Killer Whales

CDs:

V/A - Dark Was the Night

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

The Decemberists - Hazards of Love

Wilco - Wilco (The Album)

Grizzly Bear - Veckatamist

The Antlers - Hospice

The Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

Japandroids - Post-Nothing

Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (Deluxe)

Olivia Tremor Control - Black Foliage

R. Kelly - Double Up

American Football - s/t

Bruce Springsteen - Live 1975/1985

Colin Meloy - Colin Meloy Sings Live!

Woody Guthrie - Hard Luck Blues

V/A - Stax 50th Anniversary Celebration

Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road

Cursive - Domestica

David Byrne & Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

The Gaslight Anthem - The 59 Sound

LCD Soundsystem - Sound of SIlver

Chasing Kings - The Current State of Our Future

Old Abram Brown - Alive in Winter

The Flying Burrito Brothers - Ultimate Collection

DVDs:

Wilco - Ashes of American Flags

The Flaming Lips - UFO's at the Zoo

Guided By Voices - Watch Me Jumpstart

Raphael Saadiq - Live in Boston

Think that's it. Not bad for a college student with not much spare change..

I'm just going to go out and say it, that might be the best Weezer single since Island in the Sun. Too bad the rest of the album is so bad.

I agree, although Keep Fishin' might beat both of those songs

"Young Hearts Spark Fire" by Japandroids is undoubtedly my favorite song of the year.

Some HM's:

Volcano Choir - Island, Is

Phoenix - Lisztomania

Jim O'Rourke - The Visitor (Is that allowed to count?)

Passion Pit - Little Secrets

Bon Iver - Blood Bank

The Antlers - Two

Bat for Lashes - Daniel

Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks

Animal Collective - Brothersport

Dirty Projectors - Useful Chamber

1. Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

2. Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand

3. Weezer - Pinkerton

4. Wilco - Summerteeth

5. Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

6. The Flaming Lips - Soft Bulletin

7. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - I See A Darkness

8. Radiohead - OK Computer

9. Belle & Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister

10. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless

11. Beck - Odelay

12. Weezer - s/t

13. Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One

14. Nirvana - Nevermind

15. Beck - Midnite Vultures

16. Wilco - Being There

17. Guided By Voices - Alien Lanes

18. Radiohead - The Bends

19. Talk Talk - Laughing Stock

20. Elliott Smith - Either/Or

Weezer could be mine. Their 2000's output is infuriating, but I still consider the first two albums two of my favorites ever.

Guided By Voices, Pavement and Beck are all close as well.

They seem to drink whatever the venue provides them. When I saw them at Bonnaroo, Craig was complaining that it's hard to feel manly when you're throwing back an aluminum bottle.

Haha, that was my first Hold Steady show and I loved that line. "We all love Budweiser, but I gotta say.."

I saw them on the tour with DBT and they closed, and while I understand a big Drive By Truckers fan getting annoyed by people sitting down and not being as into their show, they simply didn't bring the energy that the Hold Steady did. Sure, "Let There Be Rock" was incredible, and I like their songs, it just didn't compare to the sound of the horn section blairing along to Craig Finn singing "Banging Camps." They easily put on one of the most passionate, fun, and energetic performances I've ever seen.

Did everyone who listed the new Boston Spaceships record buy it? I can't find it online anywhere, and despite not totally loving the first two singles, I'm really interested since I've heard so much awesome press for it.

I'm actually a big fan of BitUSA. That middle run of songs of Downbound Train through I'm Goin' Down is pretty awesome. I also still consider Dancing in the Dark a great song and I'm always excited to see it live

You have a lot of the essentials, but I absolutely loved the Japandroids album called Post-Nothing as well as Hospice by The Antlers, both of while you'll probably enjoy based on what your choices

Yeah, Volcano Choir has it's moments where everything comes together, but most of it is either boring or annoying. Island, IS and Still are both incredible though

and thankfully Dear God wound up being the worst song on the record...

I'm just starting my first listen, but man, I really liked Dear God when it was first still released. Still sounds great now. It's kinda like an Evil Urges track but more tasteful... not a fan of Conor's verse though.

How about The Rat by The Walkmen?

I was very surprised at Neighborhood #1's inclusion over Wake Up, as well as the absence of I Am Trying to Break Your Heart. Ideoteque as the top Radiohead song made total sense to me, and I was really pleased All My Friends is #2. All the pop songs were pretty wall chosen.. I mean, how amazing of a track is Crazy in Love?

I listened to a couple of the songs in the top 20 that I had never heard, and I will say that the song by the Rapture is horrible. Heartbeat by Annie didn't impress me at all either, and I never got what was so great about Blind (or Antony Heggarty for that matter). Oh well, solid, fun list

Very cool new song. I'm really interested to hear what the whole album sounds like

That "Let's Get Retarded in Here" song by the Black Eyed Peas?

God, I love his music but that music just makes me feel even more hatred towards his personality.

I've caught little bits of the webcast. Had to turn off Pains of Being Pure At Heart just now.. yeesh are their vocals bad live. Looking forward to catching parts of the fest this weekend though

downhill is a relative term in this case... in that just based on my enjoyment level of their albums post At Dawn has nearly decreased with every release. sure they're still a great band, and like you said, Evil Urges is mostly just bad by their own standards. like, Pfork score wise, it's probably like:

 

At Dawn: 9.4

It Still Moves: 8.8

Z: 8.7

Tennessee Fire: 8.3

Evil Urges: 7.2

 

so not terrible, but a far cry from their best stuff for me too.

 

i just would really love for a new MMJ album with only 1-2 songs i don't like (ie: like on It Still Moves & Z), or even better, that i like every song (see At Dawn)

This is fairly accurate for me too, although I would rank Tennessee Fire as the lowest with around a 7. At Dawn probably is their masterpiece, although I still think they could've cut Honest Man. That track always kind of annoyed me, and X-Mas Curtain would've worked fine as the transition between the slow set of songs before it to the more epic second half of the album

Sweet thread! After all the name calling and insults perhaps someone can get around to a decent review of the show. It was Wilco for christsakes! I love Wilco but hate seeing them anywhere in MA thanks to the junk show that is Massachusetts (if you live in New England you understand). Lowell and Tanglewood were fine examples of this junk show of joey-bag-o-donuts from RI, guido/wannabe models straight out of the North End, people who can't mind their own business while texting, pushy, egocentric cops and hipster/yupster daddies trying to show their kids they can be cool (see, I can shit-talk just like the rest of them).

 

The boys seemed to be having a great time, Wilco played masterfully and only get better with age. Loved Wilco the song live, Deeper down was sick, Side with the seeds was rocking, Spiders. Conor was great, good to see musicians having a good time for once. Really looking forward to Portland since this show was cut short which I thought was "Rain or Shine"? Unless it pours, great planning. I hope you all enjoyed our pungent odors at the show...the only good thing going for mass.

I'm so filled with angry Massachusetts pride right now, I can't even form a comeback.

I've personally come to laugh at the antics of the mass-hole crowd, and let's be honest, a few "Yankee's Suck" chants aside, its not an overwhelming demographic you see at any Wilco show. It's not like all the public school janitors that drink at the Elk's lodge are crowding up to listen to ALTWYS

Christ. I always thought Jeff's stuff on Spiders was really similar to a lot of Ira Kaplan's solos with Yo La Tengo. I must hear more about that collaboration. The possibilities are unbelievable

after the 3rd or so song Jeff knelt down at the edge of the stage (John's side) and it looked like he said something to one of the photographers. did anyone catch what he said? i was @ nel's side and didn't notice him until he was done talking.

I'm pretty sure he was giving him some picks to give to the kids in the front row. Very cool!

Thankfully I live really close to Lowell so I was able to figure out some backroads to get home. The traffic leading up the Lowell Connector looked horrible

Well Will Sheff doesn't have nearly as much self-loathing as Oberst does and they're absolutely insane live instead of a bunch of angst-ridden drunks. And did you notice how the guitarist on the right would mouth every single note he played? Weird. But yeah, I would consider selling my soul for a Wilco/Okkervil River show.

 

And are you in Clatter Clatter? I think I've seen you guys before! It was at Great Scott or one of those places; I go to BC.

Hahaha, yeah I am along with Walken. And yes, Okkervil is amazing live. I caught them at the Middle East Sept 07 and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. I also made fun of the guitarist on the right a lot. The whole band was pretty funny to watch. The bassist looked like he was shocked to find himself onstage in front of all those people.

 

As for Conor Oberst, I detest him. I've tried many times to enjoy his music, but everything about him is unbearable. He played a surprisingly long set, but my main problem was that none of them looked like they wanted to be there or were enjoying themselves. I wore my Okkervil River shirt as a subtle protest.

I was right next to you for that! I noticed because I have that same Okkervil River shirt, but I honestly thought you were probably a Conor fan based on the shirt and the similarity in styles between the two bands (Okkervil is clearly shit-tons better)

Ahh, would've loved to hear Magazine Called Sunset. Still though, I'll trade in hearing Walken, Hate It Here, Late Greats, etc. again for the experience of last nights show