Monday, June 18, 2007
It's time to start dumping ideas on the page, if only to see published things myself (like... nobody's reading this ever. probably). So here goes...

What am I interested in? What have I been reading recently? Listening to? Spending my time with? Hmm.... music:

  • LCD Soundsystem
I generally avoided the hype surrounding LCD Soundsystem (and the DFA label in general) when they--or James Murphy--began to garner large amounts of press coverage and media hype outside NYC. I probably first read of LCD in NME, while still in my I'm-too-cool-to-read-America-music-magazines phase, but didn't really investigate much. Their 2005 self-titled debut won a ton of praise, as has their most recent release Sound of Silver. After reading more rave-reviews for their sophomore effort, I decided to give it a chance, a decision I'm happy with.

Sound of Silver is a pretty focused effort, nine tracks but long enough. What has struck me the most is the sheer vulnerability of Murphy's vocals and lyrics, which interact interestingly with the music. "New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down," the album closer, is a pretty nice example of this.

>Favorite track: "Someone Great"
-Recommended: "North American Scum," "All My Friends"

  • Peter Bjorn and John
Writer's Block is easily one of my top few non-rap albums to come out in the past few years. You've heard "Objects of My Affection" in a current Nissan TV commercial. And "Young Folks" is one of the catchiest, whistle-aloud songs... ever! Probably. In any event, it may wind up being to Apple's iPhone what Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" to is the iPod, as its apparently going to be used in a new ad campaign for Apple's entry into the mobile business (omg!! aPple!! iPhone!! I'll pass for now).

>Favorite tracks: "Young Folks," "Amsterdam"
-Recommended: just get the album, stop fucking around

  • Panda Bear
Try to remember always just to have a good time...

That's my favorite line to quote from any movie or record this year, from Person Pitch's opening track "Comfy in Nautica." It's hard to describe the album in accurate detail, but I'll throw in The Beach Boys, happiness, mantras, fuzz, and... fuck it. Give the album a listen. Incredible. And it really is totally The Beach Boys, except not.

>Favorite track: "Comfy in Nautica"
-Recommended: "Im not"