The National

According to Paste Magazine, The National's Boxer is the top album of 2007. Even better than Neon Bible. Considering I have only heard one song off this album I cannot completely deny, but have a hard time with the concept. Does anyone know this album well enough to comment?



Video for Apartment Story

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnI28bdZylM

RCRD LBL

Apparently there is a new record label that takes the Google ad method into the music world.

"RCRD LBL is a network of ad-supported online record labels and blogs offering completely free music streams and downloads from emerging and established artists."

They stream and allow you to download music (as long as it is for non-commercial use). All the music is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial License. More explanation on what this means for personal use can be found on their FAQ page. The bands make money from the advertising sales on the site. One big problem I've found with the site is finding a list of all the artists they have. There is a link that says jump to an artist, but it only shows a few at a time. There are a couple of bigger names on the site like Mos Def and Bloc Party. I'm curious to see if it goes anywhere, but I wouldn't put all my eggs in this one marketing scheme. Thoughts?

http://rcrdlbl.com/sublabels/RCRD_LBL

Deezer ain't no geezer

Check out this music site from France. When you first see the site, the top ten list has some annoying typical songs, but the searchable collection looks good. There are a ton of songs on here and you can make your own playlists. As far as I can tell, you can't download the music, but it still looks intriguing. Plus, you get a bilingual email in your inbox. Who doesn't love that?

http://www.deezer.com/

-TWS

Music of the Moment: Boy With a Coin~Iron & Wine

your lists don't represent me

Does anyone else get totally annoyed when they see a list of the "top songs" or "top albums" in their city at that particular time? I'm normally disgusted by the content of such list, if not totally clueless to what is on it.

For example, I submit Chicago's Top 10 downloaded songs for today(okay, I'm just listing the artists, cuz I'm lazy): 1. Soulja Boy, 2. Alicia Keys, 3. J. Holiday, 4. Baby Bash, 5. Fergie, 6. Nickelback, 7. Soulja Boy - again, 8. Kanye West, 9. Gucci Mane, 10. 50 Cent. Okay, so hip-hop is popular, but that list does not represent the music that I enjoy at all. I think we should make our own list - so I'm challenging us to come up with our own favorite artists list of today. How about top five cds of 2007 so far? Or at least five that you liked.

Off the top of my head I'm thinking:
1. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
2. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
3. Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
4. Radiohead - In Rainbows
5. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha

And I know that I'm probably forgetting something good.......

On The Radio

For the Clevelanders....I know I've spoken with a lot of you about this, but isn't it strange that there isn't any good radio in Cleveland? Sure, if you do a lot of skipping, there are moments when you find a great song and have a glimmer of hope and then the millionth Lincoln Park song comes on and all hopes are dashed. Clear Channel pretty much has a monopoly on the airwaves. Then, one day a friend told me about this station that randomly started coming in. I looked at the dial and saw 93.9. 93.9....hmm....do they call this station "The River" I asked my cohorts, and soon after my suspicions were confirmed. This was the station from Windsor (yes, in good ole Canada)/Detroit that I'd been listening to over the summer. This station is not owned by Clear Channel and has more freedom in what it plays. They actually mean it when they say they play a mix. One minute will be something from The Cure, next Arcade Fire, The White Stripes (and of course some of the more popular stuff like that Bubbly song that is all over the place right now, but I will forgive them for this). The next time you try this terrestrial radio thing in Cleveland, I suggest trying this station out.

-The Wounded Soul

Music of the Moment: Start Wearing Purple~Gogol Bordello

If I put some words together, will I sound clever?

Fall Out Boy. What else do I really have to say? Thnks Fr Th Mmrs. Actually, no thank you for not actually talking about anything. Ever. I'm Like a Lawyer With the Way I'm Always Trying to Get You Off. When it takes that much effort just to type out the title, do I really want to listen to the song? "We're the new face of failure" is one of the lyrics that comes out of that astutely titled song. I'm glad they at least admit to being failures, although, I'm sure they don't see it quite that way...Now, I'll admit that I bought their first album out of curiosity (and not knowing any better) but have since "lost" it (or maybe I just gave it away). Since then, they have exploded in the tween and teen range and gotten even more into themselves. Pete Wentz? With Ashlee-I-hate-that-my-sister-is more-talented-than-me Simpson? I really should just not look at "charts" and "what's popular" lists unless it comes from Canada or the Brits. Perhaps I will be less angry. Or at least just be oblivious to the crap that's out there dirtying the name of music.

As a Tigger once put it, TTFN--ta-ta for now,

The Wounded Soul

Music of the Moment-Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)~Arcade Fire
(desperately trying to get rid of the memory of FOB)

Who am I?

I'm Jean Valjean.

If you got that, then this is the blog for you. This morning I was scouring iTunes to see what was new/popular and was mortally offended. Finger Eleven "paralyzer" (no, it does not deserve to be capitalized) was number one on the alternative top songs. What has happened to the world that this is popular? Its clear that only 13 year olds buy music on iTunes. I used to actually like this program. Now all faith is lost and I feel confused, disappointed, and alone. Thank God I have friends with good taste in music to keep me relatively satisfied. Anyway, what I intend with this blog is to rant/rave/comment on music I listen to and open up a forum for friends or anyone else to talk about this and give suggestions on new music.

Ciao

The Wounded Soul