One listen to Everything All The Time, and I know that I should have listened to it sooner. Specifically, I should have listened to it in college, when it was fairly new. The debut album from Band of Horses would have aided my recent heartbreak from my high school sweetheart; its twangy, sun-soaked melancholy would have contributed positively to the soundtrack to my coming of age, as I danced in dingy bars in Lubbock, Texas, drunk off the cheapest beer on the menu.
Instead I discovered the band through their sophomore album Cease To Begin, which I still find to be the superior of the two. By then, the majority of the band had left Ben Bridwell to his own devices, and he evolved the group’s My Morning Jacket-aping tendencies into something more distinct, earnest, and effusive. By contrast, Everything All The Time finds Band of Horses beginning to develop their Southern-tinged heartland indie bona fides, with occasional moments of sheer brilliance, as on all-timer “The Funeral.”
Bridwell’s yearning yelp understandably draws comparisons to Jim James, as his band incorporates steady mid-tempo rhythms and resonant guitar plucking to great emotional effect. The project tends to drag in the second half, with the exception of “Weed Party,” a wistful rocker about getting into youthful trouble.
Band of Horses certainly found their lane with the follow-up, then almost immediately lost the plot for the next decade, as their signature sound devolved into nondescript coffeeshop rock. The early stuff, however, still has the tendency to tug at the heartstrings.
Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time. 30. Johnny Cash – Hurt
Some artists are so talented they have the capability to make a cover song sound like their very own creation. Â The Beatles, Tom Waits, and, most recently, Lissie, come to mind. Â But no one did it like the Man In Black. Â Johnny took Soundgarden’s grunge-ridden “Rusty Cage” and made it a Wild West, gun slinging, outlaw affair. Â And then he took Nine Inch Nails’ haunting, spooky “Hurt” and turned it into a somber deathbed lamentation.
Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.
70. Band of Horses – Is There a Ghost
The first track off Cease to Begin is a great introduction to Band of Horses’ second disc – it’s a beautiful rising track with the simple, repeated lyrics “I could sleep” and “When I lived alone, is there a ghost in my house.” What follows is a near-flawless album that embodies the Southern spirit and indie charm this now-immensely popular group delivers.
Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.
210. The Go! Team – Universal Speech
Cheerleader chanting, party-inducing raps, and cheeky melodies made the Go! Team an indie rock sensation right around the time I entered college in 2005. This rarely-referenced album track from the sophomore effort Proof of Youth is one of my personal favorites. I’m pretty sure it’s that infectious drum beat at the beginning and the way it glides along with that piano line. It’s a surefire way to get sampled in hip-hop in the future, that’s for sure.
Once every three months I list the best of what I heard in albums/songs/remixes for the quarter. I do this to personally keep up with all the awesome music I hear, as it ultimately helps me at the end of the year when I do my overall listing for the previous twelve months. I also do it to introduce you cool cats to tunes you may have missed independently. Continue reading
