jason isbell

Playlist #242: Top 10 Albums of 2025

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Happy Monday, folks! We’ve reached that point in the year when bands stop releasing new music and the music critic turns his weary, bleary eyes toward compiling top lists. Top 10 albums! Top 25 albums! Top 100 albums of the year! In all the genres and styles one can imagine. I’m just gonna do a top ten. It’s not that I couldn’t find enough for a longer list, but I already do ten-song playlists, so why not stick with that? In no particular order, my top ten for the year are:

  1. Matt Berninger, Get Sunk: Solo album from the National’s singer. As I commented back when I first featured a song off this album on a playlist, it seems to feature all the momentum and forward motion that’s been missing from the past couple of National albums. Virtually a no-skip album.
  2. Mavis Staples, Sad and Beautiful World: She’s been trending more toward minimalism in her work the past couple of albums, and I kinda like it. Puts her amazing voice front and center. Her song selection skills remain top-notch, too.
  3. Snocaps, Snocaps: Feels very off the cuff and done for fun, which I’m always a big fan of. I like it when it sounds like the musicians had fun recording the music. And the two sisters at the heart of this group know how to write some killer songs.
  4. Jeff Tweedy, Twilight Override: We get it Jeff, you’ve got lots of songs in you. A triple album, though? That just screams “I’m gonna one-up Ryan Adams at something not gross.” But the songs are pretty uniformly good, even if a few of them feel more like song sketches and ideas rather than full-fledged complete songs.
  5. Jason Isbell, Foxes in the Snow: I’m not gonna call it his divorce album or his Blood on the Tracks, but there is something stark and sharp and beautiful in this voice and acoustic only set that really sucker punches you in the best way.
  6. Neko Case, Neon Gray Midnight Green: Any new Neko Case music is a cause for celebration, and this particular album sticks with you long after it’s finished playing. Nothing as immediate or obviously gripped as “Hold On, Hold On” here, but it’s still a strong album filled with the sort of gorgeous vocals and left field approaches Case has come to be known for.
  7. The Mountain Goats, Through the Fire Across From Peter Balkan: Trippy, dreamy titles aside, John Darnielle has described this one as the closest he’s ever come to writing a musical, and it still isn’t a concept album telling a coherent story as far as I can tell, but the songs are beautiful and obtuse and demand that you sit with the record and really listen.
  8. Lord Huron, The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1: Atmospheric and folky, like Tom Petty mixing spaghetti westerns with ’50s pulp sci-fi.
  9. Bruce Springsteen, Nebraska ’82: As archival releases go, this one is pretty great. Getting a look at what could have been with Nebraska, one of my favorite Bruce albums, is a fascinating exercise. Hearing the so-called Electric Versions was pretty cool and does ultimately support the myth that the original solo demos were the superior versions and ought to just be released as-is. The more recent live recordings of all the songs seemed a little superfluous to me, but more Bruce is never really a bad thing.
  10. Bob Dylan, Through the Open Window (The Bootleg Series, Volume 18): Speaking of archival releases, the latest in the long-running Bootleg Series digs into the absolute earliest Dylan recordings we’ve ever heard, and while you can definitely hear who he would become in the voice and the guitar playing, it’s very protean. Primordial, you might say. But the man found his footing in Greenwich Village quite quickly, and hearing some alternate takes on some of his earliest compositions and covers was a fun diversion. Someday, I’ll have to dive into the complete version of this collection, as the only version available on Apple Music was the two-disc Highlights selections.

Playlist #221

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Happy Monday, folks! After several days of our upstairs neighbors sounding like they were trying to slam their way through the floor into our bedroom (but probably just redoing their flooring, I think), things have quietened down around here, just in time for the wee lad Donovan to come visit. Here’s a playlist.

  1. Queens of the Stone Age, “No One Knows”: Is this the heavy week of songs? ‘Cause this is a pretty heavy song. Kicks some ass. Makes me wish I owned a motorcycle and I could drive it 100 mph down the highway without a helmet on.
  2. Godsmack, “Voodoo”: Yeah, it’s the heavy week! They don’t even say the title of the song until near the very end, but that chorus just rocks.
  3. Lord Huron, “Bag of Bones”: Okay, so maybe calling this “the heavy week” is a bit of a stretch, since this song is pretty hazy and Americana-y. I do like it a lot, though.
  4. Southern Culture on the Skids, “Voodoo Cadillac”: The Regular Joes (Uncle Randy’s old band) used to play this one at their shows, and I’ve always dug it.
  5. The Wallflowers, “Move The River”: I know my brother doesn’t really consider the album this is from to really be a real Wallflowers album, what with it really only featuring Jakob Dylan from among all the folks who’ve ever been in the band, but I still like it.
  6. Matthew Sweet, “Girlfriend”: I always expect the drums to be a fuller, heavier presence in this song than they are, but it’s still a damn good song.
  7. Mike Doughty, “Fort Hood”: Best use of the “Age of Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” chorus that I’ve ever heard.
  8. Jimmy Eat World, “The Middle”: Such a hopeful, upbeat song.
  9. Jason Isbell, “24 Frames”: Such a fuckin’ downer. Also, this album came out ten years ago? It feels like it’s always existed, and Isbell just conjured it into the physical realm.
  10. They Might Be Giants, “Kiss Me, Son of God”: Hey, I can’t help it if everyone thinks I look like Jesus and mistakes me for His second coming. That’s just a side effect of this beard, man.

Playlist #202

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Mondays just keep happening, don’t they? And on the heels of Daylight Saving Time starting up again, so I got to drive to work while it was still nighttime today. Woo. Here’s some songs.

  1. Jason Isbell, “Foxes in the Snow”: I knew that a solo acoustic album could be powerful and beautiful and heartbreaking, but Jason Isbell just keeps showing me how far you can take such a simple conceit. The title track here is bouncy and thoughtful and just absolutely perfect.
  2. The Goo Goo Dolls, “Sympathy”: I’m a sucker for strummy acoustic numbers, especially when they also feature a mandolin. Who knew the Goo Goo Dolls could deliver?
  3. The Flaming Lips, “Do You Realize??”: This song always makes me cry.
  4. Drive-By Truckers, “Carl Perkins’ Cadillac”: Carl Perkins didn’t need no Grammy, he just needed that Caddy.
  5. Phosphorescent, “Revelator”: I have finally discovered what I want my own musical sound to be, and it’s basically this.
  6. The Temptations, “Papa Was a Rolling Stone”: Watched a long-form video essay this weekend on “Progressive Soul,” which is classic Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Isaac Hayes, and – I’d argue – at least this particular track from The Temptations. It has the same emphasis on the groove and the rhythm section that those other Progressive Soul musicians had, and it’s a damn-good song.
  7. Hurray for the Riff Raff, “Pyramid Scheme”: Why do I feel like this could just be about MLM?
  8. Chris Smither, “Visions of Johanna”: You know me, I love a Dylan cover, and this one’s pretty solid.
  9. Van Morrison, “Once In a Blue Moon”: Late-period Van can still deliver when he wants to.
  10. Fleetwood Mac, “Seven Wonders”: I do have a soft spot for ’80s Mac. Is it as good as anything from Rumors or even Tusk? No. Is it still good, well-crafted pop-rock? Oh my, yes.

Playlist #198

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Happy Monday, folks! Looks like another round of snow is headed towards Northern Virginia this week, so I’m looking forward to a short week of work (and not administering the WIDA exam on Wednesday). Here’s some songs to get you through the snowy cold.

  1. The Weather Station, “Neon Signs”: You could describe this as folk/Americana, or alternative, or “cosmic Americana,” my preferred genre. However you describe it, it’s good. The instruments fade in and out, entwine with one another then break apart, and the lyrics float in from the middle of absolute nowhere like they’ve just blown in from the desert. Good stuff.
  2. Waxahatchee, “Mud”: New Waxahatchee means happy Charlie, even if it is just a single.
  3. Wilco, “Handshake Drugs”: The deluxe edition of A Ghost Is Born was released Friday, so of course I’ve already listened to it. I’m a little disappointed the so-called “Expanded Edition” only included a single extra disc of early versions of the songs instead of the 9-disc full version that is apparently available out there for the diehards (yeah, I’ll probably end up tracking that one down. I’m a sucker for the iterative nature of songwriting).
  4. Michgander, “Emotional”: I’ve dug this guy and his work since I first heard an EP of his several years ago, and his songwriting only gets stronger and his arrangements only get fuller as time goes by. Love it.
  5. Electric Light Orchestra, “The Bouncer”: A bonus song off the Time album, and one that has a bouncy, fun little beat and all the trademarks of Jeff Lynne production.
  6. Iron & Wine, “Call Your Boys”: I love the slide guitar work on this song. It’s subtle but effective, and the vocal melody is beautiful and sad.
  7. Jesse Malin, “She Don’t Love Me Now”: I think it’s the horn section in this song that gets me.
  8. Mark Knopfler, “Donnegan’s Gone”: A skiffle song about the guy who started the skiffle craze? Why not?
  9. The Gaslight Anthem, “Say I Won’t (Recognize)”: Early Gaslight Anthem is full of punch and power and longing and more hair grease than was used on the set of the movie Grease. James Dean would be proud.
  10. Jason Isbell, “Elephant”: Whenever I want to cry and feel absolutely beautiful misery, I put this song on. Works every time.

Playlist #194 and #195

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Happy Monday! It’s Martin Luther King, Jr, Day, and Inauguration Day. One of those is a cause for celebration, while the other is a cause for heavy drinking. I’ll leave it to you to figure out which one is which.

  1. The Refreshments, “Banditos”: I am embarrassed just how long I got the Refreshments and the Replacements confused. It was…far longer than I care to admit.
  2. Chris Smither, “Origin of Species”: A fantastic, farcical song mixing stories from the Bible with a winking nod to Charles Darwin and the double helix.
  3. Jason Isbell, “Super 8”: No one wants to die in a Super 8 Motel, Mr. Isbell. My wife won’t even set foot in one.
  4. Stevie Nicks, “Lighthouse”: Still love this song. It’s still a banger. I will not be accepting questions at this time.
  5. Tom Waits, “Goin’ Out West”: “I know karate and voodoo too” is a hell of a line.
  6. The Mountain Goats, “No Children”: We’ve talked about this one before, about how it’s my wife’s favorite Mountain Goats song and maybe I need to be concerned about that? Who knows.
  7. Michael Penn, “No Myth”: I dunno, maybe comparing yourself to Romeo and Heathcliff is not the flex you think it is.
  8. Big Red Machine, “Latter Days”: I like the album this song is from so much I picked it up on vinyl a couple of weeks ago. Great decision.
  9. Kate Bush, “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)”: About the only slice of ’80s music I can really stand, it’s a damn good song with a killer chorus.
  10. Franz Ferdinand, “Take Me Out”: It will never cease to amuse me that the band named after the dude whose assassination kicked off World War I released a single called “Take Me Out.” Just top-tier trolling.
  11. Jimmy Eat World, “The Middle”: Such an uplifting, shout-along song. And easy to play on the guitar to boot!
  12. Tracy Bonham, “Mother Mother”: A nice slice of ’90s nostalgia. Apparently the Wife hates her music? I was just as surprised as you are.
  13. Whiskeytown, “Jacksonville Skyline”: I know everyone was all about the authenticity of the cowpunk/alt-country movement in the early 2000s, but Whiskeytown’s country always felt like a coat Ryan Adams was wearing and took off as quickly as he could when he went solo.
  14. Wilco, “At Least That’s What You Said”: The snarling, Neil Young-esque guitar explosion that erupts about halfway through this song is giving me life.
  15. Diana Ross & the Supremes, “Reflections”: Sometimes, you just need a girl group singing close harmonies to get you through the day. This might be such a day.
  16. Edwyn Collins, “A Girl Like You”: Britpop, you say? Britpop? I’ll give you Britpop!
  17. Bob Dylan, “Mississippi”: For nothing else than I got the line “You can always come back but you can’t come back all the way” stuck in my head the other day.
  18. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, “A Thing About You”: This has somehow become one of my favorite Tom Petty songs in recent years. Dunno how or why. I think I just like the breakneck pace of it and how I always imagine things almost tumble apart in the instrumental break but barely hold on.
  19. Calexico, “Beneath the City of Dreams”: I am a sucker for a good Calexico song, which really means any Calexico song. They’re all pretty damn good.
  20. Bill Small, “This Old House”: A dark tour through the empty halls of one’s life, or an empty house that used to be occupied by a loved one.

Playlist #135

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Happy Cyber Monday, folks! That’s the Monday after Thanksgiving where everyone buys all their cybers for the coming year. I suppose you could buy one of my books if you were so inclined. Or you can order a CD directly from me! Anyway, here’s a new playlist for ya!

  1. Blind Melon, “No Rain”: Best video featuring a girl dressed in a bee costume you will ever see.
  2. Jason Isbell, “Relatively Easy”: The more I hear songs by this guy, the more I love him. The more I listen to particular songs by him, the more I’m convinced he’s probably one of this generation’s best songwriters.
  3. Adeem the Artist, “Dirt Bike”: Adeem the Artist has found ways to distill youth and youthful energy into each one of their songs and make it sound humble, playful, innocent, and nostalgic. It’s a good skill to have.
  4. Natalie Layne, “Grateful For (Piano Version)”: I didn’t realize this musician was a Christian ArtistTM until I had already downloaded the song. It’s a good song despite this fact? I dunno. Listen and judge for yourself.
  5. Iron & Wine, “Judgement”: Speaking of judgement…
  6. Gin Blossoms, “Just South of Nowhere”: Why do I like this song so much? Is it because it feels very much like a late-night drive where things are just starting to go off the rails and there’s very little you can do other than hold on and pray for dawn? Probably.
  7. Andrew Bird, “Frogs Singing”: I just love the harmonies and the rhythm of this one.
  8. The Avett Brothers, “Will You Return?”: Every time my wife hears them count in at the beginning of this song, she gets so excited that it’ll be OutKast’s “Hey Ya,” and every time she is disappointed.
  9. David Gray, “What Am I Doing Wrong?”: Sell, Sell, Sell is still the peak of early David Gray. I will not be taking any questions at this time.
  10. Pearl Jam, “Porch”: It’s hard to tell with Eddie Vedder’s singing what the actual lyrics are to any given song, but I don’t think this song mentions porches or sitting on them or even standing on them even once. Just a real missed opportunity, that.

Playlist #127

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The packing continues unabated. We have electricity and water at the new place. And I have a new playlist for you.

  1. Shemekia Copeland, “Clotilda On Fire”: Sure, I came to this song because Jason Isbell plays lead guitar on it, but I stayed for the absolute baller story of a slave ship burning.
  2. Jason Isbell, “Relatively Easy”: I was realizing over the weekend that Jason Isbell might be my current favorite musician. His songs are just so damn good.
  3. Owen Danoff, “Never Been Kissed”: Haven’t heard much from this guy lately, which is a shame. He’s a solid songwriter.
  4. Ram Jam, “Black Betty”: Bam-a-lam.
  5. Ringo Starr, “Photograph”: It’s easy to crap on Ringo. The dude just seemed happy to be there most of the time. But he’s a fantastic drummer and had a good ear for songs early on in his solo career (the less said about Ringo the 4th, his abysmal foray into disco, the better). It helped that some of the songs, like “Photograph,” were contributed by former Beatle bandmate George Harrison (the same album had songs from John and Paul as well).
  6. Van Morrison, “And The Healing Has Begun”: That spoken word interlude always drives me up the wall. Just sing, Van. Just sing.
  7. The Grass Roots, “I’d Wait A Million Years”: I just love this song. I love the Grass Roots. I wish they’d done even more music than they released.
  8. Glen Phillips, “Men Just Leave”: I still really enjoy the sound and style of Glen Phillips’ first album. I wish he’d pursued this style more instead of the more polished, Toad the Wet Sprocket-esque stuff he did afterwards.
  9. Gillian Welch, “Revelator”: My introduction to this song was the Glen Phillips cover. Her original version is better.
  10. Electric Light Orchestra, “Twilight”: Was still on an ELO kick last week, and ended up listening to Time. It’s still an interesting latter-day ELO album, filled with interesting ideas and quirky musical directions.

Playlist #97: Songs About Songs

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For years, I’ve wanted to gather enough songs to put together a playlist of songs about writing/creating/singing songs. And finally, here we are.

  1. Wilco, “Someone Else’s Song”: Sometimes we sing covers. Sometimes our own songs. Who knows.
  2. Elton John, “Your Song”: “But the sun’s been quite nice while I wrote this song” is just a nice sentiment and one that I, at least, could do with more of.
  3. Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Wrote A Song For Everyone”: The song this whole list was built around! I have long loved this particular song and I especially appreciate the sentiment of it.
  4. Ben Folds, “One Down”: He was apparently once a professional songwriter, and they expected you to write 3.6 songs per week.
  5. Jason Isbell, “Songs That she Sang In The Shower”: Don’t we all sing in the shower? Aren’t the acoustics in there great?
  6. John Fullbright, “Write A Song”: It’s good advice. You should write a song. All of you. Like, right now.
  7. Dan Auerbach, “Waiting On A Song”: Sometimes songs just sorta come to you, fully formed and ready to go. Other times, you have to sit around and wait for them to arrive. And damn, do they take their sweet time.
  8. Jackson Browne, “Sing My Songs To Me”: Is it possibly the greatest display of ego to want to hear other people sing your own songs? Maybe, but I also have to imagine it’s the greatest honor you can receive as a songwriter: hearing someone else give their interpretation of your words and music.
  9. Paul McCartney, “The Song We Were Singing”: “And it always came back to the song we were singing/At any particular time,” is just one of the best lines you could ever hope to write. It’s so simple, but so evocative.
  10. Panic! At The Disco, “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”: Do I know much of anything about PATD? No. No, I do not. Do I care when the song title fits into the playlist theme this well? Again, no. No, I do not.

Playlist #89

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So, first thing’s first…

I have a new album coming out this Friday, January 13th! It’s called Creature Comforts, and I’m super proud of it. My brother, Clif, mixed and mastered the album for me, and helped it sound its best. I can’t even begin to thank him enough.

If you want to join me on the journey to create the next album, you can support me on Patreon. I share new songs as I record them there.

  1. Ray LaMontagne, “Strong Enough”: It’s been a while since I’ve really listened to Ray LaMontagne. He hasn’t really changed, and that’s honestly okay. Dude found his niche and has settled in, releasing albums occasionally with solid songs like this one.
  2. Shampoo, “Trouble”: Snotty British pop from 1993, but it sounds like it could’ve been made in 1987. This sounds nothing like the rest of the post-Nirvana musical landscape.
  3. The New Pornographers, “Sing Me Spanish Techno”: I’ve never really listened to Spanish techno, but they make it sound very appealing.
  4. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, “Southern Accents”: So this song is kinda fraught with potential problems, I think. I know Petty came from Florida. He’s a southerner. But he’s also not an asshole. So I let this one slide. It helps that it’s such a well-written song.
  5. Fastball, “The Way”: Yeah, the band is named after a porno. It’s still a good song, though.
  6. Jason Isbell, “Super 8”: “Don’t wanna die in a Super 8 Motel” – A thing said by everyone who has ever stayed in a Super 8 Motel.
  7. Neil Young & The Stray Gators, “Bad Fog Of Loneliness”: If he’d replaced “A Man Needs A Maid” with this song, Harvest would be a perfect album. Well, and replacing “There’s A World” with “Journey to the Past.”
  8. Gotye, “Somebody That I Used To Know”: You didn’t have to stoop so low, y’know.
  9. The Goo Goo Dolls, “Sympathy”: Sure, it’s off the album the Goo Goo Dolls (terrible name) released after their big hit album, Dizzy Up The Girl, but this is one of their best songs, I think.
  10. Grand Funk Railroad, “Some Kind Of Wonderful”: “Can I get a witness?” Yes, yes you can.

Playlist #38

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Last week was a rough week, if I’m being honest. I was mostly over my case of covid, but still couldn’t return to work, and my wife…well, we had to take her to the hospital on Thursday because her O2 sats dropped dangerously low frighteningly quick. It’s only been in the past day or two that we’ve come to find out just how bad off she was. If we hadn’t taken her to the hospital when we did, she would not have survived the night.

So, she’s still at the hospital (in a covid isolation room where I cannot visit her), but thankfully on the mend. On Saturday, my old college advisor passed away suddenly from a brain aneurysm, which…yeah, still haven’t processed it. All of that probably explains the slower tempo and more downbeat list of songs on this week’s playlist.

  1. The Horrible Crowes, “Sugar”: I always thought it was more than a little daring to open the album with this song, which is by far more downbeat and subtle than what follows.
  2. Iron & Wine, “Hard Times Come Again No More”: I don’t know how I found this particular recording. I think it’s from the TV show Copper, if anyone remembers that (I never actually saw it, but still somehow heard this version of the song).
  3. Jars of Clay, “Faith Enough”: A song filled with contradictions and paradoxes.
  4. Jason Isbell, “Cover Me Up”: Beautiful and heartfelt and far more subtle than most of the songs I prefer by him, but no less glorious for it.
  5. The Wallflowers, “Up From Under”: If Breach isn’t the best Wallflowers album, it’s definitely top two. And while this isn’t my usual go-to song from that record, it’s still simple (for a song with a string arrangement) and beautiful.
  6. Willie Nelson, “The Rainbow Connection”: A voice and a song that I’m surprised it took so long to put together, though I have to ask – aside from this one and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” just how many songs are there out there about rainbows?
  7. The Beach Boys, “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times”: “Sometimes I feel very sad.” Sometimes Brian Wilson just cuts right to the damn chase.
  8. The National, “I Need My Girl”: I would like my wife home from the hospital now, please.
  9. The Flaming Lips, “Do You Realize??”: The happiest song about death that I know.
  10. Glen Phillips, “Train Wreck”: This one just sorta…feels right at the moment? That’s probably not good, is it?