It’s hard to believe, but this will be the 26th consecutive year we’ll count down the year’s 97 Best albums. Yep, on December 17th @ 10a ET (9a CT), we’ll start at #97 and won’t stop until we reach #1 (apologies to Casey Kasem). As in previous years, the 97 Best is determined by airplay. We tabulate all of the DJ’s airplay during our live broadcasts to come up with the list, and feel that’s the best way to accurately reflect the sound of WOXY in 2009. So, make sure you carve out the whole day to listen and see where your favorites land on the list.

If you’re a history buff, here’s a look back at the previous #1 records (click the link to see that year’s entire list). You’ll notice the musical shifts from one decade to the other and sometimes, one year to the next.

2008 - My Morning Jacket Evil Urges
2007 – The National Boxer
2006 – Built To Spill You In Reverse
2005 – Bloc Party Silent Alarm
2004 – Franz Ferdinand Franz Ferdinand
2003 – The White Stripes Elephant
2002 – The White Stripes White Blood Cells
2001 – Gorillaz Gorillaz
2000 – Travis The Man Who
1999 – G. Love & Special Sauce Philadelphonic
1998 – Beastie Boys Hello Nasty
1997 – James Whiplash
1996 – Everclear Sparkle and Fade
1995 – Dave Matthews Band Under The Table and Dreaming
1994 – Green Day Dookie
1993 – Soul Asylum Grave Dancers Union
1992 – U2 Achtung Baby
1991 – R.E.M. Out Of Time
1990 – Depeche Mode Violator
1989 – The B-52’s Cosmic Thing
1988 – Sinead O’Connor The Lion and The Cobra
1987 – U2 The Joshua Tree
1986 – Violent Femmes The Blind Leading The Naked
1985 – Tears For Fear “Shout”*
1984 – Frankie Goes To Hollywood “Two Tribes”*

*the first two years’ 97 Best counted down songs rather than albums

As we approach the end of the decade, we thought it would be fun to dig into our Lounge Act archives and unearth a few sessions for you that you may not have heard for awhile. Or in alot of cases, you may not know we even recorded.

Today, we jump back to the summer of 2005 for this session with The National. Below is a brief synopsis written at the time along with a tracklist and stream of the entire session and interview. Enjoy!

The guys in The National got their start here in Cincinnati, then relocated to NYC to seek fame & fortune. They made a huge step forward with their third full-length, Alligator, in 2005 and feature several tracks from it during a session played in front of friends and family in the Lounge.

Track Listing:
Secret Meeting
90-Mile Water Wall
-Interview-
Looking For Astronauts
Abel

As we approach the end of the decade, we thought it would be fun to dig into our Lounge Act archives and unearth a few sessions for you that you may not have heard for awhile. Or in alot of cases, you may not know we even recorded.

Today, we jump back to the summer of 2005 for this session with Neko Case. Below is a brief synopsis written at the time along with a tracklist and stream of the entire session and interview. Enjoy!

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Our station hound, Buster, saved the day for this session with the beautiful Neko Case. Arriving tired from a day’s long drive, her spirits shot up when given a chance to play with everyone’s favorite rock & roll radio dog!

Neko talks to Mike about her musical influences growing up, and future plans not only for herself but also of her other band, The New Pornographers.

Track Listing:
-Interview-
Favorite
Outro With Bees
-Interview-

As we approach the end of the decade, we thought it would be fun to dig into our Lounge Act archives and unearth a few sessions for you that you may not have heard for awhile. Or in alot of cases, you may not know we even recorded.

Today, we jump back to the summer of 2005 for this session with The Hold Steady. Before the band released Boys And Girls In America and became of one of the best bar bands in the country they stopped in for a session in our Cincinnati studios. Below is a brief synopsis written at the time along with a tracklist and stream of the entire session and interview. Enjoy!

Possessing one of the most distinct voices in any genre of music, here’s a chance to hear Craig Finn lead The Hold Steady through a stripped down set in the Lounge. Craig also talks about the break-up of his old band Lifter Puller, and his subsequent relocation from Minnesota to New York City.

Track Listing:
Your Little Hoodrat Friend
Don’t Let Me Explode
-Interview-
Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night
Certain Songs

Last year, we invited Knoxville’s Royal Bangs in for a performance at our Cincinnati studio after we heard their album We Breed Champions. When they came through Texas in early September, we were not quite ready for them to play in the new digs and, instead, they co-hosted a great guest DJ hour with Joe. Over Fun Fun Fun Fest weekend, they made history as the first band to perform for us in our new home on South Congress Avenue.

Earlier this fall, they released Let It Beep on Patrick Carney’s Audio Eagle Records. As much as we dug their first album, this time around the band sound bigger with more layers to their instrumentation and the catchiest songs we’ve heard in a long time.

In this performance, they inaugurate the Austin Lounge with four tracks from Let It Beep and talk about their first live dates across the pond which are happening here in late November and early December.

Track Listing:
Poison Control
Tiny Prince Of Keytar
- interview -
My Car Is Haunted
Brainbow

Royal Bangs – Poison Control (WOXY.com Lounge Act)
Royal Bangs – Tiny Prince Of Keytar (WOXY.com Lounge Act)
Royal Bangs – My Car Is Haunted (WOXY.com Lounge Act)
Royal Bangs – Brainbow (WOXY.com Lounge Act)

Royal Bangs – WOXY.com Lounge Act (full session download)

The buzz is really building for the debut release from West Palm Beach, Florida’s Surfer Blood. After wowing crowds at CMJ and several other live venues, the guys will be releasing Astro Coast in January on the Kanine label. During this whirlwind tour leading up to the albums release, the guys were kind enough to stop in to our studios and do a guest DJ hour with Shiv.

Below is the tracklisting, along with the full hour of conversation and music on demand. Enjoy!

Web In Front - Archers Of Loaf
Black Rice - Women
Dreamsucker - Grooms
Damaged Goods - Gang Of Four
Just Like Honey – The Jesus And Mary Chain
Phones Don’t Feud – Holiday Shores
1000 Pounds - Superchunk
Paper Cup Exit – Sonic Youth
No. 13 Baby – Pixies
This Must Be The Place - Talking Heads
I Have A Secret – Half-Japanese
Pool Swimmers - Real Estate

Surfer Blood – Swim (To Reach The End)

It was another successful Fun Fun Fun Fest here in Austin over the weekend. If you were here, you know that dozens of bands took stages and treated fans to some amazing live music. What you might not know is we were in the midst of it most of the weekend, doing some interviews and taking pictures. Here are our photos from Saturday at this years Fun Fun Fun Fest.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

All photos by Joe, see them all here as well.

Earlier this year, The Low Anthem stopped into our Cincinnati studios for a Lounge Act. We hit it off really well with the band and invited them back in to our new digs in Austin for a guest DJ set recently. The band was in Austin continuing to tour off the back of their excellent album Oh My God, Charlie Darwin and picked some great songs during their time in the studio. Full playlist and on demand stream below.

Playlist

Airline To Heaven - Billy Bragg & Wilco
Leopard Skin Pill-Box Hat - Bob Dylan
It Makes No Difference - The Band
Paradise - John Prine
Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles - Captain Beefheart
Mountain Dew - The Stanley Brothers
Baby Please Don’t Go - Them
Saddle Up The Palomino - Neil Young
Lake Charles – Lucinda Williams
Louisiana 1927 - Randy Newman
Diamonds In The Mine – Leonard Cohen
Poor Edward – Tom Waits
Love Me Tenderly – The Felice Brothers
Marchin’ To The City – Bob Dylan

It’s been a Cincinnati tradition off and on for years here on WOXY and now Local Lixx is ready to return, and with a brand new trick up our sleeve. We are all settled down here in our new Texas home, but will never forget our roots, so to cater to both sides of the coin, we are ready to bring you two Local Lixx programs now on a weekly basis.

For our Austin friends, a brand new Austin Local Lixx will be curated and hosted by our newest addition to the WOXY staff Paige Maguire. The new show will be similar to what you have come to expect from the “double L” but with a flavor especially for Austin, Texas.

And for our friends back in Cincinnati and through the midwest, Local Lixx returns just like you remember it next week as well as Joe will continue to bring you some of the best tunes from Cincinnati, Dayton, Louisville, Lexington and more.

Both programs are slated to soon, with the first new Austin show airing Tuesday November 3rd at 7:30 Central and the Cincinnati show going down in it’s familiar spot on Thursdays at 8:30 Eastern, 7:30 Central, starting back October 29.

To get a jump on things, why don’t you go ahead and subscribe to both podcasts now, and have the shows delivered right to you. Austin Local Lixx page and feed coming very soon…

Earlier this year, Dangerbird Records co-founder Jeff Castalez and his wife Jo Ann lost their 6-year-old son Pablo to cancer. Jeff is currently cycling across the country on a 3,000+ mile journey to raise money to battle childhood cancer.

Jeff’s ride has brought him to Austin this week, where a benefit concert is being held inside at Emo’s on Wednesday night along with Sea Wolf, Port O’Brien, Sara Lov and Ben Kweller.

We will be welcoming Jeff in to the WOXY studios on Tuesday, October 27th around 2pm central / 3pm eastern to talk about his trip and the show. To learn more and to donate, go to The Pablove Foundation’s website.

You can also tune in this week to enjoy hour-long guest dj sets from Dangerbird artists BAD VEINS (Tuesday, October 27th @ 1pm central / 2pm eastern) and SEA WOLF (Wednesday, October 28th @ 3pm central / 4pm eastern).