Monday, September 29, 2008

I completely forgot I had this.

This is why I don't blog. I make these things, then completely forget about them for upwards of a few years.

This is also why I suck at fantasy soccer.

Anyways. Who knows. Maybe I'll update this more often.

I think the new Deerhoof album ("Offend Maggie") could very well be the best thing they've ever done. It's like they hired the same dudes responsible for all that cheezy 1970s porn music to come on and smooth out their sound.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

broken ukulele

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Damn Balkans

So, I dunno if y'all are aware of this, but Balkan Folk music (specifically Bulgarian, since all the good stuff seems to come from there) is really a pain in the ass to learn.

Especially if you have little to no knowledge of music theory or how to play the piano properly.

I just spent the better part of five hours re-creating every part in Svatbarska Rachemitsa, a very popular traditional Bulgarian wedding song, with my MIDI keyboard into my computer. I'm doing it as part of a project for my Music Of The World class, where everyone has to do some kind of presentation on a world music of their choice. Since lately I've been really into the whole A Hawk and A Hacksaw/Beirut indie-Balkan thing, I figured Bulgarian folk would be a good choice. And I figured doing it in a performance would be a fun way to go about it.

Now I'm having second thoughts. The fact that the parts themselves are so hard is one thing, but what makes it even worse is that the piece is in fucking 7/16 time which, while really awesome sounding, can't be easily replicated on cheap computer-generated metronomes. I spent over 70% of the time I've worked on this project just trying to get the basic rhythm right.

Oh well. Most of it is done now. The plan is to take all of the pre-programmed parts (which is most of the melody and rythm sections), plug them into the stereo system in class, and then just play along with my ukulele. We'll see how it goes.

Here's a really well-done version of the song - it's pulled off by probably the best Icelandic band playing Bulgarian folk ever, Storsveit Nix Noltes (if you were lucky enough to catch Animal Collective on their "Feels" tour, they're the ones that opened.) This track is on their US debut, Okedekur Hawaii, which hit #16 on my top 100 of 2006 list.

Storsveit Nix Noltes - Svatbarska Rachemitsa

(sorry for using rapidshare files - I know those are annoying . I have hosting space that I'll use once I figure out how to upload/link to it, but for now you'll just have to deal.)

Saturday, February 24, 2007

The Top 100 of 2006 - 10-1

Wow. This took forever.

OK. So I was struggling with how to present this top 10 list, mostly because I didn't know how to emphasize the fact that literally ANY of the albums in this top 10 could have been number one. Really. I'm not even joking. As such, I wanted to give them each equal attention. But I didn't quite know how, since inevetably I would find more to write about in some albums that I would in others.

Then my friend Annie came up with the idea of writing haiku. And I liked it.

So, here you are, my top ten for the year 2006. Each album has two haiku written about it.

Finally....Now I can start actually blogging for once.

==========================================


10. The Starlight Mints - Drowaton (Barsuk)

Fugazi of pop
Finally got a label.
Good thing! This stuff rocks.

Very well-written
Rhino Stomp? Song of the year.
Vest's nasal vocals.


9. Chad VanGaalen - Skeliconnection (Sub Pop)

Chad is an artist
Drawing and recording songs
Quirky bedroom pop

He builds instruments
And sings falsetto greatly
Like Neil Young from Mars


8. The Blow - Paper Television (K)

Jonah's Beats are fat
Good for bobbing, shaking dance
So much percussion!

Kaelah's voice is sweet
Songs on girls, boys, sex, and hearts
She's a great dancer.



7. Norfolk & Western - The Unsung Colony (Hush)

Adam Seltzer rules
He records so very well
This is his best work

Pop-tinged epic folk
It's cinematic in scope
Slowly building up


6. Two Gallants - What The Toll Tells (Saddle Creek)

Whiskey-drenched country
"Oh? Whiskey-drenched? How cliche!"
Yeah, but it's damn true.

Great skill makes these dudes
the best guitar-drums duo
I have ever heard


5. Jolie Holland - Springtime Can Kill You (Anti)

Cool and jazzy voice
Against smooth, sparse arrangements
Soothing to the max

Guitars - crisp and clean
Drums - sound like vintage blue note jazz
All in all? Awesome.


4. M. Ward - Post-War (Merge)

His first with a band
Bigger, louder, and meaner
Kinda like Springsteen

Still a troubadour,
M's gravel voice holds it down
His best album yet.


3. Beirut - Gulag Orkestar (Ba-Da-Bing!)

Uke-based Balkan folk
In the form of sweet pop songs
Haunting melodies

It's all played by Zach
I can't believe he's my age
He sounds much older.


2. Fucked Up - Hidden World (Jade Tree)

It's punk, right? Short songs?
Fuck that. Every song is long
And still fucking rocks.

Melodic punk songs
Kind of like Andrew WK
But way more harcore


1. Joanna Newsom - Ys (Drag City)

Ambitious and vast
With deep, sprawling arrangements
Centered on her harp

A music dream team
O'Rourke, Albini, and Parks
Push it to great-ness.

===========================

For those that missed it....here's the whole 100 from top to bottom:

1. Joanna Newsom - Ys
2. Fucked Up - Hidden World
3. Beirut - Gulag Orkestar
4. M. Ward - Post War
5. Jolie Holland - Springtime Can Kill You

6. Two Gallants - What The Toll Tells
7. Norfolk & Western - The Unsung Colony - Hush
8. The Blow - Paper Television
9. Chad VanGaalen - Skeliconnection
10. TV On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain

11. Juana Molina - Son
12. The Starlight Mints - Drowaton
13. Jenny Lewis WIth The Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat
14. Final Fantasy - He Poos Clouds
15. The Lovely Feathers - Hind Hind Legs

16. Nix Noltes - Okedekur Hawaii
17. Whitest Boy Alive - Dreams
18. My Brightest Diamond - Bring Me The Workhorse
19. A Hawk And A Hacksaw - The Way The Wind Blows
20. Islands - Return To The Sea

21. Ad Astra Per Aspera - Catapult Calypso
22. The Evens - Get Evens
23. The Detachment Kit - + -
24. The Ditty Bops - Moon Over The Freeway
25. Akron/Family - Meek Warrior

26. Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass
27. Ben Kweller - Ben Kweller
28. William Elliott Whitmore - Song Of The Blackbird
29. The M's - Future Women
30. The Avett Brothers - Four Thieves Gone

31. Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton - Knives Don't Have Your Back
32. DeVotchKa - Curse Your Little Heart
33. Shapes & Sizes - Shapes & Sizes
34. Owen - At Home WIth Owen
35. White Whale - WWI

36. Califone - Roots and Crowns
37. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
38. The Black Keys - Magic Potion
39. The Blood Brothers - Young Machetes
40. Micah P. Hinson - And The Opera Circuit

41. Mates Of State - Bring It Back
42. White Magic - Dat Rosa Mel Apibus
43. Mylo - Destroy Rock & Roll
44. Cursive - Happy Hollow
45. Beth Orton - Comfort Of Strangers

46. Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out Of This Country
47. Bonnie "Prince" BIlly - The Letting Go
48. Jennifer O'Connor - Over The Mountain, through The Woods, and Back To The Stars
49. Calexico - Garden Ruin
50. The Knife - Silent Shout

51. The Mosquitos - Mosquitos III
52. Peter Wolf - Lightness
53. Beck - The Information
54. I'm From Barcelona - Let Me Introduce My Friends
55. Kimya Dawson - Remember That I Love You

56. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
57. Liars - Drums Not Dead
58. Pattern Is Movement - Canonic
59. Midlake - The Trials Of Van Occupanther
60. Dan Sartain - Join Dan Sartain

61. Muse - Black Holes And Revelations
62. Shonen Knife - Genki Shock!
63. Danielson - Ships
64. Xiu Xiu - The Air Force
65. Run Chico Run - Slow Action

66. The Dresden Dolls - Yes, Virginia
67. National Eye - Roomful Of Lions
68. Heartless Bastards - All This Time
69. The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls In America
70. The Thermals - The Body, The Blood, The Machine

71. Band Of Horses - Everything All The Time
72. Holy Fuck - Holy Fuck
73. The Grates - Gravity Won't Get You High
74. The Elected - Sun, Sun, Sun
75. Thom Yorke - The Eraser

76. Ratatat - Classics
77. The Mountain Goats - Get Lonely
78. Elf Power - Back To The Web
79. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
80. The Rogers Sisters - The Invisible Deck

81. Porlolo - Porlolo
82. The Strokes - First Impressions Of Earth
83. The Village Green - Feeling The Fall
84. People In Planes - As Far As The Eye can See
85. Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming

86. The Essex Green - Cannibal Sea
87. Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
88. Citizens Here & Abroad - Waving, Not Drowning
89. Riding Paper Airplanes - Riding Paper Airplanes
90. Oxford Collapse - Remember The Night Parties

91. The Curtains - Calamity
92. Niobe - White Hats
93. The Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
94. Casper & The Cookies - The Optimists Club
95. Skittish - Tragedy Of The Commons

96. ¡Forward Russia! - Give Me A Wall
97. The Apparitions - As This Is Futuristic
98. The Flaming Lips - At War With The Mystics
99. The Rapture - Piece Of The People We Love
100. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band - What's Going On

Saturday, February 17, 2007

The Top 100 of 2006 - 20-11

OK, so, I'll admit it...I just want to drag this out for as long as possible.

Top 10 coming soon.

=================================

20. Islands - Return To The Sea (Equator)

Rising from the ashes of The Unicorns, front-man Nick Diamonds tried to shapen up, cut down the silliness, and write a straight-up pop record.

He failed, but we should all be really thankful that he did. "Return To The Sea" combines all the humor and bouyancy of The Unicorns, processed through a filter that makes the rhythms tighter, the songs more direct, and the isntrumental freak-outs less often and less intense. A marvelous achievement.

Interesting to note: I highly doubt I would like this album as much as I do had J'aime Tambeur not been playing drums. His beats are at once delicate, shifting, but always appropriate in the context of the song - which is pretty amazing considering the song contexts range from straight-up pop to hip-hop. Nobody this year has sounded better using brushes.


19. A Hawk And A Hacksaw - The Way The Wind Blows (Leaf)

Last year's number-one winning artist (on my list) returned again this year with a strong outing that, honestly, is just as good if not better than "Darkness At Noon." The only weakness of this new one is that, though Jeremy Barnes' vast gypsy folk songs are all better composed and arranged this tiem around, there isn't as much of a cohesive feel to this album. However, keep in mind, not being as cohesive as "Darkness..." is nothing to be ashamed of. It's still unlike anything else you're likely to hear this decade, and it comes highly recommended.


18. My Brightest Diamond - Bring Me The Workhorse (Asthmatic Kitty)

Honestly, I'm normally not a fan of the classically-trained dramatic vocalist. But there's something about this record that impresses me more and more upon each listen. After thinking a while, I think a lot of it has to do with how Shana Worden's STUNNING voice seems to float effortlessly over every song, never going overboard or intruding even though it's easily obvious that she could fucking TAKE OVER a song if she really wanted to. As it is, though, she keeps her self restrained, and it's all for the better - the production and instrumentation are exquisite. Each song builds and releases tension in movements that sound as natural as breathing. Simply brilliant.


17. The Whitest Boy Alive - Dreams (Bubbles)

There's a certain honor to minimalism that seems to be lost on...well...myself. And just about every band or artist that's made me go bonkers since the turn of the millennium. However, every once in a while there will be a record, like Spoon's "Kill The Moonlight," that I'll hear and instantly be blown away by how MUCH can be done with so little. In 2006, I don't think anybody did this better than The Whitest Boy Alive. Erlend Oye, otherwise best known for being half of the Kings Of Convenience, has crafted a barely-electronic rhythmic funk album, all while doing as little as possible. The drumming is solid, the songwriting is catchy and fun, and the guitar solos are short, simple, repetetive, and totally appropriate to the tone of the album. Weirdly addicting.


16. Nix Noltes - Okedekur Hawaii (Bubblecore)

So, I know that I'm totally on the balkan-folk-meets-indie-rock bandwagon....but I really don't care. Nix Noltes, hailing from Iceland, perform their brand of instrumental crazysongs with such energy and enthusiasm it's going to be difficult for all of you not to join me as I dream of a Beirut - A Hawk And A Hacksaw - Nix Noltes festival sometime in the future.


15. The Lovely Feathers - Hind Hind Legs (Equator)

So, OK, seriously, what the hell is up with Canada all of a sudden? It seems like every band they produce, in any genre, manages to do their particular sub-section of indie rock/pop better than most of their contemporaries. Case in point: The Lovely Feathers. More energetic and dace-y than Franz Ferdinand, and way more earnest and genuine than the Arctic Monkeys. Listen to "In The Valley" for more evidence of this. Or...just buy the whole damn album.


14. Final Fantasy - He Poos Clouds (Tomlab)

Expanding further on his loopstation and violin set-up, Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett of Arcade Fire fame) decided to employ a whole string section for this second and far mroe ambitious album. Where "Has A Good Home" was marked by short but extremely well-written songs, Hee Poos Clouds bases itself more on extensive composition, always building around Pallett's deep and strangely soothing voice. "This Lamb Sells Condos" is the highlight.


13. Jenny Lewis With The Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat (Team Love)

Though admittedly "Rabbit Fur Coat"is one of three (count 'em!) "white soul" albums to be released, in my opinion it is far and away the best. While Neko Case and Cat Power seem intenst on saturating their efforts with a ton of THEM, Lewis wasn't afraid to spread the love. In enlisting the Watson Twins for backup vocals and calling on buddies M. Ward and Connor Oberst to help with songwriting and production, Lewis provided the perfect environment for her songs to flourish, and flourish they do (Though, in my opinion, the best track is her cover of "Handle With Care." But that is neither here nor there.)


12. TV On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain (Interscope)


11. Juana Molina - Son (Domino)

Atmospheric and soothing like nothing else released last year, Son is probably the best album ever to listen to when you just want to CHILL THE FUCK OUT. Throughout the course of the album, Molina adds to her gently strummed acoustic songs with itty bits of electronic manipulations - adding an eerie depth to her words. Which, by the way, are in Spanish. Rock.

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

The Top 100 Of 2006: 40-21 / Greg Saunier is God

So, I saw Deerhoof last night at the Black Cat.

Allow me to say that this show confirmed my suspicions that Greg Saunier is probably the best drummer in rock-leaning music today. Its feels weird to say this considering his recorded material is still SO DAMN GOOD (Just listen to the groove he lays down on "Spirit Ditties Of No Tone"), but his playing on Deerhoof's albums really doesn't do him justice. When playing live, he becomes more extreme, more wild, and Deerhoof is all the better for it (Made all the better by the fact that he's literally playing a two-piece kit (kick and snare). He further minimalized it last night by hooking up a remote hi-hat pedal to his crash stand which had a crash on top of a hi hat. Fucking nuts.

See: this (Though the quality sucks)
and this one (though it does zoom around a lot between the band members, the views of Saunier are pretty clutch).

....Oh yeah. The list.

=============


40. Micah P. Hinson - And The Opera Circuit (Jade Tree)

Though he came to my attention in a rash of other deep-voiced, acoustic-based singer-songwriters with a dim outlook on life...Micah P. couldn't help but stand out. On "And The Opera Circuit," Hinson adds grand orchestral arrangements to his hauntingly beautiful songs, which only add to his deep and powerful voice. Well, then there's the lyrics. They're...uhh...dark. But all the same, really, really god.


39. The Blood Brothers - Young Machetes (V2)

The Blood Brothers album it seems everyone has been waiting for...THEY ROCK AGAIN!!!


38. The Black Keys - Magic Potion (Nonesuch)

For just about any other band on the planet, going for a more stripped-down sound entails taking a major risk in hurtin the recorded sound your group has worked so hard to develop. For the Black Keys, it's just natural. Though the songs aren't as immediately accessible as the ones on "Rubber Factory," the Keys have gotten better in their down home blues metal mode, so "Magic Potion" is still an enjoyable listen.


37. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife (Capitol)



36. Califone - Roots & Crowns (Thrill Jockey)


35. White Whale - WWI (Merge)

Gotta give props to my local people. Though, I must admit, when I attended White Whale's CD release show this past summer, I had no idea they were from Kansas City. But I left very, very impressed at their live show, and even more so with WWI, an odd mish-mash of about 10 different styles, all of them grand and pulsating.


34. Owen - At Home With Owen (Polyvinyl)

Both through my listening as well as some hands-on experience, I've determined that one of the hardest things in the world to do well in songwriting is to tell it like it is....without sounding stupid. In that respect, Owen's Mike Kinsella is a truly awesome songwriter. With lines like "Whatever it is you think you are you aren't/a good friend, unique, well-read, good-looking, or smart/ well now you know" it's hard to be too much more direct about it. Put that up against a background of layered guitars and minimalistic arrangements, and you've got yourself a winner.


33. Shapes & Sizes - Shapes & Sizes (Asthmatic Kitty)



32. Devotchka - Curse Your Little Heart (Ace Fu)



31. Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton - Knives Don't Have Your Back (Last Gang)

As if having her face plastered across the front of every single Metric Album isn't enough, now Emily Haines is making a SOLO album? Too bad "Knives" is actually a really solid collection of well composed piano songs, otherwise the above would be a totally legit complaint. At long last, we hear just how good of a keyboardist she is when she's not working with 25 key synth leads.


30. The Avett Brothers - Four Thieves Gone: The Robinsville Sessions (Ramseur)

It was recorded entirely live in a cabin in the middle nowhere. All four brothers have extensive beards. They scream and strum and cook up a storm with banjos and the like. It Rocks. Buy it.


29. The M's - Future Women (Polyvinyl)


28. William Elliott Whitmore - Song Of The Blackbird (Southern)

If I've said it once, I've said it 1,000 times - I can't freaking believe this guy is white. On his latest outing, Whitmore expandins upon his efectively minimalist sound that's been established over his last two albums, even going so far as to bring in a full band on some tracks. Though those songs make up some of the highlights, without a doubt the best would have to be "One Man's Shame" a voice and banjo duet that preaches about hell and murder and shame so authentically it's impossible to believe he hasn't actually been there. maybe he has. Who knows. In any case, it's definitely one of the best songs of the year.


27. Ben Kweller - Ben Kweller (ATO)

As evidenced by my undying love for The Apples in Stereo, a lot of times I'm a big sucker for really well-done straight-up pop rock. Right now, I'm not sure there's anybody else that does it better than Ben Kweller. Go ahead, listen to "Run" and try and get it out of your head. I dare you. I double dare you. Report back to me with results.


26. Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass (Matador)



25. Akron/Family - Meek Warrior (Young God)

To phrase this as predictably as possible: "What DON'T They do?" Hell, on the first track alone (the 9 1/2 minute opus "blessing force") they switch seamlessly from ambient acoustics to wildly free improvisation to soul choir chanting and back to straight-up folk rock .What's even more impressive is how each of these pieces fit into the whole of this album, which manges to never feel like too much is crammed into to tight a space. In terms of a "different-sounds-per-song" ratio, you're not going to find any albums with a higher rating than "Meek Warrior."


24. The Ditty Bops - Moon Over The Freeway (Warner Bros.)

So, ok, they're really, really really , really really REALLY cutesy. Like....REALLY FUCKING CUTESY.

Too bad they also have the gall to overdub about 10 million guitars on ONE downward scale during a guitar solo. That 2 second moment on the title track is enough to make them favorites of mine. Fortunately for y'all, they're also damn good songwriters and probably the best practicioners of this weird 1920's rag-time revival trend I've been noticing as of late.


23. The Detachment Kit - + (Self-Released)

So, on first listen, I have to say I was kind of dissapointed in this record. After seeing DK live (Where, as an opening band, they out- rocked both the Thermals AND Cursive), I expected a raw, edgier sound. But after a few more tries, It's grown on me like a disease. Intense vocals, guitars that swing back and forth from rock chugging to 80's metal wail-festival, and a rock-solid rhythm section make + by far the finest self-released thing I've heard this year.


22. The Evens - Get Evens (Dischord)

"Stripped-down Fugazi with female backing vocals, playing for politically-minded children under the age of 11" - Someone at the WRGW rock meeting, providing a spot-on review of this album. It rules.


21. Ad Astra Per Aspera - Catapult Calypso (Sonic Unyon)

So, OK, I'll admit that I had been waiting for an Ad Astra full-length for...uhh....ever. So its possible that my unabashed homerism combined with my intense desire for this band to never stop releasing material contributes to my thinking that these guys are now officially the best band in the Midwest. Then again....I could be right. No other group of people does as much with minor keys. Plus, they have probably the most dynamic and precise rhythm section I've heard in any band for a long, long time. Listen up, people. It'll do you good. I promise.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

The Top 100 of 2006 - 60-41

Wow. What a hiatus that was.

No Comment.

==============================


60. Dan Sartain - Join Dan Sartain (Swami)

So I have thsi thing about Ted Leo where I can't help but think that with every single one of his songs, he seems to take it about 1 or 2 minutes past the expiration date. Dan Sartain is a lot like Ted Leo, only he's more minimalistic, adds sometimes cheezy Mexican and latin oinstrumentation, and NEVER takes his songs longer than they should go. All in all, one of my more surprising discoveries of the year, despite the album artwork which, frankly, is kinda dumb.


59. Midlake - The Trials Of Van Occupanther (Bella Union)

So, I admit. I have a weakness for Psych-pop. For my money, Midlake pull it off better than a lot of bands today (save for more or less all of the Elephant 6 bands)


58. Pattern Is Movement - Canonic (Hometapes)

The album credit should actually go to Scott Solter, the guy who recorded this Pattern is Movement album, and also one of the best audio engineers in the world (he works on all of John Vanderslice's stuff). That's because the version of this Pattern is Movement record is pretty much Solter's complete de-construction of every aspect of what is otherwise a solid piece of indie-rock songwriting. On the surface, that may not sound like much, but to hear the two albums side-by side is really an insight into just what can be done with a ton of vintage equipment and one dude that really knows what he's doing. It's a recorder's dream, and with me being a recorder myself...I pretty much am obliged to give it props.


57. Liars - Drum's Not Dead (Mute)


56. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood (Anti)


55. Kimya Dawson - Remember That I Love You (K)

So I'll be honest - one of the main reasons I like this album so much is because Erin Tobey is on it. And besides that the song where she does the most backup vocals ("I Like Giants") might be my favorite Kimya Dawson song even without Tobey's vox. If nothing else, at least look up that song. It rules.


54. I'm From Barcelona - Let Me Introduce My Friends (EMI)


53. Beck - The Information (Interscope)


52. Peter Wolf - Lightness (The Worker's Institute)


51. The Mosquitos - Mosquitos III (Bar/None)

Really innovative mix of sunny pop with a Brazilian samba-like mood applied to it. Solid songs with complex structures that really is a ton of fun to listen to.


50. The Knife - Silent Shout (Rabid/Mute)


49. Calexico - Garden Ruin (Quarterstick)


48. Jennifer O'Connor - Over The Mountain, Through The Woods, and Back To The Stars (Matador)

So Normally I'm not the biggest fan of standard singer-songwriter stuff, but there's something about either Jennifer O'Connor's husky voice or the way she managed her instrumentation that really makes her songs very enjoyable to listen to. I interviewed her on air this year at WRGW, and she's about as nice and genuine a person as you could ever hope to meet. Maybe it's that that comes through in her songs and makes them so attractive. I dunno. Maybe one of you can tell me. Anyways, I like it, and it has a Britt Daniel guest appearance for extra indie cred.


47. Bonnie "Prince" Billy - The Letting Go (Drag City)


46. Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out Of This Country (Merge)


45. Beth Orton - Comfort Of Strangers (Astralwerks)

So, really, has anything M. Ward touched not turned to gold recently? "Post-War" was brilliant, as was his cover if "Green River" as was the song he co-wrote on Orton's album The title track). Other than Ward's track, it's a pretty solid affair. I gotta say that I'm a huge fan of some of the electronic and programmed beats producer Jim O'Rourke used, which give the album a cutting-edge feel while still showcasing Orton's classic songwriting ability.


44. Cursive - Happy Hollow (Saddle Creek)


43. Mylo - Destroy Rock & Roll (Breast Fed)


42. White Magic - Dat Rosa Mel Apibus (Drag City)


41. Mates of State - Bring It Back (Barsuk)