via//chicago best.of.2007@halfway.point

Now that we've reached the halfway point of 2007, this is a good time to reflect back on the best music of the past six months. It's been a fairly interesting first half, with a lot of great music coming from completely unexpected places. Sure, there were some expected via//chicago favorites making strong showings in the early goings, but a lot of what appears on the lists below would never have been predicted. Avril Lavigne with one of my favorite singles of the year? A fresh-faced CMT cutie with another? Even more exciting, however, is the fresh crop of new faces. Of the twenty-seven albums listed below, thirteen of them come from artists I'd never encountered before. Maybe I'd heard of them but never listened intently, or maybe I'd never even heard of them before. Either way, a lot of new sounds rocked my 2007 so far and I'm glad to give them the proper recognition they deserve. To break from the way these lists have been in the past, I've decided to list them alphabetically instead of racking my brain for hours to reach some arbitrary ranking (I'll save that for the end of the year lists, thank you very much!). Without further ado....

Twenty Albums That Rocked January-June of 2007:

Apples In Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder (Simian)
To be completely honest, I'd pretty much ignored these guys since the Elephant 6 heyday of the latter half of the nineties - and even then I usually passed them over in favor of Neutral Milk Hotel or Olivia Tremor Control. Little did I know they'd be cranking out one of the most flat-out fun records of 2007. Just try to crank up "7 Stars" or "Can You Feel It?" in the car without smiling.

The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible (Merge)
While it may not be the left-field masterpiece that Funeral was, Neon Bible is still very much a thrilling record from one of Canada's most thrilling musical exports of the past five years. This is much more political, world-weary document than anything else the band has done, but that doesn't make it any less cathartic and life-affirming.

Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare (Domino)
These Sheffield boys proved that the outstanding debut was no fluke, but anyone paying attention to the numerous B-sides and EP tracks already knew that. Not since the Britpop wars between Oasis and Blur have I been so excited by each and every single release by a British band. "Fluorescent Adolescent" and "Teddy Picker" contain just as much punch and vitality as the best tracks on the last one, while the lovely ballad "505" pushes the Monkeys to glorious new heights.

Battles - Mirrored (Warp)
Who knew math-rock could be so much fun? This experimental supergroup of sorts released the single most engaging albums of the year, creating insanely catchy tunes out of jazz-inspired structures and electronic programming - with a little help from acid-drenched Smurfs and twisted game show themes. One of the few times I can remember when the same band made a strong case for both the years best album and single ("Atlas").

Bloc Party - A Weekend in the City (Vice)
I've heard a lot of talk about how disappointing this album is, enough that I'm starting to wonder if I've got a different version than everyone else. Sure, its not as instantly gratifying as Silent Alarm (via//chicago's album of the year for 2005), but this is far from a disappointment. "I Still Remember" and "SRXT" are just as full of angsty bombast as the best moments of the debut, while other songs perfectly capture the ennui of modern city life.

Bright Eyes - Cassadaga (Saddle Creek)
Round these parts, Conor Oberst can always be counted on to bring the goods, but even I was astounded by how well crafted this album is. Arguably Oberst's best album, this is certainly his most well-rounded. He tones down the more self indulgent tricks in favor of a more steady attack, resulting in moments like the achingly beautiful "If the Brakeman Turns My Way".

Deerhunter - Cryptograms (Kranky)
"Dreamy, psychedelic shoegaze" is what I like to call it and the band describes themselves as "ambient punk", but I don't know if there are any signifiers that can be properly strung together to describe this Atlanta band's sound. This is one of those albums that pushes you away as much as it pulls you in, leaving you a little scared and confused but begging for another go-round.

Earthless - Rhythms From a Cosmic Sky (Tee Pee)
I mentioned this album not too long, but it still hasn't stopped kicking my ass completely. Anyone who has ever enjoyed a song by the likes of Black Sabbath, The Melvins, Boris, or Sunn O))) owes themselves the forty-five minutes of bowel-rattling sludge rock this album provides.

Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone (Bella Union)
Post-rock is dead, long live post-rock. EitS continue to breathe new life into a genre that many had left for dead half a decade ago. Their latest goes a long towards proving why they are so well respected, shifting dynamics and tempos in an instant without losing any of the overall power or mood.

Fields - Everything Last Winter (Atlantic)
Some may dismiss this London five-piece as Arcade Fire lite, but they certainly shouldn't be dismissed so easily or lazily. Fields focus their energies on creating moody, rousing rock tinged with shoegaze, folk, and monster guitar riffs that can lodge itself in your head for days on end.

Gui Boratto - Chromophobia (Kompakt)
Proving yet again that Kompakt can do no wrong, this Brazilian DJ's debut full-length is quickly growing into one of my favorite electronic albums of the past couple of years. Ranging from floor packing anthems to after-hours ambient chill, Boratto's crafts the intelligent and refreshing kind of dance music that Americans just don't know how to make anymore - we have to import it instead.

Handsome Furs - Plague Park (Sub Pop)
I also raved about this album recently and it hasn't lost a bit of its charm through the repeated listens since that initial post. Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry play to all their strengths on this project, resulting in nine tracks of minimalist indie rock melancholy.

The Hidden Hand - The Resurrection of Whiskey Foote (Southern Lord)
I'm a big fan of any music that manages to beautiful and heavy at the same time, and the latest from Scott "Wino" Weinrich is certainly no exception. This album transcends easy classification, incorporating elements of classic rock, stoner rock, and doom metal at various times (often all at once).

Maximo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures (Warp)
This is another follow-up that many consider disappointing, but I just don't get it. Pleasures is packed with just as many intelligent pop nuggets as A Certain Trigger, if not more. The first four tracks combine to form one of the best opening salvos of the year. An absolute pleasure to hear every single time I cue it up.

The Noisettes - What's the Time, Mr. Wolf? (UMVD)
This is one of the most promising and refreshing debut albums I've heard in along time, all the more so for me having absolutely no expectations or preconceptions going into this thing. Copping equally from classic pop (think Billie Holiday) and American indie (think Yeah Yeah Yeahs), the Noisettes (especially lead singer Shingai Shoniwa) are one of those exciting young bands that keep us jaded bastards listening to the new kids.

Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? (Polyvinyl)
Of Montreal has always kept my attention by throwing a pop gem or two on each of their albums, but I wasn't prepared for one packed with wall-to-wall winners. I'm hesitant to call this a modern pop masterpiece, but that very phrase comes to mind every time I spin it. Some pop songs sound good the first few times before quickly fading to the background, but each and every track on this albums sounds just as good (if not better) with multiple listens.

Panda Bear - Person Pitch (Paw Tracks)
It's no secret that the guys in Animal Collective are psychedelic geniuses, but I'm still shocked by how jaw-droppingly gorgeous this album is. Brian Wilson harmonies in a tweaked out acid wonderland of joy, for real.

Pig Destroyer - Phantom Limb (Relapse)
One of the harshest, most abrasive, terrifying albums of the year and even as I sit here I can't wait to be punished by it all over again. Death metal, grindcore... it doesn't matter what you call these guys, you'll be hard pressed to find another metal album in 2007 as hauntingly abusive as this. It's like twelve Slayers chained together in the deepest circle of hell, burning for eternity.

The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters (Fat Cat)
Once you get used to James Graham's Scottish brogue, you'll be sucked into his glorious world of moody atmospherics. They remind me of what Belle and Sebastian might have sounded like if they'd woken up on the wrong side of the bed or what would have happened to the boys in Arab Strap if they'd never have discovered sex.

Voxtrot - Voxtrot (Play Louder)
It may not quite have lived up to the insanely high expectations set by their buzz-worthy string of EPs and singles, but not much else would have either. This is still a promising first full-length for such a young band, showcasing Ramesh Srivastava's way with melody and words. When he intones, "cheer me up... cheer me up, I'm a miserable fuck", you'll want to reach through your headphones to give the guy a hug (while secretly hoping he never stops pouring his miserable heart into your waiting ears).

Also-rans:
Dungen - Tio Bitar, Machine Head - The Blackening, Field Music - Tones of Town, Powerhouse Sound - Oslo/Chicago: Breaks, Dinosaur Jr - Beyond, King Khan & The Shrines - What Is?!, Bonde do Role - With Lasers

Twenty-five Singles That Rocked January-June of 2007:
(including links to YouTube videos)

"7 Stars" - Apples In Stereo
"Ankle Injuries" - Fujiya & Miyagi
"Atlas" - Battles
"D.A.N.C.E." - Justice
"Four Winds" - Bright Eyes
"Get Buck" - Young Buck
"Girlfriend" - Avril Lavigne
"Golden Skans" - Klaxons
"All My Friends" - LCD Soundsystem
"Gunpowder & Lead" - Miranda Lambert
"Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse" - Of Montreal
"Hot Knives/If the Brakeman Turns My Way" - Bright Eyes
"I'm A Flirt (Remix)" - R. Kelly f. T.I. & T-Pain
"Jesus Christ" - Brand New
"Keep the Car Running" - The Arcade Fire
"Make 'Em Mad" - B.G. and the Chopper City Boyz
"Our Velocity" - Maximo Park
"Phantom Limb" - The Shins
"Read My Mind" - The Killers
"Ruby" - Kaiser Chiefs
"Shut Up and Drive" - Rihanna
"Tears Dry On Their Own" - Amy Winehouse
"Teenagers" - My Chemical Romance
"Umbrella" - Rihanna
"What Goes Around... Comes Around" - Justin Timberlake

via//chicago hall of fame - "Teen Age Riot"

"Everybody's talkin' about the stormy weather..."

In a just world this would have been the song to kick-start the so-called alternative revolution. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" did the job, I suppose, but Sonic Youth's anthemic aesthetic always seemed much more fitting than the more mainstream rock approach brought by Nirvana. The hyperactive riff is absolutely undeniable and the lyrics, dripping in detached sarcasm as they are, seem to perfectly capture the spirit of the times. Sure, the song and its parent album (the stone cold classic Daydream Nation) are among the brightest stars in the indie canon, but I've never been able to figure out why it never caught on with a larger audience. Was it the willfully obtuse free-associating Kim Gordon intro? Doubtful, since the single edit excised that (a true crime if you ask me - Thurston's riff is ten times more powerful after Kim's poetic prick-tease). I just don' t get it, this is one of Sonic Youth's most compelling, accessible songs and it should have been blasting out of every teenage bedroom around the country. But that's okay. At least I'm able to enjoy this song on my own terms and I'm not faced with it every time I flip on classic rock radio or another mindless nostalgia-fest countdown show (unlike certain other alternative anthems). This song hasn't lost a single ounce of power or intensity over the last 19 years, nor is it ever likely to. And for that very reason, I'm proud to present this song as the second inductee into the via//chicago Hall of Fame.

Sonic Youth - "Teen Age Riot"

Rhythms From A Cosmic Sky...

Things have been ultra-hectic here in via//chicago land as of late, so pardon me for the brevity as I pop in to share one of my more recent favorites with my loyal readers (both of you). Fans of tripped-out, bottom-heavy, stoner, drone rock will want to give the latest record from San Diego's Earthless a couple of spins with your best pair of headphones. Rhythms From A Cosmic Sky is one of the most ass-kicking records I've heard all year and certainly fares better than that disappointing new Pelican disc. Three tracks of rock bliss - the first two each clocking in at over twenty minutes each (but trust me, neither even comes close to overstaying its welcome - you'll be wishing for more) and a raucous cover of "Cherry Red", originally performed by The Groundhogs. Nastily heavy, yes, but trippy enough to please fans of Acid Mothers Temple alike.

Earthless - "Cherry Red" (taken from Rhythms From A Cosmic Sky)

via//chicago@random: Guided by Voices - "Can't Hear The Revolution"

Considering the hundreds, literally many hundreds, of Guided by Voices and Robert Pollard related material I have on my iTunes it isn't surprising that these guys show up quite often when I switch over to "shuffle" mode. Which isn't a bad thing at all, in fact I think its a really nice way to dive into the huge, huge GvB catalog. Hearing even the brief songs and sketches such as this out of their original context quite often leads to new takes on stuff you've heard many times before. I always thought this was a great way to kick off Mag Earwhig, it serves as almost a statement of intent for Pollard's brand of lo-fi rock. Thanks to both his often on-the-cheap recording techniques and to the general lack of attention by the mainstream rock critics, GbV music was quite often a revolution that couldn't be heard. But it was most definitely there, for those that wanted to dig for it. What amazes me about this track is that more than half of this tracks one minute and thirty-six seconds is taken up by dissonant whines and white noise hums, but that titular hook still manages to get wedged in your brain. This is precisely why Pollard is such a rock and roll genius.

Guided by Voices - "Can't Hear The Revolution" (taken from Mag Earwhig!)

"Like Jurassic Park, except I'm your sexasaurus baby"

There are a few things I like to hear whenever I'm in the mood to listen to an R. Kelly album, which is an increasingly rare event these days. But I still get anxious to hear what musical lunacy this dude cooks up whenever a new album drops. This has become especially true since the halycon summer of 2005 and the insanity that was the "Trapped in the Closet" phenomenon. Anyway, after giving it a quick listen, I have to say that his newest full-length, Double Up, manages to hit on everything I was hoping to hear. You can usually count on at least one incredibly catchy club banger per disc and this one does not disappoint, providing perfect summer anthem fodder in the remix to "I'm A Flirt". I also hope to hear a couple other pop jams that make for good driving music, here we get the slow burning duet with Usher of "Same Girl" and the menage-a-trois ode of the title track featuring a verse from Uncle Snoop. There are also a couple of really strong songs that sneak up on you, like the reggae-lite "Freaky in the Club" and the shockingly good "Rock Star" with Ludacris and Kid Rock (Luda's verse is, as usual, well worth checking out). But my favorite tracks on any Kels disc end up being those completely bonkers songs that usually feature a slightly understated beat and those hilariously bad lyrics that sounds like he's just tossing out off the top of his head. And here Double Up definitely doesn't disappoint, giving us not only the stupidly random answering phone message of "Leave Your Name" and the unintentionally lame prison drama of "Best Friend" but "The Zoo" which has to be one of his most awesomely bad songs ever (not counting "Closet", which is obviously on a whole other level). This jungle as sex metaphor finds Kels spouting off horrible one liners like the one found at the top of this entry and "banging on the skins like a bongo". But undoubtedly the most hilarious part is the chorus, during which he imitates a monkey call (exactly the same sound any four year-old would tell you a monkey makes, "ooh-oooh-ah-AH") and follows it up with a request for his girl to make those sounds during the sexing. "Sex Planet" comes real, real close to being this bad with its sex-related outer space puns but the laughs just aren't as plentiful as they are on "Zoo". So take a listen to a couple tracks from Double Up, one good and one painfully, yet hilariously, bad.

R. Kelly - "Rock Star (featuring Kid Rock & Ludacris)" (taken from Double Up)
R. Kelly - "The Zoo" (taken from Double Up)

Sing! Captain

With all the blogger love for Spencer Krug over the past couple of years thanks to the (mostly deserved) hype over his Sunset Rubdown and Swan Lake projects, it was easy to forget about the other contributing member of the supremely enjoyable Wolf Parade - Dan Boeckner. Well, thanks to the just released debut of his side project Handsome Furs, he can lurk in the shadows no longer. Plague Park (Sub Pop) finds Boeckner teaming up with his fiancee, poet Alexei Perry, for nine engaging tunes that combine minimal electronic flourishes with the more straightforward (as if!) indie rock found in Boeckner's other project(s). It's a very rewarding listen that reminds us just how much he contributed to the best Wolf Parade songs. Check out two of my absolute favorite Boeckner penned tracks, one from Handsome Furs and the other a classic Wolf Parade jam.

Handsome Furs - "Sing! Captain" (taken from Plague Park)
Wolf Parade - "Same Ghost Every Night" (taken from Apologies To The Queen Mary)

via//chicago@random: The Smiths - "Reel Around The Fountain"

This is quite the opening statement for this legendary Manchester band, appearing as it does as the lead track on their landmark debut album. Fittingly for the maudlin Morrissey and company, they delve right into the miserable soul of things with this nearly six minute ballad that features a lovely hypnotic guitar line from Johnny Marr that loops most of the way through. But what really makes this song work for me is the organ - it really manages to capture the hopeful, yet cautiously distant mood of the lyrics. I always read this as a love note from the narrator to the bad boy he admires from afar. The narrator knows this person may not stick around for long, but oh how wonderful those fifteen minutes on the patio would be. It's a fantastic track and it contains a few lines that are my favorite Morrissey lyrics ever:

"I dreamt about you last night
and I fell out of bed twice
you can pin and mount me
like a butterfly
but take me to the haven of your bed
was something that you never said
two lumps, please
you're the bee's knees
but so am I"

The Smiths - "Reel Around The Fountain" (taken from The Smiths)

"It could be home, it could be home"

I mentioned them briefly when talking about the Arcade Fire show the other night, but I wanted to spend a little bit more time talking about the fantastic opening band, Electrelane. As with many of the most compelling bands I've encountered, it isn't easy to pin these girls down to one sound or pigeon-hole them into one genre. I hear elements of indie-pop, shoegaze, Krautrock, noise, and electronica all thrown into their mix, but it all congeals into a surprisingly cohesive and original whole. Some songs focus in on the retro kitsch vibe, while others coast along on a insistent Kraftwerkian beat before collapsing in a mass of broken guitar strings and drum sticks snapped in half. Check some out for yourself:

Electrelane - "Le Song" (taken from Singles, B-Sides, & Live)
This is one of the Krautrock inspired tunes, speeding along on a persistent beat and organ drones before nearly everything drops out to set up that huge payoff climax with the vocal harmonies. This is one of the songs that perfectly captures what Electrelane is all about.

Electrelane - "To The East" (taken from No Shouts No Calls)
We skip ahead to the first single from their latest album, which seems to find the band at their most sunny and accessible. But what makes this song so great are the instrumental touches - that perky guitar line that repeats throughout and that little nudge into overdrive that occurs with about a minute left. Great stuff.

"I wanna love you when you're sad"

Anyone who knows me knows just how big of a Smashing Pumpkins fan I am. Between the years of 1992 and 1998, I don't think any single other band even came close to spending as much time in my CD player as this band did. They are probably the band I've been the most obsessive over as well - tracking down unreleased demos, listening to hours of bootleg shows, simply devouring everything I could wrap my ears around. As with many hardcore Pumpkin fans, the hype of Zwan never came close to living up to the potential of Corgan's previous band. And the less said about his solo album the better. It was actually a not awful electro-pop album, but it just wasn't Corgan pantheon material.

Anyway... the big news of the past two years has been the reunion of the original Pumpkins. Half of them anyway - Corgan, drummer Jimmy Chamberlain, and... some studio dudes. Hmm. I'll agree that, as much as I loved D'arcy and Melissa, the bass player was pretty much expendable, but I think James Iha really added some nice texture to the band and he'll be missed. Word slowly leaked out over the past couple months about an album title (Zeitgeist), a release date (07.07.07, now 07.10.07), festival shows, and now residencies on the East and West Coast. It was enough to get even the most casual fan anxious to hear that Billy had up his sleeve.

Then, towards the end of last week, the bomb dropped. At first it was just a poor sounding 30-second clip, but there it was - the first single off the new album, "Tarantula". I refused to listen to a crappy sounding clip, preferring to hear the song in full. Turns out I didn't have to wait very long, days later the full song was flying across the web and being played by local alt-rock powerhouse Q101. I've been wanting to talk about this since I first heard the full thing Friday night, but I wanted to let it soak in a little and give it some time to float around my brain. And here's what I think:

The Good:

• Immediately noticeable - the drums. Chamberlain, always one of the '90s most dependable drummers, sounds as if he hasn't lost a step. From the opening count-in on, he attacks the skins with his usual brutal precision.
• The guitars. Billy's often been overlooked when people talk about great rock guitarists, but any fan lucky enough to watch him solo in concert knows just how great the man can be. This song is a testament to his skill, check out the monster verse riff and the solo about two and a half minutes in.
• The lyrics. While they are still deeply shrouded in Billy's usual mysterious angst, the lyrics here are miles ahead of the many awkward moments on the Zwan album. I just wasn't buying Billy the Optimist and it's great to have pissed-off Billy back.
• The structure. Even though the song clocks in at just under four minutes, "Tarantula" manages to still feel like a near-epic as the best Pumpkin songs did. The pacing is just perfect, building and releasing in all the right moments.

The Bad:

• The production. Simply put, this production on this thing is nearly atrocious. I'm hoping that things will get a little better with the official version, otherwise we may be in for a lot of disappointment. "Tarantula" sounds dry and thin, nothing really punches you as hard as it should. You can tell Jimmy is pounding the crap out of the drums, but you really can't feel it. And the guitars! Those should be a lot lower and fatter.
• The mix. Definitely tied in to the last point, but I think it needs to be called out specifically here as it almost singlehandedly ruined the Zwan album for me. Billy's vocals are too damn high in the mix! He needs to be down and dirty, swirling in the bottom end. Now it just sounds like he's floating above the music and not emotionally tied to it in the least.
  
• The chorus. As I said, the pacing on this track is excellent and the band perfectly sets things up for a trademarked monster Pumpkins chorus. Thing is, it never really comes and the brilliant setup is nearly wasted on a flaccid chorus.

The important thing is that I'm enjoying this much, much more than I expected to be. I was prepared for the worst, so even a so-so Pumpkins song was bound to be a pleasant surprise. And in the end, that's exactly what "Tarantula" is - a so-so Pumpkins song. But I'm still excited, since the lead single for every single album has ended up being one of my least favorite tracks. So there's a lot of promise out there and I can't wait to hear the rest of Zeitgeist in a couple months. Meanwhile, check out "Tarantula" for yourself and let me know what you think.

Smashing Pumpkins - "Tarantula" (taken from Zeitgeist)

Arcade Fire - Live at the Chicago Theatre 05.19.07

Last night I was fortunate enough to see my third Arcade Fire show, this time sitting in fantastic third row orchestra pit tickets at the beautiful Chicago Theatre. It was, as to be expected, a fantastic show all-around but the band's energy level seemed to be a tiny bit lower than the other two times I'd seen them. Still, Arcade Fire at 90% is still better than most bands at 110% so I can't complain. It was a decent mix of material from both albums, leaning a bit heavier on Neon Bible tracks (I think all but two were played) as was to be expected. I still think the Funeral tracks are more fun to see performed live, but I did gain a better appreciation for a couple of the newer tracks after this show (especially "My Body Is A Cage" - previously my least favorite on the new album). There were no out in the audience tricks, just a solid show with a two song encore - "Body" and "Laika". Particular standouts for me were "Tunnels", "(Antichrist Television Blues)" and "Power Out". Great show all around. Supposedly both Tim Robbins and Rachel McAdams were in attendance, but I didn't manage to catch a glimpse.

The biggest surprise of the night was opening band Electrelane, an all female four-piece out of England that completely blew me away. One minute they were channelling Stereolab with French lyrics and vintage keyboards, another they were torturing their instruments in a feedback-laden Sonic Youth jam. Particularly exciting to watch was guitarist Mia Clarke, exorcising all sorts of demons out of her guitar when she wasn't trying to kill it or hump it. I can't remember the last time I've been so enthralled by a new band, this show made me an instant fan.

In other big music news, "Tarantula" the first new music from the Smashing Pumpkins in almost eight years made its way to the internet and radio stations over the weekend. Hopefully I'll have a little more to say about this tomorrow night, but let's just say I was pleasantly surprised.

Throwback Thursday IX

It might be too early for the official wave of nostalgia to kick in, but I've been going through a bit of a grunge phase over the last couple of weeks. Since picking up a used copy of the Mudhoney compilation March To Fuzz, I've been spinning loads of bands from the late '80s and early '90s Pacific Northwest scene. It's a shame that the post-grunge bands like Creed and Nickelback gave the genre such a bad rap there for awhile because, really, a lot of this is worth investigating. To get you started, here's a four-pack of some of my very favorite grunge era tunes.

Mudhoney - "Sweet Young Thing Ain't Sweet No More"
Despite distilling the insane Seattle hype of the early 1990s in a near perfect tune ("Overblown") and being name-checked by nearly every band remotely linked to the grunge scene, these guys never got the recognition they deserved. The may not have been as heavy as some of their contemporaries, but they more than made up for it with a wicked sense of humor and keen observational sarcasm.

Green River - "Queen Bitch"
Before there was Pearl Jam, there was Mother Love Bone. But before there was Mother Love Bone, there was Green River. Green River ended up being one of the most influential grunge bands in Seattle, if only because of the players involved and where they ended up. Lead singer Mark Arm and original guitarist Steve Turner ended up in Mudhoney, while second guitarist Stone Gossard, bassist Jeff Ament, and Turner's later replacement Bruce Fairweather all went on to form Mother Love Bone with Andrew Wood. Ament and Gossard are, of course, still members of the hugely popular Pearl Jam. Here they are with a Pacific Northwest take on a Bowie classic.

Tad - "Hibernations"
If grunge could be boiled down to its two most essential influences, metal and punk, Tad would be the band that emphasized the former with huge, crushing riffs that sounded as if they had crawled directly out of the primordial sludge. Tad was among the first wave of grunge bands to make a splash by being one of the first signees to the hugely influential Sub Pop label.

Pond - "Young Splendor"
Pond was another grunge-era band that never really reached the number of fans they deserved, but that may be partly blamed on unfortunate geography. While major labels and scene-riding hordes were descending on Seattle like so many vultures, Pond were cranking out their raucous noise in nearby Portland. Check out "Young Splendor" and see why they deserve to be remembered.

In other news, you might have noticed that I finally engaged in some long overdue organizing of the links to the left. I cut a couple dead links, but I added quite a few more of my favorite sites and blogs.

Also, my review of the debut record by NME buzz band The View is up over at Static.

New Music Round-Up

Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
This highly anticipated release is being met with decidedly mixed reviews, some of them a little harsher than others. I'm not sure why so many people seem to be disappointed with this one, I'm rather impressed with the '70s AM air throughout its twelve tracks. I guess fans were hoping for Tweedy to push the band futher into the outer reaches of their button-pushing, krautrock-loving extremes, but I think by not doing so they managed to screw with people's expectations - something they've managed to do with nearly every single release up to this point. This won't top Summerteeth or Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on fans' favorite lists, but its definitely a pleasant listen that shouldn't be dismissed before being given a fair shot.

Wilco - "Walken"

The Horrors - Strange House
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about these guys just yet. On the one hand I want to hate them for their obviously over-constructed image (the hair! the fake names!) and for being associated with Ultragrrl's label, but there's something about the pseudo-goth cum garage rock sound that I can't really deny. True, The Horrors seem to milk a very narrow aesthetic for all its worth (see also: Raveonettes, Clinic), but I think they have struck upon a formula that works really well for them. If you heard and dismissed the self-titled EP from last year, this full-length might be worth a listen as it tones down the punk snarl of tracks like "Jack The Ripper" and "Sheena Is A Parasite" (both appearing here with new versions) while slowing down the tempo and amping up the atmospherics. Check out "Gloves", a haunting tale of murder and dismemberment for a taste of what the band has to offer.

The Horrors - "Gloves"

Bjork - Volta
The Icelandic quirk princess' latest opus is another album being met with rather polarizing reviews, some seem to love this batch of experimental pop while others think Bjork is slowly disappearing a little too far into her own little world. Honestly I think this album is a little bit of both. There are some really enjoyable tracks that easily rank with the highlights of her career ("Earth Intruders", "Wanderlust"), but there are also a few experiments that fall completely flat ("Declare Independence", "My Juvenile"). "Earth Intruders" is a particularly great track, featuring a stellar beat by producer extraordinaire Timbaland. Give it a shot.

Bjork - "Earth Intruders"

Fields - Everything Last Winter
Fields are a London five-piece that swirls American indie rock, classic folk, and electronic pop into a surprisingly original mix that recalls both Bloc Party and Arcade Fire without sounding like slavish imitators to either. Everything Last Winter is an album full of slow burns and climactic payoffs, as evidenced by songs like "Charming The Flames".

Fields - "Charming The Flames"

Hard Rock Hallelujah: MtlMix07

If you haven't been paying close attention, you might not have even noticed, but metal has reared its ugly head in a big way. As any longtime fan will tell you it never really went away, you just had to dig a little deeper to get beyond the regurgitated nu-metal that mainstream rock radio loved so very much. The genre in general is in the middle of one of its most fertile periods since, some would argue, the mid 1980s. Metalcore bands like Trivium and Killswitch Engage are playing to larger audiences all the time, the classics like Iron Maiden and the Dio-era Black Sabbath lineup are still churning out killer live shows, and experimental bands are filling in the fringes with ever increasing levels of bone-crushing heaviness. In celebration of these devil-horn worthy times, I've put together a mix of some of my favorite metal (and metal inspired) songs of the past year or so. Download, crank, repeat. And as hard as it was to narrow this down to one disc's worth, watch out for volume two in the near future. If you like what you hear, please support the artists and buy their albums or check out their live shows.
Hard Rock Hallelujah: MtlMix07

01. "Anthem (We Are the Fire)" - Trivium
02. "The Voice of Failure" - Novembers Doom
03. "Aesthetics of Hate" - Machine Head
04. "Freya" - The Sword
05. "Brighteyes" - Jesu
06. "White Wings" - Minsk
07. "Agitated Screams of Maggots" - Dir en grey
08. "Sleeping Giant" - Mastodon
09. "From the Sky" - Gojira
10. "The Resurrection of Whiskey Foote" - The Hidden Hand
11. "Burning the Lives" - Shadows Fall
12. "Killing the Beast" - Chimaira
13. "Hard Rock Hallelujah" - Lordi
14. "The Heretic Hammer" - Dimmu Borgir
15. "7861" - Beneath the Sky
16. "Black Saint" - Witch

Throwback Thursday VIII

When I was in Lawrence for a wedding a couple weeks ago, I went crate digging at the awesome Love Garden (I highly recommend stopping by when in town) and came across a vinyl copy of R.E.M.'s debut EP, Chronic Town. Now I've heard this particular album many times before now, first on a dubbed tape and later on the CD version of Dead Letter Office, but there was something very striking about listening to this on its original intended medium. I sat on the floor, transfixed by the blue gargoyle on the album cover and heard this band in a way I'd never heard them before. They sounded so fresh and vital. I've always been a so-so R.E.M. fan, but the '90s output has always been my favorite - in fact, I still happen to think that and New Adventures in Hi-Fi and Monster are two of their best albums period (okay, except maybe Murmur). But I'd never really spent a lot of time scouring the back catalog for the early stuff. I picked up Murmur and Fables on the Reconstruction when I found them on vinyl for cheap, but I'd never gone out of my way to explore further. As I listen again to Chronic Town, Murmur, and the rarities from last year's And I Feel Fine; I can't help but think that I've really been denying myself some great stuff. Yeah, Michael Stipe is mumbly and nearly unintelligible at times, but there's a strong urgency about this stuff that really stirs me. Check out the pair of songs below and see what you might be missing...

R.E.M. - "Sitting Still" (taken from Murmur)
R.E.M. - "1,000,000 (Live)" (taken from And I Feel Fine... The Best of the IRS Years 1982-1987)

(For more wonderful insight on R.E.M. songs old and new, be sure to check out Matthew Perpetua (he of Fluxblog fame) and his new Pop Songs 07)

via//chicago@random: Grizzly Bear - "Marla"

This is one of the most beautiful, haunting songs on an album filled to the brim with beautiful, haunting songs. A ghostly waltz slides out of a darkened parlor, into the early morning. Lethargic, drunken voices sing and sway along as they clutch to the remaining decadence in a valiant attempt to stave off morning and sobriety. The track oscillates slowly and obtusely, with different instruments and voices coming to the forefront at various points - piano here, horns there, percussion everywhere. In fact, its the scatter shot percussion work that just barely holds this thing all together. It isn't the easiest song to grasp, but a perfect example of the mood Grizzly Bear is capable of conjuring.

The song becomes all the more haunting and beautiful when one learns that the song combines Grizzly Bear's atmospherics with a manipulated copy of an old 78 produced by founding member Edward Droste's late aunt, herself once an aspiring musician.

Grizzly Bear - "Marla" (taken from Yellow House)

Throwback Thursday VII

Today we take a trip back in the not so distant past to dig into a couple gems from one of Maryland's favorites sons, Bill Callahan. This year's Woke On A Whaleheart (Drag City) may be the debut under his given name, but the guy has already released a boatload of wonderful albums under the Smog and (Smog) monikers. He's not an easy musician to pigeonhole, so I'll just describe him as a very engaging singer-songwriter with a lo-fi sensibility and a wicked black sense of humor. You won't go wrong picking up nearly any of his albums, but I'd suggest starting with either Knock Knock or Red Apple Falls for a nice entry point. In the meantime, check out the tracks below for a good feel.

Smog - "I Was A Stranger" (taken from Red Apple Falls)
The nice and smooth piano into leads into a pleasant country shuffle complete with some excellent lap steel. Pretty, huh? Not quite. Bill tricks us into a semi-creepy ballad that vaguely alludes to some shady stuff he did before he came to this town a stranger. Which is one of the things I really love about Callahan, his lyrics oftentimes jolt you right out of the daze the music can lull you into.

Smog - "Dress Sexy At My Funeral" (taken from Dongs of Sevotion)
Speaking of jolting lyrics. Just listen to this one for yourself. Not much subtlety in the lyrics, but I love the fuzzy bass that keeps this track grounded.

"Well, see you later innovator!"

Tomorrow marks the release of the sophomore album by UK indie darlings, the Arctic Monkeys. Coming less than a year on the heels of the much hyped (and mega-selling) debut, advance buzz indicates that Favourite Worst Nightmare is going to be well worth checking out. If the rest of it lives up to the promise of lead single "Brianstorm", I'm inclined to agree. Whet your appetite by watching the new-rave mocking "Brianstorm" video here, or checking out a couple recent B-sides below.

Arctic Monkeys f. Dizzee Rascal - "Temptation Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend" (taken from Brianstorm)
One of the more recent B-sides, this track features the excellent UK grime/rap sensation Dizzee Rascal dropping rhymes on a tale of wandering too close to that line that separates friends from lovers.

Arctic Monkeys - "Put Up Your Dukes, John" (taken from Leave Before the Lights Come On)
A fine example of why this band's B-side output shouldn't be neglected.

"I Am Trying To Believe"

Fake "United States Bureau of Morality" warning stickers, hypercolor compact discs, hidden messages on t-shirts, and fake websites up the wazoo (hint: try highlighting the text to make a little sense out of some of the more jumbled sites). Trent Reznor has certainly invested a lot in the viral marketing and gimmickry of his just released concept album, Year Zero. Enough to send NIN and conspiracy theory geeks on a virtual frenzy over the past couple of months anyway. Here is a good resource to keep up with madness. As all this stuff started pouring onto the net, I got a little worried about the quality of the album itself. I mean, all this viral stuff seemed like a hell of a way to keep the attention off the music, right? Wrong. Year Zero is fantastic stuff and contains the best music he's released in over a decade, far better than the spotty With Teeth and more concise and hard-hitting than the unfocused Fragile. I've been a long time NIN fan, going back to the times I saw him on the Closer To God tour and when he shared the stage with a certain Mr. Bowie, but I haven't been this thrilled by his music in quite some time. But, as always, don't just take my word for it... listen for yourself.

Nine Inch Nails - "Vessel" (taken from Year Zero)
"Vessel" is one of the more noisy tracks off the album, devolving into all sorts of digital skips and scratches as the track winds down, but never losing the industrial beat at its core or the frantic sense of confusion it creates.

Nine Inch Nails - "Capital G" (taken from Year Zero)
"Capital G", meanwhile, is a little more accessible song with a strong, persistent beat. Even though the album is set in a not too distant fictional future, its hard to imagine some of these lyrics aiming at anything but the current American administration - this track especially.

via//chicago@random: Spoon - "I Didn't Come Here To Die"

Second in an ongoing series in which I pore ever so slowly through my digital collection at random.

I have to admit that, as big of a Spoon fan as I am, I'm not terribly familiar with this song and a quick listen reminds me why. This, taken from 2000's Love Ways EP, is little more than a tossed off experiment that finds the band slumming in the blues. A relatively simple riff and a strong, shuffling rhythm provide the backbone to this song, but there's nothing really exciting to be found. Even Britt Daniel's usually fantastic lyrics seem to be a little less than stellar on this outing and he seems to know it, burying them slightly in the mix and slight vocal effects. It's not bad for a tossed-off EP track, but it doesn't hold a candle to some of the band's brighter work. The nifty echoed spacey effects near the end seem to be the most memorable piece.

In more encouraging Spoon news... the band is getting ready to drop their sixth full-length on July 10th, titled Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.

Spoon - "I Didn't Come Here To Die" (taken from Love Ways EP)

"Just bought a Cadillac..."

"Throw Some D's" is quickly becoming one of 2007's most ubiquitous rap singles, popping up nearly all over the place since peaking at number 6 on the Billboard charts. I even heard a Sportscenter desk jockey making reference to a pitcher throwing "some D's on that pitch". Much like Mims' chart-topper from this year (which I still haven't warmed to), I was initially left cold by this but I've since come around to its simple charms. Over the weekend my brother tipped me off on the quality remix, which features some great verses from Andre 3000 (still so great to hear him rapping again) and The Game. It also features Jim Jones, Nelly, and Murphy Lee - but hey, they can't all be all-star jams. Anyway, check it out below:

Rich Boy f. Andre 3000, Jim Jones, Nelly, Murphy Lee, and The Game - "Throw Some D's (Remix)" (taken from Rich Boy)

Lollapalooza 2007


Create Your Own PaloozaHead - Visit Lollapalooza.com

So the line-up for this year's Lollapalooza was announced today... and I'd be lying if I didn't say I was a little disappointed at first. No Smashing Pumpkins, which really surprises me. I mean, their summer tour is entirely based on playing festivals and they are skipping the huge hometown fest that takes place less than a month after the new album drops? Doesn't make sense to me. I was also surprised at the lack of big name mega-stars. Pearl Jam and Daft Punk are awesome, but Ben Harper a headliner? Really? But the more I looked at the line-up, the more excited I got. There are some really great names on there, especially lower down on the list. Among others I'm stoked to see - The Hold Steady, Modest Mouse, Cold War Kids, The Stooges, Interpol, Kings of Leon, The Roots, Amy Winehouse, Lupe Fiasco, TV on the Radio, LCD Soundsystem, M.I.A.... it'll still be a great three days in the sun. And come on, Daft Punk!!!

"This car is 100% death proof..."

Just got back from checking out Grindhouse and I cannot recommend this film enough. It's a no-brainer if you are a fan of the work Tarantino or Rodriguez, but its worth checking out even if you aren't. I honestly can't remember the last time I had such a good time at the movies, everything was just the way I imagined it - cheesy, hilarious, bloody, violent, gory, just all around B-movie perfection. The fake trailers were wonderful too, I can't wait to see the full-length version of Machete.

Also worth checking out? The soundtrack to Death Proof, Tarantino's segment of the film. He's always managed to put together great collections of music for his films and this is no exception. It features a nice mix of classic garage rock, pop country gems, and instrumental mood music that fits the film so well. Below are a couple of my favorites, but the whole disc deserves to be heard.

Pacific Gas & Electric - "Staggolee" (taken from Death Proof)
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick, & Tich - "Hold Tight" (taken from Death Proof)

Let's Talk About Podcasts

Podcasts can be a wonderful thing. Convenient, entertaining, and most of the time completely free of charge - how often do you get to the same about other forms of media? But as with any widespread internet phenomena, there's a lot of crap floating around out there. How do you sort out the wheat from the chaff? What podcasts do you listen to regularly? Here's some of my weekly must listens:

KEXP Live Performances / KEXP Music That Matters
It should come as no surprise to anyone that my favorite podcasts are music related. These two, provided by the wonderful folks over at KEXP, are the ones I look forward to the most. The Live Performances series features bands recorded live at the KEXP studios, both high profile and local up and comers. It's a great way to hear your favorite artists in a new light or to discover your next favorite band. Music That Matters is a weekly series that features the esteemed KEXP DJs throwing together a mix of their favorite tunes of the moment, often times set to a particular theme. Between these two podcasts I've discovered tons of bands that I now love - The Long Winters, Soul Position, Blue Scholars, West Indian Girl - just to name a few.

Sound Opinions
Billed as the world's only rock and roll talk show, this weekly series features Chicago area rock critics Jim DeRogatis (of the Chicago Sun-Times) and Greg Kot (of the Chicago Tribune). From new music reviews to revealing artist interviews to thought-provoking discussion to flat-out music nerdery, these guys are usually pretty entertaining to hear.

SModcast
This is the weekly podcast of acclaimed director Kevin Smith and his longtime collaborator/producer Scott Mosier. The only good way to describe this is "two guys bullshitting about movies, comics, sex, relationships, and whatever pops into their heads". Which, depending on your opinion of Kevin Smith in general, can either be as entertaining or as dreadful as you might expect. Definitely not for those averse to four-letter words and graphic body fluid discussion.

KCRW's The Treatment
This is a relatively new find for me, but I'm really glad to have discovered it. Film critic Elvis Mitchell spends each half-hour episode talking with directors and filmmakers about their craft, their ideas, and their product. I've particularly enjoyed the recent episodes featuring Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez discussing their joint venture, Grindhouse.

The Dead Show on KOPN
Okay, I'll admit it. I'm a closet Deadhead... occasionally anyway. Each week John Henrikson digs deep into the Grateful Dead vaults and shares some of his favorite live shows spanning the band's entire legendary career. Next time you feel the need to let your inner hippie out for a spin in the grass, give this one a shot.

NPR's Wait... Wait Don't Tell Me / This American Life
I know that I'm officially old when I've started listening to NPR on my iPod... so be it. Wait... Wait Don't Tell Me is an entertaining quiz show that features writers and comedians working their way through the latest headlines. The humor is very often hit or miss, but it's a neat way to catch up on some of the stories you might have missed during the course of the week. What else can I really say about This American Life that hasn't already been said? Host Ira Glass is always a pleasure to listen to and rarely does an episode pass without a genuine chuckle or a thought-provoking comment being absorbed.

Those are the podcasts I subscribe to, how about you?

via//chicago@random: Between the Buried and Me - "Alaska"

The first in an ongoing series in which I cue up a song at random from my iTunes library and write a little bit about it, then post the track for you to evaluate for yourself.

Between the Buried and Me is one of the bands I discovered in last year in the midst of my re-introduction to the metal world that I had ignored for so long. I'd come across albums by these guys quite a bit over the past couple of years, but thanks to them being on Victory and constantly put on display next to bands like Hawthorne Heights and Aiden I'd always dismissed them as mediocre nu-emo for the mall set, weak metalcore for the Hot Topic set, or some dreadful combination of the two. Oh how wrong I can be. BtBaM has to be one of the more refreshing young metal bands working right now, pounding out a vicious strain of "math-metal" that combines the brutal with the intricate. Thanks to a tip from the always on point Adrien Begrand over at Basement Galaxy, I picked up this disc and was very glad I did. BtBaM tears through this tight set, mixing and matching nearly all types of heavy metal into an virtual sonic maelstrom.

"Alaksa" kicks off with an intricate riff that shimmies and shreds while drummer Blake Richardson pounds the hell out of his kit. Sound good? Then all hell breaks loose. The rhythm and guitars swirl into a demon possessed and Tommy Rogers' death metal vocals kick in full bore. The resulting mess beats you about the head and face with a thirty-pound hammer named "INTENSE" before stomping around in a primordial swamp while machine-gun bursts explode all around. The best moment comes about a minute and a half in when all the instruments suddenly drop out, a triangle is struck once, and hell explodes all over again. Give a listen for yourself, but for those of you unaccustomed to metal's aural assault - you might want to wait until after that first cup of coffee.

Between the Buried and Me - "Alaska" (taken from Alaksa)

"I'll take all of what you got to kill this goddamn lonely, goddamn lonely love."

Disappointing news today out of the Drive-By Truckers camp. It appears that one-third of the band's songwriting/guitar-slinging core, the insanely talented Jason Isbell, is no longer with them. According to the official DBT camp, this sounds like an amicable departure. Isbell's MySpace, however, makes things sound a little more terse. Sounds like it may have more than a little to do with Isbell's forthcoming solo album and the rumors that he has split with his wife (Shonna Tucker, still a DBT member). Regardless, best of luck to all parties involved. Hopefully Isbell with go on to great success doing his solo thing, while the DBTs will doubtless roll on with Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley holding down the fort.

In the meantime, enjoy a pair of my favorite Jason Isbell penned DBT songs:

Drive-By Truckers - "Goddamn Lonely Love" (taken from The Dirty South)
Drive-By Truckers - "Decoration Day" - (taken from Decoration Day)

via//chicago's best of 2007 - quarter one mix

It took me a bit longer than planned to get this mix put together, but here it is - some of my favorite songs of the first three months of 2007. Some are singles you might have heard a few times before, others are album tracks that are worthy of attention, and some are just solid tracks from bands that need to be heard from. It ended up being a little longer than will fit on a single disc, but everyone just tosses these things onto their mp3 player's anyway, right? Enjoy, let me know what you think.

The tracklist:
01. "The Birth And Death of the Day" - Explosions in the Sky
02. "Heretics" - Andrew Bird
03. "I'm Like A Lawyer With the Way I'm Always Trying To Get You Off" - Fall Out Boy
04. "Must Be the Moon" - !!!
05. "Make 'Em Mad" - B.G. & The Chopper City Boyz
06. "Get Buck" - Young Buck
07. "Golden Skans" - Klaxons
08. "Reformation!" - The Fall
09. "Brighteyes" - Jesu
10. "Forever Young" - Youth Group
11. "Australia" - The Shins
12. "A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger" - Of Montreal
13. "National Anthem of Nowhere" - Apostle of Hustle
14. "Boyscout'n" - Menomena
15. "7 Stars" - Apples in Stereo
16. "Lake Somerset" - Deerhunter
17. "I Still Remember" - Bloc Party
18. "Parting of the Sensory" - Modest Mouse
19. "Intervention" - The Arcade Fire
20. "New York I Love You" - LCD Soundsystem

Download it here.

Live Review: Snow Patrol, OK Go, Silversun Pickups @ The Aragon

One of the more interesting tour pairings I've seen in awhile (indie-grunge revivalists + power-pop + melodramatic teen drama anthems = huh?) made its Chicago stop this past Monday night and I was luckily enough to be standing waist-deep in teenagers and their chaperoning moms at the Aragon to witness it. I was most excited to see the Pickups and their set delivered pretty much what I was expecting, but I'm not sure that their noisy space-rock jams converted many of the Snow Patrol diehards. Oh well, I thought they sounded pretty good even though lead singer Brian Aubert was battling illness. I'm not sure what it is about bands with cute bass players and noisy guitar jams, but I certainly seem to love 'em.

Sorta hometown heroes OK Go were up next and I was surprised to see how many kids in the crowd suddenly sprung to life and reacted as if they were the headliners. They tore through a spirited set of spunky power-pop highlighted by the hits "Here It Goes Again" and "Get Over It". Damian Kulash made for a funny and engaging frontman, but sadly there were no treadmills in sight.

As for Snow Patrol? They were pretty decent, but I have a hard time calling their stage show anything more than solid. They worked the crowd well and played the songs people wanted to hear, but there wasn't anything really memorable or life-changing about the set. Maybe it was just that all of the mid-tempo songs tended to run together after awhile with very few standout moments. The highlight of the night had to be the crowd's rapturous reception of single "Hands Open" and particularly the "Put Sufjan Stevens on and we'll play your favorite song/"Chicago" bursts to life and your sweet smile remembers you" line. They certainly couldn't have ended on a better note.

Throwback Thursday VI

It recently came to my attention that there are people out there who have not yet been exposed to the awesomeness that was The Beta Band. For some reason they just haven't been in the right place at the right time, or they've just never seen High Fidelity. Either way, I think its time to remedy that situation. Check out these two tracks and find out what you may have been missing out on. As alluded to earlier, "Dry the Rain" features in one of my favorite moments in one of my favorite movies. The scene wouldn't have worked nearly half as well if the tune in question hadn't been so jaw-droppingly gorgeous. The second track on offer here, "Assessment", was a wonderful single from the band's (sadly) final full-length.

The Beta Band - "Dry The Rain" (taken from The Three E.P.'s)
The Beta Band - "Assessment" (taken from Heroes To Zeros)

In other news, I'm currently working on a special project to try and make up for all of the slacking I've been doing as of late. Nothing too special, but I'm putting together a mix of some of my favorite tracks from the first three months of 2007.

Also, three of my latest reviews recently popped up on Static - Keller Williams' star-studded latest jam session (enjoyable, if jam bands are your thing), the TVT debut of Texas rapper Twisted Black (a few misses, but shows lots of potential, and the debut by Brit soulster James Morrison (frightfully boring).

"You're what happens when / two substances collide..."

No excuses this time, just reality rearing its ugly head once again and keeping me focused things other than this oft neglected blog. Mainly work and other writing responsibilities, but I did manage to squeeze a little bit of new music listening in between. My latest obsession? Andrew Bird. He's certainly not a new discovery to me, as I was fortunate enough to catch his excellent set at the 2005 Pitchfork-curated Intonation, but I've recently realized how wonderful his recorded material is. And with his new album, Armchair Apocrypha, due out tomorrow - I figured it was a good time to share some of my favorite moments from his last album. Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production of Eggs is chock-full of tunes that show off Bird's instrumental prowess and hook-writing abilities, but "A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left" and "Fake Palindromes" are the cream of the crop. Give 'em and listen and see what you think.

Andrew Bird - "A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left"
Andrew Bird - "Fake Palindromes"

Other random thoughts:
- What a disappointing showing by my Fighting Illini over the weekend, guess its time to root against the Buckeyes for the remainder of the tourney since my brackets are officially screwed.
- In addition to the record by Bird, tomorrow is shaping up to be a huge day for new releases. I'm especially looking forward to checking out the new platters from Modest Mouse, LCD Soundsystem, Young Buck, El-P, Jesse Malin, The Ponys, and the late J Dilla.
- A couple of my more recent reviews have been posted over at Static, including a spotty disc by The Nein and a pretty enough release by Hem.