It was a good year for good rock books. Joe Oestreich of Watershed released Hitless Wonder, probably my fave of the year, and Mike Doughty released The Book of Drugs. Doughty has been a busy man, and I’ve found he’s generally worth listening to, whether writing or releasing solo albums or mouthing off about the music industry.
His new album The Flip is Another Honey ($5) is a covers record. Check out the first video for the John Denver cover “Take Me Home, Country Roads” — a song you’re bound to hear at any given open mic or karaoke night. But Doughty does a good job of making it his own without excising the hook. (I’m also not ashamed to admit I’ve spent much of the holidays listening to an old vinyl copy of Rocky Mountain Christmas.)