Issue No. 18, December 2007

THAT'S THE TICKET - Modern Acoustic proudly presents our faves of 2007

Since its inception, Modern Acoustic has always prided itself on keeping readers informed about great music. Our goal is that you would read something here and then whatever way suits you best – artists’ web sites, iTunes or your local store – give the music a listen for yourself.
That of course takes commitment in keeping track of that essential music as well as time.
So in our continuing effort to make sampling new music more accessible, we have gone interactive (Wild applause here!)
What does going interactive, actually mean?
It means that as you read in upcoming issues about bands that spark your curiosity or interest, you can click on an accompanying link right in the magazine’s pdf and it will take you directly to a website or MySpace site, a place where you can hear music on the spot.
It also means that if we review a concert or post a photo from a show, you can click on the accompanying link to more photos of the show or even to video clips we shot.
You can also instantly visit our blog, our MySpace site or our online merchandise store (Did we mention our Very Cool T-shirts?) right from the comfort of your very own copy of Modern Acoustic.
And to start all of this off with a bang, we decided to launch the premiere of our interactive efforts with our super-duper end of year issue. You will see in its pages that we’ve become linking maniacs.
We saw some great shows this year – from stalwarts Gillian Welch to Crooked Still (twice!), caught some up-and-comers like Antje Duvekot and Anais Mitchell, and survived and thrived at a couple of awesome summer festivals.
We also spent much of our driving time to and from work listening to the likes of Jesse Sykes and Alejandro Escovedo.
It’s hard to believe another year is ending, but the good thing is we’ve filled it with the sounds of artists who are out there giving their all for our listening pleasure... and that deserves our wild applause.
To download the new issue, click HERE.
ALSO, we review the new Alison Krauss-Robert Plant album "Raising Sand." To read the review, click HERE.

MA5 - ALBUMS THAT HELPED US SURVIVE THIS ISSUE:
1. “A Man Under the Influence,’’ Alejandro Escovedo. We’re definitely late to the party on this guy. A great sound.
2. “Raising Sand,” Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Really great sound from these two. Read review.
3. “Strange Conversation,” Kris Delmhorst. Still enjoying Kris’s wonderful voice, and looking forward to a new album soon.
4. “Live at Massey Hall, 1971” Neil Young. I love hearing Neil start to play now-classic tunes, with no recognition from audience.
5. “Shaken By a Low Sound,” Crooked Still. Last year’s fave of the year is still high on the listening list.