Happy Halloween!

Yes, it's that time of year again. When eating candy from strangers is encouraged and (many) women bear the cold to bare (almost) all. I'm not sure I've ever been a huge fan of Halloween, probably because I'm not super creative and come up with lame costume ideas that have to be explained to people when they see me. Absolutely the worst. But it's always fun to have an excuse to get together with friends, dance to "Thriller," and imbibe a few adult beverages. In honor of the holiday that ends arguably the best month of the year, here are a few Halloween-themed music selections. Hope everyone has a fun and safe weekend...


Surfer Blood - "Floating Vibes"

Ra Ra Riot - "Ghost Under Rocks"

Sea Wolf - "Wicked Blood"


Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Heads Will Roll"



PS. Spoon has a new album coming out in January! SODG0us goia;s dg;iadgs!@$!@% [Excitement]

As If We Weren't Insignificant Enough...

Google has essentially added a streaming music player. Well, not exactly. But by searching the entire internet for songs from your favorite artists and then providing links to them, it's only a matter of time until they have an actual streaming player. They've partnered with Pandora, Lala, MySpace, Rhapsody, and imeem (as well as a number of recording labels) to provide this service, essentially eliminating the need for mp3 blogs completely (unless you want some fawning and/or sarcastic commentary to go along with your new music... you do, right?!?). Is there any doubt that Google will own all aspects of your life in the near future? Pretty soon we'll all be banking, getting groceries, watching movies, and getting medicines from a new Google service. The future is scary (unless you work for Google... shut up, Ewing).

Florence + the Machine - "Kiss With A Fist" (Live on Letterman)

Florence + the Machine's Lungs is definitely one of the most fun albums of the year, and the British upstarts brought "Kiss With A Fist" to Letterman last night. I think it's safe to say that they killed it.

Lil' Wayne - No Ceilings

Boom! Download the mixtape. A review is forthcoming... believe that.

via [Nah Right]

Spreading the Gospel of Dance

If anything can bring me back it's So You Think You Can Dance. If you know me you know that I was NOT happy with last season's winner and overall disappointed in the season as a whole (minus Kayla and Kupono's "Addiction" - may it never die!) Needless to say I've been eagerly awaiting the real kickoff to season 6 especially since it's been hyped as the most talented Top 20 yet.

Channing and Phillip - Underwhelming. Neither one of them brought much personality to the dance which is essential for a jive. Mary Murphy was right on - more energy and more sharpness needed.

Ashleigh and Jakob - First off this was pretty weak choreography from Tyce but I forgive him considering the absolutely amazing dance he delivered in last night's show. Basically Ashleigh was just a statue for Jakob's showcase of tricks. She can't kick very high and her pirouettes look like a 5th grader's. Get her out of here! But Jakob, Jakob is a dream. I predict he will be around for a very long time.

Ariana and Peter - I found Ariana's performance unconvincing - something about it just didn't click. Glad to see that Peter does have some versatility. Once again judge's critiques were right on - maybe they've laid off the crack this season.

Noelle and Russell - I love Melanie Lapatin and how she always has to step up when someone gets hurt! Anyone else remember when she was on What Not to Wear years ago? Probs not, but I do! I love Russell but correct me if I'm wrong - Didn't he say in Vegas week that he hadn't had training in other styles?? Then how do you explain "5 years of formal training at Boston Art Academy High School" from his official bio? Something's fishy and I blame Nigel.

Bianca and Victor - While Bianca is definitely the weakest in this pairing she actually did better than I expected. Victor reminds me a lot of Danny from Season 3 - always a good thing. Note on Travis' choreography - love him and some people won't like this but I think he relies a bit too much on tricks for the high points of his dances. Yes there was a story behind it but I don't think it was conveyed enough through the emotion of the dance.

Karen and Kevin - Boy knows how to smize...Tyra would be SO proud! And I love Fox's self promotion using the Glee soundtrack. All in all Karen was hot but the turns and flips were too slow. Also hair stylist - never, EVER put Kevin's hair in a bun again. With those earrings he looked like a smaller version of Ms. Jay Alexander, runway expert. Too much Top Model??

Ellenore and Ryan - Creepy angels....I like it. Just when I thought I was kind of getting over Sonya she reels me back in! Ryan and his fake little Hugh Jackman self really held his own against a contemporary dancer. Ellenore had started to annoy me last night but she's back in my good graces again. No doubt she'll have to face the wrath of Ashleigh backstage after resting her hand dangerously close to the man's goods.

Pauline and Brandon - On first sight these two are an adorable couple and I can't believe Brandon only had a day and a half to learn and clean the dance. Yet again I agree 100% with Mary - what is going on?

Kathryn and Legacy - Love Dave Scott, LOVE the dance! Kathryn was great and Legacy got to show off his skills too. Am I getting a little Courtney and Gev vibe from these two? Maybe too early to tell but thus far I'm a fan! Definitely my favorite dance of the night.

Mollee and Nathan - In case you forgot I've been pimping Nathan from the moment he appeared on our screen almost 6 months ago. I also knew that I recognized Mollee when she first showed up but couldn't quite place her. It all made sense once she explained she danced in all the 3 High School Musical films. So clearly on background alone these two 18 year olds had a lot to live up to. So a couple of the landings from lifts were rough (which the judges failed to mention) but they definitely brought the energy and fun to the piece.

The only real drawback of having a fall season of SYTYCD is the interruption by the World Series. Because of it America will have no say in who stays and goes until the Top 16. This just further feeds into my conspiracy theories about Nigel controlling and orchestrating everything on this show. Case in point - does anyone really believe that Russell would have gone home had Billy Bell still been in the competition? I think not. I'm not really sure who would have - I'll leave that for you to discuss. I don't really think Ariana had much of a chance to stick around even though in my opinion she had the strongest solo. So Brandon and Ariana are the first to leave us on what looks to be a promising season. It's good to have you back SYTYCD, real good.

New Music Tuesday (Lil' Wayne Version)

Screw it. Today is Lil' Wayne Day. I don't even care that we just posted that Wale track... for all I know, Lil' Wayne had something to do with it. Without further ado... some great new(ish) Weezy tracks. The first three are from No Ceilings, Wayne's mixtape that'll be available on Halloween). "Can't Stop Partying" is actually a Weezer song off their new album Raditude, and yes, everything about it is just about that bad. The last two are from a mash-up album by Mole Star called Weezyer. Interesting, to say the least.

Lil' Wayne - "Swag Surfin"

Lil' Wayne - "Wasted"

Lil' Wayne - "Run This Town"

Weezer (feat. Lil' Wayne) - "Can't Stop Partying"

Weezyer - "Don't Let Go Of That Lollipop"

Weezyer - "Fireman, Gimme Some of That Surf Wax"

via [Music Ninja, Tsururadio, Earmilk]

Wale - "Letters"

Wale (he who would like you to know it's pronounced wah-lay, not whale) finally has his debut album coming out after a string of mixtapes, most notably Mixtape About Nothing and Back to the Feature. While Attention Deficit is set to drop on November 10 (via Interscope), the Mark Ronson-produced "Letter" was just leaked, and yes... that's John Mayer's "3x5." That's the sample they went with. (sigh) The song is surprisingly good considering that Wale decided dropping just a lyric or verse about President Obama wasn't enough, otping instead to devote a whole song to him. Oh yeah, and that John Mayer hook. Jesus.

Chris Brown - "Transform Ya"

Are there words to display what's going on in this video? No. No there aren't. But hey! There's Lil' Wayne! We could probably make this "Lil' Wayne Day" if we wanted...

Lil' Wayne - "Run This Town"

Yes, Lil' Wayne will be going to jail. And that's sad. But let's be honest: a.) he was guilty and b.) there's very little chance that we'll see any drop in output during his stay in the clink.

Tracks from his forthcoming No Ceilings mixtape are already in the process of leaking in anticipation of its "official release." The best of these is Weezy's take on "Run This Town," which brings back memories of some his best freestyles on Da Drought 3. Clearly, more to come when No Ceilings is available to download!

Lil' Wayne - "Run This Town"

via [PMA]

AOTW: Givers - "Givers" (EP)

Until last night, there have been exactly three occasions where I've thought to myself, "If the headliner is even half as good as the opener, this has a chance to be the best concert I've ever been to." The Get Up Kids opening for Green Day back in 2001 was the first time it happened. In 2003, Sondre Lerche got up on stage with only his guitar and silenced an entire room of people waiting to see Jason Mraz and Liz Phair. You could actually hear the conversational din transform into complete attention as he moved through his set. And most recently, Megafaun opening (on separate occasions) for St. Vincent and Dodos created an energy that (luckily) both bands were able to match.

After last night, I can move that number up to four: Lafayette, LA's Givers displayed an energy, stage presence, musical ability, and excitement that belies their youth. The band, on tour for the first time and with only a self-titled EP to their name, brought the crowd to a frenzy in a short 30 minute set, and I know I wasn't the only one still talking about them after the Dirty Projectors' incredible performance.

Co-lead singers Taylor Guarisco (guitar) and Tif Lamson (guitar, percussion, glockenspiel, insanity) complement each other both vocally and emotionally, as one person's mania is easily trasferrable to the other. They owned the stage as well as or better than any seasoned group I've seen this year, and as Ron Jaworski would say about Brett Favre, "They're just having fun out there!" At only 4 songs (plus one bonus remix of "Up Up Up"), Givers EP is a great introduction to a band whose full-length LP should garner a lot of attention (especially from people lucky enough to catch them live).

There's nothing quite like the feeling of watching a band you know nothing about completely and convincingly take over a room with their excitement and love of making music. It's times like these that I'm glad I have a compulsive need to be on time!

Photo via [Science Killer]

Clipse (feat. Cam'ron) - "Popular Demand"

On a slow music day, the leak of "Popular Demand," a collaboration between hip-hop heavy hitters Clipse and Cam'ron, is a welcome surprise. Everything flows over a simple piano riff and warbly horns, and even if it's not one of their greatest tracks, Malice, Pusha, and Cam go pretty damn hard. Hopefully Till The Casket Drops is actually released soon, because everything coming out of this camp is sounding good. And with that, we're out. Happy Friday, and thanks for the help finding Audra.


Clipse (feat. Cam'ron) - "Popular Demand"

via [P4K, Earmilk]

Have You Seen This Woman?

She was last seen on this blog September 22nd... exactly one month ago. Although it's been so long since we've heard from her, we think she used to write about television. Particularly reality television. Man, that shit is terrible. But she'd also write about Glee (although Rolling Stone beat her to the punch by penning an article entitled "The Awesome Gayness of Glee." I kid you not). And the young masters and misses of Gossip Girl. And award shows... oh, the award shows!! In all likelihood, she was completely swallowed up in the belly of the beast this is a new Fall TV schedule. Or maybe her computer has suffered a terrible fate. God help us if she's lost fine motor control in her fingers! If you see her, please do NOT hesitate to contact us (or the authorities, if the situation demands it). For if a TV show is watched and no one reads about it, does it make a sound?*

* Mixed metaphors are great!

A Great Way To Waste Time

I can't really remember when we first caught wind of Snacks and Shit (get it?) or who was responsible for it. But ever since that day, the site has provided us with almost constant entertainment. The premise is so perfectly simple, we can't believe we didn't think of it first:

"Rappers say stupid shit. Let's make fun of it."

Probably the best place to start (especially if you have a lot of time to waste) is at the beginning. Particularly funny is the semi-serious disclaimer about how authors Chris and Chris actually love hip-hop and the jest is all in good fun. "Guys, mockery is the greatest form of flattery! Don't shoot us!" One of the reasons it's so fun is that you can be listening to almost any rap song at any time and immediately think of a great post idea for these guys. Luckily, they've tackled some of the most egregious lyrics, but you can always email them to suggest something. Chances are low they'll put it up, but you never know until you try! Until then, enjoy the bad language, worse analogies, and truly horrific grammar.

Craig Finn to Help Write Screenplay? Stay Positive...

Chuck Klosterman may be the most influential non-fiction writer about music in the current era. Craig Finn, lead singer of The Hold Steady, writes incredible albums with common themes, characters, and references to John Berryman. And Tom Ruprecht, uh... well he's a Letterman writer. Ruprecht and Finn recently acquired the rights to Klosterman's Fargo Rock City and are in the process of co-writing a film adaptation of the 2001 book (with help from Klosterman). Ruprecht's admits that while the book may focus on heavy metal, the writers see the film as more of "a universal story of dorky kids trying to be cool." So basically, any teenage/early adult comedy you've ever seen. That description doesn't instill confidence, but since they're still looking for financing, it'll be a long time until any of this shows up in theaters. Still, the thought of Finn collaborating with Klosterman is intriguing. Keeping an open mind...

via [Stereogum]

Lil' Wayne in NY Court and...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

New Music Tuesday... on Wednesday

So it's a day late, but here a few new tracks to get you through the middle-of-the-week blues:

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix)"
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have been remixed to death following the release of their excellent It's Blitz! earlier this year. A-Trak's reimagining of YYY's "Heads Will Roll" takes the synth-heavy rock and transforms it into a dancefloor-ready banger.

Alex Metric - "Shirley You Can't Be Serious?"
I have no context for who Alex Metric is, but I understand he makes dance music. I also understand that he appreciates Airplane!, and titling a song "Shirley You Can't Be Serious?" is enough to get me on the hook. It also helps that the song is pure mania.

Finally, the Song of the Day today is by Princeton, which is obviously neither Art Brut nor Dirty Projectors (like we promised on Monday). The reason for this is two-fold: first, they opened for Art Brut last night and were a big reason why the show was surprisingly great (review is forthcoming) and second, our friend Ira turned 26 today, and he went to Princeton. "Show Some Love When Your Man Gets Home" was excellent in concert and elicited a laugh when they announced it. Between that and the welcomed, swelling horns, it's quite the lovely listen.

U2 To Rock YouTubes (nice, right?)

Yep, those ageless, Irish rockers are on their 360 Tour (sponsored by BlackBerry), and this Sunday's show from the Rose Bowl will be broadcast on YouTube. They're expecting over 96,000 people to fill up the stadium in Pasadena, so it should be pretty cool. Although it'll be a small miracle if YouTube can handle the traffic while also providing seamless streaming. If you're on the east coast, the show will START at 11:30pm (ugh), so make sure you have a pot of coffee on hand. Show highlights will undoubtedly include anything that isn't from their past few albums.

Getting Caught Up

There have been a few big things happening since last Friday, and instead of making a whole bunch of posts, we're compiling them into something neat and tidy. We rock.

• The Flaming Lips, in collaboration with a few other bands, will be covering Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd's eternal gift to stoners (it's at the end of the article). There's never been a less surprising story ever reported. This news dropped shortly after the Lips released their newest album, Embryonic. Check it out!
• Completely batshit crazy, Spike Jonze-directed (NSFWish) short film "We Were Once a Fairytale" starring a drunk Kanye West and his 808s and Heartbreak track "See You In My Nightmares." It's mesmerizing, especially given the quick pace of his self-destruction between when it was supposed to be released (September) and now.
• Nobody takes a Lil' Wayne release date seriously, but Cash Money is saying that Weezy's Tha Carter IV will be out December 15th. It's the perfect complement to other items on your Christmas list, like a chalice of syrup and baby diapers.

So I guess those aren't necessarily "big" things, but good to know, nonetheless.

AOTW: Franz Ferdinand - "Franz Ferdinand"

It's hard to believe that Franz Ferdinand's debut, self-titled album came out in 2004. It's been five long years since "Take Me Out" made its slow and steady way onto the Billboard charts and maintained a solid presence for the majority of the year. While that single may be once of the best of the decade (and it hasn't lost any of it's power), what makes Franz Ferdinand so great is its full realization as an album. As "Jacqueline" begins and Alexander Kapranos' too-smooth vocals lie atop a barely audible acoustic guitar strum, you wonder for a moment what kind of album this is going to be. Then the bass roars to life, snare hits accompany the oncoming burst of electric guitar, and Kapranos is belting out how "it's always better on holiday!" And you have your answer.

There isn't a bad track on the album, and if you're looking for dance-punk-disco-funk, you won't do any better than Franz Ferdinand. The band utilizes perfectly clean stabs of guitar and capitalizes on the negative space in between while simultaneously sounding big. For all the stadiumesque Britpop bands that shared release dates with Franz Ferdinand, most sounded too serious and few sounded as fun.

PS. All our "Song of the Day" entries this week will be either Dirty Projectors or Art Brut in honor of their Atlanta concerts this week. Art Brut is tomorrow at the Earl and Dirty Projectors are Saturday at the Masquerade. Check them out if you can!

Frightened Rabbit - "Swim Until You Can't See Land"

Let's head into the weekend on a great note... a "new" song from Frightened Rabbit! Only "new" because there have been versions of "Swim Until You Can't See Land" out for quite some time, and frontman Scott Hutchinson played an acoustic version of it for Off the Beaten Tracks (also found below). Midnight Organ Fight was one of the best albums of 2008, and Hutchinson's Scottish accent continues to ring through tracks that are equally sad and beautiful. The video is pretty cool, too. See you nerds on Monday!

LCD Soundsystem - "Bye Bye Bayou"

We can all agree that LCD Soundsystem's Sound of Silver is one of the best albums of the past 10 years. Good, glad that's out of the way. After their amazing, self-titled debut and the aforementioned follow-up, James Murphy & Co. have released a new track on the website 22 Tracks. "Bye Bye Bayou" was originally released by Suicide's Alan Vega, and LCD Soundsystem reinterpret it as a disco anthem (hence, its placement under the Disco tab). Although this is essentially a cover, hopefully it means that LCD Soundsystem is on track to release an album next year. We've been waiting.

PS. 22 Tracks is pretty great, and I can't believe I hadn't heard of it. From their "About Us" section:
What is 22tracks.com?
A jukebox consisting of 22 tracks selected by specialized dj's from Amsterdam

Why this jukebox?
To provide a quick overview of the latest music.
To promote new artists and let you discover new genres.
To directly link to the artist's MySpace and iTunes page, where you can buy the track if you like it.
We do NOT support downloading music.

How long will these playlists last?
Every couple of days a couple of tracks per genre are refreshed.

Sweet Indie Vampire Music!

After the New Moon Soundtrack leaked earlier this week, it was only a matter of time before the label started slowly releasing songs officially in media like MySpace. But things have moved a lot faster than expected. First, it was reported that the album released date was moved up to this Friday instead of next Tuesday. Now, the songs are available to stream on the Twilight MySpace page in their entirety. This is definitely good news, because when they originally leaked on You Tube, the label-czars made quick work of them and the links were deactivated in just a couple of hours. As we've previously reported, the soundtrack reads like a "Year End" list, with original contributions from: Death Cab for Cutie, Thom Yorke, Lykke Li, The Killers, Muse, Bon Iver w/ St. Vincent, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and Grizzly Bear w/ Victoria Legrand. ZOMG, indeed.

"30 Rock" Is Back!

Although season premieres have been going on for over a month now, 30 Rock is coming back tonight! There's probably no way that the show needs any additional promotion, but Tina Fey was on Letterman last night... and she and Dave had a somewhat interesting conversation. Especially considering all the Dave-related current events lately. Still, it's a funny segment, and don't forget the most important piece of information: 30 Rock! Back on! Tonight! Watch it!

Dirty Projectors Win - "When the World Comes to an End" on Fallon

It's kind of hard to deny how great of a year Dirty Projectors is having, and they're sort of capping it off with an incredible performance on Jimmy Fallon. I know this is a few weeks old, but times were stressful when it originally aired and we never got it posted. You've probably already seen it, but if you haven't, you have to at least watch the beginning. Had I heard this song as a recording, I would've immediately assumed that the voices were sampled (and in the interest of preventing hyperventilation, I'd suggest doing that in the future). But to see the girls bounce their breathless "Ahhs" off of each other with such precision is incredible.

Jon Stewart to CNN: Stop Being Goat-F@#!ers

If you missed The Daily Show on Monday night, then you missed something that CNN (and all 24-hour news media outlets, really) has had coming for a long time. One of the most egregious practices of these cable news networks is their lack of fact checking on almost everything they report. Hosts and their guests routinely spout off figures and data without ever providing sources, often sounding like they've never even read anything about the topic on which they're reporting. And in this 11-minute segment, Jon Stewart and his staff have brilliantly laid CNN bare on that account. You know something is good when it begins with video of CNN fact-checking a Saturday Night Live sketch and ends with John Oliver stating, as fact: "... if you need a goat fucked, CNN will do it." HI-larious!



Sidenote: While watching Colbert, he mentioned that Miley Cyrus recently deactivated her Twitter account (stop the press, I know!), which has just over 2 million followers. That sounded high, even for someone who's core audience is Twitter-tastic, but that got me thinking where she ranked on the list of "Most Followed" on Twitter. Here's a website (which I did not fact-check) that has some stats. Very interesting perusing... I knew that Ashton Kutcher had the most because it the only thing he's ever accomplished... ever. And it makes sense that CNN and the NY Times have a lot of followers. But as you move down the list, it's pretty shocking. Like the fact that MC Hammer and Rainn Wilson have 1.5+ million followers, or that LeVar Burton (yes, LeVar Burton!) has 1.3+ million followers. Twitter, man... Twitter.

New Music Tuesday

A couple great new tracks showed up on the interwebs today:

Annie - "I Don't Like Your Band"
Annie's "I Don't Like Your Band," is about a girl who breaks up with a guy because, you guessed it... she doesn't like his band. Her reasons are as funny as you'd expect, and it bodes well for another great album after her incredible debut, Anniemal.

Big Boi - "Shine Blockas" (ft. Gucci Mane)
The most recent track rumored to be on the epically long-awaited Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty, "Shine Blockas," features an always-polished Big Boi layering his Southern-rapper's cadence over a pretty R&B number. The characteristic ATL bass and Gucci Mane's guest spot ensure that this will be a huge hit in Zone 3 (or Zone 4).

Lists - Top Albums of the Decade

As many publications have pointed out, this year is going to offer up a double-shot of debatable lists that will undoubtedly cause the normally mild-mannered temperament of cut-off jean-wearing hipsters to go apopleptic: Best of 2009 and Best of the Decade. We'll try to post them as we find out about them, and today we have three "End of the Decade" lists for your perusal: Pitchfork's Top 50 (there are 200, but that's crazy), Uncut's Top 150 (only top 20 is listed, because 150 is equally as crazy as 200... AND they're British. Guffaw.), and Austin Town Hall's Top 50. Personally, I like bits and pieces from the Pitchfork and ATH Top 20s, but what do I know??

Pitchfork's Top 20
20 Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights
19 Spoon - Kill The Moonlight
18 Kanye West - Late Registration
17 LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
16 Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
15 The Knife - Silent Shout
14 Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
13 OutKast - Stankonia
12 The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
11 Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele
10 The Avalanches - Since I Left You
09 Panda Bear - Person Pitch
08 Sigur Rós - Ágætis Byrjun
07 The Strokes - Is This It
06 Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica
05 Jay-Z - The Blueprint
04 Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
03 Daft Punk - Discovery
02 Arcade Fire - Funeral
01 Radiohead - Kid A

Uncut's Top 20
20 Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
19 Bruce Springsteen - The Rising
18 Kate Bush - Aerial
17 The White Stripes - Elephant
16 LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
15 Radiohead - In Rainbows
14 Primal Scream - XTRMNTR
13 Gillian Welch - Time (The Revelator)
12 Portishead - Third
11 The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
10 Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
09 Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker
08 Bob Dylan - Modern Times
07 Arcade Fire - Funeral
06 Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
05 The Strokes - Is This It
04 Brian Wilson - Smile
03 Wilco - A Ghost is Born
02 Bob Dylan - Love and Theft
01 The White Stripes - White Blood Cells

Austin Town Hall's Top 20
20. Sun Kill Moon – Ghosts of the Great Highway
19. TV on the Radio – Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
18. Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand
17. Grizzly Bear – Yellow House
16. New Amsterdams – Worse for the Wear
15. Trail of Dead – Source Tags and Codes
14. White Stripes – White Blood Cells
13. Explosions in the Sky – The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place
12. Modest Mouse - Moon and Antarctica
11. The Wrens – Meadowlands
10. Bloc Party – Silent Alarm
9. The Shins – Oh Inverted World
8. Radiohead – Kid A
7. The National – Boxer
6. Spoon – Kill the Moonlight
5. Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker
4. Broken Social Scene – You Forgot it In People
3. Arcade Fire – Funeral
2. The Strokes – Is This it
1. Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

New MJ

The big music news today is the release of a streaming version of "This Is It," the previously unreleased title track to the upcoming documentary. It's pretty vanilla, but it's really nice to hear what sounds like classic MJ R&B instead of some of the stranger things he was putting out towards the end of his career (and which often missed both critically and popularly). I can't even imagine how much money This Is It will make, but between the movie and the accompanying album, I expect it'll be astronomical.

AOTW: Joanna Newsom - "Ys"

Yeah, it's been two weeks since we've posted, and it's been pretty busy. The first week's absence was due to a grad school exam (we're the worst) that ended up being about as hard as the tests I used to write for my students. The second week was spent going to football games (LSU vs. UGA and Colorado vs. UT), concerts (Andrew Bird w/ St. Vincent and Dodos w/ Megafaun), watching TV (all of it), and eating (ditto). But since one of our only readers has threatened both Audra and me in the past week, I think it's time to get back to business. Sorry for interruption, we'll try our best to not let it happen again (although let's be honest... it's gonna happen again).

As far as I know, pretty much everyone has experienced the change to Fall temperatures in the past few weeks. And nothing makes me think of cool weather and dark skies more than Joanna Newsom's Ys. Which is pretty odd, considering that most of the record is filled with a delicate voice atop delicate strings. Still, this intricate record, filled with more allusions and literary devices than your typical short story, always comes out when the temperature drops.

Newsom's voice has always been a target for detractors, but on Ys, her characteristics yelps and trebly warble are more polished. The music is both technically impressive and sonically pleasing, with time signature and key changes sprinkled throughout, often in the same song. That shouldn't be surprising, though, as this five-track EP doesn't feature a song under 7 minutes. Yes, it's a challenging listen, and it demands attention to catch the subtleties embedded within the lyrics. But if you stick with it (and it took me at least 4 full plays), your initial misgivings will likely give way to adulation and respect.