1) Cool - Gyrate Plus - Pylon

Delving into old bands can be a dangerous proposition, but getting to rediscover something like Pylon is what it’s all about. Simultaneously caustic and captivating, Pylon still has a jarring freshness to modern ears.

2) The Wicked Messenger - I’m Not There - The Black Keys

There’s a ton of great material on the I’m Not There soundtrack, but I love the Keys because they make their cover completely unDylanesque (hello, completely made-up word). While everyone is coming an inch short of doing actual Dylan impersonations, Auerbach and Carney are grinding out bog heavy blues as they are wont to do.

3) This Time Tomorrow - The Darjeeling Limited - The Kinks

This was already a classic track, but whenever Wes Anderson really nails a song placement he claims a little piece of it. Just hearing it makes me visualize everyone running in slow motion… is that just me?

4) Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe - The Stage Names - Okkervil River

I’m a big fan of someone trying to do an extended metaphor in their song lyrics, but film references is dicey. It’s just too easy to sound like video store clerk poetry. Despite shoehorning the word IMAX into the song, Will Sheff does admirably. I’m pretty close to calling Stage Names my favorite record of the year.

5) Sci-Fi Kid - Wild Mountain Nation - Blitzen Trapper

Most of Wild Mountain Nation has a folksy throwback country sound to it, but this song merges humble roots music with spacey keyboards and random digital samples to create their own space oddity.

6) Man - Please Clap Your Hands - The Bird And The Bee

The Bird and The Bee is a little bit trip hop and a little bossa nova. Their dreamy lounge music spikes with danceable beats and sharp melodies but is just slightly more interesting than your standard cutesy electronica.

7) Butterfly Nets - The Broken String - Bishop Allen

This is one of the few Bishop Allen tracks with Darbie Nowotka on lead vocal, and one of their most beautiful and fragile numbers. Even the trombone solo has a trembling frailty, which is stunning in its subtlety.

8) White Wedding (Billy Idol Cover) - Bridging The Distance - Whip

Buried in the middle of the Portland covers compilation, The Whip makes Billy Idol’s hit into a darkly beautiful murder ballad.

9) The Bleeding Heart Show - Twin Cinema - New Pornographers

I was revisiting Twin Cinema, and I was shocked to find that this didn’t sneak onto any my monthly mixes the year it came out. Despite being attached to a horrible Phoenix University commercial, it’s still one of the best New Porn tracks. The build and layering are tremendous, with the band going into Polyphonic Spree territory only to have Neko Case blast through the mix.

10) I Give Up - Live Shit - Quasi

The actual proper “song” is only the last half of the track, with a 90 second instrumental intro featuring the wacky drum stylings of Janet Weiss. Great intro, great song. It also captures the weakest audience reaction on a live album I’ve ever heard. To be fair, this was live IN STUDIO and not in a club, so the clapping is probably just three guys in a booth at Jackpot Records.

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1) Polite Dance Song - Please Clap Your Hands - The Bird And The Bee

This track skirts the edge of novelty with Inara George chanting out every dance floor cliche in a dreamy pop backdrop, like Zero 7 doing a booty anthem. It’s funny and charming but also slyly sensual.

2) Roman Statues - Fables - Immaculate Machine

Kathryn Calder’s vocal star again for Immaculate Machine, but bandmate Brooke Gallupe gets the best line, “Sell off your statues under the table / let all your stories turn in to fables…” The Immaculate Machine only achieves greatness occassionally, but they reach for it often.

3) Black - Black Sheep Boy - Okkervil River

Wow. Passive listens at Okkervil River really don’t do the lyrical work any justice. In “Black,” the singer tries to get through to a child abduction survivor, promising bloody revenge and only getting a blank stare in return. Will Scheff sing lines like “Though I tell you, like before, that you should wreck his life the way that he wrecked yours, you want no part of his life anymore” until his throat is completely raw.

4) You Don’t Know Me At All - The Scene of the Crime - Bettye Lavette

Lavette’s soulful sass makes even Don Henley songs sound rough and tough.

5) Highway 61 Revisited - I’m Not There - Karen O & The Million Dollar Bashers

It’s less intense and more whimsical than PJ Harvey’s landmark take, and a totally rollicking good time. The Million Dollar Bashers (Nels Cline, Lee Renaldo, Steve Shelley, Tony Garnier, John Medeski and Smokey Hormel) are a a ridiculously good house band.

6) Hard Sun - Music for the Motion Picture Into the Wild - Eddie Vedder

Pretty standard Eddie Vedder cover song, but check out Corin Tucker on backing vocals.

7) Life And How To Live It (Live) - And I Feel Fine - R.E.M.

Stashed away on the 2nd disc of their IRS years retrospective, this live track captures the band in fine mid 80’s form, including one of my favorite pre-song anecdotes. Mysterious, enigmatic and absolutely entrancing… and man, Bill Berry sounds good behind the kit.

8) Marry Song - Cease To Begin - Band Of Horses

I can’t imagine this song anywhere near a wedding anywhere. I can’t quite make out the lyrics but I’d say it’s 50/50 that it’s about stabing someone.

9) All the Things That Go to Make Heaven and Earth - Challengers - New Pornographers

This is one of those New Pornographers where they pretty much toss all their paint on the wall and see what shakes out. It’s an absolute cacophony, with little bits of melody peeking from under the covers. Those last few sentences were written by my Mixed Metaphor Machine. Thanks!

10) Bleeding Powers - Shake the Sheets - Ted Leo / Pharmacists

I think it’s really funny when Ted Leo sings in falsetto.

11) Eve of Destruction - Charm School - Bishop Allen

“And I tell you over and over and over again, my friend
That I’m down with you, even on the eve of destruction.” The indie apocalypse will end with awkwardly appropriated slang.

12) Girls In Their Summer Clothes - Magic - Bruce Springsteen

Springsteen doesn’t wow me much anymore, but there is something comforting about his ability to create an instantly nostalgic sense of time and place. One listen through and you can visualize every single lyric.

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1) Sunday Sounds - New Magnetic Wonder - Apples In Stereo

Drummer Hilarie Sidney gives a dreamy vocal performance but Bob Schneider throws in a fantastically wonky guitar solo.

2) Fortune - Challengers: B-Sides, Demos, Alternate Mixes - New Pornographers

The New Pornographers have slipped quite a few gems onto their “executive edition,” including this track that just barely got cut from the official release. Kathryn Calder (I think, it may be Neko) has some lovely undercutting backing vocals on that chorus.

3) Click, Click, Click, Click - The Broken String - Bishop Allen

I will be shocked if this doesn’t get picked up for a commercial for digital cameras. Every time you hear the words “take another picture with your click click click click camera” you will want to buy some photo equipment.

4) Plus Ones - The Stage Names - Okkervil River

Okkervil River does some lyrical math rock here, co-opting number based lyrics from the Mysterians, Nena, REM, The Zombies and Paul Simon, among others. The result is a classic love letter to classic love songs .

5) Hot Knives - Cassadaga - Bright Eyes

I got on a big Janet Weiss kick this month, and check how much life she gives the song, which is at its core a pretty mopey track with a flatline vocal.

6) Our Happiness Is Guaranteed - “Featuring Birds - Quasi

More classic Weiss work here, from the jazzy intro to freewheeling melodicism of the verse and a crushing backbeat all the way through.

7) Ode To LRC - Cease To Begin - Band Of Horses

The new Band of Horses sounds a lot like the last record, big and shimmery with touches of seductive quiet.

8) Come My Sunshine - Spells - Comas

I love a good fuzzy guitar.

9) Devil With the Green Eyes - Altered Beast - Matthew Sweet

Flashback! Somehow I always forget how good Sweet’s studio bands were during this era. Yes, the refined power pop is there, but those are some serious guitar licks too.

10) Polyester Bride - whitechocolatespaceegg - Liz Phair

Another early 90’s callback here. This was almost certainly the most overplayed song in my apartment circa 1998. Maybe 1999 too.

11) Don’t Stop Believin’ - B-Sides and Rarities - Petra Haden

I’ve been resisting this Journey cover for awhile, since Haden takes the easy way out on the chorus, talk-singing her way through. How can I hate the vocal take on that guitar solo though?

12) A Sunday Smile - The Flying Club Cup - Beirut

Is everyone ready for some gypsy rock?

13) 15 - Under The Blacklight - Rilo Kiley

“15″ is one of the few likeable songs off Under the Blacklight, with a strong country twang and more of the Memphis soul aping that Jenny Lewis got so good at.

14) Release Me - B-Sides and Rarities - The Like

Z Berg’s performance here is breathtaking, as she breaks down further and further into the track, full of the back and forth pain of the relationship she describes.

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1) Middle Management - The Broken String - Bishop Allen

ALRIGHT!

2) Here’s Your Future - The Body The Blood The Machine - Thermals

This track snuck into an episode of Weeds this month, so I ended up putting the record back into rotation. Anything to stop Hutch Harris from going back to work at Stumptown Coffee as a barista.

3) Speed of Luxury - “Challengers: The Executive Edition” - The New Pornographers

Matador has a 4 disc special edition of Challengers that they’ve been slowly releasing over the internet, and so far the b-sides have been generally poppier and more new porny than the actual record.

4) Keys To The City - Proof Of Youth - The Go! Team

I’m not sure what the lyrics are but they sure seem empowering when they’re a bunch of people yelling them at you.

5) Dear Gabby - Heroes And Sheroes - The Eames Era

Handclaps and playground rhymes are always a good way to start.

6) Today Will Be Better, I Swear! - In Our Bedroom After The War - Stars

I thought this would be peppier, but there’s an uneasy undercurrent of sadness that keeps it from being a schmaltzy song of strength.

7) The Angels Hung Around - Under The Blacklight - Rilo Kiley

My expectations were pretty high on this record, so I was kind of disappointed. There’s still a couple of gems, including this song that harkens strongly back to the country inflected work of Rabbit Furcoat

8) Nobody Knows Me At All - Say I Am You - The Weepies

A band called the Weepies does melancholic folk. GO FIGURE!

9) Before the Money Came (Battle of Bettye Lavette) - The Scene of the Crime - Bettye Lavette

The long triumphant story of Bettye Lavette’s career gets compressed here into a mini-epic by Lavette and the Drive-By Truckers. It’s kinda like her wikipedia entry with music.

10) Don’t Be Afraid, You’re Already Dead - Love Is Simple - Akron/Family

There’s a real weird cult vibe about all of Akron/Family’s freaky folk material, but it’s spooky and strange and really pretty.

11) Cherbourg - The Flying Club Cup - Beirut

This song has no umbrellas.

12) You Or Your Memory - The Sunset Tree - Mountain Goats

I’m a sucker for songs that reference L.A. and wine coolers. This song goes 2 for 2!

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1) Jarhand - Fables - Immaculate Machine

The wrongheaded that feel the New Pornographers isn’t up to snuff may find solace in the Immaculate Machines ragged read on Canadian pop. Lord knows what Jarhand is actually about, but it’s got the hooks.

2) Watson On Your Side - Heroes And Sheroes - The Eames Era

Speaking of indie substitution games, I’ve found Heroes and Sheroes to a perfectly viable fill-in for that Rilo Kiley sized gap in your life.

3) Go Places - Challengers - New Pornographers

I for one, love Challengers. For its leisurely pace its still got a superior tunefulness. Listen to Neko Case waltz around the words “deux la machina” and try not to fall in love.

4) The News From Your Bed - The Broken String - Bishop Allen

Bishop Allen has an almost Sesame Street like bounce to this agoraphobic anthem. As a well seasoned shut-in, I find this track all too true-to-life, including my pet rat, Mr. Whiskers.

5) Mayonaise - Siamese Dream - Smashing Pumpkins

I used to try playing the pinched harmonic run at the beginning of this song to no avail. The guitars are fucking majestic here, and every time I listen to Siamese Dream I regret listening to anything else  Corgan has touched ever.

6) Robots In The Garden - Future Perfect - Autolux

This song is dedicated to the worst part of Transformers.  What the fuck was that about?

7) In the Garage - Weezer [Blue] - Weezer

On the ever of San Diego Comic-Con, this was the nerdiest song I could find that was still a good song. It’s hard to use the words Dungeonmaster, Kitty Pryde and Ace Frehley properly in a song if you’re not a rapper. That’s a scientific fact.

8) Grow Up And Blow Away - Grow Up and Blow Away - Metric

earlyearlyearly metric. Not sure what to make of the album, but the title track at least sounds like Metric.

9) Take Me to the Riot - In Our Bedroom After The War - Stars

The 4th and final Canadian act in this month’s mix. What’s up in the water there? Is it a by-product of the health insurance?

10) Fakey Fake - Mentor Tormentor - Earlimart

Earlimart’s always had a strong Elliott Smith influence but this is really, really familiar. In a good way though.

11) The Funeral - Everything All The Time - Band Of Horses

I saw Band of Horses open up at the Hollywood Bowl and they sounded terrific. This song, in particular, was MASSIVE.

12) Bring It On Home To Me - Bridging The Distance - Britt Daniel

Daniel’s low-key take on Sam Cooke is typically skeletal in terms of instrumentation, but note how every second is still filled and how rich it all feels by the end.

13) Gentle On My Mind - Sounds Eclectic: The Covers Project - R.E.M.

It’s not as good as their Wichita Lineman cover, but Stipe’s got knack for poignant reads on these old country hits. He does a great run on “Galveston” too, if you can find it.

14) The Boys Are Back In Town / Ignition - B-Sides and Rarities - The Mountain Goats

This is a staggeringly brilliant interpretation.  There is no triumphant return here… it feels more like a guy coming back to his small town after horrible failure in the big city. By the time he seamlessly transitions to R.Kelly, he’s a mean drunk and he’s ready to pee on someone.

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1) Mutiny, I Promise You - Challengers - The New Pornographers

Directly from AC Newman’s notes: ” I think this has the most Bacharach/Webb/Wilson in it, in terms of structure and time signature, all the added half-bars in the progression. We rocked it up quite a bit, but slowed down and with a few other changes, it could go on a 5th Dimension album. That’s hubris, I know.”

2) Guess Who Ran Off With The Milkman? - B-Side - The Pipettes

Available on the “Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me” single, this song has a sticky piano line, lovely girl group antics, slight gender politics and a few sweet little shalalas for extra throwback authenticity. This was one of the better “new” songs they played when I saw them, but they were pretty much playing everything they had to fill out the set.

3) You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon

Like all great Spoon tracks, this song is rhythmically addictive but they do a great job of folding in extra textures with the xylophones and the horns.

4) You’ll Never Change - Tied & True - The Detroit Cobras

The Cobras tackle this Betty Lavette song and come up with something stellar, full of swagger and heartbreak. Their knack for unearthing old tunes is a bit unnerving.

5) You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You’re Told) - Icky Thump - The White Stripes

This sounds like something Jack White may have written for Loretta Lynn and pocketed for himself. They’ve rocked it up a bit, but I still get that sassy country feel from it.

6) You Don’t Need This Song (To Fix Your Broken Heart) - Everything Last Winter - Fields

Like my favorite tracks from the National’s Boxer, the Fields record worked best for me when they layered soft melodies over those big propulsive drums.

7) You Can Make Him Like You - Live at Fingerprints - The Hold Steady

Reading John Roderick describe The Hold Steady as “a medley of the greatest hits of the E Street Band, Bad Company, Foreigner and Styx. As played by your uncle’s friends” killed me, because I said the same thing when I saw them live a few months back. I like ‘em well enough, but it’s still true.

8) Think About Me - Bridging The Distance - The Decemberists

Found on the PDX cover record, this Fleetwood Mac cover is actually really old, as evidenced by the lead vocals by Rachel Blumberg, who hasn’t been with the band for 2 records now.

9) C’mon Sea Legs - Fables - Immaculate Machine

This is kind of a weird song. It’s basically a buck-up, stick-with-it anthem, but it’s couched in this really awkward seasick metaphor. So the resulting chorus essentially says “stop puking! Things are about to get awesome!”

10) We Win (Haha) - Make History - Thunderbirds Are Now!

The Thunderbirds show was probably the emptiest one I’ve been to in a long time, with the front row comprised of the opening band seeding the audience. Still, they rocked the shit out of Spaceland, with their keyboard player doing David Lee Roth flying splits and pounding his instrument with a tambourine that he wore on his head like a crown of thorns.

11) Kiss Kiss - Is Is EP - The Yeah Yeah Yeahs

The Is Is EP is mostly songs written during the Fever to Tell tour, and this is the best song on it. I’m glad the YYYs are going back and recording all these tracks that have been floating around as live tracks and b-sides, but let’s get some new material already.

12) White Tooth Man - The Shepherd’s Dog - Iron & Wine

This song is almost rocking. Trust me, I was really surprised. It has drums and everything.

13) The Chinatown Bus - The Broken String - Bishop Allen

Bishop Allen uses the semi-legendary cheap ass transpo for Boston/NYC as a backdrop for a wistful daydream about love, life and loss and other weird Asian things.

14) Oh No - B-Side - Colin Meloy

Meloy covers Lavender Diamond, challenging himself to come up with 312 ways to sing the words “Oh No.” I think he comes up with 12.

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1) Sealings - Spider-Man 3 Soundtrack - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

I gotta say I’d never thought I’d see a YYYs track stuck onto a Spider-Man movie, but here it is. Classic YYYs all the way around.

2) Dear Confessor - Fables - Immaculate Machine

If this single is any indication, Immaculate Machine may be letting some of that New Porn magic rub off on them. Brooke Gallup and Kathryn Calder finally get their voices to co-mingle effectively, and slip in some very Newmanesque turnarounds.

3) Red Microphones - Spells - The Comas

The guitars and D&D lyrics scream early Weezer, and I’m not going to complain about anything like that.

4) Rappaport’s Testament - Mo’ Livin EP - Ted Leo / Pharmacists

Leo’s Chumbawumba cover just killed in concert… lyrics like “I crawled through the mud but I never gave up” don’t really sound right until you get hundreds of people yelling it, and Leo’s never failed getting a bunch of kids to scream along.

5) Grip Like a Vice - Untitled - The Go! Team

New Go! Team track has some familiar production with some throwback rhymes. Not quite Roxane Shante or JJ Fad, but what is?

6) Eye In The Sky - Bridging the Distance - Viva Voce

I can’t really hear this song without thinking about there’s a basketball game about to break out. Once you get the prog-rock intro though, Viva Voce makes it seem like a real song, including a flawless vocal baton relay around the 3 minute mark.

7) Don’t Lose Yourself - Saltbreakers - Laura Veirs

Veirs is doing some really cool stuff with her drum machine folk songs. Everything sets up as cooly detached but there’s something warm and personal about it too.

8) You Turned My Head Around - Back Numbers - Dean and Britta

I can never get over the fact that she was the voice of Jem and the Holograms. Jem’s doing a Lee Hazelwood cover! WTF?!?!

9) Fear City - New Moon - Elliott Smith

Indie Tupac keeps cranking tunes out.

10) Brandy Alexander - The Reminder - Feist

Feist brings it WAY down with a piano and fingersnaps.

11) The Underdog - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon

This track has that bouncy “Sister Jack” vibe with some jaunty horn work to take it over the top. Great lyrics too.

12) Fake Do Gooders - Heroes and Sheroes - The Eames Era

I actually thought this was a Rilo Kiley song. I got totally faked out.

13) 3 Away - EP - Pretty Girls Make Graves

Another stroll down PGMG memory lane, when Derek screamed a lot and everyone was just a bit off-key and they rocked like crazy.

14) Apartment Story - Boxer - The National

Another month, another National dirge to end it.

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1) Slack Motherfucker - Tossing Seeds - Superchunk

I used to think Superchunk was going to be the biggest thing ever, mostly because this was was the only Superchunk song I had heard. This is one of the greatest workplace anthems ever, and you can still catch me silent screaming “I’M WORKING, BUT I’M NOT WORKING FOR YOU” in my tiny, tiny cubicle.

2) Remember Today - Fuckin A - Thermals

I had a flashback to The Last Sleater-Kinney Show Ever a few weeks ago, but it was of the opening band, who perfectly encapsulated that night with this song. “hold tight / remember today / anything you can climb / you can easily watch / crumble away / and i would give / the last shred / of my broken head / for the songs you say / and the words you sing” For my money, Hutch Harris is the best monosyllabic lyricist I can think of, creating lovely monuments with crude building blocks.

3) C.I.A. - Living With the Living - Ted Leo / Pharmacists

It’s never really a great move to put a 7 minute track in slot 3 of your mix, but I’m living on the edge here. Despite the obvious politics of its lyrics, CIA never seems to dip into true vitriol, instead concentrating on the human cost. It helps that the song is relentlessly driving and catchy.

4) Pink Light - Saltbreakers - Laura Veirs

Veirs works some off-kilter cadences into something truly hypnotizing, and then spins it off a space rock finale to match the galactic lyrics and the impending dawn. As far as I can tell it’s about breaking up and moving on while being locked in an observatory. Astronomy freaks rejoice!

5) One Two Three Four - The Reminder - Feist

Nothing I say will match the pure jubilation of the video.

6) If This City Never Sleeps - These Friends of Mine - Rosie Thomas

The guitar arpeggios vaguely remind me of “Landslide,” but the arrangements are very Elliott Smith. It’s a beautiful setup for the line “If this city never sleeps / does that mean / that no one dreams?,” which just knocks me out.

7) Antichrist Television Blues - Neon Bible - Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire’s shuffling tribute to Joe Simpson (Ashlee and Jessica’s dad) works on pretty much every level, but might be improved with a sample of Simpson himself yelling “You can’t ignore those double D’s” Someone get on that.

8) Range Life - “Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain” - Pavement

Pavement’s countriest song ever also contains random slams of both the Smashing Pumpkins and Stone Temple Pilots in the last verse. They must have really hated being on that Lollapalooza tour.

9) Driver 8 - Fables Of The Reconstruction - R.E.M.

The jangle and the drone… it’s just one of my favorite songs evereverever.

10) Four Winds - Cassadaga - Bright Eyes

I’ve always been kind of ambivalent about Oberst, but this is a fairly strong record. I was this close to putting his cover of Daniel Johnston’s “Deviltown” in this slot though. They used it in the Friday Night Lights finale and it got stuck in my head for a while.

11) You Are My Face - Sky Blue Sky - Wilco

Is it just me or does Wilco sound exponentially older than they should? I know they’ve never rocked the fuck out or anything, but they seem to be getting more comatose with each album. Luckily they’re really good at constructing slowjams.

12) Winona - Girlfriend - Matthew Sweet

Songs about obsessing are always good. I wonder if Matthew Sweet even thinks about Winona Ryder anymore. He played guitar, he totally had a chance to hook up with her!

13) Thirteen - #1 Record / Radio City - Big Star

I was reading “Love is a Mixtape,” which is a great book that I really should write up later, and Rob Sheffield talks about bonding with his futurewife over Big Star in the early stages of their courtship. It kind of struck me that “Thirteen” has got to be one of the all-time clutch mixtape songs. Even today it’s a touch obscure, but it’s innocent and sweet and exquisitely written… I think it’s human nature to exaggerate the potency of those shoulda-been hits, but this really is one of them.

14) Yesterday Once More - Holiday - Cinerama

I never knew Cinerama covered the Carpenters. How come nobody told me?

15) Kid Gloves - Voxtrot - Voxtrot

I mentioned how disappointing the new Voxtrot record was, right? This is one of the few real gems on the record, capturing the switching pace and slight anger of those magical EPs. Voxtrot is much better when their songs have a chip on their shoulder, or else they can fall into a trap of pure twee. A chorus of “Cheer me up / Cheer me up / I’m a miserable fuck” strikes the right kind of balance.

16) Squalor Victoria - Boxer - The National

This album kind of makes me sleepy, but I like the drums on this track a lot. I’ve come to realize I just don’t have much to say about The National.

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1) When The Lights Go Out - Rubber Factory - Black Keys

Craig Brewer’s use of the Keys’ sweaty blues to open up Black Snake Moan was the best music cue this month, although it didn’t have a lot of competition.

2) Weapon of Choice - Baby 81 - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

BRMC’s return single is one of those perfectly manufactured rockers that go from awesome to overplayed in about a month. Enjoy it while you can!

3) Phantom Mountain - Saltbreakers - Laura Veirs

I never expected Laura Veirs to bring it with big drums and fuzzy guitars, but here she is, with a wonky distorted vocal to boot.

4) I Feel It All - The Reminder - Feist

This track has a folky feel but with a driving, modern pulse. Feist hypnotically repeats a few lines over and over again before breaking out a cathartic reading of “I’ll be the one who’ll break my heart, I’ll be the one to hold the gun. I love you more…”

5) Silently - 23 - Blonde Redhead

Kazu Makino’s vocals seem more dreamy than ever over the faux-electronica backdrop here. No swirling guitar noise to be found, but it still works.

6) Listen Up! - Burn To Shine / Portland - The Gossip

This live version is a bazillion times better than the album cut. By toning down the cowbell and deepening the bass groove, the recording tones down the campiness of the original and amps up Beth Ditto’s ridiculously soulful voice.

7) Who Do You Love? - Living With the Living - Ted Leo / Pharmacists

Leo’s Stax/new wave crossbreed feels like reliving moments of Elvis Costello’s Get Happy!!!, topped off with Ted’s unabashed falsetto.

8) People as Places as People - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank - Modest Mouse

With its spooky guitar line and creeping bass line the track reads a bit like an old Cure single, except that it’s infected with a jittery nervous energy that seems to be in almost every Modest Mouse song.

9) Gardening At Night (Different Mix) - In The Attic - R.E.M.

This song was written 20 years before R.E.M. entered the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame… and there’s still nobody that can explain it to me. In a lot of ways, it’s still the prototypical R.E.M. song, with a great rhythm section and Peter Buck’s folk arpeggios distracting everyone from the fact that Stipe’s lyrics don’t make a lot of sense but sound like genius.

10) Blood Red Blood - Voxtrot - Voxtrot

Voxtrot’s long awaited debut record is a touch of disappointment, weighing a little too heavily towards wistful wimpiness instead of deferring to its knack for musical muscularity. The earnestness of the chorus is kind of staggering, and it’s a minor miracle Ramesh gets away with it.

11) Minneapolis - Retreat from the Sun - that dog.

that dog. never put together that perfect record, but Retreat from the Sun has about 4 or 5 perfect pop tunes that stand up to just about any summer song of the early 90s. Anna Waronker’s flat line readings are filled out by some unreal backing vocals from the Haden sisters. It’s a shame it all went sour, but it’s a record I dip back into almost every month.

12) If I’m Gonna Sink (It Might As Well Be To The Bottom) - B-Sides and Rarities - Neko Case

Is it just me or is Neko Case almost a little TOO happy to hit rock bottom? This is actually off a Johnny Paycheck tribute record that I can’t quite find the name of right now. Nevertheless, shout out to the cowgirls paying attention to this.

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1) Keep the Car Running - Neon Bible - Arcade Fire

The official first single from Neon Bible is pretty quintessential Arcade Fire. Slow build, propulsive rhythm section, rousing choruses and some every man lyrics… it’s all there.

2) Sad Girls Por Vida - Good Health - Pretty Girls Make Graves

So PGMG broke up, so I will celebrate the times when they were killing it daily, living mi vida loca in Echo Park, instead of that last record that made me fall asleep all the time.

3) Frustrating Sound - Radio Moscow - Radio Moscow

Dan Auerbach produced this record and it’s a bit TOO much of a throwback, but it nevertheless rocks, in an old Cream sort of way.

4) Baby C’Mon - Live - Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks

Feel the power of Janet Weiss’s drums, dude. Malkmus never sounded quite this rockin’ before.

5) Bottle of Buckie - Living With The Living - Ted Leo / Pharmacists

Like Timorous Me before it, Bottle of Buckie is one of those songs about roots, about growing up on stoops and milling around with people you don’t really know anymore. There aren’t a whole lot of lyricists that capture that nostalgic sense of time and place like Leo.

6) That’s Entertainment (Demo) - Stranger than Fiction - The Jam

This version isn’t found on the giant Jam box set for some reason. I *think* it is the same version on the SNAP! compilation. It’s a little simpler and direct than the other versions, and is just a touch better.

7) My Man, My Moon - The Reminder - Feist

Here’s a new track from Feist, with a Spoonish rhythm part and the typically sexxxy Feisty vocals.

8) Missed the Boat -We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank - Modest Mouse

I dig the island feel of this Modest Mouse track, and the chorus is just divine when it kicks in.

9) Girl Sailor - Wincing the Night Away - The Shins

It’s a nautical theme this month!

10) Dark Matter - Armchair Apocrypha - Andrew Bird

Dark Matter kicks along on some cowboy whistling and a little plucked violin before unfurling into something ginormous. Bird’s really dipping into some truly epic stuff here.

11) To The Country - Saltbreakers - Laura Veirs

Laura Veirs works with a choir to do some call and response and some generally spooky vocal work.

12) 23 - 23 - Blonde Redhead

I’m always off and on with Blonde Redhead but the title track from their new record has those supercatchy lalalalas that keep you hooked in beyond the noise and shimmer of their instrumental work.

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