Burgers & Fries

Keywords: Meat, potatoes, rock, roll, beer, whiskey, drunken tirades about “Exile on Main St.” being the best album ever made
Use while: Drinking too much, shouting at friends about songs you love, BBQing, tailgating, making drunken tirades about “Exile on Main St.” being the best album ever made
For fans of: Bob Dylan, The rockin' Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, The Clash, U2, Pearl Jam, Wilco

1. “Constructive Summer,” by the Hold Steady, from “Stay Positive” --- I kept wondering when Hold Steady leader Craig Finn would drop all the stuff about Ybor City, Judas and those sketchy, messy townie parties and take his throne as the new Boss. But he already has. For our generation, a generation of adolescent adults, the maturity of "Born in the U.S.A." isn't relevant; undying "Born to Run" pathos is. On the new album, Craig holds steady on Catholic imagery and parables about kids messing up their lives searching for salvation. It's new yet familiar, a righteous fourth chapter in for the best, or at least my favorite, band of the last five years.
2. “Supernatural Superserious,” by R.E.M., from “Accelerate” --- R.E.M. is burdened by some heavy baggage, what with inventing college rock and all. "Accelerate" is the sound of the remaining three tearing through a record shop snatching and smashing selected bits of rock history in a frantic, euphoric sprint: a naked, furious, sublime 100-yard dash of 11 songs in 34 minutes. And "Supernatural Superserious" is R.E.M.'s fiercest single since "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?"
3. “Always a Friend,” by Alejandro Escovedo, from “Real Animal” --- I admit this song has something adult contemporary about it. Kinda like mid-period Los Lobos. But I still really dig it. Alejandro has blazed through a half dozen lives in his 57 years. He survived the first wave of punk playing guitar in the Nuns and living in the Chelsea Hotel during the Sid & Nancy years. He helped invent alternative country with Rank & File, then kick-started the roots rock revival with the True Believers. He also lost his wife to suicide and had a long, nearly fatal battle with hepatitis C. I think you can hear that survivor shit in this song.
4. “I Almost Killed You,” by Billy Bragg, from “Mr. Love & Justice” --- He always had Joe Strummer's ire, but lately he’s developed Elvis Costello's melodic ear. This album picks up where the "Mermaid Avenue" albums left off by channeling his political rage into pleasant pop.
5. “Aluminum Park,” by My Morning Jacket, from “Evil Urges” --- The most overrated band of the last half decade and the most overrated album of 2008. But sometimes they do nail it. Like here. And I’ll admit they know how to record and play some wicked guitar.
6. “Consoler of the Lonely” and...
7. “Top Yourself,” by The Raconteurs, from “Consolers of the Lonely” ------ The death of the music industry establishment means the death of the megaband. We’re going to get a lot less Deep Purples, Journeys and Smashing Pumpkins and a lot more Stooges, Replacements and Soul Coughings. I’m trying not to mind this but it does have some drawbacks. Chiefly, the Raconteurs can never be this generation's Led Zeppelin. Jack White never could be Jimmy Page, but wouldn't it have been glorious to see him try? To spend a decade racking up gold records, making stoner summer soundtracks and selling out stadiums. Anyway, I love the way Jack takes over the lead vocal from Brendan Benson halfway into “Consoler” and that bass break at the end --- this rhythm section is so tight.
8. “When You’re Traveling at the Speed of Light,” by These United States, from “Crimes” --- Like Robbie Robertson and John Fogerty, These United States conductor Jesse Elliott digs dusty, ramblin', anachronistic American rock 'n' roll. On “Crimes,” Elliott fuels a rolling thunder railroad ride through a South and West of his own imagination: wild locales where the Fleet Foxes rework lazy tunes that Buck Owens or Bob Dylan should have written and the Strokes have become a Western swing band.
9. “Acid Tongue,” by Jenny Lewis, from “Acid Tongue” --- Sure do miss those Watson Twins. The Twins' harmonies elevated Lewis' "Rabbit Fur Coat" to heavenly heights. But even without them, "Acid Tongue" manages to reach the sublime on occasion. I think this song achieves the same, wonderful '70s West Coast rock sound as "Rabbit Fur Coat" thanks to some all-star harmony vocals.
10. “Lord, I’m Discouraged,” by the Hold Steady, from “Stay Positive” --- God damn. I’m right, right? Best band of the last five years. Really like the guitar solo even though it’s kind of inappropriate.
11. “Children of the Lord,” by Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, from “Cipher” --- Get reborn with Slim Cessna's Auto Club. No recording does this Denver band justice. You gotta, you just gotta see them live. By the end of the night you'll be speaking in tongues. But that's probably just the Southern Comfort and Coors talking.
12. “I Want You to Know,” by the Moondoggies, from “Don’t Be A Stranger” --- I’m not totally sold on the genius of this band or this song but there’s something about them that says, “Give us a chance. We’re more than we appear.”
13. “Angles of Destruction,” by Marah, from “Angles of Destruction” --- Ah, Marah. You drunken, rehab-bound, break up then get back together freaks. God love you. I still have faith that this band has one truly brilliant album in it. Like a “Let It Be” or “Let it Bleed.”
14. “Hieroglyph,” by Teenage Prayers, from “Everyone Thinks You’re the Best” --- If you're trying to recapture the high you got from your first Hold Steady hit, you need to freebase the Teenage Prayers. There’re like Sex Pistols after bumming around the alley behind Motown or having a kegger at the Band’s Big Pink. I don’t know how they got Queen and Bob Marley into a garage rock song but here it is.
15. “Gardenia,” by Stephen Malkmus, from “Real Emotional Trash” --- The straightest pop tune on "Real Emotional Trash," this song rules. It’s the guy from Pavement trying to be Phish, Steely Dan and Paul McCartney all at once. Dig it.
16. “I’m Amazed,” by My Morning Jacket, from “Evil Urges” --- See notes to song 5
17. “No Sunlight,” by Death Cab for Cutie, from “Narrow Stairs” --- I think I finally get this band.
18. “Fort Hood,” By Mike Doughty, from “Golden Delicious” --- The best song about the war to date. Such a surprise. Such a bubbly, juvenile beat over such kick-ass, powerful lyrics. Ah, juxtaposition.
19. “Leeds United,” by Amanda Palmer, from “Who Killed Amanda Palmer?” --- It's easy to mistake Amanda Palmer for an angry, distant, guarded Goth queen - what with the Edward Scissorhands makeup and songs about rape. But spend some time with the Dresden Dolls Ms. a her true self is revealed: a brilliantly talented, gregarious, almost goofy gal. At the Paradise this fall I saw her sandwich this song (with a six-piece horn section guesting) between a covers of Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" and Rihanna’s “Umbrella.” She just kicks a lot of ass.
20. “Stay Positive,” by the Hold Steady, from “Stay Positive” --- True that.