dallas or Austin show would have found a packed room vigorously bellowing "Picked up the phone book and called all your friends/I just wanna know where you've been.'"

In short, the band recognized that this was a "college town" crowd, and they went with it. Clearly they have learned to just go with the flow after 18+ years in the business. That is, they acted like they couldn't be happier to be there, talked about drinking, talked about West Texas, and overall kept the crowd interested. Less seasoned bands might have pouted at the crowd's lack of overall knowledge of their catalog, but the 97s showed no such lower lip. The band has tended in the past to pull at least a song from each of their albums, although I believe on this night they neglected the material from Satellite Rides on the setlist.

Rockers "Won't Be Home" and "Timebomb" drew the crowd into the scene most resembling a singalong that was to be found all night, the former of which I found odd because it is on one of the lesser-listened-to albums, although I suppose it is still among their best songs in its own right. Surprisingly, the show did not see Rhett or Murry play "Question" or "Valentine" acoustically, yet the band did a customary encore and promised to return to Lubbock in the future. You can bet I'll be there with all my bros when that day comes.

Setlist:
The Grand Theatre
A State of Texas
Niteclub
Stoned
W. TX Teardrops
Lonely Holiday
Champaign, IL
Victoria
Please Hold On While the Train is Moving
Doreen
Crash on the Barrelhead
Big Brown Eyes
(new) Bright Spark (See What I Mean)
Wish the Worst
Smokers
Every Night Is Friday Night (Without You)
Won't Be Home
Four Leaf Clover

Encore
Jagged
Barrier Reef
Dance With Me
Timebomb

Seriously, check out the stream of The Grand Theatre, Vol. 2 at KXT. The record will be out July 5th on MP3 and CD, supposedly to be followed by a double vinyl with both Grand Theatre releases at some point.

Preview: Old 97s - The Blue Light, Lubbock, 6/11/11

To my knowledge, Old 97s have only played Lubbock one time ever, and that was over 10 years ago at a birthday bash for KTXT radio, long before Texas Tech decided that Lubbock didn't need good radio. Please correct me if I am wrong about any or all of that information above, because I am quite literally just going by the seat of my pants on that info.

UPDATE: I found the link to a listing of that show - it was April 1st, 2000, at Liquid 2000, with a lineup of bands that are mostly no longer in existence. The venue is no longer in existence either, having been torn down to make a park for the Buddy Holly statue (which is controversial in and of itself, but not something I'll get into here).

What I do know is that the band is finally making a return appearance, on June 11th, at (I can't believe I"m saying this) the Blue Light. While the venue has a long history of catering to the fraternity and sorority crowds, which most often means Texas Country bands, I have to give the BL credit for keeping original live music going in Lubbock more consistently than basically any other venue. Further, they have been bringing in some very quality acts as of late, and in fact, will host Jason Isbell and the Meat Puppets, respectively, the same week that Old 97s are playing.

Enough about the Blue Light though, Old 97s are my favorite band of all time. By my estimation, I have seen them 10 times, stretching all the way back to August of 1999, which I know is less than 1 a year, but hey, I lived in Lubbock for 3 years, Boulder for 4, and now Odessa for 1, and they are not exactly regulars in any of those places.

The band will be releasing The Grand Theatre Vol. 2 on July 5th (New West), so I expect they'll be introducing some new material into the mix at the Lubbock show. However, if I know anything about the 97s, it is that there will be no paucity of the classics on the set list. The problem is really that they now have too many classics to fit into one show, but beggars can't be choosers. I am also excited about the fact that the Blue Light is one of the smaller venues I have ever seen the band play.

Lubbock, these opportunities don't come around that often, so don't miss out.

Old 97s covers EP & free live EP

A somewhat surprising announcement from the Old 97s this week - they will be releasing a 4 song covers EP, entitled Mimeograph, next week. The album will be available for download on Amazon (and elsewhere probably) and physical copies apparently will be available only through the band's Web site or at live shows.

The track listing will be as follows:

"Rocks Off" - Rolling Stones
"For The Girl" - The Fratellis
"Driver 8" - R.E.M.
"Five Years" - David Bowie.


















The band also just announced that you can get three live recordings for free if you Like the band on Facebook. Check out the "Notes" section on their facebook for details. The three tracks are "St. Ignatius," "Victoria," and "Four Leaf Clover."

A case study in the music industry

Although I regret watching almost every year, I found myself watching the Grammy Awards yet again this year. All but 1 or 2 of the performances are completely forgettable, with the majority being new songs that the labels are trying to push to a captive national audience, along with trying to help various artists crossover into new fan demographics. Nothing new there.

What really got to me tonight was listening to the Recording Academy president give his speech toward the end of the show and essentially say that illegal downloading threatens the artists we love and the quality of music we are accustomed to. While it may not greatly affect the biggest artists in the business, he said there are 1,000s of artists below the mega stars who are dependent on a successful recording industry to make ends meet. Something to that effect at least.

That's where I really lost patience with the whole show. I don't download illegally, nor do I support it. I rarely download live shows from bands without having also bought music from them as well. I recognize that the industry needs money to make music happen, and I know that record labels have played an integral part in facilitating the production of the music that we all grew up on. However, what downloading really threatens is the excess and control of the music industry. Major label artists are mostly a manufactured product now anyway. Labels have dropped hundreds of bands over the past decade, because those acts couldn't make back for the label the huge advances and expenses that were standard with major label deals.

However, the quality and diversity of music has only gotten better. In the last 10 years, we have already seen a huge reduction in the number of bands signing to major labels, and many more operate as independents or on smaller labels, and I would have to say that quality music is more accessible to fans now than it ever was. The artists predate the industry and I assure you they will outlast the industry. (Should I repeat that line? Just back up and read it again.) The big shift is that the industry no longer gets to control what bands get heard, and inevitably that affects their profits. In the 1980s, the labels dictated probably 95% of the music that the general public heard, and as a result, they profited hugely from that. Did they ever question their huge profits and wonder if they would last? Not really -- they just kept raking in the money and throwing out generous sums to the bands, knowing that only a certain percentage had to be really successful to finance the entire operation.

Enter the internet age, and suddenly, labels aren't in control of what you hear anymore. Downloading has been a part of it (and probably played the biggest role in causing this shift), but at this point in time, it is more about the wide availability of music and the seemingly infinite number of outlets from which to acquire your music that has transformed the industry.

My personal example involves two bands - Old 97s and the Avett Brothers. Over 15 years ago, the Old 97s got their start as a band, gained a small cult following, and ultimately were signed to Elektra in the mid 1990s. I expect they made good advance money from the label, and subsequently made one of the greatest albums of all time - Too Far to Care. Whether you are on board with that last part is immaterial, but at least humor me when I say that in 1997 the Old 97s were on top of their game, and they were really, really good. The problem was that Elektra still didn't really know what to do with them. TFTC didn't really have a radio single that would fit anywhere at the time, because radio was still highly compartmentalized and dominated by the major labels, and so they became just another major label band with a small fan base. They probably picked up a number of new fans (myself included) through promotions the label provided, but there simply was no outlet to send their music through to reach their target audience. Nowadays, the band has a comfortable following and makes a decent living, but they never really got big because the system in the 90s only allowed a few people to get really big through a few official channels, at least as far as major label bands go. They'll always be a favorite of mine, but I think they've missed the window to become as popular as they might deserve.

Fast forward to the early 2000s, and you have the Avett Brothers. They are another band who built a cult following around the country, although already by the mid '00s, they had a seemingly better trajectory as far as popularity than the Old 97s. Why? Because there were many more outlets for people to hear them. The rise of myspace, blogs, and radio and festivals that were more open to indie bands (or even specifically devoted to indie bands) allowed them to grow at a much faster rate. They did not have to wait to see if Atlantic or RCA was going to push one single of theirs really hard to make them the next big thing. Rather, they just did it on their own, as countless other bands have done in the past decade. Do the Avetts have any qualities that are far more appealing than the Old 97s had back in the late 90s? There are differences, but all in all, I don't think they do. They are an amazing band that is at the top of their game, and there were simply more ways this past decade for them to get big than would have been available 15 years ago. Now the band has signed with Rick Rubin's American Recordings, but no matter how that business partnership turns out, they have already cemented a huge following that will allow them to be successful in coming years no matter their label status.

Both literally and figuratively, the labels don't really own the music world any more. They are still a major player, but they refuse to let go of their model of creating huge artists to make them huge profits, and as a result they fall farther and farther behind. They try to blame illegal downloading, but it is only symbolic of the control they have lost on the industry. It is a business that refuses to acknowledge its mistakes and will not accept that it is no longer in control. The Recording Academy president's statement was a weak attempt to ignore the elephant in the room, and as a result he insulted our intelligence by asserting that the quality of music will decline without a healthy (read: wealthy) industry running the show. Instead of giving million dollar advances to unproven artists, labels could give out 100 $10,000 advances to promising artists and I guarantee they would make better profits, assuming they are willing to nurture and develop those artists as labels once did. I'm not worried about it though. We don't actually have to tell the labels that we're letting them go. I fixed the glitch. It will work itself out naturally.

Wre-Wreck Your Life

Bloodshot Records has just announced that they are reissuing a special edition double-LP (including bonus tracks) of the alt country classic Wreck Your Life from Old 97s. The WYL release will be limited to 1,000 copies and will include a second record with all of the Old 97s material ever released by Bloodshot. Check out the pre-order information here.

To my knowledge, the Old 97s' most recent full length LP, Blame It On Gravity, and the two early 7"s from Bloodshot make up their entire vinyl catalog. Nice to see Bloodshot making this a worthwhile buy by limiting the release number. Also good to know that downloads will be available for this release, most specifically for those of us whose copy of Wreck Your Life got loaned and lost many years ago.

The official release date is November 17, 2009, on which day you can open your mailbox and drop the needle on this vinyl and let Rhett stomp a mudhole in your heart just like he did back in 1995 in his black rimmed glasses days.




















As a small piece of unsolicited commentary, I don't know how much say the band had in the re-issue and whether they'll see much money from it, but I have to say that no matter that issue, I hope Bloodshot is able to use re-issues like this to keep them afloat through these tough economic times. Bloodshot has consistently and passionately backed unknown artists, rather than releasing albums from major label cast-offs (you know who you are), and they have provided us with some of the best non-mainstream music of the past fifteen years.

Yes, more random crap already...

I did finally find:

a place that was still selling the Grizzly Bear 7" featuring Michael MacDonald. Bleep.com is still selling it. Not sure why the band's and label's site are already sold out - either they are getting more copies or it's super limited edition.

Speaking of limited edition 7" vinyl that you probably don't care about:

Langhorne Slim recently released the Cinderella 7" on an Italian label called Wild Honey Records. Details can be found here. The ordering method is kind of new school old school, in that they don't have an online shopping cart, but you just paypal them the money and they (hopefully) send you the record. Old school old school would be you send them some cash in a card and (hopefully) they send you the record.

Is there any thing worse that could happen in Boulder:

than seeing 3 guys playing hacky sack outside of Starbucks?

Is there any thing better that could happen in Boulder:

than seeing 2 guys wipe out on their skateboards in the same day? (of course, with the stipulation that nothing was hurt other than their egos)

Pretty sweet:

that the Kanye West video for "Can't Tell Me Nothin'" featuring Zach Galifianakis and Will Oldham was featured as #30 in Pitchfork's Top 50 music videos of 2000-2009. Well deserved.

Why hadn't I heard about this?:

Michael Cera has a new movie coming out called Youth in Revolt (also featuring Zach G.), and to add to my surprise, "Timebomb" by the Old 97s is used the trailer.

Old 97s - Boulder Theater - 07/16/09

As anyone who has ever read this blog well knows, the Old 97s are probably my favorite band of all time, and probably have been since around the first time I saw them on Austin City Limits 11 or so years ago. Living in Fort Worth for 3 years, I had the opportunity to see the band a number of times at the beginning of this decade, but moving to Lubbock in 2003, and then Colorado in 2006 has made for far fewer opportunities to see them. So when I found out they were playing within walking distance of my house, it was almost too much to handle. And then when I found out that Murry and Rhett were opening the show with solo sets, I had to go see my doctor to see if I would be healthy enough to attend this show given the excitement it would cause.

The first thing we noticed when we arrived at the Boulder Theater was that the Old 97s crowd these days is really...old. I'm sure a substantial portion of them were the "Question" crowd, and were there because they heard the song at a Rockies game one time when someone got engaged on the Jumbotron. However, as the night wore on, the crowd began to fill in with the jaded looking 30-40 year olds that I was so accustomed to seeing at Old 97s shows in Dallas. Then of course there were a couple of token beat up cowboy hats that apparently some people still wear, and to round it out, of course, were a few people wearing the band's t-shirt to their show.

Murry Hammond opened up the show with a set of his solo material, which was pretty well a dream come true for me. The set was fairly eclectic, comprised mostly of acoustic gospel songs from his album I Don't Know Where I'm Going But I'm On My Way, but also including "I Will Never Marry" performed on the harmonium, and my personal highlight "Valentine." I guess the mellow set gave the audience a bit too much room to talk, so Murry sang the latter half of his set over a sizable background noise from the audience. However, he seemed unfazed by such, and for those listening, the music was well appreciated. In the men's room, I overheard someone say "it takes balls to be that guy," which pretty well sums up a guy who plays gospel music in front of an audience who came to see a loud and raucous rock band.

Songs I could identify from this set were:
What Are They Doing In Heaven Today?
Between the Switches
Lost at Sea
I Will Never Marry
Valentine
I Believe, I Believe
(Might have been one more song on here that I didn't recognize)

Rhett Miller followed with a short solo set. While I was well aware that Rhett is an amazing rhythm guitarist, this set really highlighted his ability to strum the guitar so fast that you can't see his right hand. I don't know all of his solo material quite as well, but I've increasingly become a fan of it, probably more so now that it's clear the Old 97s aren't likely to dissolve as a result of his solo career. That's kind of ridiculous I know, but you have to understand, things were a little tense for 97s fans around the time The Instigator came out.

Songs I could identify from this set were:
This Is What I Do
Fireflies
Singular Girl
Caroline
(Sorry, probably missed 2-3 songs from this one)

The Old 97s set was great, as always, and the band sounded extremely tight. There aren't a lot of bands with this many albums that I would be able to identify every song in their set, but this show wasn't even really a challenge. Keeping with tradition, they played at least one song from every album. Maybe I overdid it, but my three twitter requests - "Hands Off," "House that Used to Be," and "Melt Show" - didn't make it into the show.

The set list was as follows:
Won't Be Home
The Other Shoe
Dance With Me
Lonely Holiday
W. TX Teardrops
The New Kid
No Baby I
Barrier Reef
Murder (or a Heart Attack)
If My Heart Was a Car
Color of a Lonely Heart
I Need to Know Where I Stand (new Rhett song)
Question (and a verse in French)
Indefinitely
Smokers
I Will Remain
Rollerskate Skinny
Big Brown Eyes
Easy Way

Encore
Rocks Off (Rolling Stones cover)
Bel Air
The Fool
Timebomb

With this concert done, now all I've got to do is try and figure out if I can make all 4 Colorado shows for the Avett Brothers.

Yep, more old Old 97s

Upcoming: Old 97s at Boulder Theater - 07/16/09

I don't try to hide my bias when discussing the Old 97s, who probably stand as my favorite band of all time. Too Far to Care may be the album that had the greatest impact on my perspective on music, and I still consider it the best alt country album of all time.

(image courtesy of Paste)
I'll never forget the first show of theirs I ever saw, at the Gypsy Tea Room in Deep Ellum in 1999. I didn't have a ticket, so I showed up at 7 p.m. to stand in line and proceeded to wait about 4 hours before I finally got to see them. I can also still remember basically being mesmerized as the entire room sang along with Rhett to "Wish the Worst." But I digress...I have way too many Old 97s stories.

The band has somehow withstood the test of time, maybe even benefitting from the fact that they never really got huge. They've got an amazing catalogue of songs that probably couldn't be covered in two full nights, much less one. Today's Colorado Daily interview with Rhett Miller reports that the band will be taking requests for the Boulder show on Twitter. This is the type of thing that could lead me to overload the Twitter system singlehandedly. I'd better not get greedy though. Hmm - don't think I've heard "Hands Off" more than maybe once live. But then there's "If My Heart Was a Car," "Crash on the Barrelhead," and "House that Used to Be" also. Decisions....

Did I mention how awesome it is that Rhett and Murry are opening the show each with their respective solo material? I may not be able to drink enough to make this make sense.

I probably got a little too excited about this...

but Rhett Miller and Steve Earle were on 30 Rock's latest episode Kidney Now! along with Elvis Costello, Adam Levine, Sheryl Crow, Mary J. Blige, Moby, Clay Aiken, Wyclef, Rachel Yamagata (I was just told) and a number of others. I had a bit of a moment in our living room when I recognized Rhett. Steve was front and center, but Rhett was in the background and they never really zoomed in on him. I'm guessing it had to do with both of them having albums coming out soon.

Also, looks pretty sweet that Old 97s upcoming tour will feature Murry Hammond and Rhett Miller performing their respective solo material.

Speaking of Steve Earle, glad I didn't cough up the $30 to see him last summer given that he's doing a free in-store tomorrow. Of course I'll probably blow $30 buying his new Townes tribute on vinyl.

Rhett of the Old 97

Looks like Rhett Miller's releasing a new solo album, and it should hopefully be cheaper than his first album, which runs for $200+ on ebay these days. Doesn't make me so excited that I will lose sleep over it, but always glad to see output from anyone on the 97s payroll.

If you can prove me wrong on this, then fantastic, but I believe that Blame It On Gravity was the first Old 97s full length studio album that was released on vinyl. Kind of odd that no one has ever issued or reissued any of their previous albums. I would buy Too Far to Care on vinyl in a heartbeat.

Also, this isn't really a "music news" site, so I have no idea why I just posted this. Thanks for nothing Twitter.

3 More Hard-to-Find Albums You'll Wish You Had Someday

Colin Gilmore - 4 of No Kind

This first EP from Austin singer/rocker/songwriter/son-of-a-flatlander Colin Gilmore is an incredible collection of 4 songs that probably best reflect Gilmore's west Texas roots. Colin has recently made this album available on itunes, so it's not super rare, but I don't know that the hard copies are still being produced. I may be wrong on that, but I haven't seen any site selling new copies of the CD for some time. Whether he meant for them to or not, "Sunset" and "Winds of Heaven" sound like they were written by Jimmie Dale's son - trust me, you'll think the same when you hear them. Probably not that rare really, but for Colin and/or even Flatlanders fans, this EP is an essential.

Availability: A few used hard copies left on Amazon, and otherwise, widely available for download.

No River City - This is Our North Dakota

This first album from the (apparently) now defunct No River City is yet another casualty of the downfall of Miles of Music. That is, MoM has been the place to buy NRC's CD's for some time, and was additionally a strong champion of the band's music. Thus, given that No River City seems to be generally done as a band, their CD's are likely to become increasingly hard to find. I think a number of the guys from the band still play live shows together, but at least from the last announcement I heard, I think NRC is no longer in existence. That said, their two CD's are full of amazing songs, great vocals, and harmonies that fit the music perfectly. This first release is a great listen all the way through. I guess it falls in the vein of what you would call straight up alt country. I don't mean that in a bad way, by any means, but it's just a great collection of songs that don't need any fancy business to cover up various weaknesses that bands are wont to cover up with novelty sounds and the like. The entire album is a great listen, but "Corrinne" and "Last Thing I Remember" are a great place to start. You can download Corrinne here, and I've also found that various other blogs seem to have other songs of theirs for download if you look hard enough. Honestly, I don't know if there is an actual way to buy the music from them anymore so that they actually get the money for it, given that MoM was, as best I can tell, their exclusive seller (and who knows when the last time they got money from Miles of Music was). None of their stuff is available as itunes or amazon DL's either. My hope is that this album and their second album Wolves and Fishes, will not be the last we hear from the folks from NRC, whether it is under that name or another, as they have shown a great consistency for putting out great songs, and deserve wider listenership than they have.

Availability: Moderate - a few used copies up on Amazon, but haven't seen many others.

Rhett Miller - Mythologies

I'm just kidding about this one really. You are unlikely to find it anywhere except ebay, and even I cannot advocate anyone spending the kind of money this album goes for, no matter how big of a fan you are. This pre-Old 97s release from Rhett is more a novelty than anything. The songs are pretty good, but probably not worth paying $15 a song for. Only 1,000 copies were made, and apparently they are all signed and numbered, at least from Rhett Miller folklore that I've heard. Given how rough the economy has been, I think more than one of these may pop up on ebay, but you'll probably pay $150 or more for it if you really decide you want it. This is one on the list of albums that people like me dream of finding in a used CD store for $3.99, but the odds are heavily stacked against it now, given that most used sellers check their stuff on ebay now. Good luck, but this one has been essentially unavailable since shortly after Rhett became a 97.

Availability if you don't want to pay $200 for it: 1 in a million chance of finding it somewhere other than ebay.

In other news regarding hard-to-find music:

• The Avett Brothers have recently re-released their early Country Was album for download on itunes.
  
• I have been on a diligent search for an mp3 copy of the version of the Old 97s song "The Other Shoe" with Waylon Jennings singing the vocals. Apparently this recording dates back to 1997, in their days on Elektra, and was available for a short while on the Hit By a Train site as a real audio file (your grandkids will ask you about why anyone used real audio someday). Apparently the Waylon estate has not agreed to release this song yet, but from what I hear the band still hopes to make it an official release some day. Write your congressman about this one, because it will be more than worth it, 10 years plus after the fact, when it finally sees the light of day.

Old 97s live at the Gothic Theatre in Denver (Englewood), CO

It always feels good to see a good solid Old 97s show. Caught them last night in Denver, and as always, they delivered. For a band that never really gets that much radio play, they have really built a following off of their great albums and solid live shows over the years.

Kind of funny how, even though they are done with major labels, likely for good, they have this solid fan base of people in the range of ages from about 30-45, who incidentally are a demographic that has money. Hence, I would speculate that touring and merch sale income may be as good for them as it has ever been.

Hayes Carll, who I've seen a number of times, but many years back when he was still playing solo, did a great opening set. His music is really growing on me. The songwriting is top notch, and I think he's found a good sound for his voice. (although take a little bit of the roadhouse sound out and it would be absolutely perfect, in my opinion.) Before him, I Love Math, featuring Philip from Old 97s and members of the Deathray Davies, played a short opening set...which I missed. and am really bummed about. Saw them about 4 years ago and loved the show, so I'm really sorry I didn't get to see it.

The 97s were obviously pushing their new record, so lots of material off of that. Sorry not to hear the best song off of that album "This Beautiful Thing," one of Murry's songs, but the new album has got some great material. As with any Old 97s show, they push the new stuff, always mixing in the older stuff. Through that process they figure out what's great live and what's less great, and next time you see them, they'll have the new stuff more fine-tuned and cut out those that don't get the crowd's attention.

Now this is not in order, but since I'm an official Old 97s junkie, here's the set list they played off of each album:

Hitchhike to Rhome:
Stoned (it's just not the same in Denver as a Dallas show, where everyone sings along)

Wreck Your Life:
Victoria
Big Brown Eyes

Too Far to Care:
Timebomb
Barrier Reef
Salome
Big Brown Eyes
Niteclub

Fight Songs:
Lonely Holiday
Indefinitely
Crash on the Barrelhead (this made my night)
Valentine

Satellite Rides:
Rollerskate Skinny
Question

Drag It Up:
Won't Be Home
Smokers
The New Kid

Also, to start the encore, Rhett played "Come Around," from his first solo album The Instigator, and "Wave of Mutilation" by the Pixies and "I Wanna Be Sedated" by the Ramones.

Like I said, lots of stuff from the new album, which I won't list off, but overall a fantastic show. Hope they stay on the road a while with this one and maybe come back through town.

He does the theme from Endless Summer

Anti- Records has a free sampler up for Download on their blog.  It includes DeVotchKa, the Weakerthans, Billy Bragg, Man Man, and many more.  

Minor notes of interest (to me):

Old 97s played on Leno Thursday night.  No clip on youtube yet surprisingly, but the performance was a good one, at least in the sense that it was really good to hear Old 97s back at it playing new music.  Here's Rhett and Murry playing a song from the new album:

In other news, the Avett Brothers have just (finally) announced the release of a new EP, entitled The Gleam II.  It has been rumored on the message board for some time now, but they have just made it officially official.  Thank you.  Thank you. Thank you Gentlemen.  I can't wait.

And finally, for those of you with a twinge of indie hip hop blood, the new Atmosphere album When Life Gives You Lemons... has been impressive thus far.  Current favorite track is "You."  

Say what you'd like about it, or just repeat what the critics say if you prefer, but we saw Baby Mama last night, and I was pretty impressed, given that people were talking about its bad reviews while we were in line to get tickets.  As I was noted saying after the movie, "I don't even laugh that much in movies, but this one was pretty funny."  

The ending was a little ridiculous, but overall a funny movie with a great job by Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Greg Kinnear, Steve Martin, some guy that looks like Zach Braff, and various SNL cast members.  Will Forte has a great 1 minute appearance, or I guess, "cameo" as they say in the biz.  But then again I'm not in the biz so I wouldn't know.

You know the people that love you.

No more No Depression

I received my last issue ever of No Depression in the mail yesterday.  Brought out a bit of nostalgia when I thought about how ND was once my only lifeline to actual alt country while growing up in the 2nd least populated county in Texas.

While the magazine has fallen out of my interest in recent years, I don't hold it against them that they tried to connect to a little more widespread audience.  After all, most of the super alt country roots rock weirdos black rim glasses wearing folks are too cool to consistently do anything, especially when it involves $20 a year.  

But there is a bright spot or two.  The final issue has an interview with Old 97s, which brings things to closure for me personally.  I remember poring over the Old 97s articles with a fine tooth comb in my mid to late teenage years and wishing so badly I could see them.  (I did finally get to see them in my first year of college, by the way, at what was once the Gypsy Tea Room.  I showed up to the venue at 7 p.m. because I didn't know how shows worked and I was deathly afraid that it would sell out, so I waited for about 2 hours with a couple of other die-hards.)

But back to reality, the article also talks about Murry's new solo album, which is apparently still flying under the radar, although it was officially released earlier this month.  I did find a couple of free downloads here.  The album is entitled I Don't Know Where I'm Going But I'm on My Way.  The tracks sound pretty good I would say.  Hoping to hear it soon.  Murry doesn't even mention it on his myspace, which you would barely know was him without the pictures section.

And if that wasn't enough, the Old 97s have a new album coming in May.  And they are touring again.  And I might turn back into an 18 year old boy when they come through town.  And, sorry this is increasingly disjointed, but also, did you know Rhett recorded a Spanish version of "Question"?

until you come around.