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Rock and Roll is not dead, it’s just damn hard to find.  Can be trickier than tracking Carmen San Diego “I think I heard her say she was interested in visiting Big Ben”.  One has to know where to look to find Rock and Roll these days, or have someone with good taste give really OBVIOUS clues on where to look.

What happend to music from bands like Thin Lizzy, The Cars, many more I can’t think of at the moment?  When did everything become electronic and dreary?  Take these questions with a grain of salt, many of the aforementioned electronic or dreary albums happen to be some of my favorites (check my top albums of 2011 list).  But sometimes you just need some good old fashioned rock with pop hooks.

King Tuff isn’t without it’s more “indie” moments or hints of modern era songwriting, but it relies on it’s forebearer’s carefully selected formulas.  King Tuff is the solo project of frontman Kyle Thomas, who has been in many bands in the music scene, including according the metal band Witch with J Mascis.  Thomas made his debut album in 2008 and it was a much loved garage rock album according to Pitchfork.  I haven’t gotten there yet but plan to check it out.   Among the hook heavy, harder driving songs, he mixes in some lighter songs that have a vibe of 60s psychedelic.   But I’m in it for the rocking songs like “Bad Thing” and “Baby Just Break”.

Thomas’ voice sounds somewhere in between Billy Corgan and Kurt Vile.  The songs are a blend of garage rock, punk, and good old fashioned radio friendly rock and roll.  Not obviously friendly with modern day radio, whose only friends are the assholes who churn out the same dog shit song over and over again, so radio can continue to cram it down our throats until our brains fall into some sort of weird submission or acceptance that this must be music we should be listening to.

I had to take some white space to recover from that sudden insane rant I just went on.  If you’re looking for a change of scenery, this album will be a good reliable choice for you.

Listen: King Tuff – Band Thing 

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King Tuff – Hit & Run 

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Let’s start with a few simple facts.  I love Alice Glass.  It’s going to be tough to top this album for me in 2012.  I’ve only had my hands on the album for a day and I’m convinced this is not only my favorite album of 2012, but my favorite Crystal Castles album so far.  If you are new to Crystal Castles, this album is actually a pretty good place to start.  The amazing thing about Crystal Castles to me is the absolute razor edge that divides the emotional raw power from the crystalline beauty that somehow occupy the same sound space at the same time.  For their third album they have tended to push that edge towards the beauty side of things, but not without sacrificing the power.

I loved their first two albums, but to be honest, there were songs that I had to skip due to sonic implications – my ears were not compatible with the pure noise that is at times an indispensable part of their arsenal.  My one minor complaint is that this album sounds much better in headphones.  You really need to crank this in the car etc for the mix to sound just right.  The haunting image for this album’s cover is taken from a photo of a Yemeni mother cradling her son after a tear gas attack.

Fact: TGP loves Alice Glass

John recently saw Crystal Castles live and I’m pissed I didn’t go.  Find a place where you can turn this album up and set aside some listening time – something I never do enough of anymore.  Too many times recently I’ve been a user and abuser of music – using it as a soundtrack to cooking dinner, cleaning the house, or working.  This is not a record for any of those things.  This is a record to listen to, as a singular activity.  Either that or to absolutely go nuts and rave to, that would work just fine too.  If this music doesn’t move you in some way (good or bad) check your pulse.

MP3: Crystal Castles – Kerosene 

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MP3: Crystal Castles – Wrath Of God 

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Download III here

Anyway, on to the list, I love having these for posterity’s sake, so look back on years from now and laugh at some of my choices.

#20. Yuck – Yuck

I didn’t know how to categorize Yuck.  The album starts with the track “Get Away” and you are convinced this is a very good new band in the vein of Dinosaur Jr or Pavement.  Then you continue through the album and hear tracks like “Suicide Policeman” or “Stutter” – more tender songs, and you are all-together left without a label.  I think that’s a good thing.

Listen: Yuck – Operation 

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Download Yuck here

#19. Middle Brother – Middle Brother

 A “supergroup” comprised of members from Delta Spirit, the dude from Deer Tick, and Dawes.

They all take turns penning and singing lead on a great bunch of what I could only describe as dive bar folk country rock.  What a horrible description, but the music speaks for itself.  Think Neil Young mixed with the un-poppy country side of Ryan Adams, Wilco and maybe a little Exile On Main St.

Every track on here is great, and this is quickly becoming one of my most played albums.  Thanks to my friend Charlie for pointing it out to me.  I like Delta Spirit and Deer Tick, but I really like this collaboration.  There isn’t a bad time of day or mood for this album, but it goes especially well with a glass of whiskey and friendly bar.

I did a small write-up on this album here

Listen: Middle Brother – Portland 

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Download: Middle Brother

#18. Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie XX – We’re New Here

Gil Scott-Heron was a soul/jazz/spoken word artist coming up in the 70s.  He recorded an album last year titled I’m New Here.  This album is a completed reworked/remixed version of that album done by Jamie Smith aka Jamie xx from the indie group XX, who I absolutely love.  What I didn’t know was that Jamie is a hell of a producer/DJ/remix artist, though I probably should have after falling in love with the XX remix of Florence and the Machine, and more recently, Jamie’s remix of Adele’s Rolling In The Deep.  i have to be honest, I really love this album for the remixes and production more than anything else.  Unfortunately, Heron passed away in May of 2011.

Read my full review here

Listen: Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie XX – My Cloud 

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Download: We’re New Here

#17. Araab Muzik – Electronic Dream

If this album wasn’t littered with “You’re Now Listening To Araab Muzik” drops on almost every song it would be even higher on my list.  Every since the early days of me heading down to the Ruggles subway station on the Orange Line to pick up the latest DJ Clue mix tape, I hated the “DJ Clue!” drops he threw in all over the place.   Anyway, this album is a bunch of solid beats and samples.

Listen: Araab Muzik – AT2

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Download Electronic Dream here

#16. SBTRKT – SBTRKT

This must be the year of self titled albums for my favorites list.  Debut album from UK producer SBTRKT featuring guest vocals from a few great contributors.  Mix between dubstep, bass, electronic, and a few other genres I know little about, this album has a little of everything.  Great contribution from Yukimi Nagano from Little Dragon on the track Wildfire.

Listen: SBTRKT – Wildfire  

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Download SBTRKT here

#15. Charles Bradley – No Time For Dreaming

When I first heard this album, I thought to myself, man, another great album I can dust off from the Stax catalog from before I was born.  Even when I saw the album cover.  I had to do a triple take when I saw this album was from 2011.  Great soul, R&B, funk album with an amazing sound, backed by none other than the Menham Street Band.  I really really enjoy this record.  If you are a fan of soul music, especially soul music from the 60s and 70s, you will dig this record.  Dig it!

Listen: Charles Bradley – Stay Away  

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Download: No Time For Dreaming

#14. The Barr Brothers – The Barr Brothers

The Barr Brothers were two parts of the jazzy jam bandy indie band The Slip, one of my all time favorites.  This project brings together the two brothers Andrew and Brad Barr with harpisst Sarah Page and Andres Vial.  Mostly quiet, slow building acoustic sounds with stand up bass and other classic Slip sounds thrown in.  This album kind of reminds me a bit of Billy Breathes, but more folky.  Then all of the sudden at track 7, this turns into a Black Keys album with the track “Lord I Just Can’t Keep From Crying”.   It’s not a horrible song, but just really throws me off every time I play this album, it really doesn’t belong with this collection of songs.  Maybe they were hoping to sneak in a car commercial deal or something.  Sorry, that was mean.

Listen: The Barr Brothers – The Devil’s Harp 

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Download The Barr Brothers here

#13. Cave Singers – No Witch

I didn’t discover the Cave Singers until late 2011, but I’m sure glad I did.  Seattle based “Americana” sometimes folky sometimes bluesy music, not too far off from fellow Seattle natives Fleet Foxes.  Vocals are very different – instead of lush harmonies and the deep timbre of Fleet Foxes vocals, Cave Singers lead man Pete Quirk sings mostly alone with a perfect raspy scratchy nasally voice that works very well with the music.

Listen: Cave Singers – Black Leaf

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Download No Witch here

#12. TV On The Radio – Nine Types of Light

Another really solid effort from TV On The Radio, definitely my favorite release to date.  Full of songs where this band really found their groove.  Really tough and sad loss of their bass player Gerard Smith in April of 2011 to lung cancer.  I always thought the drums and bass line are what really made these guys stand out for me.

I did a small write up on this album earlier in 2011 here

Listen: TV On The Radio – Will Do

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Download Nine Types Of Light here 

#11. Low Roar – Low Roar

Haunting melodies, beautiful chilling vocals over slow building folk songs with sparse electric guitar accompaniment and non-folk hints electronic tinged production.  People have been comparing the sound to the softer Radiohead songs or Sigur Ros.  I don’t either very much.  I do know it’s very good though.  Low Roar is the project of Ryan Karazija, who picked up and moved from San Francisco to Iceland, where he has been living, and wrote these songs.  At times bone chilling and disparate, it feels like the aural version of watching ice crystals form in fast motion film.

Listen: Low Roar – Nobody Else 

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Listen: Low Roar – Tonight, Tonight, Tonight 

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Download: Low Roar

#10. The Strokes – Angles

Listening to the Strokes is fun, plain and simple.  I fell in love with The Strokes the very first time I heard “The Modern Age” back at the start of this century, and haven’t stopped loving them since.   Some people have fallen out of love with them over the years, but not me.  Love them or hate them, they really brought in a new genre to modern rock in my opinion.  Even it was a slightly recycled one from time past.  The Strokes to me are a modern day Cars, they might not like that comparison but that’s how I see it anyway.    I will probably love every Strokes album I get here on out as well.   Angles finds The Strokes doing what they do best, making catchy hooks in their classic style, and probably my favorite of their albums since Room On Fire.

Listen to “Two Kinds Of Happiness” and tell me that doesn’t have a Cars feel to it.  Listen to “Gratisfaction” and tell me it’s not Thin Lizzy.

Listen: The Strokes – Two Kinds Of Happiness 

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Download Angles here

#9. War On Drugs – Slave Ambient

Somehow this band has flown under my radar for four years.  Formed primarily by  Adam Granduciel (from my home state of MA) and Kurt Vile (who has since left the band and has a decent solo career going), this band is widely described as Americana.  I guess that’s a pretty accurate description.  From song to song I can go through and hear different influences on every song, especially from Bruce Springsteen (tracks like “Baby Missles”), Tom Petty, and Bob Dylan (tracks like  ”Black Water”).  Of course these are just influences, they certainly add their own style, and some more Wilco-esque experimental/ambient sounds to them.  If there was one album on my list I would guess my co-author would like, it would be this one.  I listened to this album a lot in the summer of 2011.  Pretty much once a week every time I mowed my lawn it was either this album, Bon Iver, or Fleet Foxes.  You will like this album, I can almost guarantee it.

Listen: War on Drugs – Baby Missiles 

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Listen: War On Drugs – It’s Your Destiny 

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Download Slave Ambient here

#8. Radiohead – King Of Limbs

I really struggled with my top 10 albums this year, any of them at one point or another have probably been revered as my favorite of the year.  Radiohead’s 2011 release King Of Limbs continued to see them expand upon their sound, as they always do.  I wouldn’t say this is a giant leap forward for them, but that’s not always a bad thing.  Heading more and more down the path of the dubstep influence.  Wish this had a few more songs on it, but sometimes quality is better than quantity.  Some of them are even a nice throwback to tinges of earlier OK Computer Radiohead like “Little By Little”.  Really enjoyed this album.

Read my full review here

Listen: Radiohead – Give Up The Ghost  

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Download King Of Limbs here

#7. James Blake – James Blake

Boy this album took me by surprise.  Dubstep/electronic production and beats really turn James Blake’s intimate vocals and song writing into something truly original and unique.  Really original sound from an artist that I expect we will continue to see adapt and create new styles as he progresses.  I had a really hard time picking a song to highlight on this review, they are all amazing, so I picked two.

Listen: James Blake – Wilhems Scream 

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Listen: James Blake – To Care (Like You)

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Download James Blake here

#6. Roadside Graves – We Can Take Care Of Ourselves

How did I just now find these guys?  I do that way too often – too hard to keep track of all the great music out there.  Thank God for other more prolific music blogs.  I think I found these guys on My Old Kentucky Blog, or one of those great music blogs.

I find myself using the “Americana” label more and more, which I hate, as I hate all labels.  I wish I were better at descriptors.  Folk-Rock? Who knows.  The lines get blurrier by the day.

Listen: The Roadside Graves – Glory  

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Listen: The Roadside Graves – Double Feature 

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Download We Can Take Care Of Ourselves here

#5. Clams Casino – Instrumental Mixtape 2011

Instantly became my favorite producer when I first heard these beats.  Completely original, one of the best ears and talents for making beats that go way beyond a kick drum and a bassline.  Really has a unique ear for sampling and layer together musical compositions that result in deep, haunting beats.  Amazingly, I don’t really care for many of the artists that have used his beats either with permission or without.  I expect big things from Clammy Clams.

Listen: Clams Casino: Motivation 

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Download Clams Casino Instrumental Mixtape for free

#4. Washed Out – Within and Without

Listening to Washed Out can make you feel like you’re doing something you shouldn’t – it almost has that too good to be true feeling – kind of like some illegal substances, without the comedown.  Kind of has that same feel as the song Wicked Game by Chris Issac.  That may be a lame reference, but I really digged that tune (and the video). I got to see these guys and girls live at the Paradise in early 2012 – I really wish they could have mixed his vocals a bit stronger at the show.  You may be familiar with Washed Out if you’ve seen the intro to Portlandia, that’s his immortal song “Feel It All Around” from his first EP.  This full length from Washed Out is no let down, almost every track is a knockout.  This is a great album to throw on for almost any occasion, from a summer party to a chill drive at sunset.

Listen: Washed Out – Soft  

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Listen: Washed Out – Within and Without  

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Download Within and Without here

#3. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

Helplessness Blues starts off with the line “So now I am older, than my mother and father, when they had their daughter, what does that say about me”.  This song contemplates pretty much every topic that is currently spinning through my crazy head.  As I reflect upon getting older, giving my very selfishly held life over to a wife and upcoming child, and what happens when my time runs out, I could never in a million years have put it as eloquently as opening track “Montezuma” does, while remaining bittersweet, and tongue and cheek. “Oh man what I used to be, oh man oh my oh me.”  Could be both a reflection on how much of a major left shift it is when turning over your life to raising a family, or possibly a posthomous reflection on just how much you can do and acquire over a lifetime, and how it could matter so little when the lights go out.

But enough about me.  This whole album is a giant leap forward for Fleet Foxes.  I’ve always liked their music but this album made them much more listenable front to back for me, hurdling them forward towards my favorite bands club (everybody is dying to get in).

Listen: Fleet Foxes – Montezuma

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Listen: Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

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Download Helplessness Blues here

#2. Real Esate

Love, love, love, love this record.  Did I mention I love this record?  Breezy, dreamy, mellow, jangling indie tunes.  I liked a few tracks from Real Estate’s last album, but their 2011 LP Days absolutely blew me away.  The ONLY reason this album is not number one for this list is because Bon Iver has to go and make another amazing album and screw Real Estate over.  They absolutely nailed this album, every song back to back is incredible.  I really hope you get a chance to enjoy this album if you haven’t already.

Listen: Real Estate – It’s Real

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Listen: Real Estate – Easy

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Download Days here

#1. Bon Iver

I’m sure it’s no big shocker to anyone that knows me,  that this album is top of my list, it was, in short, my most listened to album in 2011.  Bon Iver is a very polarizing band, most people love them, some people hate them.  I’m in the love camp, and I think I managed to convert a few of my friends when I took them to see him live, he puts on a great show.  This album is perfect from front to back, nobody else is making music like this.  I love some of the small influences I sometimes hear in his music: Peter Gabriel, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Hornsby to name a few.With only two full LPs under his belt as Bon Iver, Justin Vernon is slowing becoming one of my absolute favorite musicians of all time, I’m hoping for many more to come.

Listen: Bon Iver – Minnesota, WI

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Listen: Bon Iver – Beth, Rest 

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Download Bon Iver here

I had to triple check my TGP post searches, because I was 100% convinced John must have already blogged about either this amazing band or album, unless our search engine stinks, he has not.  The Jesus and Mary Chain’s second album Darklands, is in my opinion one of the shining examples of dark underground indie alt rock perfection.  It basically combines everything I love about indie music into one amazing sound.  I hear many of my other favorites in this band such as New Order, Morphine, Joy Division, Swans, Velvet Underground, I could go on and on.   They somehow mastered the art of dark wave sounds but at the same time maintaining a level of “pop” accessibility with this release – that seems like such an insult to slap on a band description but it doesn’t have to be.

There isn’t a bad track on this album.  In my ranking system, they are all four and fives star tracks.  There is something I can’t put down in words about this band, and in particular, this album.   This was the second album from Scotland’s The Jesus and Mary Chain, after the dark and dreamy debut Psychocandy (if you only know one song from this band, my guess is you know “Just Like Honey” from Psychocandy).  If you know this album already, you probably can also tell I’m not the 80s new wave/indie/alt rock movement expert, just a great lover of it.  This was John’s area of expertise but I’m doing my best to fill in with his writer’s hiatus from TGP.

After the departure of their drummer Bobby Gillespie who had gone on to form Primal Scream, they replaced him with a drum machine for Darklands.  A sound I actually think works really well on this album.   This band was intentionally working on a noise/minimalist sound, though to me, it never had that wearing or unlistenable factor of some bands that just go too far over the top to be edgy or different.  I had to pull this quote from Wikipedia (sourced from a 1985 Sky News interview): .. bass player Hart’s bass guitar only had three strings, down to two by 1985; In Hart’s words “that’s the two I use, I mean what’s the fucking point spending money on another two? Two is enough.” 

If this album has somehow eluded you through all of these years, you need to get on it right away.  An all time classic.

 Listen: The Jesus & Mary Chain – Nine Million Rainy Days 

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Listen: The Jesus & Mary Chain – April Showers 

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Download Badlands here

Audio streaming sites are a dime a dozen these days, and to be honest I had all but given up on using them at all.  Having music on hand is not a problem for me, and probably not for most modern day music listeners.  Ever slimmer/cheaper storage drives, cloud,  mobile music, and the portability of our music libraries in general have all but eliminated ever being without music.  The real trick is not providing free streaming music, it’s packaging it in a way fits any mood or occasion perfectly.   Pandora is convenient and easy, but the music suggestions tend to be pretty off-putting in my experience.  Enter Songza, a NY based newcomer in the streaming audio market.  What makes them special is their “music concierge” based free streaming service (currently no audio commercials) that offers “situational” playlists like Summer Indie Rooftop Party, or asking you what kind of mood you are in –  ”Singing In The Shower” for example, or “Perfect Monday Morning Music”.

I am a playlist junkie.  I spend most of my day “tagging” songs in my iTunes library based on situations I expect (hope) I will be in and have a chance to put my song selecting skills to the test.  Also being a former travelling DJ, these playlists had me ready for pretty much any situation.  My playlists are not named “90s Pop”, they are named things like “Drunk 50 somethings”, or “80s Halloween Dance Party”.  This is what immediately drew me to online music streaming newcomer Songza – they have managed to combine the convenience of Pandora, with the playlist abilities of top notch DJs and party hosts.  They do it all with a certain level of music nerdiness that really appeals to people like me.  These days there is so much music at our fingertips that without proper playlists, I sometimes find myself paralyzed staring at my iTunes library of over 20,000 songs, not knowing where to hit play.

From what I can tell, playlists seem to be both created by the Songza team, but also user submitted.  Every playlist I’ve tried so far has been spectacular, so they are doing something right in terms of playlist quality control.  They have a mobile app for iOS, Android, and Kindle Fire, as well as a web player.  No audio commercials or interruptions (for now).  I’m not sure how they plan on monetizing this, but for now, I’m hooked.

Check them out at www.songza.com

Clams Casino is currently my favorite beat/instrumental producer.  The guy makes dark downtempo ethereal beats in an incredibly unique way to anything else I’ve heard.  His sampling techniques are completely original, often slowing and pitching down small vocal parts, and playing them like instruments.  He somehow knows just where to place every drop.  He has a better ear for harmony and melody than most, which is especially rare in hip hop producers.  He’s been making beats for the likes of A$AP Rocky and Lil B, but for me it’s the beats and not the MCing that I love about this songs.  His first mixtape made my Favorite Albums of 2011 list, and his new mixtape which he just released is sure to be on my end of year list this year.  Best part is, you can download it for free.  Go do it now.

MP3: Clams Casino – Wassup [A$AP Rocky] 

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MP3: Clams Casino – Swervin’ (remix) [XV] 

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http://www66.zippyshare.com/v/31920231/file.html

Follow @clammyclams on Twitter

I have to tell you, for my money, it doesn’t get much better than Tom Petty’s 1985 song “Don’t Come Around Here No More” from the album Southern Accents.  The song came from Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics.  According to this website, he mentions in his book and in an interview he did with Howard Stern, that this song was inspired by Stevie Nicks, who had recently had a breakup with Joe Walsh.  During a substance filled night Stewart spent with Nicks, she said of Walsh  or maybe he was just interpreting her feelings of Walsh, “Don’t Come Around Here No More”.  The song was originally intended for Stevie’s album, but they ended up giving it to Petty.

God I love Tom Petty.  John and I are huge fans, although I’m not sure he would even put this song in his top ten Petty Songs.  For me, it’s bar none not only the best Petty song, but one of the best songs of all time, and by far the best music video of all time.  I love every element to this song.  Starting with the awesome drum programming, the electric sitar, maybe also a real sitar on the left channel.  I’m still  trying to figure out exactly how the electric sitar hum was created that plays on the right channel (listen to a CD quality recording of it with headphones).  To me it sounds like a mix of a few guitar pedals/filters, and possibly this thing?

There’s a great live Petty concert from his hometown of Gainesville Florida, with a guest appearance on this song and a few others by Stevie,  that has been playing on Palladia or HD Net, can’t remember which.  I keep watching very closely to see if I can tell what kind of guitar Campbell is playing.  From what I can make out, I think it’s a Coral Electric Sitar, like the one pictured above. Wish I had enough fun money to buy guitars like this, if only to play 2 songs with.  This would be a fun one to own.

The lyrics are downright amazing as well, sometimes simplicity can be killer – if chosen and place correctly.  The way he utters out lines with disdain like “I Don’t Feel You Anymore”. What a great line, it says so much without having to say much at all.  This is a great breakup song, it’s moody, reflective, but also somewhat empowering to the protagonist who is doing the “kicking out”.

Anybody who grew up in the MTV era knows this video, in my opinion the best video of all time.  Alice In Wonderland theme starring Petty as Mad Hatter.  I believe they caught some heat for the ending of this video, and had to shoot an alternate ending.

Disclaimer – I have not been paid, or even solicited to give this app a Giant Panther Seal Of Approval.

I had to copy and paste this Craiglist ad which rather eloquently illustrates the exact problem (minus the available pile of weed)  I had always had until this week when I stumbled upon Songkick.

Has this ever happened to you??

Well, there’s an app for that.  SongKick,  a UK based startup, is backed by Index Ventures and angel investors from Y Combinator.  They have created the answer to all my problems in the form of the easiest, simple, and best looking concert app I’ve ever experienced.

I am so sick of finding out about my favorite, and often under the radar bands coming to town, after all the scalpers have bought all the tickets and it’s now sold out (don’t get me started on how screwed up the ticketing business is, I’ll go all Eddie Vedder on you).  The thought of going to StubHub and spending $65 on a $15 ticket to the Paradise makes my stomach turn.

Missing out on Washed Out’s upcoming show at the Paradise will be the last painful experience I will ever have of this nature.  Like the unfortunate Craigslist poster above, I was burned by lack of knowledge, which prompted my journey to discover a solution.  I’ve tried other apps in the past, but they required a lot of manual entry, and were often buggy.

So far my experience with SongKick has been outstanding.  After installing for free from the Itunes app store, I spent less than one minute setting it up, telling it my local city (it can also use GPS) the next thing I know, it was scanning my Iphone music library for all of my artists and tracks.  That took maybe one minute.  The idea seems so simple, but is truly a genius idea.  If I’ve got an artist in my music library, chances are I like them, and would like to know when they are playing in my area.  Unless I’m a music hoarder.  I don’t have to weed through the always terrible list of bands playing the summer circuit at the Pavilion (darn I will miss those $15 Bud Lights).

Once you find a concert that peaks your interest (I found several I didn’t know about as soon as I opened the app), you can click right through to purchase tickets, add a reminder to yourself about attending the show, and even tell your friends you are going.  Without being a business major, my guess is this is the revenue model for SongKick, so I encourage you to buy your tickets via the app, after all, they are offering it to you for free.

Songkick can also sync with your Spotify, last.fm, and Pandora accounts for your favorited artists (just please don’t let Spotify post every damn song you listen to on your Facebook feed.  I’m one step away from cancelling my Facebook account (don’t get me started on that either).

What has been your experience with SongKick?  Any other concert apps you like better? If you haven’t checked it out yet, I highly encourage you to.

http://www.songkick.com

I have a lot to write about.  Today I just bought – yes bought – two great albums: the Alabama Shakes debut, and Bear In Heaven’s third LP, I Love You, It’s Cool.  While I was initially more excited to grab Alabama Shakes, after listening to both records, I became completely consumed by this Bear In Heaven record.  I keep playing it over and over again.  Always a good sign.   Based upon the so-so reviews I’ve read so far, apparently this album is hitting more chords with me than most critics – I’m OK with that.  If you are a regular to this blog, I’m guessing you will be OK with that too.

Their previous album Beast Rest Forth Mouth was a critic favorite, it never really jumped out a me as much I don’t think.  I did really love the track Lovesick Teenagers.   Their new album I Love You, It’s Cool, is a much bolder, more confident album.  For lack of better label I’ll lazily slap the synth-pop tag on this album.  I’m noticing a common thread between a lot of the synth-pop releases to come out this year so far.  They seem to be a little richer, deeper layers, which stronger pulsing bass lines that tend to allow the vocals to float on top and kind of get tugged along by the melody.  This leads to a very powerful sound.  Works really well with the  laid back Sade type delivery of lead singer Jon Philpot.

Since watching the movie Drive turned up as loud as my home theater system would go without shaking the pictures hung on my wall loose, I know keep hearing more and more albums which would have played nicely as soundtrack to that movie.  That really was a fine piece of movie making – one of the most stylistic movies I’ve ever experienced.  This album kind of has that feel if that makes any sense.

Listen:Bear In Heaven – The Reflection Of You

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Download: I Love You, It’s Cool

One of my absolute favorites, J. Tillman, has announced he is leaving the band Fleet Foxes.  While on one hand, this could have potentially really bummed me out, there is light at the end of the tunnel.  I’ve always loved his solo work – quiet, beautiful acoustic songs.  He has a new project Father John Misty, who will be releasing their LP on May 1 2012.

I had the pleasure of sharing a beer with Josh after his set at Middle East last year (amazingly he wasn’t drinking for free at his own freaking show).  I mentioned we were using one of his songs in our wedding, which he genuinely seemed happy to hear.

From what I’ve heard so far it’s surely going to be one of my favorites for the year.  Completely new direction.  I couldn’t have described it better than others already did – a mix between Harry Nilsson and Michael Nesmith & the First National Band.

Check out his blog at http://fatherjohnmisty.tumblr.com/ 0r go over to Sub Pop and give him your email address to download the following

Father John Misty – Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings  

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