GOBL's Top 50: #50-11

It's funny how whenever I try to take on a project like the Top 50 or the A-Z playlists, life somehow gets in the way. I'm taking a moment to get the countdown back on track. The bad news is that a number of artists will not get the level of a write up that is deserved. And for that, I apologize. I'll try to write a little something about each artist that has been neglected for the past week.

The one bright side is that doing this should have everything on track for next week, when we finally enter my picks for the top 10 local tunes of the past year.

So let's do a full recap, complete with a playlist at the end.

50. "Who's That Girl", PPT
51. "Same Old, Same Old", Hello Lover
52. "All Inside", The Felons
53. "German Chocolate Cake", Bravo, Max!
54. "The Message", Dem Southernfolkz
55. "Nip/Tuck", The Orange
56. "Icarus", Arielle
57. "We Will All Be Changed", Seryn
58. "Virtue And Vice", The Virgin Wolves
59. "Little Bear", Elkhart
60. "Love Bomb", Rude King
61. "The Great Escape", Damaged Good$
62. "Need a Release", the cut*off
63. "Were Her", The Orbans
64. "Young & Reckless", The Roomsounds
65. "Three", The Timeline Post
66. "Dalton the Prophet", Nicholas Altobelli
67. "You Pressed the Crash Button", Novaak
68. "Paper Girl", Katie Carroll
69. "Move Along", Blue Petal
70. "Pastel Lights", Ishi
71. "Seven", Ducado Vega
72. "Love That Leaves", Somebody's Darling
73. "Black Light", Macon Greyson
74. "Aim High", Chris Holt
75. "Set Me Free", The Red 100's
76. "Truth on Tape", Smile Smile
77. "Mindreader", Lovie
Harshmellow waso the first CD mailed for review by The Ghost.  While it was never formally reviewed (which happens rarely on here), the band received plenty of mentions for their super catchy tunes.  Plus, you can't beat lyrics like "Oh yeah, he loves me, he loves me not/Blah blah blah blah blah".
78. "Wire to the Walls", RTB2
Ryan Thomas Becker is arguably the best musician in Dallas right now.  While known mostly for his guitar work, this song proves that he is capable of writing an incredibly catchy tune in under 100 seconds.
79. "All Because You're Mine", Air Review
In the fall of 2009, I was at a show at Trees, chatting with John Solis.  I asked him what bands he recommend I check out.  In a separate conversation that night, I asked Pete Freedman the same question.  Both had the same response: Air Review.  My curiousity was piqued, and I was not disappointed.
80. "Just Wanna Try", Luna Matto
Luna, I know you're busy with Polyphonic Spree and the like, but Dallas needs more of your music.

81. "Burning Pictures", The Monco Poncho
I remember the first time that I heard this band, I instantly fell in love and became a fan. Yes, what a lovely story.  There's only one problem with the story; it isn't true.  I must confess, it took me a few shows to understand the campy goodness that is Monco Poncho.  But underneath the western shtick, there are some really well crafted pop tunes.  And of that group of tunes, none demands repeated listens quite like "Burning Pictures".

82. "Hang On", Salim Nourallah
Mr. Nourallah usually specializes in sweet pop melodies that hide a darker story.  In this case, it's almost the reverse.  While the lyrics are hardly joyous, there is a certain level of hope mixed with the sadness, as exemplified by lyrics like, "You've gotta love this life, even when it has you beat."  NOTE: had Hit Parade been out longer, the title track might be right here instead.  Yes, it's that good.
83. "Swelling", Sarah Jaffe
When I got to attend the 2007 Wall of Sound Festival, I made a point of arriving early, mostly to see an artist I'd heard such good things about, Sarah Jaffe.  Not only was I not disappointed, the performance left me with speechless and with goosebumps.  The latter symptom is one I have experienced at every performance of hers I've attended.  And while "Vulnerable", "Clementine", and "Glorified High" are her biggest hits, I remember continually playing this track on her MySpace back in the days.  For that reason, "Swelling" gets the #17 slot.
84. "Try Try Try", Spector 45
There's no doubt that there is still a hole left in the local music world from the deaths of Frankie 45 and Adam Carter.  In fact, when you mention the band nowadays, there's a certain sadness felt when thinking about the loss of these two young men.  Yet if you listen to the music, what you hear is a band that was raw, energetic, and, well, alive.  That's the way I like to remember Spector 45.
85. "Bleeder", True Widow
It was the 2009 Dallas Observer Music Awards Showcase, and I was trying to figure out which bands to see.  Unfortunately, many artists I like were scheduled against each other.  Such was the case with Doug Burr and True Widow.  I walked into The Cavern, planning on catching a few TW songs before checking out Mr. Burr.  I never made it to see Doug's set that night because I was hyptonized by True Widow's performance.  That set of theirs just might rank as my favorite performance of the past five years.

86. "For Keeps", Iris Leu
87. "What Turns Inside", Dove Hunter
88. "I Still Wait", The O's
89. "Gypsy Woman", Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights

You'll have to forgive me for not commenting on the last four songs.  I seem to be experiencing writer's block.  Perhaps to be more accurate, I'm starting to have a hard time discussing these songs in such a way that does them justice.  I simply hope to start finding the words again for the songs in the Top 10.  In the meantime, here's the playlist I promised.

T

The Lucky Thirteen: 6/25/12

As the halfway mark of this year comes close, many music critics seem to be doing their list of favorite albums of 2012 thus far.  I suppose I should jump on this bandwagon, but I'm not one to usually do lengthy album reviews.  Plus, EP's and singles are now making up a bigger portion of the local music output, especially since producing an album can be cost prohibitive.

Instead of a list of this year's best albums so far, I'm opting to dedicate this week's Lucky Thirteen to a number of the finest songs I've heard this year.  This is by no means a fully comprehensive list of the area's best contributions, but rather a small sampling of some of the best well known acts, as well as some deserving of more attention.

And since ordering this list is a bigger headache than I want, I've simply arranged the tracks in alphabetical order by artist.

1. "Knockout Rose", Bad Design
2. "White Chocolate", The Boom Boom Box
3. "The Road", Dovetail
4. "When Your Hope Dies at Your Feet", The Farstar
5. "Married to the Sea", John Singer Sergeant (performed by Marcus Striplin & Sarah Jaffe)
6. "One Loaded Gun", Lara Parker
7. "After the Politics", Low Dark Hills
8. "Something We Need", Quincy Forte
9. "Break My Spirit", The Roomsounds
10. "Unstoppable", Salim Nourallah
11. "Glorified High", Sarah Jaffe
12. "Save Me", Siren Sea
13. "Take It Back", To Coda

The Lucky Thirteen: 3/12/12

So I think I heard something about some sort of music festival down in Austin this week. I guess this SXSW thing is sort of a big deal, right? It seems like bands don't get "discovered" there as they used to in the earlier days of the festival. Still, it's the biggest music festival in the nation, and for those looking for talent, you can find it in both the official and unofficial shows.

What I have here is thirteen acts playing the festival, along with the venue (or in some cases, the venues) that each is playing. Some are official shows, some not. To find out more details, I might recommend checking out the SXSW page (for official acts) and Austin 360 for the unofficial acts. Some of these acts already have the buzz surrounding them; all of them deserve it.

Standard playlist disclaimer: any artists, record labels, etc. who do not wish to be on the playlist for any reason whatsoever, email me at ghostofblindlemon@gmail.com and I will gladly remove the track. And if you'd actually like to be on the playlist, you can use the same email address to email me your mp3's. If I like the song, then odds are it'll wind up on a playlist.

1. "My Girlfriend Is a Rock", The Nervebreakers
   The true beauty is of SXSW is that it allows young and up and coming bands opportunities for exposure. Bands like, uh... The Nervebreakers? No, any band that can claim being an opening act for the Sex Pistols in their heyday can't be called up and coming. But the band will be releasing a new album (their first in about 30 years), and now another generation will get to sample this classic Dallas true punk band. Click here for a list of their shows, times, etc.


2. "Wildly Inappropriate", The Burning Hotels
   I checked out the band's website, and it looks like they'll be playing a total of five shows in the course of three days, starting on Tuesday and ending on Thursday. At SXSW, the word overexposure does not exist.


3. "Save Me", Siren Sea
   I've really taken a liking to the band's ethereal and haunting melodies, as well as Reema Hamdan's powerful voice. They'll perform Tuesday at 11:00 pm at The Dizzy Rooster, and Wednesday at 10:00 pm at The Blind Pig. On a separate note though, what's the deal with all the animal club names?


4. "We'll Go Walkin'", The O's
   Long before Mumford and Sons made the banjo cool, The O's were using the banjo and crafting their "party bluegrass anthems", as I like to call them. They have one official SXSW show (Wed, Mar 14 at 8:30 at St. David's Bethel Hall), and two unofficial shows. The first will be at Opal Devine's Thursday night at 7 pm, and the second takes place Friday at 12:30 PM at Maria's Taco Express.


5. "Wired to Make Waves", Nervous Curtains
   The band plays twice on Wednesday (once at The Highball, then at Bernadette's Bar), and then Friday at Sidebar.


6. "It's Not Enough", Salim Nourallah
   Mr. Nourallah has kept quite the quiet profile over the past year. With the release of his CD Hit Parade on the horizon, expect to see a lot more of Salim in the coming months. He'll perform an official show Friday at Cedar Street Courtyard. Interestingly enough, Salim will share a bill with both Rhett Miller and Thomas Dolby.


7. "Towering", Seryn
   Seryn has already made a substantial name for itself, both inside and outside of the metroplex area. While I doubt any major labels will be giving out million dollar deals this year, at the very least I feel safe saying there will be plenty of buzz around the band. Check their website for dates , times, and locations.


8. "Wait for Us", Mind Spiders
   Assuming you're not partied out by Saturday night at one in the morning, check out this band (also with its share of buzz) at Valhalla. And yes, this is an official show.


9. "Red in the Morning", Menkena
   A little earlier on Saturday (1:10 PM to be exact) Menkena plays the outdoor stage at Casa Chapala.


10. "Little Heart", Clint Niosi
    Mr. Niosi will be releasing new material this year. I have a feeling I'm gonna be talking about him a bit in the upcoming months. I don't feel like listing all the shows he's doing, so just click here if you want the details, okay?


11. "Fortune Teller", Jessie Frye
    Congratulations to Ms. Frye for getting mentioned in the New York Times as one of the local acts worth seeing. If you want to see why the New York Times is impressed, check her out Wednesday at 2 pm at Betsy's Bar. Or check her out Friday at 6 pm at the Omni Hotel Downtown. Or check her out Saturday at 6 pm at the Austin Hilton Hotel. Or check out her Saturday at midnight at tenOak. Or check out all those shows.


12. "Slick Shoes", The Virgin Wolves
    Like Siren Sea, Virgin Wolves are also playing The Blind Pig. They'll take the stage Thursday night about 9 pm.


13. "Indian Melody", Calhoun
    Calhoun seems to be bookending its SXSW shows, with one Tuesday night at Treasure Island (official SXSW show) at 11 pm, and two unofficial shows Saturday (Doc's Motorworks day party at 5 pm, then Bar Louie at 10 pm). And in the middle of all that, the band will sneak back up to the metroplex and play the Dallas Museum of Art Friday night. And you thought there wouldn't be any good local shows this week.

Oh, and if I forgot to mention any shows by the above acts, let me know in the comments section. And if there are other local bands playing the festival you feel are deserving of attention, the comment section is good for that too.

Ghost of Blind Lemon Radio: 4/27/11

For those who have been faithfully listening to my radio show on deepellumradio, I give you my sincere thanks. To those who have not been listening, I hope to convince to start listening every Wednesday 6-8 pm CST. Perhaps if you see the fine musical selections that you're missing out on, that will convince you to turn up your computer speakers and give me a listen. So without further ado, here's this week's playlist.


"Underground", Kirby Brown
"Hotel Denalian", Bravo, Max!
"Missing Funerals", Salim Nourallah
"Hands Where Words Cannot Go", RTB2
"City of Hate", Toadies
"Carney's Lake", W.A. Fite
"Save Your Breath", Camille Cortinas
"Chasing Corporate", Air Review
"Justify or Explain", Tweed EQ
"Man with the Crooked Crown", Nicholas Altobellit
"You're No Good", Pale Horse
"Burn It Down", Here Holy Spain
"Tropicall", Soviet
MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT: Kim Bonner
"Holy Water", Princess Tex
"Holiday", Vibrolux
"Potential Future Selves", THe BAcksliders
"Turn on Your Radio", THe BAcksliders
"sEVEN", DuCADO Vega
"Parking Lot Nights", Ghosthustler
"Set Me Free", The Red 100's
"Love Bomb", Rude King
"Charmed", The Bright
"Eyes Get Bigger", Oil Boom
"Skull Eyes", True Widow
"Three", The Timeline Post
"Sins of the Fathers", Course of Empire
"Remember You", The O's
"Pawn Shop Special", The Marfalites
"Someone Else's Blues", Greg Schroeder

And for those who have been wondering, the Ghost of Blind Lemon theme (intro song) was created by Clay Pendergrass, and the outro song is an excerpt from Rahim Quazi's "Supernatural (Reprise).

Also, feel free to email me at ghost@deepellumradio.com with song requests, suggestions for the show, or if you have an mp3 you'd like me to play.

The Lucky Thirteen: 12/21/10

Standard playlist disclaimer: any artists, record labels, etc. who do not wish to be on the playlist for any reason whatsoever, email me at ghostofblindlemon@gmail.com and I will gladly remove the track. And if you'd actually like to be on the playlist, you can use the same email address to email me your mp3's. If I like the song, then odds are it'll wind up on a playlist.

With all the legal mumbo jumbo out of the way, let's listen to some tunes and try to get into the holiday spirit, okay?

1. "Christmas Time Is Here", Chomsky


2. "Waiting on Christmas", The Adventures of Jet
   I suppose I could do a Christmas playlist and not feature any tunes from Electric Ornaments, but it just wouldn't be right. Here are two of my faves from the CD.


3. "My Christmas List", Scott Riegel
   I first saw Mr. Riegel perform at Bryan Street Tavern along with The O's and Whiskey Glass Eye (aka Slobberbone), and there's a certain charm to this 17 year old musician that has me highly curious about where he'll go next musically. For now, enjoy this fun acoustic Christmas ditty.


4. "What I Always Wanted", Chris Holt


5. "Christmas (Doesn't Have to Be So Bad)", THe BAcksliders
   I'm lacking anything witty or insightful to say. I like Chris Holt. I like THe BAcksliders. I like these songs. Ok, on to the next song...


6. "Merry Christmas Now", Rahim Quazi
   I hope everyone has enjoyed my gift of the Rahim Quazi mp3's. What, you haven't downloaded the tracks yet? Click here and get yourself some good tunes.


7. "Winter Wonderland in Dub", Clay Pendergrass
   This is admittedly a rather long track, but I recommend sitting yourself down, relaxing, and allow yourself the time to appreciate this hypnotic gem from Mr. Pendergrass.


8. "Here It Is Christmas Time", Old 97's
   Dear Santa, I've been a good blogger (for the most part). Could you leave me a pair of Old 97's New Year's Eve tickets in my stocking?


9. "Santa Baby", Smile Smile


10. "Silent Night", Smile Smile
    Smile Smile has had quite a good year, and Truth on Tape was easily one of my favorite CDs of the year. I figured it'd be nice to have a double dose of Smile Smile.


11. "Run Rudolph Run", Reverend Horton Heat
    Definitely one of the most rocking local music Christmas tunes ever. One would expect no less from The Rev.


12. "Christmas Eve", Salim Nourallah
    There's nothing that'll get someone into the Christmas spirit than hearing Salim sing "Why can't we cheat death?". Merry Christmas!!!


13. "Christmas Time", Black Tie Dynasty
    After that last track, I figured it was either hand out Prozacs or let you hear this song. For my money, this tune is the ultimate Christmas party song. Turn it up everyone, you'll know it's Christmas time because you won't be able to fight it.

The Lucky Thirteen: 3/21/10 -3/27/10

1. "Just Wanna Try", Luna Matto
   This is a status update posted from my personal Facebook account: "I've just received several mastered mp3's from Luna Matto and they are freakin' amazing. Opening my email was like Christmas morning!" Not only are the songs wonderful (as I would have expected), but Jimi Bowman's production job leaves no room for complaints or even suggestions. Expect to see lots of Luna's music on my playlists for the next few weeks. Actually, expect to see lots of her music throughout the year.


2. "Will You Be There", Pale Horse
   Pale Horse is keeping their calendar full, but keep an eye out for a really special show in the near future. I'll tell you more as the date come closer.


3. "Nothing Ever Goes Right", Salim Nourallah
   Oak Cliff has slowly been transforming itself into a cool bohemian type neighborhood. Jeffrey Liles' opening of the Kessler Theater will no doubt make the area even more interesting. He has several good shows planned there, including this Friday's show featuring Nicholas Altobelli, Rahim Quazi, Chris Holt, and Mr. Nourallah.


4. "Honky Tonk Angels (Don't Happen Overnight)", Eleven Hundred Springs
   So, you live in Plano and are frustrated because you have to drive to Downtown Dallas to hear good bands live? Saturday will be a nice reprieve for you then, as Eleven Hundred Springs takes the stage at Love & War.


5. "Bragging Type", Trey Johnson
   Ever since I saw Mr. Johnson perform at Poor David's Pub the previous weekend, Mount Pelee is in heavy rotation again. This track in particular has been going through my head a lot lately. There are worse things than that.


6. "Undercover", Bridges & Blinking Lights
   I'm going to make a confession here. It's taken me a long time to get B&BL. Even the first few times I heard this track, I thought it was good but not great. Fortunately, KXT and Mark from The Local Edge have insisted on playing it repeatedly, and with each listen I grew more fond of the song. Mission accomplished: I get it now.


7. "Woman/Free", Calhoun
   Last May, Calhoun played a show at Aardvark that they said would be their last for awhile. That usually translates to "final show" and "breakup of the band". Imagine how surprised I was then to discover that the band is recording new material and planning for a new album to be released this summer. The band also posted three free downloads on their bandcamp site of tracks that will not be on the album. If these are the tracks that didn't make the cut, this bodes very well for the quality of their next release.


8. "Pretty Boys", Sara Radle
   Tonight Ms. Radle returns to Dallas with her new band, Walking Sleep. They will play at Barley House along with Happy Bullets.


9. "Knock on a Nail", Mildred
   This is one of my favorite local tracks from the early 90's, also featured on Tales from the Edge Volume 2.


10. "Sandman", Bonedome
    Speaking of the Tales from the Edge series, I previously said that George Gimarc would have put this track on one of the CDs in a heartbeat. While it's unfair of me to put words in Mr. Gimarc's mouth, the song definitely captures the early 90's alternative rock sound extremely well, and would have fit so comfortably along side such classic local bands as The Spin, Pop Poppins, Moon Festival, Bat Mastersons, and so forth. Bonedome will undoubtedly perform this song Friday night at LaGrange for the CD release show of Thinktankubator.


11. "We Will All Be Changed", Seryn
    Plano isn't the only suburb getting a local music treat. At the Flower Mound Toms shoe store, Seryn will be performing Saturday afternoon, along with possibly my favorite Austin musician, Jaimee Harris. Oso Closo was on the bill, and I'm not sure if Oso Closo offshoot Foe Destroyer will take their place or what will happen. All I know is that you have the opportunity to buy new shoes, hear good music, and help those in need all at the same time. By the way, if you don't know the story behind Toms, click on the link above.


12. "Party Like You Mean It", Damaged Good$
    I enjoyed this song from last week's playlist so much that I decided to keep the party going strong.


13. "Truth on Tape", Smile Smile
    Sometimes you play a song several times before really hearing it. This past week I finally heard "Truth on Tape" for the first time, and it is an amazing song that perfectly balances heartbreak with great soaring catchy melodies. This is easily the best song the band has recorded to date, and the rest of the album is very good as well.