FRIDAY NIGHT: NO EXPIRATION ON VH1 - TOP 40 VIDEOS OF 2010

For the second year in a row, VH1 invited No Expiration to be a "pundit" on their year end video countdown. Full disclosure: I worked at VH1 for years, and they would occasionally ask me to comment on one of their shows, generally when a "real" pundit cancelled at the last minute and they had already paid for a crew. But I got good at being an interviewee (mainly because I was usually the interviewer, and I knew what they were looking for).

Last year, there were lots of rock bands on the countdown, which is why I got the call, but they used my comments on lots of pop artists too.  This year, the list is much more pop-heavy, but I had a great time being interviewed.  Thanks again Rick H and Rob N for thinking of me, and Riley M for two fun interviews.

For some reason, they've posted most of the videos (but not the top five) here, and people who watch VH1's countdowns (or the pop charts) can probably make good guesses of what topped the list. As seen above in a graphic created by VH1, Adam Lambert, Katy Perry, Kid Rock and Bruno Mars have made the cut. There were a lot of questions about Katy Perry's anatomy in the interview.

I was glad that Mumford & Sons' "Little Lion Man" is on the list, I've written about them before.  They are one of my favorite new bands (even though they sound like they're from 1945). Also on the list: Muse, whose "Resistance" is one of he best songs of the past two years. One of the best videos of the year is Jack Johnson's "At Or With Me" which features Saturday Night Live's Andy Sandberg, I'm glad that made the cut.

Not that I only enjoy the more "rock" artists on the list.  I definitely dig P!nk's "Raise Your Glass," which is a great 2010 anthem (despite the lazy lyric "if you're too school for cool"), and also the Lady Gaga/Beyonce duet "Telephone." Also the Jay-Z/Alicia Keys classic "Empire State Of Mind" and both Eminem tracks, "Not Alone" and "Love The Way You Lie" featuring Rihanna. Anyway, tune in and find out what song is #1!

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: SINGER-SONGWRITERS

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, every Wednesday morning at 9 am ET I go on the SIRIUS XM channel OutQ. I am a weekly contributor to The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick. Tomorrow I'll be talking about some great singer-songwriters, including one of Larry's favorites.  

A while ago, I wrote about James Taylor's tour with Carole King. It turns out that it is one of the hottest tours of the year! In the early '70s, James and Carole shared a backing band and did gigs together.  They actually did a few shows at the Trobadour in L.A. a while back, and have just released an excellent live album from the shows. It's easy to make fun of this and call it boomer soft-rock or whatever.  But James is an incredible songwriter and in my opinion, Carole is even better. She is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - as a "non-performer." For her career as a songwriter for other people (along with her former songwriting partner and ex-husband, Gerry Goffin). I would argue that she should be inducted for a second time, this time as a performer. 

Speaking of Carole King, Sony Legacy has just released The Essential Carole King. It is a bit different than the many other releases in the Essential series, in that one disc is Carole performing her own songs, the other disc features other artists, including Aretha Franklin, Little Eva, The Cookies and Billy Joel, performing her songs.  Before she was a performer, she worked as a songwriter in the Brill Building (Neil Diamond worked there as well). She wrote a lot of great songs for other people: but her own album Tapestry is a stone cold classic. 

A lot of people classify Jackson Browne along with James and Carole: a singer-songwriter who came of age in the late '60s and early '70s who seemed to be the drier next movement after the hippie era. And like James and Carole, he was never part of a band to reunite with.  James and Carole had both done some stripped down and solo tours, and without a band to reunite with, they reunited with each other (and their former backing band). Jackson has also done the stripped down thing in recent years, but for this live album, he reunited with his multi-instrumentalist collaborator David Lindley.  Their live album was recorded on a tour of Spain in 2006, and features some collaborators from Spain. I'm not a huge Jackson fan.  I love his politics, but I'm not totally into his music.  He is one of Larry Flick's favorite artists though. I interviewed Jackson once, and he was very cool.  

Jakob Dylan just released his second solo album, Women & Country.  His first one was produced by Rick Rubin and was stripped down a la double R's productions of Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond. This time around he worked with T-Bone Burnett who produced his most successful album, The Wallflowers' Bringing Down The Horse. Women & Country is great. I think Jakob is always going to be underrated. First of all, there's dad. Second, that Wallflowers album was so big, he isn't likely to get another album that is that popular. But you have me, so you don't need hype!  Trust me, get this album. 

Jack Johnson has just released his latest album, To The Sea, which apparently had one of the best first week sales numbers of 2010.  Of course, that doesn't mean as much as it used to, but good for Jack. I think even he is surprised at how successful he's been.  I've interviewed him, and he seems to be such a good guy. People think he doesn't have any edge to him, but he grew up listening to Fugazi and Metallica.  It's just not his thing to make that kind of music. Anyway, I like a lot of his songs (I don't know if I'd go to a concert, but I've enjoyed seeing him open for other people and at festivals), and I really like his new song, "You and Your Heart." 

Finally, Karen Elson a new artist who took me totally by surprise. I promise to write more about her pretty soon.  I really like her self titled debut album. 

EDDIE VEDDER GUESTS ON JACK JOHNSON'S LIVE ALBUM

There are a lot of hardcore Jack Johnson fans out there. Then, on the other side, a lot of people just hate him. I think he's talented, although I'm not a huge fan. I've seen him perform at the Austin City Limits Festival, and opening for Ben Harper (who helped put him on the map). Jack has a new live album, En Concert, recorded at different dates all over the place, but Pearl Jam fans will want to know that it includes a duet with Eddie Vedder, "Constellations." You can buy the song a la carte at iTunes. If you're a hardcore Jack fan, there are lots of different versions of the album, check them out at Jack's site.

ZIGGY REMIXES BOB MARLEY FOR KIDS

Billboard reports that Ziggy Marley is remixing some of Bob Marley 's songs with kid-friendly arrangements. It sounds like a weird idea, but there is some cool music out there - The Beatles and Marley being two examples - that are probably great for kids and for parents.  So, I think it's cool. Ziggy is also doing his own children's album, with guests including Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Jack Johnson and Toots Hibbert. And Jamie Lee Curtis! Don't front on Jamie Lee, she rocks: her husband Christopher Guest is in Spinal Tap! Anyway, there's a pot joke here, but I'll let someone else make it. 

NICK DRAKE TRIBUTE TO INCLUDE VEDDER, GROHL, NORAH

Nick Drake is definitely an acquired taste. I remember reading about him, and then checking him out, and not really getting it. I'm not a total die-hard by any means, but I get it now. He was a great songwriter who died too young. A lot of people discovered him decades after his death when his song "Pink Moon" was used in a car commercial. Now, Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl, Norah Jones and Jack Johnson are among the artists participating in a tribute album to him. Speaking of people who died too young, it will include Heath Ledger's video for Drake's "Black Eyed Dog." Jack Johnson will be putting the tribute out on his Brushfire Records label later this year.

NEIL YOUNG: FARM AID WRAP UP, BRIDGE CONCERT LINEUP

Yesterday was Farm Aid 2008. I went last year when it hit New York, and the year before in Camden, New Jersey. This year is was in Boston, but I didn't have to bucks to make the trip. Plus, I saw John Mellencamp earlier this summer, and I'm going to see Neil Young and his current band later this year. Of course, Willie Nelson played (his Farm Aid sets are usually a bit messy), as did Dave Matthews (as a duo with Tim Reynolds, as they did last year). Also on the bill was The Pretenders (who have a cool album out that I'll be writing about soon), Jerry Lee Lewis, Kenny Chesney (as the token mainstream country act on the bill), Jakob Dylan and the great patriot Steve Earle. Farm Aid is a great event, you should catch it if you can.

Neil has also announced the lineup for this year's Bridge School Benefit concert. Neil of course is headlining, Pegi Young is also on the bill, as well as Norah Jones, Jack Johnson, Wilco, Death Cab For Cutie, Cat Power and opera singer Josh Grobman. For real. One night, ZZ Top will be playing, the other night it will be "The Smashing Pumpkins." I always say that I'm going to go to The Bridge School Benefit concert, but this is not one of the more exciting lineups (although I'd like to see ZZ Top "unplugged"). It is, of course, a great cause to support regardless of who is playing in any given year.

ZEPPELIN TO PLAY BONNAROO

Lez Zeppelin, that is. But at least Bonnaroo can brag about having booked "Zeppelin."

The earlier rumors of The Kinks and R.E.M. headlining have also proved to be false. It's really too bad about The Kinks, it would be great if they reunited.

However, the rumor that Pearl Jam would be one of the headliners has turned out to be true. The other headliners are Metallica, Kanye West and Coachella headliner Jack Johnson. I think that's a pretty cool lineup of headliners. Also on the bill: The Raconteurs, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, The Allman Brothers Band, B.B. King, Levon Helm, Talib Kweli, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi, Rilo Kiley, Mastodon, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and Aimee Mann. And Lez Zeppelin. Pretty good lineup. Here's hoping Robert Plant performs with Zep.