Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark *

Gotta get this up before PF gets its review out. We predict a 7.2. Actual rating: 8.2. Point differential: 1.0.

The Whigs - Mission Control

Don't know too much about this band, but I've read reviews that compare it to The Clash, The Who, The Replacements, Pavement and a few others I can’t remember right now. The inclusion of Pavement in that list intrigues me...

I’ll probably pick this one up. I'll let you know what I think. For now, I predict a 7.8. Actual rating: pending. Point differential: TBC.

Promising start to 2008

Missed by 0.1 on new The Magnetic Fields album!

Black Mountain – Into the Future *

Everything you need to know about this band can be summed up thusly: Art Collective. I predict a 7.9. Actual rating: 7.4. Point differential: 0.5.

The Magnetic Fields – Distortion *

Has it really been almost a decade since 69 Love Songs was released? Like many other people I took my favourite songs from those three albums and made a one-cd best-of. It was excellent. Will this regular-length Magnetic Fields cd be as good as my personal best-of cd? Probably not. Every one of those songs was brilliant.

At the same time, PF gave 69 Love Songs a rating of 9.0. I find that astoundingly high. Maybe it got extra marks for thematic execution.

I don’t see how this latest Magnetic Fields album will get more than an 8.1, and it won’t include anywhere close to as much “filler” as 69 Love Songs. More proof that all art is subjective, and record reviews are stupid. Actual rating: 8.0. Point differential: 0.1.

Marah – Angels of Destruction

I once had an English teacher named Mr. Stalmach. He was old and had an odd way of writing on the chalkboard, with his elbow bent awkwardly way out from his body. I used to refer to the time spent in his classes as The Stalmachian Age. Nobody thought it was funny then either.

Which brings me to the latest age: Springsteenian. Or, as it is known by its scientific name, Bossism. Def. Bands whose albums, or, in some cases entire careers, are based on the influence of Bruce Springsteen.

The Killers would qualify for Sam’s Town. The Hold Steady too, not only for its general musical similarity, but for writing my favourite Boss song ever that was not written or performed by the Boss: You Can Make Him Like You. Then there would be the gold standard in Springsteenian: Marah, which would be responsible for approving every other band’s entry into this esteemed category.

Springsteenian. It could be…no, it should be its own musical category. Write your congressman today!

Prediction: 6.4. Actual rating: pending. Point differential: TBD.

Which province is that in?

I've heard people refer to Canada as part of the U.S., but never before the other way around.

British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music?

PF seems enthusiastic about this one, based on its review of the EP leading up to the album. For my first prediction of 2008, I'm going with a very 2008-like 7.6. Actual rating: pending. Point differential: TBD.

Let's try again

I only have one New Year's Resolution: to do everything I meant to do in 2007 but didn't due to laziness, procrastination, etc.

It's not a long list, but some of the items are time-consuming. They are mostly creative indulgences; new and worthy ones get added to the list as my brain snatches them from the ether. The list includes more predicting of new albums.

Which I guess means I have a sub-resolution: to not be lazy and not procrastinate. This is obviously key to the achievement of my main resolution, but really it's the same thing in the end. Because after all, if I get everything done that I meant to get done, then I haven't been lazy and haven't procrastinated.

It's an exciting time to be me.

Everybody wants prosthetic foreheads on their real heads

I kind of wanted to do a year-end list of some kind. The problem is I didn't buy many albums this year (thanks indiesurfer.blogspot.com!), and of those few I did get I wasn't crazy about the whole album. The Shins and Spoon certainly included. And I also only downloaded albums I was really interested in or curious about, so I didn't actually do too much downloading either. So that said I feel like a "best of" list would be an exercise in wankery, and I hate that. (And yes, I understand blogging itself is an exercise in wankery.)

There were lots of songs I liked and downloaded. In fact I would like to think of 2007 as the year of the song, if only "the year of the song" didn't sound so dumb. But because of the Ipod I would switch songs all the time, either on shuffle or via playlists, and rarely listen to a whole album. But then when I tried to think of my favourite songs from the year, many of them were from last year, or the year before that, or the 1980s or something.

So my solution is to post my 20 most played songs from 2007. Keep in mind I got a Macbook in April, and transferred my songs from my Ipod to my Macbook in the summer sometime, so this list only reflects plays of the past five or six months.

Also, it doesn't include songs from:

All, which, being the first band in my "Artists" list, plays when I accidentally turn my Ipod on;
the Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack, which is huge with the kids;
the Spongebob Squarepants Movie soundtrack, for reasons similar to the above; and
"No" or "Here Come the ABCs" by They Might Be Giants, which I love but again only dominate the play count because of the kids.

Nor does it include "Move Along" by the All-American Rejects, which is also known as the Lego song and hence also popular with kids.

So if you've read this far and have pretended to be interested and still care to pretend you're interested, here it is! Sorry I forgot to note the actual number of plays...

Don't You Evah - Spoon 2007
Rythm and Soul - Spoon 2007
Oh Mandy - Spinto Band 2005
Thalassocracy - Frank Black 1994
You Got Yr Cherry Bomb - Spoon 2007
Eddie's Ragga - Spoon 2007
I Hear the Rain - Violent Femmes 1984
What You're Doing - Beatles 1964
Hold Me Tight - Beatles 1963
Massive Nights - Hold Steady 2006
Candyland - Killjoys 1994
Spanway Hits - Flake Music 1998
Run It - Replacements 1983
Working to Work - Field Music 2007
Ahkenaten - Julian Cope 1992
We Want a Rock - They Might Be Giants 1990
Do Me a Favour - Arctic Monkeys 2007
Black Like Me - Spoon 2007
Paper Tiger - Spoon 2002
Stuck in the Middle - Replacements 1982

Wankery over.

Missing time

Has it been four months since my last post? Crazy how time flies. Amazingly I had no emails begging me to start posting again...

While reading Andrew Carver’s excellent natcaprock yesterday I stumbled upon what has become one of my favourite songs of 2007 - Oh Dead Life by Dog Day. I love it. Have a listen on the band's site; buy it if you can find it and support this fine Canadian band. I wish I had known about the show it just played in my town. Next time!

Travis Morrison - All Y'All *

Goddamn it seems I have returned just in time! Apparently, next week is the release of Travis Morrison’s second solo album. Yes, that Travis Morrison. The one who used to be in The Dismemberment Plan. The one who received a 0.0 from PF for his last album. The one whose last album did very poorly, possibly – according to some people – because of said PF review, but I’m not sure really since I don’t track that kind of thing myself!

But onto the new album. One thing is certain: it will not get a 0.0. Apart from that, I really have no idea what to expect. I’m going to suggest 7.2. I think PF may feel it needs to redeem itself and make up with Travis in the only way it knows how: by giving moderately favorable record reviews. At the same time, Travis may have worked his ass off with this album to ensure he doesn’t get slammed again. Actual rating: 4.5. Point differential: 2.7.

Did anyone buy Travistan? Was it any good? I honestly never heard it after reading the PF review.

Buffalo Tom - Three Easy Pieces

The indie band reunions continue. Buffalo Tom is the latest band to realize there is money to be made from its former fans. That’s not a criticism. In fact, if I was an aging indie rocker I would probably do the same thing. Play some shows, try to recreate the magic, and make a few extra bones along the way. I can’t see this album sounding any different from other Buffalo Tom albums: a few outstanding tracks, some throwaways and three or four songs that sound too much alike. I predict a 6.7. Actual rating: pending. Point differential: TBD.

Interpol - Our Love to Admire *

What can you say? Interpol is Interpol. That's about it. If the band tried to do something new, it would probably lose most of its fans. I’ll predict an 8.4. Actual rating: 6.0. Point differential: 2.4.

Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga *

What's up motherfuckers!!! After a long month spent fulfilling my various international obligations and helping small countries everywhere expand the size of their environmental footprint, I'm back to rescue this blog and help you achieve true enlightenment.

And what better way to do so than with a phrase that sounds as if it was plucked directly from the mouth of an ancient Greek philosopher: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.

Indeed. I have no fucking clue what it means.

But the album it graces is brilliant. I downloaded it a few weeks ago (don't worry, I'll be buying it too), and while at first I thought it was ok and contained only a few standouts, it has gotten better and better and better. In fact, I like it more than Gimme Fiction. Not that Gimme Fiction is the defining Spoon album, but everyone had a hard-on for that album; I honestly think this one is better, and certainly more consistent from start to finish. I think it is a perfect mix of the sparsity, simplicity and creativity that I love about Spoon.

I thought the PF review of Gimme Fiction was astoundingly accurate in describing the band, its sound and its progress. I really think PF will see Ga5 (I made that up, you can use it if you want) as a step backwards for the band, so much so that it will get a lower rating than Gimme Fiction. Let's say a 7.3. Actual rating: 8.5. Point differential: 1.2.

Despite the Handsome Furs thing...

...I'm not shutting down the blog! What else would I do with my 5 minutes of free time each day?

New Spoon mp3

Check this guy out for a new Spoon song called The Ghost of You Lingers, among other things.

Handsome Furs - Plague Park *

If this doesn't qualify as Best New Music, well I should just shut this bitch down and start a new blog about taxidermy or summat. The band is from Montreal (the guy is in Wolf Parade) and it's good enough for Sub Pop. It's a guarantee motherfuckers! I'm predicting an 8.4. Actual rating: 7.2. Point differential: 1.2.

The Bravery - The Sun and the Moon *

What a shitty name. What a shitty band. How bad does PF hate them? 4.8 sounds good to me. Actual rating: 1.8. Point differential: 3.0.

Rufus Wainwright - Release the Stars *

I missed Sky Blue Sky (probably for the best since I would have been off by a wide margin) so I'll throw this one up here now. PF hasn't been too crazy about Rufus since 2001. I'm certainly not too crazy about him myself. I just don't understand his fascination with jock rock. I find it all a bit too violent and offensive. Nevertheless, I'll predict a 7.1 for his latest collection of booze-fueled stadium-rocking anthems. Actual rating: 6.7. Point differential: 0.4.