Previously: I hope you took a few minutes to explore the outstanding recipients of this year’s Gold and Platinum LP awards. Honorable Mentions, too.

I don’t think many readers will find much controversy in the assertion that things have been hard over the past few years, and 2010 and 2011 were especially hellish in my neck of the woods. So it’s no surprise to find artists focusing on the difficulties they see (and often live themselves). It’s rare, though, to find someone who’s singing about the bad times with as much depth and empathy as we find in Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit’s Here We Rest, my 2011 CD of the Year. Full story »

Previously: the 2011 Gold LPs and the Honorable Mentions.

The Platinum LPs, awarded for exceptional artistic merit, are always the point where this process begins to wear on me. I want to make sure I have included all the worthy bands and that my words do those acknowledged justice. I never feel like I have succeeded on either count, and this year seems even worse than usual. So my apologies to the artists here: my remarks are in no way up to the standards of the music you produced last year.

[sigh] So here we go.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: Belong
It seems like each year there’s that one band, sort of an accessible, trendy indie outfit that pegs everybody’s hip meters and makes it okay to like intelligent guitar pop. Full story »

I mentioned that 2011 was a great year for music in part 1, right? Well, the sheer number of Gold LPs (awarded for outstanding merit) should serve to illustrate the point a bit. So let’s get to it.

First, let me disqualify a CD.

Paul Lewis: Bag Of Rain
If my objectivity is clouded by close personal relationships, it’s absolutely obliterated by great self-interest. And since I was fortunate enough to contribute lyrics for two of the tracks on Bag of Rain, I’m not even going to pretend that I’m being critical. I can say, however, that Paul is an outstanding tunesmith and an even better singer – I’ve been saying he has one of the best voices in the business since the first time I saw him perform in the late 1980s. These qualities have only improved with time. “Platform of Our Lives,” for instance, displays a rare emotional vulnerability, and Paul the singer understands when to coat a tune in velvet and when to stomp the accelerator. Full story »

I feel like a broken record, but man, what a great year. I just saw a comment on a Facebook thread this morning where somebody said that there hasn’t been any good music since 1990 and I can’t help feeling sorry for people who think that way. I know, radio has abandoned us. And I know it’s hard to put as much time into finding the good stuff as maybe we’d like. But trust me, there’s fantastic music being made and in this series (this post will be followed by the Gold LP, Platinum LP and CD of the Year awards) I’ll do what I can to point readers at the best of what I heard last year.

One caveat, based on something I’m becoming more aware of lately. I’m not a record reviewer. I’ve done that from time to time, but I never liked the nuts and bolts of being a pure critic and I never thought I was very good at it. Still, this list, through the years, has worked to be as critically honest as possible. Full story »

This morning I took a few minutes to watch the vid for the new Van Halen single, “Tattoo.” I was a little startled, in the final verse, to encounter these lyrics:

Uncle Danny, had a coal tattoo.
He fought for the unions,
Some of us still do.
On my shoulder is the number
of the chapter he was in.
That number is forever
like the struggle here to win.

I had never thought of VH as a political band, so I did some snooping. Full story »

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is a joke. I think we all know this, but if you’re new to the issue a quick illustration should suffice: Madonna is in it. Rush, Kiss, Cheap Trick, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Deep Purple, Big Star, The Cure, Devo, Dire Straits, ELO, Hüsker Dü, INXS, Jethro Tull, Judas Priest, The Moody Blues, Motorhead, My Bloody Valentine, New Order, Peter Gabriel, The Replacements, Warren Zevon, XTC, Yes and Graham Parker aren’t. I could go on. And on. And on and on and on. But, in the interest of brevity, I won’t.

This is frustrating for a lot of people. Many of the artists would probably like to be acknowledged, and their fans no doubt take the slight personally. And the critics, gods, imagine trying to think about this if you’re a serious professional covering music. Full story »

Scholars & Rogues wants to thank our music-loving readership for making this the most successful Tournament of Rock yet, and we’d especially like to say a huge thanks to all the bands who participated. ToR3 featured a number of surprises and upsets, but in the end we hope that everybody found a new band to love.

So, the Finals represented our biggest turnout ever and the margin was incredibly close. The Blueflowers and The Lost Patrol asked their fans to vote and they did. When the last chad was unhung, the winner by a 52-48% margin was… Full story »

When ToR3 started some of you probably looked at the relative popularity of the bands involved, reflected in things like the size of their Facebook communities and the numbers of people they draw when they’re on tour, and figured the Finals would wind up featuring either The Horrors or The Postelles facing off with either The Raveonettes or Eilen Jewell. But, now that The Blueflowers have defeated Doco in the second semi-final, we’re looking at a battle we maybe didn’t expect: two bands that are somewhat lower in national profile (although hopefully that’s changing). And who are actually very good friends when they aren’t in the ring (it was Ed, TLP’s manager, in fact, who turned me on to The Blueflowers several months ago).

Major congrats to Doco, by the way. They’re one of those no-frills acts that does nothing but practice and tour and thrive on the energy of their fans and the live show. Great run, guys, and we’ll see you here shortly in our Best CDs of 2011 series.

And now, let’s go ring announcer Michael Buffer…. Full story »

Just in case you want in on the awesome, and you want to celebrate Christmas in an unconventional way, check out Marvel Comics’ adaptation of A Christmas Carol—with zombies!

Zombies Christmas Carol, published in September, might at first blush seem like yet another adaptation of a classic tale with zombies thrown in, a trend kicked off a couple years ago by Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride & Prejudice & Zombies. Zombies Christmas Carol seems particularly well-suited to the zombie treatment, though, and not just because the story is already filled with supernatural creatures.

Full story »

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas…Kris Kringle…Father Christmas…Santa Claus.

Few characters are as recognizable as the patron saint of Christmas.

Santa, as well as his Canadian and British counterpart, Father Christmas, both derive from the legends surrounding Saint Nicholas, a former bishop who lived in the third century in the city of Myra, in a region that’s now part of Turkey. His feast day is celebrated December 6.

The Dutch abbreviated Saint Nicholas’s name as Sinterklaas, which is where the name Santa Clause comes from. The Dutch depict Sinterklaas much like a Catholic bishop with a tall hat, full white beard, and a staff.

Our own depictions of Santa Claus predate date back to images of “Father Christmas” from 17th century in England. Full story »

Our fourth quarterfinal match lacked the drama of the previous one, as Doco handily dispatched Rose Hill Drive to move into the semifinals. And now, we move into the semis, where it starts to get personal. See, our next two bands know each other and play together sometimes. You might even say they’re friends. Although, maybe for the next couple of days we can make frenemies of them.

Dotsun Moon: ”The band has labeled their music as ‘dream beat.’ I don’t think I could think of a better description even if my life depended on it. I love Mary Ognibene’s voice. She can make the little hairs on the back of your neck stand straight up one minute and put you in a trance the next. ” Ear Candy LISTEN Full story »

First off, wow. Our previous match, The Blueflowers vs. Eilen Jewell, saw Jewell jump out to an early lead. Then The Blueflowers blew past her and established a huge advantage. Then Eilen’s fans battled back and re-took a late lead, only to see Blueflower fans mount a late surge to nip Jewell at the wire. This match saw the largest turnout in any ToR match to date (that includes all three tournaments) and final margin was a scant few votes. The irony, of course, was that Jewell was nominated for this tournament by none other than Blueflowers mastermind Tony Hamera. So, again, wow. Congrats to both artists and thanks to their fans for such a truly fantastic show of support.

The gauntlet has been thrown down. We’ll see how fans of our next two bands respond. Full story »

In our second quarterfinal match, Dotsun Moon made quick work of Snake Rattle Rattle Snake. Congrats to SRRS for making the quarters, and again, I love the new CD. We’ll see you again in our upcoming best of 2011 review.

Up next, a quarterfinal match between two acts working the neo-Americana side of the street.

The Blueflowers: ”With [Kate] Hinote leading the lines, the result is an album that is as haunting and soul-invading as it is enthralling. Songs like the title track and ‘Fragile’ give the listener the impression that they’re in on a secret, like they’re reading Hinote’s diary. That level of refreshing honesty, some damned fine tunes and the stellar musicianship of the band is what makes In Line With the Broken-Hearted such a tremendous piece of work.” - Metro Times LISTEN Full story »

In the first match of round 2, The Lost Patrol handily defeated Baron Bane to advance to the semifinals. They await the winner of today’s throwdown, and my inner conflict continues unabated….

Dotsun Moon: …”Dotsun Moon’s secret weapon is the soulful and authoritative voice of Mary Ognibene. On tracks such as the breathy, skipping opener, ‘And I Rest,’ the riveting , floor-thumping standout ‘Savages, and the languid ‘Glory,’ her powerhouse pipes repeatedly amaze. Though well suited for dance club PAs, 4am is also varied and intriguing enough for intent home listening.” The Big Takeover LISTEN Full story »

Christopher Hitchens has died at the age of 62.

If Chris Corner’s tribute to the man seems conflicted, that is perhaps appropriate. Full story »

In the final match of round one we had a close encounter, with Rose Hill Drive finally easing by The Raveonettes. Now, it’s on to round 2, and from this point forward I’m going to be in a state of constant conflict. Here, for instance: two bands I love, two bands that produced CDs that are among the year’s best.

Baron Bane: ”LPTO is truly a lovely listen front to back; while its energetic moments drift unassumingly by, however, it is the quiet that resonates the longest.” – Pop Matters : LISTEN

Full story »

As it turns out, today is the birthday of Doco guitarist Trev Booth and the band’s fans have handed him a nice present in the form of a resounding win over Viva Voce in round 1. They advance to face the winner of today’s match.

Speaking of which, we now have a clash of styles to consider.

Rose Hill Drive: A very un-Boulderlike band from Boulder, CO – hard-rocking, fun-loving, no-frills party rock – raw, emotive, organic. LISTEN

Full story »

In our biggest margin of victory so far, The Blueflowers overwhelmed The Amends and move on to face Eilen Jewell. Should be a slobberknocker, given the support each received in round 1.

Our next match features an old favorite facing off with a new discovery.

Doco: Heavy rocking Blues/Soul/Funk/Hip-Hop/Reggae fusion – Josh and Trevor Booth are descended from both John Wilkes Booth and Robert E. Lee! – Intense musicianship in service to a groove. LISTEN

Full story »

Our previous match perhaps proves that there’s no justice in the world. To be sure, Eilen Jewell is a worthy winner, but the turnout in this contest way outstripped what we’ve seen so far in ToR3, to the point where Paul Lewis, in a losing effort, racked up more votes than any of the winners in the previous four matches. So congrats to Jewell and thanks to Paul and his fans for making it exciting. And by the way, both of these artists gave us outstanding CDs in 2011, so if you’re thinking about giving music for holiday gifts, we recommend both of them.

Now, our next showdown, which features two bands that I really like.

The Blueflowers: Detroit-based seductive, soothing folk-noir – “a weepy but wonderful wall of sensuous sounds, sad but strengthening, emotionally deep without being a downer” – elements of Americana, folk, ’60s girl-pop and psychedelia. LISTEN Full story »

On this sad anniversary of John Lennon’s passing, I’m refusing to mourn. Instead, I’m remembering why his insistence that we stop our mad rush to kill each other was a good idea.  Imagine…