Vince Staples

Tight rap.  I'd never heard of the dude until just now, but I'm liking what I hear quite a bit. His Spotify bio says that he is part of the group "Cutthroat Boyz," which I've also never heard of, but then goes on to say he's been on Odd Future-related projects as well.  Which would tend to lead me away from him, but I can't deny the fact that his beats and style are solid.

Staples has two albums available on Spotify, 2014's Hell Can Wait and 2015's double album Summertime '06.  Summertime appears to be a biographical album of sorts, kind of like the Good Kid Mad City-type stories of gang-banging and life getting by in the 'hood.  According to Wikipedia, Staples is actually a Crip (a Naughty Nasty Gangsta Crip).  So, make sure to wear the right colors this year at ACL, or at least avoid the Bud Light Lime-a-Rita Stage when Staples is playing.

His most-listened-to song on Spotify is "Blue Suede," from that 2014 EP, with almost 3 million spins.

When that beats kicks in, right the hell on.  That is going to freaking crush at the festival in the fall.  I can just imagine my pearl snaps rattling to that bass.  Unlike many of the other people I've been reviewing, his YouTube count is significantly higher than his Spotify count, which is interesting. Austin watches the 43rd most, just ahead of Ho Chi Min City. Seriously.

"Senorita" from that new album, with just under 2 million listens, is the most popular from the new disc.

2.6 million spins on YouTube though.  Crazy video.  But the beat that literally had me looking up from my work to figure out what was going on was "Blue Suede."  "Loca" is pretty salty as well, and I also dig the hook in "Norf Norf" of "I ain't never ran from nothin' but the police."  Cool, glitchy, bouncing beat and delivery of the rap.  I dig what the guy has going on and may just find him to watch the show in October.

G-Eazy

Rap.  His Spotify bio says he is known as the "James Dean of rap."  Vomit.  His 2014 album These Things Happen has millions of plays per song, with one - "I Mean It" - cracking 38.5 million.  When I first looked at this back in April, he only had 20 million listens for that song.  

That tune is dope. Auto-tune is annoying, but I'm going to let it slide in favor of the chilly beat, good lyrics (about humping your girlfriend!  Sick burn!), and funny video.  His album is kind of up-and-down uneven, going from light R&B garbagio ("Let's Get Lost") to dumb concepts ("Tumblr Girls") to soft-core guitar crap ("Remember You") to pretty good, if overly repetitive, rap ("Lotta That" with A$AP Ferg or "Far Alone" with E-40).  He also has a remix of "I Mean It" with Rick Ross on it that is a fine remake.  "Been On" is also pretty slick.

That R&B track, "Let's Get Lost," is his second most listened-to track on Spotify, with just over 20 million spins.  His voice in there reminds me of Macklemore, that nasal, straight talking delivery.  Not sure if that is good or bad.

That one is OK.  I'd keep listening to him based on "I Mean It," but if "Let's Get Lost" was the single I heard, I'd never go hunt down the album.  Here is "Lotta That," which has almost 14 million spins on Spotify.

Trappy, tight beat.  A$AP Ferg is funny to me.

G-Eazy also has a Spotify Sessions album available on Spotify that is apparently a live show from SXSW 2014. I have to say that listening to it doesn't make me all that terribly excited about seeing him play a live show. Sounds like he uses a live band, which I respect as a cool musical move, but it also exposes the music when he can't rely on sweet production to make his songs sound better than they are.  I'm going to add "I Mean It" to my rap playlist for sure, but I won't go see him in October.

Rankings: The No Ways

I have quite a few other people to add into the rankings I have been working on, but they will all inhabit the middle ground of lukewarm tepid-ness.  However, these are the ones that I know, right now, I would not go watch play.  I'm sure other people out there like them and are pumped about their show, and see that many of them have huge hits and millions of listens.  But no freaking way for me.  These are in descending order of badness.

1. Glass Animals - I cannot deal with the "Gooey" song.
2. Night Drive - new wave Morissey
3. Cherub - electronic jokey pop
4. Kehlani - Parental advisory R&B
5. Mako - EDM badness that thankfully is not coming to the Fest after all.
6. Borns - Mildly interesting electro pop dance.
7. Ryn Weaver - electronic pop blah
8. Boots - angrier electro and rock, but collaborated with Beyonce, so may go a new direction?
9. Charlotte OC - electronic pop blah
10. Meg Myers - so scary!  How do you want MEEEEEEE!?!
11. Deadmau5 - My least favorite of the EDM'ers coming.
12. Nero - like an EDM version of bad early 90's video game music with generic lyrics
13. The Weeknd - hard to believe I liked other bands less than this, but true.
14. Twenty One Pilots - Ugh.
15. Holychild - really bad. "Brat Pop."

Luckily for me, that last band is no longer even on the list for coming to ACL.  I bet my review was the straw that broke the camel's back and the C3 folks just called Holychild up and said "sorry, Brat-poppers, but dulljack said you blow.  You're out."

Daily Lineup Announced (no schedule!)

Lineup-By-Day was announced this morning: http://www.aclfestival.com/lineup-by-day-weekend-one/.  No schedule announced yet, so now you get a chance to go on there and stress about the terrible choices that you might have to make, maybe, depending on what happens.

For example, Friday night has the Foo Fighters, Disclosure, Gary Clark, Jr., and Tame Impala all listed as the top line headliners for that night.  That is my #1, my #2, and my #4, along with the EDM artist I was most likely to want to go see, likely all playing at the same time.  Which is a horrible thing.  The only way this works out well is if Gary Clark, Jr. plays the same stage as the Foo Fighters and I can just work my way up close for both of them. Otherwise, sadness abounds.

In addition to noticing those issues, I also looked at the lineup in general, and they have added a bunch of other bands.  No one exciting (I don't know why, but I keep wishing they would add Blur) but now I've got to go back and listen to the following:

• G Eazy
• Vince Staples
• Fidlar
• Jidenna
• Luis Coronel
• Alina Baraz
• Waters
• Kali Uchis
• The Last Bandoleros
• Disciples of Christ

And I can quit worrying about watching Classixx (good riddance), Mako (likewise), or Holychild (seriously, thank God.  I had them easily ranked as the worst thing coming in October).  Back with more soon!

Weird thing - Kevan commented last night that Classixx is actually going to be coming to weekend one, but when I look at the lineup for weekend one on the website, it looks like this:

In the printed line-up I made a few months ago, Classixx should be found right in between Halsey and In the Valley Below, but it isn't there anymore. Meanwhile, if you go look at the daily line-up released yesterday, Classixx is slated to play on Sunday.  I honestly don't know which one is right, but am not terribly broken up about it if they have dropped out of the Fest.

Rankings: Silver Medal

The next tier are bands that I'd like to go see, but that will definitely lose out when compared to the top tier.  These are all good stuff - some I already knew (Sturgill Simpson, Dwight Yoakam, Drake) but others are brand new music I'd never heard of but I liked a lot (Leon Bridges, Residual Kid, In the Whale).  Schedule should be announced tomorrow!

Sturgill Simpson - classic country redux with an edge
Of Monsters and Men - Love themselves some Crystal Light
Residual Kid - children jamming better than most of the lineup
Run the Jewels - dope rap.  You should go watch the video for "Close Your Eyes." Seriously.  Go do it.
Jose Gonzalez - gentle indie beauty.
Leon Bridges - silky smooth old school soul.  Need some of this in my life.
Father John Misty - skilled lyricist and excellent music.
Houndmouth - Shaggy, fun, jammy rock.
Dwight Yoakam - classic country with a touch of punk sense.
Shakey Graves - local, raw rock
The Maccabees - English rock jams
Bassnectar - bass bass and more bass.  Best of the EDM for me.
Ume - kick ass local grungy rock
Drake - I'll probably go do it, but I'm not terribly excited about it.
Disclosure - Probably the best real music of the electronic people.
Talk in Tongues - really great psych rock and old school sounds.
In the Whale - fuzzed out rock jams.  Girlfriend!
Walk the Moon - Shut Up and Dance with Them.
Leopold & His Fiction - White Stripes-esque rock
Lord Huron - lovely harmonies.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - psych rock tasty-ness.
Rayland Baxter - I don't know why I love him like I do, but something in his simple sound clicks with me.
Chance the Rapper - offbeat rapper
GriZ - surprisingly fun EDM
Sons of Bill - americana and R.E.M. covers.  Good combo.

I let a couple of EDM artists up into this segment, and honestly, I'm starting to come around to the fact that it might be kind of fun to go watch Bassnectar or Disclosure and just have some fun with it.  May be a terrible show, but it also may be a blast.  I could keep complaining about the lack of headliners I like, or I can just go enjoy what is available to us.

Rankings: Top Ten

The daily schedule is to be announced in a few days, which will be its usual brutal day of reckoning and destroy all of my hopes to see everything I want to see.  But until then, I have been trying to organize my thoughts about the best things coming to the festival.  I have tried to do this in a Flickchart method - if the two bands were playing the same slot, who wins the face-off.  In working my way through that, I have come up with my top ten bands that must be seen.

You are free to (incorrectly) disagree with these, but this was a very scientific method of choosing things, so I know I'm not wrong.

1. Foo Fighters.  I know they've been here somewhat recently, but it doesn't matter.  I dig them and I'd pay for tickets just to see them play a show on their own.
2. Gary Clark, Jr.  Local blues rock stud made good, I invite him to melt my face.
3. Hozier.  Blues rock badassery.  The more I listen to his album, the more it clicks with me.
4. Tame Impala.  I was late to this party, but I'm all in now on this psych rock action.
5. The Decemberists.  Dear Mr. Meloy, please play your most recent two albums.
6. Alabama Shakes.  Hoping for better sound than last time, but still looking forward to this killer-voiced blues rock.
7. A$AP Rocky.  I love good rap, that's my f***in' problem!  I know most people would rather see Drake, but he's too R&B-ish for my tastes.
8. Royal Blood.  New-comer I'd never heard of, but this is kick ass grungy rock.
9. Moon Taxi.  I'm heavily influenced by the last time I saw then, but this is real deal rock and roll.
10. TV on the Radio.  Innovative indie rock that ought to light up live.

You can pretty easily tell what I like to hear from that list - other than Rocky, it is all rock-based stuff.  No surprise if you have read the reviews.  We'll get a little further afield as I move down into the next few tranches, but I am clearly ready to hear the rock at the Fest.

First Aid Kit - Stubb's - July 16, 2015

Man, this one is kind of a bummer to write.  I have loved listening to First Aid Kit for the past few years, and even rated their last album as my favorite album of all of last year.  It is gorgeous, full of sweet harmonies and beautiful tunes that make me glad to listen to music. Truly lovely.

I missed out on their show last year at Fun Fun Fun Fest, and so when their concert was announced for Stubb's a few months ago, I jumped right on an order of tickets for the wife and me.  Super psyched about the show.  

However, in the end, the show was kind of boring.  I didn't feel like they really put on a show, they just stood still and played their instruments and sang their songs.  It was pretty, as usual, but it stayed pretty true to exactly what their albums sound like, without much expansion or interpretation. Obviously, this hang up is mine.

Unfortunately for them, one issue was not really their fault.  The speaker at the middle of the crowd, right next to the soundstage, wasn't turned on.  The techs poked at it and tried to figure something out, but they never got it going and so the entire show was pretty quiet in the middle of the crowd. I'm sure it was even worse at the back of the show.  

But even more so than the sound issue, I just never felt like they got things exciting or interesting. I don't know what I expected, they're a band based on making pretty harmonies, not exploding pyrotechnics or killer guitar riffs, but the whole show just seemed uninspired. About the most exciting moment came when they played Sabbath's War Pigs, which was an interesting cover to choose, and was kind of rocking:

Not this show, so this must be part of their show every time.  The slight headbanging there, that was about as good as it got for them as far as motion goes on stage.  Maybe if this had been an indoor show with seating, the vibe would have been just right, but in the outdoor setting with a really big crowd, this seemed like a miss to me.

Really Quick Hits: Black Eyed Peas and Beck

I've obviously been neglecting the other new releases that have come out in the past two months or so, as I have waded my way through the ACL line-up.  But there are two new singles out that I just had to note before I go back to listen to the new music released by the ACL folks since I started (full Leon Bridges, Brandon Flowers, etc.).

First, check this video and song from the crate-digging Black Eyed Peas.  I can't say that I've ever been a huge fan of their music, but this nostalgia trip into the great rap of yesterday is so sweet.

Black Sheep!  Das EFX!  Tribe Called Quest!  Digible freaking Planets!  And, of course, bigger names like Public Enemy, Wu Tang, and NWA.  Awesome stuff.

Second, Beck's "Dreams."  No real video here, but Beck continues to amaze me.  He can do an acoustic-driven album that snags the Grammy for album of the year, and then he can go all Adam Levine and fire up a pop nugget summer jam like this.

I swear, the guy must have made a bet with someone that he could turn his ship 180 degrees and still sell records.  The breakdown in the middle sounds like an old Chemical Brothers drum bit, but the rest of the song sounds like a fresh Foster the People song.  If I could be any musical artist, I think it would be Beck.

2015 reviews are done!

The dishes are done, man!  Made my way through the entire line-up for the First Weekend, and it feels glorious.  Next steps - I'm going to get to work on ordering the bands into lists, listening to new music released by these guys in the past two months, and thinking about other cool and hopefully useful things to write up about how to survive the 'fest.  And I'm also going to finally listen to some of the other music I have been saving into a huge queue of things I have been wanting to hear but haven't had time while listening to all of these groups.  Looking at you, new Mumford & Sons.

TV on the Radio

Indie rock innovators.  Their most recent album, Seeds, kicks ass.  I reviewed it last year after it came out and liked it a lot.  Ever since then, when I hear "Happy Idiot" on the radio, I can't help myself from turning it up and jamming it out.

Racer Steven and his car, Sky Blue.  Yes, that is Pee Wee Herman.  Love the lyrics and think the entire tune is a jam.  Driving, funky, and somehow introspective at the same time. A little New Wave-ish on the guitar.  Really great sound.  However, this is only their second most listened-to track on Spotify (11.2 million).  Songs from that new album make up 7 of their top ten, so it looks like the rest of the world agrees that it is their best work to date.  From that new album, I also dig "Careful You," "Seeds," and "Trouble."

The most listened-to track is "Wolf Like Me," from 2006's Return to Cookie Mountain, with almost 13 million jams.

Another good track.  This album was named Spin's top album of 2006, and I think parts of it are the best thing other than Seeds.  One member of the band, Dave Sitek, is frequently noted as working with other folks on their albums/singles, so I think he must have a good ear for what works in music.

2008's album Dear Science was named top album of 2008 by Rolling Stone, Spin, and a bunch of other publications.  I bought it, based on those reviews, but I've never connected with it despite multiple listens.  The most listened-to track from that album on Spotify, the only one to crack the band's top ten, is "DLZ," with 8.4 million listens.

This song was apparently featured on Breaking Bad, which may be the reason for the increased popularity.  It is different from the rest of the album, a little more slinky and ominous.  I think my beef with the album is that it starts out strong - "Halfway Home," "Crying," and "Dancing Choose" are good rocking tunes - but then it devolves into less interesting, offbeat things like "Stork & Owl" or "Heroic Dose."  The album is good, not sure if it is best album of the year good, and I think that Seeds is quite a bit more relate-able and accessible.  
I've listened through their other albums as well (2011's Nine Types of Light, 2004's Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, 2004's New Health Rock, and 2003's Young Liars) and I just don't click with any of it nearly so well as on the new album.  Which seems like a good thing - a band that gets better over time seems like the right trajectory.  I just hope they lean heavy on the new album when they come through town.

I'm excited to see them play live - even though I still think we're missing a true headliner or two, this band ought to put on a great show worthy of a nice big audience.

Rhiannon Giddens

Soulful voice walking a thin line between bluegrass and blues.  I've looked at her music twice before, once with the New Basement Tapes supergroup, and then for the release of her first solo album.  That album, 2015's Tomorrow is my Turn, is really nice.  And mostly covers.  Her voice is velvety smooth like warm honey, I love it.  

Her most popular and most listened-to track on Spotify is a cover of "Forever Young" that was apparently used for NBC's show Parenthood.  A duet with Sam Beam of Iron & Wine, it clocks in at 879k listens.

I bet eight million tears were shed when that song played over some special montage of the ending of that show.  I watched the first few seasons and then just got exhausted by the soap opera aspects of it and gave up.  My wife still chastises me for not sticking it out.  If she reads this review and hears that song, she'll likely bawl all over again.  Sweet version of the song though.

From that new album, she's got three tracks that crack six-figure listens.  The most popular of those is "Don't Let it Trouble Your Mind," with 334k.

Live version, but check it out.  Sultry and powerful (and according to the comments beforehand, a Dolly Parton song).  Men who don't step right, you can step right on off.  Dolly and Rhiannon will tell you what's up.  My favorite of those top three songs off the new album is called "Shake Sugaree," and it has just over 150k listens.

A little mountain music, baby.  A million years ago, my sister made me a ton of tapes for the car, and one of them was a Taj Mahal mixtape, which is the only recollection I have of this song, but I dig it. "everything I got is done in pawn" is a good lyric.  If you want to trip down a rabbit hole into the meaning of that song, be my guest: philblank.net/Shake%20Shoccoree.doc

Giddens got her name from a book called Mabinogion, "the Welsh mythological epic," which is way cooler than what I thought, which is that her mom liked Fleetwood Mac.  Prior to this solo career, she was the singer for the Grammy-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops.  I've never heard them before, but I might give them a shot once this project is over.  In addition to her album, she also has an album on Spotify called "All the Pretty Horses," which is kind of a world music pastiche of Celtic sounds with occasional French or unidentified languages thrown in.  I actually enjoyed hearing it today.

As for my final thought, I honestly have enjoyed listening to her new album.  In general terms, this is kind of like the Norah Jones albums a few years ago, I can fully appreciate the fact that this is really well-done and beautiful music, but it doesn't mean that I'm going to go back and listen to it again and again.  I likely won't search out her show at the festival, but I'm not ruling it out either.

Nate Ruess

Lead singer from Fun., doing more anthemic pop music without his bandmates.  I had, in general terms, written off Fun. as lame after hearing their big hits 80 million times a few years back, but their set at ACL a few years ago was actually pretty damn fun.  High energy and a blast to see live. My favorite memory of the show was when they started playing "You Can't Always Get What You Want," and the majority of the crowd around me (likely none over 30) had zero clue what was going on.  The young lady next to me said something to her friend about "stupid new songs," which made me giggle.  And then last year, we had Bleachers at ACL, side project of the guitarist for Fun., which was also a surprisingly good show.  So I'd hate to bet against this guy's show, it ought to be just as good as those, but I can't say that his solo album is doing it for me.

That solo album, Grand Romantic, was release on June 16, 2015, with one single coming out earlier and getting some good play on the radio.  "Nothing Without Love," has just over 18 million plays on Spotify, so it is getting a good bit of play.

His voice is so different, but its a good thing.  You definitely don't mistake him for someone else when he is singing.  This one starts out bare bones, and then kicks in to a massive synth-and-kick-drum-driven, angels-choir-in-the-background blast of bombast.  Also adds in a good "Na Na Na, Na Na Na" section in the middle to get his festival crowds pumped up to sing along with.  It is a fine song, but its nothing anywhere near to the instant perfection of "We Are Young" or even the general goodness of "Some Nights" or "Carry On."  

His second and third most listened-to songs are similar expansive pop rock-outs, "Great Big Storm" and "AhHa," but the more interesting thing on this album to me is his collaboration with Beck, called "What This World is Coming To," which comes in at fourth place on Spotify with 766k listens.

I'd love to say that they had created a track that could have felt at home on Beck's Morning Phase, but unfortunately, this starts off sounding promising, and then turns more into an Eagles-esque soft-rocker with solid harmonies.

You may also recall the guy from other people's hits, like Pink's "Just Give Me a Reason," or Eminem's "Headlights."  But more than likely, you remember him from Fun.  Which still don't hold a candle to his work with Fun.  I doubt I'll go over and see him, although I may end up regretting skipping his show if it is anything like Fun. or Bleachers.

Shakey Graves

Solid, shambling, raw rock.  I reviewed his debut album a few months ago, and honestly I did a pretty through job of discussing him back then.  If you aren't into clicking on old links, know this:

• Austin High Maroon (like fellow ACL'er Gary Clark Jr.  Loyal Forever, baby!).
• His stage name came from a campout with friends when a drunk/high dude and muttered something like "spooky wagons." The guys on the campout then made their own camp scary names, and this guy's was Shakey Graves.
• You should watch him play everything by himself

Simple and tight, but raw and feral.  His debut album (And The War Came) got positive reviews and looks to have gotten some good listening on Spotify as well, with several songs over a million listens. Strangely enough, Austin is only his second most popular town on YouTube, right behind Denver. I wonder why?  He also had a major spike in viewers on May 1 of this year, which is interesting - from about 4.3k a day to 8.3k for that day.  Must have been featured somewhere for something, but the only thing I find online is that he was supposed to play a show in Richmond that night but had to cancel because of laryngitis. Maybe everyone had a YouTube watch party that night to make up for the missed show.

His most popular track, by far, is "Dearly Departed" with almost 10 million listens.  Next closest is back at 1.3 million.

This music is fun rock and roll, that just skirts my sweet spot.  I think a full band would help him flesh out the songs a bit more to really capture the fun of these songs.  A tight bass line, someone really playing the drums instead of just kick and tambourine, and I think these could be even better. That being said, I still dig what he's doing here and will almost definitely go see him jam out in October.

Ben Howard

Lovely acoustic, folksy harmonies.  We are up there on the 6th line of the poster, this is the 18th top performer on the poster, so he must be significantly larger than I thought.  Before the last two days, this guy had vexed me, as people I respect have told me that they love him, and it is damn pretty stuff, but I can't say it has ever stuck with me after I have tried it out in the past.  However, after concerted effort and repeat listening, I'll say that his music is enjoyable and less milquetoast than I recalled.

English guy, who apparently is a big surfer and moved to the "surf capital of the U.K." before dropping out of University to pursue his musical career.  He has jammed a number of festivals, and was here for ACL in 2012.  Two full albums, 2011's Every Kingdom and 2014's I Forget Where We Were.  Four of his top Five songs are from Every Kingdom, and even the songs from that album that don't make the top five are significantly more listened-to than his new album, which would seem to show that the new album wasn't as popular with the people.

His most listened-to song is only 4th place in terms of popularity on his Spotify page, but with over 50 million listens, its pretty damn popular.  "Keep Your Head Up," from Every Kingdom.

"Keep your head up!  Keep your heart strong!"  Nice song, nice sentiment, but the music and vocals remind me of David Gray or something similar played on adult alternative radio all day.  He's also got "Only Love" on this same album, which I think puts this guy into perspective for me.  He is kind of like a English surf-dude Bob Marley who wants to empower us to love one another and then just chill on the beach. That being said, I want to do that sweet homemade slip n' slide!  Hell yes!  Better to me, also from that same album, is "Old Pine," the most popular currently, but only with 37.9 million listens.

That song is a beaut.  For the newer album, the most popular track right now is the album opener, "Small Things," but "I Forget Where We Were" is the most listened-to, with 22.5 million jams.  Here is that title track to his most recent album:

Interesting video, and fine song.  I like it all well enough, I just can't imagine it being a huge festival show other than a mid-afternoon chill set to sit down and drink beer to.  Maybe I'll go check it out and be pleasantly surprised, or maybe I'll just have a pleasant time until the next show.

Ryn Weaver

Pop.  She has one large hit (the cringingly titled "OctaHate") that was apparently a collaboration with Charlie XCX, the Passion Pit singer, someone or something called Cashmere Cat, and Benny Blanco, which helped her fire up over 13.7 million listens for that track.

Simple, snappy beat that turns into a pretty complex mix of sounds under her lyrics.  Not my thing. Her second most listened-to track is called "Promises" and has 2.3 million spins on Spotify.

Yeah, that is fine as far as it goes, but I'll never go back and try to hear any of these songs again. Maybe because I saw that she had collaborated with Passion Pit before, but this reminds me of their music.  Pretty easy to cut her off of my must-see list.

Milo Greene

Indie pop music, where their first album is actually pretty good, but the new album misses the mark for me.  Two albums, 2012's Milo Greene and 2015's Control.  The most popular track (by a big chunk, with over 7.5 million listens on Spotify) is "1957" from that debut album.

Good driving beat and nice harmonies, reminds me of Monsters and Men.  The second most listened-to track is also off of that debut album, and is called "Silent Way."

4.2 million listens.  More harmonies, some nice banjo plucking.  "When we're older, can I still come over?"  I like it.  But then, off of the second album, the most popular song is "White Lies," with just over 2.6 million spins.

More of a generic 80's synth thing going on, and not especially interesting to me.  Also sounds kind of like Sarah McLachlan trying to go synth pop.  I'd rather that they had just kept going with the pretty, old-school harmonics and left the synth pop to the ex-Disney starlets.  Some of the tunes on the new album aren't as off-putting to me, but they still aren't as good as the debut.  I doubt I'll check these guys out, but we'll see how the schedule plays out.

Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis - The Broken Spoke - July 11, 2015

I've been a fan of Bruce Robison since his second album was released just after I got out of college. The Americana radio station in Dallas, KHYI, kept his song "Wrapped" om heavy rotation for a while, and it ended up becoming about the closest thing that my girlfriend-now-wife had to a "song." 

Which is kind of funny, since the song is actually about trying to get rid of a chick, but then when she comes back around you just can't help yourself and you are stuck back in her clutches all over again. "Thought I was doing fine, 'bout to get you off my mind, I see your face and then I'm wrapped around your pretty little finger again."  Anyway, still love the song.  It was later covered by King George Strait and turned into a number 1 country hit. Robison also wrote the Dixie Chick's hit "Travellin' Soldier" and the Faith Hill/Tim McGraw hit "Angry All the Time," which is amazing when Bruce and Kelly do it.

His wife, Kelly Willis, was a Nashville darling for all of hot minute, left her big fancy label, and I found out about her with What I Deserve (1999), which is a hell of a good album of country/alt-country tunes.  It also features "Wrapped," but the bigger hits were "What I Deserve" or "Fading Fast."  Here is "Not Forgotten You"

Her voice is so great.  A little twang, but still strong and real and not kitschy at all.  After a couple other solo albums, she and Bruce started making their albums together, and they have been fun music.

Even better was their fun music at the Broken Spoke.  The Spoke itself hasn't changed discernibly since my high school days.  Maybe some things inside of there are different, but the floor is still crap, the tables and chairs are still a million years old, and the ceiling tiles look like a advertisement for black mold.  We walked in to the joint in time to see then giving country dancing lessons, from a hilariously acerbic instructor, but it wasn't long before Bruce took the stage.  He is gigantic - I introduced myself to him one time after a show at Gruene Hall and he towered over me - and so he really didn't fit on the stage at the Spoke.  He played a handful of tunes with his band, then Kelly came out to join him.  They did a great job of playing classic covers, their solo originals, and their duo tunes.  Really well done show.  And on top of that fun, the Spoke wasn't very crowded at all, so we got great seats just to the side of the stage and then were able to dance around on the dance floor right in front of the band.  I mean, arms-length away as I'm shuffling along with the wife.  Pretty excellent night.

Rayland Baxter

Great music.  Never heard of his before just now, but he is good bluesy rock and alt-country stuff. One album from 2012, Feathers and Fishhooks, a 2013 EP, and then two 2015 singles.  The full album has the alt-country flavor, the EP is more blues rock sounding, and the new tunes are a little more jammy sounding.  His most popular track is "Bad Things," from that 2013 EP, with 447k listens.

Sounds like something to soundtrack a Justified episode or something dark and terrible happening on True Detective.  Great tune.  My other favorite comes from the 2012 album, and happens to be his second-most listened-to track, called "Olivia."

Nice love song.  No studio version available, but that version is a good one anyway.  The album opener, "The Mtn Song" is also a keeper, as is "Hoot Owl" a countrified waltz that fits like a worn glove.  This isn't knock-out, must-hear music, but I like it quite a bit.  I kept listening to the album and EP about 2 days longer than for most people I've been hearing, so it definitely connected somewhere with me.  Maybe I'll go see what this guy sounds like live.

Dwight Yoakam

Classic country honky-tonk with a touch of punk rock.  As noted in my recent review of his new album, I wasn't listening to country music during Yoakam's early success, but latched on with his late 80's album Just Lookin' For a Hit.  My main reason for loving that album was the duet with Buck Owens on "Streets of Bakersfield," which was a frequent dance tune used at camp rodeo dances in my childhood.

That guitar solo at the start and tejano beat, its a thing of beauty.  "Hey you don't know me but you don't like me, say you care less how I feel."  Great tune.  That 1989 greatest hits album came along after only three albums (Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Hillbilly Deluxe, and Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room).  Pretty bold to fire out a hits album after only three albums in three years.  After that, he has two unremarkable albums until 1993's blockbuster This Time.  If you grew up in Texas, you remember seeing this album cover in your friend's car or dorm room at some point.  The big hit off of that album, which clocks in at third most-listened-to on Spotify, is "Fast as You," with 1.7 million listens.

That video is beautiful.  I bet country music videos from the early 90's would all be pretty amazingly bad.  I need to go on a binge watch.  Per YouTube, Yoakam's most popular cities are, no big surprise, Houston and Dallas.  Austin somehow clocks in at 30, behind such country music strongholds as Athens, Paris, Calgary, and Istanbul.  Actually, lots of Canadian cities in that top 30.  Wonder why?  Yoakam is from Tennessee and Ohio.  Weird.

Yoakam's most listened-to song is a kick ass tune, "Guitars, Cadillacs," with over 2.6 million listens on Spotify.

Wait, did that marquee just show that Yoakam shared a bill with the Violent Femmes?  That is amazing.  And yet another sweet video.  According to Wikipedia, his list of accolades is long, including:

• "more than 30 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts"
• "sold more than 25 million records"
• "5 Billboard #1 Albums, 12 Gold Albums, and 9 Platinum Albums, including the Triple Platinum This Time."
• "Honky Tonk Man" was the first country music video ever played on MTV.
• 2012's Three Pears "was named on annual best of lists by NPR, Rolling Stone, American Songwriter, AOL's The Boot, Entertainment Weekly, The Village Voice, and Rhapsody, and has been included in more critic's "best of 2012" lists than any other artist in the country genre."
• 3 Grammy Awards.

He is frequently credited with bringing country music to the rock and roll mainstream, as he left Nashville to move to L.A. and played shows at venues that would normally hold rock or punk shows. While I didn't go back and listen to all 25 albums offered by Spotify, I did jam several of the ones I didn't know.  The new album (Second Hand Heart) is good.  The greatest hits compilation released just before that (21st Century Hits" Best of 2000 - 2012) is not especially good.  I can dig 3 Pears.  My hope would be that the set is heavy on the classics, and a look at his most recent show has 6 songs from the new album out of 22 songs played, and the majority of those other tracks were his big hits.  Sounds awesome.

The Decemberists

Nerdy nerd awesome indie.  I loved their 2011 album The King is Dead, and their most recent disc (What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World) is definitely in the running for my favorite album of 2015 so far.  Here is my review of that album from a few months ago.  I shouldn't cannibalize my prior writing, but I just have to note that the things I said about that new album are still totally true. "Make You Better," "Lake Song," and "12/17/12" are still fantastic.

Their most listened-to track on Spotify is "Don't Carry It All," from The King is Dead.  Kick ass harmonica and fiddle-backed march of empowerment.  With over 5.8 listens, it beats out "Make You Better" by over a million listens.

"Summer's freckled knees."  Great image.  Then the next track on that 2011 album, "Calamity Song," is a fantastic R.E.M. homage tune about the end times.  "Down by the Water" still gets radio play and is excellent (and was nominated for a Grammy).  Also love "This is Why We Fight."  "Rise to Me" has this ragged feeling that makes me want to smoke a pipe on the front porch of a general store in the Appalachians.  "Rox in the Box" sounds like a river chantey sung to get goods down the mighty Mississippi to be sold in New Orleans.  "January Hymn" is just damn pretty.  The whole disc is a really cool thing, heavy on alt-country and R.E.M. flavor but with intricate lyrics that reward multiple listens.  It all feels time-worn although I find it original.  Love Colin Meloy's voice and the harmonies they use as well.

Then, venturing out of those two most recent albums, I'm out of my depth.  This is what I remember about this band, The Crane Wife (2006), Picaresque (2005), and Her Majesty The Decemberists (2003).  I have tried listening to these albums and just have never been able to make them stick. They also have 2009's Hazards of Love and 2002's Castaways and Cutouts out there, but I had never even given those a shot in the first place.  With a concerted effort over the past few days to carefully listen to these albums now, I now find them better than I remember.  I think those two recent albums change my hearing of the older tunes to find them better.

Of those older albums, I think 2002's Castaways and Cutouts is my favorite.  More like the new music, with country flavor and more accessible songwriting.  One of my favorites, California One:

The Hazards of Love is apparently a rock opera.  According to Wikipedia, it was originally intended to be a staged musical, but that didn't work out.  But even without a full on musical, "The Hazards of Love tells the tale of a woman named Margaret; her shape-shifting lover, William; his fey forest queen mother; and a cold-blooded, lascivious rake, who recounts with spine-chilling ease how he came "to be living so easy and free" in "The Rake's Song"."  Mmmmkay.  Here is "The Rake's Song," you be the judge.

Marriage is totally cool until the womb starts "spilling" out babies.  And then he began to "divest" the burden of the kids once the mom dies in childbirth.  Dang, Mr. Rake.  You're a hard-core little kid murderer.  Poor Charlotte, Isaiah, and Dawn.  And then Margaret gets kidnapped (rudely, to boot), before the Queen (who is the forest, apparently) steps in (My Brightest Diamond singer at the mic, which is great) and gives her support for kidnapping old Marge.  So, the album is actually pretty entertaining - the story is a fun one to listen along with - but you really have to pay attention to the entire thing.  Not the kind of music you can really appreciate while doing other things.

The Crane Wife was voted the 2006 favorite album of the year for NPR listeners to All Songs Considered. Other than the two new albums, it is the only older album with a song in the band's top ten most popular songs on Spotify, the confusingly titled opening song "The Crane Wife 3."

Not sure I agree that this should be the top album of any given year, but 2006 may have sucked, I can't recall.  Here is one of the "hits" from the Picaresque album, "16 Military Wives."

And finally, one of the earliest songs available on Spotify is the "Apology Song" available on their 2002 Five Songs EP.  Cracks me up, it is literally an apology to Stephen for getting his bike stolen.

Awesome.  I bet I'll go check them out at the Festival.  I'd dig seeing them play the new songs live.

Also, in case you just can't get enough, here is a Tiny Desk Concert, which is pretty tight.

Lord Huron

Beautiful indie.  This band is primarily a guy named Ben Schneider, who named the band after Lake Huron in Michigan.  He's added in band members over the years, most of whom are apparently childhood friends.  And over the course of a few EPs and two albums, he creates a wonderful sounding indie folk that hasn't gotten old for me after repeated listens.

The most recent album, 2015's Strange Trails, has a more alt-country feel than his debut album, 2012's Lonesome Dreams.  But both evoke the sweet harmonic beauty of Beck's recent Grammy winner and similarly chilled folk music.  The album opener from Lonesome Dreams is the band's most listened-to track on Spotify and also their most popular.  It exemplifies this beauty I'm talking about perfectly.  "Ends of the Earth"

9.4 million listens.  Almost 3 million YouTube views.  Grand harmonies are an easy hook for me, and this one layers them on thick.  Great tune.  "I Will Be Back One Day," also on that first album, sounds like a Fleet Foxes song. And the second song on that album is the second-most-listened-to song on Spotify, clocking in at 6.5 million.  "Time to Run."

Driving and urgent, but still soft-focus and harmony-filled, its another great tune.  And a strange spaghetti Western video.  As for Strange Trails, the voice on this album sometimes reminds me of Jackson Browne.  The most jammed on that new album is "Fool for Love," with 3.8 million listens.

Another snappy tune, this one evoking some 50's rock and roll.  That whole new album is just great for me, with fantastic lyrics.  I hear themes of loss and wandering and wishful thinking about what could have been.  I do wish that "Until the Night Turns" didn't evoke the Dire Straits' "Walk of Life," but otherwise, I love the stories in these tracks.

Oh, and an NPR Tiny Desk concert.  Love these things.

"She Lit a Fire," "Time to Run," "Lonesome Dreams," "Ends of the Earth."  I have to say that the sound isn't great on these, the "Ends of the Earth" lonesome howls sound tinny and strained, but its still a cool mini-show.  I like this music a lot, and am bummed out that I missed a show a few weeks ago with Leon Bridges opening.  That would have been really cool.  Hope to see him do his thing in October.

Waxahatchee

Fuzzy lo-fi indie tunes.  I reviewed her most recent album a few months ago, and liked it a good bit. That album, Ivy Tripp, came out in early 2015 and won some critical praise.  This is a gal from Alabama named Katie Crutchfield.  The video I used back then to a song is the third-most-listened-to track for her, and I like it so much that I'm going back there again.  This is "Under a Rock," which has 363k spins.

Her most popular track is called "La Loose," but her most listened to track is called "Air," with 763k listens on Spotify.

Heavy does of 90's nostalgia for me on these tunes.  I like it.  And her album just before that, 2013's Cerulean Salt, was also a good groove of alt-rock crunch and fuzz.  However, all of her top ten on Spotify is now taken up with the Ivy Tripp songs.  Her YouTube artists insights page has an unexplained spike in views - 11,995 on April 2.  Before and after that, she is more in the 1k to 3k a day range.  Weird.  Austin is her #16 city, right in between Vienna and Montreal.  Her top song on YouTube is from her first album, American Weekend (2012), called "Be Good."

That first album is more like this, tinny in sound, extremely home-made vibe.  Not nearly as good as the later two albums.  I'd go check her out if the schedule aligns the right way.

Vance Joy

Very likeable pop indie.  Heavy on the strumming guitar and pretty spare arrangements, along with a solid voice.  His initial single/hit blew up in a huge way, and as of now has more than 236 million listens on Spotify.  "Riptide"

Nothing wrong with enjoying some uke.  For some reason, he put his law degree on hold to go and dominate the world with that single.  Can't understand who would choose that over law.  Weird.  Of note, I wrote the first portion of this review before I left to go on vacation for a week, and since then, the play count on Spotify for "Riptide" is now up to 247 million.  11 million more listens in two weeks! Pretty awesome.

His second most-listened to track is called "Mess is Mine," with more than 48.2 million spins. I've heard it somewhere before, not sure if the radio or what, but it rings a bell.  Got a Mumford and Phillip Phillips vibe.

Weird video.  Poor polar bear, he should go back to his iceberg.  Driving a gypsy cab looks like a terrible plan for him.  This music is good.  Not sure I'll prioritize Joy over others on the schedule, but he'd probably be nice to go see.

Ruen Brothers

Melodramatic indie rockabilly?  Somewhat hard to categorize.  The singer brings to mind a young Roy Orbison.  The music under him is twangy jangle.  They've only got one EP available on Spotify (2015's Point Dume), so I've given those four songs a good listen.  One of those four, "Summer Sun," is significantly more listened-to than the rest of their tracks, with just under 89k.

Evokes old rock, maybe late 50's or early 60's.  Not sure what I think about, even after 6 or so listens. Not sure why it is so confounding.  Another track that is not on their EP, but has over 100k views on YouTube, is called "Aces."

Same sound, but a little more rockin' and a little less melodramatics.  YouTube says this one came out in 2013, and the comments on YouTube make it sound like people are madly in love with these two brothers.  Spotify has no bio on them.  The ACL website only links to the Summer Sun video, with no bio.  No Wikipedia presence.  So I'm left looking at their own website, which mentions the following:

• Rick Rubin produced their EP.
• They name check Roy Orbison themselves, so I'm not terribly off the mark.
• "Henry and Rupert adopted a rather unconventional writing process, testing demos by syncing them to trailers of Quentin Tarantino flicks."  WTF does that even mean?  Can I watch YouTube videos of this?  Apparently not, but I'd like to.
• The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith apparently plays the drums on this EP.

Yeah, the more I listen the more interested I am.  Not fully on board yet, but curious enough to maybe go check them out and see the live show.

Night Drive

Their website description is kind of funny, in that it says "Night Drive is not a band. It's a mission. 2 secret agents sent out to recalibrate the future of electro pop."  And yet, when I listen to the music, I immediately think of 80's new wave music.  Sounds like they are going back to get to the future.  It is all electronic, but not the bass heavy EDM stuff dominating the electronic scene right now.

Their offerings on Spotify consist of a handful of original songs, and then about 672 remixes of those songs, so after listening through all 25 tracks available on Spotify, I feel like I have heard the same 5 songs a million times.  They have one EP, 2013's Position I, and then a handful of singles.  The most listened-to track on Spotify (117k listens) is called "After Dark."

According to a Red Bull bio on these guys, their origin story is more than a little bit dark and creepy. "The Austin/Houston based duo of Rodney Connell and Brandon Duhon began after a young woman they were both unknowingly dating at the same time was killed in a car crash. The tragic event bonded the two men, and shortly afterwards they began a musical collaboration."  One way to bring something good out of tragedy, I guess.  I wish they could have recorded that first interaction for a supremely awkward short film.

They have released a new track for 2015, called "Easy to Lie," which only has 11,032 listens on Spotify as of now.

Is that you, Morrissey?  Even though this type of music is not normally what I aim for in life, these songs are actually pretty catchy little 80's grooves.

The Wind and the Wave

Austin folky pop rock duo leaning hard on covers.  Their most recent album, 2015's Covers One, is, not surprisingly, a collection of covers.  Pretty fun collection of songs, from the Orange is the New Black theme "You've Got Time," to R. Kelly's "Ignition (Remix)," to Stevie Nicks' "Edge of Seventeen," (that "White Winged Dove singing oooh, oooh, said oooh" song) and back around to a bluegrass-tastic Simple Minds' "Don't You Forget About Me." "Ignition" made me grin - its a boss song in the first place, but having the cutesy little lady voice singing those lyrics is funny.  Here is a little Cindy Lauper:

But before that album of covers, they put out an album (From the Wreckage) of fun sounding country-tinged pop rock heavy on exceedingly long song titles.  Their shortest song title is also their most listened-to song on Spotify, "With Your Two Hands," clocking in at 1.3 million listens.

Not the studio version, but something called "The Marfa Takes."  Because you're not a legit Austin band unless you have gone to Marfa and made music in an old Airstream.  The song is damn good, and that version is pretty excellent as well.  I like the whole album, the singer's voice is lovely and the backing music is solidly well-done stuff.  They seem like they are having fun in making this music, not taking it so seriously that they've lost the joy of jamming out.  We'll see how the schedule pans out, but I'd go watch them.

Sylvan Esso

Electro-folk?  Not sure how to categorize this, but its electronic tunes with a nice voice over the top singing a kind of halting, soft poetry.  In the Postal Service vein of electronic.  One album, 2014's Sylvan Esso, with one large hit (19.9 million spins) for "Coffee"

Tight song.  Such a light touch, but it draws me right on in.  Lyrics are inscrutable, but who doesn't want to boogie to someone saying "Get up, Get down" over and over?  The second most-listened to song on Spotify is from that same album, and is called "Hey Mami"

Just over 8.1 million listens.  Thought it said Hey Miami for the first few times I looked at that song title, but they are obviously saying "Hey Mami" over and over again in the song. Nothing much to the song, just some hand claps, background singers, and the sounds of a street, until an electronic wobbling thump comes along to bounce along under the melody.

I have run through the album and some remixes a few times, and it is enjoyable stuff.  Not really up my alley, so I doubt I'll seek it out at the festival, but it has been nice music to have playing underneath my work for a day.

Kings of Harmony +1.

Assuming this is gospel.  Unfortunately, the ACL website provides zero guidance about who this is, and Spotify has multiple groups using this name.  Listed in order as they are shown on Spotify:

• Kings of Harmony of Bristol, PA.  Top Hit: "Jesus Can Do," with less than 1,000 listens.  A laid back jam that sounds like slowed down Jimmie Vaughan.
• Carolina Kings of Harmony.  Top Hit: "I'm Going to Live up in Glory," also less that 1,000 listens.  Old school organ and an echoing baritone.  Classic sound.
• Mighty Kings of Harmony.  Top Hit: "Touch Me Lord," with less than 1,000 listens.  Big pile of dudes making harmony over some synths and drums.
• Original Kings of Harmony.  Top Hit: " So Glad," hey guess what?  Less than 1,000 listens. Kind of an awesome song.  Scratchy million-year-old recording with no instruments, straight scat-n-bop from the backup singers.
• Kings of Harmony.  Only Song on Spotify: "Shine on Me," with, surprisingly, less than 1,000 listens.  The song appears on Time Records' The Greatest Spirituals Volume 2.  Acapella action.
• Kings of Harmony Brass Band.  Only Song on Spotify: a pretty kick ass version of "When the Saints Go Marching In."  I know you won't believe me, but less than 1,000 listens.
• Kings of Harmony Voices.  Top Hit: "My Soul Longs for Peace and Joy," with (shocker!) less than a thousand spins.  More of a straight choral acapella arrangement, less gospel-y.
• Kings of Harmony Quartette.  Top Hit: "Trees Are Bending," with less than 1,000 jams. Another track that sounds a million years old, recorded off of a scratchy record, and reminds me of O' Brother Where Art Thou?
• Lopez & Hamilton's Kings of Harmony Orchestra.  Top Hit: "Afganastan" (yes, literally spelled that way).  Finger wagging prohibition-era dance music.
• Rizzy Kings of Harmony.  Only Song on Spotify: "Come on and Party."  Less than 1,000 listens, and in a break from the others in this list, this is a dance tune, like a 2015-released beat made to jam out to with your best friends at Cancun.  Weird.

So, turning to YouTube, I think I found it.  You are supposed to call them "Kings of Harmony Plus One."  If you are prone to vomiting if you watch video shot by someone with the shakes, do not watch this video.

Nice.  585 views.  They might rethink the band name so that its no so confusing when they blow up, but I'm sure they'll rock out the Sunday morning crowd in October.  Hella cool overalls.  In case you are hungry for more:

318 views.  They broke out the suits for that one.