HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar's "One Fast Move or I'm Gone"

Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar. Errr... strike that, reverse it. Anyone else think they're starting to resemble each other?

This blog post is going to be about confessions. First, I confess I've been totally ignoring the blog-o-sphere. Second, I confess that I've thought, despite a number of really good releases ("American Central Dust," "Wilco (The Album)" and perhaps most notably, "Back and Fourth"), I've been thinking 2009 is... well, kind of lackluster. It's certainly no 2007 ("Easy Tiger," "The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter")-- where was my album of the year? When was I finally going to hear something that knocked my socks off?

It happened, folks. And here's where my third confession is: I'm not a fan of beat poetry. Oh, sure, I went through a phase when I was sixteen where I quoted Kerouac to anyone who would listen (I still remember most of the paragraph from "On the Road" that begins, "The only ones for me are the mad ones," and I've read all of his work-- poetry, fiction, journal entries, letters-- so I'm informed enough to know I'm not a fan).

Enter, "One Fast Move or I'm Gone," Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar's Americana exploration of Kerouac's "Big Sur". The lyrics on the disk are largely pulled from "Big Sur" and adapted by Farrar and Gibbard, making them smooth and sad and haunting, just like you'd expect.

But here is a good time to pause and consider: This is Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie, Postal Service) and Jay Farrar (Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt). What COULD you expect? Is it going to be sad, dustbowl Midwest lyrics against a steel pedal guitar? Is it going to be sweet, plaintive vocals with jangly backgrounds?

Both. "One Fast Move or I'm Gone" sounds like Death Cab's head was sewn onto Son Volt's body, and it's wonderful. Though Farrar and Gibbard switch off on who takes the lead vocals, they often harmonize together, which has a strange effect. There's something of complete innocence in Gibbard's voice-- he has always, to me, sounded like someone who is always honest because he doesn't understand that there could be something to hide. Farrar's voice is the opposite-- he sounds like a man that is honest because he has to be, because he's learned better.

On songs like "California Zephyr," you can almost taste the freedom, rebellion, and spirit of the Beat movement. It's a breath of fresh air, and full of possibility. Even on darker sounding songs like "Willarmine," there's a hint of something bigger and better around the corner-- Gibbard sings softly, "Nobody ever writes the true story of love," but the song seems to think it's because there's something intangible, something out of reach about it. It sums up Kerouac's relationship not only with the women he met on the road-- but with himself. He was always just out of his own reach.

I think the title track should be in the running for song of the year. "One Fast Move or I'm Gone" is as good as an Americana song could be, and "These Roads Don't Move" is a close second. I also love Farrar's vocals on songs like "Low Life Kingdom," and "San Francisco."

I haven't taken "One Fast Move or I'm Gone" out of my CD player since I started listening to it. This is my first pick for album of the year.

My (OK, fine, NPR's) gift to you? Click here to listen to the streaming album!

RECOMMENDATION: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

As many of you guys know, I've been reviewing books with Thomas Nelson Books for a while-- and really enjoying it. And through them, I recently got the opportunity to read Donald Miller's new book "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years." Immediately after finishing-- and it was a two-sitting read-- I realized that I would not actually be helping Thomas Nelson promote this book as much as the book helped me sort out a few things, both personally and professionally, and gave me a touchstone for a more peaceful fall than I would have had.

Donald Miller is one of the most affable, likable narrators I've read: his conversational, self-deprecating tone makes what could be a very hokey idea and elevates it to inspirational. Famous for his book "Blue Like Jazz," Miller starts the book by saying two men approach him about making a film about his life. Through meeting them and trying to understand what that movie would have to include-- and importantly, leave out-- he learns better not only the meaning of story, but how to approach meaning in his real life using the elements and parts of story.

When he realizes that a movie about his life wouldn't be anything he'd like to see-- that it would be boring-- that there would be very little action-- he determines that he needs to start taking more risks. He talks about the people in his life that do take risks, including Bob, who is a character-- and a real person-- I really enjoyed reading about. Miller states in the beginning that Bob writes down every memory he has, as soon as he has it, and he now has over 500 pages of memories. I love, love that idea. He also describes Bob's family as being one in which everyone has a role and a place: and that, the idea of having a place and a function in your own family unit (or workplace, or friend group) helps give even smaller actions meaning, and can pave the way to bigger stories.

Miller also discusses what he calls "practice stories," which are adventures and events that really don't lead to much more than him saying 'yes' to a challenge and then completing it. He really, really works to make his contribution on the planet valuable, and he does this by discussing life with the same elements as fiction. There are parts where things don't translate exactly, and he says that: but as someone who is in grad school right now as a fiction writer, I found myself alternately circling things that I hoped would help me in my personal life, and then circling things and writing, "This would work in the kidnapping story," out to the side.

One of the biggest things Miller emphasizes is that people need to be active and make decisions in their own life, and in their stories, because that's what leads to something truly great. This is definitely a book to read quickly, to read slowly, and to read more than once: Miller has so much to offer. (*Side note: He is touring all over the country. If you'd like to meet Donald Miller or see him on his book tour, check it out here.)

INTERVIEW AND ARTICLE: Loretta Lynn

Last week, I had to pleasure of talking to living legend Loretta Lynn. It was easily the coolest interview experience I've ever had, even though I was very nervous. (So nervous that I started it off by saying, "Loretta Lynn! Hi! I'm Katie Darby!" to which she replied, "...I knew that!", haha. Called out on my nerves. Nice.) She's going to be in Evansville, Indiana this Friday (...as will I be!), and I got to write the promotional article, which is here:

My article for the Courier & Press!

But I figured I'd share a couple other tidbits from the interview with you guys:

• She calls Jack White a "good kid," which cracked me up. She told me that as a kid, he used to pay to go see "Coal Miner's Daughter," and sit in the theatre over and over, just rapt with it. This to me says a lot about why his music is the way it is, and why it sounds SO GOOD when he covers "Rated X" (which it does).

• When I asked her what the coolest thing about everything she's done was, she said it was "Coal Miner's Daughter," the book and the movie, which is so cool to me-- she's had this incredible recording career, but the book was excited to her.

• I asked if it was weird to see someone play you on screen, and she said, "I kept Sissy on the road with me almost a year before we did the movie. She's the only one I really picked to do the movie, so I wanted to make sure she did it right. And I thought she did great. Universal called me some night and told me, "Could you call Sissy, she's been crying?" So I called her, and asked what she'd been crying for, and she said, "Oh, this is so sad" and I said, "You're just acting it, I lived it, shape up." This cracked me up.

• When talking about the Loretta Lynn ranch in Hurricane, Tennessee, she said it was "real country, and there was a lot of swimming and bike riding, but nothing else, because it was so country." She then said, "Oh, and a doll museum." She collects dolls, and fans on the road have been giving her dolls for decades. So she has a doll museum. Pretty awesome.

OK, that's sort of the "behind the scenes" of my interview, which I enjoyed a lot. Apparently, tomorrow, I interview Uncle Kracker for the Courier-- it's been a busy couple weeks!

RECOMMENDATION: Brendan Benson, "My Old, Familiar Friend"

Much like this blog, Brendan Benson is back after a long absence.

OK, that's not quite true. In fact, if anyone has been following the Life and Times of Brendan Benson, it's probably fair to say that he's never been busier. When he's not discovering new talent and working in the studio, he sings, writes, and plays a mean guitar for ramblin' country-blues-rock quartet the Raconteurs with one of my favorites, Jack White. But BEFORE all of that, before all of the fame and prestige, Brendan Benson wrote simple songs and sang them simply. "One Mississippi" is one of the most plainly beautiful folkpop albums I've ever heard: "House in Virginia" and "Cherries" stand up as some of my favorite songs of all time. Next came "Lapalco," which had the awesome brooding ballad, "Metairie"-- the first song of his I ever knew. Finally, there was "Alternative to Love", and album that was criticized for the change in production style, even though if you actually listen to it against the other albums, it sounds better. Benson had found his thing. It was time for him to use big studio production techniques against his blunt lyrics and vocal stylings.

Everyone's caught up now, so I can launch into my specific recommendation: Last week, Brendan Benson's fourth solo album, "My Old, Familiar Friend," dropped, and I was so excited after my first listen-through to realize that I really hadn't built myself up over nothing: this is a fantastic album.

The album opens on a power-pop song with a really upbeat sound; it's almost counter-intuitive that the song, titled, "A Whole Lot Better," starts on lyrics like, "I feel a whole lot better when you're not around." Never one to leave things unresolved, the bridge goes, "I fell in love with you/ And out of love with you/ And back in love with you, all in the same day," before resolving itself with, "I feel a whole lot better when you're around." It's all pretty confusing, but one thing is clear-- Benson is back with an even more loud, almost bodacious sound.

My favorite song is "Gonowhere," which sounds a little bit like "Hey Bulldog"-era Beatles recordings. The lyrics aren't anything groundbreaking, but the encouragement is really nice:

"You could have it nice or complicated
You could pay full price or you could take it
You could improvise and be creative
You've got a lot to give
You've got a life to live
Don't put it off
Another minute longer
Don't go all soft
You've got to be stronger
Don't speculate
No one ever knows"

Even though he's pretty strongly advocating action and leaving "people going no where" behind, he's also quick to say, "don't say anything that isn't kind, anything that isn't nice," and ends the song on the refrain, "Everything you love, everything you love, you can have it all, you can have it all." I'm not sure if it's the way the repetition makes the song feel soothing, or if it's all of the different synthesizers and instruments in there that make it feel energized and exciting, but I love this song.

The slower, "You Make a Fool Out of Me," has been criticized for not fitting in, but I'd like to think there's always a place on a Benson album for a song like this. One of my favorite moments of his writing is in this song; after explaining how this woman "shows him up so everyone can see/ [And] makes a fool out of [him]." But then in the concluding part of the song, he says,

"I took the long way home
I needed time alone
I breathed the evening air
And I wished that you were there"

And there's the strongest longing and sadness in that line to me; and that's what works best about Brendan Benson's albums. Instead of coming off like an omniscient narrator in his own story, Benson always writes in a way that suggests the narrator doesn't actually know what's good for him, or what he wants. It's great, and in moments like that, it's really powerful.

Other interesting songs include "Garbage Day," (a disco-track sounding song with lyrics like, "If she throws her heart away/ I'll be there on garbage day/ To sift through what's left, I guess/ To sort through the loneliness"); "Misery" (which would fit in perfect on "Alternative to Love," with lyrics like, "It's been so long since I've seen you/ I've found another to cling to/ Put me out of my misery.") ; and "I'll Never Tell" (which starts out very dramatically, almost like Raconteurs track: "I'll never tell how much I love you/ I'll never show how much I care/ I won't speak a single solitary word.")

"My Old, Familiar Friend" is a good solid album, though; just different enough from track to track to keep it interesting, and Benson's flatly stated vocals really provides enough of a thread to keep this a good listen. It's good to have him back!

UPDATE (regularly scheduled posts start soon)

FIRST OF ALL: If I owe you a package, it will be going out in the next week! Yayyy!












SECOND OF ALL: Congratulations to Maggie, who won the Dion Roy drawing! Send me your address, and it will go out next week, as well!











THIRD OF ALL: I interviewed Pat Simmons (the one with the rockin' long hair) of the Doobie Brothers (kind of a strange story: I was out to lunch with my parents, and the phone rang, and it was Pat Simmons. No notice, so I wound up interviewing him on a picnic table outside the 17th Street Bar and Grill in Murphysboro. Certainly not conventional.) The article is published here.











FOURTH OF ALL: I've joined another blog community over at The MFA Chronicles. Tune in there to read about my adventures in grad school!









And finally, LAST OF ALL: Regular reviews will be starting up again sometime in August. I know I've been slackin'. But I love this blog, and I love writing about music, and I love your feedback. Still to come! Dead Weather and Wilco reviews, possibly a video blog... :)

Thanks for staying with me, guys!

RECOMMENDATION: Son Volt, "American Central Dust"

So... I've got a confession. And while I'm sure many of my longtime friends and readers already know this, it's something that always gets jaw-dropping stares in new crowds.

In the Uncle Tupelo split? I went Son Volt v. Wilco.



And even now, even though I realize Tweedy is the better lyricist (...he's fantastic. I think "Ashes of American Flags" very well might be the best written song of our generation), even though I understand that Wilco has probably influenced more people than any other alt-country-folk-rock outfit, even though it's pretty easy to see Nels Cline is one of the most artful guitarists on the scene today-- and I do get all of that-- it's hard for me to put on a Son Volt record and ever think that it's anything less than perfection. Farrar's growly vocals and dusty sadness always makes me so comfortable-- it's like listening to a friend tell a story on a porch, not like listening to a slick album.

(Seriously, if you still don't see where I'm coming from, listen to "AM" and "Trace" back to back. I still think, if those two albums were in a fishbowl, more people would agree with me.)

HOWEVER. Even though Wilco and Son Volt's legacy is forever twain, even though they both released (excellent) albums this summer, and even though PASTE MAGAZINE, who I usually think is dead on on everything, did a joint review-- this is where I have to start viewing them as completely separate bands, who deserve their own reviews.

Because guys: "American Central Dust" is AWESOME.

I mean, seriously great. It's fantastic. I can't say enough about the evolution of Farrar, the layering of the music, the tendency towards narrative lyrics... just... wow. I'm enjoying this album as much as I've ever enjoyed any of theirs (save the memories I have of the first time listening to "Trace", which if you haven't ever been exposed to that breed of alternative country is seriously mind-blowing-- albums like "Trace" are the reason I now play guitar).

And I know, with my emphasis on the "holy wow I love Jay Farrar so much" wagon, you'd almost think I was unaware of the other people in the band. But on this album, it's impossible not to notice the unity that Son Volt's achieved: steel guitar player Mark Spencer is featured heavily on songs like "Dust of Daylight," and lead guitarist Chris Masterson has really found a way to combine the old, almost lazy sounding guitar of classic country with a more driving, more steady tune like Son Volt is famous for.

The lyrics are, of course, wonderful. My favorite song is "Sultana," which is a retelling of the epic ship crash on the Mississippi on April 27, 1865. Farrar's deep voice lends a gravity to the idea of a tomb at the bottom of the river-- but it's also a good story. The piano acts almost as the rhythm section in the beginning of the song, which is really a beautiful way to give the song a different sound. And Farrar's harmonica part (...or what I believe to be Farrar on harmonica? He's listed) is really the standout music. (And I know what you're thinking, music lovers: But isn't this pretty much the same thing as "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"? And I've got a two part answer. (1) No. (2) Would it be so awful if it was? I love "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.")

Some of the standout songs are more lyrical than narrative, though, and my favorite of those is "Strength and Doubt." If you've never heard a Son Volt song, this is as good a place to start as any:

It's a full throttle train
An existential bane
It's only grays and blues
And nothing else matters

It takes a strong will
To keep it caged and still
It's only grays and blues
And nothing else matters

I've seen it all coming down
In a dream soaked world, nothing to fear
I've seen it all coming down
With beats that pound, bars to clear

Souls that live, in the junkyard
Tales of strength and doubt, and how to live without
Pages left blank, around the music hall
Can you find the meaning, just answering the call

The raucous "Jukebox of Steel" closes the album, which may seem like a weird choice-- ending on an upbeat isn't always what can be expected of a band like Son Volt. But what they've done on this album is proved that they are an awesome band, and even though there are things about them that are predictable and reliable-- their trademark sound, their dusty Midwestern sensibilities-- they're still an exciting band with a lot to offer.

Really, "American Central Dust" is what "Trace" promised all those years ago. They've grown into the sound they used to rattle around in, and I'm so excited to hear it.

RECOMMENDATION: Rob Thomas, "Cradlesong"

First things first! Scroll down or click here to enter the contest for a FREE copy of Dion Roy's debut, "Gallery" and some of his promotional pins. All you have to do is leave a comment with your favorite summer album in it.

On to today's recommendation:



I have kind of a long relationship with Rob Thomas. Not like, "I listened to Matchbox 20 a little bit in middle school," though I did-- but like, I have all of the Tabitha's Secret albums (...pre-MB20). I've got every album he's ever been featured on (including the earworm "Smooth" with Santana, his more recent contributions to things like the "Meet the Robinsons" soundtrack): it's really a little embarrassing. When I'm a fan, I'm a fan. And that works out well for the people I grow really attached to, as I spend a ton of money and go to great lengths to give them the benefit of the doubt (even after their third studio album with MB20 is kind of disappointing, minus one track-- "Bright Lights" was AWESOME).

I saw Matchbox 20 during the summer they transitioned to matchbox twenty, the year "Mad Season" came out. Train opened, and my dad, sister, and I sat in lawn seats in Dallas. It must have been late August, because I remember it being hot, but I remember dusk. I remember Thomas playing piano and telling stories about the previous times he was in Dallas, and I remember being proud because he said the first time he heard "Long Day" on the radio, it was a Dallas station. I have always had really good memories of that night, and of their music. Needless to say, when Thomas's new album, "Cradlesong," came out, I had really high hopes.

Usually, here is where I'd make caveats and disclaimers, like, "I always liked 90s pop, even when I knew it wasn't great, lasting music," and "Sometimes it's good to listen to music just for fun." But honestly? No caveats. I just like this album. I like the way it makes me feel, I like how it's easy to pick up the lyrics, I like how so much of the music is upbeat, and I really, really like how Thomas has become so comfortable in his own style.

The first single and lead-off track, "Her Diamonds," was a little polarizing to me at first. It sounds great. I love the way the percussion comes in, and I love his vocalizations-- but I wasn't sure how I felt about the conceit of diamonds/tears. And then I realized I really need to stop overthinking things. It's good-- who the hell cares what I think about extended metaphors? I don't.

I could say something good about every song on the album-- I really love "Real World '09", which references the old MB20 song, "Real World," countering the original's cloying lyrics, "Please don't change/ Please don't break/ You're the only thing that seems to work at all and/ Please don't change at all for me" with the much more interesting, "Now I'm awake/ I think it's over, but it's everyday/ And it's a pretty fine mess I'm starting to make/ I couldn't tell you I was never afraid."

In fact, Thomas confronts fear on several tracks on this album, which is its strongest quality, in my opinion. A lot of the speakers in the songs come off as more vulnerable due to it, and I think that makes it easy to relate. One of my favorite lines is from the song "Mockingbird" (which is sort of a response to the lullaby, "And if that mockingbird don't sing")-- it almost sounds painful when he sings it:

I don't want to love you now if you'll just
Leave some day
I don't want to turn around if you'll just
Walk away

And while obviously, that's not a self-help version of how to deal with a relationship, I think it addresses the fears of every person who has ever fallen in love and then realized they're in deeper than the other person. It's almost haunting. Paired with the chorus, "Maybe you and me got lost somewhere/ We can't move forward we can't stay here/ Maybe we've just had enough/ Maybe we weren't meant for this love/ You and I tried everything/ But still that mockingbird won't sing," it's the perfect song about a conflicted ending. And it sounds so good.

Like I said, I actually like every song on this album (though I find myself consistently skipping "Fire on the Mountain": it's probably a very good song, but I don't feel like it fits really well with the rest of the album), the song "Cradlesong" is, in my opinion, in the running for best song Thomas has ever written. Though the song has a really, really strong start:

Everybody's got a different story
Everybody wants to give their self away
But I'm still afraid

If we can stay out of their field of vision
If we can keep ourselves a half a world away
Honey, we'll be OK

It's the beginning of the last verse that I feel like brings the whole album together, and really, is a perfect place for where Thomas is at in his career-- and where I want to be as a person.

No one said that we were victims, honey
No one said we had to keep the things we get
There ain't no regrets

The whole song is a masterpiece, and though it's not the last song on the album (the very pleasant "Getting Late" rounds out the fourteen tracks), it feels very final-- in a good way. Overall, I think "Cradlesong" is a great step for Thomas, and I like it more every time I listen to it.

EDIT: Here's a link to the purchase page in the UK:
CRADLESONG AT CDWOW

And here's regular ol' Amazon:
CRADLESONG AT AMAZON

Seriously, scroll down for the contest! It's easy, it's free, it's fun!