TybeeDawg’s Pick of the Litter 2012

               …Or, 2012? Where did THAT come from?

I've always really liked this line: Guy Clark’s late wife Susanna used to say Guy’s short-term memory was so bad he could hide his own Easter eggs. Those of us who have searched fifteen minutes for the car keys that are wedged firmly in our hands can relate, right? 

So I think it’s important to remember that Ruthie Foster’s amazing record, Let It Burn, came out way back in January.  When I was working up a list to share with y’all, I had listened to this thing for so long and often that it was like an old friend, so if anything deserves the Pick of the Litter’s Pick of the Year, it’s Let It Burn.

Otherwise, in no particular order, are my own favorite Easter eggs: 

Let It Burn - Ruthie Foster
Down At The Well of Wishes – Jon Byrd
Nothing’s Going To Change The Way You Feel About Me Now – Justin Townes Earle
Prior Convictions – Grant Peeples
Heat Lightning Rumbles In the Distance – Patterson Hood
I Like to Keep Myself In Pain – Kelly Hogan
Live In Alabama – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
There Is a Bomb In Gilead – Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires
Mountain Air – Bibb City Ramblers
Gloryland – Kevin Gordon
This Ones for Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark – Various Artists

Best of the rest:

Force of Nature Award: Delta Rae – Carry The Fire - Good looks, better harmonies.

What Sophomore Jinx?: Alabama Shakes – Boys & Girls - The groundswell of support that took them from a fire barrel in Alabama to the stage of the Ryman in twelve months shows no signs of abating.

Best Live Performance:  (tie) Mike Cooley solo at Standard Deluxe (10/6) and Mike Cooley with the Drive-By Truckers Georgia Theatre (8/24)

Best festival: Junkfest 2012 – Organic. 

Best tour name: The “Stop Fucking Around and Play Outfit” Tour. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit.

Best Spotify Find - Nigeria 70 – a seriously funky collection of 70s Nigerian music that’s every bit as fresh today as it was forty years ago.

Curtis Lynch

Playgrounds Magazine

December 2012