So, hey. What the heck is everyone listening to right now? Besides the Long Winters, I mean. :)
Here's five to kick it off:
Sloan / Navy Blues - Still one of the great, underrated rock and roll records of the last 10 years (Shut up, Roderick; hit him for me, Eric). Pick hit: "Money City Maniacs"
Spoon / A Series of Sneaks - Angular, nervy, Pixies-meets-Thin Lizzy guitar slashes peppered with the one of the five best drummers playing today. Pick hit: "June's Foreign Spell" or "Advance Cassette"
They Might Be Giants / Lincoln - Sweet Goldie sent me CD copies of all the dead TMBG vinyl in my garage, and I'm beside myself catching up with how much I *loved* this record. Perfect point where they were gelling clever, catchy, and--on "They'll Need a Crane"--sweetly sad and funny at the same time. Pick hit: "Purple Toupee"
Zumpano / Goin' through Changes - Carl Newman got more famous in the swell New Pornographers, but the wildly underheard sophomore effort from his old band is a masterpiece of melancholy, brainy Zombiesesque pop. Layers of crazy harmonies fold back on themselves in a rainstorm of fruity chord changes and dense arrangements. Pick Hit: "Broca's Ways" or "Here's the Plan"
Led Zeppelin / How the West Was Won - The five advance tracks I picked up from this "new" live record finally show how heavy, hard, and bluesy they sounded at the top of their game. Bone-crushing fucking rock music. Pick hit: "The Immigrant Song"
Oddly enough, I have just started to get into Peter Parker. When I was at the Sonic Boom in Ballard after the LW set, I picked up "Migliore!" on a whim, and I think I really like it.
Excepting the Long Winters (&c.), these three things are literally/basically all I have listened to more than once in the past three <u>months</u>.
Apparently I don't get out much.
>> <b>the Mountain Goats</b> - <i>All Hail West Texas</i> and <i>Full Force Galesburg</i> The vast majority of anything I've truly enjoyed hearing in the past six months or so can be directly credited to a one Mr. John Darnielle. Suffice it to say he/they are fantastic, warm, and endearing, and no one can break my heart quite like they do. [ favourite song as of late: "Original Air-Blue Gown" and/or "Distant Stations" ]
>> <b>Lifter Puller</b>'s entire discography, duh As anyone who's been within ten feet of me for the last three-quarters of a year can attest, Lifter Puller are my favourite band. Unfortunately, they no longer exist. I would have to classify their recorded works as the collective best thing I have ever, ever heard, though I have to admit they are quite the acquired taste ( ::cough:: Dan ::cough:: ). Craig Finn's voice can (and will!) grate on the nerves of the unwilling/uninitiated, but once you dig it, you won't want to listen to anything else, nor should you. Amazingly enough, the Mountain Goats are opening up the first night of three (!) Lifter Puller reunion shows in Minneapolis next week, all of which I will be happily/drunkenly attending, assuming whoever's doing door at the Triple Rock forgets that my 21st birthday is in late July, not early June. [ favourite song as of late: "Star Wars Hips" ]
>> <b>the Bloodthirsty Lovers</b> - the Bloodthirsty Lovers This is probably going to be my favourite record of the year, assuming Pedro the Lion don't put out something that tops Control (--which is basically impossible). Dave Shouse from the Grifters wrote all the songs, but it sounds nothing like the Grifters (or so I've been told; I have yet to actually hear the Grifters). I cannot possibly explain to you why I love this record so much, but I have made an all-encompassing offer to the general public: if you buy the record and don't like it, I'll buy it back from you. Space-cadet music, melodic and soothing and catchy, perfect for turning up loud when you're driving around on a warm night as the sun goes down, or drifting off to the second yr head hits the pillow after downing half a bottle of Nyquil. [ favourite song as of late: "Turning the World Upside Down" ]
Oh -- and I was on a pretty big Rilo Kiley kick for a few weeks, until my copy of The Execution of All Things was stolen by a wandering crackhead, who apparently enjoys indie rock just as much as I do.
Sigh.
Matthew Good-Avalanche>>This is one of the greatest CDs ever created, the man goes away from his regular rock sound, but this happens in a great way. Pick Track:Avalanche
Stroke 9-Rip It Off>> I have no idea why I think this album is so good but it is. It's just something good to listen to no doubt. But Kick Some Ass is just not a good song when you've heard it a gallion times. Pick Track:Vaccuum Bag
Guster-GoldflyI can;t explain this one just listen. Pick Track: Airport Song
New Radicals-Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too.>> This is an album I just can't get enough of, it's just so damn good. No Matter how many time i've listened to it since 1998, it's just a s good as the first if not better. Pick Track:Someday We'll Know
emery... www.emerymusic.com GREAT band and awesome guys too everyone should check them out! they have a few shows coming up in the tacoma / seattle area also...
+ Blur -- Think Tank: OK. Look. Back in the day, I loved me some Blur. 13 was a huge disappointment to me, the sort of album I pre-ordered and popped in and balked at, with only "Coffee & TV" (the Graham song--and not half as good as the simple and perfect "You're So Great") keeping it in my stereo. I don't think I've listened to it in over a year, although I may revisit it with a smarter ear. I bought Think Tank fast, popped it in and loathed it. Just loathed. Walked around the city depressed and confused. I buried it in the heap of late-semester detritus on my desk and thought I wouldn't speak of it again...
...Only then this weekend I cleaned my desk, and there it was, and so here I am, and I have listened to it for three days straight and I am starting to think that, at the very least, I am beginning to understand what's going on. I still have not quite figured out what compels me to put "Crazy Beat" on repeat while I am waiting for the subway, and I still have not figured out why, despite the lyrics, "Out of Time" makes me feel a little out of breath, and I...no, well, I have figured out why "We've Got a File On You" pleases me. It's just fun.
It's worth noting that I often hate records that I end up not being able to part with; I strongly disliked every single Dismemberment Plan album as they came to me, but something kept them each in my stereo and got them all under my skin. The recent New Pornographers album did not suit me for at least two weeks, and I am currently digesting the new Pernice Brothers album--I don't hate it at all, but I don't get it yet. Dig?
Rage Against The Machine - Battle of Los Angeles
Harvey Danger - King James Version
Rev Hydra - Racheting Down The Melancholic Afterbeat
The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
Cex - Tall Dark And Handcuffed
The first three are old standbys for me, so I'm only REALLY listening to two new-ish albums.
Unremarkable wrote:Oddly enough, I have just started to get into Peter Parker. When I was at the Sonic Boom in Ballard after the LW set, I picked up "Migliore!" on a whim, and I think I really like it.
I think a friend of mine spotted you buying that because she said she just saw someone buy it.
Unfortunately they aren't together anymore. :( They were a favorite of mine.
Neko Case, Blacklisted: This is one of my favorite records from last year. I still can't get over the Voice (so good, it deserves a capital "V") this gal has. The Canadian Amp EP is also great.
Sloan, One Chord to Another (with Party EP): Merlin's right about Navy Blues being a great rock record. Twice Removed is my favorite Sloan album, but One Chord is just a happy potpourri. And you can't go wrong with covers of "Dignified and Old" and "On the Road Again" on the EP. God, I love Sloan.
Lemonheads, It's a Shame About Ray: Maybe it's because Evan's got a solo record out, but I've been revisiting this lately.
Another random foray into the early '90s I've made is Ned's Atomic Dustbin's God Fodder. This is after a three-hour conversation about with one of my really good friends about mix-tape staples revealed that we both have a soft spot for "Grey Cell Green." The rest of the album is a bit of a crapshoot, but that is a great song.
And I haven't heard it yet, but I'm sure I'll love the new Deathray Davies record. I just need to get my butt to the record store...
1. aveo- bridge to the northern lights
2. compilation - 20 years of dischord records
3. hutch and kathy - s/t
4. calexico - a feast of wire
5. the fever pitch - ep
1. minus 5-Down with Wilco
2. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists-hearts of oak
3. Steely dan (everything)
4. Bauhaus-The Skys Gone Out
5. Blind Faith
6. Devo mp3s (misc)
geraldine fibbers-lost somewhere between the earth and my home
bright eyes-lifted or the story is in the soil, keep your ear to the ground
everything bjork john frusciante-to record only water for ten days
elliott smith-either/or
and lots and lots of radiohead and david bowie
I'm between being moved and unmoved right now and don't have access to my CDs... so I've got a bunch of MP3s playing on my computer until further notice.
Colin Blunstone - Wonderful, Mary Won't You Warm My Bed, I Don't Believe In Miracles, She Loves The Way They Love Her, Say You Don't Mind, Caroline Goodbye
We Five - You Were On My Mind
Supergrass - The Loner
Billy Squire - Lonely Is The Night
Heaven 17 - Penthouse And Pavement
Utopia - Crybaby
Lindsey Buckingham - Go Insane
Elton John w/ John Lennon - Whatever Gets You Through The Night (Live)
The Oranges Band - My Street
The Guess Who - Clap For The Wolfman
John Fogerty - Centerfield
The Poppy Family - Evil Grows
Foster Sylvers - Misdemeanor
M. Ward - The Transfiguration Of Vincent
Dear John Letters - Bipolar, Kings & Queens, Angels
The Iveys - Maybe Tomorrow
April Wine - Just Between You And Me
Elton John - Ego
The Isely Brothers - Sunshine
The Records - Starry Eyes
The Minders - Chatty Cathy
Camper Van Beethoven - Take The Skinheads Bowling
Paul Revere & The Raiders - Him Or Me (What's It Gonna Be?)
