main about mixtapes cd collection 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 december 2008 november 2008 october 2008 september 2008 august 2008 july 2008 june 2008 may 2008 april 2008 march 2008 february 2008 january 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003		december 2008 12.1.08 For the past two years, I've gone down to the 9:30 Club in DC to see the Pogues as they've made what's becoming an annual trek to the US after a lengthy absence from live performances here. They're doing it again this year, and they'll actually be playing one of their DC dates on St. Patrick's Day, which should make the typically lively crowd even more animated. This is quickly becoming my favorite annual tradition, and I think I'm going to continue to go as long as Shane's health allows him to make the transatlantic flight every year. 12.2.08 I'm not going to get past of Montreal anytime soon. Good luck to other bands making it to my playlist; I love these guys more and more with every listen. 12.3.08 I picked up all three of the Decemberists' EPs in the Always the Bridesmaid series from iTunes last night, and as usual it's a very solid collection of songs and a nice appetizer to tide fans over until the release of their new record (which will hopefully also bring a return to the road for the band——they've been mostly absent from the live stage after a mysterious illness struck one of the band members more than a year ago). The standouts are the lead tracks from the first two EPs, "Valerie Plame" and "Days of Elaine", but all of the tracks are pretty solid with the exception of the cover of the Velvet Underground's "I'm Sticking With You". You can make a pretty convincing argument that no one should cover the Velvets ever, but there are some tracks that really should be considered off-limits, and this is one of them. The original is just a perfect little moment; trying to recreate it is like when Gus Van Sant made a shot-for-shot remake of Psycho: wincingly tacky and ultimately pointless. (Jesus, did he really cast Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates? I must have blocked that out.) 12.4.08 I'm usually pretty wary of any claims of plagiarism against established artists who aren't using samples in their work, but this YouTube video makes a pretty convincing case for Joe Satriani's claim that Coldplay ripped off one of his instrumentals for the title track to their most recent record: 12.5.08 I just can't get over the NFL Network using Morrissey's "Everyday Is Like Sunday" as their theme song in their recent ads. True, they use a horrible alt rock cover of the song, and the only lyrics they use are the title lyrics, which is a perfect message for their network, but man...the mismatch between Morrissey and American football is hard to get past. 12.8.08 Finally picked up Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak yesterday, and I was planning to pick up Los Campesinos' We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed, but it wasn't in stock. So I finally bought Neutral Milk Hotel's On Avery Island instead. I also downloaded of Montreal's Icons, Abstract Thee, the companion EP to Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, since I've fallen so much in love with their last three albums. I'm undecided about the new Kanye——I'm sure within a couple of listens, I'm going to think this is either the record that will prove his genius once and for all, or the first major misstep in an otherwise stellar career. I don't think it's going to be a "meh" reaction——I'm either going to love it or hate it, and after listening to half of it, it's too early to tell. 12.9.08 I haven't fallen in love with Neutral Milk Hotel's On Avery Island as fast as I did with In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, but I guess that's to be expected. I think I'm still falling in love, though. 12.10.08 Right now, listening to anything besides of Montreal is like eating my vegetables, when all I really want is chocolate cake. I'm actually not a big dessert fan, but on a purely metaphorical level, consider me a five year old with a sweet tooth and no knowledge of or concern about proper nutrition. I know I'll grow out of this at some point, but it could be many months more, especially given the dearth of new releases on the horizon that might distract me from my current obsession. 12.11.08 I don't think Kanye's 808s and Heartbreak is going to take. I'm going to give it several more tries, because his previous releases make the potential payoff well worth it, but I'm just not feeling it. 12.12.08 In the mental space I've created for Ra Ra Riot's The Rhumb Line, I for some reason was picturing a plumb line, not a rhumb line. I actually had no idea what a rhumb line was before our friends at Wikipedia enlightened me. Now I just have to figure out what it means in the lyrics to "Each Year", and Wikipedia is providing no assistance in that area. The album cover makes a little more sense now, but only marginally so. 12.15.08 I've played around with that Shazam app for the iPhone, which lets your iPhone listen to a song playing on the radio or tv or store speakers or whatever and then tells you what it is (and of course gives you the option to purchase it via iTunes on your phone), and it actually works pretty well. Too bad I never hear anything out in the world that I have the slightest interest in identifying and purchasing. 12.16.08 Given how long it takes him to put out a record, Q-Tip manages to make the creation of music seem so effortless. The Renaissance is really growing on me, and given my lack of enthusiam for 808s and Heartbreak to date, Q-Tip's record is probably going to end up as my favorite hip hop record from this year.