Yeah, that’s a Britney Spears song tacked on the end there, sandwiched between Wilco and a Wu-Tang dubstep remix. Nobody ever said I was consistent.

Once again, I’ve made an attempt at mixing all these songs together in some sort of discernable and enjoyable way. Enjoy that.

1. Pedro The Lion – “Progress” (Control)
2. Nicki Minaj – “Roman’s Revenge (feat. Eminem)” (Pink Friday)
3. Mumford & Sons – “Sigh No More” (Sigh No More)
4. Flying Lotus – “Camel” (Los Angeles)
5. Killabits – “DSGSTNG” (DSGSTNG single)
6. Smith Westerns – “Still New” (Dye It Blonde)
7. Tom Waits – “Heartattack and Vine” (Heartattack and Vine)
8. Wanda Jackson – “Thunder on the Mountain” (The Party Ain’t Over)
9. Wu-Tang Clan – “Pencil/MyPiano/Firehouse (Soroka Remixes)” (Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture Vol. 2: Enter the Dubstep)
10. Kanye West – “Monster (feat. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj and Bon Iver)” (My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy)
11. Wu-Tang Clan – “Alphabets (Dakimh instrumental remix)” (Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture Vol. 2: Enter the Dubstep)
12. Britney Spears – “Hold It Against Me” (Hold It Against Me single)
13. Wilco – “Reservations” (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot)

Bazan’s Curse Your Branches, due September 1 on Barsuk, is a visceral accounting of what happened after that. It’s a harrowing breakup record—except he’s dumping God, Jesus, and the evangelical life. It’s his first full-length solo album and also his most autobiographical effort: its drunken narratives, spasms of spiritual dissonance, and family tensions are all scenes from the recent past.

via The Passion of David Bazan – Chicago Reader

I might be one of the only music nerds with a Christian upbringing that jumped on the Pedro/Bazan train after his faith troubles. His struggle appeals to the part of me that constantly deals with doubt and flirts with atheistic/agnostic ways.

And this?

When I talk to some of those kids in the merch tent the day after Bazan’s set, many of them seem to be trying to spin the new songs, straining to categorize them as Christian so they can justify continuing to listen to them. One fan says it’s good that Bazan is singing about the perils of sin, “particularly sexual sin.” Another interprets the songs as a witness of addiction, the testimony of the stumbling man.

Well, that just makes me sad. And pushes me to identify with Bazan all the more. So many in such great denial. Don’t they know that we have warrant to explore the scariest questions of life?

Time, once again, for the monthly playlist. Time seems to be flying by. Also, I’ll be writing a lot about Coachella very soon. Just you wait.

There’s a lot of Kings Of Leon and P.O.S. on this one. Kings Of Leon was because of the release of their new album Because Of The Times, which is amazing, combined with my excitement to see them at Coachella. And P.O.S. was because P.O.S. is awesome.

1. Kings Of Leon – “Knocked Up” (Because Of The Times)
2. The Chariot – “And Shot Each Other” (The Fiancée)
3. Kings Of Leon – “Four Kicks” (Aha Shake Heartbreak)
4. Ladysmith Black Mambazo – “Amazing Grace” (Journey Of Dreams)
5. Portishead – “Glory Box” (Roseland NYC Live)
6. Ray LaMontagne – “Gone Away From Me” (Till The Sun Turns Black)
7. Kings Of Leon – “On Call” (Because Of The Times)
8. Regina Spektor – “Samson” (Begin To Hope)
9. TV On The Radio – “Hours” (Return To Cookie Mountain)
10. CocoRosie – “Japan” (The Adventures Of Ghosthorse and Stillborn)
11. Kings Of Leon – “McFearless” (Because Of The Times)
12. The Dillinger Escape Plan – “Weekend Sex Change” (Calculating Infinity)
13. P.O.S. – “De La Souls” (Audition)
14. The Appleseed Cast – “Rooms And Gardens” (Low Level Owl: Volume 2)
15. P.O.S. – “Safety In Speed (Heavy Metal)” (Audition)
16. P.O.S. – “P.O.S. Is Ruining My Life” (Audition)
17. Sigur Ros – “Milano” (Takk…)
18. Caspian – “Some Are White Light” (The Four Trees)
19. Cloud Cult – “Chain Reaction” (The Meaning Of
20. Saul Williams – “Act III, Scene 2 (Shakespeare)” (Saul Williams)
21. Pedro The Lion – “Foregone Conclusions” (Achilles’ Heel)
22. !!! – “Heart Of Hearts” (Myth Takes)