Snobbin: Beautiful Trash in the Pop Culture Gutter

It's been another slow year at Snobbin'. As much as I tried, the posts have come fewer and farther in between. Hopefully that will change in the new year, but for now I want to present my top records of 2014. The list was really hard to determine this year because there were a lot of great records, but there was also less variety in what I had time to listen to and what came out. For example, Metal and Punk records didn't make the list like they have in recent years because I didn't hear that much that really rewarded repeat listens. The list has become more of a singer-songwriter, Americana sort of exercise. That's just the way I've been heading the last few years. I also decided to shorten the list as I think last year's was a tad extreme. 20. Sun Kil Moon - Benji (Caldo Verde)   Sun Kil Moon's Mark Kozelek can be an ornery, irascible cuss. This year alone he called out fans at a show as hillbillies and started a tongue in cheek fight wi...

Now that summer is here in the wilds of Illinois, I have the time that I wanted in order to read, write, camp, hike, and ride my bike. Bike riding is all I have accomplished so far. Here is a nice mix of my top riding albums (the reasons aren't so obvious).  1). Eleven Hundred Springs --This Crazy Life 2). Scott H. Biram -- Graveyard Shift 3). All -- Greatest Hits 4). Birdcloud -- Birdcloud EP 5). All Eyes West -- All Eyes West 6). American Aquarium -- Burn, Flicker, Die 7). The Avengers -- Avengers EP 8). Baroness -- Blue Record 9). Bottle Rockets -- The Brooklyn Side 10). Chelsea Light Moving -- S/T 11), Crimpshrine -- Duct Tape Soup 12). The Dictators -- Blood Brothers 13). Fifth on the Floor -- Ashes & Angels 14). Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit -- Live in Alabama 15). The Leghounds -- Various Demos 16). Lifetime -- Jersey's Best Dancers 17). The Menzingers -- On the Impossible 18). Mudhoney -- Vanishing Point 19). Night Birds -- Fre...

29. Ryan Bingham - Tomorrowland Bingham is a survivor. He has released several great records of rootsy rock 'n' roll, while walking a tightrope between immense popularity and guarded obscurity. His worn vocals have been compared to everyone from Tom Waits to Steve Earle; they are referred to far too often as whiskey-soaked. Yet they are an acquired taste. He garnered tons of acclaim for "The Weary Kind," from The Crazy Heart soundtrack, yet retreated to his own label for Tomorrowland . In many cases, Bingham would be seen as a country outsider, more akin to the outlaw songwriting camp of Billie Joe Shaver than that of Waylon Jennings. Tomorrowland maps this divide. Ever the iconoclast, Bingham does what he wants, whether he falls into a comfortable groove or rocks harder than Nashville has seen in years. The record isn't as big on production, nor is it as rock 'n' roll as his earlier ones, but Bingham has created an honest, heartfelt a...