It's Thanksgiving Eve. Stressed out from a super heavy workload, and from the prospect of spending time with family and all the difficulty it represents. Going out tonight to blow off steam, and working on Friday, so I'm not sure what the family time will be like. I always dread the worst in the hopes that I'll be surprised that it's not that bad. This time is no different. Seems highly unlikely that it will be good. And that makes the stress worse. Sigh. Happy Thanksgiving.




All You Need is Love - The Beatles
No Surprises - Radiohead
Even if We Try - Night Beds (Repeat - but it's too beautiful to not include)
Please Pass the Biscuits - Jimmy Dean
A Case of You - Joni Mitchell
Come Walk with Me - M.I.A.
So Rock On - Luscious Jackson
We Sink - CHVRCHES
Suddenly - Anna Calvi
Smug - Polica
Someone Who Can - Yuna
Truly Freaking Out - Tim Kasher

November 18, 2013

A chance to listen to the radio for a bit more than usual, in fact something I rarely have time for, yielded some good tunes, both old and new. Life continues to be about as busy as it can get. Thanksgiving and the holidays are around the corner. Some of these songs carry specific meaning to me, others caught my ear and seemed worth the listen and noting that I liked them.

(Flagpole Sitta of course contains the unforgettable and oh so appropriate lyric "... been around the world and found that only stupid people are breeding...")


Harlem - New Politics
Hurricane - Ms Mr
A Matter of Time - The Killers
Little Black Submarines - The Black Keys
Flagpole Sitta - Harvey Danger
Misery Business - Paramore
Come Together - Sons of the Sea
I wanna be sedated - The Ramones
Is Your Love Big Enough - Lianne La Havas
Carry My Home - Hey Rosetta!
Open Season - High Highs

September 19, 2013

It's been a busy couple of months. Lots of things going on. Not enough time for much music at all. But there have been a few shiny new songs by some of my absolute favorites, and some new albums dropping soon. Anyway, here are those new ones, along with a bunch of obscure, but pretty decent stand-alones I found.

Reflektor - Arcade Fire
Hell and Back - The Airborne Toxic Event
Shot At The Night - The Killers
Maps - The Front Bottoms
Waterfall - The Fresh and Onlys
Hannah - Freelance Whales
Traveler's Song - Future of Forestry
Up, Up, Up - Givers
Hey Grace Hey Tony - Grace and Tony
Pulling on a Line - Great Lake Swimmers
Easy Come Easy Go - Great Lake Swimmers



There will be more....

July 9, 2013

Couple more songs pointed my way by a friend from Firefly. And then a number of other crazily different yet beautiful and compelling songs. Only thing in common is they caught my ear. Enjoy...


Pompeii - Bastille
Lying to You - Keaton Henson
Safe and Sound - Capitol Cities
Trying to be Cool - Phoenix
Isjaki - Sigur Ros
Bad Apple - Gauntlet Hair
Man - Neko Case
Turtle Neck - Bosnian Rainbows
Crueler Kind - San Fermin
Bagboy - The Pixies
War is Over - Lowland Hum
Byegone - Volcano Choir
Avalanche (Slow) - Zola Jesus
Kveikur - Sigur Ros


More to come...

July 8, 2013

From NPR's All Songs Considered discussion on the 2013 year in music (so far) at the midpoint of 2013. There's always new music waiting to be discovered.


She Will - Savages
Even If We Try - Night Beds
You Can't Be Told - Valerie June
Open - Rhye
Next Day - David Bowie
In Another Way - My Bloody Valentine
Reach For The Dead - Boards of Canada
When a Fire Starts to Burn - Disclosure
Step - Vampire Weekend
Follow Your Arrow - Kacey Musgraves
Look... The Sun is Rising - The Flaming Lips
Lose Yourself to Dance - Daft Punk
Au Revoir - The Front Bottoms


More to come...

May 31, 2013

Lots going on. Not much time to sit and listen to music. But here are a couple that I've enjoyed of late.



Magnolia - Alberta Cross
Hold On - Alabama Shakes
The Best of Times - Sage Francis
Daisy - Fang Island
Sun's Going Down - Shimmering Stars
All The Pretty Faces - The Killers
Helter Skelter - The Beatles
When I Walk At Night - The Cults
The Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All) - The Decemberists


More to come.

May 22, 2013

Just back from Vacation. Good time in the hills of West Virginia. A little music, Lots of Family time. Mostly good, some challenging. Life.

The National today.
One lovely old tune, and then a few cuts from the brand new album that just dropped.


Terrible Love - The National
I Should Live in Salt - The National
Demons - The National
Don't Swallow The Cap - The National
Sea of Love - The National
Graceless - The National
Slipped - The National
Humiliation - The National




What a lovely, depressing, delicious experience. First and Second listens are done. I feel like I'll need about 10 more until some of this soaks in. Highly recommended.

More to come.

May 10, 2013

Yeah, on another kick listening to early albums by The National. Partly excited due to an unexpected opportunity to get to Bonaroo this year, where they are playing. Along with Mumford and Sons, Sir Paul, and a whole host of other exciting groups. Going to be an awesome summer.


Slipping Husband - The National
It Never Happened - The National
Murder Me Rachael - The National
Available - The National
Fashion Coat - The National
Lucky You - The National


Can't wait for Bonaroo... More to come.

May 7,8, 2013

Good weekend, and a day off on Monday. Listening to All Songs Considered "Moving On" podcast.


Ramble On - Led Zeppelin
Out On The Weekend - Neil Young
There's No Home for You Here - White Stripes


and from Tuesday, following the landmark passage of marriage equality by the Delaware Senate, which after being signed by the governor made Delaware the 11th state to approve same sex marriage. Of course I posted my support for this in a public forum and got quite a bit of kickback, some of it on the ugly side. So this section is aimed primarily at MN, LN, MM, BW, SS, and any other closed-minded, Homophobic, self-righteous bigots.

Fuck You - Lily Allen
Gimme Some Truth - The Beatles


I'm out for today. More to come.

May 1, 2013

Happy International Worker's Day. Still stuck on a Metric kick.


Empty - Metric
Patriarch on a Vespa - Metric
Ending Start - Metric
Pear Tree - We Were Promised Jetpacks

More to come

April 29, 2013

Some brand new (to me) songs from a brand new (to me) band. Oh, and some brand new (to everyone) songs by an old favorite. And then some others thrown in for fun. Extra points for the songs that bring tears to my eyes.


Augustine - We Are Augustines
Headlong Into The Abyss - We Are Augustines
Book of James - We Are Augustines
New Drink for the Old Drunk - We Are Augustines
Patton State Hospital - We Are Augustines
Strange Days - We Are Augustines
Barrel of Leaves - We Are Augustines
Be Free, A Way - The Flaming Lips
Always There, In Our Hearts - The Flaming Lips
Sun Blows Up Today - The Flaming Lips
Mercy - Shiny Toy Guns

April 26, 2013

Not good times. Betrayal. Silence. The dreaded specter of rejection. And yeah, I'm finding solace in depressing music and early albums by The National.



Pain - Sparklehorse (feat. Iggy Pop)
Everytime I'm With You - Sparklehorse (feat. Jason Lytle)
Daddy's Gone - Sparklehorse (feat. Nina Persson)
Dark Night of the Soul - Sparklehorse (feat. Vic Chesnutt)
Beautiful Head - The National
Cold Girl Fever - The National
John's Star - The National
Theory of the Crows - The National
29 Years - The National


More to Come

April 25, 2013

These are mostly old songs that resonate.


Intervention - Arcade Fire
Windowsill - Arcade Fire
Breathing Under Water - Metric
Ghost Town - Shiny Toy Guns

More to come.

April 22, 2013

It's a busy time, but here are a few songs that caught my attention. The new album from the Flaming Lips looks terrific as usual.



Myth - Beach House
You Lust - The Flaming Lips
Try to Explain - The Flaming Lips
Sex - 1975
Your Life, Your Call - Junip
Teach Me - Keaton Henson


More to come.

April 12, 2013 (Addendum)

And because I wanted to finish out the ones I liked from the SXSW NPR 1000 before the weekend... here is one more post....


San Francisco (Little Daylight Remix) - The Mowgli's
Mexico - The Staves
But We Did - Thomas Dybdahl
Peace and Quiet - Waxahatchee
Sandy - Whirr
Balled of the Golden Hour - Widowspeak
Dropla - Youth Lagoon


And this weekend I note that Coachella, the annual gathering of rich, pretty, afficianados of good music in the California desert, is taking place. Damn do I wish I was there. It's the first major music festival of the summer and thanks to the marvelous people at Youtube as well as the gods of the world wide web, many of the shows can be seen streaming from my living room. I will be up way too late every night this weekend, and will be tempted to completely withdraw from life with my ear buds pounding, but I should have heard some new music by Monday.

The search for new music never ends.

April 12, 2013

And even more SXSW.



Year Of The Glad - Marnie Stern
Headache - Metz
Shout It Out - Mikal Cronin
Roboter-Hohlenbewohner - My Education
Ramona - Night Beds
What's Your Name - NO
Ghosts - ON AN ON
Stoned and Starving - Parquet Courts
The Emasculated Man and the City That Swallowed Him - Quiet Company
I Want To Be Relieved - Spirit Family Reunion
Ghosts & Creatures - Telekinesis
Dressing Room - The Away Days
Mary Ann Nichols - The Calm Blue Sea
The Match - The Eastern Sea
Snake Eyes - The Milk Carton Kids

More to come...

April 11, 2013

Back to work after a couple glorious days off in the sunshine. Also listening with a brand spanking new pair of ear buds. Got a great deal on a pair of Klipsch Image S4's on Amazon so I'm enjoying sparkling clear sound. Not sure what to think about the importance of burn-in. I guess I'll see if I notice any improvement in the sound quality in the coming months. We'll see.... Anyway, more music from SXSW.

Ode to Mom - Hannah Georgas
Bright Stars Burning - Hey Marseilles
Boreal - Hundred Waters
Born to Win (Part One) - Hurray For the Riff Raff
I am Haunted - Indians
Running for Cover - Ivan and Alyosha
Love For Long - Jenny Owen Youngs
Born To - Jesca Hoop
Nomads - Joe Banfi
You're A Animal - Jonathan Boulet
Julie (Come Out Of The Rain) - Josh Rouse
Plant White Roses - Kelly Hogan
Roman Ruins - Line and Circle
Turn It Around - Lucius


More to come...

April 8, 2013

... and more from the NPR Austin 100. These leftover SXSW songs are helping me get through some pretty rough days and weeks at work. Music is like that. And in other news my cheap earbuds are just about done. So I'm looking around for a good price and some money to spend to get some decent, and hopefully longer lasting set of in-ear phones.You never know what you have until it's gone. I need that direct injection of music into my brain. It's important....



How Long Have You Known - DIIV
Property Lines - Dusted
Heavy Moon - Elephant Stone
Boy - Emma Louise
Don't Tell Me - Empress Of
James - Ex Cops
I am Not Waiting Anymore - Field Report
Matter of Time - Fierce Bad Rabbit
San Francisco - Foxygen
State Hospital - Frightened Rabbit
Silver Linings - Guards
Bad Reputation - Haley Bonar


More to come...

April 4, 2013

More songs coming out of NPR's Austin 100. Some intriguing and fascinating new music.

America's Son - Air Review
You Know Me - Air Traffic Controller
Elephants - Blaudzun
Shake, Shake, Shake - Bronze Radio Return
Late Nights - Brown Shoe
In The City - Caveman
High School Lover - Bigfoot
Among the Grey - Cheyenne Mize
Days and Days - Chic Gamine
Lake Charlievoix - Dana Falconberry


More to Come...

April 2, 2013

Some new things I've run across....

You Don't Know Me - The Polyphonic Spree
This Ladder is Ours - The Joy Formidable
Heartbeat - The Kopecky Family Band
Illusions  - Shout Out Louds
I Know it (I Feel it, Too) - The Soil and The Sun
Born to Kill - The Thermals


As always - more to come...

April 1, 2013

Another long gap. There's still lots of music floating around my head - as always. Just too many other things to keep up with. I'll try and list a few of the things that are making life pass a little more pleasantly right now


Plastic Cup - Low
Song For Zula - Phosphorescent

Lost - Amanda Palmer

Bottom Feeder - Amanda Palmer
Madness - Muse

Now is Not the Time - CHVRCHES

Wait For Me - Shiny Toy Guns

La Pared - Ileana Mercedes Cabra

Demon Dance - Surfer Blood

Look... The Sun is Rising - The Flaming Lips

Hopefully much more to come later.

February 5, 2013

The past month or so has seen a new year, and enough new dynamics that I'm still processing. That hasn't left a ton of time for music, although I did enjoy the new releases from Green Day and Muse last fall.

The following are thanks to NPR's All Songs Considered and some of the end of year round up shows they produced. I love it when I find a song that seems new, I note it down, and realize that I already listed it months and months ago. Then I take it off... no repeats. The search for good music never ends.

Same Love - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Tesselate - Alt-J
Offspring are Blank - Dirty Projectors
Elephant - Tame Impala
Simple Song - The Shins
Take a walk - Passion Pit
Small Town Moon - Regina Spektor
The Carpenter - The Avett Brothers
Some Nights - Fun.
Hot Knife - Fiona Apple
Angels - The XX


More to come ...