J's Indie/Rock Mayhem - 21st December 2011Top 25 Albums of 2011

[It's the 10th Annual Top 25 Albums show and I'm excited. It's one thing to have been a DJ here at WQFS for 12+ years, but now to have my annual best albums countdown reach its first decade, well, that's even more exciting. Hopefully the list will do what all the best lists on sites do for me as a reader - inspire you to check out stuff you haven't heard or had dismissed earlier in the year without giving them a fair shot. It also might inspire some heated feelings about the placement (or non placement) of records, but that's okay, too. It's all in the spirit of our love of the music.

2011 was an interesting year for music - as many people other than me have said, there weren't a lot of break-out, overwhelmingly epic records. In fact, it's hard to really think of any. Instead, the year was peppered with really good, really strong albums that are going to make themselves into our constant home rotations for years to come. And really, for each of us, that's more of a true mark of excellent art than if the album is some sort of artistic triumph. Those epic albums are amazing, but there's a reason I keep listening to the albums I do and just maybe this year was jammed full of a crop of records that will be added to that list for me.

I'd love to hear about what you were listening to this year, what you liked, what you didn't, thoughts about the list and so on. So leave 'em in the comments below and have a Happy New Year! But while the year still is, onward.]

J's Indie/Rock Podcast: Top 25 Albums of 2011 Show

25. (tie) A.A. Bondy - Believers ; Veronica Falls - Veronica Falls : Cheating as usual, my (now annual) tie at 25th place has a lot to do with how these albums channel a feel and run with it for their total running time. Believers is a dark, melancholic record about searching for meaning in everyday images and experiences, while Veronica Falls adds another cog to the really excellent return of C83 music from the past few years with their self-titled debut. For Bondy, this was his first step out from the sound of his first two solo records, but for Veronica Falls, the challenge will be not to let this record define them. Played - "The Twist" (Bondy) and "Misery" (Veronica Falls)

24. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Mirror Traffic : My expectations were pretty high for this album given that it was going to be drummer Janet Weiss' last go-round with the band and that the previous record, Real Emotional Trash, has been, in my opinion, Malkmus' best post-Pavement work. I was a little underwhelmed, but when I got my prejudices out of the way, this was another excellent outing for Malkmus. Is he old enough yet to where we pretty much just want to hear him do the same thing over and over though? Or was he always that way courtesy of co-creating one of the most unique and definitive sounds of indie-music back in the 90s? Played - "Stick Figures in Love"

23. Birds of Avalon - Birds of Avalon : The first North Carolina band on the list, Birds of Avalon are a rock and roll band, plain and simple. There are big and knotty hooks all through this record and, I'll be honest, this year that really caught me. So if you want yourself a thoughtful rock and roll record, go grab this now. Played - "Invasion"

22. Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts : Sometimes it's really amazing watching the idols of noise and punk get older and turn out amazingly beautiful pieces of more approachable music. Moore did that this year with his Beck produced LP of mostly acoustic music. This is still one of the co-founders of Sonic Youth here, though, and there are plenty of bits that remind you who you're dealing with, but this is still just a gorgeous piece of work. Played - "Benediction"

21. Tom Waits - Bad As Me : I am a long-time fan of Messr. Waits, but Real Gone had left me fairly cold. It was far from my favorite of his albums and though I liked what he was doing, it just didn't connect. Not so Bad As Me. Maybe it was going out on the Glitter and Doom tour and hearing fans go nuts for classics right alongside newer stuff, but this is one of Waits' most expansive and career summarizing albums to date. It still sounds like a late-period Waits record - don't get me wrong. But when the immaculate "Kiss Me" comes on, we're instantly teleported back to 1978's Blue Valentines and that's not a bad thing. Played - "Satisfied"

20. Obits - Moody, Standard and Poor : Easily winning the award for year's best album title, the second record from Obits was even more dynamic and varied than the first. I think anyone with the pedigree of this band, though, better produce great records. I mean, did you hear the last Hot Snakes album? Seriously. Keep it up, fellas. Played - "I Want Results"

19. Future Islands - On the Water : When Ryan Snyder and I reviewed this record for the Indie/Rock Roundtable earlier this year, I was pretty impressed, but this album is a slow grower and it has worked its crooning magic on me throughout the time since. There's a tendency to want to lump this record in with the other bands mining the 80s synthesizer and reverb heavy sound, but this is just simply too good for words. Played - "Balance"

18. Hammer No More the Fingers - Black Shark : The second North Carolina band on the list (or 3rd if you count Future Islands' actual origins). Infectiously and foot-tappingly mining the indie sounds of bands like the Dismemberment Plan and the math-rock liquidity of people like Faraquet, this was just a tremendously fun record. It takes you back a little (if you were alive and paying attention then), but still sounds rooted in today. Great job. Played - "It's About Carin"

17. Dum Dum Girls - Only In Dreams : Bands that evade the sophomore slump are always exciting to me, and Dum Dum Girls way outdid themselves with this record. It probably had a lot to do with this being their first full-length with the entire band rather than just their main songwriter on instruments, but whatever it was, this is a huge step up and a really fantastic record. Played - "Bedroom Eyes"

16. The Raveonettes - Raven in the Grave : I really enjoyed this band's debut, but almost immediately tuned out of their subsequent work. Thank goodness for In and Out of Control and this year's entry, Raven in the Grave, as they have completely turned me around on this band. This might be their finest hour yet as their music takes on new dimensions and depths. Played - "Forget That You're Young"

15. Bon Iver - Bon Iver : Not many records earned more controversy this year in the "is it good or not" discussion. A lot of people hailed it as a masterpiece, others as boring. I found myself significantly won over by their new work - a needed departure after the singularly magnificent debut that just begged not to be echoed. Here's hoping there's more great stuff to come. Played - "Towers"

14. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L : I hate typing out this band and album name - at least if I want to get them correct, but this is one of the funkiest, engaging and head-nodding records of this year. I was a big fan of this band's first record as well, but this record is in another stratosphere. Played - "Gangsta"

13. Megafaun - Megafaun : The third (or fourth) North Carolina artist on the list. Having been wowed by these guys from the start (and originally through a live show I caught back in 2007), it's hard to know what to expect from them and their ever evolving sense of musicianship. After their stellar work on the Sounds of the South performance at Duke University last year, this record makes a lot more sense. It's all over the place and in the best of ways. Well worth visiting and revisiting. Played - "These Words"

12. Girls - Father, Son and Holy Ghost : Girls' debut was simply stellar and this follow-up ups the game even more. There's something tremendously sad and uplifting at the same time going on in these songs. I don't know exactly how to describe it. Hard for me to admit, but just listen to the thing. Played - "Vomit"

11. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy : I'm never quite sure how to compare St. Vincent to anyone, let alone while avoiding the trap of automatically comparing her to other female artists. Strange Mercy does remind me of one of the other truly unique and multi-faceted artists of the last 20 years - P.J. Harvey. And in a year when Harvey put out one of her best (though missing from my list because I just slept on it this year), it's great to see Annie Clark release something just as engaging in many ways. Played - "Cheerleader"

10. Apex Manor - The Year of Magical Drinking : This was the year of me being magically upset. Twice this band was supposed to play in North Carolina this year and both shows were canceled for various reasons. Listen to this record and see why I was dying to hear this stuff live. Power-pop and perfect melodicism at its absolute best and I was jonesing for it all year. Ross, please, come to the East Coast! There's a reason this record placed both in the top 10 albums and had my #1 single of the year. Played - "Teenage Blood"

9. Sloan - The Double Cross : Sloan took me a long time to get, but so did power-pop in general. Took me getting older, if that says anything. Now, with Sloan on a tear since Never Hear the End of It, their 20th anniversary gets celebrated in style with a tremendously poppy and catchy record to match the best of their work. Played - "Follow the Leader" and "The Answer Was You"

8. Big Troubles - Romantic Comedy : Here we have an interesting situation. A record that was shrugged at by several reviewers ends up as one of my favorites of the year. Why? Regardless, this album is just a simply stellar channeling of pop music. I love the song writing here. There's no guarantee I'd love another album by this band in the same vein, but for now, it's awesome. Played - "You'll Be Laughing"

7. Royal Bangs - Flux Outside : The band I most wish I'd caught at the Hopscotch Festival this year. Tremendously hooky, big, overpowering percussive songs. I can't say enough about this album and how it won me over from the get go. Played - "Faint Obelisk Two"

6. Wye Oak - Civilian : I can remember the interested yet indifferent feeling I got about this band when I listened to their debut. What a difference two albums makes. Wye Oak has hit a stride I hope they never come down from and this album is the apex of their work so far. Played - "Civilian"

5. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues : A remarkable step up from a remarkable debut, there is very little I can say about this record that hasn't been poured out upon it already. I still find myself drawn to it as a fan of the English Folk Rock movement, but there's so much more going on here, I hate to even pigeonhole it in that way. Played - "Sim Sala Bim"

4. Sandro Perri - Invisible Spaces : I had never heard of Sandro Perri before picking up this record, and I'm so glad that has changed. This album is infectious and open with spaces of music that just draw the ear in and don't let go. The higher up my list I go, it seems, the harder it is to accurately describe a lot of this music, but here's trying anyway. Played - "Changes"

3. Real Estate - Days : There were many times this year where I thought this would be my number one. It's a gorgeously constructed record and its warm tones are just the epitome of everything that can be right in music like this. It's not going to grab you by the throat. It's going to take you by the hand and walk slowly and enjoy everything going on around it. Played - "It's Real"

2. Fucked Up - David Comes to Life : I rarely get drown in by big, loud punk or hardcore records anymore. And certainly Fucked Up already transcended those lables with The Chemistry of Modern Life. But this album is a whole other beast entirely and it's a steamroll of a listen. I can't say enough good things about this band and if they call it quits soon, I wouldn't blame them. I wouldn't want to try and follow this record up either. Played - "Queen of Hearts"

1. The Decemberists - The King Is Dead : The Decemberists have been a band I've enjoyed a lot for some time, but this record goes beyond that. I've never listened to one of their albums as much as this one, and I've never been so immediately drawn in. There isn't a bum track on the whole damn record and it just gets better and better as it goes. At 10 songs, it hits me right where I love an album - it doesn't overstay its welcome and it doesn't give me any filler. Just track after track of perfect pop songs and then done. Seriously. All jokes about this being "the best REM record in 20 years" aside, the Decemberists managed to channel the Athens bards in a way that no one else has seemed to be able to do - at least not in a long time. This is 2011's best album. Played - "Don't Carry It All"

That'll do it. I'll be back next week with the usual mix of new and classic stuff. Thanks for all you listeners this year, and I hope you'll continue to come back each week to check out all the great music we'll be bound to get to know together. Until then, thank you, and take care.

J's Indie/Rock Mayhem - 14th December 2011The Top Singles of 2011

[Welcome to one of my favorite episodes of the year, the annual Best Singles of the Year show. It makes sense that this would, in some ways, trump next week's Top 25 Albums show if only because this episode is wall-to-wall great songs. I'll be trying to represent great whole album works next week with single songs, but this week, the single's the thing.

Due to temporary scheduling at the station, we were off the air when I came up, so this week's episode has a bonus 20 or so minutes of songs from going on the air early. We also did our last Indie/Rock Roundtable of the year, but unfortunately YES Weekly's Ryan Snyder couldn't join us last minute. Thankfully we already had Mad Dog of the Friday Night Rock Party on WQFS coming up to do it with us, so he did an able job filling Ryan's shoes. Mad Dog's best-of show will air Friday, December 30th from 6 PM - 10 PM on WQFS, so make sure you catch it.

Now, while the die is cast, onward.]

J's Indie/Rock Podcast: 14th December 2011 show

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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Twilight Singers - "On the Corner" [from dynamite steps. i was less thrilled with this record on the whole than its two immediate predecessors, but this song is undeniably dulli. "spread your legs / insert your alibi." yeah, that's dulli alright.]
the Veils - "Don't Let the Same Bee Sting You Twice" [from the troubles of the brain EP. a great bit of t. rex-ian stomp.]
Black Pistol Fire - "Silent Blue" [from their self-titled record. a great little rip-roaring rocker and yes, the record is solid as well. great song.]
EMA - "Milkman" [from past life martyred saints. love the big, throbbing pulse of this song and the record is pretty solid, too.]
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Futurebirds - "Wild Heart" [from via flamina. one of two really excellent covers on this EP, but probably the more interesting of the two. but that cover of "wicked game" is pretty righteous. tough pick.]
Birds of Avalon - "Xarardheere" [from their self-titled album. seriously a great rock record and there was a dearth of those this year.]
My Morning Jacket - "Holdin on to Black Metal" [from circuital. infectious in a way i didn't really expect from this band.]
the Henry Clay People - "California Wildire" [from the this is a desert EP. heard they'll have a new full-length next year, so here's hoping it kills.]

[Here's where Mad Dog and I discussed the new Black Keys album El Camino and talked about some of the trends of 2011 and what our best music of the year (might) be. I guess we're both playing our cards close to our chest before our respective year-end shows. We both gave the thumbs up to the new Black Keys though, so take a listen. Enjoy.]

the Black Keys - "Gold on the Ceiling" [from el camino. pretty great little song.]
the Black Keys - "Sister" [also from el camino. really dig this song.]
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the Decemberists - "Down by the Water" [from the king is dead. we'll hear more from this next week, but this was a great song from a great record.]
tUnE-yArDs - "Bizness" [from WHOKILL. another record we'll probably see more from next week. a really unique and awesome record.]
Class Actress - "Weekend" [from rapproacher. heard about this totally by accident, but really dug this song this year.]
DOM - "Damn" [from the family of love EP. great, great pop song. so close to being in my top ten.]
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Beady Eye - "The Roller" [from different gear, still speeding. i wasn't huge on this record (insert requisite joke about how best parts of this + best parts of noel gallagher's record = awesome oasis record HERE) but it does have some winners and this is certainly one of them. beady eye music, mate!]
Fucked Up - "Ship of Fools" [from david comes to life. this was a tough choice as there are several great songs on this record, but here you go.]
Doomtree - "Bangarang" [from no kings. the chorus of this one gets me singing along every time. love it.]
Dirty Gold - "California Sunrise" [from the roar EP. pretty sunny california teenage pop rock and roll.]

[Now it's time for the top ten singles of 2011! Here we go!]

10. Male Bonding - "Tame the Sun" : I like this band, but had some cold feet heading into this album for some reason. This opening track eliminated that from moment one and it's remained one of my favorite songs of this year. Just too, too good. From Endless Now.

9. The Rosebuds - "Woods" : I'll be honest in that this is not my favorite Rosebuds album by a good bit. But the parts where this album works are among the best moments in the band's career. "Woods" is the exact type of song I would send to someone if they asked what this band sounds like. Bracing, lifting and melancholic at the same time. From Loud Planes Fly Low.

8. The War on Drugs - "Baby Missiles" : Springsteenian isn't a proper adjective, I suppose, but this song seems born to make it so. Propulsive and keyboards that sound like something from the Born in the U.S.A. days make this a stellar track. From Slave Ambient.

7. The Smith Westerns - "Weekend" : Two songs named "Weekend" on a best-of show signals something about the year. The better of the two, by Smith Westerns, is a really tremendous slice of rock and roll, just like most of their debut full length. From Dye It Blonde.

6. Sloan - "Unkind" : Sloan has been on an unabashed roll in the last 5 years (really for their entire career) and to try to pick just one song from each of their records as a great single is a ridiculously difficult task. That said, "Unkind" is a massively killer song and is everything great about a Sloan song - hooks for days, sing-along ready and infectious to no end. From The Double Cross.

5. Yuck - "Get Away" : Pavement, Dinosaur Jr. and everything else great about 90s rock and roll piled into this British outfit and this song may just be the epitome of it all. I know I'm a sucker for great hooks, but this chorus is just about the most amazing thing in my ears all year. Sorry about accidentally cutting it off. Yikes. From Yuck.

4. Hooray for Earth - "No Love" : Another record that snuck up on me thanks to a great review at Aquarium Drunkard, Hooray for Earth sounds at times like some of the guiltiest guilty pleasure music, but it's so expertly crafted that it is far beyond mere aesthetic infection. From True Loves.

3. Kathleen Edwards - "Change the Sheets" : A strange situation - this song was released earlier this fall, but the album it's off of doesn't hit the streets until next year. I toyed with not including it, but it really is one of the best songs I've heard all year and it just makes me incredibly anxious for her latest. Fleetwood Mac influence never sounded so good. From Voyageur.

2. Fountains of Wayne - "Someone's Gonna Break Your Heart" : The opening verse to this song is stupid. I'll admit it. But the chorus is the most redemptive thing and no verse after this stumbles the way the opener does. If it weren't for that opening verse, this would probably be number one, but the rest of the song is undeniable Fountains of Wayne. This is pop craftsmanship. From Sky Full of Holes.

1. Apex Manor - "The Party Line" : It's the bridge that cements this song as the best of the year, but the rest of the song is as winning a thing as either Apex Manor or its predecessor, Broken West, ever put together. The album is just as winning, but this song is this year's best in my mind. From The Year of Magical Drinking.

That'll do it for this week. Next week is the big 10th Annual Top 25 Albums of the Year show. Make sure you don't miss it. Until then, take care.

J's Indie/Rock Mayhem - 7th December 2011

[Welcome to another edition of J's Indie/Rock Mayhem - the last regular show before our two weeks of year-end countdowns. Next week is the Top Singles of the Year show and then, in two weeks, it's the 10th annual J's Indie/Rock Top 25 Albums of the Year. Going to be a lot of fun the next few weeks, so make sure you catch all the action.

Let's get to it. Onward.]

J's Indie/Rock Podcast: 7th December 2011 show

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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Blitzen Trapper - "American Goldwing" [the title track from their latest. not top 25 bound, but still a pretty solid record. just feels like they're spinning their wheels a bit on this one. give me furr any day though.]
the Modern Lovers - "Roadrunner" [the lead track from their self-titled debut. with the road theme of the first song, thought i'd keep it up.]
Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter - "Ceilings High" [from marble son. i've enjoyed this record quite a bit. wish jesse and her crew would come touring around here again though.]
Echo and the Bunnymen - "The Killing Moon" [from ocean rain. so i own this record and crocodiles and here's where i admit my ignorance: where else should i go?]
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Doomtree - "Beacon" [from no kings. the doomtree collective is coming back to local 506 in chapel hill on sunday, february 12th. i cannot wait.]
the Jayhawks - "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" [from smile. a classic and leftover from last week's wedding reception playlist.]
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - "Senator" [from mirror traffic. i wish i'd liked this record near as much as i did real emotional trash. ah, well.]
Blur - "Chemical World" [from modern life is rubbish. one of the first records by blur i owned. this is the exact kind of record that, back in the 90s, you were probably on your own listening to at your high school. well, at least i was. college was a saviour, that's for sure.]
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Los Campesinos! - "Hello Sadness" [the title track from their latest. i'm enjoying more and more of this album as we work through it. we might still hear more.]
Fugazi - "Turnover" [from repeater. dischord records, the label founded by fugazi's ian mackaye, just launched the fugazi live series site this week where you can purchase all manner of officially recorded fugazi bootlegs from their entire career. it's set to eventually house close to 800 live shows. the minimum price for each is a dollar with a suggested price of five, but wouldn't you love to own a copy of all the fugazi shows you were at? yeah, me, too. you can also read a great interview with mackaye about the bootleg site and other stuff over at pitchfork.]
Atlas Sound - "Te Amo" [from parallax. a lot of people are raving about this album. maybe i'll come around some day about messr. cox.]
Jim White - "Heaven of My Heart" [from Wrong-Eyed Jesus (The Mysterious Tale of How I Shouted). jim's got a new album due out in february on yep roc records. really can't wait.]
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the Black Keys - "Lonely Boy" [from el camino. one of the two new records that came out this week that annoyed me with how late in the year they dropped. not giving me enough time to properly consider them for year-end stuff. still. good new stuff from the black keys. we'll hear more.]
the New York Dolls - "Lonely Planet Boy" [from their self-titled debut. as i said on twitter, how could i not follow the previous song with this one? yeah. i couldn't not.]
Bombadil - "One Whole Year" [from all that the rain promises. fantastic stuff from their latest.]
49 Admiral - "The Art of Giving Up" [from this will leave a mark. one of only a few bands that got in touch with me on myspace back in the mid-00s and ended up being really good. love this song still.]
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the Roots - "Kool On" [from undun. the other record that came out this week and muddled my year-end outlook. really good so far. we'll hear more.]
the Afghan Whigs - "Somethin' Hot" [from 1965. the afghan whigs were announced yesterday as headliners for both the u.k. and u.s. versions of next year's all tomorrow's parties. the u.s. version is being curated by greg dulli, too, so there you go. ought to be awesome. might need to go.]
Smashing Pumpkins - "Daydream (Old House Demo)" [from the new gish reissue. one of the more interesting tracks from the deluxe edition - this was an early demo of the album's closing track, here sung by billy corgan rather than..who sings on the album? d'arcy, i think? sure. d'arcy.]
Adam Thorn and the Top Buttons - "Life's a Bummer" [from last year's self-titled record. ah, one of last year's best singles, without question.]
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Estrangers - "L'Avventura" [from black ballroom. pretty awesome little song from a pretty stellar record. check out their bandcamp site to download the album.]
Uncle Tupelo - "Chickamauga" [from anodyne. first time i saw son volt, they tore through this. been a favorite of mine ever since. yes, i got into son volt before i'd ever heard uncle tupleo. that's the way of things.]
Glen Campbell - "Hold On Hope" [from ghost on the canvas. campbell's cover of the guided by voices classic. one of my favorite covers of this year. probably should have saved it for next week. ah, well.]
Josh Rouse - "Late Night Conversation" [from dressed up like nebraska. i know i haven't played anything off of rouse's debut in a long time, so there you go. great record.]
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Joan as Police Woman - "The Magic" [from the deep field. a great single, though a middling album. still dig this song quite a bit.]
the Suicide Commandos - "Burn It Down" [from make a record. minneapolis punk rock from the late 70s.]
the Church - "Lost" [from starfish. one of my favorite songs from a truly gorgeous album.]

That'll do it for this week. I'll be back next week with the Top Singles of 2011, so make sure you tune in for all the fun. Until then, take care.

J's Indie/Rock Mayhem - 30th November 2011

[Welcome to another edition of J's Indie/Rock Mayhem. Sorry I didn't get last week's Thanksgiving Eve show up, though if you'd like to take a fun listen, check it out here. I'm not going to post a playlist - it's more fun that way anyway.

The end of the year stuff is coming up soon - on Wednesday, December 14th we'll have the Top Singles of the Year show and probably the last episode of Indie/Rock Roundtable as we look back at the year in music with YES Weekly's Ryan Snyder and, possibly, Mad Dog of the Friday Night Rock Party here on WQFS. Then on Wednesday, December 21st, it's the 10th annual J's Indie/Rock Mayhem Top 25 Albums of the Year, the best stuff you've heard on the show all year. For real. Make sure you catch both of those excellent shows.

Now, onward.]

J's Indie/Rock Podcast: 30th November 2011 show

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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Tom Waits - "Get Lost" [another of the great songs off of bad as me. am i alone in thinking this is a truly stellar record? have enjoyed it so much more than anything since mule variations - not including the orphans box set because that thing was just too good for words.]
Catherine Wheel - "Crank" [from chrome. ah, catherine wheel. you really did have quite a run. a much better band than they are remembered for.]
John Doe - "Don't Forget How Much I Love You" [from keeper. i haven't quite taken to this album the way i have previous albums by doe in this past decade - a year in the wilderness was especially fantastic - but it's still got some great songs on it.]
Destroyer - "European Oils" [from rubies. probably my favorite destroyer song of all time and my second favorite single of 2006 from my number one album of that same year.]
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Los Campesinos! - "By Your Hand" [from hello sadness. this is a pretty kickin' opening song, so maybe we'll hear some more as we go along.]
the Gun Club - "Ghost on the Highway" [from fire of love. i meant to play "she's like heroin to me" which, let's face it, is one of the best songs of all time, period. but i landed on the wrong track and got this barn burner instead. oh, well.]
St. Vincent - "Chloe in the Afternoon" [from strange mercy. really enjoying this record, so we'll see how or if it ends up on the year-end list.]
Smashing Pumpkins - "Snail" [from gish which got the big 20th anniversary reissue treatment this week, along with siamese dream, this week. we'll be doing a big look back at this album over at aquarium drunkard later this month. ought to be sweet.]
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Atlas Sound - "The Shakes" [from parallax. i, admittedly, have not always followed deerhunter/atlas sound/bradford cox that closely, but i have slowly been coming to understand why people love this stuff so much.]
the Replacements - "I Will Dare" [one of the many songs i played at my wedding reception this past weekend and decided to stick on the show tonight.]
Dare Dukes and the Blackstock Collection - "Meet You at the Bus" [from thugs and china dolls. the record drops in january and dare has a christmas song out, too, that we'll have to get cued up for the christmas show.]
My Bloody Valentine - "When You Sleep" [from loveless which also saw its 20th anniversary this year. oh, indie-rock.]
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Bombadil - "Laundromat" [from all that the rain promises. have enjoyed hearing this record quite a bit. a good fall record.]
Matthew Sweet - "I've Been Waiting" [from another record that turned 20 this year, girlfriend. you can head on over to the av club and see sweet talk about this song and perform a live, solo version. check it out.]
Phonte - "Gonna Be a Beautiful Night" [from charity starts at home. really have enjoyed this record. good start to a proper solo career, tigallo.]
Megafaun - "These Words" [from their self-titled album. probably bound for the top 25. who knows. mystery, people!]
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Estrangers - "Sprague" [from black ballroom. which we'll hear more from. this band from winston-salem contains philip pledger of caleb caudle and the bayonets, so some great guitar work.]
Edwyn Collins - "A Girl Like You" [from gorgeous george. i enjoyed the tweet from my friend jeremy about how hearing this made him want to ditch work, go home and watch empire records. that was my first exposure to edwyn collins. what a weird time the 90s was.]
A.A. Bondy - "The Heart is Willing" [from believers. i really like this record. it's struck a pretty strong chord with me this year.]
Josh Ritter - "Right Moves" [from the historical conquests of josh ritter. another song from my wedding reception playlist.]
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Thee Oh Sees - "Carrion Crawler" [from the carrion crawler ep which came out recently. good stuff.]
the Wonder Stuff - "Inertia" [from never loved elvis. a truly fantastic record from a band i've enjoyed getting to know over the years.]
Olivia Tremor Control - "A Peculiar Noise Called 'Train Director'" [from the remastered and re-issued black foliage animation music: volume one. my favorite of the two OTC albums.]
Beth Orton - "Love Like Laughter" [from central reservation. this was the first orton album i owned, despite having been following her since her debut. albums like this, purchased in high school, when i only had but so much money to spend on music at a time, really remind me of how much is lost in the instant-gratification of the internet's torrents and digital downloads. i know this is an old thing, but i'm not sure if even i, having grown up then, value music in quite the same way anymore. if i don't, i know kids growing up only knowing music in the internet age certainly don't think of music in the same way.]
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Ryan Adams - "Do I Wait" [from ashes and fire. pretty solid, low-key album from messr. adams.]
Big Star - "September Gurls" [from radio city. my wife is a september gurl - so of course this was all too perfect for our reception as well.]
Pulp - "Something Changed" [from different class. something changed indeed.]

That'll do it for this week. I'll be back next week with one of the final regular shows of the year. Until then, take care.