I bought PRINCE "Musicology" and N.E.R.D. "Fly Or Die" - both outstanding cds

I also got JC CHASEZ "Schizophrenic." That is one of the best cd's made in 2004. The lyrics are better than many I've heard lately and he doesn't follow anyone musically.

Monarch

The new Modest Mouse is great though "Float On" doesn't really represent their best output. I hope people get to check out their older cd's.

I also liked the new N.E.R.D. cd. Nice modern soul & some hip beats.

The newest from the Sahara Hotnights "Kiss & Tell" has an '80s Pat Benatar feel to it. I'd love to see these gals in concert, especially with the Hives.

Martina Topley Bird has a great cd out now. It's a mix of electronica, rock, trip-hop and she has a nice voice, even if in places it reminds of Sheryl Crow.

The French pop band Phoenix just released an excellent cd called "Alphabetical". Sort of like Air but their tunes are more sunshiney & fun.

I can't get enough of the "The Best of the Pixies" cd. Since someone cancelled Lolapalooza for no good reason except greed, guess this cd will be on heavy rotation for me.

High recommendation for Rachel Yamagata's "Happenstance" album. I almost passed it by as it was described as "adult contempory alternative pop a la Fiona Apple". But after listening to a song sample at Borders, I was hooked. It's blue-eyed soul, singer/songwriter radio ready pop but her voice is the cut above here, plus some really well written tunes that don't wash over you a la Fiona Apple (not that I dislike Ms Apple, she's just produced wrong, in my view).

A "new" cd getting heavy rotation in my player is Brain Wilson's "Smile". Better released late than never after being the mythical Holy Grail of pop music for 37 years. Brian sounds fantastic, I was truly amazed. A lot of credit goes to his backing band, Jeffrey Foskett and the Wondermints who capture the Beach Boys sound to eerie perfection. I'd heard some of these songs before on assorted Beach Boys albums, and of course, "Good Vibrations" and "Heroes & Villains" were hits. I don't recall "In Blue Hawaii" before but it's a total gem here. I had never cared much for the Boy's "Surf's Up" yet here it's a living breathing masterpiece. I hope any and all Wilson/Beach Boys fans here pick up on this instant classic. I'm still reeling from it and the fact that this once-lost treasure is not only finally recorded and released but it's brilliant, well, that's enough to make me Smile!

Elliot Smith's final cd, "From A Basement On A Hill" is excellent. It's not the arragements he had wanted, so I've read, but I think they fit the mood and the lyrics really well. Upbeat acoustic music for downbeat words. One doesn't have to read suicide into all these tunes.

The Music Lovers "Words We Say Before We Sleep" is a fantastic little pop album for those who like Belle & Sebastian. Sort of Beatles go bossa nova lite.

Tom Waits "Real Gone" is real wild. No piano this time. Some really funky sounds accompanying Wait's ultra gravelly voice. Highly recommend this one.

"Matador At 15" is a great label compilation that's pretty cheap. Cd & dvd combo, features Mission of Burma, Cat Power, Mogwai, Interpol, Guided By Voices and many other cool bands. Worth every penny.

If you like acid rock, acid psychedlia, noisey droney head splitting expieremental rock- then you'll love the new cd by the Acid Mothers Temple and the Melting Paraiso U.FO. "Does the Cosmic Shephard Dream of Electric Tapirs?". I think it's the best, so far, from this Japanese band.

REM's "Around the Sun" was kinda disappointing. Much too mellow all the way through. Considering the great rhythm section of this band, it was a bummer that the songs were so low key. Though if approached with the mindset that it's mellow & acoustic-based, the record will sound better with each listen.

I got Vanessa Carlton's sophomore set, Harmonium, the other day. At first it seemed a bit week, but when I listened to it more, it showed quite a bit of her musical talent and roots. I think that a few tracks are boring, but the ones like White Houses and Private Radio were very interesting and different. But I think that she chose the wrong single for the album...Private Radio would have been much more appealing on the radio than White Houses.

Time to update. Booyeah.

Alright, I have a really good friend who sent me CDs by mail..and they are:

CD: Waking The Fallen
Arist: Avenged Sevenfold

CD: Billy Talent
Artist: Billy Talent

CD: We Are Not Alone
Artist: Breaking Benjamin

CD: Finger Eleven
Artist: Finger Eleven

CD: Comalies (2 Discs)
Artist: Lacuna Coil

CD: The End Of All Things To Come
Artist: Mudvayne

CD: Break The Cycle
Artist: Staind

CD: Bitterness The Star
Artist: 36 Crazyfists

Yup yup. I love CDs with a passion. More and more my CD collection is becoming a masterpiece. ..But my favorite CD out of those is "Waking The Fallen" by "Avenged Sevenfold". If you're into the screaming, hard-core bands, look these dudes up. There lyrics are deep, metaphorical, and philisophical. I could listen to them all day (which I do. )

Anywho, just thought I'd update on my new CDs. I'm pretty excited about them.

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists' "Shake the Sheets" is a marvelous political pop punk cd. Neither preachy nor pretentious but passionate with some great hooks. Top of the line alt-rock punk.

Speaking of punk, one great box set to check out is "Left of the Dial- Dispatches from the 80's Underground". I had forgotten how much fun these tracks are until I listened to this set over the last few days. Here's a rundown on the track list-

Disc One

"Radio Free Europe," R.E.M.
"Going Underground," the Jam
"A Forest," the Cure
"Holiday in Cambodia," Dead Kennedys
"I'm In Love With a German Film Star," Passions
"I Will Dare," the Replacements
"That's When I Reach for My Revolver," Mission of Burma
"Johny Hit and Run Paulene," X
"Just Like Honey," the Jesus and Mary Chain
"Black Celebration," Depeche Mode
"Tell Me When It's Over," the Dream Syndicate
"Hollywood (Africa)," the Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Temptation," New Order
"Ghosts," Japan
"A Song From Under the Floorboards," Magazine
"Oblivious," Aztec Camera
"Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely," Husker Du
"Rise Above," Black Flag
"Back in the Flesh," Wall of Voodoo
"Cattle and Cane," the Go-Betweens

Disc Two

"Message of Love," the Pretenders
"Vienna," Ultravox
"Freak Scene," Dinosaur Jr.
"This Charming Man," the Smiths
"Stigmata," Ministry
"Ways to Be Wicked," Lone Justice
"Wardance," Killing Joke
"Enola Gay," Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark
"Mirror in the Bathroom," the English Beat
"Fairytale in the Supermarket," the Raincoats
"Behind the Wall of Sleep," the Smithereens
"Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing," Minutemen
"Punk Rock Girl," the Dead Milkmen
"Still in Hollywood," Concrete Blonde
"Love Will Tear Us Apart," Joy Division
"Blister in the Sun," Violent Femmes
"Lake of Fire," Meat Puppets
"Amplifier," the dB's
"When Love Breaks Down," Prefab Sprout
"Goo Goo Muck," the Cramps
"This Corrosion," Sisters of Mercy
"Senses Working Overtime," XTC

Disc Three

"The Cutter," Echo and the Bunnymen
"Pay to Cum!," Bad Brains
"Birthday," the Sugarcubes
"Madonna of the Wasps," Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians
"We Care a Lot," Faith No More
"Teen Age Riot," Sonic Youth
"To Hell With Poverty," Gang of Four
"Fa Ce-La," the Feelies
"Ana Ng," They Might Be Giants
"Swamp Thing," the Chameleons U.K.
"The Mercy Seat," Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
"I Look Around," the Rain Parade
"All That Money Wants," Psychedelic Furs
"Under the Milky Way," the Church
"Rise," Public Image Ltd.
"Kundalini Express," Love and Rockets
"Gravity Talks," Green on Red
"Adrenalin," Throbbing Gristle
"She Bangs the Drum," the Stone Roses

Disc Four

"Monkey Gone to Heaven," Pixies
"Uncertain Smile," the The
"Bela Lugosi's Dead," Bauhaus
"Christine," Siouxsie and the Banshees
"Straight Edge," Minor Threat
"I Want to Help You Ann," the Lyres
"Our Secret," Beat Happening
"Jane Says," Jane's Addiction
"World Shut Your Mouth," Julian Cope
"Running Up That Hill," Kate Bush
"Sex Beat," Gun Club
"Take the Skinheads Bowling," Camper Van Beethoven
"Institutionalized," Suicidal Tendencies
"Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops," Cocteau Twins
"24 Hour Party People," Happy Mondays
"I Want You Back," Hoodoo Gurus
"Suburban Home," Descendents
"A Pair of Brown Eyes," the Pogues
"Jet Fighter," the Three O'Clock
"Moving To Florida," Butthole Surfers
"A New England," Billy Bragg

I haven't bought a CD for ages!
I think the last one was 'Bowling for Soup - A Hangover' You Don't Deserve

Before that I bought 'Finch - What it is to Burn' and 'Idlewild - In Remote Part' on the same day

This one isn't a new release, but I just picked it up last night, so it's new to me.

Fight Songs by The Old 97's. It was released in 1999 and marks what critics call their departure from Y'allternative music. I can still hear the classic y'allternative sound on this disc, so I'm not disappointed at all. Since I started out listening to Rhett Miller's solo work, I didn't quite know what to expect from Old 97's, they are awesome.

My newest cd is U2 "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb." I don't get it till Christmas though. I just got a digital version of Dashboard Confessional's newest cd. I'm beginning to favor digital music now that I have an mp3 player.

Some recommendations, recent finds...

Fun punk-pop, Ramones meet the Beach Boys- "Big As the Sky" from A.M. Sixty.

U2's "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" is back to classic U2. No risks here, no silly Euro-disco mess either.

AlternativeFolkLiteJazzPop from Madeline Peyroux on "Careless Love". Much better than the genre I created for it implies.

Afro funk compilation, "Ghana Soundz Vol.2". Get Vol 1 while you're at it. I dare you to sit still while listening.

A comp from the mid-90's, "Hip Hop 'N Jazz". Back when mixing the two genres sounded so good, like mixing chocolate and peanut butter. Digable Planets, Solsonics and a few other bands, all sounding cool.

"Ko and the Knockouts". Terrible cover. Strange name for a garage/punk band with an amazing female vocalist. The music within will knock your shoes and socks off. Lesson learned: don't judge a budget cd by the cover. Supposedly on tour with The White Stripes.

The Donnas' latest "Gold Medal". Less garagey, more straight ahead rock with a punk bite. Donnas purists will scoff but it's still rock-n-roll to me.

Tegan & Sara's "So Jealous". Alternative pop/rock from the two sisters.. Their voices may send some away but they have me hunting for their back catalog. It's catchy in a way the Indigo Sisters stuff ceased being.

"Les Hell on Wheels". Female garage/glam band on Bomp records. Most everything on Bomp records is well worth the money, especially this. It's fun and it's tongue-in-cheek and it rocks.

Union Carbide Productions (who eventually evolved into The Soundtrack of Our Lives) have a best-of cd on the market now called "Remastered To Be Recycled". The cheapest one can pay for it is at the Parasol Records website. This is excellent Stooges meets Capt.Beefhart meets mid-period Stones meets early Sabbath all rolled up in one great early 90's Swedish band. TSOOL will have a new cd out this year, so see what all the fuss is about from their early years in this excellent and highly recommended comp.

More garage/punk with female vocalists- there's so many great cd's like these it's hard to pick out the better ones-"Bleed Me Love" by the Black Jetts and "No Please Not Me" by Anna & the Psycho Men are on my top of the heap.

I have heard the future of garage/punk rock-n-roll and it is a band called BBQ. They have a new cd on Bomp (where else?) and an older one on Alien Snatch which has to be heard to be believed.

Copperhead's "This Train is Gainin'" is country-pop like they used to make back when the Amazing Rhythm Aces & The Marshall Tucker Band were in their prime. Very highly recommended, pleasant tunes- not Nashville country, but independent-with-a-brain-&-heart country pop from true believers.

"Grapevine" from I See Hawks In L.A. (yes, that's the band's name) and "Where the Freeways Arc Over the Burnt Edges" by the Carquinez Straits are two excellent examples of Gram Parsons' influence on modern alternative country bands. The former is more twangy/roots where the latter is more cosmic, sometimes psychedelic. Recommended for for fans of the Uncle Tupelo side of the alt-country family and for fans of the Cosmic Rough Riders/ Brit-country side as well.

Heather Waters "Shadow of You", excellent country/pop ballads a la Shelby Lynne or Patty Loveless.

Lemon Jelly's "'64-'95" is yet another marvelous electronica disc from this band who gets better with each release.
This album has shorter songs and more vocals which makes it their best one yet, for me.

This is not for you young people. But for those who may be a bit more mature in age and appreciate smooth jazz I recommend Chris Botti and Michael Buble. Just bought CD's of both and they are terrific.

That's so funny. We were just talking about both Chris Botti and Buble in the Josh Groban thread. Botti is opening for Groban, and he is amazing.

I just bought Kasabian's album as a birthday present for my husband. I'd recommend the Killers' album "Hot Fuss", it's almost as impressive a debut as Franz Ferdinand's debut album of last year which is one of the best albums I've heard in a very long time.

But at the moment I simply cannot stop listening to the Libertines, both of their albums plus a load of bits and pieces I was sent as MP3s. I'm a farly recent convert, motherhood has sadly stopped me being as up to date with music as I once was and it looks like I'll never get a chance to see the complete lineup play live, which is very sad I don't know if it's my imagination but the music scene seems to have improved dramatically over the last year or so..there seem to be a lot more talented bands writing and performing their own material. Keep an eye out for the Kaiser Chiefs too, their single "I Predict A Riot" is the only thing vying with Pete Doherty for me at the moment

I really disliked the Doves "Some Cities" cd. Too syrupy, too symphonic, so boring.

The Decemberists "Picaresque" is a very nice alternative/folk-rock cd. Interesting lyrics and great vocals.

"Arular" from M.I.A. is an excellent hip-hop/electronica cd. Recommended for those who like something different in hip hop.

The new Queens of the Stone Age is good, but I don't prefer it over their last two releases. It's one that has to grow on me with repeated plays.

"Employment" by the Kaiser Chefs is this spring's Franz Ferdinand and just as good.

Hold-overs until the new White Stripes release- "No Wow" by the Kills and "Stairs and Elevators" by the Heartless Bastards.

BBQ's domestic release on Bomp, "Tie Your Noose", is garage punk/rockabilly/doo-wop(!) and is in my top 3 for cd of the year (so far).

Alternative-country and the like-"Woman King" ep from Iron & Wine. The hottest one man band in America? Also like the front porch sway of Kathleen Edwards "Back To Me" as well as the back porch retro of M. Ward's "Transistor Radio".

The new Kings of Leon has recieved mixed reviews but I really liked it. Note: if you buy it, keep the lyric page close if you intend to know what the singer is singing about. PS: I love the Jetta commercial featuring the Kings of Leons' "Molly's Chambers". It won't draw me back to commercial tv but I did download the ad!

Alt-country continued: "Exploration" by Sarah Lee Guthrie (yes, daughter of Arlo, grand-daughter of Woody) & Johnny Irion (her husband, chief songwriter here). Excellent cd, just what I expected from the Guthrie clan, and more.

"Everything's OK" by the king, Al Green. Ranks with best of his classics. The Rev Green is the man!

"Wind in the Wires" from Patrick Wolf.
Roguish alternative/singer-songwriter tunes.

Like the Byrds? Remember the Byrds? Check out the Stands "All Years Leaving" cd. Mid-60's Dylan & McGuinn are living here.

Cd's to party by: "Silent Alarm" by Bloc Party, s/t from the Brazilian Girls, "7x4" from the Gore Gore Girls, and Yo La Tengo's "Prisoners of Love" compilation.

Final mention- "The Knights of the New Crusade". An awesome garage/punk/Christian(!) band's first album. Regardless of what you believe in or don't believe in, this cd will probably not be out-rocked in 2005. Hunt for their web site, though the samples don't do the record justice. Like or dislike what they're saying, the music they say it with can't be beat.

I'm all giddy. Bloc Party? Kaiser Chefs?,Kasabian?, Decemberists? These are bands nobody I know listens to, but I love them.
Rogue, I'm going to go broke keeping up with all of these CDs.

I just got Salesmen and Racists by Ike Reilly. I absolutely love it. Ike takes some getting used to, but he's very talented.

Edited to add: Rogue, you mentioned Ted Leo! I'm amazed and delighted. I adore Ted Leo. Haven't gotten Shake the Sheets yet, but I enjoyed Hearts of Oak until I had to sell it Here's hoping my husband gets that job at the record store, my list is growing by the minute.

I love Social Distortion. I don't think they sound a thing like Godsmack though. Maybe that's because I can't stand Godsmack. Their language doesn't bother me a bit.

I'm also fairly familiar with Rise Against. They have some really great songs. "Like the Angel" is one of my favorites because it's a punk rock love song.

The Killers aren't really my cup of tea, but they aren't bad. I don't turn off the radio when they come on, but I'm not as in to them as some other acts.

Those are newer songs, yes? My favorite is "Story of my Life", it's an older Social D song. They played "Don't Take me for Granted" when I saw them last October. It's a really good song.

I've never noticed a similarity beteen Mike's singing and Sully Erna's singing. I'll have to listen to a few Godsmack tunes and see if I can hear it.

Listen to "Running Blind" by godsmack and compare the tone to a song by Social D. Their music type may be different, but their voices do sound the same.

Indie- I haven't heard "Hearts of Oak" yet. It's on it my want list, though. Have you heard earlier Ted Leo cds? I wasn't sure of his style pre-"Hearts". A record shop job sounds great, I hope your husband lands it!

I did like the Killers cd. More pop than most bands of their kind but much much better than The Music, to whom they were unjustly compared.

I haven't heard any of Leo's work prior to Hearts of Oak.

If you like him, try The Ike Reilly Assassination. They are awesome yet they don't get much attention.

If he gets this job, he'll probably never bring home a paycheck. I'm the music person, he's the gamer. The store sells both music and games.

I don't know that many of the artists you're talking about. I'm too young I guess. Thats why i'm probably going to leave soon. The last CDs I got were
Jet, "Get Born"
Green Day, "International Superhits"
and
3 Doors Down, "Seventeen Days"