First off, thanks to everyone who has visited and enjoyed my list of my top 200 favorite songs of all-time. The list was intended to spotlight a bunch of my favorite songs that maybe aren't as widely known in the indie blog world (and some that certainly are). But I didn't figure on the enormity of the response (thanks mostly to Elbo.ws leaving me in their Hot Posts for much of the last week), so I kind of wish I had taken a bit more time with my rankings. The whole list took several weeks to hash out, but even at the end I was moving songs up and down and out, and I have to admit, I even screwed one up (the Yo La Tengo song at #164 was supposed to be "I Heard You Looking" and not "Autumn Sweater", but I'd pulled the wrong song into my iPod list and didn't realize until the list was published). Oh well. "Autumn Sweater" is a good song too. And Mogwai's "Burn Girl Prom Queen" did make my top 100, but the only copy I had was an older iTunes-copy protected version that I couldn't post, Emusic didn't have have the Mogwai EP available (because it's being re-released next month), and I couldn't find the mp3 anywhere on the web. So Modest Mouse's "Breakthrough" was moved into its spot. Obviously this is far from an exact science. And I promise to post "Burn Girl Prom Queen" as soon as the new EP hits Emusic.
But thanks again to all my readers. For the last four days since the post went up, this site broke the previous all-time record for daily hits in its first 3 years of existence. We nearly tripled the all-time high last Thursday. So that was definitely cool. And it definitely has me reconsidering my statement in the comments that I wasn't planning on posting mp3s of #101 through 200 because posting the top 100 took too damn long. So maybe that will happen after all. And maybe "Burn Girl Prom Queen" will be the start... But if you have any suggestions on songs you think I missed that you love (that fit in with the music of this blog), please let me know in the comments or e-mail. I'm always looking for great new music... like these songs below... (nice segue, huh?)
This Will Destroy You is a post-rock band out of San Marcos, Texas, who released a brilliant EP in 2005 titled Young Mountain and have just released their debut full-length, the self titled This Will Destroy You. They are currently on tour in Texas and the Southwest. Their music is pretty fucking brilliant. Buy the album at Amazon. Visit their myspace page for streams of more music. Enjoy these downloads for yourself.
- Download This Will Destroy You - "Threads".mp3
- Download This Will Destroy You - "I Believe in Your Victory".mp3
Say Hi is a Seattle-based band that used to be called "Say Hi to Your Mom" and their last album was all about vampires, including the song "Angels and Darlas," which appears to clearly be a reference to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so they're pretty freakin' awesome in my book. Their latest album, The Wishes and the Glitch, is receiving a lot of pub, especially the track "Northwestern Girls." It is pretty damn good. Check it out. And buy the album at Amazon. Say Hi website is here.
For some reason, Xiu Xiu's latest release Women as Lovers hasn't lit up the indie rock blogs, which is somewhat odd, because I think it's one of their most straightforward and consistently solid releases to date. Admittedly, the presence of the David Bowie/Queen cover right in the middle of the album is somewhat off-putting, but I choose to ignore it and listen to the quite brilliant first half of the record, skip "Under Pressure" and then experience the slightly less brilliant second half. So I'm going to keep pimping the record. Buy it at Amazon. And listen to another one of the excellent tracks from the opening half.
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone is not new and don't have a new release, but I'm just discovering their music in recent months - painful, odd, understated, prone to goofy lyrics and sentimentality, but somehow, strangely, quite poignant. Etiquette came out in 2006 and I think a new album is expected to be released soon. Buy Etiquette at Amazon. Listen to some tracks.
- Download CFTPA - "I Love Creedence".mp3
- Download CFTPA - "Roberta C. (version)".mp3
- Download CFTPA - "Young Shields".mp3
Continuing in the electronic music motif, here's a couple tracks from Hot Chip's new album Made in the Dark. Their previous album Warning, was the #4 record in NME's 2006 countdown, and while I'm not particularly a fan of electropop dance music, I can't help but admit these are some catchy tracks. Buy the album at Amazon.
Bob Mould is, of course, Bob Mould, one of the founding fathers of indie rock, back from his days in the '80s as one half of the seminal Husker Du, which had a song on my Top 200 of all-time. He then spent the '90s as a seminal alternative rocker, first as a member of Sugar and then as a solo artist, and had 2 more efforts make my Top 200 of all-time. Since The Last Dog and Pony Show, though, released almost a decade ago, Mould has mostly done more experimental electronic music with a few blasts of rock thrown in. His new album, District Line, continues with the vibe displayed in Body of Song, an attempt to connect to his more rocking sound. For the most part, it's pretty effective. Buy the album at Amazon. The following track is one of his best in years.
And last but not least, here's a B-side from Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene, the singer who recorded my #4 favorite track of 2007 ("Fucked Up Kid"). You can buy his brilliant Spirit If... at Amazon and if you don't own it yet, you're doing yourself a disservice. Did I mention its brilliance?
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