Parklife is great - but my top Blur album is Modern Life Is Rubbish.

THE AGE OF UNDERSTATEMENT BY The Last Shadow Puppets

This cd actually came out in 2008 but I only recently heard it....

Love the Merseybeat influence and the strings and the harmonies....Maybe its revisionism but its very good revisionism....Some of the faster songs even bring up The Divine Comedy at times....
Irresistible listening

I like The Arctic Monkeys but think that there needs to be more dimension to their music....It's good to see that Alex Turner is capable of something like this and I look forward to the next AC release which is any day now I believe.

In fact, Alex Turner is beginning to remind me more and more of Paul Weller in his career and to me that's a good thing....

What I’ve been listening to aside from Morrissey’s last cd which was disappointing and overly simplistic garage rock although his vocals are still great.

THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART-THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART
I really like what these guys are trying to do which is filter a Talking Heads sensibility circa 77 or MORE SONGS ABOUT BUILDINGS AND FOOD through both My Bloody Valentine/Slowdive and The Smith….The male/female vocal interplay, the layered guitars, and the college intellectual culture songwriting style are all great but I do think that these songs cry out for a middle 8….They are basically just verse-chorus-verse-chorus….I really look forward to their second cd.

ANTONY AND THE JOHNSONS- THE CRYING LIGHT
You really have to be in a certain mood to get into this although no one can deny the power of the unique angelic vocals….At times, I am reminded of Bryan Ferry with his balls chopped off….Not a huge difference between this and NOW I’M A BIRD but I do like it….Actually my favorite song by ATJ is THE LAKE which is from an ep of the same name.

THE ARCTIC MONKEYS – HUMBUG
Heard this yesterday for the first time and my first impression is this is exactly what they needed to do and what I hoped they would do which is make advancements in their music without sacrificing what made them so popular to begin with-youthful energy, fresh take on a traditional sound, and funny story lyrics….This isn’t SGT PEPPER but it isn’t BE HERE NOW either….The Arctic Monkeys are a band that I find impossible to dislike….So far only one song has imbedded itself in my subconscious DANCE LITTLE LIAR but I know that will change….First impression-every song is good!!!

ST. VINCENT – ACTOR
Heard this due to the recommendation of an old friend back in the US who loves this cd….My thoughts are the fast songs are great(such as LAUGHING WITH A MOUTH OF BLOOD) but the slow songs kind of boring(such as THE BED)….A good cd not a great one….I think they got a bit carried away in the studio and some of the songs really feel cluttered with unnecessary instruments and arrangements.

FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE- LUNGS
Compare this to St Vincent and this is much better….Heavy Kate Bush influence(SWIMMING is basically a rewrite of CLOUDBUSTING) here but better than anything she has done in awhile….Liking this more and more….Favorite songs are DOG DAYS ARE OVER, I’M NOT CALLING YOU A LIAR and COSMIC LOVE.

PHOENIX- WOLFGANG AMADEUS PHOENIX
I don’t get into this at all….Sloppy uninteresting music….At times reminds me of the Lo-Fi scene of the early 90’s particularly Pavement a band I truly detest….I believe these guys are French and I am reminded of the saying “In France, they think Jerry Lewis is a genius”.

WOLFSHEIM – SELF-MADE COMPILATION
Synth pop is a guilty pleasure of mine and when you have a soulful front man or woman and a catchy hook, it can be sublime….Never heard of these two guys from Germany until I moved to Malaysia but apparently they have been around since the late 80’s….While the overly dramatic Teutonic Sprockets type vocals can border on the ridiculous at times, the melodies are often memorable for example: ONCE IN A LIFETIME….Good club music with the inevitable re-mixes and also for the 80’s nostalgia buff (such as myself).

I have both TMBG's Here Come's Science and Living Coulour's The Chair In The Door on order from Amazon, "Chair" isn't released until Tuesday so they won't be shipped until then. I haven't bought any other albums but these are my um, purchases from the library since late April.

Pearl Jam- Ten [Legacy Edition] (Contains remixed version of the album, minus the 90's reverb production- interesting treatment)(2009)
Atmosphere - God Loves Ugly
Patty Griffin - Children Running Through
Patty Griffin - Flaming Red
The Roots - Game Theory
Frou Frou - Details
June Carter Cash - Wildwood Flower
RJD2 - Since We Last Spoke
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - s/t
Neko Case - Blacklisted
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
"Various Artists" - I'm Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen
Camper Van Beethoven - Popular Songs of Great Enduring Strength and Beauty
Cat Power - Jukebox
Counting Crows - Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings
"The Simpsons" - Testify [Soundtrack]
Nine Inch Nails - And All That Could Have Been [Live]

...actually I'm not sure I listed here that I bought the Dukes albums when the cam out, but of Course I did so.

Comprehensive list to come, but "Science Is Real" (TMBG) is great!

Here's July and August:

Eric Matthews - Limited Edition EP
Found this used at an indie store near me (I'm hardly ever in cool record stores anymore). A companion EP to his "Foundation Sounds" album, with all different tracks. Good songs!

Chemical Brothers - Brotherhood
A solid best-of collection. The only thing I've ever bought by them.

The Minus 5 - Killingsworth
Good and poppy, fresh off their stint as backing band on John Wesley Harding's latest.

Son Volt - American Central Dust
No surprises. Jay Farrar keeps on with his mournful alt-country.

Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs - Under The Covers, Vol. 2
Well-crafted, but perhaps a bit too slavish to the originals, and not as adventurous in the song choices as Vol. 1. (This one is '70s covers, the first was the '60s.) A "bonus disc" of downloads is on Amazon with more intriguing covers.

R.E.M. - Reckoning [25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition]
Great live bonus disc from the era, and that "coda" to "Little America" is finally restored on the main album. The mix is definitely punchier.

Al Green - The Definitive Greatest Hits
A fairly recent collection. Includes "I Can't Stop", from his recent return to secular music, but most of it is from the '70s. OK, a few of the songs are very similar, but an unfalteringly excellent band, and Green's timing is exquisite.

Mew - No More Stories Are Told Today I'm Sorry They Washed Away No More Stories The World Is Grey I'm Tired Let's Wash Away
Not as propulsive as their last album, and the songs aren't all connected this time, but there are a good number of catchy tunes. Oh, and still pretentious, as the title suggests!

The Shins - Wincing The Night Away
Still catching up with this group. Finally got "Chutes Too Narrow" last year, which I loved. This one is not quite as consistent or original, but there's hardly been any better slice of perfect pop bliss than "Phantom Limb" in the last few years.

What I’ve heard recently….

ART BRUT – ART BRUT VS. SATAN
I love this cd!....Hearing Eddie Argos bellow these self-consciously ironically humorous Jonathan Richman type lyrics while the band flails around in the background (and they have gotten much better from their first two cds….The drums and guitars really snap on this record) is a listening experience that seems to be missing for the last few years….This is like a punkier Pulp for the mentally retarded….I wrote more about it on my blog

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THE ENGINEERS-THREE FACT FADER
I also love this cd for totally different reasons….It’s been a long gap between the more organic first cd and this their second release which is more electronic….Like a cross between Spiritualized and My Bloody Valentine but less spacey than the former and less harsh than the latter….I especially like the vocal arrangements (as if they listened to BECAUSE in a dark room for five years before making music)

STRICKEN CITY-SONGS ABOUT PEOPLE I KNOW
Infectious girl fronted indie pop group….Reminds me of Altered Images (Happy Birthday)….There are only three songs that I think are better than average on this cd (which I believe may qualify as an ep I downloaded it from the Internet)but I see a lot of promise here and will definitely listen to their second cd.

WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS – THESE FOUR WALLS
Music by the numbers….Here we have Editors meets Franz Ferdinand….The sound is competent full of delayed effect guitars and vocals that scream “See how emotional I am”….Some of the songs such as CONDUCTOR are constructed well and like Stricken City I will definitely take a listen to future releases to see if they can build on their sound.

THE CRIBS –IGNORE THE IGNORANT
What a total disappointment! I liked the first two Cribs cds a lot….Many people compared them to the Strokes but when I listened to a song like YOU WERE ALWAYS THE ONE I felt like I was listening to some great lost American power pop band circa 1978-82 such as The Shoes or Paul Collins Beat….Their fourth cd finds them making rubbishy music without any point….I compare this to HUMBUG The Arctic Monkeys new cd….Whereas the Monkeys totally build on their sound The Cribs submerge theirs….The vocals also suck as well….What was the point of having Johnny Marr join again????

Just got We Were Promised jet Packs too. Never heard them at all - I just loved the name. There is something to the music that I enjoy and I enjoy the retention of the scottish accent.

I must do a full update too.

I finally managed to get a copy of Arctic Monkeys Humbug from the local record store, and was really enjoying it. Of course I've had it on my computer for awhile (yee haw), but what upset me is that I had tickets for their show in Columbus, Ohio and couldn't go. Does that ever happen to you guys? You get into a band before their first album, see them live on their first (US) tour, and then try to see them again on what may arguably be their best album yet but things go amiss? Oh well, enough moping.

Other that I recently bought.. Badfinger - Straight Up. I love this album, not LOVE, but I really enjoy it, especially when driving.

Lastly, come Oct. 12 I need to get Editors - In This Light And This Evening, Bad Lieutenant - Never Cry Another Tear (Bernard Sumner's new band), and Echo And The Bunnymen - The Fountain (I've got tickets for their show in western PA and I won't miss it). I haven't heard The Fountain yet, but the other two albums sound great from what I've heard so far.

I like it a lot and to be honest, as a fan since before the first album I like the change. I don't think they've lost too much cheek though, songs like My Propeller and Dangerous Animals are great songs with strong lyrics and melodies. I think it's good they slowed things down a bit too.

What upsets me most about missing the gig is that the venue is great for them. They still aren't that big of a band here in the US and I'm afraid they won't come back next year or it won't be as good as it would have been this time. I mean, they were likely excited about getting back on the road, playing a new album, the US, etc.

OK, here's September:

Patty Griffin - Living With Ghosts (1996)
Her debut. I don't think I'd ever heard the backstory before, that this was actually her demo, and then the produced version was so bad that they put this out instead and it became a hit (at least in the Adult Alternative world). Her voice and playing are clear as a bell, and though a few songs drag a bit, "Mad Mission" and "Every Little Bit" are still classics.

They Might Be Giants - Here Comes Science (2009)
Each one of their "educational" CDs is better than the one before. "Science Is Real" and "Put It To The Test" are scathing digs at creationists, and pretty much all the songs exude joy and fun while being, yes, educational.

The Beatles - The Beatles In Mono (2009)
The Beatles - The Beatles In Stereo (2009)
After more than five weeks, I've finally had the opportunity to hear all the discs in these boxed sets. Quite an accomplishment (for them, not me!). As all Beatles freaks know by now, the mono mixes were transferred faithfully (just "cleaned up"), while the stereo ones got just a little boost in the bass and drums, as well as a few technical glitches fixed (the bad edit in "Kansas City", the guitar drop-out in "Day Tripper"). The "Help!" and "Rubber Soul" albums use the 1987 stereo mixes, while the original '65 mixes are added on to the mono CDs of those albums (the '65 "RS" was pretty atrocious, but "H!" wasn't so bad).
The stereo mixes of "Sgt. Pepper", the White Album, and "Abbey Road" are especially scintillating, and I've gained new appreciation for the mono "Revolver". Other highlights in mono are "Yesterday", "Rain", and "Revolution"—the more direct the sentiment, in general, the better the experience in mono. "Revolution 9" in mono feels kind of pointless, on the other hand, as does "A Day In The Life".
Nice packaging overall, but whoever designed the stereo White Album and "Past Masters" sleeves should be strung up: Disc 1 of each is nearly impossible to extract. And the background color of the "Rubber Soul" booklet (taken from the album title) is absolutely nauseating. But the album notes are fantastic, and the attention to detail is precise in almost every way, especially in the mono box, where the outer and inner sleeves are meticulously reproduced from the originals.
The video documentaries are brief, but they're visually striking, with amusing bits of studio chatter interspersed with the music. Most jaw-dropping to me was the video excerpt of John and Paul actually recording their canine banter at the end of "Hey Bulldog"—so nice to see them really enjoying each other's company in those latter days.

Liam Finn & Eliza-Jane - Champagne In Seashells EP (2009)
Kind of a stopgap as he gets ready to follow up his debut properly, but the songs are enjoyable, and Liam is the undeniable center of attention here, not Eliza-Jane!

Sondre Lerche - Heartbeat Radio (2009)
After detours into jazz and punky pop, he returns to the lushly acoustic rock landscape of his earlier albums. At times he sounds almost too comfortable, but it does suit him well. The title track is a grabber, and Sean O'Hagan of High Llamas fame adds some nice flourishes to "I Guess It's Gonna Rain Today".

Robert Pollard - Elephant Jokes (2009)
I don't know where this guy continues to find so many hooks, but he uses them well on this collection of tracks that harks back to Guided by Voices more so than other recent ones.

Mika - The Boy Who Knew Too Much (2009)
A bit of growth on this one. He also has plenty of hooks (though a few are reminiscent of earlier ones), but there's a bit more depth lyrically. Many seem to despise "Toy Boy", but if you're a fan of the "toytown" genre of the '60s, this comes close!

Rufus Wainwright - Milwaukee At Last!!! (2009)
I haven't watched the DVD yet, but this live CD from a 2007 concert is well-performed and spirited. Puzzling, however, that almost all the tracks chosen for the single CD are from one album (the then-current "Release The Stars") when the arrangements are pretty identical to the studio versions.

Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band - Between My Head And The Sky (2009)
No, it's not Klaus Voormann and Ringo Starr, but her son Sean and other young musicians in the band. The opening track really does sound like the original group, complete with her trademark "vocalizations". Elsewhere, there are some really inventive and evocative (and at times very modern) backings, while Yoko sticks to her usual lyrical themes of contemplation and world harmony.

Is anyone here tempted to buy the $89.95 dollar version of Julian Casablancas' solo album, Phrazes For The Young? I'm waiting to buy it on CD in a few days & eventually vinyl, but the box is just so beautiful. Has anyone heard it and has thoughts they care to share? I think it's 3/5 at least, with some of the best tracks he's done in awhile, but still a far cry from Is This It. Anyway.. I recently bought.

Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare (CD) -
I've been meaning to get this on CD, it really sounds great on the stereo. I don't think I heard how great the production was before I listened to it on CD.

Three Mile Pilot - Planets 7" - I love Zach Smith, and this is certainly more of fine work from my favorite member of Pinback. I recommend checking this out.

Systems Officer - Underslept - Zach Smith's debut solo album, years in the making (been waiting since 2004), and it's great. I recommend looking it up. I think I prefer the E.P., but I haven't actually finished listening to it yet.

I can't imagine spending $89.95 on Julian, but I do like the CD after one listen. Kind of sprawling, but fun and involving.