A Free Man

No, not Christmas. Christmas can bite me. I’m talking about the time for end-of-year Top 10 lists. I love a good top 10 list and have always wanted a venue on which to present one. When I was thinking of starting a blog, and this is true, one of the things that motivated me to get it together was that I would finally be able to put together a list of my 10 favorite albums of the year. Just like the magazines. Except nobody cares about mine.

Bit of a twist this year. Because of my loosely enforced boycott of the major labels, this year’s top ten list will be the Top 10 Albums from Unsigned Artists or Artists Associated with Independent Record Labels.* Catchy title, eh? I don’t want to give any press to the Big 4, so I’m going to focus on the little guys. Guys that may not get the attention of an R.E.M. or a Kings of Leon but may be making better music. Now, I don’t own every album that was released in 2008, so this list is really just personal favorites. I’ll feature one of my Top 10 every couple of days until the end of the month.

Christmas blows but I’m not completely opposed to the Season of Giving concept. I’m working on a repeat of last year’s musical giveaways and am hoping to scale it up a bit this year. So, stay tuned for some reader rewards that will hopefully give me a chance to say thanks to those of you that enjoy the music that you find here at A Free Man.

So, we’ll start off today with the Honorable Mention albums:

The Pharmacy - “Choose Yr Own Adventure”: I fell in love with this cheeky Seattle trio earlier this year. I’m a sucker for the harpsichord as well as Kinky psych-pop and The Pharmacy has both. Their debut LP is a Buy it directly from Don’t Stop Believin’ Records or download from .

MP3: The Pharmacy - “Black Ice Cream”

Motel Motel - “New Denver”: I get a load of music through my inbox, the bulk of which goes pretty rapidly into my trash. If something doesn’t make me sit up and take notice on the first listen then it rarely gets another shot. So, the unsigned bands that I feature on this site are the ones that make it to the second listen. Every now and again, one gets a third or fourth or fifth. One of those is Brooklyn’s Motel Motel. The album is kind of all over the place, but when these guys are good they’re damn good. Check out their debut LP, “New Denver” available from .

MP3: Motel Motel - “Coffee”

Cat Power - “Jukebox”: I love Chan Marshall. She is my rock and roll fantasy girlfriend. But her record company, Matador, has been heavy handed with bloggers. This is really a shame, because they’ve got some great acts in their stable. Matador, I’d like to be friends, really I would. But until you make an effort to be friendly to bloggers, I’m afraid I have to treat you as a Major label. At any rate, Cat Power put out one of the best records of 2006 with “The Greatest”, but this follow up pales a bit. It’s kind of a step backwards for Chan. Still pretty good, though and certainly worthy of mention. As Matador will send the sheriff after me if I link to a song from “Jukebox” here’s an excellent live version of”New York, New York”.

MP3: Cat Power - “New York, New York” (Live)

We Grow Up - “Night Kitchen”: There seems to be a real movement in music right now toward simple, almost primitive, melodic pop. I’ve got to tell you, this makes me happy. I ran across an unsigned Aussie band from right here in Adelaide a while back and was immediately enchanted. Their sophomore LP, “Night Kitchen” is just a joy to listen to and they’re surprisingly mature songwriters for a young band. They’ve signed with Half A Cow and “Night Kitchen” is available from the label.

MP3: We Grow Up - “Celia” 

The Mountain Goats - “Heretic Pride”: John Darnielle, the brain behind The Mountain Goats, has a discography stretching back to the early 1990’s but he just really got on my radar this year with the lyrically stunning “Heretic Pride”. Two of my favorite music bloggers are huge fans and convinced me to have a proper listen. Man, am I glad that I did. I’ve always been a lyrics man and Darnielle is a poet. Have a listen to “Autoclave” and if you like what you hear, you won’t be disappointed by the LP. Buy it from 4AD.

MP3: The Mountain Goats - “Autoclave” 

Bon Iver - “For Emma, Forever Ago”: Another folky, lyrical guy is Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. He’s making spare, slightly spooky and gently ethereal music that is perfect for lullabies, among other things. I have a bit of experience. But beyond its usefulness to parents, Bon Iver makes beautiful and subtle music and “For Emma, Forever Ago” (Jagjaguwar) is a treat. Buy the record direcly from the label. By the way, remember that name (Jagjaguwar) you’ll be seeing these guys again, they’ve got some fantastic artists in their stable.

MP3: Bon Iver - “For Emma”

Super XX Man - “Volume XII: There’ll Be Diamonds”: Must be something about the rain in Portland, because that city is home to some wonderfully wistful, lo-fi artists here at the end of the 00’s. The latest to make me long for the Pacific Northwest is Super XX Man. The musical vehicle for Scott Gerrard is prolific, with their latest “Volume XII: There’ll Be Diamonds” (Tender Loving Empire) marking their twelfth (or so) long player. It’s addictively and simply charming and is available from the band.

MP3: Super XX Man - “There’ll Be Diamonds”

The Bell - “Make Some Quiet”: One of the unexpected, and pleasant, surprises of spending so much time in Sweden over the last few years was the discovery that Sweden right now is to melodious, beautifully crafted pop music what Florence in the 1400’s was to religious painting. There’s just an amazing number of incredibly talented pop bands coming out of the frozen north. One of my favorites is Stockholm’s The Bell, an heavily 80’s inspired trio. Their debut LP, “Make Some Quiet”, made some noise earlier this year and if you’ve got a taste for some of the darker music from the totally awesome decade it may just be for you. Check out my interview with Matthias Strömberg and if you like what you hear, buy their record from .

MP3: The Bell - “Do You Know How To Feel”

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* Independent means really independent. No boutique labels, no distribution deals (see Sub Pop).

Popularity: 15% [?]

A couple of bands from my old home of Athens, Georgia have been on repeat on A Free Man’s iPod this week and I’d like to kick things off with them. First is Dead Confederate, a five piece that may be single-handedly redefining the sound of ‘Southern Rock’ as The Drive-by Truckers did before them. These guys are making dense, guitar driven music that owes more to Kurt Cobain than to Duane Allmann. Dead Confederate released their debut LP, “Wrecking Ball”, this week. Check it out on . Thanks to News from Space for bringing these guys to my attention.

MP3: Dead Confederate - “The Rat”

I’ve got to give a nod to Bop at Catfish and Cornbread for turning me on to the second Athenian act of the week, The Whigs. It took me the longest time to realize that when referring to this band people weren’t talking about some pared down, reformed Afghan Whigs. But, this trio definitely takes some inspiration from the early 90’s so it’s not that far a stretch. Check out their second LP, “Mission Control” on .

MP3: The Whigs - “Hot Bed”

Moving west from Athens finds Omaha’s Tilly & The Wall. Apparently these guys performed on the premiere of the new 90210, but I’m not holding that against them. Gorgeous harmonies and sugary sweet vocals from this co-ed quintet. Their latest, “o” is out and available from .

MP3: Tilly and the Wall - “Alligator Skin”

Old Crow Medicine Show will always remind me of a couple of weeks that I spend in Ithaca, NY doing some field work. I stayed with a bluegrass banjo player who introduced me to a number of great contemporary bluegrass acts, including this tight Nashville outfit. They’re one of the best bluegrass bands around. You can pre-order their upcoming LP “Tennessee Pusher” here.

MP3: Old Crow Medicine Show - “Caroline”

Fuzzy guitar from the Pacific Northwest is nothing particularly new, but Seattle’s Moondoggies mix it up a bit, bringing in a little Midwestern twang a la Jayhawks. I’ve been listening to this one over and over this week. Their debut, “Don’t Be A Stranger” is out and available from .

MP3: The Moondoggies - “Changing”

From the other side of Fortress America comes Brooklyn’s Forest Fire, a quirky, shambling collective that evokes late night sing-alongs. If that doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement, have a listen to this one from their latest, “Survival” (Catbird). It’s dead catchy in that charmingly slack way that appeals to aging Gen X-ers like your underwhelming correspondent.

MP3: Forest Fire - “I Make Windows”

My current troubles with avian antagonists may have made me perk up a bit when Caw! Caw!’s e-mail came chiming in, but it was their music that really made me sit up and take notice. This Chicago is making loose, swirling punk inspired music and have an EP due out next week. I’ve got no purchase info, but check their MySpace for updates.

MP3: Caw! Caw! - “Organisms”

Last but not least this week is Delta Spirit, a California act that’s been getting some well deserved attention here in Oz after their visit here this winter. These guys are making slick, but compelling power pop. Check out this track from their latest, “Ode to Sunshine”. Sing it and bring some to South Australia, boys .

MP3: Delta Spirit - “Trashcan”

Popularity: 67% [?]

Or Sheilas if I can continue with the vaguely sexist (and potentially hackneyed) metaphors. But it makes a catchy title for A Free Man’s musical picks of the week, both of whom happen to be Australian women.

I probably should have already heard of Missy Higgins, the 24 year old Melbourne based singer-songwriter. Her 2005 debut, “The Sound of White” got a fair bit of attention Down Under and last year’s follow-up “On A Clear Night” went triple platinum here and got her an ARIA award. But, if you’re outside the Antipodes and outside of that earnest female singer-songwriter sphere, you may not have heard of Missy Higgins.

I certainly hadn’t and came in blind when I cued up the first track from “On A Clear Night” and was pleasantly surprised. Higgins is polished, country tinged pop. It all comes off a bit too sincere sometimes, but Higgins definitely has a set of pipes and a clever pen. Highly recommended for fans of Sheryl Crow, Kathleen Edwards,  and their ilk. Higgins’ sophomore record is out and available from .

MP3: Missy Higgins - “Sugarcane”

The more compelling, musically and personally, of the pair is Sophie Koh. Melbourne based, New Zealand born of Malaysian parents, Koh represents 21st century Aussie culture at its most wonderfully diverse. Her sophomore record, “All Shook Up” came out earlier this month and the more that I listen to it the more sublimely beautiful it sounds. Koh’s got a wonderfully sweet voice and it’s accented by the minimalist, yet engaging instrumentals. Outstanding from this record is “Gan Lan Shu (The Olive Tree)” a reworking of a Chinese folk song.

Koh is a little reminiscent of Suzanne Vega, but instrumentally stripped down and without the vocal (and emotional) fragility. “All Shook Up” is A Free Man’s pick of the week. It came out earlier this month and is available at finer record stores in Australia. No U.S. or U.K. release date yet, but keep your eyes peeled.

MP3: Sophie Koh - ” Gan Lan Shu (The Olive Tree)”

Popularity: 68% [?]

I’m trying really hard to restrain myself from publishing my “Things About Australia That Piss Me Off” post. But if you’ll indulge me just one - it takes nearly a month to get a home phone and internet. It wouldn’t be so bad, but they keep teasing us. Giving us dates and then changing them. Sending us hardware but not hooking us the fuck up. I’m pretty sure I could have had broadband in Kazakhstan by now. For now, I’m still a pirate of the cyber seas - arrgh, mateys.

There are good things. Lots of good things. I’m trying to focus on those on a daily basis. One of them is a beautiful night sky with stars and constellations that I don’t have a clue what to call. I sit looking up into the night sky humming that Eagles’ song “Seven Bridges Road” that Dolly Parton did better. There are stars in the Southern sky…

We also had the unique pleasure of meeting up in real life with a blogging friend. We spent a couple of hours with Arizaphale and her family up in the house in the hills. It was a bit strange (surreal as Arizaphale put it) to sit down with someone that you’ve only “met” on the internet, but she’s as engaging and entertaining in real-life as she is on her blog.

See, not all bad at all.

Popularity: 18% [?]

One of the guilty pleasures, among things like beef flavored Rice-a-Roni, that I hang onto from the States is American reality TV. We get the king of that genre, American Idol, a couple of days after it airs in the U.S. I have found a way to get completely hooked again this year. I rarely actually like any of the contestants and am proud to say that I’ve never bought a single, album or concert ticket from any of the contestants nor voted for any of them. It’s just something about the format itself - great damn television. As I was listening to the freebies I had accumulated for the week I noticed a few female singers that wouldn’t be out of place on Idol, so with apologies - here are my three finalists for my own International Idol.

Adele is the 19 year old Londoner who was the British Music Press Next Big Thing (TM) for January. It looks as if she’s being marketed to the indie market in the States as I found an MP3 of “Hometown Glory” at KCRW. She definitely has a set of pipes, but I don’t think she has the edge of a Lily Allen or Amy Winehouse - two artists to whom she is often compared. The British press has already moved on to this month’s Next Big Thing - the Welsh Dusty Springfield aspirant, Duffy. Continue Reading »

 

 Adele - "Hometown Glory" [4:32m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Gabriella Cilmi - "Cigarettes & Lies" [2:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Monade - "Etoile" [5:01m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Popularity: 7% [?]

Things are likely to be a bit quiet here at afreeman.org for the next few days. The crew (excepting dog) are off across the North Sea today for a trip to the land of moose and Malmo, of socialism and Saabs. That’s right, while most Britons are donning their sunglasses and shorts and heading for the Caribbean or the Canaries we’ll be boarding a bus with wings tomorrow afternoon for the two hour hop to Göteborg, Sweden.

What we do for family - we’ve already spent a week in the frozen tundra of northern Ontario in December to see my family. Now a trip to the only place in the world that may be slightly gloomier than Britain in February to see Dr. O’C’s sister and her family.

Still, it’s nice to get away from home and this trip will give me more opportunities to teach English profanity to Swedish children. Truth be told, I’m a secret admirer of Sweden, though more in the summer than winter. It’s clean - which is a big deal when you live in the plastic shopping bag and beer can adorned British Isles. Their brand of socialism really seems to work - the country’s infrastructure is amazing, family leave is encouraged, crime rates are extremely low, and the people are sickeningly healthy and attractive. The only problem is that when you talk to some Swede’s they have lots of complaints about tax rates, idlers and the like. Sweden also recently elected a more conservative government. Makes me wonder if it’s kind of Stepford socialism.

Musically, of course, Sweden is best known for the tin foil (barely) clad quartet above, but more recently it’s become a hotbed for scary euro death metal - it’s those dark winters. In the past few years a few decent indie acts have come out of Sweden including Göteborg’s own José González, Stockholm-based Peter, Bjorn and John and my recent favorite Kent. Check out “Klåparen” and see what you think. The lyrics are Swedish, so I have know idea what they are singing about but, for what it’s worth, I think the title translates as “bungler”.

Speaking of Scandanavian music, I seem to have become some kind of correspondent for the Danish music scene since my review of a strange Danish punk band after Christmas. Now, a Danish act doesn’t really belong in a post about Sweden as the Danes and the Swedes have been arch-enemies pretty much since Hamlet’s time, but since I have Scandanavia on the brain I thought I’d share a song from Marybell Katastrophy. The Danish trio is getting ready to release their second EP “You Are The Two” as a pay-what-you-want download (thanks, Radiohead). I’ve attached “Hip” from their first EP for your listening evaluation. I’m not sure what to make of Marybell Katastrophy or their lead singer Marie Højlund. Bjork would be a lazy comparison as a Scandanavian electronic artist, and they don’t have her range. The Danish trio kind of sits at that strange girl table in the lunchroom - you know, the one with Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Siouxsie Sioux and Joanna Newsom. If you like what you hear, go and download their tunes - a warning, though, their website is one of the most user unfriendly I’ve run across in a while.

Finally, in celebration of aluminum foil adorned Swedish flesh - here’s Abba’s “S.O.S”. Have a good weekend, folks.

Image Credits:

Abba

The images of Goteborg harbor and the city at night are mine.

Kent has albums available from and Amazon. Abba’s “Gold” is available from and Amazon.

 

 Kent - "Klåparen": Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Marybell Katastophy - "Hip" [3:32m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 ABBA - "S.O.S" [3:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Popularity: 23% [?]

When I first heard of Destroyer I assumed, based on their name, that they were some sort of tongue-in-cheek 80’s hair metal revival act - something like The Darkness. But as I listened to the 2006 record “Destroyer’s Rubies” I quickly realized that I was dealing with a whole different kettle of fish. Destroyer is the vehicle for Vancouver based singer-songwriter Daniel Bejar’s delightfully cryptic tunes. Bejar is probably better known for his work with his side-project - Canadian power-pop collective The New Pornographers. “Destroyer’s Rubies” has been my only exposure to his solo work, but what great exposure it was! I was pretty excited to see “Foam Hands”, which is from Destroyer’s upcoming ninth full length LP “Trouble In Dreams” on Merge (Rough Trade in the UK), knocking around the internets this week. “European Oils” is my favorite track from “Destroyer’s Rubies”, which is available from Amazon and .

 

 Destroyer - "Foam Hands" [3:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Destroyer - "European Oils" [4:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Popularity: 10% [?]

“Blame it on the Tetons.
Yeah, I need a scapegoat now…”

-Modest Mouse - “Blame It On the Tetons”

As you may or may not know, Dr. O’C is not the only expatriate in her family. Her sister lives in Sweden with her husband and two boys. What follows is a recent textual “conversation” with Dr. O’C: Continue Reading »

 

 Modest Mouse - "Blame It On The Tetons" [5:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Popularity: 9% [?]

Variety being the spice of life and inspired by Arizaphale’s foray last week I’ve decided to forsake Wordless Wednesday for Best Shot Monday. Continue Reading »

 

 Nirvana - "In Bloom" [4:15m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Popularity: 12% [?]

“San Quentin, what good do you think you do?
Do you think I’ll be different when you’re through?
You bent my heart and mind and you may my soul,
And your stone walls turn my blood a little cold.”

-Johnny Cash - “San Quentin”

I’ve not been blogging long enough to start running repeats of old posts, I think I need a year or so under my belt. That being said, after my third visit to Bullingdon Prison this week, I thought it would be fun to revisit the post I wrote after my first visit back in July. So if you’ll indulge me a bit of repetition, what follows in italics is the original “Bullingdon Prison Blues” followed by some thoughts after subsequent visits.

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It’s funny where life takes you. I spent yesterday afternoon at Her Majesty’s Prison Bullingdon doing some volunteer work regarding drugs and alcohol, forgive me if I’m not more specific. But if it was good enough for The Man in Black, then it’s good enough for me. And, no it wasn’t court ordered…

I have never been in a jail cell, never mind a prison (not for lack of trying). The closest I came was in high school when a guy I knew named, in the interest of anonymity let’s call him “J”, was driving with my friend Jamie and I from Gainesville back to Lake City. I think he must have been speeding because we saw those characteristic red and blue lights behind us that only mean one thing. One thing, right - you stop. Jason didn’t stop. I don’t remember what kind of car it was (Jamie, a little help?), but it was a something “Turbo”. I hesitate to guess what was going on in J’s head, but I think he maybe figured something like this: “Turbo means fast, if we make the Columbia County line, the Alachua County Sheriff will be out of his jurisdiction. Just like in ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’”. I am here to tell you that the laws of Hazzard County don’t apply in the State of Florida. . So, Jamie and I had to sit in the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office until one of our Mom’s came and got us. Can’t remember what happened to J.

That was enough time in custody for me for the next nearly twenty years. So, this visit
to Bullingdon was something I’ve been dreading since I agreed to do it. About a month ago I went up for security training. The man who did this was a short, yet big Scot who started the training by saying: “Now most of your prison experience is from the TV or prison lesbian movies, but I’m here to tell you that you don’t know shit.” (I paraphrase, but this is what I heard and he definitely said the thing about prison lesbian movies). And then proceeded to spend three hours telling us about all the things that can go wrong in a prison and what sort of things he’s found in various orifices. It was very entertaining but when I got home I couldn’t remember for the life of me what I was supposed to do in the case of being taken hostage.

Now, I am not a prison-hating kind of liberal. In fact, I think if you are sent to prison, you should do the time you are sentence to do. There’s a shortage of space in British prisons and all kinds of offenders, including violent offenders, are being released early. I think that the answer to this is obvious - build more prisons. However, I think that a lot of people go to prison and come out worse than they went in. A recent study by the British prison service said that prisons were serving as breeding grounds for Islamist extremists. If we’re alienating Muslims in prisons being watched over carefully by the European Human Rights Courts, imagine what’s happening in Guantanamo.

Sorry, off topic - I’ve heard estimates that 75 - 85% of people serving time in British and American prisons are there directly or indirectly due to drug and/or alcohol abuse. Since you’ve got a captive audience (huh huh?), seems the time to try and help get those problems sorted. That’s why I was there. If you’re not part of the solution then you can’t complain, right?

Yes, I was scared. A prison is a scary place, it’s supposed to be. It’s supposed to sap your spirit. I will never complain about how well prisoners are treated, three squares and a bed, leisure time, etc. because at the end of the day, they can not leave that place and all those gates lock. The thing is, that the guys I talked to where not what I thought. They didn’t look like “prisoners”, they looked like me. They were polite and grateful that we had taken the time to come and talk to them. When we were done we shook hands and in some cases, hugged in that manly way where you don’t touch much. And they went back to be locked up in their cells and I walked out of the main gates.

It’s funny where life take you. And it’s funny how the road twists and turns. A twist or two in the wrong direction and who knows.

“This wall divides us, we’re on two different sides
But this wall is not real; how can it be real?
It’s only made of concrete and barbed wire
Concrete and barbed wire, concrete and barbed wire
It’s only made of concrete and barbed wire….”

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-Lucinda Williams “Concrete and Barbed Wire”

I recently saw one of the guys that I met on that first visit back in July, let’s call him K. He was down in the Oxford city center in a heated argument with another guy, clearly off his head on something. K was in one of those drunken debates that never end well for either party. And I don’t think it was going to end well for K. I know better than to get in the middle of two drunk, angry guys, so I moved on.

I never had any illusion that every guy I talked to was going to immediately put down the booze and drugs and become a model citizen for the rest of their lives. But seeing K down in town well on his way back to Bullingdon threw me for a loop and this visit I came into to Her Majesty’s Prison with a slightly more skeptical attitude. This time I tried to really pay attention to what the guys were saying and most of them say the right things - a recognition that drugs or alcohol got them into their current predicament. Many of them are aware that if they wanted to stay out of jail they would need to steer clear of drugs and booze. I’m pretty sure that some of the guys were only there to try and get their sentence reduced. I think the most honest among them were those that said when they got out they were pretty sure that a drink or a fix would be one of the first things on their list. It was kind of disconcerting and demoralizing.

But, like any volunteer work, the reward comes from making the effort. Whether or not any of these guys get anything from my visit is neither here nor there. Just like after my first visit, as I was walking out of the final gate of Bullingdon Prison I was overcome with feelings of release and having done something useful. I don’t know if I did anything for the guys inside, but I had certainly done something for myself.

“San Quentin, you’ve been livin’ hell to me
You’ve hosted me since nineteen sixty three
I’ve seen ‘em come and go and I’ve seen them die
And long ago I stopped askin’ why…”

Image Credits:

Razor wire

All images of Bullingdon from the Beeb

Popularity: 19% [?]