Only The Newbies Can Top

Call me jaded, call me bitter, call me the sexiest man you've ever encountered… or something close to that. But I've recently taken to getting annoyed with these end of year lists, in particular when it comes to music. I'm a music snob. I have a tendency to like what I like and that's about that. But it's become evident to me that I don't see eye to eye with many editors and reviewers.

Take for example Amazon's Editor's Picks for Top 100 Albums of 2008. The one, and probably only, thing I like about these lists is that I get reminded of a few artists that I still need to check out, but more often I'm reminded that the music industry is overly obsessed with Youth. Gay culture is keen on Youth. The music industry drinks Youth's blood in hopes of staying alive one more day. And I don't mean that they are only targeting young people, I mean that they really only value new artists. Looking at the Top 100, there are only about 20-ish bands/artists that have released more than one album on a major label and/or on a major scale. Out of all of the artists in the world that released new records this year, you mean to tell me that only 20 of the best ones came from veterans? Yeah, I highly doubt that.

New musicians bring new sounds to the market. Sometimes. Most times, it's a variation on a tried and true sound, perfected by an elder artist. Many of the Top 20 on Amazon's list are rehashes of another act, adding just a splash more synth or boring and over-rated Falsetto. A few are ones that I need to check out, like Santagold and Kings of Leon before I can really say much else (truth be told, they sounded decent from the clips, but the others in the top just didn't impress me). I also think labels find it easier to promote a new band, and sales numbers traditionally suggest that an artists first major outing will be their most well-received on the sales floor, but whether that's due to laziness on the label's marketing efforts or actual decline in artistic content is up for debate (ok, who am I kidding, it's usually the damned label's fault).

It just saddens me when really good music goes unnoticed, in particular if goes unnoticed because it's the band third or fourth record. Bands like Unwritten Law and Alanis Morissette released new albums this year, and both were great, but nowhere near the Top 100 according to Amazon. Hell, Ray LaMontagne released his third outing and Brett Dennen his second (still my Album Of The Week… after several weeks…), both amazing efforts, and crap like Duffy hopped onto Amazon's list. It's nice to see a group like Gnarls Barkley get recognition (even if it's at 76), but that's lessened when MGMT grabs a top 10 spot for using an already tired Shoe Gaze sound.

So here's what I say. Grab Alanis' album. Check out Ray LaMontagne. Give Scott Weiland's new solo album a whirl. Hell, give Buckcherry a third chance. But don't just drop these artists by the way side because they're "old news." Their albums have done more to advance music this year than most (not all) of these newbies on Amazon's Top 100, and they've shown that they have some staying power in this apparently Youth-centric industry. New isn't always bad, but honoring new simply because it's new doesn't make much sense if they "old guard" is still putting out better products.

I Want To Be Jay Brannan's House Wife

A little over a week ago, I had the privilege of seeing an up-and-coming singer/songwriter out of New York. I hadn't heard of the guy before, but my good friend David would not stop praising this man and his music. I've admitted before, I'm a bit of a music snob, which is a problem mostly when someone recommends a new artist to me, because my immediate assumption is that it can't be that good if I haven't heard it yet (yeah… I'm working on that part of myself, ok, don't judge me).

David had been planning on see this guy for awhile, and he had asked me a few times to go with him. I admit, I was pretty wishy-washy about the whole deal. I had just moved, and sitting in a concert for a couple hours without ever hearing this guys music seemed like a bore. But come that Monday, I decided that I needed to get out of the house, and I figured the guy couldn't be that bad. So I met up with David later that night and snagged one of the tickets at the door.

I was a bit shocked that the venue was pretty well packed. Again, I had never heard of this guy. But the entire audience was excited to see him perform. People wore shirts bearing lyrics from his songs and people chattered nervously about hopefully meeting him after the show for an autograph. This is the point where I think things started to pick up for me. Even though I wasn't familiar with his music, it seemed he was fairly popular amongst the people that did. And everyone in the audience was pretty gay. What I did know of this guy was that he was a singer/songwriter, so I had to assume some folksy dude with a guitar had to be good for a bunch of gay men to get excited about him.

After the opening act had cleared the stage and the obligatory wait between acts had come to an end, there he was. Jay Brannan strolled casually out to the stage with a simple guitar and a couple bottles of water, sat down, and smiled. I was won over immediately. He began to banter with the audience about nothing in particular, and I felt completely drawn to this man. He had a quirky, self-deprecating, forthcoming attitude that instantly endeared you to him, and a relaxed persona that flirted more with the feminine than most rockers, which allowed the audience to relate to him.

The real magic began when he played his first song though. Even though he was fingering notes on his guitar for a few moments before singing, the soft buzz of excitement still hung over the crowd. Once Jay's voice opened up to the room though, all mouths closed and ears and eyes focused completely on him. This was no ordinary voice. This is a voice that you don't often hear in the music world. Soft and strong, perfectly pitched with a solid vibrato, and the accuracy of a trumpet with the rhythm of a percussionist. This was a musician on stage, not just a guy with a guitar.
Over the next hour and a half, Jay Brannan completely entranced the audience. When the show was over, it was like waking from a dream and immediately reaching for the snooze button. Just five more minutes, and then we'll be ready for the real world again. Sadly, his time on stage was over, and I needed to go home for some much needed sleep. On our way out, we got the pleasure of meeting him and David snapped a pic with him, and we all kind of wanted to lick him.

I don't believe I can speak highly enough of this man and his music. I'll write about his album in a different post, but if you see that he is going to be playing anywhere near you, grab a couple friends and make your way to the show. It'll be worth every penny spent and more. It really isn't often that an artist comes along like Jay Brannan, and I expect we'll hear much more from this songwriter in the years to come.

And just so you get the title reference: