2006 : 11 "Red Clay Country" by Paul Brown

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Bubbling banjo and honest, simple vocals define my choice for 2006. "Red Clay Country" is a traditional blues piece arranged and recorded by Paul Brown in 2006. The recording makes it sound like Paul is playing in your living room and the repeating fragments of the lyrics lull me into imagining the story of what's going on in the song. Why is the man leaving where he currently lives? Who is his long-haired buddy and why doesn't he tell her he's gone himself? What makes him avoid his aging papa? Each and every time I listen I imagine a new slightly different story and that is one aspect that keeps me intrigued and coming back to a lot of old traditionals, especially this one. The banjo playing in this song rolls excellently along and nicely riffs on the melody of the vocal line. It pulses back and forth between neat little slides and accelerating rolls that pause and resume in a pleasing fashion. —Dave Evans Listen: Paul Brown >> "Red Clay Country"

2005 : 57 "Feel Good Inc" by Gorillaz

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My track contribution for 2005 is "Feel Good Inc." by Gorillaz from the album Demon Days. Gorillaz is a virtual band originally created in 1998 by Damon Albarn (of the band Blur) and Jamie Hewlett (of the comic Tank Girl.) This song morphs and shifts excellently between three primary styles. Just when I start zoning out to the groove it alters in a way that snaps my brain back to attention. There is the primary bass-driven groove with fictional lead singer "2-D" (Damon Albarn) repeating "Feel Good" and semi-rapping the song's lyrics followed by a transition to an acoustic based, light and airy chorus. This chorus is then cut through by an excellent rap breakdown by members from De La Soul. The impact of this track is multiplied beyond the sum of its parts by this awesomely tasty lyrical bridge. The song revisits the three parts again before it ends and is quite a compelling ride throughout. The Gorillaz have only released two albums so far but there is apparently a third in progress. Both have been well received and are quite good. Their music videos are also very enjoyable to watch, since they were created by Tank Girl artist Jamie Hewlett and are rendered in a high quality anime style that continues the fictional story of the band throughout the songs. —Dave Evans Listen: Gorillaz >> "Feel Good Inc"

2004 : 29 "Omie Wise" by Tim Eriksen

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For my second track of 2004 I've picked "Omie Wise," a banjo-driven narrative murder ballad from one of my favorite folk musicians, Tim Eriksen. This song is an unadorned, live recording of banjo and vocals, from the album Every Sound Below. Both of Eriksen's solo albums have been recorded in this honest one-take, one-mic fashion that I find very compelling. "Omie Wise" is a haunting tale, made even more so to me by the expressive playing and uniquely powerful sustained notes in the vocal line. There is a particular bended-note in the banjo riff that I just find chilling each time it comes round. If you happen to check out Eriksen's site you can listen to all of his songs for free including his band's "Cordelia's Dad" and "Zabe I Babe," both of which I highly recommend. —Dave Evans Listen: Tim Eriksen >> "Omie Wise"

2004 : 08 "Evil" by Interpol

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Interpol was formed in New York City in 1998. Their music takes me to a place that I just want to linger in for unhealthily long periods. It is somehow darkly comfortable to listen carefully and imagine stories for the creative lyrics that accompany their songs. Their sound reminds me a bit of the post-punk bands from the late 70s and early 80s that helped lay the groundwork for alternative rock to follow. Bass-heavy, bright snares, and catchy rhythmic guitar work provide a net for strangely timed and uniquely sung lyrics. I was instantly hooked on the vocal style and the sonic production choices they use to effect their instruments. My track of choice is "Evil" from the album Antics. I feel it is fairly representative of their sound and style. Enjoy! —Dave Evans Listen: Interpol >> "Evil"

2003 : 27 "Invisible" by Fischerspooner

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The very first time I heard the jet sample that kicks off the first track on this album I fell in love with it. It was one of those albums that for whatever reason struck me in such a way so that I will always remember where I was when I first heard it. In this particular case I happened to be visiting with a good old friend out in Arizona. He put the album in his car's CD player and we started to drive around Phoenix. Since that time I have listened to this album hundreds of times. I just love the place this album takes me and the state it puts my head in. I find this album really easy to program to: I believe it has something to do with the pulsing synth bass and melody lines as well as the uniquely artificial sounding percussion. The vocal effect treatment lends an ethereal or other-worldly quality to the imaginative lyrics and I like that many tracks feature both male and female leads. Overall I find that the sound design reminds me of the (progressive?) electronic music from the late 80s and early 90s. There is definitely a video-game-like quality to a lot of the bass lines and melody lines as well as a good bit of dance and disco too. All of the tracks on this album are very good so I suggest listening to one of my favorites— "Invisible" —which is representative of their sound. —Dave Evans Listen: Fischerspooner >> "Invisible"