Back in September, Scott pointed out that compiling a year-end podcast was going to be hard since we had already used a lot of good tracks in our many podcasts through the year. Mark joked that the podcast should be artists covering the big songs of the year. Scott noted that this was an exhausting notion; Mark pointed out he was obviously joking, because who would want to organize that? But by the time that Scott and Mark had agreed that it was an awesome but untenable idea, Aaron had already contacted every artist in his address book…and some of them were saying “yes.” We sent out emails, we groveled, we begged, we made unrealistic promises, and, lo and behold, we got mp3s in return. The end results are being compiled as we speak, but needless to say, you should all be paying close attention to CMG on December 19. Some of this stuff is incredible.

We’re not just gonna leave you hanging, so here’s a cut from CMG favorite David Thomas Broughton. You may recall that Broughton, whose excellent The Complete Guide to Insufficiency was formally released in the U.S. this year, showed up at #20 in 2005’s year-end album tally. He was kind enough to send along three songs for this project, for which we love him, but we were having a hard time figuring out how to incorporate all 22 minutes of his music. Though it won't be included on the upcoming Covers Podcast (his other two, for Scissor Sister's "I Don't Feel Like Dancing" and Cat Power's "The Greatest," will be), I wanted a chance to highlight this track; I had specifically suggested it to Broughton and he made it work as well as I had hoped.

Over the summer, Broughton managed his first U.S. tour. He performed in a tiny, brand-new venue here in D.C., playing a great set of mostly new material. But the centerpiece of the show was not one of his own songs; it was a cover of Smog’s “All Your Women Things,” possibly the loveliest song Bill Callahan has ever written and easily my favorite off The Doctor Came at Dawn (1996). Broughton not only did it justice, but quite nearly surpassed the original, capturing the downtrodden beauty and deep sadness of the song perfectly. I bootlegged the show, so judge for yourself.

This cover of “Rock Bottom Riser,” originally off Smog’s A River Ain’t Too Much to Love, is a darker affair. Broughton is working out the corners of the song, playing to its dissonant guitar lines and weird angular intersections. He lets his blues instincts take over for the lyrics, paring down to the simple repetition necessary for him to get at the hypnotic core of this mess. Five and half minutes in he plays his trump card, finally bringing his vocals back to the fore as he sings over his loops and echoes, adding elements until it’s as thick and swirling as anything on Insufficiency. Broughton manages to make weariness palpable, eschewing the gentle beauty of Callahan’s version in favor of the dark recesses that Broughton seems to inhabit almost preternaturally. I’d call this a “teaser,” but it’s way too good for that.

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