Five bands you should be listening to, but aren't

I'm not as plugged into the independent music scene as others at the Herald are, but there are some great nearly mainstream bands out there that are not getting airplay. Each one of these I can put in a CD, push play and not skip a track. That is my measure of a great band.

1. Drive By Truckers
Simply put, my favorite band out there. Twangy country mixed with blues and punk rock equal one of the best sounds out there right now. Plus their shows rock. Three of the five best concerts I have ever been to are Truckers shows. I recommend you just go to the store and buy Decoration Day, listen to it all the way through, then go back and buy Southern Rock Opera, then The Dirty South.
Favorite lyric: "Ya momma's as good a wife and momma as she can be/and your sister's putting that sweet stuff on everybody in town but me./ You're brother was the first born, got ten fingers and ten toes/ and it's a damn good thing 'cause he needs all 20 to keep the closet door closed."

2. Jason Isbell
The former guitarist for the Truckers recently released his own album, and though parts of it sound nothing like DBT, it is still great. A native of Muscle Shoals, Ala., Isbell's songs have more of a blues influence than DBT's, and it is a lot more mellow
Favorite lyric: "You can't make a woman sleep alone/ and you can't maker stay her ass at home/ and you can't give her loving on the phone/ But you try, don't you?"

3. Drag the River
Gordon turned me on to this one, and I haven't taken out the CD since. A former punk band turns country. Great stuff. The song "Get Drunk" is the unofficial anthem of the Center for Indecent Living, where I reside.
Favorite Lyric: "I love to get drunk/ I love the movies/ I love my TV, my couch and my VCR/ Love the way the neon signs light up the walls/ but I don't love you any more."

4. Dr. Powerful
A local band who is tearing up the charts! No. 8 on Billboard's Hot 100 Latino dance list last week. OK, so that's not true, and Dr. Powerful is my roommate since the band practices in my basement. But Gordon and friends still turn out some kick ass jams. I'm not much on punk rock, but I love their shows.
Favorite lyric: "There's a guinea snowman where my footprint used to be."

5. Glossary
Another Gordon band. This one is the owner of his label's - Grand Palace Records in Murfreesboro, Tenn. It's a little more rocking than DBT and Drag the River, but has the same vibe.
Favorite Lyric: "The worst mistakes take the longest to kill us."