Rural Minority

I know it’s a few weeks late, but one of my co-workers [and 80s music buff], Jon Abelack, put together his Top 10 Studio Album List of 2009 followed by his Top Five Live Albums of the Year. This is not a fly-by-night list like many already out there, but a very thought out, well put together piece by one of the best ears out there. Without further ado:

1. Alice in Chains—Black Gives Way to Blue—  Wow, after a 14 year Hiatus, Chains are back and  in true form.  The new singer William Duvall(not Robert duvalls’ brother) sounds just enough like Layne Staley but still different enough so you never think you’re listening to an Alice in Chains cover band, the music is great, couple of nice slow songs on the album, great riffs and all, fav (4) song on the album is Lesson Learned. A very well put together album.

2. Them Crooked Vultures- Self Titled—Damn Rock and Roll as I live and breathe and almost lose my breath again!  Supergroup comprised of John Paul Jones who is god on bass, Dave Grohl god on drums and Josh Home from QOTSA on guitar and vocals a solid musician in his own right.  The songs rock and are always changing tempo, never know what you’re going to get kind of like a james Cameron movie but not nearly as bad as how he looks now!  Great grooves and moves on this album, solid debut effort… it puts the R in rock and the L in roll….  4 song(fav song)—is  Gunman, kind of dancey, funky song.

3. Bob Dylan— Together Thru Life— The first Bob Dylan original CD that I actually have the others are copied—just a great mix of all different sounds, voice sounds good, band is solid,  4 song(fav song) is Forgetful heart… as long as it doesn’t stop beating!!!

4. U2—No Line on the Horizon—   Well, call it a comeback as in my opinion this is their best album since the classic achtung baby,, Pop and Zooropa have some great songs on the albums but I don’t think those albums are so great overall..  The ballads on this album are about as smooth as drinking a strawberry milkshake, singing is good, Edge is in top form, and the half instrumental song Fez being born is a very creative song… 4 song(fav song) on the album is Magnificent….

5. Dream Theater— Black Clouds and Silver Lining—After a couple of subpar records DT bounce back with a solid effort, long epic songs, god on guitar, great music, good singing, tempo changes and all… fav song(4)—is Rite of Passage.

6. Pearl Jam—Backspacer—Well, not as good as the album that preceded it but still very good, some of the songs have a good pop rock style to them, singing as always is great, songs at times are a bit short… still a must have for any pearl jam fan to keep up with the catalog—4(fav song) is Got Some, ironically enough the first time I heard this song was on a late night tv show at linus’s place and I thought it was just okay but on the album it has the best drumming on it and good punch to it, not the kind you drink!

7. Chicken Foot—Self titled—Another supergroup with Chad smith or is that Will Farrell on the drums from chili pepers, satriani on guitar, michael Anthony on the bass and the one and only Red Rooster Sammy Hager on the vocals— Chad Smith shows another side of his drumming on this album which is just great, stead bass and fraternity boy looks by Michael Anthony, god on guitar by Satriani he’s like a Lamborghini just can’t stop it! And vocals that have never changed in over 30 years by sammy hager.. some corny lyrics at times but I think the music is so great it compensates welll… 4(fav song) is Running Thru… awesome guitar solo in this song.

8. Air–  Love 2–  well, I enjoyed their last album more than walkie talkie which fans tend to like more, this is their best album since the classic I’d take this disc on me to a desert island to be stranded with Moon Safari… great mix of electronic and 70s sounds blended in, some but not much singing, feel like I’m on another planet when I listen to it… Fav song (4) is Missing the light of day.

9. Peter Yorn–  Back and Forth—Coming off a solid album the album before this one, Pete Yorn returns with what he does best a good blend of acoustic and electric sounds, lyrics are good, singing is in top form… 4 song (fav) is Paradise Cove…

10. Jarvis Cocker- Further Complications—Just hitting the top 10 close race with Depeche Mode’s album—for his second solo record Jarvis returns with a slightly more rock oriented sound, catchy hooks, his first album is def better but this is a good listen.. fav (4) song is Sludge.

Fav live Albums that came out in 2009.

1. The Doors—Live at the Felt Forum 1970— Wow, this 6 cd set is a must get for any Doors Fan, crystal clear recording, great singing, music is solid, many different versions of lightmy fire and others and all sound so great..

2. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers—Live Anthology 4 cd set—as always, does a great job of adding to and mixing up songs live, proof is it’s good to be king where he takes a good song and makes it outstanding with guitar solos etc, and woman in love, it’s not me sounds better than ever on this record with the great lead in on keyboards by benmont tench (sp?)… I dig it, dug it and want to keep listening….!

3. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club—live from last tour—solid psychedelic rock by these rockers,songs are crisp and fast, like a rollercoaster in the dark.

4. REM- Live at the Olympia—Can’t go wrong with REM live, singing keeps getting better, music is strong, downside not as much jangly pop rock sound that’s their tradermark, songs are more rocking which is good and sometimes not as good… 4 songs(fav) is These Days.

5. The Cult- Love Live—and let’s be flippant about 9 11 in concert!  I think it’s good but the rhythm section we saw live is def better than this album but its still very good.

As the resident TRM U2 expert [ahem, fanatic] let me give an update on U2’s soon-to-be-released album tentatively titled “Songs of Ascent”.

 The band seems to be pulling material together from a number of sessions they’ve worked on in the past. That is not to say they are not creating new tunes for the upcoming album, but it seems to be more material coming from past albums that were never completed.

 In a recent interview with Dublin-based music and political magazine Hot Press, The Edge goes as far to say that the band could actually release an album now if they wanted – they just don’t want to yet.

  “We’ve got some stuff, more abstract stuff that we could put together as a release, but right now what’s really intriguing me is plain, old-fashioned songwriting, and we have some amazing stuff.”

 So, when could the new album be released? Well, no one knows an exact date yet, but 2010 is very likely. To get more specific – and this is coming from 17 years of U2 fandom experience – watch what Bono says to get an early idea and then tack on three to six months, and there you have it: the album release date. The south-side Dubliner has all the optimism a man can have.

 U2, to their undying credit, has given us some insight as to what “Songs” may be like, however. During the currently running 360 Tour – which is between legs – the band actually plays a snippet of one of the new tracks during their intro. The melody – called “Kingdom” – comes on a minute or so before the band hits the stage. It has an atmospheric type tilt to it that leaves the listener almost in a haze. Click below to give it a listen.

 Keep coming back to The Rural Minority to get up-to-date information on everything going on with U2’s new album. Also, sign up, and tell us your thoughts on U2’s new song “Kingdom”. Exciting stuff ahead.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzp0jvXWfLo&feature=fvw[/youtube]

Everyone always talks about The Edge like he’s a damn sound engineer.  When am I gonna get some credit for my sweet set-up?

What you’ve got there is a Blues Driver/Chromatic Tuner combo.  Of course, I need some heavy digs to harness all that power, so I’m runnin’ that kit through a (borrowed) Fender Acoustisonic Jr. amp.  Let’s just say my neighbors would hate me if I wasn’t so damn polite.

For the rollers out there: what’s your dessert island pedal?  You get one pedal for all your rockin’ needs.  What’s your choice?  I dare say Johnny Masters may choose the above pictured Blues Driver…

And because this post has lacked my reliable humor and wit, I share this (NSFW) link.

It seems like the perfect match, doesn’t it? The biggest rock band in the world playing North America’s largest festival.

Ever since U2 signed on to play Glastonbury last month rumors have been circulating that U2 was being lined up for next year’s Bonnaroo. And while this may have been well-wishing at the beginning, it sounds like it may not be well-wishing after all. According to Alex Young, CEO of online music publication Consequence of Sound, Bonnaroo officials have not ruled the band out, an about face from 2008′s ‘Roo when promoters came out of the wood work to kill Led Zeppelin rumors. While the U2 buzz may not have reached Zeppelin heights it still proves that the ‘Roo promoters are not afraid of squashing rumors.

Young states: “U2 feels more and more like Springsteen last year — it was hard to imagine, but in the back of our minds, we knew it was going to happen. U2 is certainly capable of hitting Manchester even despite the fact they’ll be in the west coast. Bruce & Co. flew from Europe last year. I do not have any specific word of them being confirmed yet, but I have not got one blatant “no” from the people I’ve talked to.”

If Bono, The Edge, Adam and Larry do indeed choose to grace the Manchester farm this summer, it won’t be a stretch for the Irish quartet to fit right in. In addition to being in the midst of a world-wide tour, the lads have also played their fair share of festivals over the years.

As for Roger Waters, the moon and the stars may be aligned for an appearance this upcoming summer. Waters came out earlier this year saying he has been working on The Wall Tour, tentatively slated to be played in 2010 and 2011. While there is no concrete news that he has signed on to play the farm, he has been the subject of conversation for some time…and many times where there is smoke, there is fire.

We are going to continue covering all-things Bonnaroo here at The Rural Minority, please be sure to sign up to get all the info.

According to the web site Consequence of Sound, here are some educated guesses on who may be heading to Bonnaroo next year (and yes, pumped about the first one, if it’s true):

Bonnaroo (June 10-13; Manchester, TN):

• U2 - It’s beginning to appear more and more that Bono and Co. will be making their way to Manchester.

• Roger Waters performing The Wall - Word on the street is that The Who isn’t happening. Roger Waters seems like a suitable replacement.

• The String Cheese Incident – This year’s Phish.

• Guns N’ Roses – If Axl were to play any music festival this summer (and we know he wants too), then it would have to be Bonnaroo.

• Jay-Z - Might be a bit of a stretch considering he already has a date in Europe that weekend, but Bonnaroo does need some hip-hop and it only makes sense that the world’s biggest festival would tap the world’s biggest rapper. Late night set? Thank goodness there are things such as airplanes.

• Pavement - Exclusivity won’t matter by then. Why not have them?

• Pixies - Keeping the reunion going.

• My Morning Jacket – My Morning Jacket and Bonnaroo belong together.

• Others: The Flaming Lips, Them Crooked Vultures, She & Him, The Whigs, Deftones, The National, Rufus Wainwright, Drive-By Truckers, STS9, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Not much to write more than the pic. Caught up on all my Sunday night shows and watching the U2 show with a bottle of horribly cheap wine. Night y’all.

U2 This Sunday

I think we may be having some kind of viewing party.  Anyone else gonna watch?