Pitchfork has posted a guide to upcoming spring releases.
In no particular order I’m excited for:

Acid Mothers Temple
Boredoms
The Breeders
Clinic
Envy (DVD)
Microphones (reissue & new)
Shout Out Louds
The Gossip (live)
Make Believe
Bellafea
The Black Angels
Free Kitten
Joan of Arc
The VSS (reissue)
Ellen Allien
Ladytron
Shearwater
Silver Jews
Tilly and the Wall
Liz Phair (reissue)

I’m probably most excited for the new Ladytron album.

Since I’ve been absent for so long I thought I’d post a nice surprise for those of you who still subscribe; an April mix.
Blah blah yes I know about Muxtaping, but you can only make one 12 song mix.
Album artwork is included in the download, enjoy.

Shout Out Louds - South America
Au Revoir Simone […]

Lovers is without a doubt my favorite band ever.
Visit their Myspace page, and listen to Ginger. Listen all the way through. If you’re not completely heartbroken after listening to this song, well you have no heart.
Their fourth album is coming out soon, and work has commenced on the fifth. Ginger is from the […]

My year end list of favorite albums, presented in iTunes goofy sort of alphabetical order. There are some notable exclusions, as I tried to stray from the low-hanging fruit of indie rock. (Battles, New Pornographers, LCD Soundsystem, etc)
Air Formation - Dream Storms For fans of: My Bloody Valentine, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Asobi […]

I’ll save you from having to read the entire article. Basically CNN thinks that because the labels perform the task of aggressive promotion for Matchbox 20 (tv, radio, online, mobile markets) and give away tchtochke USB bracelets and exclusive videos labels are more relevant than ever.
First of all, labels don’t promote all artists this way. […]

Preciousness, I hate it. In spite of my love for twee, I cannot stand “look at me look at me” sentimentalism. This is why I hate Everything Is Illuminated, Natalie Portman, Wes Anderson, and numerous other things.Carrie Brownstein sums it up beautifully on Monitor Mix:
Each of us has a deal-breaker when it comes to songs, […]

Canadian psych/sludge rock outfit, Black Mountain, easily has the best live show I’ve seen in the last 3 years. They took Cleveland to the moon and back. It’s a shame they had to be opening for the Walkman, between this and the baseball game their set was cut down to about 30 minutes. This is […]

Our Ill Wills is the outstanding second full-length from Swedish indie-poppers, Shout Out Louds. Those unfamiliar with this band will still find the album familiar sounding, as it was produced by Bjorn Yttling of Peter Bjorn & John. Incidentally, bass player Ted Malmros won a Swedish Grammy for directing PB&J’s Young Folks video. This time […]

While this album isn’t exactly bad, it isn’t exactly good. Anyone looking to get into Matt Pond would do better to start with some of his earlier work, or even his last album, Several Arrows Later. (Stick to the albums, not the EPs.) Last Light swims a little too deep in adult contemporary waters. The […]

Possibly the best album ever released by any band after a 13 year break. 2007 is the return of twee.

Harptallica. Metallica songs (only the old good stuff) but the shredding is done on harps instead of guitars. I will definitely have to check them out when they’re in town.

Regular posting should resume tomorrow. I’ve been a bit lax since returning from Chicago as I’ve been out of town or had house guests for the past several weekends in a row and am only just now recovering. Not to mention Guitar Hero happens to be far more alluring most evenings than WordPress. I did […]

Though Time Magazine tells me punk started in 1977, this masterpiece recorded in 1973 begs to differ. If you’ve never heard this classic album you’ve been living under a rock, go buy it immediately.

Worth checking out if only for the Mr. Airplane Man connection.

From the vault, screamo at its most authentic. You won’t find this album in Hot Topic.

I want to like this band. Their first EP and album were great. I played a show with them once in a basement bar, and they were really nice, sweet people. But this album is just crap. All of this bands’ problems can be summed up to trying to hard. They’re trying too hard to […]

I was holding out for the vinyl release of this until I saw the awesome cd packaging. It should also be noted that Laura Veirs puts on a phenomenal live show, even when it’s just her and a loop pedal.

I like the idea that, because of downloading, people are going to buy songs only if they are good. I think that’s a positive thing. It means lazy bands aren’t going to get away with giving you one hit single and an album full of filler.
This is almost exactly what I’ve been saying all along. […]

Friday night I hung out with some friends. Alana tattooed one of them while I had drinks next door. Much guitar hero was played. Saturday I had lunch with my sister and stepdad at Great Lakes. I ate German food. It was gorgeous out so we got to sit on the patio. I received an […]

In case you were wondering what Le Tigre’s been up to. I wasn’t. Personally, I haven’t given a rat’s ass about this band since This Island came out and I heard Visibility pumping out of the Gap. That’s right, a song about queer visibility in a store with questionable attitudes about the gay community, and […]

This is the latest release from Melbourne trio, Love of Diagrams. The album is more vocal heavy than its predecessors, and reminds me a lot of Electrelane’s The Power Out. It’s a perfect listen for a rainy day.

I haven’t heard the latest Northern State album yet, so I’ll reserve judgment. It seems any album to come out in the past 5 years with even a modicum of political innuendo generates much eye rolling. White girls rapping also generates the eye rolling. I don’t get it. This is surely no worse than The […]