eMUSIC ROUND THIRTY-SEVEN

This month marks the start of my fourth year with eMusic and I continue to be very happy with the service. My biggest problem is trying to get my downloads to work out every month but I've managed to do it 36 times, so I guess it's not that big of a problem. Anyway, here's what I downloaded in February...

Ben Kweller/Changing Horses
The Henry Clay People/For Cheap Or For Free
M. Ward/Hold Time
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit/Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit
Le Switch/And Now...Le Switch
J. Tillman/Minor Works

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #127

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! I am rooting for the Cardinals today but I won't be upset if the Steelers win; I've got a lot of respect for them. Plus, we get Bruce and the E Street Band at halftime and an hour-long episode of The Office afterwards. I will be feasting on a #9 from Jimmy John's, chips, and a Super Bowl sundae for dessert. Yum!

1. Codes, Runes, Dunes/Portastatic (5)
2. The Stand Ins, One/Okkervil River (7)
3. Border Guards/The Rosebuds (6)
4. This Old Chase/The Ladybug Transistor (4)
5. Aging Faces/Losing Places/Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew (6)
6. Angeles/Elliott Smith (20)
7. Fishing Boat Song/M. Ward (8)
8. Outta My Head/M. Ward (12)
9. Seashell Tale/M. Ward (12)
10. Shooting Rockets (From the Desk of Night's Ape)/Destroyer (7)

Guess it's M. Ward's day - just over 2 weeks until his new album, Hold Time!

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #123

Here's one feature that won't change for 2009...

1. Frozen Gtr/Thurston Moore (4)
2. Navy Sheets/The Hold Steady (14)
3. Make You Up/Portastatic (3)
4. Kicker of Elves/Guided By Voices (6)
5. Cannibals/Crooked Fingers (8)
6. Shivers Down My Spine/King Khan And The Shrines (10)
7. Buffalo Boots/Luna (2)
8. The Bear/My Morning Jacket (5)
9. Tonite It Shows/Mercury Rev (2)
10. A Voice At The End Of The Line/M. Ward (14)

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #122

Last one for 2008. I plan on putting up my year-end top tens and wrap-ups over the next few days and then it's time for another year...

1. Skating/Vince Guaraldi (4)
2. Finer Feelings/Spoon (18)
3. Argonne Limit Co./Centro-Matic (20)
4. Yeah Sapphire/The Hold Steady (14)
5. Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear/Okkervil River (8)
6. Afterword/Rag/M. Ward (20)
7. Broke Me Up/Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew (7)
8. Stop Breaking Down/The White Stripes (9)
9. Live On/Sloan (7)
10. My Heartbeat's Dying/The Raveonettes (4)

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #104

Today's shuffle completes 2 full years of this feature on the blog, which is hard to believe. What isn't hard to believe is how much of a Sunday ritual it is for me and how much I enjoy doing it. I really do need to start doing some music posts to complement this feature since it's been a long time since I've really written about music. We'll see how it goes - I start classes tomorrow and my time will get squeezed even more. But enough about that, let's see what 10 songs will pop up today...

1. Plus Ones/Okkervil River (11)
2. My Favorite Year/Destroyer (5)
3. Personal/Stars (8)
4. Big Decision/Elliott Smith (9)
5. I'll Follow You/Oakley Hall (4)
6. Believe In Me/Sloan (2)
7. A Voice At The End Of The Line/M. Ward (13)
8. Wucan/Black Mountain (5)
9. Only Time Will Tell/Glossary (3)
10. First Timer/Elliott Smith (10)

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #96

Let's get right to it...

1. Our Faces Split The Coast In Half/Broken Social Scene (1)
2. Bloody Nose/Earlimart (11)
3. Loretta's Scars/Pavement (6)
4. Agony of Laffitte/Spoon (7)
5. He Brings Out The Whiskey In Me/Amy Millan (15)
6. I Understand/Sloan (18)
7. When The Angels Will Put Out Their Lights/South San Gabriel (2)
8. Undertaker/M. Ward (16)
9. Personal/Stars (7)
10. Your Desert's Not A Desert At All/Pela (10)

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #95

I've added more music to iTunes in the last week than I've ever added in that span. I'm interested to see if any of it pops up today...

1. Laffitte Don't Fail Me Now/Spoon (8)
2. I Need All The Friends I Can Get/Camera Obscura (20)
3. Punch And Judy/Elliott Smith (15)
4. Down South/Tom Petty (6)
5. Brass Ring/The Broken West (20)
6. Sick File/Archers of Loaf (10)
7. Bitches In Tokyo/Stars (5)
8. God, Make Up Your Mind/Cold War Kids (7)
9. Distant Stations/The Mountain Goats (9)
10. Involuntary/M. Ward (11)

Guess not.

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #90/91

There will be no Sunday Shuffle next weekend, as we will be in Pennsylvania to celebrate my step-grandfather's 100th birthday. That means today's edition will be a double issue...

1. Who May Be Lazy/M. Ward (7)
2. Raining In Darling (Cold Rock. Dull Grass)/The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers (12)
3. Knuckles/The Hold Steady (19)
4. Hospital Beds/Cold War Kids (10)
5. Half Dead/The Mountain Goats (7)
6. Butterfly Nets/Bishop Allen (7)
7. Beautiful Car/M. Ward (6)
8. Click, Click, Click, Click/Bishop Allen (9)
9. Shadowcat/Canasta (7)
10. Dead Man's Will/Iron and Wine/Calexico (17)
11. Kicking TV/Wilco (12)
12. Jen Is Bringin the Drugs/Margot & the Nuclear So & So's (10)
13. I Just Missed You/Mary Weiss (4)
14. What Happened.../Grandaddy (10)
15. Blue In Yr Eye/Amy Millan (8)
16. Go to Sleep/The Avett Brothers (5)
17. Vice Rag/A.A. Bondy (11)
18. Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear/Okkervil River (5)
19. God, Please Let Me Go Back/Josh Rouse (5)
20. Little People/The White Stripes (6)

eMUSIC ROUND TWENTY-SIX

I'm well past due for telling you what I grabbed from eMusic in my last download period; in fact, I'm already close to 2 weeks into the newest period (haven't grabbed anything yet, though). So, here's what I picked up in March...

She & Him/Volume One - This is the collaboration between Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward and you know what? It works. Deschanel is front and center on the vocals with only a couple songs that Ward sings on as well. But his production and guitar is stellar throughout and Deschanel has written some solid 60s-type pop songs.

Destroyer/Trouble In Dreams - You know, I still don't quite know what to make of Destroyer. I like the band but I'm not sure what it is about them. Sure, the music is solid in a classic-rock vein but the lyrics can be very obtuse. Then again, I don't know that meaning is especially important to Dan Bejar. Maybe he's just going for that feeling and this album has a number of tracks that give you something in the feeling department.

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks/Real Emotional Trash - The latest album from the former Pavement frontman and this time around Janet Weiss (formerly of Sleater-Kinney) is pounding the drums. It's a good album and one I want to talk about more in the future.

Nick Lowe/Jesus of Cool (Reissue) - Pretty much what it says, a reissue of the classic Nick Lowe album with a bunch of bonus tracks. Power pop goodies.

Headlights/Some Racing, Some Stopping - This is more modern pop music, quiet and pretty in places. I've only listened twice, so I don't have a ton of insight. I can tell you the last song, "January," is awesome.

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #81

It's been a long week and I haven't given the blog much thought at all. I can still crank out a Sunday Shuffle, though...

1. It Covers the Hillsides/Midlake (6)
2. December/The Lemonheads (14)
3. Neptune's Net/M. Ward (23)
4. Abigail/The Broken West (14)
5. So Come Back, I Am Waiting/Okkervil River (10)
6. Hair Down/Cold War Kids (10)
7. Another Way I Could Do It/Sloan (13)
8. Nothing Up My Sleeve (demo)/Wilco (17)
9. Broke Me Up/Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew (5)
10. Red Wine, Success!/Cold War Kids (8)

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #77

It's the first progress report Sunday of 2008! It's 45 degrees outside and not even 8:00 yet! Here's ten songs at random from my music on iTunes!

1. Cream and Bastards Rise/Harvey Danger (30)
2. Truth Lies Low/The Drams (12)
3. American Hearts/A.A. Bondy (10) - also on the iPod
4. Who May Be Lazy/M. Ward (6)
5. Fortunate Son/Creedence Clearwater Revival (3) - also on the iPod
6. Heavy Metal Drummer (demo)/Wilco (11)
7. Rollercoaster/M. Ward (19)
8. Aging Faces/Losing Places/Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew (4) - also on the iPod
9. Burn That Broken Bed/Iron and Wine/Calexico (18)
10. Yawny at the Apocalypse/Andrew Bird (6)