Like a Lollipop: Music Midway In 2008

Not bad for an old man.

I've witnessed 121 live music performances so far in 2008, not counting amateur religious and scholastic exhibitions. My favorite twenty-five percent are listed below.

At a handful of shows- Say Anything comes to mind- I might have been the eldest fan. Thankfully, I'm a relative kid in jazz clubs and at classic rock concerts by the likes of Chicago.

Regular readers of There Stands the Glass won't bat an eye when they see that I list death metal and Christian music, commercial country and hip hop, folkies and Wynton Marsalis. But even I'm surprised that Stone Temple Pilots and Kid Rock blew me away.

In these difficult economic times, I'm incredibly fortunate that I can go out a few nights each week. With that in mind, I've indicated the ten selections that were either free events or artist-endorsed free downloads with a "*". More of that, please.

10 BEST SONGS
1. Noel Gourdin- "The River" (original image of Gourdin above)
2. Nas- "Be a N----- Too"
3. Ashton Shepherd- "Takin' Off This Pain"
4. T.I.- "No Matter What"
5. Marvin Sapp- "Never Would Have Made It"
6. XTA-C- "2 Fingers and a Hook (KC Anthem)"
7. Jaheim- "Never"
8. Airborne- "To Much, Too Young, Too Fast"
9. Ghosty- "Dumbo Wins Again"
10. Idle Warship- "Fall Back"

10 BEST ALBUMS
1. Erykah Badu- New Amerykah Part One: 4th World War
2. N.E.R.D.- Seeing Sounds
3. Gary Burton & Chick Corea- The New Crystal Silence
4. Atmosphere- When Life Gives You Lemons...
5. Lil Wayne- Tha Carter III
6. 9th Wonder & Buckshot- The Formula
7. Duffy- Rockferry
8. Miles Bonny- Remixes, Volume 1*
9. Nine Inch Nails- The Slip*
10. Andrew Calhoun- Bound To Go: Folk Songs & Spirituals

30 BEST SHOWS
1. Stone Temple Pilots- Liberty Memorial
2. Tech N9ne- Sandstone
3. Kid Rock- Sprint Center
4. Tech N9ne- Uptown Theater
5. Megan Birdsall- Jazz In the Woods*
6. Busy Bee- Liberty Hall
7. Shirley Brown- Hale Arena
8. Napalm Death- Beaumont
9. Mac Lethal- Riot Room
10. The Mars Volta- Beaumont Club
11. Peter Mulvey- Fred P. Ott's*
12. Wynton Marsalis & the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra- Folly Theater
13. Ashes Divide- Liberty Memorial
14, Rodney Crowell- Frontier Park*
15. T.I.- Sandstone
16. Luciano- Beaumont Club
17, Lil Mama- Sprint Center
18. Olympic Size- Record Bar
19. The Last Town Chorus- Knuckleheads
20. Ashton Shepherd- Country In the Woods*
21. Grupo Control- Crown Center*
22. The Redwalls- Record Bar
23. Leeland- Kemper Arena
24. Drowning Pool- VooDoo Lounge
25. Gregory Hickman-Williams memorial jazz jam- Jardine's*
26. American Music Club- Record Bar
27. Mark Olson- Davey's Uptown
28, Say Anything- Power & Light District*
29. Ed Fenner memorial jazz jam- Gem Theater*
30. M.I.A.- Liberty Hall