2012, the musical year in review.

foreward:  2012 was not the musical power house of years past.  there was no sleeper record like 2010's "my dinosaur life" to blow me away, and there was nothing from many of my old stand-by's like the dropkicks, brand new, alkaline trio, or even big d to an extent.  it was an odd year for me as i feel like i took a lot of steps back in terms of what i was listening to.  not that it's a bad thing, but i found myself revisiting a lot of the ska and punk from my high school/early college years.

what there was, however, was a lot of music to be had.  unfortunately, none of it really hit me that hard.  coming up with a "top 10" of oh'12 is something i just couldn't bring myself to do with as much certainty as years past.  there was no clear #1, nothing that really blew me away.  so instead, in the spirit of keeping up with tradition, i gave my best to give a brief run-down on some of the 10 releases that WERE a bit notable throughout the year.

an incomplete list of the shows i was in attendance for:
-less than jake - rapids theatre
-the revival tour - mohawk place
-big d and the kids table - some bar in toronto
-big d,  goldfinger, reel big fish - town ballroom
-against me!/the cult - thursday in the harbor
-weezer - thursday in the harbor
-brad paisley - darien lake
-dropkick murphys - the outer harbor
-sum 41 - town ballroom

now, a lot of these shows were seriously excellent.  big d is and always will be my favorite live show.  i always walk away with a new story about them after each and every show.

sum 41 was oddly excellent.  i went into the show expecting the worst but i was incredibly impressed.  i've definitely gone back and listened to some of their old stuff since the show.

it was nice to finally remember a brad paisley show, and he was damn good.
the weezer show in buffalo was probably the best i had seen them.  no theatrics, just a rock show.
it was odd seeing against me! right after the big laura jane/tom gabel news, but i have a lot of hope for their new record.  it's still a serious blow to me that jay weinberg isn't in the band anymore.  he was awesome.

the dropkick show was a lot of fun.  the only drawback, which i can say about the last time i saw them as well, was that they love to play new songs.  that's not necessarily a bad thing, but both times they overloaded their set with music on records that hadn't been released yet.  kind of kills the energy.

the revival tour was unbelievably amazing.  all i had hoped for.  seeing dan andriano solo acoustic was a dream come true.  hanging out with chuck and dan after the show and doing shots was a blast.  also...discovering cory branan was one of the biggest stories of my musical oh'12.

an incomplete list of the albums i visited this year:
zac brown - uncaged
tenacious d - rize of the fenix
reel big fish - candy coated fury
nofx - self entitled
motion city soundtrack - go
matt skiba and the sekrets - babylon
less than jake - seasons greetings
kenny chesney - welcome to the fishbowl
interpol - turn on the bright lights 10th anniversary edition
hot water music - exister
green day - uno, dos, tre
dropkick murphys - live at fenway
dan andriano - of peace, quiet and monsters
the bouncing souls - comet
big d - built up from nothing
the beach boys - that's why god made the radio
bad books - II
cory branan - mutt
blink 182 - dogs eating dogs

sleepers/disappointments:
blink 182 - dogs eating dogs - i hated neighborhoods and this little ep was NOT a return to form.  it did nothing for me.  i'm ready to give up on these guys.

reel big fish - candy coated fury - no scott, no care.  i mean, not really, but i just find them boring now.  i don't get excited with reel big fish.  it all sounds the same, there's no real emotion. it just seems too shallow for me nowadays.

a "top 10" of sorts:
10.  tenacious d - rize of the fenix


nothing like a band that considers themselves to be the greatest band ever.  great to see them come back with a new record.  the title track is great, as is the ballot of hollywood jack and the rage cage.

9.  dropkick murphys - live at fenway

hard for this not to make the list, as it's basically just a live version of oh'11's album of the year for me.  i have a few issues with the way the live album is presented.  the cd has some bonus tracks that the vinyl version doesn't have, but they don't edit the live banter, so a lot of songs don't lead into each other correctly.  it's an odd mistake to leave in.  the piano intro on "time to go" is great, as is the dvd.

8.  dan andriano - of peace, quiet, and monsters

i'm in love with everything this guy does at this point.  a great couple of songs and i can not wait for more solo stuff from dan.

7. beach boys - that's why god made the radio

i had a lot of fun with this record, and i wasn't expecting it.  i get into these moods where i really obsess over certain musical situations.  some examples would be matt sharp's departure from weezer or kurt cobain's death.  i had a bit of a beach boys/brian wilson period this year.  but that's beside this point.  this album got a lot of mileage in the car on my way home from work over the summer.

6.  kenny chesney - welcome to the fishbowl

 i was expecting this album to fall a lot higher on my list.  but that's because i expected something completely different.  the artwork/colors/title had me expecting a total beach album.  instead, i got something completely unexpected.  in no way was it bad, there are some serious jams on this album, it just wasn't what i was planning on or hoping for.  time flies, the title track, and feel like a rock star are all classic kenny.

 5. big d and the kids table - built up from nothing

a pretty solid collection from my favorite people in music.  that being said, the highlight of this for me was the dub version of "chin up, boy."  i'm craving more stroll music out of these guys.  the back of the record claims an alternate version of "i,i,i" but it's nowhere to be found on the album.  total tease.

4. motion city soundtrack - go

there's some sleepers on this album (see, this top 10 is not as good as years past, for real.  last year's #4 was hurricane season, which blows every album on this list out of the water....) but there are some great songs.  timelines is one of my songs of the year, wonderful retrospective piece.  circuits and wires is another brilliant track.

3. cory branan - mutt

discovering this guy was probably the best thing to come out of the year.  he's brilliant.  i didn't just delve into this release, i spent a lot of time on his back catalog as well.  that being said, "corner" is in my top songs of the year without question.  this guy is beautifully brilliant.

2.  green day - uno, dos, tre

these albums are interesting for me.  i fell in love with green day for their lyrics as a teenager.  the lyrics on these albums seriously suck.  but.  the albums themselves rock.  the sound of the albums is a very cool, very groovy green day that they've really never fully let loose on.  i have a lot of fun listening to these records but they're definitely not something i listen to when trying to provoke thought.  if i had to list the three from worst to best, i would put them at uno, tre, dos. 

1.  matt skiba and the sekrets - babylon

very solid record from the lesser alkaline trio song writer.  there's some really cool stuff on here.  it's an album i've forgotten about a few times, but every time i've come back to it, it's dominated my car stereo for days at a time.  it's how i feel alkaline trio would have sounded in the 80s.  not a bad track on the album either.

songs of the year:
5.  timelines - motion city soundtrack
4.  dropkick murphys - the season's upon us
3.  mutt - cory branan
2.  stray heart - green day
1.  southern comfort zone - brad paisley

so there we have it, another year of music in the books.  it really was not the best year of music, but as a person, i had a pretty solid year, so it all works out.  i have a lot of hope for the year of oh'13.  a lot of my heavy hitters will be back in action.  two of the songs from my songs of the year are set to be on albums for 2013.  brad paisley's "wheel house" is without a doubt my most anticipated.  the dropkick record is already out and it's pretty solid.  other notables coming up are against me!'s "transgender dysphoria blues," the new alkaline trio, new kevin devine, new big d, and who knows what else....i'm hoping noah and the whale return to form.  so here's to hoping for the best!

-jc

Why "Southern Comfort Zone" by Brad Paisley is the Greatest Country Song Of All Time.

"look what AP just brought by, lemon meringue pie!"

i traditionally write about my thoughts on the year in music every december/january, and as i was thinking things over, this song, to me, deserved a little extra thought.  i honestly believe that this is the greatest country song ever recorded.

everything about it is so perfectly crafted.  the name itself is witty yet tongue-in-cheek.  the single artwork is beautiful, as is the accompanying lyrical video; the colors are so vibrant and lively yet the imagery is so simplistic.  the acoustic guitar and the t-shirt brad has worn in performances of it are equally as beautiful.  and the music video itself is so well done.  the message is wonderful, and again, so simple: see the world.  basically, before even getting into the song itself, the entire way this song has been packaged is perfect in my eyes.

the music video and the song almost present the song in two different ways, which i find very unique.  the audio clips of country and southern culture in the song itself add such a wonderful feel to the song.  the music video, with him playing the song live with background music and the hum of an old tractor gives a similar feel but in a much different way, it's a brilliant dynamic between the two.

the simple, yet very driving guitar part really sets the song up to build nicely and the pace of the song has a lot of natural energy.  the musicianship, as is the case with most songs by brad, does not disappoint.  the drama kings shred it up in a wonderful arrangement that is well beyond the creative boundaries of most popular country musicians these days.  the fact that brad writes and co-writes most of his music and plays all of his own guitar tracks is something that sets him apart.  being a musician myself, i can not stand how many country "artists" have minimal connection to their songs besides a vocal track. that being said, his guitar solo so wonderfully compliments the song, and the addition of the gospel choir at the tail end of the solo brings you right back into the mood of the song.

the message is almost one of country music in a more traditional time.  such as a "great day to be alive" or "check yes or no" kind of feel, the song has a very relateable feel.  country is supposed to be known for that, but this song takes it to a whole new level.  the imagery is wonderful in lines that take you deep into southern culture and then across the pond to france or up to alaska to see the northern lights.

basically this song takes everything good about country music and puts an exclamation point on it, while adding a creative element that is often times forgotten in the genre.  it's brilliant.  seeing brad play the guitar solo with a giraffe hanging out in the background is a great visual.  and seeing that little cowboy outline diving into the water against a brilliant sunset makes you long for summer without hating that it's winter.  if you haven't given this song a fair shake...then what are you waiting for?