Album of the Summer

2011 Sky Full of Holes by Fountains of Wayne

2011-08-02T14:00:00.010-04:00

This choice was hard to resist. Fountains of Wayne won the very first Album of the Summer in 2003 for Welcome Interstate Managers, which included the hit single “Stacy’s Mom.” Furthermore, Sky Full of Holes is being released in the U.S. today (8/2/2011), so the timing is perfect. Repeat winners are not an ideal circumstance, but there is precedent: Regina Spektor is a two-time winner. Although this album is a mild departure from their earlier efforts, Williams College alums Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingswood continue to pump out clever, punchy songs. Rolling Stone recently called FOW “rock's sharpest storytellers.”

Most importantly, the thirteen tracks of Sky Full of Holes include some great music. This is FOW’s first album since 2007, and the songs show a bit more maturity. For example, there are slightly fewer references to characters who are drunk. As usual, FOW have no problem meeting the happiness criteria. Well over half of the songs are upbeat driving pop numbers typical of the band. There is plenty of humor, but Schlesinger and Collingswood are also starting to probe deeper, more melancholy subjects. Indeed, the last song on the album, and one of my favorites, “Cemetery Guns,” is about a military funeral. Similarly, "Hate to See You Like This” is a beautiful ringing ballad about someone trying to help a friend out of a depression. But there are also great alt-pop numbers that could easily be radio singles, including “Someone’s Gonna Break Your Heart” and “Dip in the Ocean.“ The best story pieces are “Action Hero,” about a Walter Mittyish middle-aged father of three who is beginning to buckle under the stress, ”Richie and Rubin,” about two failed entrepreneurs who solicit investments from friends, and “Acela,” about a guy trying to get home to Boston. Finally, “A Road Song,” is an innocent country-ish number about a touring band member calling home to tell his girl he’s written a song for her. America, the aging casino-circuit rock band recorded a cover of “A Road Song” before Sky Full of Holes was released.

Here is the first music video to come out of Sky Full of Holes, the song "Summer Place":

This is "Dip in the Ocean" from FOWs July 28, 2011 appearance on the Late Night with David Letterman:

You may ask, “If Sky Full of Holes is being released today, how is it you can make this announcement so quickly?” Two reasons. First, due to the long gap between albums, several of these songs have been part of FOW’s concert repertoire for some time. Emily and I heard ”Cemetery Guns” and “A Road Song” two years ago at the Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, NY, and a number of the new songs have been on YouTube for a while. More importantly, however, FOW released a streaming version of the entire album on their Facebook page a week prior to the official release date.

2011 Album of the Summer Honorable Mentions

I and Love and You by The Avett Brothers

Some of you already know about this alternate country / folk rock group from Concord, North Carolina, but they were new to me. This album was released back in September of 2009 and has received considerable acclaim. Once I got ahold of it, I played it compulsively for a couple of months. The music is beautifully rendered, and the lyrics are frequently thoughtful and moving. Many of the songs deal with issues of loss and disappointment, but others like “January Wedding” and “Laundry Room” are blushingly innocent love songs. Several of the happy songs feature banjos. The infectious, uptempo “Heart Like a Kick Drum” includes the sweet lyric “It’s not the chase that I love / It’s me following you.”

The heavier songs on I and Love and You tackle philosophical themes, and they are often quite successful. The best of these are “Head Full of Doubt / Road Full of Promise” and “A Perfect Space.” The latter is a beautiful ballad about getting older and discovering what you want out of life:

I wanna have pride like my mother has,
And not like the kind in the Bible that turns you bad.
And I wanna have friends that I can trust,
that love me for the man I’ve become and not the man that I was.

The vocals are frequently infused with the brother harmonies of Scott and Seth Avett, and the results are consistently rewarding. I and Love and You is an ambitious album that succeeds on every track. Thank you to the Avett Brothers. They produced my Album of the Autumn and Winter and gave me many hours of pleasure. If you have not already come across them, you should give them a listen.

Here is the official video of the title song:

And here is a great version of "Head Full of Doubt / Road Full of Promise":

Myna Birds by Gavin Glass

Ireland continues to be fertile ground for contemporary music. Damien Rice and The Swell Season have received AOTS Honorable Mentions in previous years, and this Irish entry is equally wonderful. Gavin Glass, while a star in Ireland, is not yet well-known in the U.S., and MYNA BIRDS is only available as a download here (iTunes, Amazon, etc). Glass plays in Lisa Hannigan’s band (more about Hannigan below) and has produced two albums on his own. He combines country, folk rock, and big band sounds (there are horns) to produce some wonderful songs on this album.

Glass’ dominant genre is the tragic love song, well-exemplified by the opening track “Just Like Rome.” He is often plaintively tragic in songs like “Just Like Rome,” Wake Up,” “State of Emergency,” and the wonderful but somewhat inscrutable “Minor Miseries.” He moves into the angry tragic mode on “Bleed” and especially on the deliciously belligerent “Awake on the Weekend,” which includes some great Keith Richards-like whining guitar work.

Finally, the title track, “Myna Birds” is a lovely ditty written about a friend’s young child. Here is a high quality video of a live performance of this and another outstanding song “Slight of Hand” (I have spent some time pondering that spelling):

Despite his European origins, Glass’ music has many country overtones. He wears a western tie and vest. Of course, American country music has European roots that extend to Ireland, so he’s entitled.

This album does not meet the Album of the Summer happy criterion, but it is wonderfully evocative and creative. Highly recommended. Glass’ previous album, Gavin Glass & The Holy Shakers is also great.

The Unfazed by Dolorean

This time it’s country music from Portland, Oregon. This is the kind of mournful music you would expect to hear at a roadside juke joint where Budweiser is the house drink and nobody is dancing—except perhaps for one couple who just met tonight and are now asleep on each other’s shoulders. Hard-luck, pissed-off, breakup songs that are fairly unremittingly hopeless, but so, so wonderful. Once in a while Dolorean slips up and writes a song with an upbeat message, as in the title track “Unfazed,” as well as “Sweet Boy” and “These Slopes Give Me Hope,” but the music is reliably doleful throughout. The wistful “If I Find Love” fluctuates between hope and despair. The line “If I find love I’m gonna make it mine” later morphs into “I have a habit of getting in too deep / If I find love it’ll be the end of me.” A crawling tempo and a sweetly crying fiddle at the breaks give this song great drama and substance. If you’re in that kind of mood, The Unfazed is a great album.

Here is a live performance of the title song:

Alpochalypse by Weird Al Yankovic

I am going to go out on a limb here and say I think Weird Al Yankovic is a genius. A national treasure, even. He has been at it for thirty years, and when he releases a new album it is an event. Alpochalypse does not disappoint. High musical production values combined with Yankovic’s amazingly clever lyrics and clear enunciation make this another great collection. Alpochalypse includes classic Weird Al parodies of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” (“Perform This Way”), Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me” (“TMZ”), Miley Cirus’ “Party in the USA” (“Party in the CIA”), and the B.o.B./Bruno Mars number “Nothin’ on You” (“Another Tattoo”). The video of the Lady Gaga song is creepily hilarious.

As much as Weird Al is known for his parodies, some of his most impressive songs are original compositions. I love “Hardware Store” from Poodle Hat, which features some amazing speed singing. Alpochalypse introduces several clever originals including “Skipper Dan,” about a failed actor working at an amusement park, “Craigslist,” which is both a sequel to the earlier “eBay” and a generic Doors parody, and “Ringtone,” about a guy with a remarkably annoying one. But without question, my favorite song on the album is the enormously funny “Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me,” which is best experienced by watching the official video below. This is one of the happiest albums I came across this year. You will laugh.

And here is the best song on the album, "Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me":

2011 ALBUM OF THE SUMMER LOCAL ARTIST AWARD

Two Sides by Above/Below

Conflict of interest statement: Among the members of this phenomenal funk-jazz-hiphop-fusion group are faculty colleagues and friends David Dorfman (baritone sax) and Gabe Chandler (vocals). No matter. In my unbiased (wink) opinion A/B is the best thing to come out of New London, Connecticut since The Reducers. Great horns, soaring guitar work, and the amazing rhymes of MC Stat (AKA Professor Chandler). Plus, I really like their politics. The album is very appropriate for summer. The songs are upbeat and danceable. I particularly like “J Street,” “Socialist Todd,” and “The People’s Bailout.” Earlier this summer Two Sides won a New London Whalie Award for Album of the Year, and now A/B can add an Album of the Summer Local Artist Award to their accomplishments.

Here's a video of Above/Below's performance of "Socialist Todd" at Sailfest 2011:

Two Sides is available through the band’s website as a “name your price” digital download, or for $10 you can order the hardcopy CD. On the website, you will also find the band’s two-song album featuring “Things Get Better” and “Alchemy.”

http://abovebelow.bandcamp.com/album/two-sides

Rumor has it, now that Gabe Chandler has returned to California, Above/Below may be defunct. Let me add my voice to all those who cry, “Say it ain’t so!”

That's it for this year. See you next summer.

SV

2010 The ArchAndroid by Janelle Monáe

2010-05-24T15:22:00.042-04:00

This is the first R&B Album of the Summer, but as soon as you call ARCHANDROID R&B—or anything else—you risk misclassifying it. Yes, the single, “Tightrope,” is an upbeat funky number that consciously echoes James Brown—grunts and all—but the album includes dance tunes, romantic pop ballads, orchestral rock, dreamy techno numbers, and a traditional British folk song. There is something for everyone: 18 tracks and 70 minutes of music.

THE ARCHANDROID is a futuristic concept album presenting the middle two “suites”—each introduced with an overture—of a four-part work drawing inspiration from Fritz Lang’s 1927 science fiction film Metropolis and David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust, among other sources. The album is exceptionally ambitious and is successful at fulfilling almost all its ambitions.

This is Janelle Monáe’s first full-length effort, and although she is still relatively new on the scene, she has been energetically hyped with appearances on Late Night with David Letterman and American Idol. She received a 2009 Grammy nomination in the category of Best Urban/Alternative Performance for “Many Moons,“ a song from her earlier extended play release METROPOLIS. THE ARCHANDROID was produced by Sean “Diddy” Combs and includes appearances by Outcast’s Big Boi, among others. Monáe is a singer, songwriter, and dancer, and her stage performances owe much to Michael Jackson. She moonwalks. The album easily fits criterion #2 (happy). You often feel like dancing because several of the songs are, in fact, dance numbers.

In addition to “Tightrope,” my favorites are the Michael Jackson-like “Locked Inside,” the driving “Cold War,” “Come Alive,” which has been compared to both “Thriller” and “The Monster Mash,” the light robot ditty “Wondaland,” and the beautiful love song “Say You’ll Go,” whose bell-like piano ending includes a bit of Claude Debussy’s “Clair du Lune.” This album takes some time to absorb, but it does not disappoint. Janelle Monáe is a bright and powerful force.

This spectacular live performance of the classic "Smile" is not from THE ARCHANDROID. The song appeared on Monáe's earlier extended play, METROPOLIS , the first suite of her concept piece:

Janelle Monae Performing Smile June 2, 2010 at Chicago Theater from So Snewty on Vimeo.

2010 Album of the Summer Honorable Mentions

B.o.B PRESENTS: THE ADVENTURES OF BOBBY RAY by B.o.B.

THE ADVENTURES OF BOBBY RAY may have been the Album of the Summer for many people. The hit song “Airplanes” has been all over the radio, and this debut album entered the Billboard 200 chart at #1. But “Airplanes” is just the beginning. There are lots of great songs here, including the dreamy “Don’t Let Me Fall“ and ”Ghost in the Machine” and the upbeat pop numbers “Nothing On You,” which features the sweet crooning of Bruno Mars, and “Magic.” The album certainly satisfies the happy criterion for Album of the Summer and came very close being chosen.

Here is the official video for "Airplanes" featuring Hayley Williams:

This is the somewhat goofy official video for "Nothin' On You." It's all about Bruno Mars:

LIGHT by MATISYAHU

The third studio album from this young chassid reggae performer is more pop than previous Matisyahu offerings and is wonderfully upbeat and idealistic. The fast-pace opening song “Smash Lies” is great, and the single “One Day,” with its message of peace is quite infectious. “I Will Be Light” is a similarly bright and spiritual anthem. Although the album was released last summer, the single “One Day” has gotten play throughout the year. I last heard it during the awards ceremony following the final match of the World Cup. Thanks to Ursula Bailey, who gave me my first copy of a Matisyahu album, and Eli Blinderman for alerting me to “One Day” and LIGHT.

Here is the official video for "One Day":

And a live performance of "Smash Lies." I love to see him dancing around on stage:

Matisyahu at the Elemental Experience, Smash Lies from Panman Productions on Vimeo.

2009 Far by Regina Spektor

2009-07-31T07:42:00.035-04:00

“But wait!” you say. “Regina Spektor was the 2007 Album of the Summer winner for Begin To Hope.” True enough. This is the first time an artist has repeated as Album of the Summer winner, and frankly it feels all little like cheating. A little easy; a little cheap. Accordingly, I agonized over this choice for a long time. Of course, there is nothing in The (Demanding if Somewhat Idiosyncratic and Not Strictly Adhered to) Criteria for the Album of the Summer that prohibits repeat winners, and last year Jack Johnson came very close to repeating, receiving honorable mention for Sleep Through the Static. Yet an unspoken goal of the Album of the Summer Project is to stir the pot and introduce less established artists. Since her selection in 2007 (though undoubtedly not BECAUSE of her selection) Spektor has gone on to become a big star, appearing regularly on television and in increasingly large concert venues. She now has several imitators.

All of this argued against picking Far, but for two reasons, I felt I could not do otherwise. First, Far is a bit lighter than Spektor's previous offerings, making it appropriate as an Album of the Summer selection. The song “Folding Chair” is both a favorite and a classic AOTS song. It even takes place on a beach. Second—and for me this was the most persuasive reason—Far has, in fact, been the 2009 Album of the Summer for the people in my life. The timing was good. Far was released on June 23, and since that time, it has been the album we have all been most consistently listening to whenever we are in the car or playing music at home. It has drawn us back time and again, and isn't that what an Album of the Summer is supposed to do?

Far opens with two upbeat AOTS-ish numbers. “The Calculator” includes the lines “So we made our own computer out of macaroni pieces / and it did our thinking while we lived our lives.” The song “Eet” features a typically Spektor-ish play on the long-e sound, repeated rhythmically in the chorus. The aforementioned "Folding Chair," is perhaps the most infectious number on the album, inspiring regular bouts of involuntary singing at the grocery store (“...and the sea is just a wetter version of the skies”). The alternately haunting and impish song “Laughing With” is quite wonderful and has received much air play in a music video and in Spektor's public appearances. “Two Birds” is another cute Spektor ditty, and the driving beat of “Dance Anthem of the 80's” does, in fact, make you want to dance. (“There's a meat market down the street / where the boys and girls watch each other eat.”) I'm not sure what it is about, but the cheerily triumphant “One More Time With Feeling” wonderful.

Of course there are a few somber, muted, and sad numbers on the album (e.g., “Genius Next Door”). A particular favorite is the wistful “Wallet” which tells the story of a found wallet. (“I'll take your wallet to my local Blockbuster / they'll find your number in their computer / you'll never know me, I'll never know you / but you'll be so happy when they call you up”).

Although there is much more I could say, this email is already very long, and I am only halfway through. I just hope you enjoy Far as much as I have. If you buy the album, I recommend you download the iTunes version which includes three bonus tracks. “Riot Gear” is particularly good.

Here is a good live performance of "Folding Chair":

Here is the official video of "Laughing With":

2009 ALBUM OF THE SUMMER HONORABLE MENTIONS

NOBLE BEAST by ANDREW BIRD
Andrew Bird was new to me, but I love this album. A Chicagoan, Bird graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in violin performance. His songs show a strong classical and jazz influence, and his lyrics are clever and unusual. The song “Fitz and the Dizzy Spells,” is much fun and displays Bird's skills as a whistler. You will find yourself whistling it, too. I am also fond of the longing “Nomenclature,” and the song “Anonanimal,” which begins Bird plucking the strings of his violin in a long instrumental introduction. I hear a hint of Donovan (some of you are old enough to know who he is/was) in the song “Natural Disaster,” particularly in the word “fecundity.” “Privateer” is another favorite, in part because it includes the immortal lines “I don't want your life insurance / home, auto, health, flood, and fire insurance.” There is enough happiness in Noble Beast to justify an Album of the Summer pick, but it just wasn't as strong as Far. For those in the southeastern New England area, Bird will be at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel in Providence in October.

Here is a nice live performance of "Anonanimal" recorded at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. I love the jazzy jam at the beginning:

Here is the official music video of the very cute "Fitz and the Dizzyspells," one of the most Album of the Summer-ish numbers on Noble Beast:

MIDDLE CYCLONE by NEKO CASE
Wikipedia describes Neko Case as an “American alternative country singer-songwriter” who is known both as a solo artist and as a member of the Canadian group The New Pornographers. Much of Middle Cyclone was recorded on Case's Vermont farm in a barn she has filled with pianos found on Craigslist. Her “piano orchestra” appears on several numbers, but recording in a barn also means that random bird and frog noises appear on the album. The last track is a 30-minute field recording, “Marais La Nuit” (Marsh at Night), of frogs peeping. Middle Cyclone is a bit dark and longing in places, but Case's voice is strong and righteous. There are many nature and animal themes in songs like “Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth” and "I'm An Animal." There are several very haunting numbers, including the first track “This Tornado Loves You” and “People Got A Lotta Nerve.” The wistful ballad “Magpie to the Morning” is a particular favorite, with the very fitting line “Said the magpie to the morning, don't let this fading summer pass you by.” Case also does a wonderful cover of Harry Nillson's sad sweet “Don't Forget Me.” And yes, Lynn, she has red hair! Thanks to LB for discovering this one.

Here is Neko Case singing "People Got a Lotta Nerve" on the CBC's show QTV:

Here is a live performance of the Harry Nillson song "Don't Forget Me" done in Seattle in September of 2008:

HONORARY ALBUM OF SUMMERS PAST AWARD
Finally, this year's new wrinkle is The Honorary Album of Summers Past Award, recognizing an earlier offering that—had the Album of the Summer been in existence at the time—would surely have won, or at least been a really strong contender:

GORDON by BARENAKED LADIES
BNL is precisely the kind of clever, fun-loving, rollicking-live-show group that epitomizes the Album Of The Summer concept, and the group's 1992 debut album has been a favorite in my family for years. With the news that Steven Page, front man and half of the Page-Robertson songwriting team, left the BNL in February, it seemed fitting to reach back and recognize the group and this great album. Gordon includes the classics “If I Had A Million Dollars,” “Hello City,” “Enid,” “The King of Bedside Manor,” and “Brian Wilson,” as well as many other great songs. On the Album of the Summer Blog, you will find two great videos of songs from the album.

This is a live performance of "If I Had A Million Dollars" from the 1996 T in the Park Festival in Scotland:

This is "Bedside Manor" from something called The Bathroom Sessions:

2008 Yael Naïm by Yael Naïm

2008-06-10T15:28:00.014-04:00

According to Wikipedia, Yael Naïm was born in Paris in 1978 to French and Tunisian, Sephardi-Jewish parents. At the age of four, she moved with her family to Ramat HaSharon, Israel, where she spent the rest of her childhood. Many of you will recognize Naïm’s song, “New Soul,” which was chosen by Steve Jobs for the MacBook Air commercial. She has also gotten some air play with her slow, hypnotic cover of the Britney Spears song “Toxic.” The album is a mixture of songs in English and Hebrew (there is also a bit of French on the song “Paris”), and Naïm’s brand of light cabaret-style music will please many fans of Pink Martini. Once again I had to fudge the happiness criteria a bit because there are a few sad numbers on the album (e.g., “Lonely”), but Naïm’s voice is so beautifully soaring that she avoids being truly depressive. Many other songs have the light, foot-tapping quality preferred in an album of the summer.

Favorite songs include the aforementioned “New Soul” and “Toxic,” as well as “Paris,” “Far Far,” and “The Endless Song of Happiness.” The sweet, romantic number, “Far Far” includes the wonderful refrain: “How can you stay outside when there’s a beautiful mess inside?” The accompaniments are entirely acoustic, leaving plenty of space to for Naïm’s vocals. I have been listening to the album for much of the summer, and in the end, it shone through where others did not. I hope you enjoy it, too.

Thank you to Lori Blinderman for introducing me to Yael Naïm.

Here is a live performance of "New Soul":

Here is a live performance of "Far Far" recorded June 21, 2008 at the Berkelee Performance Center in Boston.

And, finally, a short version of "Toxic"

2008 Album of the Summer Honorable Mentions

As the tardiness of this year's announcement suggests, this time the decision was particularly difficult. Several albums made it as candidates, but for one reason or another seemed not to quite fit the bill. Nonetheless, these honorable mentions are also good listening.

SLEEP THROUGH THE STATIC by JACK JOHNSON
This one almost made it. There is great poetry in this album, which is a bit more serious than his previous offerings. But the Album of the Summer has always had an underdog quality to it, and Johnson, who has already received an Album of the Summer pick in 2005, has now achieved mega-star status.

Here is the sweet song "Angel," followed by a bit of "Better Together" from the album of the same name.

THE SWELL SEASON by Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
This may be my favorite new (to me) discovery. Released in 2006, this duo starred in the movie Once, and their song “Falling Slowly” won the 2007 Academy Award for best song. This album was eliminated from the competition for not meeting the happy criterion. Hansard is an Irishman and Irglova is Czech. Their music is plaintive and emotional and quite beautiful, but too consistently unhappy to be chosen. This music will remind you of Damien Rice, but it is not quite as desperately hopeless as his.

Here is a great live performance of "Falling Slowly" from Late Night with David Letterman.

GIRLS AND BOYS by INGRID MICHAELSON
This young woman gained attention after some of her songs were used on the television show Grey’s Anatomy. The album is a bit spotty, but there are some truly exceptional songs here, including, “Breakable,” “The Way I Am,” “Overboard,” and “Far Away.” In addition to the songs on the album, Michaelson’s singles, “Giving Up” and “Keep Breathing” are wonderful.

This is a cute montage video made to Michaelson's song "Breakable," from which the album title GIRLS AND BOYS is drawn.

2007 Begin to Hope by Regina Spektor

2008-06-10T15:00:00.003-04:00

Here is what I said in the 2007 Album of the Summer announcement email:

Wikipedia describes Regina Spektor as a Russian-born American singer-songwriter and pianist whose music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered on New York City's East Village. Neither she nor this album are new. BEGIN TO HOPE was released over a year ago, but the album is also not old yet, as evidenced by the fact that as I write this the shorter version of the album rests at #54 on the Amazon.com music list. BEGIN TO HOPE was also chosen as one of the top 10 albums of 2006 (#7) by NPR listeners, and Amazon.com lists it as one of the top 100 albums of 2006.

Last year's choice of was a stretch of the "It has to be happy" criterion, but I feel like, in the end, you have to go with the album you like best—so long as it has some upbeat segments and seems appropriate to summer. Several of this year's Honorable Mentions are lighter collections than BEGIN TO HOPE, but this is the album that has really stuck with me. There are some very happy spots, and you feel like dancing, particularly on the opening number, "Fidelity," and on "Better," "On the Radio," and "Hotel Song." But Spektor is often bluesy and sardonic. She has a wonderful, energetic voice, and her unusual style includes occasional grunts, noises, and scat singing. On several songs, she accompanies herself on the piano to great effect, particularly on the beautiful ballad, "Samson". She does lonely longing especially well on songs like "Field Below" and the sweetly forlorn "Summer in the City."

If you buy the album I strongly recommend you spend the extra money for the iTunes "Bonus Track Edition" or the yellow two-CD "limited edition" version, else you will miss out on some really great songs, including "Another Town," "Hero," and "Bartender."

PARENTAL ADVISORY: This album has many direct references to drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes and some oblique references to sex ("...come into my bed, I've got to know you..."). Having said this, the only "bad language" I recall is the use of the word "shit" on the somewhat maniacal song "That Time" and on "Baobabs."

Here is one of my favorite songs from Begin to Hope, the beautiful forlorn ballad, "Samson":

This song is not on Begin to Hope, but it is so wonderful that I had to include it here. This is a live performance from the 2007 Bonnaroo festival of John Lennon's song "Real Love" which Spektor contributed to the recent Amnesty International Darfur benefit album collection of Lennon songs. I prefer this live version, with Spektor's vigorous piano pounding over the recorded track.

2007 Album of the Summer Honorable Mentions

1. Half the Perfect World by Madeleine Peyroux (I really like this album and came very close to choosing it.)
2. Hey Eugene! by Pink Martini (They continue to put out joyful international fare—even in Arabic! The title song is great.)
3. Traffic and Weather by Fountains of Wayne (This latest from the original 2003 Album of the Year winners is much fun.)

2006 Illinoise by Sufjan Stevens

2008-06-10T10:29:00.000-04:00

This selection was recommended by a former student Rachael Reavis, who is now a PhD student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Illinoise, or Come on Feel the Illinoise, which is the full title of the album, has been my most unusual pick to date. Here are some excerpts from my email announcing the 2006 choice:

An amazingly talented young man, playing folksy, lilting compositions that are very difficult to classify. A real original. This is his second album about a state--the first was MICHIGAN, about the place of his birth. For Illinoisans on the list, there are songs about Chicago, Jacksonville, Metropolis, and Decatur.

This year's choice is somewhat unlikely for two reasons. First, I have pushed the limit on Criterion #2. Some of the topics of the songs are clearly unhappy (e.g., the serial killer John Wayne Gacy Jr.), but in many cases the music is cheerier than the subject matter. Banjos are often featured, and it is hard to make a banjo sound sad. One or two cuts are a bit solemn, but the overall tone of the album is quite joyful. You often feel like dancing.

Second, Stevens is a devout Christian, and, as many of you know, I am not. There are many religious references on the album, but to my ear, they blend well with the music and the subject matter. Furthermore, if it is Stevens' religious faith that gives him his thoughtful, philosophical tone, then I am thankful for it.

It is difficult to find good videos of Stevens' songs because his live performances are sometimes a bit ragged and he often presents his music in varying forms. Below is a reasonable live version of the very popular song "Chicago," which he does here in its more energetic big band arrangement. You will notice that Stevens is wearing a large pair of multicolored wings.

2005 In Between Dreams by Jack Johnson

2008-06-10T08:38:00.001-04:00

This was the first album I picked out of the air, after hearing pieces of it on the radio and in the local coffee house. Johnson, who was born in Hawaii and is a former competitive surfer, writes wonderfully poetic and romantic songs accompanied by acoustic guitar. There is something of the laid-back surfer culture in his songs, and this album easily meets the happy and feel-like-dancing criteria for an Album of the Summer.

Here is a video of a live performance of the song "Better Together," one of the most popular on the album.
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Here is a television performance of another favorite, "Banana Pancakes."

2004 Twentysomething by Jamie Cullum

2008-06-08T20:44:00.001-04:00

Jamie Cullum is an exciting young British jazz-pop pianist and singer. He does old standards as well as his own songs. In the summer of 2006, my son and I saw Cullum perform at the Calvin Theater in Northamption, Massachusetts. If you ever get a chance to see him live, I highly recommend it. He does a very energetic show pounding on the piano and bounding across the stage. At the end of the Northampton show, he had been joined on stage by a about twenty audience members who danced in a crowd around his piano.

Cullum is most famous for "All at Sea," which was released as a single and got considerable air play in the US and Europe. Embedding of the official music video has been disabled, so here is a good live performance:

2003 Welcome Interstate Managers by Fountains of Wayne

2008-06-08T10:39:00.001-04:00

This album is most famous for the hit song, "Stacy's Mom," which was, indeed, very clever, but my favorite song on the album is "Bright Future in Sales." Unfortunately, I am unable to find any decent videos of this song, so here is a live performance of the sweet sad ballad "Hackensack," also from Interstate Managers:

The football song, "All Kinds of Time," is a favorite of my daughter, who as sports editor of the Westerly (RI) High School newspaper, has become something of a sports fan in recent years. Part of the song was used in a National Football League TV commercial, which I have included here:

Criteria for and Origins of the Album of the Summer

2008-06-08T09:37:00.005-04:00

The Disclaimers

1. I have no authority to make this announcement. I majored in English. I played cornet in high school (sometimes sitting in the first chair), but that was a long time ago. I typically buy no more than three CDs per year, and I do not consider myself particularly musical.
2. This selection is not the result of an exhaustive scientific process. I listen to reviews of albums on NPR; I listen to things being played in the local coffee shop; and I try to take note of any good songs I hear in movies. People tell me about albums they like. Despite a rather casual approach to this project, I have discovered music that I and others have enjoyed for the last few summers.

The (Demanding if Somewhat Idiosyncratic and Not Rigidly Adhered To) Criteria for an Album of the Summer:

1. I have to like it. Enough so that I am fairly confident I will not get tired of it before the summer is over.
2. It has to be happy. It helps if you feel like dancing. Over the years this has been the most troubling criterion. The first ever Album of the Summer (see below) was quite happy, and happy seems appropriate for music played in the car with the windows rolled down. But I have come to realize that most of what I listen to throughout the year is quite sad—desperately so, in some cases—or at least a little angry. So, this is where the “Not Rigidly Adhered To” loophole has most often been applied.
3. It has to be new to me, but this is no guarantee that it is, in fact, new or that it is new to you.

The Album of the Summer award was launched with an opinion piece I published in the Providence Journal on November 28, 2003. This article named Fountains of Wayne's Welcome Interstate Managers as the first Album of the Summer and created a lasting association of this warm-weather ritual with my children, Emily and Graham.

Clicking the image below will make it large enough to read.