So turns out I didn’t buy that much music in March. Not only did I not buy much (some of what’s below was gifted to me), but I didn’t listen much either… Maybe that 9-day trip to Japan had something to do with it? (And, no, before you ask, I still haven’t listened to much of the music I bought there [mostly rap], I’ve been too busy reorganizing music while home to listen to new stuff [and didn’t put those on the Pod/iTunes yet].)

Absolutely Love & Adore:

Jesse Malin “Glitter in the Gutter” – One of those (increasingly rare) albums that just WORKS all the way through. Really love it. I actually like it so much, I couldn’t even narrow down a favorite song for ya. Today it may have been “Happy Ever After” but other days it’s been “Black Haired Girl” and sometimes “NY Nights” and other times… Uh huh. It’s that good.

Gnarls Barkley “The Odd Couple” – The more I listen to it, the more I like it. It’s not getting the press or the play their first one did, but I think it’s just as good. A little darker, but still delish. Cee-Lo just has such a great voice, I think that boy could sing anything and make it beautiful. Favorite song: definitely “Going On”.

Favorite Singles (not on any of the above albums):

• “Rat Within the Grain” Damien Rice
• “Wonderwall” Noel Gallagher, singing the Ryan Adams’ arrangement of Noel’s song
• “Hideaway” The Weepies
• “Buckets of Rain” (my favorite all-time Dylan song) covered by Redbird (Peter Mulvey)
• “The Silence Between Us” Bob Mould
• “Changing Your Mind” Bob Schneider
• “Don’t You Worry” Jim Noir
• “I Woke Up Today” Port O’Brien
• “Vision in Red” Thao Nguyen

Other Albums I Liked:

• Hot Chip “Coming on Strong” (and) “Made in the Dark” – I kept reading about this band everywhere and wondering if I should be listening and CCB took pity on my lazy ass and sent me both of these. The former (CoS) is not what I was (for some unknown reason) expecting. Instead it’s melodic, kinda jazzy with some background fuzz, sweet and smooth. The second (MitD) is more what I had in my mind: disco-y electronic, rhythmic. Fun! 🙂
• Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks “Real Emotional Trash” – I never listened to Pavement back in the day; got turned on to them last summer thanks to Rob Sheffield’s lovely book so I’m new to the Malkmus fan club. On the rough, edgy side of rock. The first four songs don’t really pull me in but then we hit “Baltimore” and “Gardenia” and I’m a total goner… I could listen to those two (and the songs that follow) over and over!

Not really for me / but maybe for you!:

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss “Raising Sand” – Hmmm. You know, people kept occasionally playing me singles off this album and I thought “hey, maybe it IS as good as people are saying.” But apparently I only like it in singles because I almost fell asleep the three times I tried to get through the album as a whole. Pretty. But boring. Maybe I will like them better in person? We’ll find out in a few weeks…

Foo Fighters “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace” – I was a big big Foo fan…a long time ago. (Their live show was one of my faves of my NY years.) And although it seems odd to say about music, sometimes I just grow out of a certain band or sound. When I put this on, I think “oh yeah, sounds exactly like some Foo stuff I was listening to 10 years ago.” (Loved their first two albums. Loved.) So while this album is perfectly fine and good and enjoyable enough (and could easily be in the above category instead of here), I just don’t find myself listening to it. I’ve kinda moved on.

Shamefully have either not listened to at all, or not all the way through, or so few times that I can’t legitimately offer an opinion:
Just the stuff I bought in Japan. 🙂