2012 Music Top

Position: 91 of 100

Artist: Lynne Hanson

Song: Different Story

Album: Things I Miss (2006)

Alternate Video Link: http://www.vplay.ro/watch/4kv3e5t7/

I discovered Lynne Hanson via the suggested artists feature on last.fm a while back. The style is pretty straight forward folk with a dash of country thrown in for flavour. She's released three albums by now, but has yet to break into the mainstream. However, this song, from her debut album has stuck with me, for the powerful image the lyrics manage to paint. This song is part of that category dear to my heart that I like to call a "Johnny Nobody Song". The imagery is vivid because it tells a story that features at least two characters spoken of in the third person and one or more acts. Probably the most famous "Johnny Nobody Song" of all time is Young Turks by Rod Stewart.

This particular song is about two people meeting in a bar to finalize their divorce. I don't know why, but something about the way Lynne tells this story just sticks to my heart. It, somehow, makes me feel sorry for all the people out there having gone, at one point or another, through something like this. 

2012 Music Top

Position: 92 of 100

Artist: Frank Stallone

Song: Far From Over

Album: Frank Stallone (1983)

Deezer link: http://www.deezer.com/track/9605177

Alternate Video Link: http://www.vplay.ro/watch/wf9y7de5/

Sylvester Stallone's less successful brother, Frank is actually a truly accomplished musician. Back in 1983, when Staying Alive came out, director Sly turned to brother Frank for some help with the music score. Out came this incessant 80's rocker that still riles up crowds to this day. A couple of years ago, back in 2010 if I'm not mistaken, this song, without any marketing or re-release, managed to top the charts in Australia. It was simply discovered and requested on the radio. In fact, it generated such a craze that Frank and his band were invited down under for a tour that sold out venues in Melbourne, Sidney, Adelaide and most other major cities.

A song for the ages, despite that signature 80s synth, that we can all relate to. After all, how many times have we all been "down, but far from over"?

2012 Music Top

Position: 93 of 100

Artist: Betty Soo

Song: Who Knows

Album: Heat, Sin, Water, Skin (2009)

Alternate video link: http://www.vplay.ro/watch/m1v677zd/

Betty Soo is another discovery off the roots and blues podcast. A young singer  from Austin, Texas, genre-cast into the Americana section, she lets show some predominant folk influences and, despite this album back in 2009, she is completely unknown to most of the world. She has a nice soft voice and the rhythm structure of this song is uncomplicated. The mandatory touch of electric guitar is there, even though she's strumming on an acoustic. All in all, it makes for a nice and well rounded song.

The reason this particular song broke through my filter is in the lyrics. The story of uprooting is one that transcends time and space and, as such, we've all played in a version or another of it. The prospect of setting off from home, leaving it behind and hoping it'll all be there when you come back is something that I've experienced time and time again whenever the job called for me to pack my bags and fly across the continent. So far I've been lucky and everything held together at home, but, in truth, at that moment of departure, when you have that reflex "hole in the gut" moment, all you really have is "Who Knows?".

2012 Music Top

Position: 94 of 100

Artist: Joe Bonamassa

Song: Dust Bowl

Album: Dust Bowl (2011)

Deezer Link: http://www.deezer.com/track/10209522

Alternate Video Link: http://www.vplay.ro/watch/sjhmrvjw/

The title track of Joe Bonamassa's 2011 album is more of a rocker than a blues song. That's not unusual coming from Bonamassa. The Canadian has proven his versatility time and time again balancing blues and rock in a very eclectic style. 

I consider Bonamassa one of the last "gunslingers". A new artist (made his debut back in 2001), Bonamassa is a blues guitarist worth of being put into the same category with names such as Eric Clapton, Johnny Winter, Jeff Healey, Peter Green, Rory Gallagher, Billy Gibbons and I'll even go as far as to include Stevie Ray Vaughan in this lot. A bunch of good and great white blues guitar players that took the essence of blues created by the truly great ones and expanded its borders. Say what you will that's some good company to find oneself in.

The song Dust Bowl, a Bonamassa original, has a great vibe to it. It's the perfect companion for a cold winter's or autumn's night walk, with its eerie organ part it almost feels like the perfect song to open a halloween party.

2012 Music Top

Position: 95 of 100

Artist: Don Cherry

Song: Band Of Gold

Album: Band Of Gold -single release- 1955

Deezer Link: http://www.deezer.com/track/35663881

Alternate Video Link: http://www.vplay.ro/watch/qwhbxhm9/

I've sung praises to Mad Men in a previous post so I won't repeat that here. This 1955 single from little known singer Don Cherry (not to be confused with the sportscaster) is the opening track of episode one of Matt Weiner's show. The powerful vocal line from the opening chords has something that sticks in your head on repeat for days. The song itself is about marriage, which may make it seem out of touch with today's times, hell it's even ironical when you think about the various plots explored in the world of Mad Men as well, but there is just enough staying power to this song that it simply can't be overlooked.

2012 Music Top

Position: 96 of 100

Artist: Ronnie Earl & Irma Thomas

Song: I'll Take Care Of You

Album: Deep Blues (1985)

Alternate video link: http://www.vplay.ro/watch/2ug749xx/

Ronnie Earl is a blues guitarman than hasn't really permeated the European music scene, however he's a diligent bluesman that's been around since the 1980s and still keeps plugging away at songs back in the states. I discovered him via the same Roots & Blues podcast I mentioned before and started digging through his You Tube videos.

I pulled this song from his 1985 album because of two reasons: it's a cover of a Bobby Bland song that actually does the original justice and it showcases some of the gentlest blues touches on that guitar that I have ever heard.

I always said that blues can be brought to its superlative by two routes, both having to do with squeezing the maximum amount of feeling out of that electric guitar. One way is to simply go all out on it and there'll be examples of this higher up in the top, the other is to tune up to a certain sound and just caress the guitar. The latter is employed here midway through the song and it suits the composition perfectly. A definite "hair standing up on the back of your neck" moment.

2012 Music Top

Position: 97 of 100

Artist: Cross Canadian Ragweed

Song: 17

Album: Cross Canadian Ragweed (2002)

Alternate Video Link: http://www.vplay.ro/watch/svbw6e9s/

Cross Canadian Ragweed are a band I discovered via last.fm when i clicked the genre "Americana". Ironically they're Canadian, but they're style of music seems to be catered so much towards their southern neighbors that, if it weren't for the name, you'd be easily assuming they came from the heartland of the USA.

This particular song off their self titled 2002 album is not a recent discovery of mine, however, it found it's way back to my shuffle list this year and, in a sense, I re-discovered it.

I love this type of songs that contain such vivid imagery. The lyrics describe a place that, even though I've never been to, becomes and feels so familiar. It's something we can all relate to, the things that never change in the places we grew up and the fact that no matter how old, how rich, how important or how removed you are, "you're always 17 in your home town".

2012 Music Top

Position: 98 of 100

Artist: Great White

Song: Situation

Album: Rising (2009)

Deezer link: http://www.deezer.com/track/3724170
Alternate video link: http://www.vplay.ro/watch/fguif2qh/

Great White are a band I've discovered by accident many years ago. I was looking for some Whitesnake in a friend's music collection and found an album called Once Bitten that was mislabeled as being a Whitesnake album. Although not entirely imprecise since there was an album called Once Bitten released by former Whitesnake guitar players Bernie Marsden and Mickey Moody in collaboration with none other than Jorn Lande back in 1998, this  particular album in my friend's collection wasn't it. The style was too different, too American. So I started digging and soon uncovered the works of Great White, one of the purest, no nonsense American rock bands I have ever listened to.

Unlike most bands of the 80's that have broken up by now or completely altered their line up, Great White stayed true to its members (at least up to 2009), its fans and its musical style. I found the "Rising" album while in Hamburg last year and scooped it up. I have all the Great White discography and have been forever convinced that whatever they might put out, I will buy so there was little debate about the purchase. I rate the album at 50% easily (that means 6 good tracks out of a total of 12) which is a decent percentage nowadays. "Situation" is the opener off the album and among those best 6 songs. A typical Great White song, good melody line, great rhythm (especially the opening base line) it's absolutely amazing how much these guys can preserve their style.

2012 Music Top
Position: 99 of 100
Artist: Jim Reeves
Song: Welcome To My World
Album: A Touch Of Velvet (1964)

Deezer link: http://www.deezer.com/track/4763467

Alternate video link: http://www.vplay.ro/watch/e8zbthrr/

Mad Men is probably the best TV show in production right now. It's something that I would recommend to anyone looking for quality TV. And I am not the only one singing praises to the show. The four golden globes it won along with the other 58 wins speak for themselves. In fact, depending on how the show will conclude, I might decree this as the best television show ever.

I discovered Mad Men following Bill Simmons' recommendations off his podcast (his current project - Grantland is also worth checking out as one of his editors tracked the fifth season of Mad Men). While the discovery of Mad Men didn't come this year, what did come was an extended hiatus between the fourth and fifth season which encouraged me to explore other ways of getting my Mad Men fix. That's how come, that this year, I've delved into the music of Mad Men and since it provides such a beautiful soundtrack, there is little surprise that I managed to score a few gems.

Welcome To My World is a song by Jim Reeves used during the fourth season of the show at a time when the whole universe seems to be crumbling down over the main characters. The song starts playing over the last scene of the episode and then is left to play over the credits. 

It's a simple song, vocal line and string arrangement, coming straight out of the days of the Rat Pack crooners and I've been know to have a soft spot in my heart for this kind of music. Combined with the fact that it always makes me think of the show, I've come to react to it fondly and thus select it among the 100 defining songs of 2012, for me.

2012 Music Top

Position: 100 out of 100

Artist: Truckstop Coffee

Song: Laredo Skies

Album: For Dear Life (2010)

Deezer link: http://www.deezer.com/track/8333466 
Alternate video link: http://www.vplay.ro/watch/hsfkg86i/

I happen to be subscribed to a wonderful podcast that enables me all kinds of musical discoveries. That podcast is called South Australian Roots And Blues (iTunes Subscribe) and it features a collection of blues, rock and roots music mixing in new releases with true classics. The podcast feed updates about two or three times a month with a new show. 

In one of the episodes I discovered this particular song. I'm a sucker for a good Americana tune and this one just fits the bill. The imagery in the lyrics is pretty well described, though not having any over the top remarks from the "let's be fancy with words" bag of tricks that so many nowadays performers seem to delve into once too often. I also, especially, like the moment when the guitar takes over for what turns out to be a decent and anchoring solo after the obsessively repeated chorus through the mid point of the song.

All in all this song has the makings of a timeless classic and has put Truckstop Coffee on my radar.