1. The Russian Futurists - Paul Simon I have heard this song, very fun, lots of verve and sets the tone for a disc full of rolling rocking fun, I’m a big fan of loops and this one has full-court pomp and circumstance all over it.

2. The Court & Spark - Rooster Mountain~ Heard this via Obner, and the guys got a good voice. Makes me think about drinking some coffee, its got a truck stop scent to it, this one.

3. Iron & Wine & Calexico - Prison On Route 41 This and all the stuff I have gotten lead me to buy the Calexico and the iron and Wine discs right off when I was up in California last weekend. Smooth stuff.

4. The Cash Brothers - Night Shift Guru Somehow this one really grew on me, and I found myself singing it as I was closing the restaurant recently. I can relate to the chorus so completely, seems like life is just about service service service sometimes, but I like the imagery of the closed circuit tv. Its lonely though, too.

5. Tom Russell - Tonight We Ride
This song is like the soundtrack to a Gabriel García Márquez book, and it makes me swell with that universal Texas and Latin American river that rides dusty and wild right through me. There’s just not enough accordion in these day’s music.

6. Cat Power - The Greatest
This song is so wonderfully melancholy and operatic, I listen to it twice when I’m feeling sorry for myself, such sublime desolation. Does anyone else here Moon river in the strings? I need this CD.

7. Eleni Mandell - Action Is Action This one’s not country and not rock, and not folk, but all intrigue. I’m intrigued, anyway. Cool tune.


8. Clem Snide - Action
This is one of those cats who could read the phonebook, he’s got one of those voices, that said I bet there are people who can’t stand it, T’hell with them.

9. T-Bone Burnett - Over You
Good god, what do you say about a legend? I’ll say this, he has produced many of my favorite records, and he’s one hell of a songwriter, so out of respect, I give this its props (then skip it on subsequent listens)

10. Iron & Wine - Freedom Hangs Like Heaven
Never too much of a good thing. I like the chop chop chop of the pianny in this one, this makes you stomp your boots and bang your cue on the boards. It makes me want a suicide door convertible Lincoln continental for frequent trips out to the desert for peyote ceremonies. It’d probably work as a good song for hangin’ too, as in hangin’ an outlaw.

11. Air - Alone In Kyoto
Ahh, see now the peyote experience has a sound track, nice juxtaposition, I can see the naked Indian approaching. Either that or Scarlet Johansson, hair blowing in the wind as we scream across the Chihuahuan desert in my continental, she gazes over at me and gives a knowing smile. The vast blue Pacific ocean is over the horizon.

12. Marah - Sooner Or Later
Whoa, cowboy, what happened to the rest of the peyote, are we going back to the honkytonk? That was a stark reversal, now it seems funny that he Air track was in there, oh, hell, it s a good song, regardless. This one’s all about fun, so I’ll have a seat at the bar and join in the carousing.

13. Esmerine - Why She Swallows Bullets And Stones
Wow, I never thought it could happen to me, but here I am getting married to Scarlet Johannsen in a Mexican cathedral…. Cool song, I can get into instrumental stuff, I appreciate the movement of this piece, its swelling center is in shape contrast to the opening’s Gothic, this is fantastic, creepy and dark, but inviting, like discovering an abandoned church, its high glass choked with vines, leaving only dusty beams of shadow to fall on the deconsecrated altar…cool track, man.

14. Doves - Some Cities
Not to complain, but I was hoping for a better honeymoon than this, sort of a muddy Wilco thang, but with less heart.

15. M. Ward - Here Comes The Sun Again
Nice voice, he’s working with basic arrangement, it could be any song, but the voice makes it special. I like the church-y organ tones.

16. The Mountain Goats - Baboon
I’m not really felling this one, its too desperate and whiney.

17. Laura Veirs - Galaxies
I love this, I want to listen to it again, its got a great trip hop sort of feel

18. Josh Rouse - Streetlights
I have heard good things about this, and its nice, my wife would likfe it, she’d say it sounds like that bald guy, um….Friday night and all the lights are changin’ still, its got me feeling all romantic and I like the feeling. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so harsh on scarlet about spilling her sonic chili dog all over the continental’s white vinyl.

19. Belle And Sebastian - String Bean Jean
This is a drive fast in the dark song, Isn’t requisite to love B&S on Obner road? It’s long too, you could probably get all the way to Pitchfork pike before it was over. Drive!

20. John Cale - Paris 1919
This song dovetails right into the Belle & Sebastian track, nice! You know your catalog!

21. Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - (Do You Wanna) Come Walk With Me?
This song may not turn out to be my favorite, but I am glad to hear more of this, It was a nice promenade out the gate of this disc, It never would have worked out with Scarlet anyhow, but this disc certainly worked overall.

I can say this for a fact, If I had known Obner road was a dusty country road I would have worn my Tony Lama’s, and this one will get more than enough time in the saddle, I liked the twang! Some great instrumental points, cool! I appreciate that it has a decent runtime too, I like to set it and forget it, if you know what I mean. This disc was nice, and it could be something I would play in my bar on a Saturday night, if only to keep the ‘hood rats bitching!
I give it eight Lincoln Continentals and two Cases of Negro Modelo!