Look, Tiger is holding The Avett brother's trophy for them...

In year’s past, I haven’t done much a personal “Best-Of” list at year’s end. I have left that up to others, mainly due to the stress level inherent with such a task. This year, I contributed a list to multiple outlets, so I figure I would share my ballot with you here. What you see below is really a big group of my favorite albums, versus an actual list of albums I think are better than other albums. Over the course of the year, I listen to a few hundred records, easily. Rarely a day goes by where I don’t pop in a new disc that may or may not see some “ink” on this blog. From that large number of records, I actually enjoyed well over 100 of them, I imagine.

The sad fact of the matter, for many reasons, there were many records I liked that I never found the time to actually say much about here on The Gobblers Knob or over on Twangville. I said all that to say this. These 25 albums could’ve easily been higher or lower than they are here. On different days, I feel like certain choices were wrong, but this is what I’m going with…for now, at least.

1.  Avett Brothers – I and Love and You: Indie darling’s go big-time with major label and super-producer. The tight melodies and trademark, emotionally charged and poetic writing prove there was nothing to worry about.

2.  Phosphorescent - To Willie: Every tribute/covers album wants to be this one when they grow up. Matthew Houck made Willie’s songs his own while keeping the raw, real vibe intact.

Here are the rest of my favorites for the year (basically 3a – 3x)…

3.  Heartless Bastards – The Mountain
4.  Miranda Lambert – Revolution
5.  Allen Thompson – 26 years
6.  Telegraph Canyon – The Tide & The Current
7.  Deer Tick - Born on Flag Day
8.  Buddy & Julie Miller – Written in Chalk
9.  Ryan Bingham – Roadhouse Sun
10. Gina Villalobos – Days on Their Side
11.  Band of Heathens – One Foot in the Ether
12.  The Takers – Taker Easy
13.  Wilco – Wilco (The Album)
14.  Roman Candle – Oh Tall Tree In the Ear
15.  The O’s – We are The O’s
16.  Sons of Bill – One Town Away
17.  Drive by Truckers – The Fine Print
18.  The Gourds – Haymaker!
19.  Scott Warren – Quick Fix Bandage
20.  Patterson Hood - Murdering Oscar
21.   Charlie Robison – Beautiful Day
22.   Lucero - 1372 Overton Park
23.   Danny Balis - Too Much Living
24.   Chad Price – Smile Sweet Face
25.   Dawes – North Hills

******************************************

Gina Villalobos is an excellent singer-songwriter from California. Her recent release, Days on Their Side, is without a doubt one of the best records of the year. I recently had a chat via e-mail with her. I have no doubt that you’ll want to run out and pick up her latest, after you read this…

*********************************************************************

G.K. - Songs like “Mortified” and “Take a Beating” are very raw and seemingly confessional in the sense that the lyrics are pleas for love and acceptance. What’s tougher, sharing these thoughts on a record with the listener, or expressing such needs to the lover in question?

Gina – Typically I don’t know what I am saying until I have finished a song, and a lot of the time the meaning of the lyrics is beyond the lyrics, if you know what I mean. It’s what is said in the space in between them… then the listener projects their own meaning into the words or the image. When I project my meaning  into the song “Take a Beating” I am hearing a story about my expression of love, not a plea for it. It’s a love song – a me and you against the world song. The basic message is - I wouldn’t want to go through the beatings life has to offer with anybody else but you.

I don’t think how a song hits you is coming from just the lyrics. The lyrics are just one layer, one color in the pallet. It’s like a painting. I get to communicate with rhythm and melody, and instrumentation, tempos, what key a song is in, intros, outros, will the song have a bridge etc, etc. It’s all color. I think it’s all inflicting meaning and sentiment into the songs. It’s about how all these elements work together on the canvas. One wouldn’t just be struck by one color in a Van Gough painting, it’s about how they all swirl together on the canvas. I think songs are the same things, like paintings – tangible things you can see – like pictures.
 

As far as what’s tougher sharing or expressing it’s kind of hard to answer that part of the question because it doesn’t really apply to the way I work or make my art.

G.K. - As I indicated above, your work seems to be emotionally driven and raw. When dealing with such intensity, how do you focus that energy into the final product of a song?

Gina -  I have no idea!  Personally, I believe that an artist doesn’t often hold the key to unlock the mystery or their own art. My songs are something that just come through me and when they do I don’t judge them, or analyze them. I just let them be what they are and let them come out of me however they want. This is what I think makes art “art”.  It’s an unconscious receptacle for everyone, including the artist (me).

G.K. - “Days on Their Side” has a very cohesive sonic vibe throughout the album, in my opinion. Were these songs written intentionally as a collection?

Gina - They were written over a two year period, but they were produced and arranged to have a cohesive sonic vibe. My favorite part of making music, being a musician is being in the studio. I love arranging and experimenting. It’s a real challenge to go back and try to come up with a completely different version of the same song with carry over something from the original version. I worked up several different versions to a few of these songs before they all finally sounded cohesive to me.

G.K. - I Live in Texas and many Texas-based artists discuss how they feel that Texas is a fertile area for creating and a great environment for artists. You are based in California, do you find a similar connection to the SoCal region in terms of creating and performing?

Gina – That’s interesting to me. I think if you asked me this question 10 years ago I would have had a different answer. For me, if I were to guess - because it’s all a mystery to me - I would say it’s my life experiences over environment that make me feel fertile as an artist. I have written lots of my songs far away from CA.

G.K. - On your facebook page recently, you posted a review of the new record and went on to express your gratitude towards the writer for having compared your work to that of other songwriters, who happened to be male, and not simply comparing you to other female artists. Why was that significant for you as an artist?

Gina - Oh my god, I was thrilled and I love when that happens! Some of my faves have been Bob Dylan and Neil Young. I just think there are so many more options as far as other artists to be compared to when you include both female and male artists, and then the reader can get a better since of your music, hello! 

Like for example, if you were house hunting and your real estate agent was describing this house he or she wanted you to see and it was a white house, and he only compared it to just the other white houses he knew of. There might be something totally similar inside the white house that is comparable to something inside the brick layed house but you wouldn’t get a chance to hear about that because…well…. you are only getting compared to the white houses.  Tangent!!  Sorry…

I honestly don’t think my music sounds very “chick rocky”, it’s kind of tom-boy, not very proper.

*********************************************************************

Gina Villalobos will be touring around California (and hopefully beyond soon) to support her “Days on Their Side” album. Please make sure you go see her and purchase the album as soon as humanly possible.