Conor Oberst, the young man who began his career writing about breaking up with actress girlfriends and late-night boozing via his alias Bright Eyes, recently told Rolling Stone that he was ready to put that part of his life to rest.

It’s true indie citizens. After one more album, which Oberst plans to record early in 2010, Bright Eyes will be no more. But fear not! Conor plans on keeping himself busy with other projects, including his Mystic Valley Band and this new super group, Monsters of Folk (pictured), which also features M. Ward, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, and producer Mike Mogis.

According to a press release, the foursome’s debut album (on the shelf September 22) will house songs that are “road-worn,” “intimate,” and “sun-soaked.” The first single, “Say Please,” can be downloaded from their website after solving a less than brain exploding puzzle here. Here’s a full list of the tracks:

01 Dear God (sincerely M.O.F.)
02 Say Please
03 Whole Lotta Losin’
04 Temazcal
05 The Right Place
06 Baby Boomer
07 Man Named Truth
08 Goodway
09 Ahead of the Curve
10 Slow Down Jo
11 Losin Yo Head
12 Magic Marker
13 Map of the World
14 The Sandman, the Brakeman and Me
15 His Master’s Voice

This Saturday marks the second annual Record Store Day, a national salute to the more than 700 indie music stores located across the country and the positive impact they make on their communities. In honor of the event, several Bay area stores are offerings specials and carrying limited edition, exclusive Record Store Day releases.

Daddy Kool gives 10 percent off all new albums and 20 percent off all used inventory, and hosts some yet-to-be-announced activities.

Other area stores, like Sound Exchange, Mojo Books & Music and Vinyl Fever, have stocked up on an array of exclusive Record Store Day releases available only at indie stores. Amid the offerings are an array of split 7”-ers, including a double 7” of live tracks from Atlanta and Edinburgh by Tom Waits and Lucinda Williams, and a split 7” featuring covers of songs from Warner Bros.’ back catalog – Flaming Lips with Stardeath and White Dwarfs performing Madonna’s “Borderline,” and The Black Keys doing Captain Beefheart’s “Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles.” Guided By Voices re-releases its Hold On Hope LP with three bonus tracks, My Morning Jacket offers a limited run CD and double 10″ vinyl release recorded live in Louisville at Ear X-tacy record store, and Wilco makes its forthcoming concert DVD, Ashes of American Flags, available solely to indie stores and on its website on Record Store Day. Other exclusive RSD vinyl releases come from Bruce Springsteen, Leonard Cohen, Mastodon, Bob Dylan, Radiohead, Jane’s Addiction, The Stooges, Modest Mouse, Slayer, The Decemberists and Black Kids, among many others.

Mojo Books & Music offers all manner of freebies and releases, 10 percent off everything in the store, spins by DJ Sam Esser, and live performances by Have Gun, Will Travel, Surfer Blood, and an acoustic set by Drew Cutler of Lush Progress.

Vinyl Fever takes it a step further and offers a collection of 3,500 unusual, collectible records from thousands of LPs the store recently snagged from a music industry veteran, which includes 61 Apple label albums by non-Beatles groups. DJs will be playing select cuts from the vintage albums, and Vinyl Fever also hosts a live in-store performances by New Roman Times. free DeLosa’s pizza and PBR, hourly drawings with prizes, and a special guest appearance by Tampa Tribune music critic Curtis Ross. Bring nonperishable food donations for America’s Second Harvest of Tampa Bay.

Sat., April 18: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Vinyl Fever, 4110 Henderson Blvd., Tampa, 813-289-8399; 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Daddy Kool, 538 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, 727-822-5665; 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m., Mojo Books & Music, 2558 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, 813-971-9717; and 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Sound Exchange, Tampa, 813-978-9316. Call the individual stores for more info.

Guitar World recently offered up a list of the “Top 10 Stupidest Band Names of All Time” and I gotta say, it doesn’t look like they put a lot of thought into it, like someone had a good idea but didn’t use enough brain power to carry it out properly. Here’s the list:

1. The Beatles
2. Limp Bizkit
3. Boy Parts – Throbbing Gristle, Revolting Cocks, Iron Sausage
4. Girl Parts – Nashville Pussy, Bush, Pussy Galore, Hot Tuna
5. Scatological Names – Butthole Surfers, Fudge Tunnel, Butt Trumpet
6. Place Names – Nantucket, Boston, New York City, Europe, Asia, Chicago, Wakefield, Landale
7. Yes
8. Toto
9. The Presidents of the United States of America
10. The Band

First off, it’s not even an authentic Top 10 (see numbers 3 through 6). Second, The Beatles? You’re a writer at a marginally well-known rag that covers music, solely, all the time, and you can’t come up with a better bad band name than The Beatles? And you stick it up top, in the number one slot, as if to say it’s the worst band name of all time, even though the list is supposed to be in no particular order. And if it really is in no particular order — The Beatles were the first band you thought of? Really? I don’t want to judge, but I am. So I’ve made my own highly subjective, somewhat thoughtful list of awful band names in response. In no particular order:

1. Architecture in Helsinki (pictured below)
“Helsinki” is the capital of Finland, though AH is not Finnish but Australian, and they never even played the European country until ‘07, seven years after they formed. From an interview with Bassist Sam Perry: “When we were in Norway at the end of last year there were a few Finnish interviewers who came to interview us mainly about the name. I think they were quite perplexed. To us, the name means having to answer many questions and inquiries about the name, which I guess is entirely understandable.” You think?

2. Department of Eagles
As much as I love this Grizzy Bear-offshoot, I hate the name. In fact, it was the name that kept me from really listening to them; I probably had The Cold Nose in my iPod for three months before I actually checked it out.

3. My Morning Jacket
Another band whose name turned me off enough that I avoided their music. And I still hate the name, though the music has proven itself worthy enough to return to time and time again.

4. Bang Camaro
The band’s name apparently began as a catchphrase and was the sole lyric in Bang Camaro’s very first song. It has something to do with the band members’ shared love of head-banging metal (Dokken, Ratt and the like), which makes sense as the name reeks of sweaty, bull-headed testosterone.

And on that same note …

5. Pontiak
Another band named after a GM vehicle, though it’s a vehicle with considerably less appeal. I know nothing about Pontiak (with a “k” so you don’t actually confuse it with the car) other than the fact that they play heavy psychedelic garage rock and are coming to town Feb. 22. Unfortunately for them, I’ve already developed an aversion simply based on their moniker – at least Bang Camaro takes its own dumb moniker from a rather awesome car.

6. The Dodos
Great band, baffling name as there are three definitions for “dodo” and none of them are really what I’d call flattering:
1. A large, clumsy, flightless bird (Raphus cucullatus), formerly of the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, that has been extinct since the late 17th century.
2. Informal One who is out-of-date, as in dress or ideas.
3. Informal A stupid person; an idiot.

7. Echo & The Bunnymen
Among a rather large group of Dark Wave bands with truly awful names. I get it, it’s an army reference, but that doesn’t make the name sound any less stupid. I mean, how do I talk about liking this band without sounding like a complete douche?

And speaking of Dark Wave …

8. The Cocteau Twins
You pick the name of another band’s song, and you couldn’t come up with a better song than that?

9. Weaksauce
I was always under the impression that calling something weaksauce was an insult. The locally-based ska reggae band might as well have named themselves “we suck.”

10. Candlebox
The hubbie suggested this one and after careful thought, I decided I agree. What the fuck is a candlebox, anyway? A votive holder? Might as well call yourself votive holder, assholes.

What band do you think has the stupidest name ever? I’m sure there are plenty I’m forgetting…

I’ve written different variations of the following caveat for years, but I think it establishes an important distinction: The following is a list of my favorite albums of 2008. This is not to be confused with what’s important or hip or widely acclaimed by the critical community. If some of the titles below happen to be important or hip or widely acclaimed by the critical community, it is purely by chance.

1. My Morning Jacket: Evil Urges (ATO). 2008 was the year I finally got pulled into My Morning Jacket’s orbit. It started with their appearance on Saturday Night Live and continues with Evil Urges, a rock album that I still don’t know quite what to make of, other than it constantly fascinates and delights me. Jim James and his Louisville compadres wantonly hop around through different styles — bracing riff-rock, terse funk, jam-band ooze, sweet balladry, twang, power-pop, neo-folk, prog and more — and somehow make it all sound so perfectly at home.

2. Al Green: Lay it Down (Blue Note). A lot of artists tried their hand at the vintage soul sound this year, but the master schooled ’em all. Coproduced by Green, ?uestlove and keyboardist James Poyser, Lay it Down lovingly evokes Green’s early-’70s heyday, with the easy sweep of the grooves and organic arrangements that allow the singer ample room to rifle through his whole bag of signature techniques: the shaping of a line, the slipping in and out of falsetto, the melismatic flourishes. Younger vocalists Anthony Hamilton, Corinne Bailey Rae and John Legend go to school with the professor and end up getting good grades.

3. Shelby Lynne: Just a Little Lovin’ (Lost Highway). One of the best singers of her generation, and certainly one of the lesser appreciated, caresses a program of songs made famous by the late Dusty Springfield. Backed only by a bare-bones quartet of veteran studio musicians assembled by producer Phil Ramone, Lynne carries the entire affair, singing the likes of “Anyone Who Had a Heart,” “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me,” “The Look of Love” et al with subdued radiance. Lynne and company transform all of the tunes into sexy ballads, and overall the vocalist puts her firm imprint on these time-tested gems.

4. Firewater: The Golden Hour (Bloodshot). Tod A., singer, songwriter and one-man brain-trust of Firewater, wandered through India, Pakistan, Turkey and elsewhere, recruiting local musicians along the way and recording them with a single microphone and laptop. The results are an astounding fusion of punk-infused rock with indigenous Eastern sounds, anchored by Tod A.’s rag-and-bone voice and angry, sardonic lyrics. Overall, The Golden Hour sounds as rugged as the artist’s trek.

5. Lindsey Buckingham: Gift of Screws (Reprise). It’s long been my contention that the old hands of rock are just trading on name recognition, not accomplishing much creatively. Lindsey Buckingham, the 59-year-old linchpin of Fleetwood Mac, puts the lie to that theory with Gift of Screws, which combines Mac-ish hooks with some mind-bending guitar arrangements and crescendo-building solos. Bonus: Don’t have to hear Stevie Nicks’ bleating.

6. Milton Nascimento & the Jobim Trio: Novas Bossas (EMI). Gorgeous. This collection of tunes, recorded in celebration of the 50th anniversary of bossa nova, features a giant of Brazilian music, Milton Nascimento, 66, whose voice is as ethereally beautiful as it was decades ago, with a falsetto that’s kissed by God. In a program that’s not strictly bossa nova, he’s joined by the son and grandson of the genre’s founder Antonio Carlos Jobim; they lay down unadorned rhythm-section work. One sophisticatedly beautiful melody after another, sung with time-tested brilliance.

7. Fleet Foxes: Fleet Foxes (Sub Pop). The Seattle band’s debut takes sublime melodies and washes huge, hypnotic harmonies all over them, backed by mostly acoustic instrumentation. Part Beach Boys, part old-time music hoedown, part English folk, part church hymn, the album smashes together an array of seemingly ad hoc influences and coalesces into something truly transcendent. This is a new band with a vision.

8. Dave Douglas & Keystone: Moonshine (Greenleaf). This fella’s pretty much a perennial on my best-of lists because he’s out in front of the jazz world in terms of making music that’s accessible and adventurous, that combines tradition with innovation. Trumpeter Douglas and his sextet (including DJ Olive) dig into some deep grooves, ladle on the ’60s-era Wayne Shorter-esque melodies and commence to improvising up a storm. The music ebbs and flows, slides in and out of new rhythms and motifs, all with a telepathic grace. Love the use of strictly Fender Rhodes over a piano and/or bank of synths.

9. Hercules and Love Affair: Hercules and Love Affair (Mute). This New York collective, headed by DJ/producer Andy Butler, is unapologetically spearheading a “disco revolution.” And doing so with imagination and panache. But you won’t get this stuff mixed up with “Turn the Beat Around.” H&LA filter in a certain baroque pop element to their four-square grooves. The best songs feature Antony Hegarty on lead croon — the result sounds like Roxy Music for the dance floor. Thanks to my son Dan, the club jock, for hipping me to this act. Used to be I hipped him to everything. I guess the tables have done turned.

10. Was (Not Was): Boo! (Ryko). My old faves from the ’80s — those R&B pranksters Don and David Was, Sweet Pea and Harry and company — released their first album in 18 years, a funky, sometimes funny, sometimes heartfelt set of songs that recapture that old subversive magic. Only Was (Not Was) would think of putting together an absolutely lovely classic soul number, “It’s a Miracle,” and include the lyrics, “Uncle Kenny is yellin’ at his wife, he screams/ Who broke the fuckin’ TV/ He set fire to the kitchen floor/ And made noises like a bumblebee.”

Just Gotta Mention:
The Knux: Remind Me in Three Days (Interscope): Hollywood-via-New Orleans hip-hoppers rap and sing, sling guitars and have a loud, funky good time; Foxboro Hot Tubs: Stop, Drop and Roll! (Jungle Town): Green Day in disguise has tons of fun re-enacting ’60s garage-pop; James Carter: Present Tense (Emarcy): A swinging, acoustic post-bop album that sounds fresh and vibrant, mostly due to the sax/clarinet/flute-playing excellence of its frontman.

OK, here’s my list. Stay tuned for Top 10s by Snider and Leilani.

1. Lucinda Williams: Little Honey (Lost Highway)
On Little Honey, alt-country queen Lucinda Williams returns to the more focused, rock-oriented sonics of her breakthrough 1998 album Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. In doing so, she reveals a newfound sexual confidence (”Honey Bee”) and celebrates domestic bliss (”Tears of Joy”). The singer/songwriter also manages to mine pathos for humor on the superb Elvis Costello duet “Jailhouse Tears.” Williams can still break your heart, though. “Little Rock Star” plays like a much-needed note to Amy Winehouse, penned by a sympathetic female singer who has already survived the perilous, do “whatever it’ll take to get them to listen” phase. Williams closes Little Honey with a fun treat: A surprisingly awesome swamp-rock cover of the AC/DC road warrior anthem “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna to Rock ‘n Roll).”

2. Lil Wayne: Tha Carter III (Cash Money)
Lil Wayne’s stoned, whisper-y flow and high-drama delivery is spellbinding. The dude opens his mouth, and you listen, hanging on each dazzlingly whack rhyme. On Tha Carter III, Weezy’s scattered-brain brilliance is in top form – as is the big budget production that dutifully follows Weezy’s serpentine flow like a hypnotized lover. The New Orleans native’s boasts, observations and musings are weirdly striking at nearly every turn (”I’m a young millionaire, tougher than Nigerian hair.”) Wayne still bulks at straight story telling, but to fault him for this would be like dissing Dali or Picasso for rebuking realism.

3. My Morning Jacket: Evil Urges (ATO)
Genre-hopping indeed rock outfit My Morning Jacket’s juiciest disc to date features a smattering of styles, all of which are rendered outstandingly natural by the Louisville band. There are moments of extreme sadness (”Librarian”) and utmost silliness (”Highly Suspicious.”) Leader Jim James’ versatile voice convincingly sells everything from guitar-blazing, kick drum-intensive arena rock (”Aluminum Park”) to somber country-pop (”Sec Walkin.) Unlike other ultra eclectic offerings, Evil Urges never comes across as show-y. You just get the sense that My Morning Jacket is doing what they love. And doing it damn well.

4. Robyn: Robyn (Konichiwa/Cherry Tree/Interscope)
This year former Swedish pop tart Robyn finally witnessed the U.S. release of her 2005 self-titled disc. Britney and the rest of our countrys’ brain-dead blowup dolls blew Robyn away in terms of sales, but the woman born Robin Miriam Carlsson in 1979 proved the most compelling of the bunch. By far. Over thick disco beats, jittery high hat, deep space bleeps and icy strings, Robyn subverts pop platitudes. She exudes sexiness, smarts, poise and vulnerability in a way rarely seen in a world where hottnes is defined by Paris Hilton.

5. Bob Dylan: Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 (Columbia)
The magnitude of Dylan’s late-career resurgence is brought into sharp focus here with a collection of “rare and unreleased” tracks recorded between 1989 and 2006. The two-disc set is a dud-free treasure chest featuring previously unreleased gems like the Time Out of My Mind outtake “Red River Shore” (an epic folk tale with spiritual overtones), the unreleased 2005 lament “Can’t Escape From You” and the superior Oh Mercy session version of “God Knows.” Another testament to Dylan’s genius is hearing drastically different “alternate takes” that are every bit as fascinating as the ones that made the final cut. Sequenced judicially, Tell Tale Signs plays like a stellar double-album by popular music’s most vital elder statesman.

6. Gnarls Barkley: The Odd Couple (Downtown/Atlantic)
Gnarls Barkley blew people’s minds with their 2006 debut St. Elsewhere. Its synthesis of producer Danger Mouse’s R&B-rap-future funk-fusion and Cee-Lo’s confessional vocals were unlike anything on the market. The duo’s follow-up, The Odd Couple, lacks a chart-shattering single like “Crazy.” But on balance, the new album is every bit as absorbing as its predecessor. With Danger Mouse’s spooky production egging him on, Cee-Lo continues to explore his fragile psyche and emotional well being, making for a mesmerizing foray into what we’ll call nocturnal soul.

7. The Hold Steady: Stay Positive (Vagrant)
The Hold Steady’s booze-y brand of classic rock for the indie set gets expanded, and frontman Craig Finn’s mouthful vocals become clearer, on Stay Positive, the Brooklyn band’s latest collection of gutter reports and tales of sing along song redemption. It’s a more polished Hold Steady. But a band this splendidly raw benefits from professional touches like pushing the vocals and occasional guitar solo up in the mix. And on “Joke About Jamaica,” we’re treated to the revival of the talk box. Ironic bullshit? Not to my ears.

8. Sonny Landreth: From the Reach (Landfall Records)
For nearly two decades, Sonny Landreth has been one of the most respected guitarists on the planet. But the Louisiana-based artist is also a capable singer/songwriter, and on From the Reach the slide guitar virtuoso shows he’s capable of a studio album that does more than frame his axe achievements. A cohesive blend of bayou rock, blues, jazz and touches of prog (”The Milky way Home’), the disc is a gripping showcase of excellent musicianship and emotive songs. Famous friends Jimmy Buffett, Eric Clapton, Robben Ford, Dr. John, Eric Johnson, and Mark Knopfler all make guest appearances – but no one outshines Landreth, who is at the top of his game here as a triple threat entertainer.

9. Metallica: Death Magnetic (Warner Bros.)
Rick Rubin miraculously returned Metallica to its thrash glory this year, which means the best metal act of the 1980s again reigns supreme. Metallica’s trademark recipe of whiplash-inducing riffs, slippery machine gun rhythms, and burly vocals about the innate horrors of the human existence results in a timeless mode of escapism. Especially for the male species. Glad to have ya back, fellas.

10. Jamey Johnson: That Lonesome Song (Mercury)
With a mighty pen and a gruff, expressive voice that straddles the line between George Jones and Waylon Jennings, singer/songwriter Jamey Johnson has become a key player in the latest movement to return Music City from Rascal Flatts fluff to the mature, sad country songs popularized by the so-called Nashville “outlaws” of the 1970s – most famously, Willie & Waylon. Johnson isn’t afraid to show his manly emotions on songs like the poignant, cocaine cautionary tale “High Cost of Low Living” or while singing about his WWII vet granddaddy (without getting sappy) on “In Color.” And on “Women,” Johnson has a hoot poking a little fun at the fairer sex. It’s country. The way it should be. Johnson performs tonight at Dallas Bull in Tampa.

• Top 20 songs of 2008.

• Honorable mentions: more best songs of 2008.

It’s that time of year again. Time for holiday hoopla. Time for yuletide cheer. Time for year-end best-of lists, especially if you’re that endangered species known as a “working music critic.” This occupation makes me nervous these days. But I love making lists. And mix CDs. Especially for my siblings.

My younger sister Beth is graduating from college in a few days. I can’t make the flight to Colorado. But I’m sending some custom-made CDs with my mom and my other sister Alli to give her. I burned Beth new albums she would like. I then decided to go ahead and tally my favorite songs of 2008, which took about 2.5 hours and several more glasses of wine. I have a print piece on the topic due at 2 p.m. Thursday.

I came up with a working list of 43 tunes tonight that will be whittled down to a nice round number for my music feature that streets Dec. 17. It will be online earlier than that. I stole the word “streets.” And use it whenever I can.

Here are the songs I put on a CD for my lil’ sister. She’s a nurse now. I’m very proud of her. Beth’s chosen profession will come in quite handy for me. My lifestyle is, well, reckless. It worries her. That’s the flip side to having a blood relative in the medical field. I must sound awful. But she understands.

Beth and I dig many of the same artists. That’s one of the numerous advantages of being the eldest child: You play a significant role in the music tastes of your younger siblings. At least I did. That makes me happy. My siblings and parents make me happy. Good music makes me happy. And several other people and things. But enough of that. Here are the tunes.

Beth Mix CD 2008

1. “Bang! Bang!” The Knux
2. “Jailhouse Tears,” Lucinda Williams w/Elvis Costello
3. “Be Mine!” Robyn
4. “Mr. Carter,” Lil Wayne w/Jay-Z
5. “White Winter Hymnal,” Fleet Foxes
6. “Daughters of the Revolution,” The Black Crowes
7. “Ur So Gay,” Katy Perry
8. “You Can’t Count on Me,” Counting Crowes
9. “Smiling Underneath,” Ani DiFranco
10. “A Few Words in Defense of Our Country,” Randy Newman
11. “Highly Suspicious,” My Morning Jacket
12. “Red River Shore,” Bob Dylan
13. “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa,” Vampire Weekend
14. “Slapped Actress,” The Hold Steady
15. “Who’s Gonna Save Your Soul,” Gnarls Barkley
16. “She Loves the Sunset,” Old 97’s
17. “Street of Dreams,” Guns N’ Roses
18. “Outlaw Shit,” Waylon Jennings

She Silverstein, who died on Key West in 1999, is best known for classic children books like Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic and my personal, tear-inducing fave, The Giving Tree, which was made into this animated movie, read by Silverstein. But he also wrote screenplays, and hilarious raunch in the form of short fiction and poetry for Playboy — and penned tunes. Excellent ones. His credits include Johnny Cash’s father-son fight classic “A Boy Named Sue,” Loretta Lynn’s mothers-have-it-hard gem “One’s on the Way,” the pub sing along sensation “The Unicorn,” which was a huge hit for the Irish Rovers and Dr. Hook’s signature tune “The Cover of the Rolling Stone.”

My Silverstein faves? “The Ballad of Lucy Jordan,” which Marianne Faithful covered, Willie Nelson’s “A Couple More Years” and Silverstein’s own recordings of “I Got Stoned and I Missed it,” “Stacey Brown Got Two” and “Polly in a Porny,” all from his 1969 underground classic  Freakin’ at the Freakers Ball. Another landmark album is the superb 1973 country stoner collection of Silverstein numbers Bobby Bare Sings Lullabys, Legends and Lies. So it’s fitting that Bare Sr. and his son, the highly talented Bare Jr., who a few years back told me how much Silverstein meant to him as a songwriting mentor, are helming what will likely be the tribute album of ‘09. Anything involving My Morning Jacket, Black Horses, Emmylou Harris, Dr. Dog, Andrew Bird and George Jones has to kick ass. Here’s the PR release:

Bobby Bare Jr & Bobby Bare Sr Producing Tribute to Shel Silverstein

Bobby and his dad are executive-producing a tribute to Shel Silverstein that will be released on Sugar Hill/Vanguard in mid 2009. The two of them have the following bands slated to contribute (and quite a few are already recorded):

Emmylou Harris

Black Keys

George Jones & Ray Price

Allison Krauss

Band of Horses

Dr. Dog

Andrew Bird

Kris Kristofferson (backed by members of the Silver Jews)

My Morning Jacket

Shel Silverstein on “The Johnny Cash Show”