My 25 Favorite Albums of 2011

So I used to blog here. It was fun, and the truth is I've kind of been missing it. So I may start doing it again. Probably the same drill: music and musings. (Okay, don't hold your breath. I've also been meaning to finish that screenplay and write that book proposal and digitize my vinyl collection and clean the basement and, well, you get the idea.) In the meantime, here are my 25 favorite albums from the past 12 months. Without commentary. Baby steps, people.

1. Bon Iver - Bon Iver

2. Middle Brother - Middle Brother

3. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Departing

4. Deer Tick - Divine Providence

5. Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean

6. Destroyer - Kaputt

7. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

8. Wye Oak - Civilian

9. Jay-Z and Kanye West - Watch The Throne

10. The Black Keys - El Camino

11. Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation

12. Eleventh Dream Day - Riot Now!

13. Real Estate - Days

14. Beirut - The Rip Tide

15. Wilco - The Whole Love

16. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

17. Wild Flag - Wild Flag

18. Yuck - Yuck

19. Deerhoof - Deerhoof vs. Evil

20. Tapes ‘N Tapes - Outside

21. Cults - Cults

22. J Mascis - Several Shades of Why

23. Josh T. Pearson - Last of the Country Gentlemen

24. The War on Drugs - Slave Ambient

25. My Morning Jacket - Circuital

Umm, hello...

I know it's been a long time. But I'm going to post my Best Albums 2011 list here - - whether anybody reads it or not. Stay tuned.

In the meantime:

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

The Best Albums of 2010 (So Far edition)

The list is actually here.

I'm going to try this.

A Tumblr.

Volume Rambler (Day 202)

Sorry, just a tease today - - not a full account of what I listened to on my way to work today. (Although "Volume Rambler" by Oakley Hall was indeed one of the songs.) More importantly my list of favorite records released in 2009 is posted here. Thanks Comoprozac for the kick in the ass to do this and for posting it. Also, do yourself a favor and check out all the year end lists at his great blog. And have a great New Year.

GE

Maybe Maybe (Day 201...I guess)

Coleman Hawkins - "Dinner For One Please, James"
Cat Power - "Metal Heart"
Pavement - "Maybe Maybe"
The Flaming Lips - "Waiting For Superman (Remix)"
The Beach Boys - "Caroline, No"
Josh Ritter - "Good Man"
Coldplay - "Sparks"
Death Cab For Cutie - "Passenger Seat"
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - "Cold Roses"
Hello... Hello... Is there anybody out there? I forgive anyone who deleted me from their reader, blitzed me from their bookmarks or even forcibly tried to forget I even exist. Six month gaps in blogging does not sit well with readers. What can I say? I got a little bored. I got a little busy. I got an iPhone? All are true and the iPhone was strangely the most detrimental thing to happen to this simple little blog. The new phone meant the iPod was history and all large chunk of music was added to the iPhone's 32GB of memory. The dream appeared to be complete: a singular device for communication and portable music consumption. And for the most part, it is a dream. I do still love that slick little device. BUT it doesn't sync to my work computer. Outdated OS + a tech department that can not be bribed = no easy way to get a list of what I listened to on my way to work today. Obviously, I could write the songs down as they play each morning. Except that extra step, the little bit of extra "work" proved to be just too much to handle in the a.m. But the desire was still there. I'd hear a song in the morning and think about how much I'd like to blog about how kick-ass it is...and then I'd just spend my free time reading real music blogs instead. Oh well. Then today, something so stupidly obvious happened it's almost too embarrassing to write. I realized that all I had to do was hit the back button in iTunes on the phone and I could see each song played since I started shuffling when I left the house. Duh. Double duh. Stupid, fucking duh. Not that difficult. Of course, I can't tell you the name of the song with the most previous plays (which was my easy blog title naming convention), but I'm sure you can live with that. So here we go again? Maybe. I'll try. Let's just see what happens. Anyway, how ya been...?

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 9
Total minutes of music (approx.): 35
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 6
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: Well, still taking the little girl to school every morning which is still the highlight of my day. And she'll be 4 next week! Crazy. There's been a lot of Halloween talk, obvs. Today she referred to the holiday in her own way which really does boil it down to its very essence: Candy Day. Happy Candy Day, y'all.

Trees Outside The Academy (Day 200)

The Replacements - "Darlin' One"
Thurston Moore - "Trees Outside The Academy"
The National - "Watching You Well"
How's this for anticlimactic? The 200th post on WILTOMWTWT features three measly songs. Hey, think of it this way, considering my output a few weeks ago any post before leaving for the weekend is a small victory. Meanwhile I'm on a little National run these days. The Dark Was The Night compilation got me listening to them again (not that you need an excuse). But today I noticed I Am Fuel You Are Friends posted their set from the Radio City concert. It's awfully good, naturally. And good timing since a coworker was raving about the show and making me feel old/lame for having barely been aware of it and obviously not considering going. But I did get tickets to see Grizzly Bear later this month. Who says I'm a total loser? Seriously...who says that?

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 3
Total minutes of music (approx.): 12
Song with the most previous plays: "Trees Outside The Academy" - 4
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 6
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: I saw some dude try and pick up a girl at 8:22am outside the subway. That seems bold to me. I couldn't make out exactly what he said, but her response was "No. I'm sorry." As she walked away he muttered, "Yeah, I'm sorry too." My advice would be to wait until at least 9am.

Not Afraid To Die (Day 199)

Tindersticks - "Tea Stain"
The Wedding Present - "Sucker"
The Wedding Present - "Go, Man, Go"
I must pause here to admire the statistical anomaly that just occurred. It's already rare enough for two songs by the same artist to appear on the shuffle on any given day. But here, two songs by the same artist played back to back - - and they're on the same album! (No, they're not back to back on the Mini Plus EP.) Does my iPod shuffle function need some lube? Maybe the poor device knows that as soon as the newest model of the iPhone is released (with, fingers crossed, at least 32 GB of memory) I'm kicking it to the curb.
Clap Your Hands And Say Yeah - "Goodbye To Mother And The Cove"
Bob Dylan - "Tombstone Blues" [alternate take]
Fleet Foxes - "Sun Giant" (live)
Serge Gainsbourg - "L'hotel particulier"
Dean & Britta - "White Horses"
Stan Getz - "Pennies From Heaven"
Iron & Wine - "Not Afraid To Die" (live)
Juliana Hatfield - "Shining On"
Not sure how Hatfield's latest wound up on my iPod. Honestly. I was a fan of the Blake Babies, and maybe her first album, but that's about it. I do follow her on Twitter, however. But, I think I might stop. Juliana Hatfield is a serious oversharer. And her Tweets are relentless! Look:



















And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 11
Total minutes of music (approx.): 41
Song with the most previous plays: "Not Afraid to Die" (live) - 8
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 6
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today:

Daughter: Can I get a granola bar?
Dad: Not today.
Daughter: Why not?
Dad: Because you already ate breakfast.
Daughter: But I didn't get one yesterday.
Dad: I know, you had breakfast yesterday too.
Daughter: Dad, let me make you a deal. I didn't get one yesterday and I won't get one today...so I can get one tomorrow.
Dad: What?
Daughter: If I don't get one for 2 days, then on the third day I can get a granola bar.
Dad: Are you still just three years old?

Heart Problems (Day 198)

Prince - "Kiss"
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - "We Can't Help You"
Tokyo Police Club - "Sixties Remake"
Aimee Mann - "Phoenix"
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - "Heart Problems"
Short one today and not much to say, but I do want to keep the ball rolling. One update: Since this blog does occasionally dip into my baseball rooting interests I will acknowledge I'm clearly not happy with the 10-13 New York Mets. Sure the starting pitching sucks (I'm looking at you Oliver Perez) and the absolutely can not buy a hit with runners in scoring position, but there's still too much talent not to compete. Much of the NYC media/blogosphere is saying the team lacks a a killer instinct, as in the team has "heart problems." (See, I'm always bringing it back to the music, y'all!) I'm going to give them a pass for April: Still trying to figure out the new ballpark, WBC training/preparedness issues, etc. But it's now May 4. String together a few wins, will ya! I can't take another summer of over-priced, mediocre baseball. And no amount of Shake Shack burgers are going to make things right. Although, they can't hurt.















Food porn courtesy of Alaina B.'s Flickr page


And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 5
Total minutes of music (approx.): 16
Song with the most previous plays: "Heart Problems" - 4
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 6
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: Rain sucks.

Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder) [Day 197]

Travis - "My Eyes"
Lily Allen - "Fuck You"
Oops. Not sure you were supposed to see that one. Yes it's a Lily Allen song. And it's from her second album. I can't even attribute it to falling for that 2007 summer-fun album with the single "Smile." Listen, the CD was laying around my office so I uploaded it, ok. I haven't really listened to it at all, but I do have to admit, I kinda like her. There's something about Lily. The way she just doesn't seem to take herself or pop stardom very seriously that is appealing. Unfortunately the song seems even way more over-produced than anything on her last album, but the kiss-off lyrics are cute and even positively political ("you say it's not okay to be gay, well I think you're just evil"). Also, her Twitter feed is kinda awesome. It's often about massive amounts of food she consumes (i.e. "at home, been through post,ignoring stack of bills. mum made me mac and cheese w/bacon bits and shortbread"). Take that Britney!
Conor Oberst - "Laura Laurent" (live)
The Beach Boys - "Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)"
Jens Lekman - "A Man Walks Into A Bar"

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 5
Total minutes of music (approx.): 23
Song with the most previous plays: "Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)" - 6
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 5
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: Swine flu? That's nothing. My 3-year-old says there's a monster cat living under the street. Run for your lives!

23 Years Ago (Day 196)

The Beatles - "Yellow Submarine" (1969)
Ry Cooder - "Christmas In Southgate" (2007)
Chin Up Chin Up - "Collide The Tide" (2004)
Y'all Is Fantasy Island - "The Walk Home" (2008)
Townes Van Zandt - "Standin'" (1972)
Paul Westerberg - "23 Years Ago" (2004)
Hüsker Dü - "What's Going On" (1984)
Umm, first of all...




No, seriously. It was nice to see my handful of blog pals immediately welcome me back. I hope I don't let you guys down like my iPod did this AM. The slim charge remaining only got me 2/3 of the way through this (awesome) Hüsker Dü song, and short of my office door. (Hey, there are ambient sounds in the city. Who knew?) Kind of a minor clunker of a playlist for my second day back, with a couple of those songs that just prove that 60GB is too much storage. Y'all Is Fantasy? That's got to be one of those blog-endorsed things I downloaded without much thought because really what the heck is it? It's 3:15 of ambient soundtrack music, that's what it is. And Chin Up Chin Up? Meh. Thank god for Townes Van Zandt. No, seriously, thank god for Townes Van Zandt. (I'd really like a T-shirt that says that.) Okay, so added bonus today. Notice I added the release date of each of the songs. I did this because I had a conversation with a friend this morning who told me he finally listened to and loved the Fleet Foxes (naturally). I'd recommended them because he'd been bemoaning the lack of good new music. He's one of those classic rock-loving dudes (not that there's anything wrong with that), who hasn't had the time/inclination/desire to seek out new music. But this got me wondering about the average age of the music I listen to. Unfortunately, this is a flawed statistic because as I've mentioned in this space before, most of the music on my iPod is newer, downloaded stuff, not the stacks of CDs and records I've been amassing since I was 12. But since this blog is really all about useless information, here you go. The average year of the songs on today's playlist is: 1993.

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 7
Total minutes of music (approx.): 27
Song with the most previous plays: "23 Years Ago" - 7
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 5
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: The sign on the muffins at the cafe this morning read: Fresh Baked. And, holy shit, my apple cinnamon muffin was still warm when I got to the office! Now that's truth in advertising.

Blossom (Day 195)

The Beastie Boys - "Professor Booty"
Y'all Is Fantasy Island - "Army Card"
Wilco - "Someday Soon"
Interpol - "Pace Is The Trick"
Liz Phair - "Explain It To Me"
Wilco - "Kingsport Town" (live)
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - "Blossom"
Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins - "The Charging Sky"
Imperial Teen - "Everything"
Rilo Kiley - "A Better Son/Daughter"
Franz Ferdinand - "Twilight Omens"
I'm going to start back slow - - don't want to pull a muscle. Here's today's playlist. I'm going to renew my efforts to post what I listened to on my way to work each day. Other brilliant nuggets of wisdom to follow. Fingers crossed.

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 11
Total minutes of music (approx.): 44
Song with the most previous plays: "Blossom" - 10
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 7
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: I didn't see a single NYC commuter wearing a surgical mask.

I Started Something I Couldn't Finish (Day 194)

KT Tunstall - "Other Side Of The World"
Cat Power - "Willie"
The Smiths - "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish"
Umm, I suppose that this could be the permanent subtitle of this blog - - sadly. But don't abandon me completely... Keep me on your reader. It may not be every day, but I will still continue to update this space. But can you blame me for being preoccupied? Digital world is so crazy, yo! So many distractions. (That's without even getting into the upcoming baseball season.) Look, I'm Twittering a bit. If you need a fix try following me there. (Please, I have, like, no followers.) Then there's this blip.fm thing I just discovered which can only be described as a music Twitter. (Whatever that means...) Anyone can sign on and become a DJ and suggest or "blip" songs to followers, or in this case, listeners. (I literally have no listeners, so please sign up. I'm "gemmanuel" over there.) Could be fun, no? And who knows, perhaps by the next time I blog (boy, that suddenly sounds antiquated) we could be conversing in a virtual world as avatars. What's that, you say? You can already do that...?

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 3
Total minutes of music (approx.): 14
Song with the most previous plays: "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" - 7
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 5
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: Short playlist due to subway socializing. When will people ever learn I need to listen to music in the AM! (I kid, Scott, I kid.)

Silver Palomino (Day 193)

Buena Vista Social Club - "Orgullecida"
Samantha Crain & The Midnight Shivers - "Rising Sun"
Don't worry, I've never heard of her either. I guess I downloaded some blog's 2008 compilation called HearYa: Earwood Vol. 1. I think some of the artists on there appealed to me (I'm pretty sure Port O'Brien was one of them). Naturally it just got sucked into the void of 12,509 songs. But you know what? Ms. Crain's got a real nice voice - - kinda Edie Brickell like ('member her?). I'm digging her laid-back folksy charm. Meanwhile, I always liked the band name construction of band leader & band name. Like: Bob Dylan & The Band (classic), or Ryan Adams & The Cardinals (recent). My all time favorite example: Bob Willis & His Texas Playboys. Yours?
Buena Vista Social Club - "Armor De Loca Juventud"
Bruce Springsteen - "Silver Palomino"
David Bowie - "Art Decade"
The Who - "I'm One"
Pavement - "The List Of Dorms"
Teenage Fanclub - "Guiding Star"
The Racounteurs - "Five On The Five"
Cut Chemist - "(My 1st) Big Break"
Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova - "Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy"
The Go-Betweens - "No Reason To Cry"
Pixies - "I Bleed"
Miles Davis - "Madness"

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 14
Total minutes of music (approx.): 47
Song with the most previous plays: "Silver Palomino" - 8
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 8
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: Happy spring, NYC - - it snowed this morning! Look...















You can't really tell, but those were some huge-ass flakes coming down. K.C. loved it, naturally.

Crying Won't Help You Now (Day 192)

Guided By Voices - "Always Crush Me"
The Starlight Mints - "Zillion Eyes"
The Raconterus - "Hands"
Flight Of The Conchords - "I'm Not Crying"
Josh Ritter - "Idaho"
Love - "Your Mind And We Belong Together"
Kind of a weird playlist today. I was sort of getting this feeling that I was listening to someone else's iPod, or my own bizarro iPod. Yes the artists were mostly familiar, but the shuffle definitely seemed to be leaning towards those lesser played tunes. Checking the stats at work confirmed it. In fact, 4 out today's 13 songs I was hearing for the first time ever (on the iPod). Meaning I dumped the songs on here and thanks mostly to frequent shuffling never had the chance to listen to them. This was the first first-timer, and I'm surprised because I've certainly got a lot of plays out of the Forever Changes CD at home. I always considered this album by Love and Arthur Lee to be an unsung 60s classic. To me it really sounds dated - - but in a good way. Sometimes you want that baroque, psychedelic sound that still reeks of cannabis. (Love fun fact: Evidently Neil Young was supposed to co-produce Forever Changes, but he got caught up in Buffalo Springfield commitments. Who knew?) Among the other virginal songs today: "Todo Mundo Pastou II" (Not surprising: It's really one of those tossed-off album closers that sounds like someone let the tape run too long, from the Brazilian band's 1972 album [with a name that just rolls off the tongue] E Seus Cometas No País Do Baurets); "La Bayamesa" (From the infamous Buena Vista Social Club album that I was in love with for a while, but only recently put on my iPod.) and "Blue Clouds" (Just another purdy song from the always underrated Ida.)
Os Mutantes - "Todo Mundo Pastou II"
Josh Rouse - "Life"
Giant Sand - "Lester Lampshade"
Ben Harper - "Crying Won't Help You Now"
Buena Vista Social Club - "La Bayamesa"
The Olivia Tremor Control - "California Demise Pt. 1"
Ida - "Blue Clouds"

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 13
Total minutes of music (approx.): 40
Song with the most previous plays: "Idaho," "Crying Won't Help You Now" - 8
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 6
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: I have a problem. I had plenty of coffee at home (3-4 cups), but when I took my daughter for a muffin I had to order another cup...and then get one at work. I must be peeing pure caffeine.

The Hardest Part (Day 191)

The Beastie Boys - "High Plains Drifter"
Guided By Voices - "How's My Drinking"
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - "The Hardest Part"
Pavement - "Summer Baby (7" Version)"
Thao & The Get Down, Stay Down - "Swimming Pools"
Jim James - "Bermuda Highway" (live)
Wilco - "Lookin' For A Lover" (live)
Jim Noir - "Key Of C"
Track Star - "Owen's Ghetto Punch"'
The Thorns - "Thorns"
M Ward - "Poison Cup"
The Forms - "Transmission"
Mercury Rev - "Opus 40"
Damien Rice - "Grey Room"
Stereolab - "Les Bon Bons Des Raisons"
The Sundays - "Summertime"
Hello, blogosphere. Hope you had a good week. I was in the San Francisco area visiting family...with the family. Did you see me? If so, why didn't you say 'hi'? No matter, we can still be friends. Nice, long playlist today which included a trip to the gym as well as work. And as I got to the office this song popped up. I have never mentioned The Sundays before because I only recently put them on my iPod. Not that I'm a huge fan, but I ripped it off a coworker's iTunes in one of those why-the-hell-not moments when I had some fond memory of their breezy early 90s hit "Here's Where The Story Ends." Well the strangest thing happened as this song played. Now I'm almost a 100% sure I've never heard it. I do believe I owned their debut album Reading, Writing and Arithmetic on some format, but I never bought any of their subsequent records. Yet this song gave me an almost immediate and palpable memory. I pictured myself on an airplane listening to this very song on headphones. Really, it was such a strong feeling that I'm pretty convinced it happened. The song is off the album Static & Silence from 1997, which I definitely did not own until 2 weeks ago. Was it a mix someone made for me? Maybe, but I doubt it. My only possible conclusion involves those horribly lame music channels they have on the plane. There's a chance out of boredom I could have put on one of the "alternative" channels to help me fall asleep. Wouldn't that be a trip if I heard this song one time in my life and now, perhaps 10 years later, could place exactly where I was when I did? Has anything like this ever happened to you? The most ironic part is that this song is not that memorable.

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 16
Total minutes of music (approx.): 56
Song with the most previous plays: "The Hardest Part" - 15
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 8
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: My daughter requested I hang out at school this morning before leaving her for 11 minutes. Not 10, not 12...11 minutes.

How Should It Be (Sha Sha) [Day 190]

Bruce Springsteen - "Thunder Road" (live)
Weird little playlist today: Started out with this uber-recognizable ditty and then devolved into one of those, "Wait, is that...?" kind of scenarios for just about every other song. How about this song though? It may be on that nearly impossible list to ever tabulate: Best Songs Of All-Time. Do you think it's even possible to make you a Top 10 Favorite Songs list? I say no. Ten is just not fair. One hundred seems much more plausible - - but it would be so damn hard. So "Thunder Road" would clearly be on my Top 100 (maybe even Top 20)...as would Golden Earring's "Radar Love." There, I said it. So, back to "Thunder Road." This is the live version from the fairly recent Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 release. It's a great solo, piano version. And, seriously, what other song (or book or poem, for that matter) captures a feeling of trying to escape small-town despair and being on the precipice of freedom and romantic adventure better? The answer is no song.
Os Mutantes - "Balada do louco"
Yardbirds - "Little Games"
James - "Burn The Cat"
Ben Kweller - "How Should It Be (Sha Sha)"
The Hold Steady - "Navy Sheets"
John Vanderslice - "White Plains"
Feist - "Brandy Alexander"
Stephen Malkmus - "Troubbble"
The American Analog Set - "Jr"

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 10
Total minutes of music (approx.): 36
Song with the most previous plays: "How Should It Be (Sha Sha)" - 12
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 6
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: My last trip to work for a week. Vacation next week. See ya!

Busted (Day 189)

Vetiver - "Busted"
Yo La Tengo - "Daphnia"
Nirvana - "Lithium"
Here's my thought for the day. (And to be clear, you're lucky I have even a single thought. Sorry to slide into daddy blog mode again, but day 2 of the single parent experiment was a great big FAIL. Poor little A vomited all the contents of his baby stomach - - more than you'd probably imagine - - all over himself and his crib around 9:45pm. Occasional vomiting and much sleeplessness followed - - for him both, for me the latter. Now back to the program...) Is "produced" still a dirty word in music? I guess somewhere around the 90s lo-fi craze of Neutral Milk Hotel, Sebadoh, GBV etc., saying something sounded "produced" was almost akin to saying "it sucks monkey balls." Of course that was never really true. And this song just jumped out at me this morning as Exhibit A. Oh man, the production on "Lithium" sounds good: clean electric guitar riffs, pristine vocals, and the quiet spaces in between making room for the crashing chorus. Really this whole record was a thing of beauty in the production department. Of course all credit is due Butch Vig (who also twiddled the knobs on The Smashing Pumpkins' Gish.) According to Wikipedia, Vig "incorporated overdubs and vocal doubletracking, whereas Nirvana's previous album, Bleach (produced by Jack Endino) had a more 'lo-fi' sound. Kurt Cobain originally refused to double-track his vocals and guitars but Vig reportedly got him to comply by saying 'John Lennon double-tracked'." It also goes on to mention that Kurt later criticized the album's slickness, although that's a bitter pill to swallow considering the enormous success. Although we all know how ambivalent he was about that... Anyhow, I think the stigma is pretty much gone today, don't you? Bands like Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective and even Flaming Lips seem to pretty much craft their sound in the production end of things. Then again, I'm no expert. Least of all today.
TV On The Radio - "Shout Me Out"
Gnarls Barkley - "The Boogie Monster"
Bob Dylan - "Highway 61 Revisited"
Luna - "That's What You Always Say"
Whiskeytown - "Reasons To Lie"
Coldplay - "We Never Change"

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 9
Total minutes of music (approx.): 38
Song with the most previous plays: "Busted" - 6
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 8
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: Windy!

Don't Go Down (Day 188)

Silkworm - "Don't Make Plans This Friday"
Elliott Smith - "Don't Go Down"
The Beastie Boys - "High Plains Drifter"
Pinback - "Shag"
Son Volt - "Adrenaline and Heresy"
The Go-Betweens - "Born To A Family"
The National - "Beautiful Head"
The Polyphonic Spree - "Section 24 [The Fragile Army]"
Honestly, I was half asleep on my way to work today. ipodwidow is out of town so I'm doing single parent duty for a couple of nights. No biggie, but it's nice to share the load with someone else when a certain 10-month-old wakes up at 12:26 AM seemingly convinced in his still-developing brain that it's morning. It took an hour-and-a-half to change his mind. Anyway, this was the first song to kind of wake me out of my stupor. I never noticed until today how Bowie-like the Spree are. There's that exaggerated drama of art rock and even the vocals have a DB-like tinge. The drama is in spades too. Spare opening piano, followed by booming chorus and even theatrical bits like the sound of typing make this song a lot of fun.
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - "Firecracker" (live)
Thelonious Monk - "Well You Needn't"

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 10
Total minutes of music (approx.): 47
Song with the most previous plays: "Don't Go Down" - 10
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 6
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: Some of the kids in my daughter's class apparently dictated to their teachers the story behind some pictures they'd drawn. My kids' was longer than the others. Sorry I couldn't get the actual picture in the frame too, but please note the monster's healthy alternative to eating other children.

FAIL (Day 187)

Saw the Apple logo for a fleeting moment this morning - - and then the screen went blank. It wasn't even followed by the low battery icon. Could this be the last days of the iPod? Aww, wouldn't that be sad? Considering my phone is also on the brink of death, I just might have to get one device that combines both phone and iPod functionality. If only they made such a device. What? They do? Eureka!

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 0
Total minutes of music (approx.): 0
Song with the most previous plays: n/a
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): n/a
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: Okay, truth be told. The real reason I even bothered blogging today is because I wanted to post this sweet little photo I took with my phone this AM while walking the dog.