radio barz

NPR's Best Songs of 2009 (so far)

Great list by NPR All Songs Considered listeners. Includes best songs of 2009, with links to listen and a best albums list. This has been a great year for music so far. Can't wait to listen to what the rest of the year has to offer.

Radio Barz Best of 2009 (so far)

What a great year 2009 has been for music. Lots more to come, I'm sure. But let's pause before the fall and consider the Radio Barz top 7 of 2009 -- so far!

Who's in my five? (Albums that is...)

Yes, this list is subject to change, but not much. Here are my top 5 albums, selected because each in its way changed my world or at least the way I think about my world, each holds up on almost obsessive repeated listening. Each has provided layers of pleasure and continued delight and surprise. Here you go:

• Neil Young, Zuma
• The Pretenders, self-titled first album
• Fred Eaglesmith, Driven-In Movie
• Led Zeppelin II
• Lucinda Williams, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road

Who's in your five?

Roadtrip Playlist

Made a quick trip to NE Ohio and back yesterday. 740 mi in less than 18 hours. This playlist helped pass the miles:

El Corazon by Steve Earle, in particular, NYC, I Still Carry You Around, and You Know the Rest

Tell Tale Signs by Bob Dylan. Addicted to both versions of Mississipi and the live cuts crackle with primal roadhouse energy.

Paste sampler, volume 45, including:

1. BLK JKS - "Lakeside"
2. Mugison - "Mugiboogie"
3. Miou Miou - "A Lete De La Saint-Martin 68"
4. Yoav - "Club Thing"
5. Tinariwen - "Cler Achel"
6. Ron Sexsmith - "Brandy Alexander"
7. The Lodger - "The Good Old Days"
8. Carsick Cars - "He Sheng (Rock N Roll Hero)"
9. Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill - "Jenny's Welcome To Charlie"
10. The Windupdeads - "The End"
11. Bajofondo - "Pa' Bailar"
12. White Shoes and the Couples Company - "Tentang Cita"
13. Anna Ternheim - "To Be Gone"
14. Ladysmith Black Mambazo - "This Is The Way We Do"
15. The Cat Empire - "So Many Nights"
16. A Shoreline Dream - "neverChanger (feat. Ulrich Schnauss)"
17. Sergio Mendes - "Funky Bahia"
18. Orchestra Baobab - "Nijay"
19. Miguel Zenon - "Lamamilla"

The Believer's 2008 Music Sampler, including:

1. Tartit, “Ansari”
2. Animal Collective, “Winters Love”
3. Sholi, “Hejrat”
4. Googoosh, “Makhloogh”
5. Gang Gang Dance, “Nicoman”
6. Beat Konducta, “Dancing Girls Theme”
7. Think Of One, “Antwaarpse Shaâbi”
8. Aceyalone, “Sound Gun”
9. Busy Signal, “Knocking At Your Door”
10. Dirty Projectors, “Finches’ Song At Oceanic Parking Lot”
11. Ensemble Pirin, “Di-Li-Do”
12. Skeletons and the Kings of All Cities, “What They Said (Barnburner Mix)”
13. Mahmoud Ahmed, “Abbay Mado”
14. High Places, “Golden”
15. Ya Bounma, “Jing Riang Me Lun”
16. Lucky Dragons, “Complement Song”
 

Songs in my mind

Heavy rotation.  The playlist in my mind:

• The English Beat - Best Friend
• Cracker - The Good Life
• Fatboy Slim - Right Here, Right Now
• Barenaked Ladies - This is Me in Grade 9
• Ben Folds Five - Uncle Walter
• Steve Poltz - Chinese Vacation
• James McMurtry - Hurricane Party
• The Rakes - We Danced Together
• The Bo-Keys - Deuce and a Quarter
  

Sunday morning music

Thanks to KCRW and "The Lab" with Jason Kramer for some greatSunday morning listening. Here were a few of my favorites:

Corrina: Taj Mahal 

One Love: Bob Marley / Bill Laswell, from the great collection Dreams of Freedom: Ambient Translations of Bob Marley

Hello Friends: 45
Tainted Love: Gloria Jones
El Mambo B-Boys: Red Astaire
Dance Dance Dance: Lykke Li (Lykke Li's home page and MySpace page)

Bored with the music you're listening to? KCRW is a great place to break away from the music blahs. Always intelligent, always engaging, and often highly danceable. If you're already a fan, you should pledge your support today. The station has a drawing coming up May 5 with some amazing prizes including a MacBook Air.

Brrrrr....songs for a 20 below Friday night

Cold tonight. Wind chills -20 F. About all you can do is stay inside and wrap yourself in good music. Tuned in to CBC Radio 3.  Figuring if the music is beaming from a place even colder than here,  it has to provide a warm, positive vibe. Here's what caught my ear tonight.

• The Joel Plaskett Emergency -- Face of the Earth.  Great acoustic guitar-driven narrative. Perfect for the midwinter, coldest night of year vibe. Wonder if the tears falling down the face of the earth are freezing to the cheek?
• The Paperbacks -- Rattled by Failure. Title reflects my Friday workday. Driving beat and 1980s style power pop guitar. Great for blasting through snowdrifts.
• Heartbreak Scene -- Daytime Emmy. Nice vocals and dueling guitar leads. Reminds me of some of the late 1970s/early 1980s Petty and other emerging rock and roll bands of the time -- like D.L. Byron and Lone Justice.

• Arabesque - Marlboro Man. Only the finest in Canadian Hip Hop. From the album Hang Your Heroes.
• Jason Collett -- Out of Time.  Like good Steve Forbert with more "ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, oooohs."

So put another log on the fire.  Sleep with the dogs. Three if you have that many. And turn up the radio.

Saturday morning songs

As I start my Saturday, greeted by frost and sunshine, here are five songs that got me going:

The Producers - What she does to me

Iggy Pop - Candy

Uncle Tupelo - Moonshiner

Pretenders - My Baby

Robert Earl Keen - The Front Porch Song (Live)

What's on your weekend playlist?

Band links:

The Producers

Iggy Pop

Uncle Tupelo

The Pretenders

Robert Earl Keen

Found on XM Radio: Fred, Deep Cuts and X Country.