July 30, 20091) Heavy Cross – Music For Men – Gossip
It doesn’t seem to matter how polished the Gossip get, Beth Ditto always sings like she’s scrambling for a fight. I like their blues inflected records more than their disco ones, but Ditto’s really one of the great singers of this generation and demands listening in every genre.
2) (I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea – This Year’s Model – Elvis Costello
I spent a lot of flashback time with This Year’s Model this month, my personal favorite Costello record. There’s tremendous tension in every line, and Costello was at his most contemptuous.
3) Dig Me Out – Dig Me Out – Sleater-Kinney
A little more time travel, but not quite as far back. Reminiscing about Janet Weiss’s remarkable drum career led back to the first drum thwack of Dig Me Out, the very first Sleater-Kinney track Weiss played on and the one that really put the band on another level.
4) I Hate People – Break It Up – Jemina Pearl (Feat Iggy Pop)
“Oh I hate people, but I like you” Few songs speak to me better than misanthropic love ballads. The fact that Jemina Pearl sings this with Iggy Pop is more than a little creepy though.
5) Honey In The Sun – My Mediocre Career – Camera Obscura
“Only slightly more twee than Belle and Sebastian,” he says. That’s pretty motherfuckin’ twee, bro.
6) Rocking Horse – Horehound – Dead Weather
I don’t think it’s a surprise when Jack White has side projects, that their best songs are the ones that sound closest to White Stripes numbers. Stick to what you know, Jack! I’m not interested in your versatility.
7) 1, 2 ,3, Partyy! – The Sound The Speed The Light – Mission Of Burma
Mission of Burma’s having a pretty good comeback career, post-punking it up with the best of ‘em. Favorite lyric? Probably “Drink only when drunken to.”
8) Wondering What Everyone Knows – Infinite Light – Lightning Dust
LIGHTNING DUST! Sounding nothing like Black Mountain, Lightning Dust is a lot moodier with just an incredible sense of space. All of their songs feel like they span across the horizon, with Amber Webber’s grounding it all with a warbly tenderness. Epic and emotional, it’s absolutely one of my favorite records of the year.
9) Southern Central Rain (I’m Sorry) – Reckoning – R.E.M.
Listened to Reckoning a lot this month because of the re-issue, but also because it’s probably my favorite album of all time, and this is the most R.E.M. of R.E.M. tunes. It’s Stipe’s most passionate vocal, and even if his lyrics are a little vague he’s coming through with incredible clarity.
10) Columns Pillars Steps – Moon Colony Bloodbath – Mountain Goats & John Vanderslice
This doesn’t sound particularly like MG or Vanderslice… the more I listen to it, the more it sounds like Weezer. I’m not sure how that equation works, but there it goes.
11) El Caporal – Dark Was The Night – My Morning Jacket
MMJ throws a swooning waltz into the mix, and I go twirling and swirling into the night. It’s a bit cheesy, but everyone’s having a good time, so I’m not sweating it much.
12) Lines In The Suit – Cover Of The Week – eric Metronome
In covering Spoon, eric Metronome strips the song of instrumentation, that great bassline, and most noticeably, he strips it of any semblance of cool. The remains are a touchy nerve, and that’s pretty cool too.
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