I’ve finally got a Now Listening section on my sidebar working, thanks to AudioScrobbler and some PHP scripting. Basically, the last ten songs I listen to in ITunes are now listed on the webpage. Not a big deal, but I figured I should point it out.

Also, I finally got a mobile phone that’s got a camera on it, so I setup a flickr account to get ‘em and post ‘em. I’m not sure what I would be taking pictures of, but it’s there. For anyone interested, my new phone is a Treo 650, which is supernifty and useful, but it’s also incredibly nerdy. When I’m using it I feel like I’m broadcasting “BEAT ME AND TAKE MY LUNCH MONEY AND MY STUPID PHONE.” Luckily, it’s a brick and I could probably beat my mugger to death with it.

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1) Everything – Entertain EP – Sleater-Kinney

Happy Sleater-Kinney Day! Now that The Woods has been released, the superlatives can now come flooding in. “Everything” is a cut that didn’t make the record, a song written on early legs of the One Beat tour that was probably judged too stereotypically S-K for the dynamic shift that was The Woods. It was recorded in the same sessions as the new record though, which means it’s got the gargantuan drums and the distortion levels set to speaker melting.

2) Monkey – The Great Destroyer – Low

The other Sub-Pop/David Fridmann record of the year features this masterpiece of contrast. I love the matched vocals, with the female vocal just barely trailing like a ghost. When they sing “Tonight you will be mine, tonight the monkey dies,” I don’t know who to be more scared for… me or the monkey?

3) Light Love Hope – Body of Song – Bob Mould

The last few Bob Mould releases have been a bit too far out there, as he experimented with dance music under the LiveBomb moniker. This sounds like a remixed Sugar record, with Mould’s distorted open chords draped over an insistent disco beat and his vocal dragged through a wet effect like Cher on “Believe.”

4) Still Life – Our Thickness – Russian Futurists

The warm and fuzzy symphonics keep comin’ from Matthew Hart. It’s starting to get a bit samey, but there’s something attractive about the bombast here. There’s a little riff here that seems yanked out of old Hollywood newsreels or something, but I can’t quite place it.

5) Here We Go Again – Vagenius – Vagenius

This is one of the more pared down Vagenius songs, with the drum and bass bigger than any of the keytar action. In a lot of ways, that works better for the band, creating a more driving track and downplaying the spacey synths that are starting to sound dated the second time around. I’m still not sure if the band name is godawful or mindbogglingly brilliant. This month I’m leaning towards godwaful.

6) John Wayne Gacy, Jr. – Illinois – Sufjan Stevens

When Sufjan decided to explore Illinois, I didn’t think he would touch the state’s most famous clown faced killer, but he does. The gentle ballad is strangely sympathetic, but when he sings about the victims it sounds like his heart just bottoms out as he goes falsetto on the “OH MY GOD….”

7) Johnsburg, Illinois – Swordfishtrombones – Tom Waits

The only other song in my library specifically about anything in Illinois. Barely over 90 seconds, and Waits cuts straight to the bone.

8) California – Descended Like Vultures – Rogue Wave

I’m not sure if I can talk about this, but it exists and it’s good.

9) An Actor’s Revenge – Notorious Lightning – Destroyer

Destroyer Dan Bejar was technically the New Pornographer’s “secret member,” writing material for the records but never heading out on tour with them. This Destroyer cut features a lot of familiar elements from Mass Romantic. Plus, the concept of an actor getting revenge makes me laugh.

10) Little Thoughts – Single – Bloc Party

Bloc Party’s tweener single is probably the catchiest thing they’ve done. A great track and a great single, but it could mark Bloc Party’s descent to retro-genericism. It’s a fine line between this and ending up like… well, everyone else. Hopefully they can keep just enough edge to keep it interesting.

11) Long Lonesome Road – Best of – Shocking Blue

I picked up the Best of Shocking Blue based on the strength of “Venus” and “Send Me A Postcard,” but the ouevre’s not really that deep. When it’s good though, it’s a stunningly good Jefferson Airplane impersonation.

12) Wayfaring Stranger – Tigers Have Spoken – Neko Case

Neko Case and Banjos. I’m not sure what my big banjo kick is lately. I had a stray banjo player crash at my apartment for a while (true story), and goddamn that is a LOUD instrument. There is just no way to play that thing quiet.

13) 14th Street – Humming By the Flowered Vine – Laura Cantrell

How did Laura Cantrell end up on Matador Records? Anyway, here’s a little something from her new album. A real mixmaster would list “14th Street” as the 14th track of their mix, but I’m a rank amateur. This one’s right pretty.

14) After Hours – B-Side – Rilo Kiley

Rilo Kiley cuts out all the isolation and creepy out of the Velvet Underground song and make it into a cutesy anthem. I’m not sure it quite works, but it’s innocent hummable fun.

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I asked a few different people if I should get these and all of them, instead of rationally talking me out of $150 worth of doll purchases, encouraged me to buy them. BECAUSE YOU’RE ALL FUCKING ENABLERS.

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That’s right, new shit from The Gossip. “Jealous Girls” is a sneak off their new record, the first one with new drummer Hannnah Blilie from Shoplifting. I don’t know if it’s indicative of the album as a whole, but the dirty blues are gone and replaced with some dancepunk stuff that I’ve just heard too much of. Beth Ditto’s still got a great voice but she never seems to cut it loose here.

Download Fire/Sign or Ain’t It The Truth for comparison. The new song’s nice, but it lacks that physicality that I always loved from this band. Hopefully the rest of the new material is a little punchier.

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… here’s what TinyMixTapes thinks of NIN’s With Teeth.

Sadly? I went to click YES over and and over again until I remembered I didn’t have it on my hard drive.

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The new Weezer album is the emo equivalent of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. To clarify: the average listener will think it’s OK, but not really good. Conversely, people that sleep with Pinkerton pillowcases will have aneurysms and fits of apoplectic rage.

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