Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Dave Hodge: Toronto Mike'd #545

Episode Date: November 20, 2019

Mike chats with Dave Hodge about Don Cherry, The Reporters live at Paradise, and Dave Bookman before he reveals his favourite 100 songs of 2019.

Welcome to episode 545 of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, StickerU.com, Bryan Master from KW Realty, Capadia LLP CPAs, and Ridley Funeral Home. I'm Mike from TorontoMic.com and joining me this week to share his favorite 100 songs of 2019 is Dave Hodge. Welcome back, Dave. Thank you, Mike. My calendar includes Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Toronto Mike annual visit. What an honor.

Here I am. I'm all choked up. That's amazing to hear that. Now, if for some reason people are tuning into their first ever Dave Hodge on Toronto Mike experience here, let me just tell them that your initial deep dive was episode 191. So if you want to, we talk about the pen flip and all that. It's episode 191, one of my personal favorites. You returned to kick out the jams. This was when we played your, at the time anyways, your 10 favorite songs of all time and chatted about it. And that was episode 302. And last December, you came back to reveal your top 100 songs of 2018. And we played the top 11. Today, I think we're going to do the top 10.

But we played the top 11. And that was episode 411. So thanks so much for putting this on the calendar and coming back because i love it you bet mike and to be specific uh this is my list of the top 100 songs by 100 artists right so if anybody's wondering why there isn't another song by a favorite artist somewhere, the idea is to recognize as many bands, as many singers, as many performers, as many artists as I can. In other words, a hundred of them. So one song per artist, and that's the rules that I made for myself. And that makes it a little more challenging, but I think more fun and more rewarding in the end.

I love it. I love that you do this because I would be hard pressed to name a hundred new songs in 2019. This is fantastic. So I'm looking forward to hearing your list. Recently on this program, Toronto Mic'd, Bruce Arthur dropped by.

You ever heard of this guy, Bruce? He writes for the Star. Well, I don't see him often enough, but you're going to remind me that I will be seeing him shortly when we put the gang back together again. And I'm really excited about November the 25th, which you know all about.

So lead off our brief discussion about what lies ahead. So The Reporters, a fantastic show we watched on TSN, which is sadly no longer on TSN, but it is yourself, Dave Hodge, Bruce Arthur, Steve Simmons, who's been on the show multiple times,

and Michael Farber, who has yet to make his Toronto Mike debut due to geography, I think, but we got to make that happen so I can complete the set. But you guys are going to do a live show at the Paradise. Well well tell us exactly where and when and uh what we can expect with the reporters live the answer to your last point is a question

mark i don't know it really is an experiment um the idea was to uh literally uh put the guys back together when we couldn't do it on TV. An idea came to me to try to make a live stage version of what we had done for almost 16 years on TSN. And the Paradise Theatre is an interesting part of this story because it's a heritage-designated site at Bloor and Westmoreland in downtown Toronto. Dark for 13 years.

Originally built in 1937 as an old Art Deco cinema house. Nobody has stepped on that stage in the past 13 years because the stage didn't exist. It and everything else had to be rebuilt or built for the first time. Wow. to be rebuilt or built for the first time. Wow. And millions of dollars went into this lovely facility, and we have the honor of being the first show in its new form. So November the 25th, we will start at 7 o'clock.

I don't know about ticket availability other than to say that if you want to go, and I hope you do, there are a few tickets remaining, and I hope if you want to go, you get one or two or three of the few. The easiest way to access the ticket site, well, two ways. Paradiseonbloor.com is the theater website, and you have to look for first events and then find ours. Or I can give you something more specific, and I will. The reporterswithdavehodge.eventbrite.com. Eventbrite being E-V-E-N-T-B-R-I-T-E,

and com being C-O-M. I needn't try to be funny. I hope you can grab one of the few remaining tickets if you wish to go because I want to look out on the audience and not see any empty seats and be able to say, so there, TV, you thought you didn't need us. Now I'm going to suggest maybe we didn't need you. It's amazing you're the first event there after this renovation. It could have been Gordon Lightfoot, but they're like, no, we want Dave Hodge.

Well, there were, there were construction delays and this theater should have been opened well before now. Let's put it that way. Probably a year and a half earlier. So we've waited and waited and waited. Our original special guest was Brendan Shanahan.

And our guest on November 25th will be Brendan Shanahan. Thanks very much. I was ready for a little twist there, a little curveball. For his agreeing to do it in the first place, even more so for taking the rain check and saying, yes, he committed once, he will commit twice. When he committed twice, I'm twice when he committed twice i'm not sure he realized uh the state of the maple leafs as it as it might be on november 25th what might

happen between now and then but brendan is uh committed to be our special guest and basically half the show will be uh will be uh um involving him and and our treatment of him. We want to talk about more than the Leafs because Brendan Shanahan is, I think, unique in the hockey business for all he has done on the ice and especially the various positions he has held on the ice, including the very important one that he holds now. And I know you're going to make a connection to Brendan Shanahan aren't you well I have to

you understand there's a bingo I'll put together a bingo card and if Brendan Shanahan comes up in conversation I need to remind the listeners that we went to the same high school and he's a Mimico guy and as you know you could throw a rock from here and hit Mimico so maybe I'll get this is my chance to finally I've never

met the man so although his siblings chance to finally, I've never met the man. So although his siblings I've met, but I've never met Brendan Shanahan. Is there any chance, Dave, that Brendan Shanahan fires Babcock live at the Paradise Theatre on Bloor? No. Is there any hope? I'm trying to sell tickets here. Come on. Is there any hope in the back of my mind that, I don't wish anybody to be fired, but if Brendan Shanahan would like to make news during our show, he's more than welcome. This isn't

going to be a press conference. It's not a scrum. He's not pressed up against the wall being forced to explain why the Leafs aren't performing as well as they're expected to perform. But we will treat him with respect, with the thanks that he is owed for appearing. And we'll see what happens. As I say, this is really the seat of our pants. This is something that we have not done. People have said, what do you

expect? I think you just asked that. And I don't know. I'll be able to tell you at about 9 o'clock next Monday night when we leave the stage and then I'll know what this has turned into and whether it will have

a continuation in the future or whether we're doing one to say that this is the better last show than we did on television. It has to be that at a minimum. Right. Now, there's something I will say. There's something that's unknown. You have no idea what exactly will take place, how it will go down.

That's pretty punk. i think that's cool like i'm super jazzed about the fact this won't be predictable we don't have a blueprint here you know this is a we're giving this a go and i'm excited to be there and i urge anyone listening on the podcast anyway should pause at this point pause because there's some interesting stuff coming up before we even kick out these jams 100 top songs of 2019 but pause this podcast right now and go pick up a couple of tickets to see the reporters live because it's monday so if you're jumping on this early and you might because you might be wondering if dave hodge is going to mention uh the name don cherry you might be wanting to pounce on this we're talking on a Wednesday, so it's coming up the Monday. Yeah, grab tickets. This is going to be cool, even just to see the venue.

Well, you'll be a first-nighter, and I have seen it two weeks ago, so I haven't seen it in its full-dress form, but it's really an interesting sight. They will, as they get going, there will be music, there will be movies, all sorts of seminars, and it's an event space is what it is. It's the Paradise Theater, but a lot of different things are going to be happening there. I will be doing other things than the reporters with my connection to the Paradise Theater. And a lot of people who live in the neighborhood have waited and waited and waited and walked by this place for too long in their

minds and in everyone's mind connected to the Paradise, waiting and waiting for it to open. And so finally, we know that that is happening within a week. And I'm proud, I'm excited to, as I say, to be the first person to step on the stage officially and welcome an audience. And what was it like to see your name on the marquee? Did you get some good photos of that? Well, I thought I sort of allowed myself to imagine it was Broadway and what that might be like.

No, I was a little embarrassed too. But good for them for making us prominent enough and good for them for hosting it. I know the owner very well and I thanked him for the invitation to do something, anything. And the choice was, why don't you reprise the reporters?

And that was a great honour for the show, and I was only too happy to say, yeah, let's give it a try. And just to be clear, we're not Skyping in Farber. Michael Farber's a Montreal guy. He's not Skyping in. He's there in the flesh, right? This isn't a hologram. No, and part of the problem of the demise of the reporters on TV was the lack of money,

a common theme in sports television these days. But the budget could no longer afford, or so was the word from on high, could no longer afford to fly Michael from Montreal, put him up in a hotel.

And when he left the show, really, the show should have ended at that point. We tried a few more times without him, but we consider Michael a heart and soul of the show. And I wouldn't have done this event without him. And bravo to the Paradise Theatre for agreeing to that and also for assuming the cost of Michael's appearance. So yes, he'll be there live, and hopefully so will the rest of us.

It's funny, recently with the Don Cherry incident, there was a piece of video went viral of a younger Michael Farber and Don Cherry going at it on a CBC program. Did you catch that in your social media feeds? Yeah, I'm not sure we're referencing the same thing, but I think what you mean is Don Cherry with Eric Malling of the CBC. No, there's two things. That one's a different one.

Sorry, I didn't see anything involving Michael, and I've talked to him every day for the last little while, and he didn't mention it it might have been uh the punch up in uh push how many say the word push Jani help me say the uh name I know your friend Brian Williams would nail this punch up at Piestani thank you okay I always struggle with that word but anyway I think it was regarding that and I think it was like Farber on one side of this like a split screen thing maybe Barbara from or and I think it was like Farber on one side of the screen, like a split screen thing, maybe Barbara Frum or somebody, and there's like Michael Farber on one side and Don.

I bow to your research because I haven't found that, not to say that I've looked for any more Don Cherry material than has been evident. I'm not giving anything away. Yes, we will talk about Don Cherry on Monday. We'll talk about the Leafs. The Grey Cup will have occurred the day before. Steve Simmons is there covering it. So we have first-hand account of what happened in

Calgary. And our show will be timely, to say the least. And the beauty of it, sitting here, is a lot can change even between now and then. And that was the whole buzz around the reporters on TV that very often I went to bed on Saturday night and woke up on Sunday morning and had to take the show and rearrange it based on what had happened the night before. We're going to be in the same position, I think,

doing our live show at a theater. I don't have a script, and I don't think I will have one until Monday morning. Jack Todd, speaking of Montreal, but Jack Todd, he wrote, this is just in the last week, he wrote, this is regarding Don Cherry. The event that did the most to unleash ugly Don

was the firing of Daveave hodge the masterful pro who might have saved cherry from himself so i read this now and one thing i will point out because we've had many deep dive discussions you were not you never had a moment where cbc fired you like that that never there was never the thing where there was never an official firing right you just sort of read the tea leaves and went and did something else, if I remember correctly. Yes. Although a common perception is that I was fired, and so if somebody wants to put it that way, sure, it doesn't.

The details kind of get boring, to be honest with you, about how exactly the official end occurred. Was I fired? Did I quit? But yes, you're right. I had other opportunities and realized that the past 16 years spent on a hockey night in Canada were going to be all that was available to me. And I thank Jack Todd for the comment. I've heard others who have suggested that, or who knew that I dealt with Don Cherry

somewhat differently than Ron McLean did. I'm not here to compare the two or criticize any changes that Ron made, but it is clear that the way Coach's Corner started is not the way it finished. And I totally respect you're not going to second-guess another broadcaster, but if you were in Ron's position, would you have done anything differently? That would be an excellent question for November 25th

at the Paradise Theatre. We're giving away too much material here, Mike. Oh, there's plenty of material there. You're breaking our pact. We haven't played a note of music yet. Music is coming. But we have tried to get those last few reporters' tickets sold, and I thank you for that.

Like I said, pause the program, buy the tickets, sell this thing out, and then there'll be so much material. There's a wealth of material here, so but I must ask you just another question if I can't hear about the Cherry Gate, or whatever people have decided to call this, but you tweeted

Howie Meeker was Hockey Night in Canada's most popular and most colorful commenter until Don Cherry arrived. Howie was never bigger than the show itself, never tried to be bigger, wouldn't have been allowed to be bigger. The opposite applied to Don. Since we now are no longer confined

to the character limit on Twitter, may I ask you to elaborate on that? Did you think Don felt he was bigger than the brand, Hockey Night in Canada? Did you? Yes, I did. Okay, I'll agree with you. But no one I did. Okay, I'll agree with you, Mike. But no one cares what I think.

I'll agree with you. But the aim of that tweet was to point out, somewhat ironically, because I'm not one to invite network executives to get their fingers into the pie of the product. But he was allowed to do a lot of things that I don't think belonged on hockey night in Canada. The nation did not need a chaplain to preach to us about issues that had nothing to do with the matters

relating to that show. And somebody had to allow him to do it. And at the beginning, there should have been somebody, in my opinion, to tell him that he couldn't. While I was there, there was somebody who told him he couldn't. And I'll leave it at that. To be continued on Monday? Sure. All right.

Let me play a little bit of Watchmen while I make a little announcement. So I'm like, what Watchmen do I play? Let me play stereo. What the heck? Let's play the hits here. We're going to give away a couple of tickets right now to the Watchmen show, which is on Saturday night.

So you can attend the Watchmen show on Saturday night at the Danforth Music Hall Grapes of Wrath are opening, which I think is amazing. And you can attend that like I am. I'm going to be there on Saturday. And then I'm going to be at the Reporters Live on Monday. So you can do both. These are different nights. So the winners

of the Twitter contest and the two tickets I'm going to give away, and I'll make sure I get you on the list. And I'll DM you with the specifics here, by the way. But congrats to Sock Theo and Wacky World of K. Twitter gives you great handles. So obviously I'm going to have to reach out to these folks

and find out what name is actually on their driver's license. If Wacky World of K is on the driver's license, let me know. All right, so we're going to go from The Watchmen and then we're just going to spend a couple of minutes talking really briefly here about Dave Bedini because Dave Bedini came by a couple of weeks ago and I talked about my

conversation with you, the first one, in which we talked about The Ballad of Wendell Clark, part two, what a title that is, and him dropping your name. So this is a couple of minutes. I just want to complete the communications loop here and play, this is very meta dave okay we're gonna play me and dave badini talking about uh me and you and it all will make sense after we hear this brief clip here i'm uh gonna play a chat i had with a friend of the show dave hodge about a cut that's on uh this album greatest hits and then i want to talk about play that song and talk about it but let's hear uh 90 seconds of dave hodge and i so there you go he's saying uh well i heard wendell talking to dave hodge last night and All of us could fly. He said that hard work is the ethic of the free.

So there you go. He's saying, well, I heard Wendell talking to Dave Hodge last night, and he said that he was confident and keen, and he said that Jacques Plante didn't die so all of us could glide. He said that hard work is the ethic of the free. How does that sound being part of Canadian music history? Well, it's my favorite song that includes my name in the lyrics because you can guess the rest of the sentence. It is the only one that I know of.

And so, sure, it was brought to my attention. I didn't hear it at first. That might have floored me. But somebody said, you know the Rheostatics? Yes. You're a fan? Yes. The Ballad of Wendell Clark?

Okay, I'm vaguely familiar with it, but maybe I need to listen to it again. Yeah, you should listen to it again. And so ever since, it's been, I mean, I've been at shows, and that's been a trivia question for somebody to, you know, name the song that included my name in the lyrics. And the Ballad of Wendell Clark wins, and a lot of hands go up. So good for the Rio statics for popularizing that,

and I guess it didn't hurt me either. There's Dave Hodge. So we were asked to do, geez, I'm trying to think how we, oh, Gary Green. So we were asked to play at Pat Burns' wake. At the Horseshoe. And him and Coach there, Mike Keenan, asked us to do it. So we were side stage,

and somebody mentioned the ballad, Wendell Clark, and Bob McKenzie turned to Dave Hodge and said, Dave, you know that song? And Hodge said, know it. I'm in it. So it was a good line. So there's Bedini talking about you and the real statics. All full circle here, Dave Hodge.

That wasn't a bad line I gave to McKenzie. I don't remember that. I do remember the event, though. I gave to Mackenzie. I don't remember that. I do remember the event though. I was, I was honored to be, to be part of the tribute to Pat Burns and to see all of those people that

Bedini mentioned and a lot of others. So we mentioned the horseshoe there, and now we're going to talk all about music for the remainder of the show. Once I give you a few gifts, but this is the, an opportunity since you were last on Toronto, Mike, we lost a great advocate for music in this, in this city. to show once I give you a few gifts. But this is an opportunity. Since you were last on Toronto Mic'd, we lost a great advocate for music in this city.

And I'm talking about Bookie, Dave Bookman. Would you mind spending a couple of minutes about how you knew Dave? And did you host the wake for Dave Bookman? I would call it a tribute concert. Here's another honour. I don't know why they come to me like this, but I was blessed, really, to be asked to host that.

Bookie and I had an interesting relationship. We certainly saw each other from time to time, but more often than that, we were email buddies. And Dave always wanted to talk about sports, and I always wanted to talk about music. And we had a battle over which would take precedence at that particular time. He was unique.

He was beloved by those in the radio and the music business in this city, in this country, shall we say. And anybody who knew him realized that he loved sports every bit as much as he loved music. And that was a conflict in his life, I'm sure, because there were times, you know, I told the story that night that often it occurred, hey, Dave, you're going to the show, no, there's a game. Hey, Dave, you're going to the game, No, there's a game. Hey Dave, you going to the game? No, there's a show. So yeah, we found ourselves often at a Wilco show because he would not miss that, nor would I. And it was a great loss to his friends and to the music business. and the turnout at his tribute concert, I think, was the greatest collection of prominent Canadian musicians

in one place at one time, perhaps ever, from Blue Rodeo to Billy Talent to Colorado to Sarah Harmer to I'm going to leave some out, obviously, because the list goes on. Sloan was there. Hayden was there. It was just, it was July talk. Dabnett Doyle, phenomenal, phenomenal night and great tribute to, to Bookie.

And the joke was that if Bookie had, had lived, this was actually his birthday, that the concert was held. If he had lived, he would have celebrated his birthday not by coming to his own party, but the Raptors were playing that night in the playoffs, and everybody knew that Bucky wouldn't be at the horseshoe. So we were able to laugh, and we were allowed to cry,

and we still mention him. I was away with a lot of people connected to the Horseshoe Tavern the past week, and Bookie's name came up a lot as we listened to music in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, of all places. Wow. One of the great events of my life where music is concerned. If I told you who all was there,

and I will rattle off some names, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, et cetera, et cetera. Brandi Carlile was a headliner for me. I'm going to gush over Brandi Carlile as we get into our music talk, even though she didn't have a record this year. But her performance in Punta Cana was amazing, the same as the one I saw five days earlier in Niagara Falls.

So I have become the biggest Brandi Carlile fan I know. And if you have not heard her, especially if you've not seen her, and you love music and you love a voice that is like no other, then I'm here to promote Brandi Carlile. She doesn't need me because she has won enough awards of her own in the in the recent past but it was amazing an amazing trip uh that um just had music from morning noon till night music of of this caliber nathaniel reitliff was there uh tyler childers it was it was some some kind of four days.

My last guest was Jeff Domet. And Jeff Domet, he told me his best friend in radio was Dave Bookman. And I'll say to you what I said to him, which is the loss of David Bookman affects anyone who loves music in this city, anyone who loves good radio in this city. We all feel it. I feel it. And my particular condolences to those of you who knew the man personally, and I am sorry for your loss. I saw Jeff just two nights ago. Oh, he mentioned that.

Yeah. At a Hockey Hall of Fame event. Oh, Huey, right? That's right. Jim Houston's private party. That's right, Jim Houston's private party. And yeah, so there you go with sports and music clashing. Not clashing.

Oh, well, the clash. You can't go wrong with the clash. Meeting, as it so often does in my life and more than anybody I know as it did in Bookie's life. If anyone has loved ones who have passed away and cannot be with us this holiday season, I would like to make you aware of the Holidays and Hope Candlelight Service. Brad and the good people at Ridley Funeral Home host this event. It's at the Assembly Hall, which is pretty much Lakeshore and Kipling.

It's on Wednesday, December 4th at 7 p.m. It's their annual free memorial service, again, in honor of those loved ones who have passed away and cannot be with us this holiday season. If you'd like more information about Holidays and Hope Candlelight Service, please visit ridleyfuneralhome.com

or visit 416-259-3705. In a lighter fare, if you will, and a more positive side as we get into the tunes here i just want to say congratulations to sticker you they won the bronze award at uh for prince sorry for print design at the world's largest uh for the world's largest sticker store interior at the print action awards this This was on November 7th. Uh, there's stickers for you, Dave.

Uh, last time we did not have this, but yeah, it's under your papers here. Here it is. Okay. So I found it. The Toronto Mike sticker.

Can't wait to find out where it ends up, but please take these gifts from, uh, sticker you. If anybody needs custom stickers, one or, you know, thousands,

you can upload the image at stickeru.com and get them printed and sent to you. And they're fantastic people there. Here's another six pack of fresh craft beer for you, Dave, courtesy of Great Lakes Brewery. You got one last time. You might've got one the time before. You might be scoring here.

So I hope you enjoyed your last six pack and you can take this home with you as well. I need six more. Hey, you know, there's an open policy here for you. You can come anytime and get your six-pack of Great Lakes. And your Toronto Mike sticker will, I know where it'll go, it'll go on a speaker. Oh, that's amazing.

And if you tweet me a photo, that would be, I would love to see the photo. Alan Cross, I was talking to him at the Party for Marty. We had an event at the opera house for martin streak 10 years since his passing and uh i gave him a sticker at that event and he told me he's got a garbage bin and at first i'm like oh i don't know if i want to be there but then he explained like there's radio stations all over the world that have gone on to this garbage bin and it was seemed like quite the honor to be there so i would love to be on your speaker dave that would be amazing did you enjoy the palma pasta lasagna that you got last time you were here you know the answer this is it's wonderful food and uh you know

who enjoys it more than me tell me my wife did you remind me this though did you did you want a meat lasagna or a vegetarian lasagna uh well i would choose meat okay i've got a meat for you so great we scored there it's in my freezer do not leave without it on behalf of the listeners do we have any music for them coming soon well this is the the way it works now you should know that uh this is the way it works now. So the last word before we kick out or get you talking about your, your favorite a hundred to 91 songs, and then we'll play number 10 and then you'll all get the rhythm of this as we go here. But I just want to let people know that Brian master is a salesperson with

Keller Williams, realty solutions brokerage, and you can get on Brian masters mailing list. It's great value add information. Go to, oh sorry, send him an email. Let's get you home at kw.com. Brian Master, radio superstar. And Dave Hodge, the floor is yours.

We begin at number 100 and as Mike has explained, I hope understandably because it sometimes confuses me, but we will count down from 100 mentioning all songs except the top 10, which we will mention and also play. So yeah, you'll figure it out. 100, Missed Connection by The Head and the Heart.

And I will just say that a lot of this comes out of my head and my heart, so I just happened to make the list at number 100. 99 is King of the Dudes by Sunflower Bean. 98, Saying Goodbye by an artist from Kenya, J.S. Ondara. 97 is The Long Game sung by Jonathan Rice, a frequent collaborator with Jenny Lewis. 96, we all know Tegan and Sarah. The song is called Hey, I'm Just Like You. 95, Fields of Honey by Anders Osborne. 94 is Every Happiness Under the Sun, sung by Bonnie Bishop.

She is from Texas, and I love music and musicians from the Lone Star State. That is and has been and will be apparent. 93 is Skin Game by Dive, spelled D-I-I-V, a band from Brooklyn. 92, Paralyzed by, got to make sure of the pronunciation, from the UK, Niloufer Yanya.

And 91, a Grammy nominee earlier today, as I read the list. Too Bad by Rival Sons from California. I kind of think this is the modern-day version of Led Zeppelin. And now we get to play a song. My number 10 song from 2019 is by one of, if not the favorite artist of mine. You know we have talked about him in the past. His name is Frank Turner. He played what I consider the show of the year in Toronto at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. A different kind of Frank Turner show, stripped down, reimagined, basically acoustic. It was magical and I also saw Frank Turner four times in Boston in May of this year,

which is a trip I will not soon forget. Frank Turner with all of his favorite artists opening shows four nights in a row, including John K. Sampson and The Hold Steady and Against Me and Skinny Lister. And it was a great trip. And here was Frank Turner back with a new album this year. A remarkable tribute song from the album called No Man's Land is called Sister Rosetta. Sister Rosetta. Godmother of rock and roll The original sister of soul All our music was in her

She brought rhythm From the darkness into the light She brought the good word to the night To save all our sinners. Rosetta rolled her eyes when she played. She knew that strange things happen every day and that the white boy hype would eventually fade. But the way that she played would remain. New York City.

It was 1938 The radio couldn't wait for Rosetta to rocket Instant sensation And little Elvis, Chuck and Johnny at home Had her on the gramophone and they wouldn't forget it Rosetta rolled her eyes when she played She knew that strange things happen every day And that the white boy hype would eventually fade But the way that she played with remain

Was set us in the hall of fame Don't let her be forgotten in a church in Arkansas Remember her teaching the cotton cloth, the glory of the Lord Don't let her be forgotten, Rosetta deserves more Remember her teaching a nation on a train car form in England In 1964 In England in 1964 Mrs. Rosetta Saw the bright lights fade away

She saw out the last of her days In the suburbs of Philly Down by the river She still heard music in the air Up above her head and everywhere On a train bound for glory Rosetta rolled her eyes when she played She knew that strange things happen every day And that the white boy hype would eventually fade

But the way that she played would remain Rosetta rolled her eyes when she played She knew that strange things happen every day And that the white boy hype would eventually fade The way that you blame would remain Reset us in the hall of fame Reset us in the hall of fame Reset us in the hall of fame Frank Turner, man. And then you turned me on to Frank Turner,

the first time he kicked out the jams. And my next goal is to see a Frank Turner show with Dave Hodge. It won't be your last. He's in my Hall of Fame, and if his career keeps going the way it has, he might be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Eventually, he's an amazing performer, amazing guy. Got married this year.

I was pleased to meet his wife while she was his fiance. And Frank Turner is, as I say, if I have to name one favorite artist, yeah, okay. It's him. I hope I don't disparage any others, but Frank is the guy. But Frank is the guy. Back to the countdown. At number 90 is Blind Willie from Bruce Coburn's instrumental album. A great songwriter, obviously, but also a great guitarist.

And this is an entire album of Bruce Coburn on guitar. Oh, may I jump in, please, just to promote that in the next couple of weeks, True North's Bernie, so Bernie Finkelstein is coming on Toronto Mic'd, and we'll do a lot of Bruce talk in that episode. 89, The Rock in the Hill by Alison Moore, sometimes known as

Shelby Lynn's sister. 88, Leave It All Behind by The Headstones. Good, they're still around, the great Hugh D sister. 88, Leave It All Behind by the Headstones. Good, they're still around, the great Hugh Dillon. 87, Don't Go Falling to Pieces by Tokyo Police Club's Dave Monks, a solo album. 86, Lucky Ones, Austin Plain. 85, Doc Gooden, because I have to have a song named after a baseball player. Doc Gooden is sung

by the Mountain Goats. 84, Cascadia from Vancouver's Said the Whale. 83, Runaway by Vancouver's Lightning Dust. 82, Colorado by our own Colorado. I guess Toronto, Lindsay, Ontario would claim Hallorado. Did they call it quits?

The story keeps going back and forth but there are two events scheduled at the Danforth. I believe

it's a Danforth next month and at various times it's their last concerts and at other times don't their last concerts and at other times um don't be so sure about that so um i don't know um and uh i'm going to uh spend a bit of time uh on number 81 which is

on my own by the muffs uh um simply to uh warn the passing of of the lead singer Kim Shattuck, who died this year of complications from ALS. I guess that's complicated enough, ALS. And the rock world, the punk world, the West Coast, misses greatly Kim Shattuck of the muffs. Now, to number nine, which is not a new song, so if you're going to accuse me of breaking the rules, okay, that's fine, but it is obviously a new recording,

and it's such a great song, sung by this friend of mine, and it is received so well by audiences that love him and the fact that he brings this song back. It usually closes the show or is very near the end of the show and they sing throughout his show because they know all of his songs. And his name is Jim Cuddy. I shouldn't leave that out for any longer. And Jim recorded this year his version of a song that everybody knows,

and let's sing along with it again, Rhinestone Cowboy. I've been walking these streets so long Singing the same old song I know every crack on these dirty sidewalks So much Hustle's the name of the game Nice guys get washed away like the snow and the rain There's been a load of compromising

On the road to my horizon But I'm gonna be where the lights are shining on me Like a rhinestone cowboy Riding out on a horse in a star-spangled rodeo Like a rhinestone cowboy Getting cards and letters From people I don't even know And offers comin' over the phone

And I really don't mind the rain A smile can hide all the pain. But you're down when you're riding the train, it's taking the long way. Dream of the things I'll do, a subway token and a dollar stuck inside my shoe. There'll be a load of compromising on the road to my horizon. I'm gonna be where the lights are shining on me. Like a rhinestone cowboy Riding out on a horse in a star spangled rodeo Like a rhinestone cowboy

Getting cards and letters from people I don't even know. Like a rhinestone cowboy. Riding out on a horse in a star-spangled rodeo. Like a rhinestone cowboy. I'm getting cards and letters From people I don't even know And offers coming over the phone A true sing-along.

Great. That's Jim Cuddy. Fantastic. Yeah, it has the effect of Sweet Caroline at the shows. And obviously, Glenn Campbell's name needs to be mentioned. He popularized it, and Jim brings it back. And that's terrific. We will pick up the countdown with number 80. By The Interrupters, who I saw in Toronto.

Didn't know them as well as I do now. They have a large following. Talk about sing-alongs. People knew words to this song and a lot of others, but number 80 on my list is She's Kerosene by The Interrupters. 79, Jade Jackson sings Bottle It Up. 78, Bottle Rockets by Lowest of the Low, QU, Mike. I'm holding up for the Periscope crowd.

The very last Agitpop temporary tattoo, that sticker you made for TMLX3, because Lowest of the Low played TMLX3 at Great Lakes Brewery, and they were fantastic. Love those guys. 77 is Strangers by City and Color, Dallas Green and Company. Happy to have them on the list. 76, Texas Drought Part One. I told you about my

love of Texans singing songs, and this is by Rodney Crowell. 75 is a song called, is a song? Yeah, it's a song. It's a talking blues, and I'm a sucker for talking blues ever since Bob Dylan played his first one into my ears. Talking Reality Television Blues by Todd Snyder, another artist I saw in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. An amazing experience to see this guy sing and do talking blues. Again, Talking Reality Television blues by Todd Snyder. 74 by the Felice Brothers is called Special Announcement with a political theme. 73, I Don't Want to Ride the Rails No More by Vince Gill,

who needs no further introduction. 72, same thing for Lee Harvey Osmond, Tom Wilson and Company singing 40 Light Years. 71, Please Don't Call Me Crazy by the Cactus Blossoms. Two brothers from Minnesota, I believe. They are the 21st century version or have been called that, the 21st century version of the Everly Brothers. So if you like those harmonies, you will like the Cactus Blossoms. And I hope you will like my number eight as we return to the top ten. My number eight song could have been anything from this band. A new release this year with some singles that had been out earlier and

some other new songs to make an album. As I say, I can play anything by the hold steady, but I picked this. It's called Denver haircut. She said I'll strap on the saddle And I'm sorry but this city's a cesspool I've kissed in a cab with half of these jackals Still couldn't get any check fuel Walked her out to the taxi, took her out to some parties Found a man with a handful Huddled over some car keys It doesn't have to be pure

It doesn't have to be perfect It just sort of has to be worth it A residence down at the top of the exit You pay the admission and here's what you get The stench of death in the credits The montage set to the time of your life A shot in the dark in a bar that's too bright A window sucking off all the available light, right?

A window sucking up all the available light, right? And a crack on the bed stand with a cord connected Liberty and justice in the master of puppets Rolling off with a mattress waking up on the carpet This should have to be perfect He said he can't read the paper, it's not worth the trouble He's out about funerals and the blasts and the bugles Wherever he goes, he always orders the usual He likes to see what they'll bring him In five hours on the carpet

It is a six different planets On a spaceship shaped like a Gibson Marauder The pilot kind of looked like Kirk Hammond While he was floating in space That ship took his water Wasn't really a take Wasn't sure what to call it That same stupid feeling that lies in this new haircut

It doesn't have to be pure It doesn't have to be perfect Just sort of has to be worth it. The Hold Steady. Another band, by the way, who makes me think of Bookie whenever I hear The Hold Steady. A lot of bands will make you think of Bookie, and I'm a big fan of The Hold Steady. I've done work with them.

I've seen all sorts of shows of theirs and there's never one that doesn't turn the audience into an absolute frenzy. So see them in the right place. The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto is the right place. I can't wait to see the Hold Steady again. I'm glad I did this year. The countdown will be picked up with number 70.

The song is, just because I love the title, no, I like the song too, America, You're Freaking Me Out. Another timely mention as we sit here today in late November by the Menzingers from Scranton, Pennsylvania. Number 69 is There is a Wall by Sky Wallace. And you want to add a mention about her. Just hello to Sky, who's been on Toronto Mic. Then I'm holding up for the Periscope audience her most recent CD.

And I'd like to thank the lowest of the low for turning me on to Sky Wallace. Some of her biggest fans are artists who want to tour with her, which is a great compliment, and that is only going to make things better for Ms. Wallace. 68 is Love

is Dangerous by a Dallas, Texas guy called Dalton Domino. 67, Mean Old World by the North Mississippi All-Stars, the Dickinson brothers, Luther and Cody, primarily. 66, Crazy World by a Texas duo

named Jamestown Revival. 65, Something to Lose by Matt Anderson, Pride of New Brunswick. 64 is Can't Remember by Massey Ferguson, not the tractor, but a band from Seattle. 63 is Hero by Michael Kiwanuka,

most famous probably for a song called Cold Little Heart, which if you don't recognize the title, you would know as the theme of the popular tv series big little lies 62 is when you're ready by molly tuttle 61 a song called long way home by a group called duran jones and the indications great r&b soul and we go back to the top 10 for For number seven, a bit of a story because I don't have a lot to say about an artist named Chuck Hawthorne, basically because I had not heard of him until this year, and that's too bad because he's a veteran of the music business.

He's from Austin, Texas. He has been around a long time, but he has not recorded more than two records, I believe, this being the second one. And how did I know about Chuck Hawthorne? I heard this very song and said, I have to know more about it and the singer. So that is really all I know and all I can tell you until you hear Chuck Hawthorne sing New Lost Generation. Here lies Lonesome Jim, paid for all our sins. He believed in everything that he'd done.

He believed in football scores Far off Asian wars And he believed his head up to a gun What in the world are you supposed to do When your daddy walked on the moon guitar solo

We prescribed him little pills We prescribed him bigger pills Got him higher than any rocket ever flew Got him lost between the moon and Mars Ain't no one there but movie stars Your bootstraps back on Earth you can't get to What in the world are you supposed to do? Are you supposed to do When your daddy

Walked on the moon So thank you for your serviceman But your daddy built his castle out of loon sand And his war was the only right one to fight So we'll go to the mile of disappear and we'll land on Mars in a hundred years and we'll forget you and make everything

just right What in the world are you supposed to do when you're getting What in the world are you supposed to do When your daddy walked on the moon Beautiful. A new lost generation, Chuck Hawthorne. And you're going to ask, how does anybody go from the hold steady to that? And that's the kind of diversity that I enjoy.

and that's the kind of diversity that I enjoy and I hope all music fans and all music lovers are able to look past the particular genre that they might call their favorite and find a second and third and fourth and fifth favorite because that's the ultimate experience for me, and I think it is the way to follow music, is to look for new things and different things. So some more different things. 60.

Number 60 is by a husband and wife from London, England, called The Rails, and the song is called Call Me When It All Goes Wrong. 59 is my friend Lydia Persaud, who I first met as a member of the group Dwayne Gretzky and is now having wonderful success on her own and received earlier today a Canadian Folk Music Award. Congratulations, Lydia.

The song here in number 59 is called More of Me. 58 is a song called I Only Cry When I'm Alone by Beth Bombara. 57, All My Happiness Is Gone, Purple Mountains, David Berman, and unfortunately, sadly, the music world lost David Berman, and unfortunately, sadly, the music world lost David Berman this year. 56, Think of Me by some guy named Neil Young and some group called Crazy Horse. Great to see another release.

And it is a Neil Young, Crazy Horse record, by all means. 55, Glorious Sons. A lot of fans of Glorious Sons, especially from Kingston. The song is called Panic Attack. Number 54, a guy that I saw perform a house concert not long ago.

That's an experience to see him anywhere, but especially among a group of friends. Steve Poltz is the artist, originally from Halifax. The song is called Ballin' on a Wednesday. Number 53 on this list is Hold Your Nerve by Boy and Bear from Australia. 52, Sing Along, Sturgill Simpson.

We still call him a country artist, I don't know. It's pretty heavy, and so is a lot of other things that he's done recently. Sing Along by Sturgill Simpson, 52-51, is a song called Diamonds Back to Coal by an artist named Jeremy Ivey, who can also be identified as the husband of an artist known as Margo Price.

I was happy to see Jeremy Ivey perform that song at the Drake in Toronto earlier this year. Now to number six, as we revert to the top ten. This is one of the best albums I heard this year. The album is called Fever Breaks, and I really had trouble picking one song from this album by Josh Ritter. And in fact, this is probably the third one that I wrote down. And I stuck with number three because I couldn't keep changing or I might wind up at the wrong place. I think this is the right place.

This is Josh Ritter singing All Some Kind of Dream. One, two, three, four. stranger's face I saw my sister in a smile my mother's laughter in a far off place my father's footsteps in each mile I thought I knew

who my neighbor was we didn't need to be redeemed oh what could I have been thinking of was it all some kind of dream I saw my country in the hungry eyes

of a million refugees between the rocks and the rising tide As they were tossed across the sea There was a time when we were them Just as now they all are we Was there an hour when we took them in Or was it all some kind of dream I saw the children in the holding tents

I saw the families ripped apart And though I try I cannot begin To know what I did inside their hearts There was a time when we held them close And weren't so

cruel, low and mean And we did good unto the least of those Or was it all some kind of dream? I saw justice with the tattered hand I saw compassion on the run But I saw dignity in spite of them I prayed this day would finally come There was a time when we chose our sides

And we refused to live between We rose to fight for what we knew was right Or was it all some kind of dream? Thank you. Last night I lay in my true love's bed And she lay there close beside And we lay thinking about what lay ahead And wondering if the sun would rise For it seems that these are darker days Than any others that we've seen

Oh, how we wish that we weren't wide awake And this was all some kind of dream Josh Ritter who I just saw on Q actually saw him perform on Q. Yeah, that album is highly recommended because you'll see, you'll hear a lot of great stuff

in addition to the song that we just played. Now we're going to be right in the middle of this list of 100 with number 50 by a British group that's been around for 30 years and I did not know of until Frank Turner told me about a group called the Wild Hearts. And the song I picked from them is called Dislocated. 49, Toronto's Own Pup, singing Kids. Number 48, Bored and Raised by Raconteurs,

Jack White, obviously. Number 47, Bimbo by the Coathangers from Atlanta, I believe. 46 is Rebound City by Bleached from California, I think. I know where this guy's from, the whole world, but also Toronto. My friend, I did his podcast, and he vows to have me do it again. We've had lunch, and we've talked on Twitter a few times recently. I can't keep up with him because he's all over the world. He's Danko Jones, and the song is called I'm in a Band,

and I told him when I first heard that, I wish I was too. By the way, Danko Jones recently on Toronto Mic'd. Great guy, great'd. Great guy. Great conversation. You bet. So podcasters join forces, do they? Right. 44 is Dance by Tim Baker from St. John's, Newfoundland,

and formerly of Hey Rosetta. Number 43, Salvation by Strumbelas. We'll call him from Toronto, shall we? Number 42, Angels or Los Angeles is the name of a song by a female artist called Caroline Spence. I think she's from Virginia. 42, The Great Unraveling. Leroy Stagger, originally BC, now I think based in Lethbridge,

Alberta. 41. 41? No, that was 41. That was 41. I'm here to correct you, Dave. You said 42. Oh, no, that was, okay. I've lost track of numbers, but not songs. So now I'm at number five, right? Yes. Back to the top 10, number five. This is why it takes two of us to do this. This is a group very, very close to my heart from very recently. I have loved them. Again, Frank Turner turned me on to them. They're from London, England. I loved the records. I loved the videos. I loved the the records I loved the videos I loved the lot the live shows and now I love the

people as friends because they opened for the Interrupters in Toronto and made me a part of the band for that night I ate their food I drank their beer I was asked to introduce them to the crowd at Rebel. I'm always honored to introduce bands, especially when they ask me and I don't have to suggest to them that they need an intro or should probably have one and it should be by me. These people that I'd met only hours earlier

embraced me as a friend and I can't say enough about the show that they put on. I wish they were higher than number five. I sent this list actually to Dan, the lead singer, and he said, good to see our song on there. He didn't say maybe he would have liked it four places higher. That's the problem I have when I know many of these people. Anyway, the intro is too long. This is longer than the intro I gave them at the Rebel. The name of the group is Skinny Lister.

Do not miss them. If you can see them, hear them, find out about them. Skinny Lister from London, UK, singing 38 Minutes. This is not a drill. This is not a drill. Running for the hills. This is not a drill. Coming for the hills This is not a drill Coming for the kill This is not a drill

Crack open your hippie whiskey We're gonna go out in style One last moment together One last chance to get wild For all the friends that were found You know that I love you, I'm sorry And I pray to a God I never believed in Until now

This is not a drill This is not a drill Running for the hills This is not a drill This is not a drill Running for the hills This is not a drill Coming for the kill This is not a drill One, two, three, go! 38 minutes

38 minutes 38 minutes With a tan in the eye This is not a dream 38 minutes is actually only two minutes. Wonderful song. One more Skinny Lister reference. When I saw them in Boston opening for Frank Turner, they did not play my favorite Skinny Lister song,

which is called Kathy. Not a 2019 song, or we just heard that. But I was disappointed, and I chastised them for not putting it into that set and demanded that I hear it when they came to Toronto. And so sure enough, Kathy was part of the Toronto set list. It was dedicated to me and that's always nice. but for the first time in my life when i went to setlist.com i saw on a posted setlist my name wow number set the seventh seventh song they did in the show was kathy and there on my computer screen on setlist.com was for Dave Hodge. Nice. That's like when you were in the real static song.

Yeah. Well, that only happened once. This only happened once. So if you loved what you just heard by Skinny Lister and you want to hear a song that I like even more than that, my favorite Skinny Lister song, and one of the reasons is that it is the song that I sing almost always when I'm in the shower, and I'm almost always singing in the shower. So there you go.

Now, keep me on pace here. Number 40, I believe, is where we are. Yes. Eddie and Polly is the name of the song by the D-Lines from Portland, Oregon. I have a little bit to say about this song at number 38. All sorts of Grammy nominations came to this song earlier today. Oh, you missed 39. Oh, boy.

That's why I'm here. I need something to do. My right, my scribbling, my scrawling. I missed a song called Fools. Yeah. How appropriate. Drug Dealer is the name of the group, sort of a group. Michael Collins is the guy that basically is Drug Dealer.

And the song is named after me, Fools. Now to 38, because I was in a hurry to get to it. And all the Grammy nominations that came to a song called Bring My Flowers Now. It's a song that is sung in a great comeback style by Tanya Tucker. It is a song that was co-written by Brandi Carlile and Shooter Jennings. And I have had the privilege of hearing Brandi sing it twice in the past 10 days. But on the record, it's Tanya Tucker singing Bring My Flowers Now.

That's 38. 38. So find it and listen to it and wrap it around you. 37 is Love All Night, Work All Day by Yola from London. 36, Saboteurs by Dave Hawes of Philadelphia. Not Dave Hodge, but Dave Hawes. 35, Greenville by The Long Riders. What a great comeback.

They've been around 30 years or so, and this is a comeback album. And a great one, the song Greenville. 34, Bright Direction by Hiss Golden Messenger, otherwise known as MC Taylor, based in North Carolina. 33, Might Be Right. Great rock band from Louisville, Kentucky. White Reaper is the name of the group. Might Be Right. Great rock band from Louisville, Kentucky. White Reaper is the name of the group.

32, Ruby by Strand of Oaks, another Philadelphia band. 31 is Low High by Black Keys, whom we all know, I believe. Sorry to lose track there. I almost wish we could have played Bring My Flowers Now. But now we're going to hear Brandi Carlile in a different form because she is part of a super group of women called the High Women. Maren Morris, Amanda Shires, Natalie Hemsby, the other women in High Women. And I also heard Brandi Carlile sing this twice in the past 10 days, almost the title track, I guess you could say,

of the album put out by the High Women, because the song is called High Women. I was a high woman And a mother from my youth For my children I did what i had to do my family left honduras when they killed the sandinistas we followed our coyote through the dust of mexico every one of them except for me survived

And I am still alive I was a healer I was gifted as a girl I laid hands upon the world Someone saw me sleeping Naked in the noon sun I laid hands upon the world Someone saw me sleeping Naked in the noon sun I heard witchcraft in the whispers And I knew my time had come

The bastards hung me at the Salem gallows here But I am living still I was a freedom rider When we thought the South had won. Virginia in the spring of 61. I sat down on the greyhound that was bound for Mississippi. My mother asked me if that ride was worth my life. And when the shots rang out, I never heard the sound, but I am still around. And I'll take that ride again, and again, and again, and again, and again.

I was a preacher. My heart broke for all the world. But teaching was a righteous for a girl. In the summer I was baptized in the mighty Colorado in the winter I heard the hounds and I knew I had been found and in my Savior's name I laid my weapons down but I am still around We're the high women The single story still untold We carry the sons you can only hold We are the daughters of the silent generations

You send our hearts to die alone in foreign nations They may return to us as tiny drops of rain But we will still remain And we'll come back again And again And again And again And again

We'll come back again And again, and again, and again, and again The High Woman. It was an unexpected thrill to hear Brandy sing that by herself twice. I'll stop talking about Brandy Carlisle now. Well, I should point out that we're not playing it today because it made your top 100 songs of 2018. So you got to go back to that episode

to hear The Joke. We played The Joke by Brandi Carlile, but that was played quite a bit. People heard it in 2019 all over the place. It is the song that I heard most often in 2019. I couldn't put it on this list without cheating because it was a 2018 song. But live again, Brandi Carlile singing the joke is an experience like no other for me.

So number 30, Desdemona by Toronto's Beaches. I always love the argument, you know, is it beach or beaches? Well, the band is The Beaches, and there is no doubt about that. 29, a real fascinating artist named Orville Peck, who wears a Lone Ranger mask and has everybody talking about him, Orville Peck singing Dead of Night. Did I mention the name of the song by The Beaches? Desdemona?

You just did. 28. The name of the song is Renegade, and the artist is Dylan LeBlanc. 27 is Rocket by Steve Mason. I'm hurrying. 26, Times Like These. Another Texan, Hayes, Carl. 25, Find This Band, Austin, Texas, if you love, love again R&B and soul

and I think they were nominated for a Grammy Best New Artist earlier today I saw the name the name of the band is Black Pumas the song is called Colors 24 is Room 13 a song by Jesse Mallon from New York 23 Tough Enough the group is X Hex 22 a newcomer named Bruce Springsteen a song by Jesse Mallon from New York. 23, Tough Enough, the group is X-Hex. 22, a newcomer named Bruce Springsteen with Tucson Train.

And 21, one of my favorite groups for years and years, the Avett Brothers singing Tell the Truth. Number three on the top 10 is a song that came out very early in the year. I was alerted to it by Max Kerman of Arkells, and the name of the group is a rather cumbersome title, Better Oblivion Community Center, better known as, for most of us, Phoebe Bridgers and Connor Oberst. Max said, listen to this.

I listened to it, and I told him at the time, it's in my top ten now and it's not leaving. And it rose to number three. The song is called Dylan Thomas. It was quite early one morning You hit me with that wood And I went to hear the general speak I was standing for the anthem Banners all around and confetti made it hard to see.

Put my footsteps on the pavement, start for entertainment, four seasons, a revolving door. So sick of being honest, I'll die like Dylan Dylan Thomas A seizure on the barroom floor I'm getting green with this private hell I'm calling it a loan but that's just as well These cats are scared to fail with black pins on their lapels The truth is anybody's guess These talking heads are saying the king is only playing a game of four dimension chess I'm going to tumble, I'm lucid, but I still can't think. I'm going to tumble. I'm lucid, but I still can't think.

I'm strapped into a corset, climbed into your corvette. I'm thirsty for another drink. If it's advertised, I'll try it and buy some peace and quiet. I'm shut up at the silent retreat. They say you gotta fake it at least until you make it. That ghost is just a kid in a sheet. I'm getting used to these dizzy spells. I'm taking a shower at the Bates Motel. At the Bates Motel I'm getting green with this private hell I'll call it a loan But that's just as well As well Thank you. Better Oblivion Community Center rolls off my tongue.

You had to check, didn't you? I also slowed it down because I said, I'm going to mess this up. Good job. You're beating me in that category. Number 20 is, again, not a new song, but a new version by Steve Earle of a Guy Clark song, and again, a rest in peace mention for the late Guy Clark. The song Desperado is Waiting for a Train by Steve Earle.

19 is Red Bull and Hennessy by Jenny Lewis. 18, Falling Down the Stairs of Your Smile by New Pornographers. 17 is by a lady called, a woman, sorry. Both probably. If Brandi Carlile wasn't the best, my favorite female voice in the music that I love, this would be, the stage name is Wise Blood. Find her if you don't know her.

This song is called Every Day. Number 16 is Mockingbird by Rustin Kelly, otherwise known as the husband of Casey Musgraves, whose song Butterflies was my number one song of 2018. And you called it because she dominated those Grammys, right? Yeah, and I'm not normally a Grammy guy, but if they'd like to come over to my side, then I'm all for it. And I was real happy to see her do that.

And her husband I saw saw, sing this song and others in Punta Cana as well. So Rustin Kelly, check him out too because it was an amazing set. Song, Mockingbird. 15 from Nova Scotia is Wintersleep, singing Beneficiary. Number 14 is Blankets by the lead singer

of the Hold Steady, Craig Finn. This is his solo project. 13, very often referred to as my favorite band, Wilco. Everyone rides. I blew that. Wilco singing Everyone Hides. That's a typo. I'll blame it on spell check.

Number 12, speaking of Wilco, is their singer, Jeff Tweedy, and his solo project, a song called Evergreen. And number 11 is by Fruit Bats, Gold Past Life, which brings us to the last two songs, or if you look at it the other way, the first two songs. We will play number two after I introduce it, then we will talk about number one with a proper introduction. Number two is a new discovery that I made this year. I saw him play at the Drake in Toronto. He looks like Eddie Vedder. He sounds like anybody you would see on a back porch in Kentucky, which happens to be where he's from.

I don't believe he has reached his 30th birthday yet. So there's lots ahead for this guy. This was an instant hit for me, a little different maybe than you think in terms of the music that I like or not. But I love this song and I love the intro to it. The song is called Irene and it has in brackets a raving bomb. And he introed it as I think his aunt or his cousin who was seldom sober and would come to family dinners. This was a Thanksgiving dinner, I think his aunt or his cousin who was seldom sober and would come to family dinners.

This was a Thanksgiving dinner, I think. And in this case, thought that coffee was gravy and made a mess of the dinner that way. Anyway, this is a guy called Ian Noe singing a song about Irene. Irene pulled in at midnight Lit on a smoking beer Proudly crawled to the porch and called Your favorite child is here Ma asked where you're living

and are you living right within She said with fire like a gospel choir St. Edmune to sin Old Irene Like a raven bomb

She's cutting every book And killing every jug She comes upon Old Irene Never lacking charm Said I was feeling good in the neighborhood I mean no harm Irene sat down for supper

Pouring Visine into her eyes. To see her trembling hand was to understand some things you can't disguise. All said not for nothing, but you don't seem to be quite well Irene read back with a smile and cracked out, could you ever tell old Irene

like a raven bomb she's cutting every rug and killing every jug She comes upon Old Irene Don't believe in pain She said to live this life you need a half a pint

To keep you sane. Irene said that I ain't happy. Sometimes I wake up feeling dead. And if the sun should shine I'd close my blinds. Pretend there's rain instead I took down all my mirrors I gave away all my rope and guns drowned the darkest time with some rocket wine my faithful mashroom Old Irene Like a raven bomb She's cutting every rug

And killing every jug She comes upon Old Irene Said it's sad but true In spite of all it brings, it's the only thing that gets me through You know it gets me through You know it gets me through. It hits me through. It hits me through.

It hits me through. You can cut the anticipation with a knife. Here we are at number one. Yes, it's not easy making these lists, and really the order very often doesn't matter. I like to think that I've got the best hundred I could find, but whether number 50 should be number 40 or number 60 really doesn't matter, though I guess number one should matter. I didn't have a lot of difficulty with number one

this year, and I'll tell you why. It is sung by a guy I consider a dear friend, probably the closest friend I have in the music business. It was a special year for him because of this record, but more so because he is a proud new papa. He earlier today received a nomination, congratulations, in the category of Songwriter of the Year for the Canadian Music Awards, Canadian Folk Music Awards, that is. Might as well be the Canadian Music Awards as far as I'm concerned, but he's in the folk category and I'm not going to argue with that.

All I'm going to do is say I hope he wins. This song, I think, of all the songs, and he's been around a while, showcases him at his very best. It's a wonderful song. The arrangement is great. The record is great. The album is called Passages. The song is called Good Man,

and it is sung by my good friend, Justin Rutledge. piano plays softly Stop and rest a while as the morning light arrives You can sleep in late on the bed Where the dreamer dies Where the fire's low And the street doesn't make a sound Stop and rest a while Cause they can't keep a good man down They can't keep a good man down

So you lost a year but you won't say where you've been Did you fill your days with the wrong kind of medicine? Did you wave goodbye to the side streets of your hometown? Goodbye to the side streets of your hometown You can lose a year But it can't keep a good man down You can't keep a good man down Tell me one night What your life

was like What your life was like Tell me one night What your life was like What your life was like What your life was like What your life was guitar solo And you were a there among the men Who were lost in the shape they're in

And your mind soon became a forest of faceless things In the din of a city dark You were out in the downtown park While the bells of St. Joan of Arc Began to ring So your father ruled with a fist and a Bible plaque And your mother would watch you bleed as you turned her back But a photograph and a face

turns your life around They can beat you blind but they can't keep a good man down Tell me one night What your life was like What your life was like Tell me one night What your life was like

What your life was like What your life was like Good man, and Dave Hodge, you're a good man for doing this. Find the album passages and listen to everything else that Justin Rutledge has put on it. Look up Ian Noe, because I think you'll like more of him. look up Ian Noe because I think you'll like more of him and Skinny Lister I want to again urge you to know about them if you don't and then imagine how difficult it is for me to decide

if Brandi Carlile or Frank Turner is my favorite musical artist as 2019 ends I can't decide but what the heck? Pick one female, one male. That ought to do it. And I look forward to 2020. Mike,

every year gets better, I think, or at least we hope. Well, I can't wait till you return in 2020 to give us your top 100 of 2020, but I will see you before then, because I'm going to see you Monday night at the Paradise. That's the other half of me.

There'll be no music that night, as far as I know, unless it gets right out of hand, and I start singing on stage. I hope not, and the audience hopes not. The reporters with me at the Paradise Theatre November 25th, starting at 7 o'clock. A few tickets remaining, and there will be a podcast

version done by, hosted by Toronto Mike that will be released shortly. If you can't make it to the theatre, at least you'll be able to hear all of the things that we say. The holidays are upon us. Christmas is coming. This is a gift for you.

This is from the Electric City Candle Company, Dave. The special needs adults make candles, and they sell these candles, and all the proceeds goes so they can play in this hockey league, a special needs hockey league, and they're right now trying to raise some money to buy a used van to help with their travels. So if anybody listening would like to buy one of these candles,

because it's a fantastic cause, and this is all being done by a listener of the show, Chris. So thank you, Chris, for sending over the candle for Dave. Electriccitycandles.com is where you pick up these candles for the holidays. And if you want to learn more about the Special Needs Hockey team, electriccityspecialneedshockey.com. Well, thank you, Mike. Thank you, Great Lakes. Thank you, Palma Pasta. Thank you, music fans.

Thank you, sports fans. And that brings us to the end of our 545th show. I almost lost track myself. You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. Dave is on Twitter. You're a great follow. I think your dry wit comes across Twitter perfectly.

It was made for you. Dave Hodge 20 is where we find Dave on Twitter. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer. Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta. Sticker U is at Sticker U. Brian Master, write him a note at letsgetyouhome at kw.com to get on his mailing list. Capadia LLP is at Kapadia LLP and Ridley funeral home is at Ridley FH. See you all next week. Yeah, I wonder who Maybe the one who doesn't realize

There's a thousand shades of grey Cause I know that's true Yes, I do I know it's true, yeah I know it's true How about you? All that picking up trash And then putting down roads