Our Idiot Brother

I watched this 2011 Comedy movie a week or so ago. The reviews for the movie were middling but with Paul Rudd as the star I thought it was worth checking out.

Rudd stars as Ned Rochin. Ned is an organic farmer who has a heart of gold. As my wife would say he is all " peace, love, and happiness." On top of that he is about as naive as he can be. One day when working at an organic fair selling some of his vegetables a local police officer stops by and tells him of his problems. He is having a bad day and needs a pick me up. His hints do not work and Ned certainly does not offer to give him anything to help, the officer departs with his head hanging, and Ned who trusts everyone calls him back and gives him some rhubarb with a bag of pot. The officer " insists" on paying for it and then punishes Ned's big heart by citing him for selling him the pot.

Wherever Ned goes people love him and prison is no different. He is released early as a result of his good behavior but when he comes home he finds his girlfriend has taken up with another man. This in itself is bad but for Ned the real tragedy is that his now ex girlfriend will not let Ned have his dog, claiming that the dog is hers. Without Willie Nelson ( his dogs name) Ned is bereft.

With no place to go Ned comes home to his family. His Mom and three sisters all love him but all admit to thinking that Ned is a little bit odd. Each of his sisters has their own life situation they are dealing with. Liz, played by Emily Mortimer is married and has a seven year old boy. They are the stereotypical new age parents not allowing the boy to do anything dangerous or, frankly, fun. Elizabeth Banks plays Miranda, an uptight journalist trying to rise to the top and Zooey Deschanel as Natalie his lesbian sister.

Ned moves from sister to sister, usually staying long enough to cause trouble and havoc in the home without meaning to. Ned because of his absolute lack of guile and being so naive often gets himself in trouble by saying too much. Over the course of the movie Ned is always sweet and nice but people do not appreciate his good intent. more than anything however he just wants his dog back.

By the end of the movie the jury is still out on if Ned helped or hurt his sisters with his inadvertent interference in their lives but what is not in doubt is that he is a sweet person that the world might need more of.

Finally reunited with Willie Nelson at the end of the movie it appears things might be looking up with a little help from none other than Dolly Parton

A Tribute to Hank Cochran by Jamey Johnson

There are many new country music fans these days. I have to admit I cannot keep up with all the new pretty boys who appear on the charts each year, I think they are all made in the same factory for all of their similarities.

One successful country singer that will not be mistaken for his cohorts is Jamey Johnson. Johnson looks like a throwback to the rock and roll sixties but sounds like one of the traditional country singers of that same era.

After the huge success of his recent double album The Guitar Song Johnson decided the time was right for him to vere even further off the expected path and do a tribute album. I will admit I did not know who Hank Cochran was but after listening to the songs on this album it is a sure thing that we all know this man's songs.

Johnson his voice as always sounding like Scotch rolling over jagged rocks is simply amazing in this album. Never wanting too much of the spotlight, and realizing how much respect there is in country music for Mr. Cochran, on each song Johnson is joined by a well known artist. The combinations work extremely well. If I had heard this album last month it might well have ended up in my list of the year's best.

All the songs on this album are done well but a few stand out. The first song to be promoted on the album was a version of Make the World Go Away with the angel voiced Allison Krauss. If you think this is an odd pairing of voices you are correct but it works on every level.

Also of great note is a version of I Fall to Pieces where Johnson is joined by Merle Haggard. Somehow I do not see Merle doing a duet with any of the male models in cowboy hats that are on he charts these days, Haggard knows and respects authenticity and his joining Johnson here tells you all you need to know.

Willie Nelson, one of the last living of the original outlaws, is a great friend of Cochran's and lends his voice to two wonderful songs "Don't you ever get tired of hurting me?" as well as the Cochran standard "Livin for a song."

This is a wonderful album and a great tribute too, if one looks at the list of songs on the album they cannot help being surprised that all these great songs were written by one man that few in this generation have ever heard of. If changing that is the goal of this album, mission accomplished.

The Top Ten Albums of 2012

This might well be one of the more eclectic lists of the top albums you will find for the year 2012. In order to qualify for my list the album must be one that I reviewed earlier in the year, that is, one that I was interested in enough at the time to listen too. In this way I know that I am not mirroring any of the more conventional lists that we all find this time of year.


10. The Once and Future Carpenter by The Avett Brothers - The Avetts as well as their compatriots Mumford and Sons released new albums this year. While the latter received more press it is the Avett's who make my top ten list. While the Mumford's first single I Will Wait might be the best of the lot it is the Avett's album that is broader and more balanced. Doing nothing more than what they do album in and album out The Avett's show why they are one of the most popular touring acts today.

9. Red by Taylor Swift - I cannot really call myself a Taylor Swift fan but one does have to recognize her ability to turn anything into a song. Watching my daughter skip and sing around the house this fall in her thirteen year old way I remembered how much music means to someone at that time in their lives. For millions of young girls and older girls too Swift makes the music that means the most to them. And it is intelligent music. For all of the adults who spent the fall trying to get " We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together " out of there head accept that it is hopeless. Swift can craft a tune like few today.

8. Born and Raised by John Mayer - Mayer coming off a year of bad publicity showed that when he stops talking and start singing all will be ok. With nary a bad song on the album and many like the title cut and Shadow Days are long to be remembered.

7. That's Why God Made the Radio by The Beach Boys - With a 50th anniversary tour and a new album it was an exciting year for the boys. It might well be that we do not want to know what recording methods made the music sound like the sixties version of the band but what there is no doubt of is that the harmonies on this song are as good as they have ever done. Pacific Coast Highway and the other songs of the second side of the album make this a true work of art similar in type of not in scope to the second side of Abbey Road.

6. Heroes by Willie Nelson - On this album which on many of the cuts Willie is joined by friends and members of his family Nelson's voice is still a treasure. Singing covers such as Just Breathe by Pearl Jam and Coldplay's The Scientist Nelson never sounded better. When he is joined by Billie Joe Shaver and Jamey Johnson on Hero and Snoop Dogg on Roll Me Up it is clear that Willie has friends in high places indeed and they all add to the fun of the album. Come On Back Jesus is another song of strong note.

5. Gospel Plow by Elizabeth Cook - I have just reviewed this in depth but suffice to say that I have listened to no album as much as this all year.

4. Heat Lightning Rumbles in the Distance by Patterson Hood - This solo effort by the lead singer of The Drive By Truckers was one of the strongest albums of the year. The title cut is one of the best tracks of the year, Hood's mumble drawl fits perfectly. After the Damage and Better Than the Truth are both great tracks and of course no Patterson Hood/Drive By album would be complete without a talk song, this album features another Alabama history lesson called Untold Pretties. A truly great album.

3. Tempest by Bob Dylan - One of the few albums in recent years to receive five stars from Rolling Stone Dylan's new album was superior. With the only song that made me get caught in public rocking out behind the wheel, Early Roman Gods, along with a tribute to John Lennon called Roll on John the album was an instant classic. Dylan's thirteen minute tale of the sinking of The Titanic, the albums title cut mixes truth and Dylan fiction in a classic way that is perfect the whole way through.

2. Battle Born by The Killers- It has to be considered true that The Killers are very good at copying the art of Springsteen and to some extent U2. Still sometimes the followers better there leaders and on The Killers later effort they have completed a supremely confident album. With song after song that one can imagine on the radio, if FM radio still played rock music, and that additionally you know would be perfect in arenas all around the country. Brendan Flowers has cut his hair, he looks like a male model, but there is no denying one thing, he can sing like few others. This is a very strong album, perhaps not as classically influential as some of the others but sometimes precision and perfection of the type displayed here but must be acknowledged.

1. Channel Orange by Frank Ocean - Truthfully it was not even close. I am not a rap music fan. I am not a connoisseur of blues, funk or soul. I know an album of incredible depth and magic when I hear it however. Orange's album is a salute to it seems each of his predecessors from Marvin Gaye to James Brown to certainly Prince. With songs such as Forest Gump, Pyramids and especially Thinking About You and Super Rick Kids Ocean proved himself a force beyond all forces in music this year. This was clearly the most influential and superior album of the year.

More in depth reviews of all of these efforts can be found on this blog from earlier in the year.

We Walk the Line : A Celebration of the Music of Johnny Cash

Last spring a concert was held celebrating the 80th birthday of Johnny Cash. The list of performers who lined up to perform was a veritable who's who of the list of alternative and outlaw country performers. As has been well established I am a huge fan of cover versions, obscure or faithful to the original, of songs.

Therefore as a huge Johnny Cash fan, a fan of Outlaw country, and a lover of cover songs this was the triple threat. I was not disappointed. This is a fantastic album. My wife is tired of it already most likely as Spotify has been playing it for me for the last week.

Every song on this album is a great interpretation. Opening with Brandi Carlisle ( who we saw opening for Ray Lamontagne a year ago) doing Ring of Fire, then proceeding to Ronnie Dunn's version of Ring of Fire and Buddy Miller doing Hey Porter we then land on the first standout song of the album.

Lucinda Williams is another of those polarizing singers, I land firmly in the Love Lucinda camp, and her version of the Cash classic from the nineties Hurt is wonderful. Williams rasp is well suited to this song.

Two songs by bands I have heard of, but had no real exposure to, have made it a certainty that I will soon be exploring these artists full catlog's The Carolina Chocolate Drops ( what a name ) do a blistering take on Jackson that has been played about twenty times in our house since discovered. That is followed by a band called Iron and Wine which is from what I understand predominantly one man, singing a version of Long Black Veil that is nothing short of wonderful.

Kris Kristofferson croaks through Big River and Shelby Lynne then does Kristofferson's own, Cash interpreted Why Me Lord.

Surprising, at least to me, is how effective Train lead singer Pat Monahan was on a version of Help Me Make it Through the Night and then with help from Shelby Lynne on It Ain't Me Babe. Very good. It should be noted that the concert was not just songs Johnny wrote but songs he interpreted himself as he and June did a version of the Dylan classic. Lynne and Monahan did them proud.

Near the end of the album we get Sheryl Crow doing Cry Cry Cry and then she joins Willie Nelson on If I Were a Carpenter. Nelson himself sings I Still Miss Someone, surprisingly though these two artists contributions are far from the highlight.

Shooter Jennings and Jamey Johnson fill out the Highwaymen, Jennings particularly effective in his father's role, joining Willie and Kristofferson on their famous title track from which the group got their name.

The highlights of the album, as strong as these songs earlier mentioned were, are so far and above the other entries that I have saved them for last.

Kris Kristofferson, still croaking, joins Jamey Johnson for a version of Sunday Morning Coming Down which might be a more faithful rendition than any you will ever hear to the true spirit of the song. Johnson, himself, might well have the strongest, most traditional voice in country music. At times he seems like he has come along a generation too late but we are lucky for it. This is a fantastic song.

Shooter Jennings covers Cocaine Blues and proves that he, as well as Johnson, are proof that country music still has artists that remember their heritage.

Surprisingly perhaps the most unique song on the album is from the former lead singer of Evanescence Amy Lee who destroys I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry. Listening to her voice on this track begs the question where has she been?

And of course that version of Jackson, earlier mentioned rocks too.


This is one of the best albums of the year.

Heroes by Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson released his newest album a couple of weeks ago. Nelson, pushing eighty, has a voice that is still remarkable, as recognizable as any in music.

The Album features many guests and contributors with Willie's son Lukas playing and singing on many of the songs in the album. His son, with a voice a little higher and more nasal than his father, is a fine singer but the truth is Willie's voice is like velvet, this album needs less help and more Willie.

Still the album is strong. Willie continues his recent pattern of recording some of the best covers of rock songs that you have ever heard. On this album Willie's version of Coldplay's "The Scientist" is stunning in it's simplicity. You might remember that Willie's take on this song appeared on a Super Bowl commercial for some Mexican resteraunt chain. On this album Willie also performs the Pearl Jam song " Just Breathe." This, too, is a fantastic version of a good song.

I also want to offer advice on a song that does not appear on this album. On Outlaw Country on XM I recently heard Willie performing a version of the Dave Matthews song " Gravedigger." I do not know what album is it on, for whatever reason his version of this song is not on Spotify. I will say this however, this song is one of the best I have heard in the last year. The lyrics and Willie's voice are a perfect combination. This song is as moving as you will hear. Find it.

Returning to the album, one song the contributions strengthen is the title cut. With the unmistakable voice of Jamey Johnson and Texas music legend Billie Joe Shaver this song is a strong entry.

Proving that love of marijuana can bridge culture gaps Snoop Dogg joins Willie for the fun song " Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die. " It is cute but in truth the help of Shaver and Johnson is more significant.

Willie is at his best on the songs that are just his, new songs such as A Horse Called Music and That's All There is to this Song.

This is a very strong album.

The Essential David Allan Coe

Since I have put Sirius XM in my truck I have found that one of the channels that I enjoy the most is Outlaw country. One of the artists often featured is David Allan Coe. I have heard the name before but was not knowledgable about what he sang.

David Allen Coe was one of the members of the original outlaw country group. Not with the stature of Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson indeed but he certainly seems to have been a member of the following.

Today I heard a song by him called You Never Even Called Me By Name. This song has much to offer the country fan. With several verses the most important would be one that speaks about Waylon Jennings, Charley Pride and Merle Haggard with a catchy chorus. Perhaps what seperates this song the most however is the last verse, a very self aware verse where Coe speaks about the writer of the song and his telling him that it was not the best country song in the world as it missed some country cliches such as Momma, Trains, Prison, Trucks and Being Drunk. As one might imagine the writer added a verse which included those items and Coe was happy to sing the new verse for us.

Is this silly. Yes. It still is an acknowlegement of what country music used to be and what many of us still enjoy.

I came home and looked him up on Spotify and listened to this album. The first of these songs is entitled The Ride and I realized that I had heard this as well on Outlaw country. Another very good song telling of a ghost encounter with Hank Williams the original.

Yes perhaps a few too many songs are written about beer but this is not literature and there are no pretensions. It is what it is. And it is very good at what it is.


On Willie, Waylon and Me Coe takes us through his life of listening to sixties and seventies country rock. The Burritos, Roger Mcguin and the Byrds, and the Eagles and even tips his hat to true rock icons such as The Beatles, The Stones and Janis. It is an effective song.

More country even is Long Haired Redneck and perhaps most country of all is If That Ain't Country in which he talks about a rural upbringing with cliches like a hard working mama and cars in the yard. It is not a sad song though it is a song that tells with pride where he comes from. If Coe really comes from this background I do not know, what I do know is there are many who have been from that place in their youth and a song that does not aplogize for it but tells of it with pride must have appeal to many folks not written about in Rolling Stone.

David Allen Coe is a fine singer. He also knows exactly who he is. That is something to be valud and indeed even cherished.

Waylon and Willie/ Three Classic Songs

When Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson joined forces in the late 1970's they became bigger together than they ever were alone. Three songs from that era are eternal country classics, I have always enjoyed them and recently downloaded them

Good Hearted Woman is the best of the lot, a song that I myself find irresistable. This is a song I always sing along too. Waylon and Willie exchange lines and the song is backed with a strong arrangement. This version has crowd noise and one can only imagine that this concert with these two was a heck of a show.

Luckenbach Texas might be my personal favorite. It is a pretty song and easy to sing. I think my favorite verse might be Willie's with the nod to Jerry Jeff train songs. Not many reference Jerry Jeff Walker anymore.

Perhaps the most well known of all is Mama Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys. This is a good song and everyone knows it but I find it to more of a novelty than a traditional country song. When one listens to Willie and Waylon they are not looking for anything much beyond traditional country. These songs deliver.