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...

Sunday Shuffle #174

I added 2 new albums this week, so we'll see if songs from either pop up...

1. Now You're Among Strangers/J. Tillman (2)

2. Darl/Buffalo Tom (1)

3. Bright Smile/Josh Ritter (3)

4. Marrow/St. Vincent (1)

5. The Wolves (Act I and II)/Bon Iver (1)

6. We Are Sleepyheads/Belle and Sebastian (1)

7. The Compromise/The Format (1)

8. Gimme The Wire/Ted Leo & The Pharmacists (7)

9. Changes/The Zombies (1)

10. Nice Fox/The Rosebuds (2)

None of the newest but at least all of today's selections weren't the first time they've come up since I had to reboot everything.

Sunday Shuffle #173

I've been in shuffle mode since last Sunday and I'm going to keep it rolling at least through today. I do have about 50 albums saved for later on eMusic, so eventually I'm going to add to the digital collection.

1. 2:19/Tom Waits (1)

2. It's Gonna Be Beautiful/Wisely (2)

3. I Never Want To Go Home/The Whigs (1)

4. A Lesson In Crime/Tokyo Police Club (1)

5. All Dolled-Up in Straps/The National (1)

6. San Andreas Crouch/Portastatic (1)

7. Scene From #12/M. Ward (1)

8. Hangman/The Redwalls (1)

9. Marie/Steve Earle (1)

10. The Swish/The Hold Steady (1)

Sunday Shuffle #172

All of my digital music has been recovered from our external hard drive and I have reloaded iTunes with it. I feel like celebrating with my first Sunday Shuffle in a little while. Call it my Easter present to anyone who may still be reading.

1. Jail Is Fine/Army Navy (1)

2. The Riverside/Cracker (1)

3. The Moonbeam Song/Harry Nilsson (1)

4. Jeff Buckley Moves to Memphis (2001 demo)/The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers (1)

5. Slow West Vultures/The Mountain Goats (1)

6. Today's Undertaking/M. Ward (1)

7. Rake/Steve Earle (1)

8. Young Men Dead/The Black Angels (1)

9. Past Time/The Baseball Project (1)

10. Sad, Sad Song/M. Ward (1)

"Past Time" is a perfect song to pop up today, since the 2010 MLB season opens tonight. I bought Sports Illustrated's Baseball Preview issue yesterday, an annual tradition for me.

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

Reading Rebound

I finished the Dec. 2009 issue of Asimov's last night and I didn't have a positive view of the magazine. I gave up on the final story by Brian Stableford (I keep trying with him but I'm just not a fan) and the rest of the stories didn't do much for me, except for Mike Resnick's humorous high concept, "The Bride of Frankenstein." I was reluctant to pick up the Jan. 2010 issue but I've been trying to wipe out my SF mag backlog, so I did. I read the entire issue today and was glad I did.

It's rare to find any anthology, whether magazine or book, where you like everything but I found that today. Thanks to Geoffrey A. Landis for the mix of hard SF and character, Felicity Shoulders for the gut-punch ending in a story about a world where babies with modifications are abandoned, Steve Rasnic Tem for the uplifting melancholy, Chris Roberson for the birth of a Superman substitute in an alternate world, Robert Reed for the similarities and differences of his alternate world (which includes a never-made movie by Martin Scorcese, Carol Emshwiller for her wonderful oddball characters, and Allen M. Steele for the pulpy thrill of the "true" story of an alien lifeform landing on an exclusive Georgia island.

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