Lots of great releases in October (Ray LaMontagne, Ingrid Michaelson, Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, etc.) and plenty of reason to be listening to calm music, even when life isn’t always so calm (and maybe especially so in that case). Seeing Sigur Rós was a great way to start things off, and seeing Death Cab for Cutie last week was a great way to end it.

And, just for the record, “Swagga Like Us” may be the best hip hop song ever recorded. M.I.A., Kanye West, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and T.I. all on one track. My mind is blown.

1. Earth - “Omens and Portents 1: The Driver” (The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull)
2. TV on the Radio - “Halfway Home” (Dear Science)
3. T.I. - “Swagga Like Us” (Paper Trail)
4. Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip - “Thou Shalt Always Kill” (Angles)
5. Ray LaMontagne - “Meg White” (Gossip in the Grain)
6. Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - “My Love for You is Real” (Follow the Lights)
7. Ray LaMontagne - “You Are the Best Thing” (Gossip in the Grain)
8. Ingrid Michaelson - “Can’t Help Falling In Love” (Be OK)
9. Todd Snider - “Is This Thing Working?” (Peace Queer)
10. Brett Dennen - “Make You Crazy” (Hope for the Hopeless)
11. Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - “Magick” (Cardinology)
12. TV on the Radio - “DLZ” (Dear Science)
13. Bloc Party - “Ares” (Intimacy)
14. mewithoutYou - “Son of a Window” (Catch for Us the Foxes)
15. Death Cab for Cutie - “Transatlanticism” (Transatlanticism)
16. Marnie Stern - “Clone Cycle” (This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That)

Yep. Fall is here. Gone are the sunny pop songs of spring and summer. In come the introspective, calm-but-questioning sounds of autumn.

Change is afoot.

1. Jakob - “Pneumonic” (Solace)
2. The Velvet Underground - “Who Loves the Sun” (Loaded)
3. Radiohead - “There There” (Hail to the Thief)
4. M83 - “Lower Your Eyelids to Die With the Sun” (Before the Dawn Heals Us)
5. The New Pornographers - “These Are the Fables” (Twin Cinema)
6. Joshua James - “Today” (The Sun Is Always Brighter)
7. dan le sac vs. Scroobius Pip - “Letter from God to Man” (Angles)
8. Neko Case - “Look For Me (I’ll Be Around)” (Blacklisted)
9. Joshua James - “Winter Storm” (The Sun Is Always Brighter)
10. Neko Case - “I Wish I Was the Moon” (Blacklisted)
11. mewithoutYou - “Carousels” (Catch For Us the Foxes)
12. TV On the Radio - “Crying” (Dear Science)
13. Jay-Z - “Renegade” (The Blueprint)
14. Hammock - “We Will Say Goodbye to Everyone” (Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow)
15. Ingrid Michaelson - “The Way I Am” (Girls and Boys)
16. Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile - “The Farmer and the Duck” (Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile)

P.S. If you get a chance to, go see Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile live. I saw them last weekend in Irvine and was thoroughly impressed. It’s a beautiful thing to see modern legends collaborate so well with each other. And if you don’t get a chance, at least pick up a copy of the album.

Sample of Radiohead’s Planet Telex? Check.
Catchy glitch-pop melody? Check.
Social/religious commentary? Check.
Cute kid in a dinosaur costume? Check.

I think we’ve got all the bases covered.