Thursday, November 12, 2009

The Sonic Parthenon Playlist: Autumn 2009, Vol. I

Getting on to the end of the year and the decade, it's almost time to do some recapping and some BIG recapping at that. In the meantime, here is what's been on the Ipod and the stereo these last couple of months. Indicative of the year and the trends in general, it is almost entirely based on singles, most of which I discovered throught the Internet:

The Blakes - "So Easy"; Surfer Blood - "Swim to Reach the End"; Tutankamon - "Are You Sure?"
A trio of anthems to sing along to. The first of these is by a band that broke up during CMJ. The second is by a band that played a lot during CMJ (see my review); and the third is from a Swedish supergroup.

Blitzen Trapper - "Black River Killer"
I'm only hearing this one lately but Blitzen Trapper is a band that I never go crazy about except that I should!

Company of Thieves - "Oscar Wilde"
The Chicago Indie pop scene has faded from the New York concert calendar, but the airwaves have been filled with the sounds of Company of Thieves to 101.9. One of the best songs of the year.

Fruit Bats - "Ruminant Band"
It's a country jamboree. Like Blitzen Trapper!

Head Like A Kite - "Thrones of Glory"
Equal parts Indie-pop and anthem-rock, a perfect song to reflect the sounds of the year. All it's missing is a 80's-flavored backing-track.

The Heavy
The House That Dirt Built, the Heavy's new LP, has their most memorable songs to date, especially considering one of them samples Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You". But that does lead to the question: "Why does a retro soul band feel the need to sample anything?"

Hockey - "Too Fake"
More of that almost too-perfect dance-rock that all the kids love these days. Positives or negatives aside, this song is a keeper. Was number one on the weekly Top 25 countdown on the Ipod for 2 or 3 weeks.

Joshua James - "In The Middle"
Good, substantive folk-pop. Grab a girl. Well don't grab. But get one. And get serious.

Lucero - "The Devil and Maggie Chascarillo"
I wasn't exactly wowed by the highly buzzed and particular scene-focused Lucero at the Big Apple BBQ in June but I definitely didn't dislike it either. They have more than made up for whatever lacking I found with this fun throwback that recalls the Social Distortion and the Blasters songs that so inspire Ben Nichols.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home