Anyway, thanks so much for your compliments on the list, y’all. The assembly took time, but I really threw myself at these write-ups, so I’m especially glad to hear they please. Chris D., I wasn’t going to count “Life in a Northern Town” either, but it charted high enough (low 30′s) without a release that I decided it was appropriate. Ben, I’m sure we shall chat about these important matters of frivolity/non-frivolity soon enough!

Honestly, I didn’t think “Life In A Northern Town” really counted as a single, but I would have put it on my singles list (I’m posting it tomorrow), it’s a great cover. I’m always game for 6-to-7 part harmony.

I also saw the dance remixes for “What I Cannot Change” and I was thoroughly confused. It was very odd to hear the song farthest away from dancing made into a dance track. So weird…

The original album version of “What I Cannot Change” needs no messing with. In fact I didn’t really like the country radio edit.

Good Friend and a Glass of Wine (Wideboys Electro Radio Edit) sounds pretty amazing though.

a few points,

#19 – “Silly and shallow for sure” – damn your hide (and Jim Malec’s too, for that matter), this is not silly or shallow! This is a real song that is just as, or more, substantive that almost anything else put out this year!

#17 – “My soft spot for frivolity shows itself again” – You and I need to have a discussion on what is and isn’t frivolous.

#16 – so pensive, so vague, so churchbell.

#12 – “A burst of country-poptimism that manages to sound both sunny and smart” – really nice turn of phrase here Dan.

so yeah man, cool list, I dig it.

I was pretty thrilled to hear AK & RP’s “Please Read the Letter” on one of my local radio stations out here. Not a country one, but a “world class rock” station. I don’t listen to mainstream radio in the car that often, but for my job, I don’t have my iPod with me, so I have to. Great song, and I love the fiddle solo.