Radio On!

Cloud Nothings — Cloud Nothings

Love it when I find something swift and catchy on my walk to work. Listening to this now on the office speakers.

Kristin Allen-Zito — The Atlas

We're listening to this album this rainy morning.

Totally random find while checking out rdio's new music this week. It's perfect for today.

Local H — Local H's Awesome Mix Tape #1

I have been playing this album for days now. It's a collection of covers done by Local H. I've never seen them live but apparently these are common covers for their live shows. I love when a band has a wealth of good covers and does them often enough to make the song feel like it came out of their heads.

The first track, TV On The Radio's "Wolf Like Me" is the one I've listened to the most, but I have to say they are all very good.

Ana Tijoux — 1977

I've been listening to this one a bit lately. Mostly the title track "1977" as it turned up in my game of FIFA 11 while I got trounced by Chelsea and Drogba. Check it out here. The rest of the album is okay, but definitely a little more "hey I'm a dope rapper!" than it needs to be.

Gold Panda — Lucky Shiner

I don't know exactly why but I've been listening to Gold Panda's "Lucky Shiner" for about three days now. There aren't very many memorable hooks or songs I can point to and say, "Yep, that's so good!" It's not even that sort of pleasant electronic music you hear while shopping at a store that is way above your income level.

No, it's just all one jumble of good music that I can't seem to stop listening to. It's weird!

Check it out!

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin — Let It Sway

Last week was a bit abbreviated because we had been traveling, so I didn't really get to dive into the new music Tuesday on rdio, but I did manage to listen to one new album a lot. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin's "Let It Sway" surprised me because I had it in my head it was more ambient electronic music, and it turns out to be nothing of the sort. Solid album if you like pretty straight forward guitars and drum music.

Another funny thing that happened this weekend: we were driving to the beach and I realized my iPhone 4 fit in my car's iPod port (the 3g never did). I plugged it in and it started playing my songs in alphabetical order because I didn't have any playlists set up. As we listened I noticed I could only immediately name the band about 50% of the time. I actually listened to the entirety of LCD Soundsystem's "All I Want" before I realized what it was.

While I am discovering great music, a lot of it is still not making it deep into my brain. I've also noticed I am singing songs to myself that I miss. Like last night, I sang every line of Pavement's "Cut Your Hair" while washing dishes and wanted to pull the guitar out but it got too late. I'm starting to really miss those old songs to the point of fantasizing about what I will play first on January 1, 2011.

Miniature Tigers — F O R T R E S S

I don't post here often, but when I do it's usually because I'm enjoying something very much. This time it's an album by Miniature Tigers called "F O R T R E S S".

Here's a sample.

Download Miniature Tigers - Egyptian Robe.mp3 (10143.0K)

Also, I'm doing all my music listening these days on rdio.com, which is how I found this one. You should sign up, it's great.

Robyn — Body Talk Pt. 1

Yeah, you saw the title. Completely randomly fired this up on rdio.com and was pretty much taken by it immediately. One thing this project has illuminated for me is my taste for straight-up pop music. I keep surprising myself with stuff like this, feeling a little ashamed, and then admitting I like it when I realize I've spent the better part of a week listening to it.

Sleigh Bells

When I started this project in January I was listening to Sleigh Bells a lot. So when January ended (and my chance to listen to music from 2009) I missed that EP most of all.

Their first full-length album is out and it doesn't disappoint at all. The songs are just as crunchy and loud as before. Great album.

iTunes Link

Quasi — American Gong

As the months go on the project gets easier and the music selection just gets better. Right now I am hooked on the new Quasi album "American Gong" recommended by Steve Cook. Quasi wasn't something I listened to very much in the past, so I am happy I got a chance to listen to this because it means even more albums I get to dig through next year.

Little White Horse - Quasi