Cheers to The Clean for a welcome return after eight years! The new album is quite good, and hangs on to the Kiwi Pop sensibilities that made the band so influential to begin with. It sounds, at once, both old and new. And when it’s The Clean, that’s kinda, exactly what you want.
Two words really sum up my thoughts about Two Dancers…strange and wonderful. On paper this album shouldn’t really work for me—what with the falsetto, the over-the-topness, and the sheer gayness of it all. But this strange brew comes together, and finds me coming back for more.
We Still Got The Taste Dancin' On Our Tongues
El Que Siembra Su Maíz by Trio Matamoros
Los Tamalitos de Olga by Orquesta Aragon
I consider Tom Waits one of my music heros, so I thought I’d post ten amazing songs that rank among my favorites. Little Trip to Heaven was actually the first dance song at my wedding—so if you’ve never heard it, you’re in for a treat.
Tweet I say. I'm finally caving in to social media pressure and using Twitter. Still experimenting with it, but thought it would be a nice addition to the blog. Won't bore you with a lot of nonsense, but have been posting a song of the day, which is fun 'cause it's a great excuse to dig into the deep music recesses of my mind. 
Enjoy ten great tracks that have made the rounds on my iPod the last couple months.
Elvis Costello - The Crooked Line
The Handsome Family - Wild Wood
God Help the Girl - If You Could Speak
Malcolm Middleton - Subset of the World
Iggy Pop - Je Sais Que Tu Sais
Crocodiles – I Wanna Kill
Telekinesis! - Coast Of Carolina
Modest Mouse – Satellite Skin
Dark Night of the Soul – Daddy’s Gone
Papercuts - A Dictator's Lament
Forget about all the things people expect Wilco to be. They’ve produced an amazing body of work with very few exceptions—maybe Sky Blue Sky was one of them—but even that was a pretty enjoyable listen. From album to album, they’ve been more country, more rootsy, more experimental (cheers to Jay Bennett), more whatever. I think there’s no masterplan here, they just make the kind of music that speaks to them. And Wilco (The Album) finds them doing it really well—a world-weary, well-oiled machine, that hasn’t lost its sense of humor.
What a delight the new Handsome Family has proven to be. I very much like the bits and pieces I’ve heard over the years, but somehow never really did much extended listening to their past albums—I think that’s about to change. Honey Moon is described as a celebration of Brett and Rennie Sparks’ marriage of 20 years, and there’s no denying the love is there. It’s a lush world budding with surprises, irony…and well…love.
A little late in getting to this one. But thankfully, Stephen McBean has kept Pink Mountaintops going after focusing much of his attention to his day job with Black Mountain the past few years. Outside Love is a great album, and in some ways even stronger than Axis of Evol. Woozy, boozy, bluesy rock that perfect for the Summertime.
If I happened to have a baby boy instead of a girl 19 months ago, I’d have named him Jarvis. That’s largely based on my high opinion of the man. And with his second time going solo, he’s put out another great album. Not quite as strong as his first perhaps, but excellent indeed. Take into consideration the production of Steve Albini, which adds more guitar edge to the whole affair. Thankfully, it’s not overdone and works quite well for the most part. I’m partial, but it remains one of the strongest releases of the year thus far.
