News

The Drive-By Truckers made us a mixtape!

You hear about “the greatest band in the world” being dropped on many a group, desperately given this medal in hopes they’ll use it to “save rock-n-roll,” whatever that means. But no band that has had to suffer under this artificial responsibility has succeeded so triumphantly as Drive-By Truckers.

So what does Patterson Hood listen to when he’s not saving an entire genre of music with his bandmates? Check out the mixtape he made us and find out:

1. The Blues Are Still Blue - Belle and Sebastian
My favorite new single right now. Very T-Rex influenced and catchy as all hell. Could end up being this years "Hey Ya".

2. "Charlemagne" - Tenement Halls
A great song from one of my favorite unknown bands. Chris Lopez has been leading great bands in and around Atlanta for years (...Rock-A-Teens) and this may be his best yet. Merge put the album out recently.

3. Triggers And Trash Heaps - Centro-Matic
The latest single from my favorite band. Melodic, catchy as hell and rocking.

4. Pompeii Am Gotterdammer - Flaming Lips
One of my favorite tracks from The Lips fantastic new album. Like every other song on the new album, this one grows on me each time I hear it.

5. " John Wayne Gacy Jr." - Sufjan Stevens
My favorite song of last year, possibly my favorite album too. Hauntingly beautiful. Probably my favorite murder ballad since "Nebraska".

6. " Company In My Back (live version)" - Wilco
This song neatly sums up why so many people think Wilco is the best band in America. An incredibly well-written song played to perfection.

7. "Lay Low" - My Morning Jacket
MMJ transcended their supposed genre with "Z", their latest album. This song sums up where they came from and where they're heading.

8. "I’m a Widow" - Bob Pollard
Twice retired (3rd grade teacher and Guided By Voices frontman), Mr. Pollard rocks the fuck out of the strangest and somehow optimistic chorus of recent years. "I'm a widow and I'm hot to do you."

9. "Childish Things " - James McMurtry
Another contender for song of the year, James definitely inherited his father's knack for the devastating use of the tiny detail.

10. "When You Lie" Patty Hurst Shifter
A killer pop song from one of North Carolina's best unsung treasures.

11. “Fountains Of Wayne Hotline” - Robbie Fulks
This iTunes exclusive is one of the funniest and biting songs of the past year.

12. "I Burn Today" - Frank Black
My dad plays bass on this one, so I could have initially claimed a certain bias, but the fact that I still listen to and enjoy this record a year later tells me that it's a good one.

13. "Cold River” - John Hiatt
Make it a David Hood twofer, this one is also a winner nearly a year later. It's also the best Hiatt records in over 15 years.

14. "Aristiya" - Amadou and Mariam
When life on the road is driving me crazy, a pair of headsets and this song = Happy Place. Try it, you'll like it.

15. "The Food (Live)" - Common
This was my favorite song from my favorite hip hop record of last year. It was recorded live on the Chappelle Show and if I remember correctly, Common and Kanye West were cooking while they rapped it.

16. "Celebration" - Kanye West
I was one of the few in the world that didn't love his last album (his 1st one was my album of the year a couple of years ago) but I do love this song.

17. Bows and Arrows" - PJ Harvey
This was an outtake from her last album that I liked better than anything on the album itself.

18. "Jumpers" - Sleater-Kinney

19. ”New Year’s Day" - Allison Moorer
This song, from Alison's new album, is one of the most haunting songs I've heard so far this year.

20. ”The Greatest” - Cat Power
This song seems like the perfect way to end the playlist. Cat Power has matured on this album, putting her own delicate spin on some of the same ground Dusty Springfield once treaded on her masterpiece Dusty In Memphis. This song holds its own in even that hallowed company.

The Drive By Truckers' new album, A Blessing and a Curse is available now in the ARTISTdirect Store!!