I just picked up a copy of Get Lonely by The Mountain Goats yesterday. After hearing about them for years among circles of fans whose opinions I greatly respect, I felt it was time to get my feet wet.

I went into it expecting some acoustic guitars and god-knows-what attitude. What I got - from this album that is - is reflections from a guy who’s as lost as one can be at this point in time. Musically, the entire album is soft-spoken, the kind of music you’d play with your head hung low. The tunes don’t deviate much in feel or energy, and these aren’t exactly songs you’d play at a party. No party I’ve ever thrown, anyways. What this does for the album, though, is what I imagine John Darnielle wanted it to do: allow the words to get through and speak for themselves before you judge the song for its chords.

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Scanning across eMusic’s wares today I stumbled upon an album called Barnyard Blonde by Peach Truck Republic. On a whim I added it to the queue, and I’m experiencing it for the first time as I sit here and write to you. Apparently these guys have been hanging around Fort Worth, TX, since 1993. They’ve got their act together if I’ve ever seen it. They’ve got the live sets down, their studio work could hold it’s own against any jamband or acoustic/folk/blues indie act I’ve listened to, and frankly I can’t find a damn thing I don’t like about the band.

I decided I’d go ahead and share some of their live tunes from Archive.org since they have a penchant for channeling the Dead that is remarkable. If you don’t believe me, listen to the jamming in “Franklin’s Tower.” This is better than some renditions I’ve heard by Phil Lesh & Friends… In addition I’ve included a few studio tracks from Barnyard Blonde. The live show is from Belle Isle Brewery in Oklahoma City, OK, in January 2006. Enjoy the tunes and let me know what you think, I’m really excited about these guys. Oh, and as an added bonus, I’ve got the poster from the show, so now you can add fancy artwork for your iPod.

Get the tunes after the jump, it’s well worth your time.

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Artist: Keller Williams (website)
Album: Dream (eCard)
Label: SCI Fidelity (website)
Release: 02/06/2007

After reading about the concept for KW’s new album, Dream, I was more than a little excited to check out the results. I’m pleased to tell you it’s an absolute success. Basically, Keller assembled a list of every artist he’d love to collaborate with, and the results are pretty impressive. From SCI Fidelity’s website:

A word from Keller:

“welcome to my dream come true. the concept of this recording was to collaborate with my heroes and make a record that i would be proud to crank in my pimped out golf cart when i’m 80.”

You can see Keller and the WMD’S this summer at Summer Camp and Bonnaroo.

Keep reading for some Keller commentary on collaboraters from the album, as well as mp3 samples and video for the first single, “Play This.”

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If you really want to know what I listened to this year, you’d be better off checking out my Last.FM. But as far as this year’s newbies go, here’s my picks. For the smaller artists you may not know, I’ve included online links to purchase their tunes. For the rest, go support a local independent music retailer.

Highlights of the Year (Ones I’ll Enjoy For A Long Time):

Josh Rouse - Subtítulo

A great album start to finish in a style that I liken to a less-playful Jack Johnson. My first reaction was that Subtítulo was perfect for light-hearted summer tunes, but the album has too much substance to just write it off as that. I guess in a phrase it’s a good album for a rainy day. “It Looks Like Love” has the best energy of any track on the album, so that’s my pick to share with you.

MP3: Josh Rouse - It Looks Like Love.

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The Decemberists - The Crane Wife

I’ve never been a big Decemberists fan and I’m just settling into this album, but I can already tell it’s going to be a personal favorite. My personal favorite thus far is the epic keyboard-rocked triptych “The Island,” however I still love the album start to finish as a whole. It’s so cohesive and full of depth of sound and lyrics that it would do the album injustice to listen to it another way. I’d share “The Island” but it’s a long tune and I think you’d be better off checking that out elsewhere, so here’s the slower “Shankhill Butchers,” which I’d guess is one of the less shared songs off of the album.

MP3: The Decemberists - Shankhill Butchers.

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Aaron Schroeder - Southern Heart In Western Skin (CDBaby)

This is the one on my list that most of you won’t recognize. Sadly I’ve failed to write enough about Schroeder’s tunes on here since I received a copy of his album in the mail. The currently-Washington-based 22-year-old has a signature sound that I’ve grown to love, and everyone I’ve shared the album with has agreed. And - if you end up getting any of the albums on this list, get this one - it’s only $7.99 on CDBaby. If you’ve never ordered a CD from CDBaby before, I highly recommend it, they’re the best at customer service of any music retailer online. Anyways, here’s “Rollin’ Tennessee,” I promise you’ll dig it

MP3: Aaron Schroeder - Rollin Tennessee.

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Other Albums I Enjoyed (No Particular Order):

Animal Liberation Orchestra - Fly Between Falls

Umphrey’s McGee - Safety In Numbers

Tally Hall - Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum

Chris Berry & Panjea - Dancemakers

Belle And Sebastian - The Life Pursuit

Family Groove Company - The Charmer

Pepper - No Shame

Trey Anastasio - Bar 17

The Derailers - Soldiers of Love

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Albums I Should Have Checked Out But Haven’t Yet:

Josh Ritter - Animal Years
Medeski Scofield Martin and Wood - Out Louder
Willie Nelson - Songbird
Tortoise and Bonnie “Prince” Billy - The Brave And The Bold
Jenny Lewis and The Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat
Yonder Mountain String Band - Yonder Mountain String Band
Cornmeal - Feet First (CDBaby)
Elsinore - Nothing For Design (CDBaby)
Elton John - The Captain and The Kid
Neil Young - Living With War
Tom Petty - Highway Companion
Islands - Return To The Sea
Gomez - How We Operate
J.J. Cale and Eric Clapton - The Road To Escondido
The Roots - Game Theory
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium
Bonnie “Prince Billy” - The Letting Go
Scissor Sisters - Ta-Dah
The Mountain Goats - Get Lonely
Beck - The Information
The Flaming Lips - At War With The Mystics
Bob Dylan - Modern Times
Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
John Mayer - Continuum
Justin Timberlake - FutureSex / LoveSounds
Oh No! Oh My! - Oh No! Oh My!
Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris - All The Roadrunning

So I’ve been listening to about three songs by this band Santa for at least the last 9 months or so. They’re good. You don’t hear songwriting like this from 20-year olds very often. And when you do, you write up a post. I picked my favorite two tracks from their seven-track EP.

If you’re going to be in Champaign on Monday, the 30th, The Canopy Club in Urbana will be hosting Santa with Doug Robinson. Go. You’ll enjoy yourself. It’s $5 and well worth your time. And I’ll be there, meaning it’s worth bothering with. If you need more convincing listen to these tracks from their recent Santa EP.

Artist: Santa
Album: Santa EP
Year: 2006

02 - But, The River
03 - Is What Sweet You So

And remember: