TOMORROW ON OUTQ: SOME GREAT OUTLAW COUNTRY ARTISTS

Tomorrow morning on The Morning Jolt With Larry Flick on SiriusXM OutQ, I'll discuss some great artists who you can hear on the SiriusXM channel Outlaw Country. Full disclosure: I work at SiriusXM.  But I'll also point out that I was a SIRIUS subscriber before I worked there. Little Steven Van Zandt's Underground Garage was the main reason, but Outlaw Country was the next reason. By the way, Little Steven produces Outlaw Country as well as Underground Garage.

The Drive-By Truckers, as most No Expiration readers know, is one of my favorite bands.  I can honestly say I wouldn't be a fan without Outlaw Country.  Tomorrow I'll talk about their latest album, Go-Go Boots. Steve Earle isn't just one of the channel's biggest artists, he also hosts an excellent weekly show, Hardcore Troubadour Radio, hear it Saturday nights at 9 pm (full schedule of rebroadcasts here). I really dig Steve's new album, I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive. Lucinda Williams is another of the biggest artists on the channel, and she's just released a great album, Blessed. Buddy Miller is not as well known, but he's played with both of them, along with Robert Plant, Patty Griffin, Solomon Burke and John Fogerty. I also like his own music, and his latest album, Majestic Silver Strings, is his most ambitious yet.

I'll also preview upcoming albums by Emmylou Harris and Alison Krauss & Union Station, and play a few tracks from Hayes Carll's new one, KMAG YOYO.  Carll is a great semi-up-and-coming artist, and another one I'd never have heard of without Outlaw Country.  So check out this video, I recently got to film them at SiriusXM doing the title track from the new album. (P.S. don't have a SiriusXM subscription? Go here to get a free online trial).

CHECK OUT: ELIZABETH COOK - WELDER

Readers of No Expiration know that I'm not really the blogger writing about tons of artists that no one has heard of. I'm not trying to one-up everyone with my knowledge of obscure music! But I realize that not a lot of people know who Elizabeth Cook is. That's got to change, people!  Maybe it is changing: I read that both Paste and Rolling Stone named Elizabeth's Welder as one of their top albums of the 2010. I gotta represent and do my part, so I'm here to tell you that it's in my top 20 also (I'm still working on the whole list, but Welder is a lock, yo).

I discovered Elizabeth via SiriusXM's Outlaw Country (full disclosure, I work for the company).  Outlaw Country happens to be one of the reasons I subscribed to SIRIUS, before I worked there. I advise you to check it out, if you don't totally suck.  Anyway, Elizabeth's music gets played on the channel, but she's also the weekday morning DJ, and she's just awesome to listen to. Some musicians have a great personality, but it doesn't translate to their records, somehow.  That isn't the case with Elizabeth, Welder is great. She is one of the greatest country singers of our era.  She definitely belongs on Outlaw Country, which means that she's not mainstream Nashville, which means she's a bit harder to promote than the big country music stars you always hear about.  I don't knock them: I just think she's better. Her music rings truer. I don't know if all of her songs are about her, or if some are about her, it doesn't matter.  They all sound like they are about her when she's singing them.

On one hand, she's hilarious.  In "El Camino," she sings "if I wake up married, I'll have to annul it/right now my hands are in his mullet" and then there's "Yes To Booty," ("It's common knowledge 'round hree, when you say yes to beer, you say no to booty"). On the other, "Heroin Addict Sister" and "Mama's Funeral" are as sad as they sound, and you feel the hurt. But isn't that how life is?  There's fun, there's sex and there's also death.  She tackles all of it and doesn't flinch. She's a sexy chick who takes on life's less sexy realities.  And the songs are all tuneful (it's not just about the lyrics). She reminds me a bit of Loretta Lynn. She's funny, but her music also cuts really deep.

Not to make too big a deal of this, but Don Was produced the album. It sounds like he just backed off and let Elizabeth and the other musicians do their thing, that's what a good producer does sometimes.  But the guy has produced The Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt, Iggy Pop and Willie Nelson to name a few, he knows his way around a great album. There are a few guests on the album - Buddy Miller (one of my favorite artists of the '00s), Dwight Yoakam and Rodney Crowell all show up as backing singers.

Anyway, if you trust me - and when have I led you wrong? - check out Welder, I bet you'll like it. I recently had the good fortune to be able to film her when she stopped by SiriusXM's Road Dog Trucking studio, here's her performance of "Heroin Addict Sister." It was moving to be there. I still don't know if it is actually about her sister, but if felt like it was.

WATCH: JAMEY JOHNSON AT THE CMT AWARDS

Not that No Expiration is becoming a southern rock (or Outlaw Country) blog, but there's a lot of music in that genre that is worth getting excited about. I've written a lot about my favorite album of the year - The Drive-By Truckers' The Big To-Do. And I've also written about Reckless Kelly's Somewhere In Time.  But I'm also really excited about Jamey Johnson's next album, The Guitar Song, coming out in September. He performed the first single, "Macon," at the CMT Awards last week (see the performance below, and buy the single on iTunes). I am a big fan of Jamey's last album, That Lonesome Song, and I agreed with Rolling Stone magazine's feature about 40 reasons to be excited about music in 2010: I also think that Jamey Johnson is a good reason to be excited about music. Dude is the real deal, and I urge you to check him out.

Jamey Johnson More CMT Music More CMT Music Videos

CHECK OUT RECKLESS KELLY!

This morning on SIRIUS XM OutQ's The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick, I talked a lot about music that you'll hear if you listen to SIRIUS XM Outlaw Country. In my opinion, it's a great year for the genre: albums from legends like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard have been great. But it's not just about the icons, there's lots of new(er) artists also, including The Drive-By Truckers, who have put out my favorite album of the year so far, The Big To-Do. 

Another contender for my favorite album of the year is Reckless Kelly, I love thier new album Somewhere In Time. I wasn't that familar with them: I'd heard their music on Outlaw Country, and I knew that they backed up Steve Earle on his cover of Warren Zevon's "Reconsider Me." But when Outlaw DJ Dallas Wayne was talking about the album so enthusiastically, I felt I had to check it out and it did not dissapoint. They are from the Austin scene, and the album features all songs written by another guy from that scene named Pinto Beckett. This is one of those albums (like The Big To-Do, or, last year, The Cocktail Slippers' Saint Valentine's Day Massacre) where there are just so many great, great songs and I had a hard time choosing. I love the two songs that we played today: the opener "Little Blossom" and "Bird On A Wire," but I wish we got to "You Hold The Bottle, I'll Hold The Wheel." I hate to call it "country-rock," because that term brings to mind The Eagles. RK aren't as ragged and raw as the Truckers, but they definitely aren't as pop as Henley and co. But Somewhere In Time does have lots of catchy songs, and it's almost a shame that it isn't a bit more slick: you almost could imagine this on country music radio among Brad and Kenny and Carrie and Keith. Not quite, but almost.

I can go on describing this album for you - I'm not the greatest record reviewer. Let me instead put it this way. You know that I love discovering artists who are "new" to me, but I don't actually discover many that I like. Hearing a few songs on the radio made me want the album, and now the album is making me want to check out their older material (I've in fact bought a few songs from their last album, Bulletproof, and I'm digging that also). If last year I introduced you to The Cocktail Slippers and you liked them, this might be my one big new favorite thing this year. Check them out, you might dig it too.

40 REASONS TO GET EXCITED ABOUT MUSIC

So, as promised, I'm posting my "40 Reasons To Get Exicted About Music," in response to Rolling Stone magazine's recent cover story. It turns out that I agree with half of theirs.  Here, then, are twenty of my reasons to be excited.

Bob Dylan. Not including his recent Christmas album, he has released four classic albums in a row: 1997's Time Out Of Mind, 2001's "Love & Theft," 2006's Modern Times and last year's Together Through Life, which was my favorite album of 2009. Plus, his concerts are getting good again. It's just inspiring how great he is, as he approaches the big seven-oh. Plus, he's been allowing Sony Legacy to put out great releases from his vault.

Speaking of approaching the big seven-oh, there's also the legend, Solomon Burke.Two weeks ago, I talked about Solomon's latest album, Nothing's Impossible, on The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick on SIRIUS XM OutQ, and people loved it. The man still makes incredible albums, and has been doing so since his 2002 record, Don't Give Up On Me.

The Underground Garage. Anyone who reads No Expiration, anyone who listens to me on OutQ, or anyone who talks to me about music ever, knows my love for the Underground Garage, which I write about often. As someone who has not been interested in music radio for decades, the Underground Garage got me back into it. You can hear new and old music, famous bands, obscure bands, brand new bands that haven't gotten to the pop culture radar yet, well know songs, rare tracks, and it doesn't discriminate by race or sex. In fact, I don't think you'll hear more female fronted bands, or all girl groups, anywhere else. The Underground Garage, in fact, introduced me to one of my favorite bands, The Cocktail Slippers. Other bands it turned me on to: The Boss Martians, The Hawaii Mud Bombers, The Jessica Fletchers, The Woggles, The Chesterfield Kings, The Charms, The Contrast, The Grip Weeds, and more. These are some of the best bands you haven't heard of. I hear tons of great new music on this channel all the time.

I need to mention The Cocktail Slippers again. Their last album, Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was one of my favorite albums of last year. I can't wait to hear what they will do next.

Everyone knows that Little Steven Van Zandt runs The Underground Garage, but he is also the force behind Outlaw Country, a truly awesome channel, that combines every generation of country music, with a sort of rock and roll spirit. It seems pretty crazy that there aren't radio stations that play Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Loretta Lynn, Steve Earle and Lucinda Williams in high rotation. Luckily, Outlaw Country does. They've also introduced me to some great artists, including Reckless Kelly, (DJ) Elizabeth Cook and one of my favorite bands, The Drive-By Truckers.

The Drive-By Truckers deserve their own entry! Their new album, The Big To-Do, is my favorite album of 2010 so far. They've been doing their thing for over a decade now, and I'm glad that people are starting to notice.

Speaking of the Truckers, they played on Bettye Lavette's last album, The Scene Of The Crime. What an inspiring story this lady has. She's been working for decades, almost having breaks a few times over the years, and finally in the mid-00's, Anti- Records (owned by Epitaph, they have also put out records by Tom Waits, Solomon Burke and Joe Henry) gave her a deal, and now the world is starting to get to know her. Better late than never: what a voice. She is a great song interpreter.

Another great singer/song interpreter with an inspiring story is Miss Sharon Jones. She started getting her first break in her 50s! Her new album I Learned The Hard Way is really great. She loves old-school sounds so much, it's like the last few decades haven't happened, but her songs are great, so it's cool (the same could be said of Jack White).

And yet another great singer/interpreter with a great story is former Band drummer/singer/mandolin player Levon Helm. A couple of years ago, Levon was on the brink of bankruptcy, foreclosure and was staring down cancer. Today, he is healthy, does really popular concerts at his home (which wasn't foreclosed), tours, and has made two great albums.

The Stooges. One of the best bands of all time. They are finally getting the credit they deserve. And they are touring. They will destroy bands one third of their age.

Robert Plant. For years, his ambition seems to outreach what he was capable of as a solo artist. Then he let go of a bit of control, worked with Alison Krauss (and, it must be said, producer T-Bone Burnett)and put out a true classic with Raising Sand. Now he's working on a solo album (he doesn't rule out another album with Alison though) but he's sticking in the Americana vein: he's got Buddy Miller and Patty Griffin in his touring band, and Buddy is producing his next album.

Bruce Springsteen. Although I didn't love his latest album, Working On A Dream, I thought that Magic was a classic. I think Bruce still has classics in him. His latest tour was maybe his best yet. The E Street Band is one of the best combos in the world. And Bruce can still turn around and so something great with his other group, The (Seeger) Sessions Band or as a solo acoustic artist.

Talib Kweli. I think he is one of the best MCs around, I like his solo music, I like what he does with Hi-Tek in Reflection Eternal, and I hope that he and Mos Def do another Black Star album that lives up to the first one. Honestly, I don't care if Jay-Z retires, I hope Kweli makes music for a long time.

Two more reasons together: Aimee Mann and Ben Harper. Two of the best songwwriters in the world. They are always honest, make no concessions to anyone, and keep putting out great albums. Actually, I'll add Steve Earle to that.

Jack White: I write about him often, and it is a running joke on Larry Flick's show that I keep coming up with ways to play his music on the show (Larry isn't a Jack White fan). For all three of his bands, and for his great label, Third Man Records. Jack was my "Artist of the '00s."

Kanye West: he is a commerical hip-hop artist whose music I sometimes like and he keeps things interesting!

Roger Waters taking The Wall on tour. I wasn't old enough to go to concerts when Pink Floyd toured for The Wall!

Green Day: because they can rock Broadway, do a guitar hero game, tour stadiums and still do club shows as Foxboro Hot Tubs.

Those are my reasons: here are the Rolling Stone reasons that I was down with: U2's tour, LCD Soundsystem, concerts sound better than ever today, Them Crooked Vultures, Chuck Berry still performing, concert tickets are sometimes under $50 (I have to look for more sales like that!), T.I. is out of jail, M.I.A., "cloud based music," Tom Morello still fights the power, great tribute bands (I'm kind of iffy on this, I don't really see too many tribute bands, although I kind of want to check out The Fab Faux), Keith Richards is writing an autobiography, Mike Campbell rocks out on the new Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers album, The Gaslight Anthem (cool young punk rock band), The Roots, country newcomer Jamey Johnson, vinyl sales tripled since 2006, R-Bone Burnett's productions and artist vaults with lots of great stuff in them (Dylan, Springsteen, Young).

CONGRATULATIONS TO RYAN BINGHAM AND JEFF BRIDGES

Well, I'm glad that Ryan Bingham won a Golden Globe tonight for Best Original Song. His song "The Weary Kind" (you can buy it on iTunes) from Crazy Heart... it kind of tied the whole film together (to paraphrase Jeff Bridges' "Dude" character). This will help his career out,  and I love when award shows are able to give much-needed exposure to deserving artists, rather than awarding the same superstars over and over. And speaking of "The Dude," congrats to Jeff Bridges for winning a Golden Globe for Best Performance By An Actor In A Motion Picture - Drama for his portayal of "Bad Blake" in the same film.

Hopefully this will lead to an Oscar nomination and win for Ryan Bingham. The Globes, as much as they are a hack award show, are often a good way to predict the Oscars. Although it isn't always the case: last year, Bruce Springsteen rightfully won the Globe for his title track to The Wrestler, but then didn't even get a nomination for the Oscars. Oddly enough, that gives the Globes a bit more cred in my mind. Oscars, you blew it last year, don't do it again! Anyway, check out my last post to see a great video of Ryan performing "The Weary Kind" on Mojo Nixon's show on SIRIUS|XM Outlaw Country.

SHOOTER JENNINGS TEAMS UP WITH STEPHEN KING

Singer-songwriter and Outlaw Country host Shooter Jennings is doing a concept album, Black Ribbons, and it will feature guest vocals by none other than author/Outlaw Country fan/Entertainment Weekly columnist Stephen King. It's true! King won't be singing, though. Rather, he'll be doing the voice of "Will O' The Wisp," a radio talk show host being phased out due to government sponsorship.  The album features Shooter's new band, Hierophant, and is due out on March 2. I dig Shooter's Outlaw Country show, I like lots of his songs, and especially his collaboration with The Nightwatchman (aka Tom Morello) "The Iron Wheel."