Bill O Writes

1. “Emmylou” by First Aid Kit – A country-folk gem by a pair of Swedish sisters.

2. “Wasted Days” by Cloud Nothings – A heavy rock epic.

3. “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen – Irresistible pop. Hard to pick a favorite video among the orginal, the Harvard baseball team tribute and the U.S. swim team tribute.

4. “After It’s Gone” by Patterson Hood & the Downtown 13 – One of the Drive-By Truckers makes a plea to save small-town downtowns.

5. “Revolution” by Saidah Baba Talibah – A sexy cry for change.

6. “100” by Brandi Carlile – One of the highlights of the Melody Tent season was Carlile’s August show.

7. “The Magic Clap” by the Coup – The catchiest rap song since “Hey Ya.”

8. “Putin Lights Up the Fires” by Pussy Riot – The Russian band’s fight for free speech didn’t stop at the jailhouse doors. This version has an English translation of the lyrics.

9. “Pyramids” by Frank Ocean – An R&B epic.

10. “Sugar Man” by Rodriguez – The lead song from his 1970 debut finally got some attention, thanks to a documentary about the great, long-lost folksinger.

1. “Stone Rollin’ “ by Raphael Saadiq (Columbia Records). The title of his 2002 solo debut (following hits with the family trio Tony! Toni! Tone!) was “Instant Vintage” and that’s an apt description of Saadiq’s sound: modernized Motown with a bit of Philly soul and Sly Stone thrown in.

2. “The King of In Between” by Garland Jeffreys (Luna Park Records), who has been making fine albums for 40 years (reaching peaks with “Ghost Writer” in 1977 and “Don’t Call Me Buckwheat” in 1992). With lyrics focusing primarily on his love of New York City and rock & roll, Jeffreys serves up a mix of sounds, including John Lee Hooker blues, late-’70s Stones rock, reggae and ska.

3. The bonus disc on the “Some Girls” reissue by the Rolling Stones (Universal Republic Records). Sure, these songs date back to the original recording sessions for “Some Girls,” which was released in 1978, or even earlier, but they’ve never been readily available until now (some are demos that were updated with new vocal and guitar tracks). Anyway, the “b-disc” is as good as anything the Stones have released since “Some Girls,” and it’s better than the bonus disc on last year’s resissue of “Exile on Main Street.”

4. “The Whole Love” by Wilco (DBpm Records). A strong comeback by one of my favorite bands, after the disppapointing “Wilco (The Album)” in 2009.

5. “Eleven  Eleven” by Dave Alvin (Yep Roc Records). A roots-rock legend, Dave Alvin made a new CD that stands with the best of his work with the Blasters and as a solo artist, which is saying something.

6. “Weather” by Me’shell Ndegeocello (Naive Records). Back in 1993, it might have been easy to think of her funk-rap hit “If That’s Your Boyfriend (He Wasn’t Last Night)” as a novelty song, just a funny little diss. But over the course of 8 CDs, Ndegeocello has carved out a niche as one of the most creative voices in contemporary R&B.

7. “Go-Go Boots” by the Drive-by Truckers (RED Records). Hyper-productive and excellent storytellers, the DBTs are the Elmore Leonards of Southern rock.

8. “Blessed” by Lucinda Williams (Lost Highway Records). On a first listen, I didn’t think this stood among her better efforts, but it’s grown on me. Not up there with “Sweet Old World,” but still a great combination of folk, country and rock.

9. “Yuck” by Yuck (Fat Possum Records). — My pick for the year’s best debut. A nice mix of shoegaze drone, skronky feedback and jangle pop … a weird recipe, but it works.

10.  “Last Summer” by Eleanor Friedberger (Merge Records). — Much more poppy than her work with the Fiery Furnaces.

Honorable mentions: “Nine Types of Light” by TV on the Radio, “The Less You Know, the Better” by DJ Shadow, “David Comes to Life” by Fucked Up, “undun” by the Roots, “21” by Adele, “Watch the Throne” by Jay-Z and Kanye West, “Ritual Union” by Little Dragon, “Wild Flag” By Wild Flag, “Timez Are Weird These Days” by Theophilus London and “Want More” by JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound

1. “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele — When Adele’s first album came out, I thought she was a weak imitation of Amy Winehouse, but she knocked it out of the park with this song.

2. “Art of Almost” by Wilco — Knocks me out every time I hear it. Almost any other year this would be No. 1.

3. “No Church in the Wild” by Jay-Z and Kanye West (feat. Frank Ocean) — The highlight from a collaboration that didn’t quite add up to the sum of its parts.

4. “Black Doll” by Siobhan Magnus — Not because she’s Cape Cod’s “American Idol,” but because the song is just that good.

5. “The World (Is Going Up in Flames)” by Charles Bradley — No denying the music or the message.

6. “Heart Attack” by Raphael Saadiq — Just try not to dance!

7. “Copenhagen” by Lucinda Willams — Another gem from one of my favorite songwriters.

8. “Last Friday Night” by Katy Perry — Yeah, I know the CD came out last year, but the single and video made their impact in 2011. “Is this a hicky or a bruise?” is one of my favorite lyrics of the year.

9. “First of the Year” by Skrillex– Pretty good song … great video.

10. “Ninety-Nine Percent” by Young Circles — Occupy the playlists!

Honorable mentions: “Born Alone” by Wilco and “We Found Love” by Rihanna

Let’s skip an intro about the state of music in 2010 and get right to it.

1. “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” by Kanye West – Forget about hip-hop. There aren’t many performers in any genre who’ve started a career with five CDs as strong as West’s. Jackass of the year? Maybe. But for this ranking, we’re talking about the CD, and no one else made a disc as clever and addictive as this one.

2. “Archandroid” by Janelle Monae – But Janelle came mighty close. She definitely had the best half of a disc of anyone in 2010. Mixing a bizarre sci-fi storyline and killer R&B songs, Monae dazzled on her first-full-length CD.

3. “The Lady Killer” by Cee-Lo Green – Not as inventive as the discs by West and Monae, but every bit as entertaining. The lead singer of Gnarls Barkley shows that he can make some crazy-good dance songs on his own.

4. “Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook” by Bettye LaVette – The comeback continues for LaVette, a soul singer who hit the charts in 1963 with “My Man (He’s a Loving Man).” This time out she rips through and reinvents some old favorites by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Animals and others. One of the great vocal performances of the year.

5. “Have One on Me” by Joanna Newsom – A wispy-voiced singer playing the harp? Not my usual cup of tea, but Newsom’s 2006 CD, “Ys,” really grew on me. This three-CDs set is a lot to take in, but it’s worth the exploration.

6. “How I Got Over” by the Roots – Best rap band? Yeah, sure, but these guys are in the running for best band … period. Just check them out any night on Jimmy Fallon’s show. The Roots’ collaboration with John Legend was solid, but this CD shows them at their best … tight, tough and talented.

7. “Preservation” by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band – A collection of ragtime and traditional jazz songs with guest vocals by Richie Havens, the Blind Boys of Alabama,, Steve Earle, Ani DiFranco, Tom Waits, Dr. John, Angelique Kidjo and others. Jazz is not my area of expertise, but this is just plain fun.

8. “The Promise” by Bruce Springsteen – Of Springsteen’s first eight studio albums, “Darkness on the Edge of Town” is the one I’ve listened to by far the least. But this two-CD set of resurrected songs from the “Darkness” recording sessions is enough to make me dive back into that era.

9. “Chandler Travis Philharmonic Blows” by the Chandler Travis Philharmonic – Add up the solo stuff, the Incredible Casuals, the Philharmonic and his other output, and Chandler Travis has put out a mammoth body of work. This one stands with any of them.

10. “Odd Blood” by Yeasayer – This sounds like Duran Duran on acid, which, surprisingly, is a good thing.

Honorable mention: “New Amerykah, Part 2: Return of the Ankh” by Erykah Badu, “White Crosses” by Against Me! “Astro Coast” by Surfer Blood, “Scratch My Back” by Peter Gabriel and “Downtown Church” by Patty Griffin

A few songs I never got sick of: “Fuck You” by Cee-Lo Green; “Airplanes” by B.o.B., featuring Hayley Williams; “Monster” by Kanye West, featuring Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z and Bon Iver; “Tik Tok” by Ke$ha; and “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem, featuring Rihanna

Looking for another look at the year’s best? Check out Ken Capobianco’s blog.  Our lists overlap more than in years past, but that’s just because the top three CDs were just so far ahead of the pack.

Best-known as the front man for the Shotgun Bandits and Tripl3 Crown, Brian Sances of Sandwich recently released his first solo CD, “Here Today.” The cover shows him sitting on a rock at the end of a jetty, playing his guitar. Listening to the disc, it’s easy to picture him sitting out there on a warm day, surrounded by water, as he works out some new songs.

His tunes have an appealing variety – sometimes folky, sometimes a reggae or ska vibe, sometimes a hip-hop beat. He keeps to a mellow groove – not a sleepy kind of mellow, but that relaxed kind of mellow that sweeps over you … when you’re sitting on a rock surrounded by the ocean.

While the sound is laid back, Sances is relentlessly upbeat in his lyrics. The ballad “Still In Love” is as romantic a song as you could ever hope to hear. On other songs he sings the praises of the ocean, his hometown and the power of living in the moment. That could tumble into schmaltz, but Sances puts enough oomph into the music that it comes across as inspiring.

Sances recorded, mixed and produced all the songs, and wrote them all except for one on which he got some co-writing help from some friends. The production is impressive; a friend listening from the next room stuck his head in and asked if I was listening to a Los Lonely Boys disc.

Highlight tracks: “Still in Love,” “In the Blink of an Eye” and “Judgement Day Remix” (featuring Ceej)

In addition to performing on his own, you might catch Sances playing with Ceej or the Adam Hoffman Revival.

For more information, visit www.briansances.com.

“Preservation” by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band is a collection of ragtime and traditional jazz songs with guest vocals by Richie Havens, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Steve Earle, Ani DiFranco, Tom Waits, Dr. John, Angelique Kidjo and others. Jazz is not my area of expertise, but this is just plain fun. Grade: A minus.

“Close Up, Vol. 1, Love Songs,” the first of a four-CD series by Suzanne Vega of acoustic re-recordings of her old songs. Most of them were stripped down in the first place, so what’s the point? (A better buy is “Retrospective,” her 2003 greatest hits set.) Grade: C plus.

“Fixin’ the Charts 1” by Everybody Was in the French Resistance … Now. This is a side group by Eddie Argos of Art Brut. This band’s gimmick is taking old pop songs and retelling the story. “My Way” becomes “My Way (It’s Not Always the Best Way).” It’s not as rocking as Art Brut, but has the same mix of cheeky and tongue-in-cheek humor. Grade: B

Massive Attack makes party music that isn’t really party music. It’s for after the party, when the ecstasy has worn off, and you’re trying to wake up the people who fell asleep on the couch so they’ll go home and you can go to bed, for Pete’s sake. But you have to have something to listen to then, something with beats, but a little ominous. “Heligoland” has its moments (guest spots by Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio and Damon Albarn of Blur/Gorillaz) but isn’t Massive Attack at its best. Grade: B minus.

“Odd Blood” by Yeasayer sounds like Duran Duran on acid, which surprisingly, is a good thing. Grade: B plus.

Published in the Cape Cod Times on Dec. 26, 2009.

By BILL O’NEILL

In 2000, we’d never heard of iPods, blogs or You Tube. By the end of the decade, if you didn’t have a computer, you weren’t keeping up with pop music.

There was sorrow mixed with the innovation. The music world lost Johnny Cash, James Brown, Ray Charles, George Harrison and other giants. One hundred people died in 2003 when a Great White concert turned into an inferno at the Station, a rock club in West Warwick, R.I.

As far as the music, there’s more of it than ever, as production equipment becomes cheaper and simpler every year. The quality? There will always be those who say pop music was better in the ’60s or ’70s, but if you opened your mind and your ears, there were plenty of classics to be heard in the 2000s.

1. “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,” Wilco (Nonesuch; 2002) – Wilco leader Jeff Tweedy’s previous band, Uncle Tupelo, helped launch the alternative-country movement, a loose tag for bands that bring some punk attitude to songs with twang. In making “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,” Jeff Tweedy and his band messed around with song structure and used imaginative blendings of instruments. Listen closely and you can hear that these songs start out as straightforward country-rockers. Then the band deconstructed and reconstructed the songs, at times replacing passages played by traditional instruments with weird electronic sounds.

The CD of the decade almost never came out. Reprise Records refused to release it because one executive thought it had “no commercial potential.” When Nonesuch released it, the disc sold more than half a million copies. Is it any surprise that the music industry is struggling?

2. “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not,” Arctic Monkeys (Domino; 2006) – The same week that Arctic Monkeys’ debut CD was released in England, a British rock magazine’s writers voted it the fifth best British album of all time, putting it ahead of the Clash’s “London Calling’” (No. 8 ) and the Beatles’ “Revolver’” (No. 9). OK, the CD isn’t quite that good, but the band delivered – in concert, in videos and, yes, with its debut disc.

The quartet’s petty thievery of past British bands (the angular guitars of the Gang of Four, the put-upon weariness of the Smiths, the giddiness of Adam and the Ants) results in some of the catchiest songs of the decade.

3. “O,” Damien Rice (Vector; 2003) – Most of the songs feature only Rice’s occasionally creaking voice, his guitar, a little flurry or two from a cello or violin and maybe some breathy backing vocals. The simplicity is deceptive, as Rice’s songs are rich in their emotional payoff.

4. “The College Dropout,” Kanye West (Roc-A-Fella; 2004) – He won’t get any awards from Miss Manners, but Kanye West made some of the decade’s best hip-hop CDs. His debut was innovative, funny, romantic, a little bit thuggish and frequently inspirational.

5. “Kid A,” Radiohead (Capitol; 2000) and “Amnesiac,” Radiohead (Capitol; 2001) – Radiohead’s first two CDs of the decade were released separately but recorded at the same time. Pair them and you have the decade’s best double album, a collection of trippy alternative-rock experiments.

6. “Southern Rock Opera” by Drive-By Truckers (SDR; 2001) – A true double album, this 20-song set revisits the mythology of Lynyrd Skynyrd with a three-guitar Southern-rock attack that would have sounded just as great coming out of a Plymouth Roadrunner’s 8-track player.

7. “Stankonia,” OutKast (LaFace/Arista; 2000) – OutKast hit the Billboard jackpot in 2003 with “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below,” but “Stankonia” is a tighter effort that also shows off the duo’s brilliance in extending the borders of hip-hop.

8. “Extraordinary Machine,” Fiona Apple (Epic/Clean Slate; 2005) – Apple boldly expanded her musical eccentricity on her third CD. Her definition of pop music seems to incorporate inspiration from artists ranging from Cole Porter and George Gershwin to Tori Amos and Tom Waits.

9. “St. Elsewhere,” Gnarls Barkley (Downtown; 2006) – A reinvention of ’70s Philly soul, with the old-time silky grooves and passionate vocals backed by modern samples and hip-hop attitude. Veteran soul singer Cee-Lo supplied the vocals and DJ Danger Mouse built the beats for one of those rare records that brought multiple generations to the dance floor. The highlight is “Crazy,” the best song of the decade.

10. “Back to Black,” Amy Winehouse (Universal; 2007) – One of the saddest stories of the decade was Amy Winehouse’s decline into tabloid fodder after the smash success of this CD, a triumphant re-creation of ’60s soul.

Honorable mention: “Kids in Philly,” Marah (E-Squared; 2000); “Truth Is Not Fiction,” Otis Taylor (Telarc; 2003); “New Wave,” Against Me! (Sire; 2007); “Everyone Deserves Music,” Michael Franti and Spearhead (Bob Boo Wax/iMusic; 2003); “The Woods,” Sleater-Kinney (Sub Pop Records; 2005); “Pieces of Me,” Lori McKenna (Catalyst; 2001); “Sky Blue Sky,” Wilco (Nonesuch; 2007); “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below,” OutKast (Arista; 2003); “The Grey Album,” Danger Mouse (Internet bootleg; 2004); and “Bring Me the Workhorse,” My Brightest Diamond (Asthmatic Kitty; 2006).

Best local CDs: “Red = Luck,” Patty Larkin (2003); “Dance Hall,” the Greenheads (2005); “Small Is Tremendous,” Zoe Lewis (2004); Chandler Travis’s 25-CD “Radio Ball” series (2000-2005); “Careful,” P.J. O’Connell (2006); “Nature Calls,” Incredible Casuals (2005); “One Girl Town,” Sarah Swain (2006); “Cape Cod Covers, Vol. 2: the Beatles,” various artists (2007); “The Elbows,” the Elbows (2006); and “A Christmas Miracle,” various artists (Plimro; 2009).

Best live CDs: “Kicking Television: Live in Chicago,” Wilco (Nonesuch; 2005); “Out There Live,” Dar Williams (Razor & Tie; 2001); Prodigal Son bootlegs, the Greenheads (2003); and official bootlegs, Seattle, Pearl Jam (2000).

Best movies about music: “High Fidelity” (2000) and “Almost Famous” (2000).

Best soundtracks: “High Fidelity,” various artists (2000); “Into the Wild,” Eddie Vedder (2007); “I’m Not There,” various artists (2007); “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” Nick Cave and Warren Ellis (2007); “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” (2000).

Best music videos: “Hurt” by Johnny Cash (2002); “Fell in Love With a Girl” by the White Stripes (2002); “Weapon of Choice,” Fatboy Slim (2001); “A View From the Afternoon” by the Arctic Monkeys (2006) and “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” by Beyonce (2008).

Best songs of the 2000s:

1. “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley (2006)

2. “Jesus Walks” by Kanye West (2004)

3. “Hey Ya” by OutKast (2003)

4. “Daft Punk Is Playing at My House” by LCD Soundsystem (2005)

5. “There There” by Radiohead (2003)

6. “Out of Touch” by Lucinda Williams (2001)

7. “The Seed (2.0)” by the Roots (2002)

8. “Pink Sweater” by Lori McKenna (2001)

9. “A Million Tears” by Kasey Chambers (2002)

10. “Handshake Drugs” by Wilco (2004)

Best CDs of 2009:

1. “Middle Cyclone,” Neko Case (Anti)

2. “Playing for Change: Songs Around the World,” various artists (Concord)

3. “The Sun Came Out,” 7 Worlds Collide (Sony)

4. “Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band,” the Easy Star All-Stars (Easy Star)

5. “Together Through Life,” Bob Dylan (Columbia)

6. “Mouth to Mouth,” the Vivs (thevivs.com)

7. “Backspacer,” Pearl Jam (Island)

7. “Troubador,” K’Naan (A&M/Octone)

9. “Change Your Mind,” Julie Clark (Great Big)

10. “BLACKsummer’snight,” Maxwell (Columbia)

"Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"

Santogold

Twenty worthy CDs that merited consideration for the top 10 list:

“Pneumonia,” Whiskeytown (Lost Highway; 2001)

“A Ghost Is Born,” Wilco (Nonesuch; 2004)

“Hard Times in Babylon,” Eliza Gilkyson (Red House; 2000)

“Speaking in Tongues,” the Holmes Brothers (Alligator; 2001)

“Into the Wild: Music for the Motion Picture,” Eddie Vedder (J; 2007)

“Santogold,” Santogold (Downtown; 2008)

“The Hardest Part,” Allison Moorer (MCA Nashville; 2000)

“Global a Go-go,” Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros (Hellcat; 2001)

“Red = Luck,” Patty Larkin (Vanguard; 2003)

“Don’t Give Up on Me,” Solomon Burke (Fat Possum; 2002)

“Late Registration,” Kanye West (Roc-A-Fella; 2005)

“Loose Fur,” Loose Fur (Drag City; 2003)

“The Marshall Mathers LP,” Eminem (Interscope; 2000)

“I’m Not There” soundtrack, various artists (Columbia; 2007)

“I Just Want to Be Held,” Nathaniel Mayer (Fat Possum; 2004)

“One Moment More,” Mindy Smith (Vanguard; 2004)

“Bittertown,” Lori McKenna (Signature Sounds; 2004)

“Love the Cup,” Sons and Daughters (Domino; 2004)

“Dear Science,” TV on the Radio (4AD; 2008)

“In Search of …,” N.E.R.D. (Virgin; 2002)

And here are 10 songs that just missed my list of the best 10 songs of the decade.

“Home” by Patty Larkin (2003)

“99 Problems” by Danger Mouse (2004)

“Hurt” by Johnny Cash (2002)

“Killer Parties” by the Hold Steady (2004)

“Lose Yourself” by Eminem (2002)

“Rehab” by Amy Winehouse (2006)

“Heavy Metal Drummer” by Wilco (2002)

“I Will Possess Your Heart” by Death Cab for Cutie (2008)

“Jumpers” by Sleater-Kinney (2005)

“I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” by the Arctic Monkeys (2006)

Here’s a tip of Santa’s cap to DJ Cat, host of WCIB’s local-music show, “The Cheap Seats,” and Mark Bryant of SeaSound Recording Studio in Plymouth, who came up with an idea in late October, recruited 19 bands, got them into a recording studio in mid-November and had CDs ready for distribution by the end of November. Kind of makes you wonder why it took Axl Rose 17 years to make “Chinese Democracy.”

The result of Cat and Bryant’s whirlwind effort is “A Christmas Miracle,” for which 19 Cape, New Bedford and Plymouth performers recorded new and old holiday songs. The disc also includes three bonus songs, previously recorded tracks by Entrain, Three Day Threshold & Summer Villains, and Chandler Travis Philharmonic. Jason Hart of Raspberry Productions came up with some nifty cover art.

There’s a nice mix of traditional songs (Cheryl Devaux’s version of “We Three Kings”), newer songs (Tripping Lily’s lovely cover of Mindy Smith’s “Santa Will Find You”) and originals (The Ticks’ “Xmas Song”).

The genres range, too, from Liz Solomon’s soothing treatment of Joni Mitchell’s “The River” to Randy and the Oak’s rockabilly version of the theme from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” to Meat Depressed’s Ramones-like delivery on “Hooray for Santa Claus” (the theme song from the classic B-movie “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians,” which is best-known for two things: being a really bad movie and being Pia Zadora’s film debut).

Other acts contributing a song to the CD are Brian Hitchings & Jim Calandrella, Funktapuss, Jupiter Ray, the Jackson Wetherbee Band, the Sardonics, Sara Leketa, Scott Dangerfield & the Reindeer Riders, McCarthy & Legge, the Juicebox Graduates, the Greenheads, the Gobshites, the Jonee Earthquake Band, and Tex, Mad Dog & Cat.

Thanks to Bryant’s recording efforts and the mastering by Chris Blood of Sonic Trout Studios, this is a sharp, crisp-sounding disc. You’d never know that it was put together at record speed and on a tight budget, since part of its mission is to raise funds for Cranberry Hospice and Palliative Care at Jordan Hospital and Fragile Footprints, a Jordan program for children undergoing treatment for life-threatening illnesses.

The CDs are available at Pizza Prima (Route 28, Cotuit), Spinnaker Records (Main Streets in Falmouth and Hyannis) and Instant Karma Records (Route 6A, Orleans). They are $10 each with $2 going to charity (there may be a small retail handling fee).

There will be listening parties for the CD at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday (Dec. 2) at the Island Merchant, 302 Main St., Hyannis, and 5 p.m. Thursday (Dec. 3) at T-Bones Roadhouse, 22 Main St., Plymouth.

My review of a new CD by a Boston band called the Vivs ran in today’s Boston Globe.

LOCAL ROCK

The Vivs “Mouth To Mouth” (Self-released)

ESSENTIAL SONG: “(You Should Have Seen) The Other Guy’’

This may be a debut album, but the Vivs are well-connected to Boston’s rock ’n’ roll family tree. Singer Karen Harris fronted Edith, and keyboard player and harmony vocalist Terri Brosius played with Tribe. Eric Brosius, Terri’s husband and Tribe mate, produced the album and supplied some extra guitar. The disc was engineered by David Minehan of the Neighborhoods, who also contributed on guitar and tambourine and even added a bit of whistling. And while Jonathan Richman had nothing to do with the CD, he does get a name check on “Take It on the Chin.’’

All those connections would be meaningless without good songs, and Harris provides them, along with some almost-too-clever wordplay (“I never saw the Eiffel Tower. … I’d rather have an eyeful of you’’). A teacher and mother of two, she explores the minefields of domestic life, delivering her tales with a voice reminiscent of Amy Rigby, who created another mom-rock classic, “Diary of a Mod Housewife,’’ in 1996.

The rest of the local band (Matt Magee on guitar, Jim Collins on bass, and Scott Rogers on drums) supplies as many hooks as a pirate family reunion, with a sound that borrows a bit from the country-rock of Lone Justice and the jangle-pop of the early Bangles. (Out tomorrow)