So, if you post this kind of a list after everyone else has already posted theirs, folks might actually pay attention to it?  Yes?  No?  At any rate, here are my favorites, in narrative order (not so much in order of which I like more or less):

 

Shrug - Easy is the New Hard 

Shrug are stalwarts of the Dayton music scene, having been around for 25 years.  This is their first album to be released on vinyl, and as if that’s not enough, it’s a double.  Some of the songs on the track list that showed up in their sets 15 years ago (“New Amsterdam” and “Bender” being the oldest if memory serves) coexist beautifully with new music that didn’t get played live until the album release show (“Powder” and “Follow the Captain”).  The result is probably the best, most eclectic work of their tenure, and certainly my favorite since 2002’s self-titled release. 

• Favorite Songs: “Powder”, “New Amsterdam”, “Follow the Captain”, “Blue Blanket” 

 

 

Sleater-Kinney - The Center Won’t Hold 

About the same time that Shrug was getting going here in Dayton, this band started up in Olympia, Washington.  This is their 9th album, and it heads off in a different sonic direction from everything else in their catalog. This new direction cost them the powerful services of drummer Janet Weiss, as she departed the band just before they went on tour to support the album.  There is synth here, extra slick production, and pop sensibility, but it still sounds like a Sleater-Kinney album. That’s enough for me. 

• Favorite Songs: “Reach Out”, “Bad Dance” 

 

Big Wreck - ... but for the sun 

Here’s a third band that formed in 1994.  Ian Thornley’s voice is the closest I have ever heard to Chris Cornell’s, and it’s still as powerful now as it was when I first discovered this band.  If you enjoyed Soundgarden in the past, I think you would like Big Wreck as well. This new effort is a big, loud, swaggering rock and roll record. You want guitar solos?  There are plenty of them here. You want riffage? There is plenty of that here. You like shouting along whilst driving? These songs are perfect for that.   

• Favorite Songs: “In My Head”, “Give Us a Smile”,  “Alibi”  

 

Guided By Voices - Sweating the Plague 

How about a band that was already more than ten years old in 1994?  Indie rock royals Guided By Voices released three albums this year, because of course they did.  This is the last of the three. I have had a hard time keeping up on all of Bob Pollard’s music over the years, and would only consider myself somewhat well-versed on the albums that came out between 1994 and 2004.  With that caveat in mind, this album isn’t what I was expecting. I heard tempo changes, a brief Boston-esque lead guitar harmony, a song that starts a capella, all paired up with the usual amount of fantastic hooks. 

• Favorite Songs: “Street Party”,  “Your Cricket Is Rather Unique”, “Immortals” 

 

Elbow - Giants of All Sizes 

Apologies to Oasis, but Elbow are now my favo(u)rite Manchester band.  This is their 8th studio album. Lyrically, it’s darker than what we normally get from them, but personal tragedies and these modern times will have that effect.  Guy Garvey’s pristine voice, the band’s orchestral use of dynamics, and at least one song with massive audience sing-along potential on the hook… those things are still here.  Also, Pete Turner continues to bring interesting choices to the bottom end, along with solid grooves from which most of the other instruments hang. 

• Favorite Songs: “Empires”, “White Noise White Heat”, “Weightless” 

 

Idlewild - Interview Music 

Let’s stay on the island of Great Britain for a moment, but head up north to Scotland.  I have five of this band’s first six albums on CD (I don’t have the first one). There was a time when I would listen to something from Idlewild just about every day.  Somewhere around 2008, I completely lost track of them. It wasn’t them, it was me. I’ve missed a couple of their albums, and nearly missed this one, only having discovered that it came out in 2019 in December.  Other than the vocals (not the high ones), this doesn’t sound like the Idlewild I remember… there are plenty of atmospheric additions here, strings and reverb-drenched guitar and piano, and it’s all quite lovely. I need to spend more time with this album, but I know that I’ll like it more with each listen. 

• Favorite Songs: “Dream Variations”, “I Almost Didn’t Notice”, “Forever New” 

 

The Cranberries - In the End 

A short hop West across the Irish Sea brings us to the home of The Cranberries.  This mention is kind of like a career achievement mention, as the band decided not to continue after frontwoman Dolores O’Riordan died in January 2018.  This is their final album, released this year. The vocals come from demos instead of normal studio takes, but if I hadn’t read that online, I wouldn’t have known.  Some of the music would easily fit in among the songs on their first two albums. I feel like most folks probably don’t know this band beyond their hit singles, and that’s too bad, there is some songwriting brilliance in their career, and this is a satisfying final statement. 

• Favorite Songs:  “Lost”, “Wake Me When It’s Over”, “Illusion”, “In the End” 

 

Charly Bliss - Young Enough 

Back much farther West across the Atlantic, Brooklyn’s Charly Bliss dropped their second full-length album this year.  Full disclosure, I really wanted to like this album because I have met the members of this band, and they were pleasant and engaging young folks.  I like them as people.  (They also put on a very energetic live show.) My first couple of listens to this album, well, I wasn’t enthused… lots of synth, some drum machine sounds, the guitars and rock had taken a back seat to sugary pop.  Then I paid attention to the lyrics, listened closer to the songwriting, and focused on the harmonic choices. These songs are painfully confessional and personal, and I wonder how Eva manages to sing them on tour night after night without bursting into tears.  Further, this band’s gift for arrangement and hooks persists behind the pop sheen… and these songs sound excellent live, right alongside their older guitar-heavy work. Go get this album. 

• Favorite Songs: “Capacity”, “Camera”, “Young Enough”, “Chatroom” 

 

John Dubuc’s Guilty Pleasures - Where Have I Been All Your Life? 

Don’t let John Dubuc’s “aw shucks”, self-effacing demeanor fool you.  He is one of the best songwriters in Dayton. His lyrics oscillate between witty and silly, pointless and profound. He doesn’t feel the need to be constrained by the idea of genre, as there are sounds borrowed from reggae and country and fifties rock and power pop and folk.  Several songs from this album will absolutely get stuck in your head.  You have been warned.

• Favorite Songs: “It Ain’t That Far”, “Crazy Days”, “By the Ocean”, “Peace Love and Hamburger Helper” 

 

Me & Mountains - Dream Sequence Volume One 

This a very brief EP, so I feel like my comments here have to also be very brief.  I love everything this band does, their sound is right up my alley, and I want them to give me more music ASAP. 

• Favorite Song: “Demolish Me” 

 

Amber Hargett - Paper Trail 

Amber is lovely and genuine and sweet, comes armed with a powerful voice and a knack for songwriting, and once told a story that will ensure I never look at a submarine hatch the same way again.  Oh, and her album is great. 

• Favorite Song: "Church Mouse", but that isn't on this albums, so let's go with “Broke”, “Carolina Blue”, “Stay” 

 

For three reasons, the subject of this Ohio Spotlight would probably surprise people that know me.  First, much of the music is country or country-adjacent, and that's not a genre I particularly enjoy.  (More on this later.)  Second, Lydia no longer lives in Ohio, having left us for North Carolina, and unlike Orville and Wilbur, her relationship with North Carolina does not appear to be solely for dunes and wind.  Third, she is famous.  Well, maybe not the kind of famous that means she can't leave her home for fear of paparazzi, but famous enough to have been the subject of a documentary, and successful enough of a musician to have been on Tiny Desk. If these are thoughts you might have had, I assure you that I get it... but when I first discovered the music of Lydia Loveless, she still lived in Ohio,... also, my blog, my rules, yes?

 

The first Lydia Loveless song I heard was "Same to You". Doctor Jipson played it on his Tuesday show on WUDR.  I think everyone can probably guess what I noticed first... yes, the bass.  Before the vocal starts, in the instrumental vamp intro, that bass line moves around and the groove had me right away.  Then the loud/quiet dynamics of the verse and chorus... the big voice... the harmony vocals in the chorus... the interesting panning of the electric guitars.  One listen, and this song blew me away.  I remember not having any idea who this was... but thanks to Dr. J's habit of tweeting about the songs he is playing, I quickly found out.  (Keep that up Dr. J!)  "Same to You" was the lead single from the 2016 album Real.  I loved this song so much, listened to it nearly on repeat for a few days... also enjoyed the rest of the album.  I never got a chance to see the band live, but you know, there are plenty of good examples on YouTube.  Here's one. How great is that performance?  

Does that sound like a country song to you?  Me neither.  This song was very much right up my alley... so much so, that I started digging into Lydia's earlier albums... and yep, there's a lot of country there, and it was surprising to me.  I did end up listening to her entire catalog, but Real ended up being my favorite collection of songs.  That said, genre aside, there is some great songwriting on all of her albums.  (Also, how many country artists write love songs using 19th century French poets as a point of reference?)

Back to "Same to You" briefly... and we'll use this as an example of why I feel like I have a great deal to learn from Lydia Loveless, and also why I feel like we have a great deal in common as songwriters.  Check out this solo performance. The verse is only two chords.  For the full band version, that gets kind of obscured in all the cool stuff going on... but this... with just an acoustic guitar and that powerful voice... this is how the song was probably born.  Simple song, but outstanding lyrics, the bridge is in a perfect spot and does a perfect thing, and the melody is brilliant.  Now, I don't play guitar, and I don't have that voice of course, but I write on a piano with the end goal in mind of having full-band renditions of my songs, so there are many things I can learn from Lydia's approach.  Craft your lyrics. Craft your melody.  Simple is ok.  Pay attention to arrangement. Write from the heart. (Another thing we have in common is we both love Chris Cornell's Euphoria Mourning album, which was the subject of an earlier blog entry.)

Go listen to this songwriter's music.  If you enjoy country music, maybe start with The Only Man or Indestructible Machine and work your way forward through her catalog. If not, start with Real, which is where I started.  

 

For Squirrels - Example

 

This album came out while I was in high school.  I loved the lead single, and remember watching its video quite a bit on MTV, but by the time I got my hands on the album and listened to the entire thing, there were six or seven songs I liked even more.  Front to back, this is an album I always loved.  

Tragically, a van accident killed the lead singer and bass player shortly before this album was released, so this band remains rather obscure.  I remember in my early twenties always being surprised when I would meet someone who also had this album.  Usually, if someone had it, they were just about as enthusiastic about it as I was.

Example reminds me of my youth, gone many years ago.  It reminds me of longtime friends,  many of whom are gone in different ways.  It reminds me of driving down 35 or 270 or 33 to go hang out.  It makes me wish I could write a song that makes someone feel the way that "Disenchanted" still makes me feel all these years later.  It makes me wish I could write something with the brilliant simplicity of "Eskimo Sandune".

Also, these lyrics from "Under Smithville" have taken on different meaning for me than they did back in the day:

"And I've been feeling so old / Tell me now who you think I am"

What's this?  It's not Monday.  Yes, I'm a day late.  I got sick on Sunday with the beginnings of a nasty cold, and it hit me full bore yesterday.  Ok, with that out of the way, welcome to a "Songwriting Story" edition of my blog... oh, but there is a twist.

I want to tell you the stories behind the songs on Defacing the Moon, which is the split album out on Local Music Day from me and The Paint Splats. However, I wrote five of the songs on this split album.  That would be an awfully long blog entry, and even the three people that read this every week probably aren't going to sign up for several thousand words, right?  

Here is what I will do... I will verbally tell you stories about writing these songs.  In fact, I will do one song a day beginning with Monday 4th November.  That day, by the time the evening of Friday the 8th rolls around (this is the +1 bonus day for "Local Music Day), you'll have a story for all five songs.  I'm going to use my Instagram page to do this, specifically the stories section.  If you're not following me over there, please do so.  You can click the link in the previous sentence, or the one at the bottom of the screen on my website here.

To quote a Mel Brooks movie, "Everybody got that?  Good."

Boyz II Men - Cooleyhighharmony

 

This album came out in 1991.  I was in junior high school.  I remember that you couldn't get away from the two hit singles on this record.  The more upbeat of them, "Motownphilly", had a video that was on MTV all of the time... you know, back when MTV played videos.  Four young black men, well-dressed, and singing some tight harmonies over a hip hop beat.  I don't remember having heard anything like it.  The other ubiquitous single, "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday", was sung a cappella in four part harmony, with finger snaps being the only percussion.  I didn't know at the time that this was a cover.  What a fantastic choice to do a rendition of this song like this and put it on the album.  Maybe the album doesn't go nine times platinum without this song.

To do my due diligence for this blog post, I went back and listened to this album again.  It sounds very much of the time period from where it came, but it still sounds good.  

Those of you who remember this album might think that I have forgotten to mention "End of the Road", which was another single that you couldn't escape from hearing.  Well, it wasn't originally on this album.  It was a single produced for a movie soundtrack, and it did so well, that the label put it on the re-issue of Cooleyhighharmony that came out in 1993.  (The re-issue contains a fantastic a cappella rendition of "In the Still of the Night", and I remember wishing I could sing like that.  I mean, check out the glory of the nineties in this video.)

Listening these songs again takes me back to wandering the halls of Central Junior High.  I am also reminded of my younger brother, who loved this group and this album.

I've been working hard in the studio, supported by Patrick Himes and a rotating cast of other Dayton musicians.  I've already mentioned that I have a split album coming out on Local Music Day.  I have five songs on that compact disc.  That left 20 songs.

20 is a lot of songs.  From that group, I've decided not to do any tracking at the moment on 3 of them.  I either want to give more consideration to the arrangement (looking at you, "Podiacide") or try to improve the lyrics (this means you, "Let's Go"), or perhaps even do a complete re-write (this could be you, "Rock Show").  Ok.  20 minus 3 is 17.  

This is the group of songs from which I will attempt to put together an album that will take you, the potential listener, on an adventure.  Some of them are finished... mixed and everything.  Some of them have drums and bass tracked, but need the rest of the instruments.  Just three of them are still waiting on me to record a bassline.

I won't pretend to know when I'll have this ready for release... but it certainly won't be this year.  More updates to come.

Welcome to a very special edition of the Ohio Spotlight.  November 9th is Local Music Day in Dayton.  This idea comes from Daryl (Derl) Robbins, who you might know from such bands as the widely-praised Motel Beds,  and corporate lackeys Company Man. 

Why is Local Music Day special?  Here's Derl's explanation from the event's official website:

What it is 

Think of it like record store day but instead of you buying that one Eagles record again, you’ll be buying exclusive releases from local artists made especially for this event. You need this. 

There will also be bands. Stay tuned.

 

That sounds good to me.   I am pleased to be able to participate in this event, alongside several other local artists.

Would you like to know what releases will be exclusively available beginning on November 9th?  Well, click right here for the list.

if you live within an easy drive of Dayton, why not head down to Yellow Cab (on 4th Street downtown) for Local Music Day?  You'll be able to discover some great music, all made by hard-working local musicians.  As you can see on the page describing the releases, some are available on compact disc, some on cassette, and some on vinyl.  Sure, I would love it if you would pick up the split album that contains some of my songs,but even if that doesn't interest you, this will be a nice community event... and surely you will find something to enjoy.  Personally, I am looking forward to getting my hands on that Me & Mountains disc.  I already have the Human Cannonball album on compact disc, but hey, it is being issued on vinyl for the first time, so if you don't have it yet, or happen to collect vinyl, that's something you should definitely buy.

 

 

Elbow - Asleep in the Back

I talked about my most recent live experience with Elbow in a previous blog post.  This is the album that got me hooked on them.

A coworker of mine turned me on to this album in 2001.  This was one of the five compact discs I took with me on my spring 2002 trip to France.  The trip was mostly for a friend's wedding, but I managed to move around a bit while I was in Europe... I had a nice trip out to Chamonix for a couple of days, and also dropped by Bruxelles and Bruges.

I spent plenty of time alone with my thoughts and this record playing in my headphones.  On long train trips... on a lift up a mountain... strolling through the forest a short distance from the Arve.  Really, every time I hear these songs, my brief visit to the Alps comes rushing back.  My favorite track on this album was "Newborn"... and today it is probably a tie between "Newborn" and "Scattered Black and Whites".  Guy Garvey's way of painting a picture, evoking an emotion, harnessing a mood with his lyrics... that's a skill I am attempting to develop.

 

 

I am nearly 100% certain that I first heard this band in 1997, driving home to Xenia from my call center job in Kettering.  On Sunday nights, one of the local radio stations had a local music program.  I recently wrote about another local band I first heard on this program.  Today, I write about Shrug.  One of the songs in rotation just about every week on the program was "Diary".  I didn't know it at the time, but that's the lead track to Shrug's second album, Everything Blowing Up Roses.

I found out that Shrug was going to play at show at Canal Street Tavern.  I liked what I had heard from them on the radio, so I went to see them play.  This was my first experience with live local music.  I don't remember all that much from the show... I can't tell you who else was on the bill.  I don't remember how much it cost, though if I were to guess, I'd say five dollars.  I don't even remember which songs they played... maybe I heard "Diary" that night, maybe I didn't.  What I do remember was meeting the three members of the band... Tod Weidner, Dan Stahl, Adam Edwards.  They were nice to me.  I wandered into a music venue alone, without knowing anyone, feeling slightly out of place, and was well received.  Between that and enjoying the music, I decided to see Shrug again.  And again.  And again.  Eventually, as is the case in a tight-knit music community when you see the same face a few times, the guys in the band remembered my name.

Fast forward to now.  On 6th July, Shrug will release their sixth studio album, Easy is the New Hard. This is the first time they are releasing music on vinyl, and this one will be a double album in that medium.  If you want to pre-order it, you could do that here.

Like the sticker says, Shrug has been a band since 1994.  There aren't many rock bands in these parts who have been around that long.  They have had their lineup changes, their instrumentation changes (at one point they didn't harm any electric guitars on stage), and of course we are all much older... but they still play like they mean it, and they're still nice to everyone.

Personally speaking, this band has had two major influences on my life in general.  First, I have been introduced to a great deal of music through Shrug shows that I otherwise might not have listened to.  They used to do a fantastic cover of "Dancing Barefoot" (please bring that one back), and that's how I discovered Patti Smith.  They would cover a few Elvis Costello songs, and this moved me to check out a few of his albums.  Their blistering version of "The Seeker" made me pick up The Who's greatest hits album.  Second, I might not have ever gotten around to recording my own music were it not for Shrug.  I clearly remember Tod saying this brief phrase at some point about folks who are timid about sharing their music: "if it sounds good, it is good".  I threw away so many songs over the years, but sometimes I would write something, and think to myself "that sounds pretty good"...  eventually, I gathered the courage to share my art with others.

Of course, since I consider the gentlemen in Shrug to be friends, it's hard for me to be objective about their music.  That said, sometimes they make artistic decisions that I don't necessarily like.  A few that come to mind are the Wilco-ization of "Age Nowhere" (does anyone else remember the original version of that song?), the disappearance of any of their original songs written before 2000 from their live shows, and the fact that I don't own a recording of "Cling", "Media Blackout", "Frozen Gasoline", or "Cosmonaut".  It's ok.  I still love them just the way they are.

Do you like your music to feature intelligent, carefully chosen lyrics?  How about a serious approach to songcraft?  What is your feeling about a sing-along chorus that gets stuck in your head?  If you like these things, go find Shrug's music.  You won't be disappointed. 

Here's a brief progress update on album #2. I have the first mixes back for two of the songs, "Bright Ideas" and "She Speaks in Metaphor". At this point, I'm not sure if either one of them will even make the album, but I love the way these sound. Patrick Himes continues to do great work.

We are almost finished tracking the drums for all of the songs that are in consideration... I expect to get that done this week. As usual, Brian Hoeflich has been professional and brilliant at that task.

Between now and the end of the month, I have 4 studio sessions scheduled. The plan is for a great deal of bass to be played, and some guitar/keyboard parts to be added. Hopefully by the time July begins, I'll have a handful of other songs ready to be mixed.

As far as naming the album is concerned... well, I have some ideas on that. I'm not ready to share them yet, but maybe I'll make a poll and get some feedback?