Absolutely Love & Adore:

Jem “Down to Earth” – There’s a lot to like here, even though this doesn’t sound like your typical Jem album. Actually sounds more like a set of remixes, and the dance-y backgrounds are a great backdrop for her voice. Love “Crazy”, “Keep on Walking”, “I Always New”, “Forever and a Day”. And “It’s Amazing” has gone on every mix I’ve made over the past several months.

Matt White “Best Days” – I tried not to love this album. And then it became all I listened to for days on end. Ah well. Particularly love “Moment of Weakness” and “Paradise”.

Ryan Adams & the Cardinals “Cardinology” – Doesn’t sound much like a Ryan Adams album to me but I really like it nonetheless. I love the folky swoons of “Natural Ghost”, such a romantic feel. And “Fix It” is another fave. (I could do without “Magick” however.)

Vancougar “Canadian Tuxedo” – I wish I could remember what made me check this out. I think it was a post on either Monitor Mix or the Three Imaginary Girls blog but I can’t seem to find it. They’re punk sassy girls (think the Go-Gos, before the industry prettied them up, and if they had already been musicians when they started), but every once in a while they throw in a total ’60s girlgroup vibe (listen to “Obvious”). Great album.

The Killers “Day & Age” – I never bought their second album so I hadn’t listened to these guys in a loooong time. I love the emphaticness here. It’s rocking. It’s all big and dramatic and overarching and it just sweeps me right along with it. Faves are “Spaceman” “This Is Your Life” and I love! the chorus on “The World We Live In”.

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

• “Raise Today” Peasant (old but on constant rotation)
  
• “Don’t” Rachael Yamagata (srsly. don’t.)
  
• “Colors” Kira Willey (damn you iPod commercials)
  
• “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” Beyonce (all carrieoke’s fault)
  
• “Glamorous” Fergie (ditto)
  
• “Cathedrals” (cover) Joan Osborne (can’t go wrong covering this song)
  
• “Home in the Woods” Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons (from a paste sampler)
  

Other Albums I Liked:

• Pink “Funhouse” – I lovelovelove all the fast(er) songs on this album. “So What” and “Sober” as one & two are great. Some of the slow ones I get bored by though. (Hence the Like not Love.)

• Kanye West “808s & Heartbreak” – Dear Kanye, you really crack my shit up. There is so much “woe is me” in some of these lyrics and I’m sure this is not the reaction you were looking for but it is damn funny to hear. “My friend showed me pictures of his kids and all I could show him was pictures of my cribs / he said his daughter got a brand new report card and all I got was a brand new sports car.” Yeah, times are tough for single Kanye. Gold records are NOTHING. Who cares about that. OK, Goofus! Get back to me when you’re my age and single, dude. Not that there is a chance in hell of that happening. Faves: “Heartless” and “Robocop“.

• The Knux “Remind Me in 3 Days…” – Weirdly I really have not bought very much rap this year. This album is a lot of fun with sassy smart lyrics and great beats. There was one song I had to delete from iTunes however. Just toooooo much pussy or hos or bitches or something, I can’t remember exactly what but I really couldn’t stand to listen to it. On the other hand, faves: “Cappuccino” (“fresh cappucino with a mocha twist“), “Roxxanne”, “Daddy’s Little Girl”, “Playboys” and “The True.” Lots of fun.

• The Gaslight Anthem “The ’59 Sound” – If Bruce Springsteen was the lead singer for the Hold Steady but Craig Finn wrote his lyrics and sometimes Tom Petty helped with the harmonies. That’s my description of this band. Pretty rockin’.

• The Go-Betweens “16 Lovers Lane” – Really old. (1988?) Pretty sure I bought this based on this Monitor Mix post. I really like this, but I can really hear the years between then and now. It fits perfectly into my “Colleging It Out” playlist with The Smiths, The Replacements, The Cure, New Order, Cocteau Twins… “Dive for Your Memory” really brings old, old Mick Jagger (back when he could actually SING, right?!?) to mind as well.

• The Weakerthans “Left and Leaving” – Bought due to this Fuel/Friends post. I like the snide feel of “Everything Must Go”, the rock of “Watermark” and the Shins/Death Cab feel of “This Is a Fire Door Never Leave Open”. But my favorite track is “Left and Leaving.”

• Winter’s Fall “Winter’s Fall” – Much more Southern/country-esque than I was expecting after reading about it on some indie/alternative site. Think Jason Isbell or My Morning Jacket’s latest. Love “Blame” and “On Wisdom”. But really need to listen to it more, it was the last album I bought in November and it hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves.
  

Mixed Feelings

• Travis “Ode to J. Smith” – This is the album that’s the most like their live show (which is awesome) but somehow that makes it not work very well as an album? I was bummed to see all the bad reviews and more bummed to find they weren’t far off. I like a couple songs (“Sarah” and “Last Words”) but overall this is not the Travis that I love. Their other albums are so much more melodic and lyrical. And yes, they turn them into total rocking out songs in concert, but somehow starting from a more lively place did not make them write better songs. It kinda bums me out frankly. But I have liked it more in the past week than on the first few listens. So there’s that.
  

Not really for me / but maybe for you!:

The Kin “Rise and Fall” – Too arena rock/cheeseball for me. Although I dig “Together” (until the chorus) and “See” and “Romeo” aren’t bad either. There are some (need I even say scary) religious lyrics on here though (“Abraham”) and you know how that makes me run for the hills.

Chad Van Gaalen “Soft Airplane” – I like some individual songs here (“TMNT Mask” and “Bare Feet on Wet Griptape” the chorus of which sounds like old Rolling Stones to me) but overall I find this album so stylistically scattered that I can’t figure out if I’m listening to an album or shuffle when it comes on. (And I really don’t like “Frozen Energon” at all. Ick.) Sometimes falsetto, sometimes not, arrangements all over the place. I’ve seen mentions of this album lots of places but I just can’t find my way into it.

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:

Brendan Canning “Something for All of Us” – My general impression of this is a good one. But I really haven’t listened to it more than once or twice so far. The title track is nice, dark and dirty (like Joseph Arthur).