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)

This is just a test to see how Mixaloo actually works in the wild. Of course, if you pay for this playlist, I could tell people I was making money as a music blogger.

(And check out my awesome Photoshop skills! Cropping an image and adding text! I could totally put “Photoshop skills” on my resume.)

Heyyy. Only half a week late on reaching the first milestone of one of my more high-reaching goals for the year. I’ve listened to a lot of Ryan Adams and Ray LaMontagne over the last year (the influence is pretty obvious, I think), and a song that is oh-so-creatively titled “Oh Mama” has now been released into the wild to be torn apart by vultures via stream or download:

Josh Mock – Oh Mama

Please do criticize. That’s the point, after all. I kind of hate the song myself, so you’re not alone if you do too. I kind of sound like Gillian Welch on steroids. If nothing else, check it out for that.

Aside from crappy songwriting in general, I apologize for not cleaning up the recording. Leveling, EQing and adding a little reverb to soften the blow was about all I had time for. None of that mastering business (as if I even knew how).

My, my, I am very self-deprecating tonight, aren’t I? Enjoy, folks. Come back again soon for drawing #2. Probably another comic.

October brought a new Radiohead album, reminiscence of past autumns (hence the A Perfect Circle and Further Seems Forever songs), which then led to searching for more autumn-esque music (Neutral Milk Hotel, Neko Case, Amos Lee), a Briertone concert, me trying really hard to learn to love Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (I’d always found it boring), a few other new releases (Rogue Wave, Band Of Horses, Fiery Furnaces) and Rhapsody finally putting Sunn 0))) albums in their catalog/me making a Halloween playlist.

1. Neko Case – “Things That Scare Me” (Blacklisted)
2. Rosetta – “Red in Tooth and Claw” (Wake/Lift)
3. Emmylou Harris – “Red Dirt Girl” (Red Dirt Girl)
4. Neutral Milk Hotel – “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea” (In The Aeroplane Over The Sea)
5. Von Südenfed – “Fledermaus Can’t Get It” (Von Südenfed)
6. Amos Lee – “Night Train” (Supply And Demand)
7. Band Of Horses – “Is There A Ghost” (Cease To Begin)
8. The Fiery Furnaces – “Duplexes Of The Dead” (Widow City)
9. Briertone – “Cheers” (Sojourners)
10. Radiohead – “15 Step” (In Rainbows)
11. Radiohead – “Bodysnatchers” (In Rainbows)
12. Rogue Wave – “Lake Michigan” (Asleep At Heaven’s Gate)
13. A Fine Frenzy – “Come On, Come Out” (One Cell In The Sea)
14. Ray LaMontagne – “Jolene” (Trouble)
15. Jakob – “Malachite” (Solace)
16. Radiohead – “House Of Cards” (In Rainbows)
17. Briertone – “Strawfoot” (Sojourners)
18. Further Seems Forever – “Light Up Ahead” (Hide Nothing)
19. A Perfect Circle – “Passive” (eMOTIVe)
20. Further Seems Forever – “Make It A Part” (Hide Nothing)
21. Further Seems Forever – “All Rise” (Hide Nothing)
22. A Perfect Circle – “The Package” (Thirteenth Step)
23. Wilco – “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot)
24. Sunn 0))) – “Bathory Erzebet” (Black One)

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.

Another busy month spent not blogging, but at least I’m consistent with the monthly playlists, right? I’m about to leave for a week of vacation. I figured I’d post my August list before I check out mentally.

1. Ray LaMontagne – “Empty” (Till The Sun Turns Black)
2. Mono – “halcyon (beautiful days)” (Walking cloud and deep red sky, Flag fluttered and the sun shined)
3. Dr. Dre – “Forgot About Dre” (2001)
4. Sigur Ros – “Milano” (Takk…)
5. M83 – “Teen Angst” (Before the Dawn Heals Us)
6. Ryan Adams – “Damn, Sam (I Love A Woman That Rains)” (Heartbreaker)
7. Ryan Adams – “Come Pick Me Up” (Heartbreaker)
8. Josh Ritter – “The Temptation of Adam” (The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter)
9. M.I.A. – “Bird Flu” (Kala)
10. Ray Lamontagne – “All The Wild Horses” (Trouble)
11. Liars – “Drum And The Uncomfortable Can” (Drum’s Not Dead)

As you can see, I’m still slightly obsessed with Ryan Adams. I don’t think that will be ending soon.

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)

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)

A while back my best friend started keeping a monthly playlist. Any particular song that she felt was a favorite or most-played item was added to this list. The idea is that, at some undefined point in the future, she’ll appreciate being able to go back and see what she was listening to at a particular era of time.

I took the idea and changed the rules to fit me a little better. I create a monthly playlist but it not only contains favorites of the time, but any song that caught my attention (in a good way) during the month, whether or not I really listened to it a huge amount.

So now I’m going to post these on my blog at the end of each month. For this introductory post I’ll post January’s because it’s the first playlist and I need to catch up. February is soon to follow. Oh, a little disclaimer: the songs aren’t sorted in any order other than whatever order they went on the list.

Monthly Playlist – January 2007

1. Band Of Horses – “The Funeral” (Everything All The Time)
2. The Black Keys – “Thickfreakness” (Thickfreakness)
3. Brand New – “Sowing Season (Yeah)” (The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me)
4. Calexico and Iron & Wine – “He Lays In The Reins” (In The Reins)
5. Calexico and Iron & Wine – “Sixteen, Maybe Less” (In The Reins)
6. DragonForce – “Through The Fire And Flames” (Inhuman Rampage)
7. Eluvium – “The Well-Meaning Professor” (An Accidental Memory In The Case Of Death)
8. Fujiya & Miyagi – “Ankle Injuries” (Transparent Things)
9. Fujiya & Miyagi – “Collarbone” (Transparent Things)
10. Gomez – “See The World” (How We Operate)
11. Jeremy Enigk – “Been Here Before” (World Waits)
12. John Mayer – “Slow Dancing In A Burning Room” (Continuum)
13. John Mayer – “Bold As Love” (Continuum)
14. Birdman & Lil Wayne – “Stuntin’ Like My Daddy (Street)” (Like Father Like Son)
15. Neko Case – “Star Witness” (Fox Confessor Brings The Flood)
16. Ratatat – “Wildcat” (Classics)
17. Ray LaMontagne – “Be Here Now” (Till The Sun Turns Black)
18. Regina Spektor – “Fidelity” (Begin To Hope)
19. Ryan Adams – “The Shadowlands” (Love Is Hell)
20. The Crystal Method – “High Roller” (Vegas)
21. The Decemberists – “The Perfect Crime #2″ (The Crane Wife)
22. The Shins – “Phantom Limb” (Wincing The Night Away)
23. Damien Rice – “9 Crimes” (9)
24. Caspian – “Quovis” (You Are The Conductor)
25. Caspian – “Further Up” (You Are The Conductor)
26. Portishead – “Glory Box” (Roseland NYC Live)
27. mewithoutYou – “Carousels” (Catch For Us The Foxes)
28. Explosions In The Sky – “The Only Moment We Were Alone” (The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place)

Occasionally it’s nice to go through my music collection and highlight the new stuff I’ve discovered that I can’t stop listening to:

• Jeremy Enigk
  Enigk is best known as the front man for Sunny Day Real Estate, but his solo releases, especially his newest, World Waits, are phenomenal. I think I’ve listened to the track Been Here Before a thousand times in the last few weeks (you can download it here).
• …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
  They’re not a new name to most, but their new album goes above and beyond all their previous work, in my opinion. This is probably why I’ll never work for Pitchfork, considering the somewhat negative review they gave So Divided. Check out Wasted State Of Mind on their PureVolume page.
• Dragonforce
  It’s embarrassing to admit how good these guys are, because they are definitely marketing on the irony of being serious about a long-deserted genre of wankeriffic metal rife with dual guitar solos (think The Darkness, but five years later). But those solos… they’re so good…
• Malajube
  This is one band I’m proud to admit I discovered before they were a twinkle in Pitchfork’s eye, thanks to a friend in Canada who gave me a heads-up. It’s almost syrupy sweet at times, and I can’t understand a word of French so I have no clue what they’re singing about, but they’re inexplicably irresistible.
• Mew
  They’re definitely a buzz band right now, but for good reason. Beautiful falsetto vocals with a satisfyingly complex rhythm section. And The Glass Handed Kites is one of my most-played albums of the last few months.
• Tom Waits
  I’ve just recently realized the value of his work. I picked up a copy of Nighthawks At The Diner at Amoeba Music a while back, which has been great for putting me in a happy and relaxed mood. His newest release, Orphans, is impressive, even in its excessive length.
• The Knife
  Dark, dramatic electronica with haunting vocals. I would almost say it borders on goth, but it’s not quite as pessimistic. Apparently their live show is a theatrical jaw-dropper.
• Oh, Sleeper
  I had to throw in some hardcore somewhere, right? The Armored March is a solid Norma Jean-esque metalcore release, and something about the overall sound keeps it from getting boring like so many bands in their genre.
• Ray LaMontagne
  If you like Damien Rice, LaMontagne will be your best friend. ‘Nuff said.
• Sparrows Swarm and Sing
  Mostly instrumental post rock in the vein of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. I actually just heard them for the first time today, but they’re definitely worth a mention.

And here’s a few older favorites that are still topping the charts:

• Explosions In The Sky
• This Will Destroy You
• Godspeed You! Black Emperor
• mewithoutYou
• Cloud Cult
• Sherwood
• P.O.S.
• Damien Rice