Mercoledì 5 Lug 2006, 3:15

I'm writing this to celebrate getting audioscrobbler to work with the rhythmbox (have since switched to amoroK) player for ubuntu linux (I know, I'm a big dork.) Forgive me if i forget something, if i make tons of spelling mistakes, or if i quit halfway through to play internet scrabble.

10 running out because I'm a sucker for codas. This song is the best of example of the more is more attitude the band took with bring it back. At about seven minutes, it's triple the length of an average Mates song and the multi-tracked vocal leads and backup choir might sound out of place for long time fans. Still, “Running Out” manages to combine the band's knack for quality songcraft with a newfound confidence and sense sonic adventurism (is that even a word?) making it their best song yet.

9 Woodcat I'm positive no one's ever written a love song like this before. Boy loves girl, “incident” changes girl into woodcat, boy attempts to transform himself into a hare so that he can be with her always. If the lyrics are the strongest this going for “Woodcat”, the music's not far off. Tunng kind of sound like the Books, that is if the Books were a band that cared more about quality folk songraft than making listeners scratch their heads. While Comments of the Inner Chorus is packed with memorable songs from front to back, the single manages to steal the show every time.

8 Painter in your pocket People tell me that Dan Bejar is a great lyricist, smart people. The man does turn a pretty phrase, but I'll be the first to admit that I have no clue what the he's singing about 90% of the time. “Painter in Your Pocket” is Destroyer at their most esoteric. Still, if Bejar continues to pen melodies this good I'll forgive him for writing over my head every now and then. The strongest track on the strongest album of the year.

7 worry about it later I drove from New York to Washington last Sunday listening to nothing but this track and “Skip to the End' (well, almost.) If I'm alone in the opinion that the new album is the better of the two Futureheads records, it's probably because I love “Worry About it Later” enough to overlook all of the News and Tribute's shortcomings (return of the berserker, anyone?). The only song that combines the debut's giddyness with the follow up's penchant for huge hooks and surefooted rhythms. Also, did anyone else notice that the drummer got a whole lot better over the past two years?

6 bloodbook on the half shellReasons why I love Danielson's “Bloodbook”.
*It's a five minute song about books, how cool is that?
*The guy's a “christian rock” band leader yet each line's internal rhyme is strong enough to put the strongest rapper to shame.
*He's letting Page France open for him in Baltimore, maybe other places too.
* The song's super-fun to sing along with if you enjoy embarrassing yourself doing a sweet falsetto.

5 the funeral To my knowledge Band of Horses is basically Carissa's Wierd minus Jenn Ghetto with the lead and backup singers swapped. It's always strange when one of your favorite bands splits up and reforms in some other incarnation. At first I hated the them for not sounding exactly like Carissa's. With a sound that owes more to Crazy Horse than Death Cab, Band of Horses deserve to be considered their own band. While It was sad to lose one of the few groups still creating intelligent emotional music, you can't really mourn the loss with Band of Horses being as good as they are and Jenn Ghetto carrying on Carissa's legacy with S. “The Funeral” is one of the most devastating song's I've ever heard, and it rocks harder than just about anything else out there. Too bad modern rock radio has no sense at all, this song could be huge.

4 10 gallon ascots This wins the prize for best use of two chords since “About a Girl.” It's the only song this year who's chorus can hold a candle to “The Funeral” and it hits twice as hard because it comes out of fucking nowhere. Like Pavement, The Kinks, or GBV, Tapes 'n Tapes are proof that the best songs are usually the most simple ones. If this one doesn't make you want to start a band then you don't like music, nuff said.

3 Postcards from Italy There's a moment in “Postcards from Italy” when all the instrumentation drops out and we're simply left with Zach Condon and his Mandolin (2:20) . Observe that even at it's most naked, Postcards has more life than 99% of what passes for indie rock. When the drums return they're accompanied by a trumpet restating one of the song's central themes (there are several distinct themes, impressive for a song that's only four minutes). I won't listen to this song while driving, I'm terrified I'll get lost in the song's final minute and send my car barreling through an elementary school playground. If I wasn't already set to graduate, I'd gladly drop out and use the rest of my tuition money to take in Europe.

2 Pink Steam Pink Steam is the perfect Sonic Youth song. It reads as a summary of the past 25 years for the only “indie” band that matters and points out a number of interesting paths the band might take in the future. Oh, and holy shit those guitars: while the idea would have never crossed my mind before, I'd be all for Sonic Young Team. If I made decisions like a rational human being this would be the best track of 2006, but…

1teach me sweetheart I love this band. I love everything they've ever recorded. Hell, they could have their grandmother sing an entire album and I would call it one of my favorites of the year. They did. I did. I understand that the Fieries are a cult band and that Bitter Tea is a cult record but there's a something in “Teach me Sweetheart” for everyone to love. For some it might be lyrics (why does everyone want to spill poor Eleanor's blood?) For others, maybe it's Matt's preference for bizarre instrumentation (the hell's a tack piano anyway?) For me, it's the exact moment when the first formless verse pulls itself together into a momentous chorus finally justifying three years worth of Who comparisons. With most indie bands concerned with broadening their audience through car commercials and the O.C., it's awesome to see a band like Fiery Furnaces embrace their weirdness and create music that's truly unlike anyone else's. Did I just say awesome?

Well, there it is. No hip-hop, which makes me kind of sad. Other than that I'm doing well. Summerschool ends in four weeks and then I'm done with college for good. Also, I'm soundtracking a movie for my friend's film school portfolio based around a man's forbidden love with a gallon of milk. Sexy stuff. Running, reading lots of books, learning to cook, trying to author a comic about being young and confused and poor and in love with life and hating every minute of it. Maybe starting up a scrabble blog.Anyone know any schools hiring math teachers?

mates of state
tunng
destroyer
the futureheads
danielson
band of horses
tapes 'n tapes
beirut
sonic youth
the fiery furnaces