After hosting (or, co-hosting, as it were) that Monkey Mix I, true to my word, loaded up on a lot of suggestions.
Here are my super brief thoughts:
Elliott Brood - Mountain Meadows - Excellent. Death Country. High energy. Like ...and You Will Know us by the Trail of Dead, only with melodies and a point of view. Get it.
Brian Borcherdt - Coyotes - Minimalist to a fault. This very quiet and dark album from the Canadian Borcherdt is better served to our mood. This is NOT light Sunday driving music. However, if you've just lost a loved one, or killed a loved one, or are driving all alone on a lonely highway in the middle of the night, this might be the perfect album for you.
Jon-Rae & The River - Knows what you Need - Holy Hell! This is a barn-burning, gospel tinged, big rock, barn-burning great time rekkid!
There isn't a clunker on this beast. If you like a little country-tinge in your rock, but a little fire in the belly and a lotta fire down below, this is the album for you.
Get it. Get it now. (my facebook review)
The Whigs - Mission Control - Fan-flipping tastic Indie Rock. No, not that Twee shit you think of when you hear Indie. This stuff really pounds.
Final Fantasy - Has a Good Home - Terrible band name. Melodic, if precious violin-centric music.
The Thermals - Now We Can See - Not as good as their previous outing but still pretty tight. If you start here you won't be disappointed. But you should start with The Body, The Blood & the Machine.
The Veils - Sun Gangs - Might be my new favorite. Moody, almost dystopian at times. Unrelenting.
Tinted Windows - Tinted Windows - Uninspired power pop from 4 people who could do a lot better.
What the...? - You Have No Idea - Neat little 3 chord power pop from Georgia. A rollicking good album.
No links. I got most of this from eMusic. Some from iTunes. Some from elsewhere. You should seek it out yourself. If you get one, make it the Jon-Rae & the River. Or Mountain Meadows. I'm in a roots rock mood.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Listening Post: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Echo
Come hell or high water, I'm gonna finish this.......
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Echo - 1999 (Buy It)
No. The opening track, "Room at the Top" is NOT the Adam Ant hit. Wouldn't that be cool, though? Mebbe not. As opening tracks go, it's big, it's heart wrenching and it's wondrous.
There is a little bit of soul that has found it's way into the repertoire here. TP is still writing and recording songs for rockers who have been hitting the hash pipe all day. I have visions of the recording studio; passing a bong around while the bearded one, Rubin, sits, shoeless on a big, soft, leather couch, hippy chicks on either side, curling into his arm pits, his head just nodding in time, the engineer fiddling with knobs, Petty just doing his thing.
The album plays like the opening of a concert: Three introductory tracks, one epic, one mellow, the other big and bombastic.
Then it settles into...really good background music. It's so mellow and unsurprising that you forget you have the headphones on.
Listenable but foregettable songs like "Stand Accused of Love" permeate this album. The melancholia that floats over every song isn't heart-wrenching as much as it is....there.
"I Don't Wanna Fight" is written and SUNG by Mike Campbell! After 20+ Years and he sounds like.....Tom Petty.
It picks up a little toward the end particularly after the Campbell debacle. As if to apologize, No More is followed by a retro rocker About to Give Out. A song that would have fit on any TP album in any era and a real barnburner.
Grade B+
A Side: Room at the Top, Free Girl Now, About to Give Out
BlindSide: Echo, Billy The Kid, No More, Rhino Skin, One More Night and One More Day
DownSide: Any of the forgettable filler tracks on this cd. And I Don't Wanna Fight.
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Echo - 1999 (Buy It)
No. The opening track, "Room at the Top" is NOT the Adam Ant hit. Wouldn't that be cool, though? Mebbe not. As opening tracks go, it's big, it's heart wrenching and it's wondrous.
There is a little bit of soul that has found it's way into the repertoire here. TP is still writing and recording songs for rockers who have been hitting the hash pipe all day. I have visions of the recording studio; passing a bong around while the bearded one, Rubin, sits, shoeless on a big, soft, leather couch, hippy chicks on either side, curling into his arm pits, his head just nodding in time, the engineer fiddling with knobs, Petty just doing his thing.
The album plays like the opening of a concert: Three introductory tracks, one epic, one mellow, the other big and bombastic.
Then it settles into...really good background music. It's so mellow and unsurprising that you forget you have the headphones on.
Listenable but foregettable songs like "Stand Accused of Love" permeate this album. The melancholia that floats over every song isn't heart-wrenching as much as it is....there.
"I Don't Wanna Fight" is written and SUNG by Mike Campbell! After 20+ Years and he sounds like.....Tom Petty.
It picks up a little toward the end particularly after the Campbell debacle. As if to apologize, No More is followed by a retro rocker About to Give Out. A song that would have fit on any TP album in any era and a real barnburner.
Grade B+
A Side: Room at the Top, Free Girl Now, About to Give Out
BlindSide: Echo, Billy The Kid, No More, Rhino Skin, One More Night and One More Day
DownSide: Any of the forgettable filler tracks on this cd. And I Don't Wanna Fight.
Listening Post: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - She's the One
The end is in sight....
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - She's The One - 1996 (Buy It)
I'm not a fan of Ed Burns, the director of the movie "She's the One", for which this album serves as soundtrack. i suppose it would be weirder if it was a film by Ken Burns but at least that way I would have heard it. Or of it.
Here we have an album that sort of follows in the tradition set forth in Wildflowers: Minimalism. Relaxation. Fun.
Innocuous. Tossed off.
Rick Rubin is back to bring everything back to its roots. Mike Campbell is a co-producer/collaborator and the breakers are back.
There are covers here, people. For the first time in the TP&tH catalog, I believe. Change the Locks by Lucinda Williams and Asshole, by Beck.
How are they? Well, Change the Locks sounds like a Tom Petty song. Only bigger. Angrier. It's good. Not great.
The same for Asshole except that, for the first time on this record, I can actually see the song playing over a scene of reflective melancholy or a montage of some kind.
There is nothing here to make me recant my apathy toward Tom Petty. I'm sure his fans are satisfied with the 60 minutes of music/words that he provides.
I will tell you this, Angel (No. 2) sounds too much, to me, like Springsteen's If I Should Fall Behind. Same era. Springsteen was first. And better.
But Walls (No. 3) is one of the best songs Petty has written in years. That's a keeper.
Grade C+
A Side: Walls (Circus), Climb that Hill, Walls (No.3)
BlindSide: Zero from Outer Space, Angel Dream No. 4,
DownSide: Supernatural Radio, Hung Up and Overdue.
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - She's The One - 1996 (Buy It)
I'm not a fan of Ed Burns, the director of the movie "She's the One", for which this album serves as soundtrack. i suppose it would be weirder if it was a film by Ken Burns but at least that way I would have heard it. Or of it.
Here we have an album that sort of follows in the tradition set forth in Wildflowers: Minimalism. Relaxation. Fun.
Innocuous. Tossed off.
Rick Rubin is back to bring everything back to its roots. Mike Campbell is a co-producer/collaborator and the breakers are back.
There are covers here, people. For the first time in the TP&tH catalog, I believe. Change the Locks by Lucinda Williams and Asshole, by Beck.
How are they? Well, Change the Locks sounds like a Tom Petty song. Only bigger. Angrier. It's good. Not great.
The same for Asshole except that, for the first time on this record, I can actually see the song playing over a scene of reflective melancholy or a montage of some kind.
There is nothing here to make me recant my apathy toward Tom Petty. I'm sure his fans are satisfied with the 60 minutes of music/words that he provides.
I will tell you this, Angel (No. 2) sounds too much, to me, like Springsteen's If I Should Fall Behind. Same era. Springsteen was first. And better.
But Walls (No. 3) is one of the best songs Petty has written in years. That's a keeper.
Grade C+
A Side: Walls (Circus), Climb that Hill, Walls (No.3)
BlindSide: Zero from Outer Space, Angel Dream No. 4,
DownSide: Supernatural Radio, Hung Up and Overdue.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
listening Post: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Wildflowers
Only a few more rekkids to go......
Tom Petty - Wildflowers - 1994 (Buy it)
Petty sheds the Heartbreakers for another solo outing and dumps Jeff (Mr. Sheen) Lynne along the way. Hooking up with Rick (Let's get back to basics) Rubin, TP puts out a record that is more assured, less clunky and distracted than some previous offerings.
I still feel like I don't understand why Petty has been a force to be reckoned with for so long. But, that said, there is something assuring and precious in a good way about this record. Maybe its the end of the glossy, bombastic 80s. Maybe it's that he has less to prove. I don't know. But there's more to love and revisit on Wildflowers than most of TPs previous albums. One holdover from the 80s, however, is that the songs just don't know when they are over. Even a 3+ minute confection like "Time to get Going" overstays its welcome by about 45 seconds. But, it's kind of hypnotically wonderful that you almost don't care. Until I find myself thinking, "is this song STILL playing?" and then I hate it and I want to die. The record is a good 20 minutes longer than it need be. And it really grinds to a stop at the end. But, there's so much good here that I can't fault him trying to include everything.
There's a melancholy that hangs over this record that make it at once nostalgic and reminiscent. This is the best Petty has sounded in a while and certainly the best record of his to get high to. And the most latter day Beatles he has sounded as well.
Grade A
A Side: You Don't Know How it Feels, Its Good to be King, You Wreck Me
BlindSide: Time to Get Going, Hard to Find a Friend (Feat. Ringo Starr on drums!!)
DownSide: Honey Bee (It should be better, you know?)
Tom Petty - Wildflowers - 1994 (Buy it)
Petty sheds the Heartbreakers for another solo outing and dumps Jeff (Mr. Sheen) Lynne along the way. Hooking up with Rick (Let's get back to basics) Rubin, TP puts out a record that is more assured, less clunky and distracted than some previous offerings.
I still feel like I don't understand why Petty has been a force to be reckoned with for so long. But, that said, there is something assuring and precious in a good way about this record. Maybe its the end of the glossy, bombastic 80s. Maybe it's that he has less to prove. I don't know. But there's more to love and revisit on Wildflowers than most of TPs previous albums. One holdover from the 80s, however, is that the songs just don't know when they are over. Even a 3+ minute confection like "Time to get Going" overstays its welcome by about 45 seconds. But, it's kind of hypnotically wonderful that you almost don't care. Until I find myself thinking, "is this song STILL playing?" and then I hate it and I want to die. The record is a good 20 minutes longer than it need be. And it really grinds to a stop at the end. But, there's so much good here that I can't fault him trying to include everything.
There's a melancholy that hangs over this record that make it at once nostalgic and reminiscent. This is the best Petty has sounded in a while and certainly the best record of his to get high to. And the most latter day Beatles he has sounded as well.
Grade A
A Side: You Don't Know How it Feels, Its Good to be King, You Wreck Me
BlindSide: Time to Get Going, Hard to Find a Friend (Feat. Ringo Starr on drums!!)
DownSide: Honey Bee (It should be better, you know?)
listening Post: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Into the Great Wide Open
It's a slog. But I am determined to get through the Tom Petty catalog. Even if it kills me...
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Into the Great Wide Open - 1991 (Buy It)
Petty brings the band back together for an official TP&tH album. Keeps Jeff Lynne around for that pop sheen and you know what? They actually sound great. The thing about this album is it's filled with Petty songs that you THINK you know but you really don't but it's so familiar and comfy that you don't mind it. And it actually rocks a little more than the man has let himself. Like Makin's Some Noise and Out in the cold. The California rock of Dark of the Sun could easily be mistaken for middling Eagles. Until nasal Petty comes out and warbles.
Lynne does such a good job of producing this record for mass appeal that he actually renders Petty almost anonymous on his own record.
This is one of the best in the Petty catalog and I never need to hear it again.
Grade B+
A Side: Learning to Fly, Into the Great Wide Open
Blind Side: Out in the Cold,
DownSide: Two Gunslingers, Built to Last
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Into the Great Wide Open - 1991 (Buy It)
Petty brings the band back together for an official TP&tH album. Keeps Jeff Lynne around for that pop sheen and you know what? They actually sound great. The thing about this album is it's filled with Petty songs that you THINK you know but you really don't but it's so familiar and comfy that you don't mind it. And it actually rocks a little more than the man has let himself. Like Makin's Some Noise and Out in the cold. The California rock of Dark of the Sun could easily be mistaken for middling Eagles. Until nasal Petty comes out and warbles.
Lynne does such a good job of producing this record for mass appeal that he actually renders Petty almost anonymous on his own record.
This is one of the best in the Petty catalog and I never need to hear it again.
Grade B+
A Side: Learning to Fly, Into the Great Wide Open
Blind Side: Out in the Cold,
DownSide: Two Gunslingers, Built to Last
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The Unheard Monkey!
I've been reading Splotchy's blog for more than a year. I'm a fan. It's a weird blog. Has no center. Unconnected Tuesdays are just 2 pictures that have nothing in common. New Crayon Colors that Splotch invents or names.
And one thing that I have adored, as a musicaphile is The Green Monkey Project.
On occasion a blogger that is connected somehow to Splotch can come up with a theme set of songs. And the first x participants that join in can contribute 6 tracks to the listing, making up one great collected of 36 tracks. Like a themed box set.
This was my turn as you might have read. And, to my friends, my choices were no surprise, probably. But here they are and I will try to explain.
These are 6 representative tracks of 6 albums from the last half decade that you really should consider adding to your collection. Download these and all the others HERE.
01 - Jukebox The Ghost - Hold It In
This should come as no shocker. I love Jukebox the Ghost. I have extolled their virtues here and here. This is the first song that I hear of theirs. It was on a blog about a year ago. It caught me and has never, and I mean never, left heavy rotation in my house.
I think everyone should own Let Live and Let Ghost. Buy it here.
">
02 - Elbow - Some Riot
I never head of Elbow before January. Thanks to another blog that I read, Paul Allen's here, I came across his year end list. And I got almost all of the albums, because I trust Paul Allen.
When Seldom Seen Kid entered my life if it made everything that much better. Not as abstract as Radiohead. Not as cloyingly commercial as Coldplay. Elbow is the worst named, great band I know. And I'm hoping to get to see them backstage at some show since I learned that my trainer is friends with their manager.
03 - Against Me! - Borne On The FM Waves Of The Heart
Oh, what can I say about Against Me!'s album. It's called New Wave because they signed to Sire and recognized the significance that label had on punk and the coining of the term, "New Wave"? That, in just over 30 minutes, this record stays around long enough to make you want more and not too long to realize that you've had enough? I dig this tune, especially since Tegan from Tegan and Sara does the chick's voice and is contrapuntally perfect against Gabel's growl.
Against Me! - Borne On The FM Waves Of The Heart video
">
04 - The Thermals - Here's Your Future
The Thermals new one doesn't blow me away like this album did. And I think this might have been one that I heard first during my Soulseek days. (Long ago) There was a lot of chatter about this band and I got this album for dirt cheap at Amoeba. It might also be the last cd I've purchased. Doesn't matter. This one holds you by the throat and doesn't let go til it's over.
">
05 - The Fratellis - For The Girl
2006 was a great year for music. A bad year to bury dead children but, surprisingly, a lot of good stuff was released.
Once again, I heard about this band on Soulseek. I fel so completely head over heels in love that I began a one man crusade to get them noticed. I needn't have worried. They were all over the place shortly after I found them. But I was happy to pay $18 for the import of Costello Music before it became available here in the states.
This is one of the best tracks off a great debut.
06 - Nightmare Of You - The Days Go By Oh So Slow
My trainer (he has great taste in music) used to manage a band that would play with my band on occasion. he once turned me on to this group. I think we were talking about The Killers and how the 80s were making a comeback only the music that was coming out was sub standard even by that terrible decade's terms.
Then I heard Brooklyn's Nightmare of You. You miss the 80s? Psychedelic Furs and the like? Get this record. You won't be sorry.
">
There ya go. I can't wait to hear the others!
And one thing that I have adored, as a musicaphile is The Green Monkey Project.
On occasion a blogger that is connected somehow to Splotch can come up with a theme set of songs. And the first x participants that join in can contribute 6 tracks to the listing, making up one great collected of 36 tracks. Like a themed box set.
This was my turn as you might have read. And, to my friends, my choices were no surprise, probably. But here they are and I will try to explain.
These are 6 representative tracks of 6 albums from the last half decade that you really should consider adding to your collection. Download these and all the others HERE.
01 - Jukebox The Ghost - Hold It In
This should come as no shocker. I love Jukebox the Ghost. I have extolled their virtues here and here. This is the first song that I hear of theirs. It was on a blog about a year ago. It caught me and has never, and I mean never, left heavy rotation in my house.
I think everyone should own Let Live and Let Ghost. Buy it here.
">
02 - Elbow - Some Riot
I never head of Elbow before January. Thanks to another blog that I read, Paul Allen's here, I came across his year end list. And I got almost all of the albums, because I trust Paul Allen.
When Seldom Seen Kid entered my life if it made everything that much better. Not as abstract as Radiohead. Not as cloyingly commercial as Coldplay. Elbow is the worst named, great band I know. And I'm hoping to get to see them backstage at some show since I learned that my trainer is friends with their manager.
03 - Against Me! - Borne On The FM Waves Of The Heart
Oh, what can I say about Against Me!'s album. It's called New Wave because they signed to Sire and recognized the significance that label had on punk and the coining of the term, "New Wave"? That, in just over 30 minutes, this record stays around long enough to make you want more and not too long to realize that you've had enough? I dig this tune, especially since Tegan from Tegan and Sara does the chick's voice and is contrapuntally perfect against Gabel's growl.
Against Me! - Borne On The FM Waves Of The Heart video
">
04 - The Thermals - Here's Your Future
The Thermals new one doesn't blow me away like this album did. And I think this might have been one that I heard first during my Soulseek days. (Long ago) There was a lot of chatter about this band and I got this album for dirt cheap at Amoeba. It might also be the last cd I've purchased. Doesn't matter. This one holds you by the throat and doesn't let go til it's over.
">
05 - The Fratellis - For The Girl
2006 was a great year for music. A bad year to bury dead children but, surprisingly, a lot of good stuff was released.
Once again, I heard about this band on Soulseek. I fel so completely head over heels in love that I began a one man crusade to get them noticed. I needn't have worried. They were all over the place shortly after I found them. But I was happy to pay $18 for the import of Costello Music before it became available here in the states.
This is one of the best tracks off a great debut.
06 - Nightmare Of You - The Days Go By Oh So Slow
My trainer (he has great taste in music) used to manage a band that would play with my band on occasion. he once turned me on to this group. I think we were talking about The Killers and how the 80s were making a comeback only the music that was coming out was sub standard even by that terrible decade's terms.
Then I heard Brooklyn's Nightmare of You. You miss the 80s? Psychedelic Furs and the like? Get this record. You won't be sorry.
">
There ya go. I can't wait to hear the others!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
listening Post: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Full Moon Fever
It's becoming work, folks. I'm almost done but still not sure why this guy's been around and selling out for more than 30 years...
Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever - 1989 (Buy It)
Petty ditched the Heartbreakers for a while and hooked up with his Wilbury Pal, Jeff Lynne for his most interesting and accessible album in eons.
Here is the rekkid that contains those hits you remember liking TP for. "Runnin Down a Dream", "Free Fallin". Maybe it's just me but I like a little pop sheen on my rock. And Lynne provides it.
Hard to give this album any more accolades than it already has received. It's the best Petty has to offer in his first two decades as far as I am concerned. Sure, there are tracks like "Depending on You" that sound like they fell off a Traveling Wilbury CD, but, so what? The Wilburys were the anti-supergroup of the late 80s. They were catchy and fun and what's wrong with that?
I dare you to listen to The Apartment Song and not think of this year's Jenny Lewis tune, "Carpetbaggers".
Grade A
A Side: Free Fallin, Runnin' Down a Dream, I Won't Back Down
BlindSide: Love is a Long Road, Yer So Bad, The Apartment Song
DownSide: There isn't a clunker on this record.
Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever - 1989 (Buy It)
Petty ditched the Heartbreakers for a while and hooked up with his Wilbury Pal, Jeff Lynne for his most interesting and accessible album in eons.
Here is the rekkid that contains those hits you remember liking TP for. "Runnin Down a Dream", "Free Fallin". Maybe it's just me but I like a little pop sheen on my rock. And Lynne provides it.
Hard to give this album any more accolades than it already has received. It's the best Petty has to offer in his first two decades as far as I am concerned. Sure, there are tracks like "Depending on You" that sound like they fell off a Traveling Wilbury CD, but, so what? The Wilburys were the anti-supergroup of the late 80s. They were catchy and fun and what's wrong with that?
I dare you to listen to The Apartment Song and not think of this year's Jenny Lewis tune, "Carpetbaggers".
Grade A
A Side: Free Fallin, Runnin' Down a Dream, I Won't Back Down
BlindSide: Love is a Long Road, Yer So Bad, The Apartment Song
DownSide: There isn't a clunker on this record.
Friday, April 10, 2009
The mixx is closed
I couldn't be more excited. Looks like I will have 30+ new bands to sample. Not just promos but real, honest to goodness, albums adored by people I can trust.
I will have my explanations up as soon as the great Splotchy gets the mix up.
I will have my explanations up as soon as the great Splotchy gets the mix up.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
One more Space in the Monkey Mixx
There is still room for one more in the Monkey Mixx. It's a daunting mix, I know. All new music. All "must have" releases from this last half decade. I am pleased that there are 5 participants, but we need (or would like) one more.
As an example: here is my tentative list:
Jukebox the Ghost - Hold it In
Elbow - Some Riot
Against Me! - Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart
The Thermals - Here's Your Future
The Fratellis - For the Girl
Nightmare of You - The days Go By So Slow
When the mix is up I will make a post that addresses each song and each album and why you should own it, etc, etc.
But, hey, still looking for that last person.
Anyone?
Anyone?
As an example: here is my tentative list:
Jukebox the Ghost - Hold it In
Elbow - Some Riot
Against Me! - Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart
The Thermals - Here's Your Future
The Fratellis - For the Girl
Nightmare of You - The days Go By So Slow
When the mix is up I will make a post that addresses each song and each album and why you should own it, etc, etc.
But, hey, still looking for that last person.
Anyone?
Anyone?
Monday, April 6, 2009
My Own Monkey Mix! UPDATED
These are the rules:
Splotchy has given me the grand opportunity to set the rules for the next Green Monkey Mix,
I've been giving it some thought.
Here's the deal.
I love music.
When I was a kid I bought Trouser Press and Cream and Rolling Stone and all sorts of magazines to help me find new music.
I also listened to college radio and local stations and, dammit, if I didn't have my finger on the pulse of the great music. While the radio was pumping the pap into the atmosphere and airwaves we were listening to what would become the new waves of all music.
But, now? It's all so splintered. There are so many blogs. There's so much noise. Who can you trust?
You look at a magazine like Mojo and there is an article extolling the greatness of a new album and you want to trust it and then you look at the back cover and there is a full page ad for that same album. When the artist pays so much for that ad, how can the magazine not be biased?
So, where can we turn?
Where do I turn for new music recommendations?
Obviously, the Green Monkey.
Here's what I want:
6 tracks. 6 songs that represent 6 of the albums you have heard in the recent past (even up to now) that are albums that I SHOULD have.
I want the perfect 36 (or more) song sampler that will show me what I am missing.
I can list a bunch of albums from the last 3 years that I think are frigging great. And I think everyone would love them. Nightmare of You, The Builders and the Butchers, The Mountain Goats, The Hold Steady, The Thermals, Epoxies, Elbow, The Fratellis, Black Mountain, Jukebox the Ghost...there are so many.
But, it's hard to know who or what else. Unless you read every blog, read every magazine or listen to only college radio/sirius all the time, you won't have a clue what's out there besides what the media tells you.
Tell me.
Give me the 6 tracks that represent the 6 albums from the last half decade that you think I NEED to hear.
We will be taking the first 5 people to respond either here or on Splotch's site.
So, think about it and jump in.
Splotchy has given me the grand opportunity to set the rules for the next Green Monkey Mix,
I've been giving it some thought.
Here's the deal.
I love music.
When I was a kid I bought Trouser Press and Cream and Rolling Stone and all sorts of magazines to help me find new music.
I also listened to college radio and local stations and, dammit, if I didn't have my finger on the pulse of the great music. While the radio was pumping the pap into the atmosphere and airwaves we were listening to what would become the new waves of all music.
But, now? It's all so splintered. There are so many blogs. There's so much noise. Who can you trust?
You look at a magazine like Mojo and there is an article extolling the greatness of a new album and you want to trust it and then you look at the back cover and there is a full page ad for that same album. When the artist pays so much for that ad, how can the magazine not be biased?
So, where can we turn?
Where do I turn for new music recommendations?
Obviously, the Green Monkey.
Here's what I want:
6 tracks. 6 songs that represent 6 of the albums you have heard in the recent past (even up to now) that are albums that I SHOULD have.
I want the perfect 36 (or more) song sampler that will show me what I am missing.
I can list a bunch of albums from the last 3 years that I think are frigging great. And I think everyone would love them. Nightmare of You, The Builders and the Butchers, The Mountain Goats, The Hold Steady, The Thermals, Epoxies, Elbow, The Fratellis, Black Mountain, Jukebox the Ghost...there are so many.
But, it's hard to know who or what else. Unless you read every blog, read every magazine or listen to only college radio/sirius all the time, you won't have a clue what's out there besides what the media tells you.
Tell me.
Give me the 6 tracks that represent the 6 albums from the last half decade that you think I NEED to hear.
We will be taking the first 5 people to respond either here or on Splotch's site.
So, think about it and jump in.
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