TRUE BLOOD SEASON 5: THE MUSIC

First off, I'm happy to announce "30 on 30," a challenge that some of my colleagues and I issued to ourselves: we're attempting a post a day to our blogs through the month of August.  I'm particularly "out of shape" (although I write a few posts at my day job every day, so it's not like I haven't been writing at all). I'm looking forward to it.

Last year, I posted about how much I enjoyed the music on True Blood, even as I thought season 4 was a total letdown. I even mentioned Music Supervisor Gary Callamar by name.  So, it's been one of the very fun parts of my new job that I've been writing a series of weekly posts on CBS Local websites that covers the music of True Blood. And I get to talk to Mr. Callamar himself!

This year has had some great music moments, both for the soundtrack and in the context of the show.  Here's a brief synopsis:

The season premiere, "Turn! Turn! Turn!" had some great moments, but none topped Jessica and Jason rocking out to The Runaways' "Cherry Bomb" on Guitar Hero.  The episode's title track was a new take on the song by My Morning Jacket, which worked quite well.

"Authority Always Wins" featured a very cool and very different cover of John Mellencamp's "The Authority Song" by a rockabilly artist who I never heard of, Bosco Delrey, who I'd never heard of.  Actually writing this reminded me that I have to check him out, so I just downloaded another one of his songs, "Wild One," on iTunes.

"We'll Meet Again" features the World War II hit as covered by the great Los Lobos, a great musical moment.  The funniest music moment, however, was Sookie lying on her couch, drunk, singing "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)."

"Let's Boot And Rally" features a brand new song written for the episode, penned by Mr. Calamar himself.  Nice work if you can get it!  Read the story about it here. It is a duet between Iggy Pop and Best Coast singer Bethany Costentino. An interesting combination: I personally would love to see someone pair Iggy up with Kills singer Allison Mosshart, who would have been amazing on this song. You can buy "Let's Boot And Rally" on iTunes now (but Mr. Calamar told me the next True Blood soundtrack wouldn't come out until season six).

The episode called "In The Beginning" featured a song by the same name by an artist named K'naan. But the best music moment featured a karaoke version of "You Light Up My Life" that has to be seen to be believed.

The latest episode, "Somebody That I Used To Know," had an interesting music twist.  The episode originally planned to use the very odd smash of the same name by Goyte.  But as the song got more popular - and has been used on American Idol, The Voice and Glee - it got a little too popular for True Blood. They ended up not using it, instead opting for a song with the same name by the late Elliott Smith.  I think they made the right choice.  As unusual as Goyte's song is, it would have been a bit too obvious for True Blood at this point (I actually thought there'd be a cover by an unlikely artist).  But the best song in the episode was Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightnin'" which was used during a particularly steamy scene.

I'm looking forward to the music from the rest of the season.  Also, I should mention that I ended my last True Blood post hoping that season five would make up for season four.  I'm glad to say that I think  it has, and then some: this season has been pretty great.  I really dig The Authority.

By the way, I'm not going to use my CBS stories as launching points for all of my posts this month.  Tomorrow I plan on writing a review of Helmet's show at Webster Hall. I haven't seen them in years, and I'm wondering if they'll be as great as I remember.

MY MORNING JACKET - CIRCUITAL - MY TAKE

I have mixed feelings about My Morning Jacket.  On one hand, I really respect their ambition: they seem to be one of the "indie" bands out there who are really ambitious creatively.  At the same time, they don't seem to have a problem with being successful and playing large venues.  Another thing I respect about them is that they appeal equally to hippies and hipsters.  This band is at home at Bonnaroo or Coachella.

Sometimes they strike me as musical health food though: I know it's good for me to listen to them, but I don't really enjoy it. I'm starting to realize that they are a great band, and are a taste you develop.  Also, they're not the kind of band you're always in the mood for.

That said, "Victory Dance," which leads off their new album, Circuital, is a perfect song for a sundown. The other day, I ran six miles.  When I finished and walked a bit to cool down, the sun was actually setting and I put this song in. Perfect.  I don't smoke, but people who run know the sort of high after you finish a long run, and experiencing that, a beautiful sunset and "Victory Dance' was an incredible combination.

The other song on the album that really stands out to me is "Holdin' On To Black Metal."  With a choir of young girls and a horn section, it's not very black metal.  It's not very metal at all!  But it is a great tune.  It's funny to me that a hippie indie band would sing a song about black metal. I wonder how many non-indie rock bands would sing songs about indie rock. I'm OK with it though: it doesn't sound like they are mocking metal.

Anyway, I'll recommend the album, but only if you have time to listen to the record a few times to absorb it.  As I mentioned, I respect the band (I also named frontman Jim James one of the best artists of the '00s) and they are at least worth checking out.

RAVE ON BUDDY HOLLY

I know that a lot of people hate the idea of tribute albums.  I don't.  In the pre-downloading age, I bought tons of them, even if there was just one artist I liked on the album. I really like the idea of artists paying tribute to other artists, I always have. It's hard to overstate Buddy Holly's importance.  He was there at the beginning of rock and roll.  He influenced The Beatles. The Rolling Stones covered him on their first album. I remember watching Bob Dylan talk about a Buddy Holly concert when he was accepting his Grammys in 1997.

I think it's important to our culture to keep reintroducing this kind of classic music to younger generations (or "demographics").  Rave On Buddy Holly does a good job at putting together a great list of diverse artists.   Do any of them improve on the original songs?  No, of course not. But there are lots of great versions of these classics, and if Rave On turns some new people on to Buddy Holly's music, then mission accomplished.

I think my favorite songs on the album are Paul McCartney's "It's So Easy," Karen Elson's "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" and Cee-Lo Green's "You're So Square (Baby I Don't Care)." Sir Paul sounds like he  is harnessing the excitement that he felt when first hearing Buddy's music as a kid. It's actually kind of shocking hearing him rock out so hard!  No Expiration readers know that I really like Karen Elson, and I love her take on "Crying, Waiting, Hoping."  It's hard not to imagine that she was thinking about her soon-to-be-ex-husband (who produced the track and plays drums on it) when she was singing this.  Even still, it's a bit more upbeat than her most of the stuff on her excellent debut album The Ghost Who Walks. Cee-Lo Green? He just sells it so well.

There's a lot of other great moments: The Detroit Cobras (props to the producers for including them) on "Heartbeat," The Black Keys' "Dearest," Justin Townes Earle's "Maybe Baby," My Morning Jacket's "True Love Ways," She & Him's "Oh Boy!" and even Kid Rock's "Well All Right." It's not all good.  The singer from The Strokes and Modest Mouse both do pretty boring takes on Buddy classics.

But even the songs I don't like may serve a purpose.  If popular artists like the singer from The Strokes or Modest Mouse can attract some new people to the amazing and timeless music of Buddy Holly, then well done.

TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS IN NJ - GREAT (AS ALWAYS)

Twenty-five years and (give or take) two months ago, I went to see my ninth rock concert, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers with 'Til Tuesday (featuring Aimee Mann!) at the Brendan Byrne Arena. Tonight I returned to the scene of the crime to see Tom and the band (this time with My Morning Jacket opening).

I'm not as wide-eyed about concerts anymore (I've been to hundreds, and maybe over a thousand, since then - one day I've got to try and tally the number).  But I'm a bigger fan of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers than ever. To my ears, their music gets better every year. I loved their last album, The Last DJ, as well as Tom's recent projects: his solo album Highway Companion and especially the Mudcrutch reunion/debut album. The new album, Mojo, is taking a bit of time for me. I love some of the new songs ("No Reason To Cry" is gorgeous, "Jefferson Jerico Blues" rocks righteously). But some of it sounds like it was more fun to play than it is to listen to.  Still, Tom is very behind the album, and played four songs in a row from the new album. It's kind of a bummer that most people there didn't realize that if they bought tickets for the show, they get a free download of the album (there were video ads pointing out "yes, you've already paid for it!").  Tom's been at this for a while, and as much as he dodges the "classic rock"/"oldies" thing, he knows there's only so much he can get away with, so the rest of the show was a pretty standard list of hits, along one of my favorites, "Kings Highway" from Into The Great Wide Open, andthe frequently covered Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac classic "Oh Well." I guess it's kind of churlist to say that Tom should be doing different things live at this stage of the game: the arena was nearly sold out in a summer where everyone is having a hard time selling tickets.  And everyone seemed to have a great time. I just wish he was taking more risks live.  Back in 1996, when the band did their exteded residency at San Francisco's Fillmore in support of (and instead of touring for) She's The One, it altered their chemistry as a live band.  They brought back lots of old songs, did lots of covers, and it seemed like anything could happen at one of Tom's shows (as opposed to most of his "classic rock" peers, whose concerts were enjoyable yet predictable). I guess I would love to see them recharge by doing a club stint (preferably on the east coast!).  That said, the band was great (notably guitarist Mike Campbell, who seems to be FINALLY getting his due as one of the best guitarists) and no one at the concert had a complaint, it was an excellent show.

My Morning Jacket were good as well.  I've expressed admiration for frontman Jim James before, but I sometimes think of the band as health food.  I know they're good for music, and I should probably listen to them more, but I sometimes find them boring.  And tonight's performance had it's dull moments.  But there were also great ones - the best being during their one semi-hit single (that I know of, anyway), "I'm Amazed." Incredible song. The audience loved it, and the band seemed to enjoy playing it.  I know a lot of indie bands have a thing about hit singles, like they aren't cool.  But if I were an indie band worrying about such things, I'd look no further than tonight's headliner to see how to rack up multiple hits and never lose credibility.

TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS: GOT THEIR "MOJO" WORKIN'

I loved Tom Petty's last two albums, both of which were non-Heartbreakers projects: 2008's Mudcrutch reunion/debut album, and 2006's solo album Highway Companion (which reunited him with the Full Moon Fever team of Heartbreaker Mike Campbell and Traveling Wilbury Jeff Lynne). But I'm glad that his next album will be the first Heartbreakers studio album since 2002's underrated The Last DJ. The album is called Mojo and will be coming out in the spring.  And if you buy tickets for the band's summer tour, you automatically get a free digital copy of the album. Also of note: the opening bands on this summer's tour include My Morning Jacket, Joe Cocker, Crosby Stills & Nash, ZZ Top and The Drive-By Truckers. Man, I would LOVE to see The Drive-By Truckers with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Anyway, get more info about the album and the tour at Tom's website. And by the way, check out his weekly SIRIUS|XM Radio show on Deep Tracks, you can also hear it all day long on SIRIUS|XM Music Showcase.

BEST OF THE '00s: JIM JAMES

This one will surprise some of my friends, and it even surprises me. But when I was thinking of the artists who had a great decade, I definitely thought of My Morning Jacket. I remember reading about them in a British magazine.  Apparently the opened for Eyes Adrift (the short-lived band that featured Krist Novoselic) and Dave Grohl went to one of the shows, caught MMJ and really liked them. I picked up their album It Still Moves, and honestly, wasn't that impressed. But following thier career a bit, they are really ambitious and creative, and yet they don't mind writing a total pop song like "I'm Amazed." The way they embrace pop and more avant-garde type stuff reminds me of The Beatles a bit. I definitely really enjoyed thier last album, 2008's Evil Urges.

But frontman Jim James has done a lot of cool stuff outside of the band: he had a bit role in the Bob Dylan-based film I'm Not There, and did a cool version of "Goin' To Acapulco" (backed by Calexico) on the soundtrack. He also did an EP of Geroge Harrison covers (under the name "Yim Yames"). And, he is part of the indie-rock supergroup Monsters of Folk (with M. Ward and Bright Eyes members Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis). I'm not as big of a fan of Jim and My Morning Jacket as I am as the other artists who made my "Best Of The '00s" series, but I gotta give dude respect.

More Best Of The '00s: Bob Dylan
Willie Nelson
Aimee Mann
Jeff Tweedy
David Johansen
Levon Helm
The Beatles

TONS OF COOL NEW MUSIC

Lots of great albums came out this week: I'll write about them individually another time. But a quick rundown: 

Solomon Burke's Like A Fire: Mr. Burke's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a few years ago seemed to re-ignite his career, and he's done three great albums with three great producers: Joe Henry, Don Was and Buddy Miller.  This one was produced by Steve Jordan of Keith Richards' s X-Pensive Winos (he's also played with tons of other artists). Ben Harper and keb'mo are among the guests on the album. 

I've always been a bit skeptical of My Morning Jacket. But a pal of mine gave me a burned copy of their new album, Evil Urges, and I dug it on first listen, and decided to buy a copy. 

James Hunter (age 45 1/2 according to his liner note) is one of my favorite new artists of recent years - I can't believe this is the first time I'm writing about him. His last album, People Gonna Talk, was excellent, and I really like the new one, The Hard Way, already. His music is unaffected by pretty much anything that happened in the last, say, four decades. The British Invasion, punk, new wave, hip-hop ... none of that figures into what he does. He's like a Sam Cooke disciple with a mean guitar.  

Jakob Dylan has just released his solo debut, Seeing Things, which was produced by Rick Rubin. I was surprised to see a Jakob Dylan solo album - it's not like The Wallflowers is a democracy - but without keyboardist Rami Jaffe (who has been playing with The Foo Fighters lately), it has a different sound. 

Last, but definitely not least, is Emmylou Harris ' new album, All I Intended To Be. (I listed this in reverse alphabetical order.) Very different from her more modern-sounding recent albums. This one reunites her with her ex-husband Brian Ahern, who produced her first 10 or so albums. A downbeat and sad album, but still beautiful. My favorite will always be Wrecking Ball, but this is a good one, too, and I just love Emmylou.  

Next week, my wallet will get a breather - yes I know the Coldplay album comes out, I like them, but I don't think I'll buy that album.