Some Excellent Music

I recently made the transition over from CD's to an MP3 player (I went with an IRiver, which I like overall). I actually thought once I got rid of all the cd's (all sold at this point) that I would "buy" less music. Well, buy is the operative word here - I haven't "bought" any music in 2 months. But I have "gotten" a lot of new music since then, thanks to the wonderful world of online file sharing.

I wanted to highlight a few of my favs for y'all...

1. Antony and the Johnsons, I am a Bird Now - if Tiny Tim started playing serious music - seriously, this guy sounds ALOT like Tiny Tim, but accompanied by gorgeous melodies over sparse (for the most part) piano and music. If you want to feel good in that "wow, what a great inspiring movie" kinda way and feel bad in that "how absolutely sad" kinda way, this is a great buy.

2. Arcade Fire, Funeral - ok, this isn't that new, but I guess this list isn't about NEW music, is it?! This band from the Great White North has written a real gem of an album, inspired, in part, by a number of deaths in the family of the two leads of the band. What resulted is a pained, emotional record filled with a rawness and a realness that you don't often get to hear. Not to say that it isn't produced - very crisp and clear record...

3. Ambulance Ltd. , eponymous - Although I've only heard a few of their songs, I love it. These guys are all over the place; you feel like you're listening to their take on their favorite genre's and songs... the ones I'm into now are poppy gems.

4. The Streets, A Grand Don't Come for Free - British Rap?? What the hell? Well, it works, as you get dropped into one everyday experience after another, accompanied by steady, sparse beats. You feel like you yourself could start rapping because of the way he connects with the types of things that have happened to you in your life, sometimes the very thoughts you have in specific moments.

5. Can, either Ege Bamyasi or Tago Mago - Of course you love German art/prog rock fronted by a ranting Japanese Jehovah's Witness. I swear, I'm not making this up. Can made some fantastic experimental records in the late 60's and early 70's, but these two are their best, and their most accessible. Just check out that groove that they can put down, using great jazz roots and improv while being entirely comfortable rocking out those grooves when they need too. Sometimes it takes them 15 minutes to get TO that groove, but you won't mind the ride there.