1) 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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1) 8th Wonder – Music For Men – The Gossip
2) Dull Life – It’s Blitz! – The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3) Got Nuffin – Got Nuffin – Spoon
4) Common People – Different Class – Pulp
5) Fucking Boyfriend – The Bird And The Bee – The Bird And The Bee
6) Wolves and Werewolves – Funeral Mixtape – The Pack A.D.
7) Beautiful Things – Score! 20 Years Of Merge Records – Quasi
8) God & Suicide – Furr – Blitzen Trapper
9) Scorpio Rising – Moon Colony Bloodbath – The Mountain Goats & John Vanderslice
10) French Navy – My Mediocre Career – Camera Obscura

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1) Great Expectations – The ‘59 Sound – The Gaslight Anthem
2) Panic Switch – Swoon – Silversun Pickups
3) Widow of My Dreams – I Blame You – The Obits
4) Little Girl (feat. Julian Casablancas) – Dark Night of the Soul – Sparklehorse
5) Blindness – Fantasies – Metric
6) Feeling Good – Dark Was The Night – My Brightest Diamond
7) New Ways Of Living – Score! 20 Years Of Merge Records – Lavender Diamond
8) witch – Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future – The Bird And The Bee
9) Actor Out of Work – Actor – St. Vincent
10) Lucifer Rising – Moon Colony Bloodbath – The Mountain Goats & John Vanderslice
11) This Tornado Loves You – Middle Cyclone – Neko Case
12) You Destroyer – High On Jackson Hill – Immaculate Machine

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1) When I Died – Now We Can See – The Thermals
2) Love Letter to Japan – Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future – The Bird And The Bee
3) Queens Die Proudly – Queens Die Proudly – Juliette Commagere
4) Sick Muse – Fantasies – Metric
5) Miles Away – Yeah Yeah Yeahs – The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
6) Maps – Sweetheart ‘09 – Rogue Wave
7) Heartbroken, In Disrepair – Keep It Hid – Dan Auerbach
8) There’s No Secrets This Year – Swoon – Silversun Pickups
9) Blackout – Funeral Mixtape – The Pack A.D.
10) Papa Was A Rodeo – Score! 20 Years Of Merge Records – Bright Eyes
11) Middle Cyclone – Middle Cyclone – Neko Case
12) Surrounded – Moon Colony Bloodbath – The Mountain Goats & John Vanderslice
13) Save Me From What I Want – Actor – St. Vincent
14) Brackett, WI – Dark Was The Night – Bon Iver

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1) We Were Sick – Now We Can See – The Thermals
2) Gimme Sympathy – Fantasies – Metric
3) Substitution – Swoon – Silversun Pickups
4) Porch – Ten – Pearl Jam
5) You Belong To Me – War Child Heroes – The Like
6) My Last Mistake – Keep It Hid – Dan Auerbach
7) The Next Time You Say Forever – Middle Cyclone – Neko Case
8) Gone for Good (Feat. Corin Tucker) – Target Heart EP – Blue Giant
9) Margaret in Captivity – The Hazards of Love – The Decemberists
10) Knotty Pine – Dark Was The Night – Dirty Projectors and David Byrne
11) Hysteric – It’s Blitz! – The Yeah Yeah Yeahs

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1) Now We Can See – Now We Can See – The Thermals

The Thermals go for an easy hook here, but I’m not sure anyone does the high school poetry rise up anthem better than Hutch Harris. If you’re not singing “oh wayo whoah” along with the band, then uh… hit fast forward, I guess.

2) Sound the Alarms – High on Jackson Hill – Immaculate Machine

Here’s another anthem, but it’s quite a bit more challenging. Immaculate Machine sounds more assertive than ever, with their rhythm section pushing along with military urgency reminiscent of early U2.

3) Zero – It’s Blitz – Yeah Yeah Yeahs

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs go full-on synth on their first sneak peek of It’s Blitz, and Karen O sounds better, and more Siouxsie, than ever. On the other hand, I’ll be a little sad if the album doesn’t have any of that trademark biting guitar work from Nick Zinner.

4) Search And Destroy – War Child Heroes – Peaches

I expected Peaches covering Iggy Pop to be positively outrageous, but she inverts the whole thing with a throbbing electro rendition. If the original was a punch in the face, this threatens to stab you in your back and steal a kidney. I will now use the two mandatory words for any discussion of electronic music: bleep bloop.

5) The Light From Your Mac – Klang! – The Rakes

I wonder if Apple pays for such egregious placement. That aside, I find this song’s drunken begging absolutely hilarious. Even the bassline is funny.

6) Dimmer – Grrr… – Bishop Allen

Bishop Allen’s always good for a bit of jaunty fun. Their string section, in particularly, seems to be going for maximum whimsy.

7) Sitting Still – Murmur – R.E.M.

These are some of my favorite nonsense lyrics ever: “up to par and katie bar / the kitchen sides but not me in / sitting time for the big kill / wasting time sitting still” I still don’t know what it means but it makes perfect sense somehow.

8) The Prowl – Keep It Hid – Dan Auerbach

That first off-mike “yeh” that Auerbach throws in the beginning sounds like Puffy was doing backing vocals. It’s not, of course, because this song is actually good.

9) Tightrope – Dark Was The Night – Yeasayer

I’ve never given Yeasayer much of a listen, but their contribution to Dark Was The Night really surprised me. It’s got tribal percussion, a soothing guitar strum and a really good whiny vocal. It vaguely sounds like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (if that means anything to anyone anymore).

10) The Rake’s Song – The Hazards Of Love – The Decemberists

The Decemberists go rock opera for their new record, with a full album exploring some sort of tale of murders and shapeshifters. If this track is any indication, this’ll be their heaviest work since The Tain, and possibly their bloodiest piece yet.  Spoiler:  some motherfuckers get killed!

11) Hot Burrito #1 (I’m Your Toy) – Sweetheart ‘09 – DeVotchKa

This is actually from one of those Starbucks compilations. I felt a little dirty handing money over, but it’s chockfull of great covers, including DeVotchKa’s wistful reading of this Gram Parson/Flying Burrito Brothers heartbreaker.  Gram Parson’s was so great he actually sold records while saddled with the word Burrito.

12) Love Hurts – Sacred Hearts & Fallen Angels – Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris

A little more Gram Parsons for ya. It dawned on me that when I saw Jenny Lewis sing this at her show she wasn’t doing her tribute to Nazareth, but the Gram Parsons/Emmylou Harris original. It’s been repurposed so many times it’s hard to listen to it straight up, but this version is so damn sincere, it makes me let go of all the other bullshit.

13) Change Is Hard – Volume One – She & Him

Zooey Deschanel isn’t quite a great singer, but she’s got a really love voice. She doesn’t quite knock it out of the park when she needs to here, but that awkward effort somehow fits.

14) Don’t Forget Me – Middle Cyclone – Neko Case

Now here’s a great singer. Armed with a barnful of pianos and a Harry Nilsson song, comes up with something thunderously grand. The song is no longer just genuinely sad, it’s an epic tragedy.  By the way, Middle Cyclone is one of best records of 2009.  I’m sure of it.

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1) 9-9 – Murmur – R.E.M.

The deluxe reissue of Murmur is a delight. The new mix highlights the rhythm section’s nimble propulsion while keeping Peter Buck’s Byrdsy jangle intact. Michael Stipe, of course, remains indecipherable.

2) People Got a Lotta Nerve – Middle Cyclone – Neko Case

I am so pumped for the new Neko Case record.  Her leadoff single is essentially the musical version of the Scorpion and the Frog, an all-singing essay on destiny and human nature, and it’s pretty as all get out. She’s a man-man-man-man-eaterrrr…

3) So Far Around The Bend – Dark Was The Night – The National

The guys from the National curated a compilation so good that I’ve forgiven them for using the lyric “get high with an apple.” Luckily, they balance it out with the pretty perfect “praying for Pavement to get back together” line.

4) Train Song – Dark Was The Night – Feist and Ben Gibbard

I’m totally cheating having two songs from the same CD on one mix, but it’s a compilation! It doesn’t count! Anyway. Feist sings beautifully… and MUCH LOUDER THAN BEN GIBBARD.

5) My Love – Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future – The Bird And The Bee

The Bird and The Bee’s shimmery pop usually has a slight electronic tinge to their backdrops, but here they go for some good old fashioned stomping and clapping, like they were doing a Tilly and the Wall cover.

6) Here Comes Everybody – Future Perfect – Autolux

I caught Autolux in concert again, which made me revisit Future Perfect for a couple of spins.  Like all the great Autolux songs, this track has great texture with the dull roar of guitars, the crisp thwack of a drum and the smooth cooing vocals.  It’s mostly the drums though.

7) Like a Hitman, Like a Dancer – Get Guilty – A.C. Newman

While we’re on the topic of drums, I love the little rim clicks that the drummer uses as the main lick.  It’s second only to cowbells and woodblocks for goofy percussive tricks.

8) South China Moon – Grrr… – Bishop Allen

Bishop Allen’s new album doesn’t pack quite the immediate punch of The Broken String, but it has its own melodic treasures.  The chorus is triumphant as it crashes through after the verse.  What’s with the overenunciated T’s though?

9) Don’t! – The Old Days Feeling – Mirah

There’s a lot of charm in the way Mirah pits a very traditional Spector-girl group song against her low-fi aesthetic.  The result isn’t really a Crystals song as much as it is a girl singing a Crystals song into the mirror, with a tape recorder in one hand and maybe a hair dryer in the other.

10) Our Own Pretty Ways – Drunken Trees – First Aid Kit

First Aid Kit breaks hearts with their ruminations on change and the inevitability of love lost.  Yeah, I think they’re 15.  I know I think every countryish song sounds like a Jimmy Webb tune, but this really does have a nice Jimmy Webb feel to it.

11) Dark End Of The Street – Dark End Of The Street – Cat Power

Chan Marshall specializes in the intimate cover, and she’s phenomenal here on this Aretha Franklin tune. The song just slowly draws you in, and by the time you hear her count off 1-2-3-4 in the final stanza it’s like she’s sitting right next to you.

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1) I Want Some More – Keep It Hid – Dan Auerbach

Dan Auerbach’s solo record veers away from the Black Keys records… except for this track, which is Keys all the way. The swagger, the sway, the sweat, it’s all there.

2) The Palace at 4 AM – Get Guilty – A.C. Newman

I’m not sure what to make of Carl Newman’s latest solo record. His song writing has trended away from the ultrafocused power pop to rambling wrecks of hooky goodness. There’s still lot to like, but I’m not sure his stuff hits me as hard as it used to.

3) Diamond Dave – Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future – The Bird And The Bee

Inara George’s dance pop tribute to David Lee Roth. What more could you ask for?

4) World’s Gone Mad – Lunglight 128 – The Shaky Hands

I really dig how loose the drums are on this track. The whole thing hangs together, but I’m not sure it should.

5) Singer Songwriter – The Stand-Ins – Okkervil River

Of all the little bits that I love, the little slide guitar that punctuates the sentences really crack me up. Also he uses “ANGKOR WAT.”

6) Ballad Of Bird Love – Furr – Blitzen Trapper

B-side! Bassline is very clearly “influenced” by the Beatles’ “Get Back.”

7) Pelican Bay – Acid Tongue – Jenny Lewis

Another B-side! Take me away, Jenny Lewis. Wait, isn’t Pelican Bay a prison? OK, maybe don’t take me away.

8) The Privateers – Noble Beast – Andrew Bird

Violin plucking? Check. Falsetto? Check. Soaring middle section? Check. We got ourselves an Andrew Bird song!

9) You’re Not Coming Home Tonight – Drunken Trees – First Aid Kit

The harmonies on the chorus are otherworldly. Absolutely unfair that teenagers are more talented that I am. UNFAIR.

10) Dreaming Man – Canadian Amp – Neko Case

Warming up for the new Neko Case record by listening to some back catalogue stuff. This time, her cover of one of my favorite Neil Young songs.

11) Imagination (Is A Powerful Deceiver) – My Aim Is True – Elvis Costello

Watching Costello’s “Spectacle” on Sundance really reminds you of how wide and varied his influences are, and how deep his knowledge is. Even on his first album, he already has a handful of b-sides like this one, where he’s stretching his legs and dipping into straight American country and yet still being very specifically Elvis.

12) Indoor Fireworks – B-Sides and Rarities – Laura Cantrell

I think “Indoor Fireworks” was Elvis Costello’s attempt at a Hank Williams song. Laura Cantrell’s version feels even a little sadder, and the line of “build a bonfire of my dreams and burn a broken effigy of me and you” is still one of the best of Elvis Costello’s entire catalogue.

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1) Don’t Look Back – Nuggets – The Remains

Random Nuggets flashback… I know very little about the Remains, but they seem like an exact Rolling Stones knockoff here.

2) We Are Young – Lunglight 128 – The Shaky Hands

I love that “I will hide inside my hope” bit. Actually love pretty much all of it.

3) The Next Messiah – Acid Tongue – Jenny Lewis

At first I hated this song, because it’s sorta like 20 songs stuck together and the parts don’t quite join cleanly. Many listens later I am totally into it. Also, this is stunning live, except for the part where all the audience members clap offbeat.

4) Ruler – This Is It And I Am It… – Marnie Stern

Marnie Stern is absolutely an acquired taste, but when she clicks it really locks in for me.

5) I’m Sticking With You – Always The Bridesmaid: A Singles Series – Decemberists

I kinda feel like this is the Decemberist version of that song from the Jerk.

6) Saturday Nite – Furr – Blitzen Trapper

Blitzen Trapper does their best Bee-Gee impersonation, with surprisingly good results.

7) Smokin’ From Shootin’ – Evil Urges – My Morning Jacket

The bass intro makes it seem like a Miami booty anthem, but it spins its way around into an atmospheric love rock anthem. By the time it finishes you are way out in space.

8) On Tour With Zykos – The Stand-Ins – Okkervil River

Back down to earth with Okkervil, who drop *2* particularly awful lyrics with that “smoke a bowl/watch a whole TV movie” line and the awkward “… and they drink MGDs.”

9) Lion’s Mane – The Creek Drank the Cradle – Iron & Wine

Whenever Iron and Wine comes on, I find myself creeping REALLY CLOSE to the speakers. Is that just me?

10) Fortunate Son (Creedence Clearwater Revival) – Dark End Of The Street – Cat Power

I normally don’t recommend bleeding the life out of a song for your cover version, but Chan Marshall seems to have made a whole career of replacing energy with mystery.

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1) Fernando – Acid Tongue – Jenny Lewis

One of the few upbeat jams on Acid Tongue is a real handclapping, footstomping hootenanny. It’s an absolute blast.

2) Gold For Bread – Furr – Blitzen Trapper

Few songs have more non-sensical lyrics per capita than “Gold For Bread,” but there’s a great rush in its fever dream momentum. Monkeys, midgets and road trips, man.

3) Show Me Your Life – Lunglight 128 – The Shaky Hands

The slackadaisical shamble of this track reminds me strongly of Pavement. THAT, is a good thing.

4) Poor Man’s Ice Cream – O – Tilly And The Wall

I have no fucking idea what this song is going on about. I clap a lot though.

5) Days Of Elaine – Always The Bridesmaid: A Singles Series – The Decemberists

I admire your commitment to alliteration, Colin Meloy.

6) Wildwood Flower – Rambling Boy – Charlie Haden

Charlie Haden brings in a ton of different singers on his folk record, including his daughters, but nobody’s better on it than Roseanne Cash. Laura Veirs did a nice version of Wildwood Flower last year but it doesn’t hold a candle to this.

7) Calling And Not Calling My Ex – The Stand-Ins – Okkervil River

I wonder if Will Scheff goes through a lot of relationship pain. It translates to amazing lyrics, so I don’t mind, but I’m just curious.

8) I Got Your Number – Rapid Response – Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

I really liked the immediate punch of Leo’s protest EP. It was turned around super quickly and sounds it, but the protest punk is everything it should be.

9) The Package Is Wrapped – This Is It And I Am It … – Marnie Stern

I tried to learn two handed tapping on the guitar once. I looked retarded.

10) Lullaby Haze – Re-Arrange Us – Mates of State

Mates of State keeps sneaking onto my playlists. I never feel like I’m listening to their records but they randomly pop up and they are always a breath of fresh air.

11) Corazon – The Broken String – Bishop Allen

While it’s certainly a metaphor for grander things, Corazon is also very literal. The band actually found a broken piano, fixed it up and cut a record with it.

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