June was an interesting month. Friends graduating college and moving away, a road trip to Colorado, Adele exploding on the scene and doing anything I could to take a chill pill due to a lot of stress. Little did I know what July would bring… dun dun DUNNNNN!

1. Black Sabbath – “Black Sabbath” (Black Sabbath)
2. Devin the Dude – “She Want That Money” (Waitin’ to Inhale)
3. Jakob – “Everything All of the Time” (Solace)
4. Adele – “Crazy For You” (19)
5. N.E.R.D. – “Spaz” (Seeing Sounds)
6. Coldplay – “Violet Hill” (Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends)
7. Sigur Rós – “Gobbledigook” (Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust)
8. Of Montreal – “Gronlandic Edit” (Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?)
9. Bob Marley – “No Woman No Cry (Live)” (Legend)
10. The Wombats – “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” (Let’s Dance to Joy Division)
11. Adele – “Daydreamer” (19)
12. Bob Marley – “Stir It Up” (Legend)
13. Dub Trio – “Awakening Dub (Live)” (Exploring the Dangers of)
14. The Snake the Cross the Crown – “Electronic Dream Plant” (Cotton Teeth)
15. Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds – “Bartender” (Live at Radio City)
16. The Mountain Goats – “Love Love Love” (The Sunset Tree)

I’ve been lazy with the blogging as of late. It’s more fulfilling to post stuff like that on Buzzgrinder because people actually comment on it. So I’ll just link you to my top 10 list there and give you (who is “you” anyway?) 11 through 20 with no descriptions:

20. Panda Bear – Person Pitch
19. Eluvium – Copia
18. The Dillinger Escape Plan – Ire Works
17. Bright Eyes – Cassadaga
16. The Snake The Cross The Crown – Cotton Teeth
15. Band Of Horses – Cease To Begin
14. M.I.A. – Kala
13. Iron & Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog
12. Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
11. Daft Punk – Alive 2007

Oh, hey… it’s October already! Time for last month’s playlist.

September saw me visiting people I love in Ohio, buying lots of music (explaining Of Montreal and John Mayer), watching the VMAs (explaining the Timberlake, Timbaland, Rihanna appearances), listening to Kanye and 50 Cent face off with albums releasing on the same day (Kanye clearly won) and making an alt. country playlist for a friend (which explains Ray LaMontagne, Patsy Cline, Emmylou and the always-intriguing Ryan Adams) and anticipating the release of Iron & Wine’s new album (which is amazing, by the way).

1. Bat For Lashes – “Horse And I” (Fur And Gold)
2. John Mayer – “Gravity” (Continuum)
3. Of Montreal – “Gronlandic Edit” (Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?)
4. A Fine Frenzy – “The Minnow & The Trout” (One Cell In The Sea)
5. Junior Boys – “In The Morning” (So This Is Goodbye)
6. Kanye West – “Stronger” (Graduation)
7. 50 Cent – “Ayo Technology” (Curtis)
8. Justin Timberlake – “Let Me Talk To You Prelude/My Love” (Futuresex/Lovesounds)
9. Rihanna – “Umbrella” (Good Girl Gone Bad)
10. Timbaland – “The Way I Are” (Shock Value)
11. The Deadly Syndrome – “I Hope I Become A Ghost” (The Ortolan)
12. Dire Straits – “Sultans Of Swing” (Dire Straits)
13. Ray LaMontagne – “Jolene” (Trouble)
14. Iron & Wine – “Boy With A Coin” (The Shepherd’s Dog)
15. Patsy Cline – “Crazy” (Showcase)
16. Bob Dylan – “Subterranean Homesick Blues” (Bringing It All Back Home)
17. Ryan Adams – “My Winding Wheel” (Heartbreaker)
18. Emmylou Harris – “The Pearl” (Red Dirt Girl)
19. Ben Folds – “Trusted” (Songs For Silverman)

Thanks to Hype Machine for making the linking thing easier, by the way.

I’ve been neglecting you. I swear I have stuff to say. I’m just trying to organize my thoughts right now. Maybe I’ll make an attempt at expressing it soon. For now, here’s my monthly playlist for May.

1. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – “All You Do Is Talk” (Baby 81)
2. Of Montreal – “Labyrinthian Pomp” (Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?)
3. Interpol – “NYC” (Turn On The Bright Lights)
4. mewithoutYou – “Paper Hanger” (Catch For Us The Foxes)
5. Anathallo – “Hanasakajijii (Four: A Great Wind, More Ash)” (Floating World)
6. The White Stripes – “Icky Thump” (Icky Thump)
7. Kings Of Leon – “On Call” (Because Of The Times)
8. !!! – “All My Heroes Are Weirdos” (Myth Takes)
9. Grizzly Bear – “Knife” (Yellow House)
10. He Is Legend – “(((louds” (Suck Out The Poison)
11. Devendra Banhart – “Now That I Know” (Cripple Crow)
12. Zozobra – “The Blessing” (Harmonic Tremors)
13. Ray LaMontagne – “Be Here Now” (Till The Sun Turns Black)
14. Grizzly Bear – “Lullabye” (Yellow House)
15. Mono – “a thousand paper cranes” (Walking cloud and deep red sky, Flag fluttered and the sun shined)
16. Neko Case – “Star Witness” (Fox Confessor Brings The Flood)
17. Eightball – “Drama In My Life (feat. Psycho Drama)” (Lost – Chopped and Screwed)
18. Ryan Adams – “The Shadowlands” (Love Is Hell)
19. Neko Case – “That Teenage Feeling” (Fox Confessor Brings The Flood)
20. Ryan Adams – “Hotel Chelsea Nights” (Love Is Hell)

Having nothing better to do after Nickel Creek, I stuck around with the large crowd that had formed to see Of Montreal. I’d heard enough of their stuff to be familiar with them, but it hadn’t ever really pulled me in. Now I can understand their appeal.

I wasn’t quite sure what to make of their weird outfits and strange stage antics at first, but after a couple songs it was amusing and added to the entertainment value. I’m pretty sure there are a lot of psychedelic drugs being passed around back stage with these guys, but that didn’t stop them from playing like their pink, flippy shoulder pads depended on it.

Their unique blend of freaky dance pop was addictive and catchy, and I was a big enough fan by the time I left that I ended up buying a t-shirt. That’s saying something, because all shirts at the Coachella merch booth were $25. Hooray for festival ripoffs.

Once again, there are more pictures than you can shake a stick at over on Flickr.

I just got way too excited for Coachella this weekend when they posted the set time schedule.

Somehow they managed to keep conflicts to a minimum, as far as my own preferences go, anyway. There are a couple bands I might have to skip out early on to catch something else, but the only major conflict for me is Saturday evening. Kings Of Leon, The Decemberists, !!! and Andrew Bird all playing at the same time. I don’t even know where to start with that one. I’ve seen Andrew Bird, so I may have to sacrifice there, but even then, he puts on an amazing show.

Here’s how I plan to break it down:

Friday

• Nickel Creek
• Of Montreal
• Circa Survive
• Rufus Wainwright
• The Jesus And Mary Chain
• Peeping Tom
• Interpol
• Sonic Youth
• Bjork

Saturday

• Regina Spektor
• The New Pornographers
• Kings Of Leon vs. The Decemberists vs. !!! vs. Andrew Bird
• The Arcade Fire
• Girl Talk
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• The Black Keys

Sunday

• Mika
• Anathallo
• Grizzly Bear
• Explosions In The Sky
• The Roots
• Willie Nelson
• Amos Lee
• Ratatat
• Damien Rice
• Rage Against The Machine

Meanwhile, I’m packing up my sunscreen and shorts (two things I don’t use that often; yeah, I’m a nerd) and expecting to have a very fun weekend. I’ll be lucky if I don’t come back deaf, malnourished, underslept and looking like Pigpen.