The Essential 11 for May 2010

The list that separates the CD 101s from the Q 101s.

1. Rise Up -- Cypress Hill
A little dose of Tom Morella was just what the doctor ordered to jump start these gansta potheads' careers.

2. I Was A Teenage Anarchist -- Against Me!
These Florida punkers certainly can write a good lyric. And they know how to mess with the punk formula, loud fast & messy just enough.

3. Stella the Artist -- David Gray
I'm coming a little late to this one. Never was impressed with "Babylon" -- sounded like warmed over Al Stewart to me. But this is the second straight song I've heard off this album that has impressed me.

4. Die by the Drop -- the Dead Weather
Of all of Jack White's bands this is the one that takes a little effort to get into. Allsion Mosshart is so over the top gothic dramatic that she makes Siouxsie Sioux sound like Norah Jones. But hey, this is a Jack White band, and this is probably the loudest song you'll be hearing on AAA radio this summer.

5. Hurricante J -- the Hold Steady
They seem to be slowly getting over their Springsteen fetish, which will only make this band stonger

6. Tighten Up -- The Black Keys
Their totally cool video stars Frank the singing Funkasaurus. The song could have easily been a 70's top 40 hit, only it's done by two guys.

7. Forced to Love -- Broken Social Scene
The Toronto based indie rock collective (which has in the past included Feist and Emily Hainse of Metric) has put out their strongest single yet. Tense and coiled but with a catchy chorus. This could actually make them catch on in the USA. Lord knows they deserve it.

8. Giving Up the Gun -- Vampire Weekend
As per usual for me with this band it took 3-4 listens for this song to kick in, but kick in it did. The African influences are more subtle than usual, but they make it propulsive and

9. O.N.E. -- Yeasayer
As someone who sat through countless hours of Howard Jones and Duran Duran waiting for WLIR to play the Ramones or thw Smithereens I'm not inclined to hail the return of synth rock as the wave of the future, but I'll admit that it's a welcome break from the endless minor key dirges of post-grunge that still dominate many so-called alternative stations. It helps when you use real percussion rather than syndrums, the bane of the
80's.

10. This F----- Job -- Drive By Truckers
Too southern sounding for alt rock stations, too classic sounding for active rock, too loud and unkempt for AAA, this band's critical acclaim is in inverse ratio to its airplay. This is the thinking person's Skynard and you ignore them at your peril.

11. The Open Road -- John Hiatt
Rocking hard for the first time in years and with gift for writing short stories with a beat, he deserves more airplay than he's getting.