Keeping Time

So as it turns out, WordPress doesn’t actually have a widget that allows you go imbed imeem songs/playlists on your blog unless you’re hosting the blog yourself. So with that in mind, this barbaric HTML link will have to do for now.

April ‘08 Playlist

Now for the part where I explain the list as a whole. Seeing as how I’m aiming to keep this blog going, I’ve decided to do a monthly roundup of albums I listened to (and enjoyed) over the last month. For each album, I’ll pick one song that stuck out and I’ll put it in the playlist. Then at the end of the month, I yap about stuff no one cares about aka the albums represented by the tracks on the list.

And now for a terrible segway…

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Colin Meloy – Sings Live!
I’ve never been a huge fan of the Decemberists work, although I thought (and still think) that “The Crane Wife” is one of the best albums of 2006. However, when I heard about Colin Meloy (the lead singer of the Decemberists) solo CD on pitchfork (I know, I know…), I decided to check it out. To be honest, it’s no different than any other live CD/bootleg out there, but at the same time, it has a very person feel to it, much like the “campfire” atmosphere that Colin describes in a few of the songs on the album. A lot of favorite Decemberist songs make it on to the album, along with some songs off of Colin’s earlier EP’s. Not to mention, it doesn’t get much more indie/emo than that album cover.

Death Cab for Cutie – Narrow Stairs
Now I can garuntee you right now that this album will be on my playlist again next month, because technically I haven’t listened to the album yet. I have a handful of studio-quality tracks and a number of live bootlegs, but from those alone, I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve heard off of “Narrow Stairs”. It’s a change of pace from their darker, slower “Plans”, and I really enjoy that they’re sort of moving back to the music that they made originally. I was worried when I heard about ten-minute “can jams” and after listening to “I Will Possess Your Heart” a number of times, my concern only grew, but after only hearing three-minutes of “Bixby Canyon Bridge”, I’m pretty sure this album is going to be pretty damn epic.

R.E.M. – Accelerate
You know, I’m actually quite surprised that I liked this album. I’ve tried to get into R.E.M. a number of times, but for some reason I can never get past their singles. However, after a couple of listens to “Acccelerate”, I knew it was pure gold. There are a number of songs off of the album that were just good all the way through and this album would be the album to get me into R.E.M.. Although I heard their previous “new albums” haven’t been too hot. Oh well, we’ll see how it goes down the road. Until then, I’ve got “Accelerate” to keep me busy, and I think it’ll do the trick.

The Mountain Goats – Heretic Pride
I’ll be honest; of all the albums I listened to last month, this album was neither a) released in April nor b) did I listen to it all that much. However, when I did listen to it, I throughly enjoyed it. The entire sound is a little eccentric, but thats never turned me away before. A number of the tracks are really well written lyrically, telling stories rather than being composed of lyrics. Normally, this turns me off and I can only listen to those types of songs once or twice, but for some reason, I made an exception for “Heretic Pride”. Go figure.

Atmosphere – When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold
I’d actually been waiting for this album to drop for a while, and damn, was it worth the wait. The entire first listen-through was epic, and every listen since then has kept that feeling. There are some classic songs off of this album, yet at the same time, the whole production quality and atmosphere (har har) make it a completely different kind of album altogether. I was pretty disappointed with “Strictly Leakage”, so it was nice for those guys to finally put something out that I can really enjoy and listen to entire their next EP drops. Whenever that is, but lets hope it’s soon.

Thrice – The Alchemy Index, Volumes III & IV
Thrice has always been one of those bands I’ve been able to listen to, but just not get into. I enjoyed “The Artists In The Ambulance”, but I just can’t find myself thinking that it’s one of the better albums in my collection, and while I did enjoy “Volumes I & II”, it’s just the same story again. But “Volumes III & IV” are a different story. Air and Earth’s sound are much more down to Earth (what is with me and the puns?), and something I can really get into. In order of preference, I’d choose Earth over Air, simply because Earth is pretty solid all the way through, while Air only had a few good tracks on it. But Air does have “Silver Wings”, which does have one of the best damn breakdowns I’ve ever heard. It’s just so touching in a way, just the way it fades out and comes backs in. Jesus, gives me shivers.

The Roots – Rising Down
As the white kid from the upper-class suburbs, I really feel like I’m doing a disservice to my kind by listening to The Roots, but the album is pretty damn good. Criminal (feat. Saigon & Chuck North) reminds me a lot of how Lupe Fiasco brought Matthew Santos in for his album “The Cool”, and I really like the idea of bringing hip-hop and conventional singing together into a song. Some of the songs just seemed overly racial (there we go, now I’ve redeemed my kind) and that just felt unnecessary, but overall, the new album is pretty sick. I just wish it was longer.

Augustana – Can’t Love, Can’t Hurt
What can I say? It’s more Augustana. That said, I liked Augustana’s freshman CD, so hell, why not this one? I saw them a year or so ago, and they played a few unreleased songs, so I was really looking forward to this album, hoping I could find some of them on it. Sadly, they left out “The Devil’s Blue Eyes”, but I still have a copy of that. Concert tracks aside, “Can’t Love, Can’t Hurt” is still a good alt-rock album, and Augustana didn’t seem to mess with the formula from their original CD too much. While I haven’t exactly found a “Boston” yet, you never know what time will bring.

The Raconteurs – Consolers of the Lonely
I’m a big fan of The White Stripes and I think that “Elephant” is one of the best rock albums to come out in a long while. That said, I never actually listened to The Raconteurs previous album, but I did give them a chance this time around, and I’m glad that I did. Jack White seems to have this ability to just make shit work, and of course, without him in the band, chances are I wouldn’t even be listening to this CD. Luckily, White is a member of the band (although sans sister this time around), and the same thing that makes The White Stripes to damn good is definitely present here, with catchy riffs and excellent guitar playing all around. If anything, it’s definitely one of the better albums of this year.

Well, thats it. April was a pretty good month music wise. I’m still really looking forward to “Narrow Stairs”. On a seperate note, I hope I never have to listen to Madonna’s “Hard Candy” ever again, but more than that, I hope I never have to look at the album art ever, ever again. She’s almost 50 for god sake.