Josh Ritter's Best of 2006

The most interesting year-end lists, I believe, come from the artists themselves. It's always seemed like a revelation to learn what the musicians I admire listen to, and brings up the strange connection between making music and knowing music. Josh Ritter, as you probably know, is a favorite of mine-- I'm happy to share with you his 2006 Artist Discoveries:

The National, "Alligator"

This may have come out in 2005, but we spent all of 2006 in the van listening to it. Great album and great words.

Dawn Landes, "Fireproof"

Dawn's great - saw her at a UK festival this summer and she blew my mind. This is an album she made herself.

Guillemots, "From the Cliffs"

This was the soundtrack to my drive to and from my brother's wedding in the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. The melodies are almost supernatural.

The Raconteurs, "Broken Boy Soldiers"

I love this record because it feels so tip of the tongue. Less a finished polished thing than the act of creation being recorded in real-time. "Blue Veins" is classic, and "Store Bought Bones" is hilarious. At least to me...

The Kooks: Inside In/Inside Out

Thomas Fraser.

This guy died in 1977, but I've just discovered him. He lived in the Shetland Islands in the North Sea, fourteen hours by boat north of mainland Scotland. At his home he recorded thousands of songs on reel to reel tapes: cowboy songs, reels, Jimmie Rodgers songs, things generally not heard north of Northern Virginia some how implanted in the middle of nowhere. It's pretty riveting.

John Prine
Live show - Los Angeles, Oct 27, 2006

John Prine is the great technicolor battleship of modern American rock. He has never been in or out of style, he has just floated through decades of good and bad times, writing songs with lyrics that seem to me like looking through the curve of a half-full coke bottle. John Prine gives me faith that if I do what I do and keep doing it, I can do it for as long as I want keep doing it. That's hard to do!

Bob Dylan, "Modern Times"

"Love and Theft" is my favorite Dylan record ever. "Modern Times" follows in the same vein, but while "Love and Theft" was the fighting rooster, "Modern Times" is the old pasture stud. It's full of experience and seems content.

Hilary Hahn, "Paganini and Spohr Concertos"

Hilary put these two rivals on the same album which I don't think has ever been done and which displays her brilliance as a violinist as well as her sense of humor. I think Hilary is way more rock than most rockers.

Doris Kearns Goodwin, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

I'm a runner and I've found audio books to be my favorite running companions. I fly through those suckas. "Team of Rivals" has two great things going for it: it's a really novel and engaging approach to studying a such well known figure, and its REEEALY long. Some books are too short to run to.

Movie: "The Departed"

It reminds me of my years in the Boston mafia. The characters I met, the parties, the good times and the bad. All those memories...

Love and Theft his favorite Dylan album? Now that's interesting. And a good call on Alligator, regardless of the release date. What I'm most curious about, though, is this Thomas Fraser character. Some cursory googling led me to these sound clips, and I'm already hooked:

Thomas Fraser - Away Out On The Mountain [mp3 clip]

Thomas Fraser - Lonesome Town [mp3 clip]

Thomas Fraser - Carolina Moon [mp3 clip]

Thomas Fraser - Abilene [mp3 clip]

Learn more about the man here.

Here's a special Ritter song, one of my favorites, a b-side from the Girl In The War single:

Josh Ritter - Harbortown [mp3]

Visit Josh Ritter here, and buy the terrific Animal Years here. Don't forget to check out the B+A Top Songs of 2006, where you'll find another J. Ritter gem.