Stephen King likes Austin Music.

Stephen King has released his top ten album list for 2008.

Yes, you read right. Stephen King. Author of such classics as "It," "The Stand," and "The Shining."

You may ask what qualifies Stephen King to be writing about music? Well, what qualifies anyone to write about music? It is refreshing to read his insight on the music that made him excited this year. And the selection is suprisingly diverse for an old dude. I mean, hard-rock band Buckcherry competing for the top spot with The Pretenders? King even adds electronica sampling wunderkid Greg Gillis, aka Girl Talk, to his list.

Austin artists James McMurtry and Alejandro Escovedo hold two of the top spots on his list, numbers 3 and 5, respectively. King confesses his love for McMurtry in this blurb:

McMurtry's songs inhabit a different universe from most of the Nashville crap in heavy rotation on the mainstream country stations. ''God knows she tries, but when you're that far down you're just gonna get high,'' he sings on ''Fire Line Road.'' You won't hear that observation on a Kenny Chesney album, and you'll hear little there that rocks as infectiously as ''Bayou Tortous.'' Everything here works.

Stephen King's list:

10. "Hey Ma" - James
9. "Harps and Angels" - Randy Newman
8. "Gift of Screws" - Lindsey Buckingham
7. "Lay It Down" - Al Green
6. "Viva La Vida" - Coldplay
5. "Real Animal" - Alejandro Escovedo
4. "Feed the Animals" - Girl Talk
3. "Just Us Kids" - James McMurtry
2. "Black Ice" - AC/DC
1. "Black Butterfly" - Buck Cherry
"Break Up the Concrete" - The Pretenders

You can check out the whole article, with King's witty comments here.