Song mash of the day

Music blogging has its pitfalls, to be sure. It doesn’t pay the bills. Wandering from the reservation gets you in serious hot water. Your work output suffers. And everyone is a critic, even when you’re the critic. But none of those pitfalls are as gravely serious as the song mash. We’ve all been there, starting [...]

Oh, no.

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Now look what happened. I won’t sleep for a week. I haven’t been sleeping well anyway. Don’t do this to me. 10/01/09 EVANGELICALS- Fall Tour, Album Sneak Peak? We recently sent an email to Josh Jones from EVANGELICALS asking for some inside dirt [...]

Top tracks of each year of the decade, by year

Yeah. That’s right. I’m going there. No pretty pictures. No MP3 files. No links. Just good ole fashioned Open Mouth, Insert Foot. Since 2009 is not quite in the can, that year is still negotiable: 2000 “Hjartao Hamast” by Sigur Ros 2001 “Beautiful Day” by U2 2002 “The Blower’s Daughter” by Damien Rice 2003 “Hey [...]

Is 2009 Already Better Than 2008?

Is 2009 already better than 2008 for album releases? NPR seems to think so. They have already compiled their list for the top ten albums of the year if 2009 ended today and the way the stock market is going that may be a possibility. The list they have put together isn’t half bad either. [...]

tMiM’s best LPs of 2008

It’s hard enough for one person, much less three, to put together a top 10 albums list. Add to that the difficulty of determining a points system that combines and tightens those three lists into one compact, well-reasoned, properly-ordered, inspired, satisfying list that can transcend the whims and fluctuating tastes of the ages. After countless [...]

A regular ray of sunshine, I am

LP of the year? Surely you jest. Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavillion is altogether familiar terrain, thank you very much, and one doesn’t exactly need a passport to get there. History repeats herself as odiously as a furniture salesman. This time last year the pre-release buzz for Vampire Weekend’s self-titled debut was unbearable. It hardly [...]

Five LPs 2008 yadda yadda yadda

3. Strictly speaking, today’s dispatch recommends two albums, a double release from Quinn Walker: Laughter’s an Asshole/Lion Land. This My Old Kentucky Blog review flies high on Walker’s MySpace page, so it’s a decent place to start. The linked article also highlights three tracks and posts a short interview. One of the tracks, “Save Your [...]

Five great LPs from 2008, continued

2. My stable mates will groan, but it has to be said: The Evening Descends, by Evangelicals, which delivers both the nightmare promised in the LP’s title and the revelation assured by the band’s name. Where did these guys come from, anyway? (Answer: Norman, Oklahoma. Yes, they share their birthplace with The Flaming Lips, which, [...]

Five great LPs you may not have heard last year

In no particular order: 1. A Mad and Faithful Telling by DeVotchKa.  I much prefer their 2006 EP Curse Your Little Heart, and their remake of the Siouxsie and the Banshees track “The Last Beat of My Heart” is one of my favorite songs of the decade.  But their 2008 LP recalls Beirut and The [...]