every day i write the book

48 from 2008

Posted by psd on January 6, 2009  |  No Comments

Everyone and their brother does a top 10/100/50 at the end of the year. This year I thought I join in. Offered for your inspection–48 of my favorite albums and cultural moments.

Presented in no particular order:

1. MGMT
2. Santogold
3. Mates of State
4. Kanye
5. The Verve
6. Oasis
7. The Raconteurs
8. Coldplay
9. Conor Oberst
10. The New Odds – Cheerleader
11. Okkervil River
12. Kings of Leon
13. Mother Mother – Oh My Heart
14. Beck – Modern Guilt
15. Socratic – Spread the Rumors
16. Guns N’ Roses – Chinese Democracy
17. Kaiser Chiefs
18. The Weepies
19. The Black Keys
20. Lightspeed Champion
21. Black Keys
22. Black Mountain
23. The Kooks
24. Nine Inch Nails internet release of Ghosts
25. Lodger – Honeymoon is Over
26. JJ Grey & Mofro – Orange Blossoms
27. Cloud Cult – Feel Good Ghosts
28. TV on the Radio – Dear Science
29. Heath Ledger dies
30. God Is An Astronaut – God Is An Astronaut
31. Hey Rosetta! – Into Your Lungs
32. The Raveonettes – Lust Lust Lust
33. Quiet Village – Silent Movie
34. Vampire Weekend –
35. Wolf Parade – At Mount Zoomer
36. Britney Spears – from train wreck to comeback
37. Jim Boggia – Misadventures in Stereo
38. Tokyo Police Club – A Lesson in Crime
39. Death Cab for Cutie – Narrow Stairs
40. The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
41. Beyonce – Sasha Fierce
42. Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III
43. Barack Obama elected President
44. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
45. The Subways – All or Nothing
46. JT on SNL (Single Ladies video spoof)
47. Vampire Fever! Twilight, True Blood
48. Tina Fey as Sarah Palin (SNL)

I Don’t Want to Party

Posted by psd on December 9, 2008  |  No Comments

For a Swedish band whose music is about “Difficult, dull, unhealthy, passionate, mean relationships“, you could surely never tell from their music. doublePark’s lighthearted, happy sounds belie the angst beneath–in fact, you could easily be listening to American AM radio circa 1972. Word in the blogosphere is they are all the rage overseas (thanks Instrumental Analysis). I predict an invasion.

Check out “I Don’t Want to Party” (from 2006!). This is what I’m going to be singing next week when all those holiday party invitations start rolling in…

I’m thankful for…

Posted by psd on November 27, 2008  |  No Comments

• a house big enough to have dinner for 12 people
• the money to feed those 12 people
• my family, even though they push my buttons worse than anyone
• my sweet, furry animals that love me when I don’t love myself
• sunshine and clear roads after a few ill-timed snowstorms

and

• FREE MUSIC!

Matt Pond PA is a band I came upon a few years back. I thought they were just ‘meh’, so I listened once and went on my merry way, thinking I would never hear from them or listen to them again. Recently, in my Christmas music quest for all things Indie, I found a 2006 recording from MPPA called Winter Songs and I listened and I enjoyed. Fast forward to today as I search the interwebs for Thanksgiving inspired musical inspiration, I find this: Matt Pond PA ‘Freeep’. Nine (9!) sounds collected and offered up like the bird I will be putting on my table in a few hours. I believe I’ll have a listen while it roasts. Here’s the video they have up on their site called People Have a Way. Kind of reminds me of early Spoon with a taste of Lodger.

Ha. I’m a Serious Throwback.

Posted by psd on October 19, 2008  |  No Comments

Don’t Mess With the Beast, Mr. Hurricane

Posted by psd on August 27, 2008  |  2 Comments

My neighbors to the north are at it again. This time the music gods are messin’ around in Montreal with a couple of artists who call themself Beast. Made up of Jean-Phi Goncalves, a drummer and producer and the leader of the band Plaster, and incredible vocalist Beatrice “Betty” Bonifassi.

These two throw down some dirty beats that make for some head-bobbing, toe-tapping tunes that sound like they came straight out of a James Bond soundtrack. Microcyte sounds like the rapping stepchild of RATM. My favorite, Mr. Hurricane, is catchy rap/disco/rock song that has that play-it-until-you-can’t-stand-it-anymore quality, and Betty really shines on Fingerprints with her soaring vocals.

Incredibly fresh, my only complaint is ‘Where can I buy some tunes?” These two have nothing for sale anywhere. That I can see. And when I checked out Last.fm, seems there is a metal band named Beast, so someone created another profile for the band, calling them Beastsound. C’mon guys, figure it out and let’s get on with it. You’re too good to be messin with the Beast, Mr Hurricane.

Beast on Myspace