2012 MIX #1
Spotify Playlist		COMING SOON!
Title	Artist	Album
Thirteen (Big Star Cover)	Albert Hammond Jr.	Thirteen Single
Hellcats	Grand & Nobel	Grand & Nobel
Simple Song	the Shins	Port of Morrow
How I Met My Mother	Guided by Voices	Let's Go Eat the Factory
Comeback Kid	Sleigh Bells	Reign of Terror
Bright Idea	Mother Mother	Bright Idea Single
Honolulu Blues	Craig Finn	Clear Heart Full Eyes
Stay Useless	Cloud Nothings	Attack on Memory
Put Me to Sleep	Porcelain Raft	Strange Weekend
In the Middle (I Met You There)	Mathew Dear ft. Jonny Pierce	Headcage
I Belong in Your Arms	Chairlift	Something
Annie You Save Me	Graffiti6	Colours
Clear Eye Clouded Mind	Nada Surf	The Stars are Indifferent to Astronomy
Brains	Lower Dens	Brains Single
Mafia	The Asteroid Galaxy Tour	Out of Frequency
Ace	The Big Sleep	Nature Epxeriments
The Right Profession	Hospitality	Hospitality
Out From Inside	Imperial Teen	Feel The Sound

2011 MIX #8
Spotify Playlist		COMING SOON!
Title	Artist	Album
Sto Forwarding That Crap to Me	"Weird Al" Yankovic	Alpocalypse
Don't Fuck With My Money	Penguin Prison	Penguin Prison
Breakin' the Law	The Babies	The Babies
Axe Man	The People's Temple	Sons of Stone
Post-War Blues	Dan Mangan	Oh Fortune
Origins	Tennis	Origins (single)
Somebody that I Used to Know	Gotye, Kimbra	Making Mirrors
Riot	The Whip	Wired Together
The Stars Come Out Once the Lights Went Out	The Veils	Troubles of the Brain EP
Buy Nothing Day	The Go! Team	Rolling Blackouts
The World Is Yours	Glasvegas	EUPHORIC /// HEARTBREAK \\\
The Roller	Beady eye	Different Gear, Still Speeding
Miranda	Surfer Blood	Tarot Classics
Civilian	Wye Oak	Civillian
This Moment	French Horn Rebellion	The Infinite Music of French Horn Rebellion
Love to Get Used	Matt Pond PA	Spring Fools EP
Up on the North Shore	The Sea and Cake	The Moonlight Butterfly
The Great Pan is Dead	Cold Cave	Cherish the Light Years

2011 MIX #7
Spotify Playlist		COMING SOON!
Title	Artist	Album
Baby, It's Fine	A Classic Education	Call it Blazing
Dancing With the Devil	Wolf Gang	Suego Faults
Human Error	We Were Promised Jetpacks	In the Pit of the Stomach
Ghost Towns	Radical Face	The Family Tree: The Roots
New Brighton	Said the Whale	New Brighton
Better Off Without You	Summer Camp	Welcome To Condale
100 Cigarettes	Redgy Blackout	Redgy Blackout
Baby I Got the Death Rattle	Los Campesinos!	Hello Sadness
You Are a Tourist	Deathcab for Cutie	Codes and Keys
Ten-Twenty-Ten	Generationals	Actor-Caster
Something Came Over Me	WILD FLAG	Wild Flag
Lighthouse	The Roots, Dice Raw	Undun
Tokyo-Vampires&Wolves	The Wombats	The Wombats Proudly Present...This Modern Glitch
Half Moon Street	Pete and the Pirates	One Thousand Pictures
Over	VHS or Beta	DIAMONDS AND DEATH
Golden Reiter	Silverclub	No Application EP
Lonely Boy	The Black Keys	El Camino
City Grrl	CSS, Ssion	La Liberacion

2011 MIX #6
Spotify Playlist		Coming Soon!
Title	Artist	Album
Chains of Love	Ryan Adams	Ashes & Fire
Better Love	Eisley	The Valley
Won't Let Them Tear Us Apart	The Sounds	Something to Die For
Senator	Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks	Mirror Traffic
Too young To Die	Brite Futures	Dark Past
Big Problem	ANR	Stay Kids
What The Water Gave Me	Florence + The Machine	Ceremonials
Jam For Jerry	Holy Ghost!	Holy Ghost!
It's Real	Real Estate	Days
Weekend	Class Actress	Rapprocher
Falling Out	Body Language	Social Studies
Me, Myself and ID	Library Voices	Summer of Lust
The Conqueror	FUCK ART, LET'S DANCE!	The Conqueror
Wetsuit	The Vaccines	What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?
Let's All Go to the Bar	Deer Tick	Divine Providence
You and I	Lady Gaga	Born This Way
Holocene	Bon Iver	Bon Iver
Booty City	Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears	Scandalous

2011 MIX #4
Spotify Playlist		I-Tunes Playlist
Title	Artist	Album
Miss You	The Rapture	In the Grace of Your Love
Blood	The Dears	Degeneration Street
Street Clothes	Fool's Gold	Leave No Trace
Bad Feeling	Veronica Falls	Veronica Falls
Gone, Gone, Gone	Nikki Lane	Walk of Shame
I Can See Through You	The Horrors	Skyling
Midnight City	M8.	Hurry Up We're Dreaming
Vomit	Girls	Father, Son, Holy Ghost
Rifle Eyesight (Proper Name)	Cymbals eat Guitars	Lenses Alien
Santa Fe	Beirut	The Rip Tide
Came Out of a Lady	Rubblebucket	Omega La La
Utopia	YACHT	Shangri-La
Standing O	Wilco	The Whole Love
Same Mistake	Clap Your Hands Say Yeah	Hysterical
Original Spin	Mother Mother	EUREKA
I Wanna Meet Dave Grohl	Wavves	Life Sux
Cruel	St. Vincent	Strange Mercy
Block After Block	Matt & Kim	Sidewalks

2011 MIX #3
Spotify Playlist		I-Tunes Playlist
Title	Artist	Album
Up Up Up	Givers	In Light
Good	The Dodos	No Color
Down by the Water	The Decemberists	The King is Dead
I Don't Want Love	The Antlers	Burst Apart
Holdin' on to Black Metal	My Morning Jacket	Circuital
A Thousand Roads	Parts & Labor	Constant Future
Who's in Control	British Sea Power	Valhalla Dancehall
Philadelphia [The City of Brotherly Love]	We Are Augustines	Rise Ye Sunken Ships
I Think It's Gonna Happen	Army Navy	Last Place
Weekend	Smith Westerns	Dye it Blonde
C'est La Mort	The Civil Wars	Barton Hollow
That Wolf	Gomez	Whatever's On Your Mind
Will do	TV on the Radio	Nine Types of Light
Repatriated	Handsome Furs	Sound Kapital
Colours	Grouplove	Grouplove
Time Spent In Los Angeles	Dawes	Nothing Is Wrong
Tonight's the Kind of Night	Noah and the Whale	Last Night on Earth
Get Away	Yuck	Yuck

2011 MIX #2
Spotify Playlist		I-Tunes Playlist
Title	Artist	Album
2 Hearts	Digitalism	I Love You, Dude
Baby's Got a Blue Flame	Bosco Delrey	Everybody Wah
Gratisfaction	The Strokes	Angels
Ignite	the Raveonettes	Raven in the Grave
On the Corner	The Twilight Singers	Dynamite Steps
Heaven's Gonna Happen Now	The Pains of Being Pure at Heart	Belong
Out of Style, Out of Touch	Eulogies	Tear the Fences Down
Royal Blue	Cold War Kids	Mine is Yours
Second Chance	Peter Bjorn and John	Gimmie Some
Shell Games	Bright Eyes	The People's Key
Socialite Death Squad	Idle Hands	Life is Beautiful
Song for America	Destroyer	Kaputt
Take Me Over	Cut Copy	Zonoscope
That Beep	Architecture in Helsinki	Moment Bends
The Last Living Rose	PJ Harvey	Let England Shake
Too Many Rappers	Beatie boys / Nas	Hot Sauce Committee Part II
Walking Far From Home	Iron & Wine	Kiss Eachother Clean
Whirring	The Joy Formidable	The Big Roar

It's that time of year again! Here are my favorite albums that came out this year.

10. Sigh No More - Mumford and Sons

Hell yes. Import album loophole! There's always one. This totally came out in the USA in 2010. ;) I have nothing further to say except for the fact that I probably would have continued to skip it on the Target: Artists to look out end cap for the two years it would probably sit there. (I think Oracular Spectacular is still on that end cap. ;)) If they hadn't started playing it on the radio. It totally passed the test of three songs. If I hear three songs that I love, I should probably just give in and get the whole album. So, I gave in!

Listen

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09. Omni - Minus the Bear

For some reason I had it in my brain that I didn't like Minus the Bear. I don't know why. Perhaps I had confused them for some other "Bear" named band? Perhaps one with a Panda in the title? It was kind of like that entire year where I had the Arcade Fire confused with the Fiery Furnaces. I don't know how that happened, but it made me not want to listen to Funeral for a really long time, and that was a big mistake! No mistakes this time. I finally checked this album out because I was nearing the end of the year and realized I didn't have hearts in my eyes about enough albums to even make a top ten, and in my search for more albums I actually exceeded a top ten!

Listen

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08. The Grand Theatre Vol.1 - Old 97's

Well, I have to admit that I haven't picked up the last couple of Old 97's albums... They are still one of my favorite bands of ever, and I saw a few good words about this one so I thought I'd check it out. I like when I check things out and they exceed expectations! (At this point my expectations were 0 because I had no idea the Old 97's were releasing an album this year until I saw it on some random blog. )

Buy Amazon

Links Official Website Facebook Twitter Flickr

07. Everything Under the Sun - Jukebox the Ghost

I picked this up on a whim, because, while I wasn't compelled to go out and get their first album...I was in the right kind of mood and was at the record store anyway. This album is pretty fun. So if you like a really catchy pop song... You really can't go wrong here. They somehow makes a songs about our impending doom sound like a super fun time!

Listen

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06. Devo - Something for Everybody

This isn't on here because I'm obligated to love Ohio things, but in the interest of full disclosure I was never a huge Devo fan. I have owned none of their albums and would have not known they were still going strong to this very day if I hadn't heard Fresh on the radio and loved it. Then I found out they were livestreaming cats listening to the album (actual, real cats. Meow!) Naturally, this seems like a strange way to promote an album that I had to check out, and I sat there and listened to it for hours with cats in small window in the corner of the computer screen doing what cats do during the daytime while promoting Devo albums...sleeping on top of a giant blue energy dome. And it was awesome.

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05. Total Life Forever - Foals

Another whim purchase! Three cheers for whims! Hip-hip-hooray! Again, I have no particular deep seated reason for skipping out of the first album since I can freely admit that Red Socks Pugie is one of my favorite songs of recent years (Cassius isn't bad either) I probably should have checked that one out at the very least. I have heard plenty of good things about this band! That was why I was staring at the CD at the record store one day...wondering if I should. I didn't at first, but I came back to it and I did, and I keep coming back to it, which is a good sign and what bumped this album up the list over a few notable albums that may seem to be missing here.

It does not, however, shed any light onto what exactly a pugie is and why it has red socks.

Listen

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04. Night Work - Scissor Sisters



I do believe I was just complaining not too long ago about a distinctive scissor shaped hole in my musical heart for these past few years. I think this is where I have to admit that they are one of my favorite bands. Then, suddenly (for me) they were all over the place. In that gender swap romance movie in which the guy who had taken over the nerdy girl protagonist's body, attempted revenge on her by dressing as slutty as possible to the tune of a hilariously edited Filthy/Gorgeous...During a Shopping montage on Royal Pains ...in the checkout line at Khols. KHOLS.

Anyway, this is probably my favorite Scissor Sisters' album to date, also my favorite album with an ass on the cover.

Listen

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03. Expo '86 - Wolf Parade

Probably my favorite of all the Wolf-named bands. Also, I like their non-wolf named projects...Sunset Rubdown and Handsome Furs. Check 'em out! Anyways, At Mt. Zoomer wasn't really high up on my list the year it came out. I didn't listen to it much except for California Dreamer, but this one shot right up there on first listen. There's something to be said for love at first listen...and also free streaming album previews, because I wasn't considering purchasing this until I sat there and listened to it on repeat at work for 8 hours straight.

Listen

Amazon

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02. Odd Blood - Yeasayer

Oh, what to say about Yeasayer? I vaguely remember quite liking 2080 when that song made an appearance on my radar, but I certainly wasn't enamoured of it enough to go buying a whole album. But then came O.N.E....and then there was Ambling Alp, who's power of awesome singleness combined to make me need this album. I spent the greater part of a month trying to find this album after it came out and none of the record stores I go to had it! (I even made sure it was really released and I wasn't making it up release dates in my mind as I have been wont to do.) Finally, it was in my hands! I have no basis of comparison as far as the first album goes, but I pretty much love this one and I still listen to it all the time.

Listen

Amazon

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01. Pickin' Up the Pieces - Fitz and the Tantrums

This may actually be my official favorite album from this year, sorry, Yeasayer...you guys were hanging in there for a really long time, but I just decided to listen to this off only my complete adoration for the song 'Breakin' the Chains of Love'. It was a lovely surprise, like snagging an awesome album out of a bargain bin for $3.99, or finding cash in the washing machine that you forgot you left in your jeans. I'm not talking quarters here...I'm talking a stack of twenty dollar bills. So, if you like a little soul sound to your tunes, definitely check this one out!

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It's time for a new feature!

In the past Ten Things has been a laundry list of things I enjoy / need to desperately complain about to everybody on the internets.  Today it comes in the form of a Mix for this cold November, so without further ado here are Ten Things:

More to Listen/Watch! 1. Last Shadow Puppets -- Standing Next to Me 2. Foals -- Cassius 3. Walkmen -- In the New Year 4. Pixies -- Here Comes Your Man 5. Dead Confederate -- Wrecking Ball 6. Liars -- Mr. You're on Fire, Mister 7. the Rapture -- Pieces of the People We Love 8. Husker Du -- Makes No Sense At All 9. Cold War Kids -- Hang Me Out To Dry 10. Twilight Singers -- Teenage Wristband

Beware of hooks

...

Yes, it's that time again where I make an official blog post! So, the year is fast coming to a close once again... Yes, I know it's only September, but by the time I make a new blog post, or finish recapping this last season of Doctor Who, it will probably be this time next year. Why not get a jump on the year end list making instead of not doing it at all? Particularly since this year has seen some of my favorite bands dropping albums left and right. This is not a list of my favorite albums though. This is merely a list of things that have caught my ear this year, and maybe they'll catch yours too. In all likelyhood something will, since these songs have plenty of hooks!

1. Night Work - Scissor Scisters : The title track from the Scissor Sisters most excelent third album. 2. White Knuckles - OK Go : It was my favorite song from the album before it became that video with the doggies. 3. The Popular Thing - Jukebox the Ghost : This entire album is like puppies rolling around with kittens on a fluffy cloud with rainbows and unicorns flying around all over. 4. Fuck You - Cee Lo Green : For how to curse people out in the catchiest way humanly possible, I refer you to this song. 5. Cousins - Vampire Weekend : Just Vampire Weekend doing their thing. 6. Bang Pop - Free Energy : onomatopoeia are fun! They will be in your head for hours after this song. 7. I Can Talk - Two Door Cinema Club : I don't really know much about this band, but I really like the couple of songs that I've heard by them so far. 8. Fresh - Devo : Yes, they're still workin' it to this day. I've never been a giant Devo fan in the past, but I really enjoy this whole album. 9. Backstreet Lovers - The Crookes : I thought this came out last year, but Amazon tells me it was this year, so yay! I have to say I pretty much loved this song the instant I heard it a few weeks ago. 10. Told You Once - Apples in Stereo : Oh no, I have no explanation for this song. Just listen to it!

.::.

In honour of this season of AI coming to an end... I present: If I Were an American Idol (But I'm Not Because I can't sing that well, and I'd be too lazy to audition anyway). My picks for each of the themes as if there were no list and/or restrictions to what you can sing on TeeVee (aka: This is totally self-indulgent. So there, Simon. ;) ):

Week One: Hits From the Billboard Charts
Hmmm. I'm not sure what the restrictions on this one were. Any song, ever, in any billboard chart of all time? Isn't that every song in existence?

This Totally Counts

Hey Soul Sister by Train

Why? It's catchy like a communicable disease, even if you hate it. It's not a Lady Gaga Song (Just not my thing. Sorry!), and it's not 30 to 40 years old. Believe it or not...people have listened to the radio in recent times as well. In fact...your audience probably would be more jazzed to hear a newer song, than be able to connect with a classic from the even the early 90's at this point. (You're welcome for making all of you feel old now.)


Week Two: Rolling Stones Week

Out of Time



Anyhows, I really like this song. The Manic Street Preachers covered it and I had no idea it was the Stones (I knew it was a cover, because the entire album was covers, but I never heard the original.)
I would dedicate it to Kara. I was sorely disappointed nobody did this song! It has DRAMATIC.STRINGS and everything! I'd bring a whole orchestra on stage to play the string section.
Week Three: Billboard #1's

Okay...we're narrowing down the field a little now. Just a little bit, since there's more than one number one per year and the top 100 has been around since, like, the forties. I will take it upon myself to narrow it to the last ten years at least for...
Hey Ya by Outkast. I would Shake it Like a Polaroid Picture. (Honestly, when coming through the charts Crazy Little Thing Called Love stuck out...so Kudos to Tim, I guess. ;)) I would also hit some Hall and Oates. The #2 guilty pleasure act of the 80's (#1 is Air Supply for the record.)
Week Four: R&B / Soul

Take Me to The River - Al Green This is when older is better for me. Nothing beats the classic R&B sound.


Week Five: Lennon / McCartney

Bottom Row: Scorned

Okay, So no Here Comes the Sun? Fine, I shall sing a non-Beatles Lennon/McCartney penned song just to confuse everybody and be contrary. ;)

A World Without Love as sung by Peter and Gordon

So There. ;)


Week Six: Elvis!

They did a pretty good job picking songs this week. In the interest of doing something that wasn't actually on the show, I shall sing Kentucky Rain

Week Seven: Inspirational Songs!

I'm Not Down by the Clash Yeah, I'm not Down, Judges! Take that for some inspiration in your face!

This is an album track so maybe it's totally obscure. It shouldn't be. Go buy London Calling today, and thank me later! ;) PS: The Easter Bunny brought me this in my basket one year. I love my Easter Bunny!


Week Seven: Uh...Shania Twain week

Yes, Please.

I would prefer just to have country week, so I could bust out some Alt Country Faves. (I would sing Jagged by the Old 97's


As for the Shania catalog that I'm not all that familiar with: Uh...I guess I would sing That Don't Impress Me Much Maybe... I remember enjoying singing along to that one. Haha. This would be the week I'd get voted off for my lack of enthusiasm.


Week Eight: Frank Sinatra

I Might Rather Be a Fish. Some Fish are Pretty Badd-Ass

Can't really go too wrong for song choice here. Swingin' on a Star would be my pick.


Or Maybe High Hopes Because I can see the judges really hating that and I could tell them I just wanted to have fun. Lighten up. ;)


Week Nine: Songs of the Cinema

Of all time. Ever. In the History of Ever... Again, this is a list of pretty much every song in existence. ;)

I was going to be completely self-indulgent and pick something from the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack, but I changed my mind and picked something completely self indulgent from the Singles Sountrack.

Nearly Lost You by Screaming Trees

Dyslexic Heart by Paul Westerberg is also an acceptable answer.

And that's It!

Next Week is the Judges Pick. Hehe. I challenge you guys to come up with your own playlist, if you want. :D

And Remember, kids...There are No Boundaries!



Bonus Song: My Duet would be Don't Go Breakin' My Heart !



With Bagpipes. Why?

WHY NOT?!

-M