In December, the Smoking Section winged it out to Santa Barbara to hang out with Jack Johnson. Sitting on the rocky coastline with a fat spliff in our mitts watching Johnson shred massive swells was the perfect opportunity to reflect on the wild ride that was 2007. We witnessed amazing performances — Lucinda Williams‘ five-night stand in Manhattan, Stevie Wonder at the Garden, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in the Hamptons, Pearl Jam in Chicago, Wilco at Bonnaroo, The Killers in London and the Foo Fighters in a Vegas hotel room (sadly, we missed Dave Grohl’s “New Year’s Eve Disco Party” in L.A.). We moved into Kid Rock’s Malibu bachelor pad for a few days, tore up Paris with Ben Harper, guzzled absinthe at Marilyn Manson’s house and embraced our inner player, cocktailing with Snoop, strip-clubbing with Kanye and l’chaim-ing Jay-Z. It all poured sweet and clear — it was a very good year.

* * * *

If the SS had one regret from ‘07, it was that we were never in the same city as Midlake. The Denton, Texas, fivesome awed us with the mellow explorations of The Trials of Van Occupanther, and we’re happy to report that they’re home, taking their sweet-ass time on the follow-up. “It will be called The Courage of Others,” reports singer Tim Smith. “I think it will sound darker — not dark like Sabbath, but a little more minor-key.” Whereas Van Occupanther was recorded in their living room (”That was tough, because of roommates”), Midlake now occupy their own studio in Denton, with families and dogs waiting at home. “We’ve been going in at 8 a.m. and we’re done by 5,” says Smith, whose songwriting has been influenced, most recently, by No Other, the mysterioso 1974 solo gem from Gene Clark of the The Byrds. “We were jammin’ pretty hard this morning,” Smith says. “We said to ourselves, ‘No other rock band does this at 9:30 in the morning.’ ”

* * * *

When we think of our favorite singers, not many cut to our heart like Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Seeing the country-music mystic live, as we did recently at Joe’s Pub in New York, is always transcendental, and we were pleasantly surprised when he told us that dudes expecting a new album from Gilmore, ever the perfectionist, can mark it for ‘08. (Yes, Gilmore was in The Big Lebowski.) Also, he promises another disc from the Flatlanders, his cowboy trio with Joe Ely and Butch Hancock. “I’m against the idea of having opinions,” says the Texan. “But I keep discovering piles of them. And I think that both albums will come out this year, hopefully by summertime.”