Austin Improv

They were awesome at ACL!

Mount Eerie Pts. 6 & 7 10"



I don't really have a top ten list.....here are some albums I enjoyed in some capacity this year (some more than others), in no particular order:

Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? - of Montreal
Person Pitch - Panda Bear
Back to Black - Amy Winehouse (technically a 2006 release, but it wasn't released in the US until March 2007, so I'm counting it)
Strawberry Jam - Animal Collective
The Magic Position - Patrick Wolf
New Moon - Elliott Smith
Joanna Newsom and the Ys Street Band EP - Joanna Newsom
Mount Eerie Pts. 6 & 7 - Mount Eerie
Kala - M.I.A.
Untrue - Burial
White Chalk - PJ Harvey
Trees Outside The Academy - Thurston Moore
Grinderman - Grinderman
Fur and Gold - Bat For Lashes
Mirrored - Battles
In Rainbows - Radiohead
Shotter's Nation - Babyshambles
Icons, Abstract Thee EP - of Montreal

I am probably forgetting a lot of stuff, as well.

Working on a review of this one right now. It's the first I've ever heard from Miss Chan Marshall (aside from what bled over from her stage at Pitchfork while I was waiting for Yoko Ono), and I've got to say it's some righteously haunting, soulful stuff. Hot damn.

What Would The Community Think? is my favorite Cat Power album. <3

I haven't heard much Arcade Fire, but I discovered them doing this sweet cover today:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-jmzOGuzXr8

Still only listening to the Sic Alps these days -- this stuff is blowing me away. They have a bunch of 7" and 12" releases out in the last year or two, all of which will apparently be collected on one 26-track CD a little later into the year. In the meantime, rocking what I can find:

Sic Alps - Strawberry Guillotine 7"
Sic Alps - The Soft Tour in Rough Form 12"
Sic Alps - Description of the Harbor 12"
Sic Alps - Pleasures and Treasures LP (earlier/different line-up and not quite as earth-shaking as the above EPs)

Dirty Projectors — Rise Above
How to make the lyrics on Black Flag's Damaged more alienating: Couch them in sunny, polyrhythmic arrangements and give them voice not through a Henry Rollins' growl but a bizarre, quivering male croon and unearthly female harmonies. Oh yeah, and do one of the "Six Pack" verses in Esperanto. It worries me how much I like this record.



Los Campesinos! — The International Tweexcore Underground and Sticking Fingers Into Sockets EPs
Twee as fuck, but not without a little adenoidal urgency. Fully endorsed by the Broken Social Stars Apolstle of Metric Do Make Say Feist crowd, and not just because there's too many people on stage.

I love Kimya Dawson / The Moldy Peaches, and I figured I need to know more about the other bands on the soundtrack.

myfriendedward wrote:
Dirty Projectors — Rise Above
How to make the lyrics on Black Flag's Damaged more alienating: Couch them in sunny, polyrhythmic arrangements and give them voice not through a Henry Rollins' growl but a bizarre, quivering male croon and unearthly female harmonies. Oh yeah, and do one of the "Six Pack" verses in Esperanto. It worries me how much I like this record.

I've had this record for a while now and have been meaning to write about it for some time now--this synopsis is well put. The African highlife guitar stylings on a lot of songs are great. It's a nifty album.

That Dirty Projectors records sounds interesting...

In addition to the Sic Alps, I've been hurting my ears with the upcoming Times New Viking record, Rip It Off. Still filled with static and slathered with overloaded levels, but the songwriting seems even tighter than Dig Yourself. This thing kills.

I'll come up with a top o' 2007 list here pretty soon. One album that'll be going on there that I only got into in the last week or two of 2007 is Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter's album Like Love Lust & The Open Halls of the Soul

What is it about me with women with really weird voices? Sykes's has possibly the creepiest country crooner voice ever. Something undead about it, like she was one of those murdered women from all those old ballads come back as a country rock zombie to tell her side of the story. Oh yeah, the production on this thing kills.

Hey you music lovers,

My sister is worried about her hubby listening to a lot of dark & angry music right now. He's stressed out with work and family stuff, and yet she feels the music is not helping, but rather encouraging his sense of withdrawl and anger. That's sounds heavier than the situation really is, but she noticed my current playlist is called "Happy Happy" and wanted me to give it to him. I KNOW that it is not what he'd like. It's filled with girlie pop-rock, kids music, and some upbeat motown (which he may actually like).

My challenge to you guys is to come up with a "Happy Happy" playlist for a 30-something dad who is sad and angry. Can you do it?

PS. (He likes "They Might Be Giants")

Oh, and I'm listening to...

"Hannah Montana: Best of Both Worlds" (Miley Cyrus)
"Lavendar Diamond: Imagine Our Love"
"Muppet Show: 25th Anniversary Collection"
"Andrea Perry: River of Stars"
"Seasame Street: Songs from the Street, 35 Years of Music"
"PUffy AmiYumi: Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi"
"Collected Songs: Disneymania"
"Gypsy Kings: Best of"
"Jossie & the Pussycats soundtrack"
...assorted musicals and motown.

Such a great album, I love these guys. No one has ever made the words "do you like my megalithic rock?" sound more urgent.



I wish I could have been at Pitchfork last year to see them perform this. I wouldn't say I know a huge amount about math-rock (post-rock?), but I do know I love this album.



Leaf House is my favorite. <3

My eyes are bleeding from looking for Sic Alps for weeks. I caught some hipster attitude from a guy at Cheapo who seemed to want to communicate to me that since he hadn't heard of Sic Alps, either they don't exist or they're not worthwhile. Anyway, I sure would like to hear some Sic Alps.

sara_anm8r wrote:Hey you music lovers,

My sister is worried about her hubby listening to a lot of dark & angry music right now. He's stressed out with work and family stuff, and yet she feels the music is not helping, but rather encouraging his sense of withdrawl and anger. That's sounds heavier than the situation really is, but she noticed my current playlist is called "Happy Happy" and wanted me to give it to him. I KNOW that it is not what he'd like. It's filled with girlie pop-rock, kids music, and some upbeat motown (which he may actually like).

My challenge to you guys is to come up with a "Happy Happy" playlist for a 30-something dad who is sad and angry. Can you do it?

PS. (He likes "They Might Be Giants")

Try some upbeat Flaming Lips. Try some old school Stevie Wonder.