Heavy Rotation #13

Here are the albums I've been listening to a lot the past couple of weeks...

Belle & Sebastian/Write About Love - This is another band I was late on. I did pick up The Life Pursuit a few months after it was out and really liked it...but didn't dig back into the catalog. The songs on this album got quickly stuck in my head and that was just fine with me. I owe this one a more in-depth review and I owe it to myself to start grabbing their earlier work.

Bob Dylan/Blonde on Blonde - I pulled this out because there was a section on its making in Bob Dylan in America and kept listening because it's Blonde on Blonde. Don't know that I ever noticed the awesome drumrolls in "Sooner or Later (One of Us Must Know)" before. Gotta love the Robbie Robertson guitar on "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" too.

Ben Kweller/Ben Kweller - I pulled this out to play for the teacher I'm working with this year - she said she was into hearing new music and you don't have to invite me twice. She liked it a lot and I haven't been able to stop listening to it since. This is pure power pop goodness and performed entirely by Kweller. The way he harmonizes with himself on "I Don't Know Why" is awesome and there is not a dud track to be found.

The Long Winters/Putting the Days to Bed - This is another one I tried out on Katie (the teacher), though I'd been listening to it before that. I took it on my trip to Indy to see The National at the beginning of the month but didn't listen to it then. A week or so later I did and was hooked all over again. This is literate power pop at its finest and I can't wait until the new album comes out in early 2011 (I hope).

Old 97s/The Grand Theater Volume One - I spent some time listening to Rhett Miller's recent self-titled album and the band's last one , Blame It On Gravity, in the run-up to the new album's release on Oct. 12. I had to get myself prepared, you see. Anyway, I like the new one. A lot. I'm also excited that the current plan is for The Grand Theater Volume 2 to come out in May. I need to write more in-depth about this as well.

Heavy Rotation #12

It's almost mid-September and time to take a look at what I've been listening to the last few weeks...

Isobell Campbell & Mark Lanegan/Hawk - How have I ignored this combination before now? Wow. The sweetness of Campbell's voice paired with the weariness of Lanegan's is a winning combination on songs like the torchy "Come Undone" and the driving "You Won't Let Me Down Again," which also features a great little guitar solo from former Smashing Pumpkin James Iha.

Delta Spirit/History From Below - The song taking up the most headspace the past few days has been "Bushwick Blues" but the rest of the album is just as entertaining in its mix of folk and rock and solid lyrics. This is my first time with this band as well.

My Morning Jacket/Evil Urges - I don't know that I ever really embraced this album when it came out. I loved Z, which was my introduction to the group, and this one...I don't know. I liked songs for sure but the whole feel just felt off. However, I'm rediscovering it now and liking it more than I ever thought I did. I think we'll get a new one next year too.

The National/Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers - I grabbed this from eMusic a couple years ago and played it a few times. For some reason, it didn't scratch the same itch as Boxer or Alligator. Lately? Hell yeah. I think it was the version of "Lucky You" from their Daytrotter session a few years back that made me go back to it. Thanks, Daytrotter! Of course, the fact I'm seeing them three weeks from tonight might have helped too.

Superchunk/No Pocky For Kitty and Superchunk/On The Mouth - These are the remastered versions put out a few weeks ago. I'd never heard these albums - a fact I will probably talk about after Majesty Shredding is released on Tuesday. Until then, suffice it to say I'm enjoying them and "Throwing Things" is one of my new favorite songs.

Tokyo Police Club/Champ - Unlike a lot of people on the internet, I was a big fan of TPC's debut album, Elephant Shell. A big fan of all their work, really, so I was eager for this record to come out. It felt a little off to me after the first listen or two but I've finally plugged into it and can't get the songs out of my head. It still feels like they're an unappreciated band these days. Maybe that's what happens when you have early music blogger mythic status?

Heavy Rotation #11

My music listening was fairly scattered through the early part of the summer and included a fair amount of shuffle mode both on iTunes and my iPod. Over the last few weeks, however, a few albums have been played repeatedly and it's time to talk about them.

The Afghan Whigs/1965 - This album represents another in a long line of groups that I missed out on the first time around. I'd heard about The Afghan Whigs, of course, but I don't think I really ever heard any of their stuff. Thanks to eMusic, I took the plunge with this album late last year. It didn't sink in immediately and I forgot about it until recently...and now I can't get enough of it. It's slinky and sexy and creepy and stylish and Greg Dulli is one of a kind. Once I've had my fill of this one, I'll be delving into some more - should I go Congregation or Gentlemen next?

Band of Horses/Infinite Arms - So, for this band the backlash came with album #3 and not the sophomore release. I think people just decided it was time to turn on Ben Bridwell, maybe because the rest of the band is different from the first 2 albums or maybe it's just not as majestic-sounding as those albums were. I read a lot of mediocre reviews and I'm not sure why. Yes, I did take a few listens to for the album to fully sink in but once it did, I was hooked. This is melodic folk-pop in the finest sense. Kudos to those few critics brave enough to avoid the rock critic playbook on this one.

Pernice Brothers/Goodbye, Killer - This is the new album and it is packed full of great pop and country-inflected songs. As always, Joe Pernice writes with a wonderful melodic sense and a way with words that can be depressing and beautiful at the same time. So good.

Bruce Springsteen/Born To Run - A recent purchase and viewing of his new DVD, London Calling, had me grabbing this classic album from 1975 (the remastered version from a few years back) and playing it for the thousandth and one time. "Thunder Road" is my favorite song ever and songs like "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out," "She's The One," and the title track sound great blasting on my car stereo with the windows down on my way to and from class.

Superchunk/Indoor Living - I came late to the Superchunk party and am very excited that I get to buy one of their albums upon release, as I can in Sept. with the upcoming Majesty Shredding. I spent some time on my Blip account posting older songs of theirs that I mostly don't own and decided it was time to devote some listening time to this album. I grabbed it from eMusic a while back and mostly ignored it but I won't make that mistake anymore. Mac McCaughan is someone I have a lot of respect for as an artist and businessman (as one of the heads of Merge Records, my favorite indie label). Again, once I exhaust this album, I'm going back for more.

Heavy Rotation #10

As we head into June, I thought I'd mention the albums that got the most play in May...

The Beatles/Revolver - This is the other of my two favorite Beatle albums. John's "I'm Only Sleeping" is just a perfect marriage of lyric and music - that woozy, chuggy feeling of needing some sleep. Paul's "Eleanor Rigby" is famous, of course, and justifiably so with the strings and the sense of urgency to such a depressing song. All that, plus 12 other great songs too!

The National/High Violet - This is the newest album from the band and it's another winner. One could listen to "Bloodbuzz Ohio" or "Afraid of Anyone" over and over and over again and still be entranced on the tenth repeated play. I really should do a longer post on this one.

The New Pornographers/Together - This has everything you want from a New Pornos record. An insanely catchy song or five? Check. Neko Case working those pipes? Check. A brilliant Dan Bejar song that you have no idea what it means? Check ("Silver Jenny Dollar," in this case). Just another great album (their 5th) from a great band.

Matthew Sweet/100% Fun - I tend to think of this as Sweet's 3rd album (behind Girlfriend and Altered Beast) but it's actually his 5th. No matter the number, this is a collection of great songs of the power pop persuasion and a highly underrated album of the 90s. I have an idea for a series of posts and this one will definitely be covered more in depth.

Heavy Rotation #9

I've spent a fair amount of my listening time over the last few weeks in shuffle mode, whether on the main computer or my iPod. I have, however, managed to listen to a few things a handful of times each...

AC/DC/Back in Black - I've never owned this album before but bought it on a whim with some birthday money. Sure, there's the awesome opening of "Hells Bells" and the flat-out great "You Shook Me All Night Long" but I'm digging the stuff I've never heard before like "What Do You Do For Money Honey" and "Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" (which I can't stop singing).

The Beatles/Rubber Soul - This is #1 or #2 on my list of favorite Beatles albums, depending on what day you ask me. Actually, since I've been listening to it a lot these past few weeks it would probably rank #1 right now. Why? How about some great John songs like "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)," "Nowhere Man," "Girl," and "Run For Your Life?"

Big Star/#1 Record/Radio City - The recent death of Alex Chilton had me diving back into this combo of the group's first two albums. Together, they are two of the best power pop albums ever recorded with song after great song.

The National/Alligator - They have a new album coming out in a few weeks, so I've been reacquainting myself with this one, their album before the last one. I'd forgotten just how awesome this one is, especially the five song set that closes the album - "All The Wine," "Abel," "The Geese of Beverly Road," "City Middle," and the raging "Mr. November." Listening to this also reminds me of my friend Mike (who blogged as Little Toy Robot), who recommended I check it out the first and only time we met face to face. Wish he were still around...

Heavy Rotation #8

Here's what I've been listening to the most in the last half of March...

The Beatles/Help!

Clem Snide/The Meat of Life

Drive-By Truckers/The Big To-Do

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists/The Brutalist Bricks

Sparklehorse/Dreamt For Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain

Heavy Rotation #7

As we head towards the middle of March, here's a few things I've been listening to a lot lately...

Ryan Adams/Heartbreaker

The Beatles/Beatles For Sale

U2/All That You Can't Leave Behind

Heavy Rotation #6

As we start a new month, here's a look at what I couldn't stop listening to at the end of January...

The Beatles/With The Beatles

Crooked Fingers/Dignity And Shame

R.E.M./Reckoning

Spoon/Transference

Bruce Springsteen/Darkness on the Edge of Town

Heavy Rotation #5

I haven't done one of these on the current version of the blog but I'm going to keep my numbering intact from the last version. It's been almost 20 months since I've done this feature, which is hard to believe. Anyway, here are some albums I've been listening to a lot of over the past couple weeks...

The Avett Brothers/I And Love And You

Belle and Sebastian/The Life Pursuit

Elvis Costello/Armed Forces

Elvis Costello/Get Happy!!

Elvis Costello/Trust

Patterson Hood/Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs)

Sloan/Never Heard The End Of It