Tim Bugbee: August 5, 2007

First top 10 list

1. Jason Isbell – Sirens of the Ditch (New West Records) and live at TT the Bear’s

   Strong debut record from Jason, and the live versions continue to smoulder. Great versions of some of his Drive-By Truckers songs such as “Never Gonna Change” and “Outfit”, as well as a scorching cover of “Psycho Killer”. nice.

2. Boris and Sunn O))) – Altar (Southern Lord) 3 LP

   This record’s been out for a while, but on vinyl the sound comes alive so much more, and aesthetically speaking, it’s a great looking package. They’ve announced plans to play the entire record live in London as part of the Don’t Look Back series. Tempting…

3. Bert Jansch – The Black Swan (Drag City)

   Master of the acoustic guitar comes roaring back with an outstanding record released last year. I’ve been listening to this one a lot while writing up my live review (to be published).

4. Margaret Atwood – The Handmaid’s Tale (McClelland & Stewart, 1985)

   After Oryx and Crake, this was the logical next step in the books of hers to read. Chilling, and has some strong parallels with contemporary hardline/fundamentalist religious movements of today.

5. Mick Harvey – Two of Diamonds (Mute)

   I received a promo of this, to be reviewed for another site, and it’s a great record from this overlooked member of The Bad Seeds

6. Sunn O))) – Oracle (Southern Lord)

   Two massive, side-long statements of doom. Buy the vinyl from Southern Lord and they will give you a free cd copy. neat-o.

7. Coupling – BBC TV (seasons 1-4)

   Available on DVD, and well worth seeking out. Sex-obsessed sitcom with totally hilarious dialog and characters. What Friends could never be.

8. Minutemen “Tour Spiel”

   From the Tour Spiel EP, a great song about life on the road. Maybe the Minutemen’s heaviest riff, and of course some name-checking of Blue Oyster Cult members. What’s not to love?

9. Deerhunter with Keith Fullerton Whitman – Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston – Thursday, July 12

   Last week I was on vacation, so I figured I could slip this into this week’s top 10 list. Interesting bands, outstanding venue, overlooking the Boston Harbor.

10. Deep Purple – Fireball (Warner Brothers)

    Classic riff-o-rama action from Deep Purple, with Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore trading heavy licks on organ and guitar, respectively. No songs which the average classic radio listener would recognize, but in all ways essential if you like early 70s hard rock.