One Thousand, One Hundred, and Sixty-three Days

It's been one thousand, one hundred, and sixty-three days
Since an amateur's pen last scratched up this page.
A new time, a new town, new paths have unwound,
Stumbling gracefully toward a middling age.

It's been just over three rapid trips 'round the sun
Since a make-believe writer's quill came undone.
Intending, defending, pretense never-ending,
Through a course that had lovingly been overrun.

It's been thirty-eight voracious calendar flips
Since abandoning this fledgling lyrical courtship.
Although sometimes unyielding and often misleading,
The scribe abides, rejoining the trip.

For the next one thousand, one hundred, and sixty-three days
Will unveil friendships, kinships, and parting of ways.
New flickers, new flashes, unavoidable crashes,
While shepherding children as they come of age.

For the next three fleeting trips 'round the sun
An affected writer will inspire someone.
With a song, with a word, something previously unheard,
Only then can this one's work truly be done.

For when the dawn of the next day is formally crowned,
And the countless rotations have us spinning around,
We'll be joyful, we'll be thankful, strikingly grateful,
That we took time to write some of this down.

The Dogwood Bark's Top 100 Songs Of All Time - #93: The Kinks - "A Long Way From Home"

The Kinks - Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround (1970)

"Now you think you're wiser because you're older, and you think that money buys everything.  And you think you need no one to guide you, but you're still a long way from home."

The Kinks had an absolutely stellar run from the mid 60's to the early 70's.  This peculiarly titled album contains some outstanding songs, including "Lola" and "This Time Tomorrow."  For me though, this pretty little deep cut outshines them all.  Admittedly, the sentiment is nothing original and can feel trite when taken at a literal level.  The strength of "A Long Way From Home," though, lies in its presence, its atmosphere.  Let those things sink in and what you've got here is a stunning melody out in front of a loosely universal theme. 

Check out the rest of the Dogwood Bark Top 100:

100. Pixies - "Where Is My Mind?

99. Bloc Party - "This Modern Love"

98. Paul McCartney - "Too Many People"

97. Liz Phair - "Explain It To Me"

96. Neil Young - "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere"

95. Belle & Sebastian - "Another Sunny Day"

94. The Wrens - "She Sends Kisses"

The Dogwood Bark's Top 100 Songs Of All Time - #94: The Wrens - "She Sends Kisses"

The Wrens - The Meadowlands (2003)

Normally, I post a favorite lyric from the featured song at the beginning of the write-up.  This time, I'm going to paste the lyrics in their entirety for a couple of reasons. First, you can't understand them otherwise.  Second, the song stumbles into this list due almost solely to the juvenile and clumsy way in which they were written.  It sounds like a drunken imitation of the Wallflowers.  It sounds like one of the best break-up songs ever penned.

ten tons against me and you’ve gone

I put your favorite records on

and sit around

it spins around

and you’re around again

struck dumb while drugs run at how high reeds

cue every memory at half-speeds

just like….charles, hold-me-downs

I’m-coming sounds

cut crap, who’s filling shoes like these anymore?

past clumsy crushes beneath Thrill Pier

hopes pinned to poses honed in men’s room mirrors

a sophomore at Brown

she worked Lost & Found

I put your face on her all year

from five rows of photos when you wrote

of posed you, dressed blue, a backyard boat

signed at the bottom with this quote:

(#4 North Shore) a cape may address

your new one I guess

‘all’s well in hell and all here’s hoping’

she sends kisses

some signed ‘with Love, Beth oooooo xxxxx’

she sends kisses

same old beth - some signed 666

our shore town knockdown sure was fun

yeah, white trash, what have you

I fired replies back gun by gun

past Seven Wrecks I read your four answers: 1. your move 2. I’m tres involved 3. move on 4. love, Beth

I walk it down

this tourist town

‘just thought I’d’ calls

just friends 

she sends kisses 

and all at once back doors blow open

she sends….
in envelopes stamped w/ ‘Hope & Hearts’ - ripped right open

she sends…

but I’m corrupt - I wrote back good luck

Check out the rest of the Dogwood Bark Top 100:

100. Pixies - "Where Is My Mind?

99. Bloc Party - "This Modern Love"

98. Paul McCartney - "Too Many People"

97. Liz Phair - "Explain It To Me"

96. Neil Young - "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere"

95. Belle & Sebastian - "Another Sunny Day"

The Dogwood Bark's Top 100 Songs Of All Time - #95: Belle & Sebastian - "Another Sunny Day"

Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit (2006)

"Another sunny day, I met you up in the garden.  You were digging plants; I dug you, beg your pardon."

Beloved Scottish duo Belle & Sebastian have firmly secured their place among my all-time favorites.  Their style has evolved over the years, trading in the Nick Drake inspired folk for sunshine pop along the way.  "Another Sunny Day" clearly comes from the later period.  Despite its warm title and jangly, driving rhythms, the subject matter paints the typically dark picture of the stages of dying love.  It's a tale told over and over again in pop music.  Belle & Sebastian just do it better than almost anyone.

The video just screams of hipster aesthetic, but this group has always attracted the black-rimmed glasses with beanies in the summer type of crowd.  If you start to suffer from cuteness overload, just close your eyes.  The cascading harmonies used so effectively throughout will reel you back in.

Check out the rest of the Dogwood Bark Top 100:

100. Pixies - "Where Is My Mind?

99. Bloc Party - "This Modern Love"

98. Paul McCartney - "Too Many People"

97. Liz Phair - "Explain It To Me"

96. Neil Young - "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere"

Penny Lane #6 - The Real Group - "Waltz For Debby" & The Moody Blues - "Your Wildest Dreams"

In celebration of Lainey's first birthday, we give you Penny Lane #6.  It was a great year.

Penny Lane #5: First Aid Kit - "Emmylou"

The Penny Lane home movie #5, showcasing the life of Lainey over First Aid Kit's "Emmylou."

Penny Lane #4: Fleet Foxes - "Helplessness Blues"

The fourth video in the Penny Lane home movie series, featuring Fleet Foxes' "Helplessness Blues."  This highlights Lainey's first trip to Yellowstone.

The Dogwood Bark's Top 100 Songs Of All Time - #96: Neil Young - "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere"

Neil Young - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969)

"Every time I think about back home, it's cool and breezy."

You're going to see plenty of Neil Young as this countdown slowly plods along, as he undoubtedly resides among the all-time greats within the Dogwood pantheon.  Another common thread you'll find woven throughout this list is the frequent presence of tracks from essential albums that could be described as less essential individually.  Yes, I know this album contains iconic rock songs like "Cinnamon Girl" and "Cowgirl In The Sand;" but for me, you can't top the rootsy folk of the title track.

It's simple, and it's timeless.  The Horse sounds great without noodling you to death with their (admittedly impressive) jam skills.  Who can't relate to "I think I'd like to go back home and take it easy?"  Next time you're reeling from a hard day's work, escape the day to day running around and put on this classic.

Check out the rest of the Dogwood Bark Top 100:

100. Pixies - "Where Is My Mind?

99. Bloc Party - "This Modern Love"

98. Paul McCartney - "Too Many People"

97. Liz Phair - "Explain It To Me"

The Dogwood Bark's Top 100 Songs Of All Time - #97: Liz Phair - "Explain It To Me"

Liz Phair - Exile In Guyville (1993)

"Tell him to jump higher.  Tell him to jump farther.  Make him measure up, decades longer than you."

Warning:  hipster moment coming right at you.  Long before Liz Phair was asking Top 40 listeners why she couldn't breathe without a certain someone, she recorded a punchy album full of angsty indie rockers.  Yes, before she went mainstream and "sold out," she actually made some really good music.  I almost hate myself for buying into the reverse hype so to speak, but this thing is just too damn good.

1993's Exile In Guyville still sounds unique and fresh to this day.  The subject matter doesn't exactly lend itself to in-car spins with my daughter, but it sure makes for a great drunken late night headphones listen.

The standout track from this relatively large collection is the bittersweetly beautiful "Explain It To Me."  I find the title somewhat ironic; because upon sharing my favorite song from this indie classic with others, I'm often asked to explain.  Others seem to prefer the dirtier, more grungy tracks.  And perhaps it's the position "Explain" holds within the track listing and the pretty contrast that it provides that warms my heart so.

As it is, I really can't explain why this tune is one of my favorites of all time.  It's one of those unmistakable moments in music that simultaneously brings joy and sadness, and it does so with such profound authenticity.  Overly simple and slightly mundane?  Maybe.  I'll play it forever though.

Check out the rest:

100. Pixies - "Where Is My Mind?"
99. Bloc Party - "This Modern Love"
98. Paul McCartney - "Too Many People"

The Dogwood Bark's Top 100 Songs Of All Time - #98: Paul McCartney - "Too Many People"

Paul & Linda McCartney - Ram (1971)

"That was your first mistake.  You took your lucky break and broke it in two.  Now what can be done for you?  You broke it in two."

As you can imagine, this list will be scattered with more than its fair share of contributions from Liverpool's most lauded lads.  Following one of history's most infamous break-ups, several members of the Beatles went on to create some of music's most memorable masterpieces.  1971's Ram is no exception; though its initial release elicited lukewarm reactions.  "Too Many People" is also the first of many album openers to make the countdown.

It's no secret that Sir Paul was taking thinly veiled shots at Lennon in this song; he even mentioned in an interview that the line "too many people preaching practices" referred directly to John and Yoko.  While the palpable tension bursting between each note makes for a compelling listen, it's not what endears the record to me so considerably.  

Simply put, it's got all the warmth, character and melody of a Beatles song without it being a Beatles song.  It contains a certain tangible familiarity while simultaneously expressing something that's just slightly off.  No one else can deliver a vocal chord shredding shout followed immediately by a sweetly sung falsetto line quite like McCartney.  Plus, the band plainly jams at the end.

Check out the rest:

100. Pixies - "Where Is My Mind?"

99. Bloc Party - "This Modern Love"

The Dogwood Bark's Top 100 Songs Of All Time - #99: Bloc Party - "This Modern Love"

Bloc Party - Silent Alarm (2005)

"Do you wanna come over and kill some time?"

I got roped into the Bloc Party craze a few years after its peak, but at one time this band was all the rage to the thick-rimmed glasses and cardigan sporting crowd.  Although I'm not cool enough to say that I liked them before they got "big," I thoroughly enjoyed 2005's Silent Alarm and still do to this day.  

While a good portion of that album is somewhat of an acquired taste, "This Modern Love" hit me from day one.  It's not exactly a lyrical marvel, but that little guitar melody that hops in for the first time at 1:25  is simply too sweet to resist.  It actually served as a proper ringtone at one point in time.  As for the rest of the song, it's melodic enough to get anyone's attention and unique enough to keep them coming back.  The intensity builds naturally all the way to the end and leaves you reflecting back on what you just witnessed; a nice little slice of stellar songwriting.  Try it out as a nice pick-me-up on your next morning drive.

Check out the rest:

100. Pixies - "Where Is My Mind?"

The Dogwood Bark's Top 100 Songs Of All Time - #100: Pixies - "Where Is My Mind?"

Pixies - Surfer Rosa (1988)

"Your head'll collapse if there's nothing in it, and you'll ask yourself..."

When I prefaced this list, I mentioned a severe lack of content from the 80's.  Well, here we are with one of the three songs to make the countdown from the decade of my birth.  I, along with most seven year-old's, knew nothing of the Pixies back in 1988.  If I was listening to music, it was either something my parents had put on the stereo (Petty, Dylan, Dead, Be-at-lays, etc.), or I was jamming along to "Kokomo" with my school friends.  At my very coolest, I might have thrown in a tape containing "Sweet Child o' Mine" or "Every Rose Has Its Thorn."

As I grew up and realized that this music thing may be evolving from a habit to an obsession, I followed the trail of critical acclaim to this influential and essential group.  Having never seen "Fight Club" (still haven't), I happened upon this song more conventionally, in the middle of the album Surfer Rosa.  Now, that record would eventually grow on me as a whole, but it was a little over my head the first time through.  Not this track though.

Immediately gripping and incessantly catchy, it's become one of the most revisited tracks in the collection.  It does not sound dated to this day, and it constantly amazes me that it came out in 1988.  Take a listen to a game changer; a jam that was truly ahead of its time.

The Dogwood Bark's Top 100 Songs Of All Time

George Harrison

Belle & Sebastian

Neil Young

Wilco

So I haven't posted anything in over a month.  This is partially due to a transition into a new career and all of the stress that comes with such an undertaking.  Truthfully though, I have been meticulously compiling a list of the Dogwood Bark's best songs of all time.  If you are a music lover, take a moment to contemplate just how difficult it would be to narrow down your entire collection to just your hundred favorite.

Well I think I've got a list with which I can finally be satisfied, at least for now.  Mind you, this is not your traditional "greatest of all time" list that lends itself heavily to influence, chart positions, sales, etc.  Check Rolling Stone or VH1 for those countdowns (though I share many of their entries).  I'd also like to point out that this particular index leans heavily towards the types of rock, folk, and pop genres that populate the majority of coverage here on the Dogwood Bark.  While I will never discount their merits, you won't find Beethoven or Mozart here.  Nor will you be able to locate any tunes from the countless, yet influential, artists from the R&B, jazz, soul, or hip hop categories.  I completely understand the place that these legends hold in the landscape of popular music, they just don't happen to reside in the old proverbial wheelhouse.

As the narrowing down process began, I found myself adding every song that just had to be included, without keeping count.  Well, I ended up with a preliminary pool of over 300 songs.  After all of skimming, trimming, and slimming of the list was complete, I found the results to be about as I expected.  The thing is littered with tracks from the 60's and 70's but severely lacks content from the 80's.  The 90's are well represented obviously, and the new millennium has clearly been good to me as well.

Lastly, this collection has evolved and grown and will continue to remain organic until long after I've published it.  There in lies part of the joy of creating such a thing.  Just when you swear that that certain Van Morrison song is fine somewhere down in the 80's, you catch it on shuffle on an unseasonably cool morning with a lot on your mind and it skyrockets up into the 50's.  With any luck, you'll hear something new that grabs you and doesn't let go.  Those of you that track it over the upcoming months will assuredly revisit some old favorites as well.  So I invite you to humor those of us that enjoy slaving over ordered lists, as ridiculous as we may seem.  Stay tuned for the countdown.

Orange - Sixties
Green - Seventies
Yellow - Eighties
Red - Nineties
Gray - The Aughts

The Mountain Goats To Release New Album - October 2, 2012

Transcendental Youth (2012, Merge)

 

After releasing the underrated All Eternals Deck just last year, the Mountain Goats are back at it.  Set to release in early October, Transcendental Youth becomes the next must-have item creeping down the assembly line in the toy factory of my life.  Everything I've heard from Darnielle and company has been enjoyable, and I expect this to be no exception.

01 Amy aka Spent Gladiator 1
02 Lakeside View Apartments Suite
03 Cry for Judas
04 Harlem Roulette
05 White Cedar
06 Until I Am Whole
07 Night Light
08 The Diaz Brothers
09 Counterfeit Florida Plates
10 In Memory of Satan
11 Spent Gladiator 2
12 Transcendental Youth

Review: Japandroids - Celebration Rock

June 5, 2012

Polyvinyl Record Co.

Rating:  8.2/10

The year's most exciting display of musical exhilaration may very well have been released earlier this summer from the Canadian duo, Japandroids.  The perfectly titled Celebration Rock is about a half hours' worth of youthful exuberance and buoyant energy.

Let's be honest--there is no earth shattering originality on display here.  And at first, it comes off as slightly more juvenile and bro-friendly than the stuff I usually enjoy.  However, there's no denying or resisting the melodic bombast that screams and soars through every last bit of this record when simply taken and enjoyed at face value.  Driven by unmistakably catchy bursts and shout-along "whoa-oh-oh" choruses, it doesn't take long before the mood of this album washes over you.

Recorded live with little to no overdubbing, the band effectively captures the atmosphere of the most kinetic concert experiences.  It starts and ends with fireworks, of both the literal and figurative variety.  Trust me when I tell you it's the best music you'll hear between colorful skyward explosions this week.

It feels like finally finding a Replacement for the Cheap Trick you used to pull on your old Boss.  It sounds like an old episode of the three Stooges Clashing with Who knows what in some old house in a Gaslight district.  It rocks like the appetite you try to destroy late at night in a futile effort to make yourself Hold Steady.  

So find some people who enjoy your company as much as you enjoy theirs, and celebrate this week.  Toast to something meaningful, and toast to something frivolous.  Splash some bottles together and let the foam soak your fists.  Throw this record on among a crowd of friends.  Trust me when I say it won't serve as background music for long.  Happy Fourth, everyone.

Official Site

Japandroids on Facebook
Buy on Amazon

Band Of Horses - New Album To Be Released In September

Band Of Horses consistently puts out quality country-tinged indie rock, and I'm sure this will be no exception.  This is cause for celebration.

Penny Lane #3: The Beatles - Dear Prudence

The third installment in the Penny Lane home movie series is now complete.  Set to the Beatles classic, "Dear Prudence," it highlights months 4-6 in the life of Lainey Glaze.

The Gaslight Anthem to Release New Album - July 24, 2012

Handwritten (2012, Mercury)

The Gaslight Anthem are set to release their fourth LP entitled "Handwritten" on July 24.  I've been reading reports of a more 90's alternative rock influenced sound, and the bonus tracks are to include both a Tom Petty and a Nirvana cover.  I positively cannot wait for this record.

Track Listing
1) ''45''
2) Handwritten
3) Here Comes My Man
4) Mulholland Drive
5) Keepsake
6) Too Much Blood
7) Howl
8) Biloxi Parish
9) Desire
10) Mae
11) National Anthem

Bonus Tracks
Blue Dahlia
Sliver
You Got Lucky

Review: First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar

January 24, 2012

Wichita Recordings

Rating:  6.5/10

Being revered as a female Fleet Foxes singing Joni Mitchell tunes, one could easily understand my immediate draw to the Swedish duo, First Aid Kit.  Well, the descriptions being bestowed upon the throwback folk impressions of sisters Johanna and Klara are completely fitting.  These songs are rustic and poetic, and they wouldn't sound out of place around a campfire at Woodstock.  As a person who does not typically shy away from modern day hippie music, I can genuinely enjoy this album in moderation.  Not taken in small doses, however, this flower child formula can begin to teeter on music exec board room banality.

All flaunting of innocence and incense aside, the music actually sounds pretty good in the right setting; sunny day drives through fields of wheat, for example.  The credentials are legitimate too, as the girls have worked with Jack White (but who hasn't, really?) and the album was produced by Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes.  It's also hard to ignore the obvious, albeit well merited, name-dropping of Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, etc.  I will say that Conor Oberst's appearance on the final track serves as a sweet signature on a simple and summery set of songs.  Check it out to add some airy and untroubled warmth to your day.

Official First Aid Kit

First Aid Kit on Facebook

Buy On Amazon

The Tallest Man On Earth - New Song: Bright Lanterns

Take a listen to this, the first sounds from the new album There Is No Leaving Now.  Great stuff as always from The Tallest Man On Earth.

http://www.listenbeforeyoubuy.net/listen/listen-the-tallest-man-on-earth-bright-lanterns/