Listening In: Jamming to the Jam Bands

Welcome back to Listening In, my weekly chance to spy on your music collection. Call me naïve, but I think music is one of the best ways to forge connections between people, and Listening In is my way of getting that discussion started.

Here’s how it works. If you want to play, send me an email with your name and hometown. Each week, I’ll pick a name out of a hat and fire off an email back. If it’s your week, send me the names of five songs. The most fun way to play is to hit shuffle on your iPod, but you can scour your CD and record collections, or just name five of your favorites.

Every Saturday, I’ll share the winner’s picks, with my own comments. And of course, I’ll want to hear yours. Each week’s winner will get free Patch stuff just for playing.

This week, it’s Maggie Kinn of Montgomery in the hot seat. She did the shuffle thing, but she assures me the five songs that popped up are pretty representative of what she likes.

Here are Maggie’s picks, with my comments:

1. “Sunset Soon Forgotten,” by Iron and Wine. This band is essentially one guy, Sam Beam. On recent records, he’s blown his sound wide open—he sounds like a collage of ‘70s AM radio now—but I don’t think he’s ever been better than he was on this album, 2004’s Our Endless Numbered Days. This is just Sam and his guitar. Close your eyes and listen.

2. “Trades and Tariffs,” by the Dodos. I’ve always meant to hear the Dodos, but never got around to it until now. This song has a nice galloping rhythm and some interesting acoustic work. It maybe goes on a little long, but I like it.

3. “Caymen Review,” by Trey Anastasio. Trey is the singer and guitarist of Phish, but he’s had a pretty wide-ranging solo career too. This is from his 2002 self-titled album, but I had to link you to a live version. Because you have to see ‘em live. Or so I’m told.

4. “Lengthwise,” by Phish. OK, coming clean. I lived in Maine for eight years. Two of those years were marked by weekend-long Phish festivals in the northern part of the state. I missed both. In fact, I’ve never seen Phish live. But I like their records, and Rift, released in 1993, remains my favorite. “Lengthwise” is a quick interlude, but a memorable one.

5. “Better Than,” by John Butler Trio. I’d never heard this before, but I kind of dig it. It has a cool beat, and the guy I presume is John Butler has an interesting voice. This is why I like writing this column. I live to get turned on to new music. So thanks, Maggie!

If you’d like to play Listening In, drop me an email: andre.salles@patch.com.