SUNDAY SHUFFLE #136

Woke up this morning and felt like doing a Sunday Shuffle. It's not indicative of anything necessarily, though I have been giving thought to coming back to blogging on a more regular basis. For now, ten random songs from my iTunes is enough...

1. My Goodbyes/South San Gabriel (6)
2. This Ain't a Scene/The Henry Clay People (9)
3. Snakes of Hawaii/Army Navy (9)
4. Furr/Blitzen Trapper (7)
5. A Side Wins/Sloan (18)
6. Stuck Between Stations/The Hold Steady (27)
7. Great Expectations/Elbow (14)
8. Silence Kid/Pavement (12)
9. Lady On The Water/Blitzen Trapper (6)
10. Look, Honey, Peaches/Portastatic (5)

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 #117

I was planning on doing a "double issue" today since I don't know when we'll get back from PA next Sunday but I'm getting a late start, so I'll just do the usual and be done. Hope to get up a post or two before we leave but we'll see...

1. Pocket Boys/Army Navy (4)
2. Bandit Queen (w/DT)/The Decemberists (7)
3. No Dreams/Oakley Hall (6)
4. Demons Are Real/Guided By Voices (4)
5. Big City/The Broken West (14)
6. A Night With The Jersey Devil/Bruce Springsteen (2)
7. I Could Be Underground/Spoon (5)
8. Advance Cassette/Spoon (7)
9. Bow to the Middle: Religion of Politics/The Rosebuds (5)
10. Stuck Between Stations (live on The Current)/The Hold Steady (10)

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #110

I'd planned on doing some more posts this week but I got distracted by the vice-presidential debate, baseball, and life in general. Maybe this week. In the meantime, here are 10 more songs from my iTunes...

1. Stay Positive/The Hold Steady (13)
2. Mess Inside/The Mountain Goats (9)
3. Stolen Earrings/Two Hours Traffic (14)
4. Grace Cathedral Hill/The Decemberists (2)
5. Funny Little Frog/Belle and Sebastian (16)
6. Do/The White Stripes (10)
7. My Love Is True/The Broken West (16)
8. The Desert/Verbena (3)
9. 1,000 Wives/The Whigs (12)
10. Tremoloa Debut/Broken Social Scene (1)

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #106

This week I layer in the third of my jobs, teaching swimming lessons once again. So I will be working at the elementary school every day from 8:30 to 3:15, going to school four nights a week, and now teaching swimming two nights a week plus Saturday mornings. The good news is I don't need to learn anything about teaching swimming since I've been doing it for so many years. The bad news is my time is going to get tighter but that's what I signed up for. It'll be fine.

Now I'll shut up and give you some songs...

1. Gang Bang Suicide/Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew (7)
2. Pre-Crimson/Apples In Stereo (9)
3. Most People Are DJs/The Hold Steady (13)
4. Faust Arp/Radiohead (19)
5. Somebody Changed/The Clientele (7)
6. Song From Debby's Stairs/M. Ward (7)
7. Fox Confessor Brings The Flood/Neko Case (5)
8. What Happened.../Grandaddy (12)
9. Baboon/The Mountain Goats (10)
10. I Wish I Was/The Twilight Singers (13)

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #103

Maybe someday I'll start posting entries other than Sunday Shuffles...

1. Expelled From Love/The Raveonettes (3)
2. Slapped Actress/The Hold Steady (11)
3. I'm Not A Kid Anymore/Sloan (2)
4. What You Do/Imperial Teen (5)
5. No Life Singed Her/Pavement (6)
6. An Apology/Canasta (9)
7. Cataracts/Andrew Bird (7)
8. 7/4 (Shoreline)/Broken Social Scene (1)
9. There's A Reason/A.A. Bondy (12)
10. Islero/Crooked Fingers (1)

eMUSIC ROUND THIRTY

Yes, it's that time of the month once again, the time when my downloads are about ready to refresh and it's time to mention what I grabbed from eMusic the last few weeks. Without further ado...

Earlimart/Hymn and Her - This is the band's second release in the last year and it's another winner full of lovely pop music. It's quieter than Mentor Tormentor but that's okay with me.

The Hold Steady/Stay Positive - I decided to stick with the mp3 release and hope the 3 bonus tracks work their way onto the internet somewhere. I liked it at first listen, though not all of the songs. I've now listened to it quite a bit and have to stop myself from doing it every day.

The Baseball Project/Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails - Scott McCaughey, Peter Buck, Steve Wynn, and more deliver great indie rock songs about the greatest game. How can I refuse?

Matthew Sweet/Sunshine Lies - Another batch of highly enjoyable power pop from one of its foremost practitioners over the last 17 years.

King Khan and The Shrines/The Supreme Genius of King Khan and The Shrines - Compilation from a band I just learned about. Garage rock and soul and all sorts of throwback goodness that I haven't even scratched the surface of yet.

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #92

Welcome to June! Looks like summer might be here to stay - I took the storm windows off yesterday, so it had better be.

1. Trouble/Voxtrot (6)
2. Introduction/Voxtrot (5)
3. Arms & Hearts/The Hold Steady (15)
4. Astro/The White Stripes (7)
5. Kicking TV/Wilco (13)
6. Honey, I Never Had You/The Raveonettes (3)
7. New Year's Day/The Broken West (18)
8. Stop Breaking Down/The White Stripes (7)
9. Summertime/Josh Rouse (9) - A perfect song to pop up today!
10. Ella's Arms/Warren Zanes (10)

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)

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #87

It's the last Sunday in April already. Hell, the year's almost a third over. If only I didn't have to go into work today...

1. A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene/Okkervil River (10)
2. I Came Here to Say I'm Going Away/Okkervil River (6)
3. Don't Think About Me/Earlimart (10)
4. First Night/The Hold Steady (24)
5. Getting Saved/Portastatic (18)
6. Billy Liar/The Decemberists (8)
7. Hard to Breathe/Irving (6)
8. Tell Me in the Morning/Cold War Kids (12)
9. Watch Out For Me Ronnie/Yo La Tengo (10)
10. Swan Swan H/R.E.M. (3)

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #85

We've had some snow flurries this morning, which is rather depressing. Still, the weather is supposed to take a good turn again in a few days. Today is the last Sunday I won't have to go into work until May, so I plan on enjoying it...even though I have to do some progress reports.

1. The Rest of My Life/Sloan (6)
2. The Chinatown Bus/Bishop Allen (8)
3. Rains on Me/Tom Waits (7)
4. Chips Ahoy/The Hold Steady (28)
5. Hot Soft Light/The Hold Steady (24)
6. Trouble/Voxtrot (5)
7. The Gymnast, High Above the Ground/The Decemberists (9)
8. Flashes and Cables/Centro-Matic (13)
9. Wrecking Force/Voxtrot (5)
10. Andiamo/The Twilight Singers (8)

Weird that the same 2 songs by The Hold Steady popped up again this week...

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #84

It was over 60 degrees yesterday and is supposed to be even nicer today. Thank goodness spring has finally arrived!

1. Chips Ahoy/The Hold Steady (27)
2. Fear City/Elliott Smith (8)
3. Totally Free/Elk City (8)
4. Slow Show (live)/The National (3)
5. Wild West Love Song/Marah (5)
6. The Way The Lazy Do/Dr. Dog (3)
7. Strong Boy/Brendan Benson (16)
8. The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton/The Mountain Goats (10)
9. Hot Soft Light/The Hold Steady (23)
10. The Garden at Night/The Clientele (7)

SUNDAY SHUFFLE #76

Back to the bitter cold here in NW Indiana, with the temperature at 0 and wind chill at -24 right now. Spring can't come soon enough...

1. Night of The Furies/The Rosebuds (6)
2. I Need All the Friends I Can Get/Camera Obscura (19)
3. Hate it Here (Live)/Wilco (7)
4. I Want to Love You in My Room/Irving (5)
5. Conscience Clean (I Went to Spain)/Pernice Brothers (15)
6. Army Bound/Ted Leo + Pharmacists (5)
7. Midnight Coward/Stars (6)
8. Every Day/Voxtrot (3)
9. Teenage Liberation/The Hold Steady (12)
10. Ella/M. Ward (5)