1. Menomena - Mines

2. Women - Public Strain

3. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

4. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

5. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest

6. Four Tet - There Is Love In You

7. Fang Island - Fang Island

8. Beach House - Teen Dream

9. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening

10. Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz

I was late to the game on Titus Andronicus

Forgiveness Rock Record was good, but not great.

This is actually the best song I heard this year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wusGIl3v044

This year, I was lucky enough to see a trove of live acts that were all some variation of awesome. The selection of my favorite albums was driven largely by great concert experiences.

(Best onward)
1. TV on the Radio - Dear Science
The first single “Golden Age” filled me with doubt, even disappointment. I mean, it sounded like (immaculately produced) Michael Jackson, not TV on the Radio. But then I gave all of Dear Science my first listen. The opening track, “Halfway Home” buried my preconceptions and made certain they would not rise again like friggin' zombies. The album’s…

10. Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future
Klaxons deliver the quick and easy, extremely danceable pop tune, 11 times over. I'd bet that punk music on other planets is a lot like Klaxons.
Favorites: "Two Receivers", "Magick".
9. Feist - The Reminder
A valuable record full of passion, beautiful instrumentation and Leslie Feist's rich, folky vocals. There are equal portions rock to deep thought on this album, making it all the more poignant.
Favorites: "I Feel it All", "So Sorry".
8. Handsome Furs - Plague Park
This Dan Boeckner side project is characterized by bare bones recording, crunchy, yet…

i am cut off from 95% of my technological fixes for at least three weeks. this will be an interesting and infuriating experience. even after one day without music to sate me, i have noticed how much i take for granted as far as technology. i have also noticed that i am becoming more bitter, less patient, and generally unhappy. this is an ordeal my friends, but we will win through.

p.s.
for some reason i find myself having obscure thoughts about starcraft and the different strata of defense one erects to remain safe.
my defenses are fucked, ya'll.

i've been listening to a lot of elliott smith lately, far more than in the past, and i am amazed. he was a prodigious song-writer, and based on what i have been watching for a couple hours on youtube, an incredible live act.
as if his immense catalogue of brilliant songs isn't enough of a testament to his greatness, the videos of him live are nearly flawless. he hits every pitch, and almost recreates the numerous layered voice and guitar tracks of his recorded songs, even when playing solo.
his lyrics are very fluid, poetic, and for me, deeply engrossing.…

Sun 18 Mar – Explosions in the Sky, Eluvium, the pAper chAse

this show gets about an 8 out of 10 from me. eluvium took the stage pretty late (like 8:30?), but his set was pretty good. i thought that the way his songs gradually expanded into a wall of noise was really cool. he seemed to put a lot of thought into each part of the progression, using only 3 or 4 chords to create an eight or ten minute crescendo that left my body humming.

then there's the paper chase. i'm not so sure about those guys. there's…

At first, I thought this might just be the best hoax ever:
http://www.last.fm/event/66241

Then I found at that it is just mostly hoax:
http://pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/Rage_Bjork_Arcade_Fire_to_Play_Coachella#40622

Then I started hoping At the Drive-In would get back together.

Then I declared that I will let nothing keep me from this show.
<3 Coachella

Today I made the monumental decision of giving my last.fm profile an abortion. Starting fresh is always a good feeling, and 2007 is a time to be so fresh. Now we will see what I actually listen to besides at the drive-in.

I have been listening to so much damn music lately, that I thought I would list my recently favored albums.

Return to Cookie Mountain
Young Liars
Apologies to the Queen Mary
Set Yourself on Fire
Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn
Low Level Owl Vol. 1
A# F# Infinity
Yanqui U.X.O.
with Euphoria
Inches
St. Elsewhere
The Grey Album
The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw
Justamustache

If you see 'Dix Bruce' (as well as plenty of Zeppelin) a lot on my charts, it's because I'm learning folk Mandolin from a CD. Soon, I will be part of a multi-instrumental indie collective!