This was a funky month for music. I saw The Antlers and Minus the Bear and Vampire Weekend live, so those were obvious adds. Jay-Z and Oceana put out great videos for “Empire State of Mind” and “The Family Disease,” respectively. And a box set of the entire works of Buddy Holly, flaws and all, came out last week. Not bad, not bad.

1. The Antlers – “Thirteen” (Hospice)
2. Minus the Bear – “Knights” (Planet of Ice)
3. Julian Casablancas – “Out of the Blue” (Phrazes for the Young)
4. The Drive-By Truckers – “The Three Great Alabama Icons” (Southern Rock Opera)
5. Floating Action – “50 Lashes” (Floating Action)
6. Burial – “Fostercare” (5: Five Years of Hyperdub)
7. Oceana – “The Family Disease” (Birth.Eater)
8. Bellwether – “Miss You Twice” (7&6)
9. The Mountain Goats – “Against Pollution” (We Shall All Be Healed)
10. Vampire Weekend – “Horchata”
11. Jay-Z – “Empire State of Mind” (The Blueprint 3)
12. The High Strung – “Standing at the Door of Self Discovery” (Ode to the Inverse of the Dude)
13. The Hold Steady – “Slapped Actress” (Stay Positive)
14. Buddy Holly – “Midnight Shift (false start/alternate)” (Not Fade Away: The Complete Studio Recordings and More)

Here be my monthly autobiography in the form of a list of songs I liked during this 31-day period. It was a month that involved a weekend trip to see my girl in Nashville, remembering how much I love the Gaslight Anthem and the Hold Steady, and finally starting to come to terms with the fact that I actually like No Age, and thus noise rock in general.

Speaking of the No Age thing, I’ve always been frustrated at my lack of love for Pavement. It might be time for me to go back to try them again. Perhaps a recent reading of the book Love is a Mix Tape has something to do with this. More on that later.

1. Eels – “Hey Man (Now You’re Really Living)” (Blinking Lights and Other Revelations)
2. Eels – “Things the Grandchildren Should Know” (Blinking Lights and Other Revelations)
3. Dead Man’s Bones – “Buried in Water” (Dead Man’s Bones)
4. The Raveonettes – “Bang!” (In and Out of Control)
5. No Age – “You’re a Target” (Losing Feeling)
6. No Age – “Eraser” (Nouns)
7. Silversun Pickups – “Growing Old is Getting Old” (Swoon)
8. Will Hoge – “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” (The Wreckage)
9. Bruce Springsteen – “Jersey Girl” (Live/1975–85)
10. The Gaslight Anthem – “The ‘59 Sound” (The ‘59 Sound)
11. Bruce Springsteen – “Devils & Dust” (Devils & Dust)
12. Frightened Rabbit – “Keep Yourself Warm” (Midnight Organ Fight)
13. The Hold Steady – “Stuck Between Stations” (Boys & Girls in America)
14. The Two Man Gentlemen Band – “Fancy Beer” (Drip Dryin’ with the Two Man Gentlemen Band)
15. Devendra Banhart – “Can’t Help But Smiling” (What Will We Be)
16. Glasvegas – “S.A.D. Light” (Glasvegas)

Now, I think this is funny and true just like the next guy (and, admittedly, I was/am a fan of Linkin Park’s first album; I was into them way before they got radio play [spoken like a true music snob]), but I’ve always wondered: why do we criticize artists whose songs all sound the same?

We pan artists for being too one-dimensional, then we go off and fawn over a band that sounds just like another band from 10 years ago.

I’m just as guilty as anyone else, but what’s the root cause? What are the similarities and differences between songs and artists that make them okay or not okay to listen to? Is there a sliding scale based on certain characteristics that will get a band more or less made fun of?

The trickiest part with bands like Linkin Park is that a lot of people do like them, so it’s not a universal rule. But I’m sure a lot of their fans would make fun of, say, the Hold Steady for the same reason.

Us humans, we’re a confusing bunch.

BONUS POINTS: Someone find me that mp3 where two Nickelback songs are played at the same time, one in each speaker. Maximum comedy right there.

Hey, it’s half a month late, but at least it’s here. I’m back from Thailand (plenty to share, but I’ll get to that later), so here’s June’s playlist. It’s full of good old classic rock sounds and a few randoms from new releases and old favorites. And the Bruce/Wilco closers were what I played in the Land of Smiles when I was thinking about home.

1. Dr. Dog – “The Old Days” (Fate)
2. Paolo Nutini – “Keep Rolling” (Sunny Side Up)
3. Aesop Rock – “Nickel Plated Pockets” (Daylight EP)
4. M83 – “Gone” (Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts)
5. Radiohead – “Lucky” (OK Computer)
6. The Knife – “We Share Our Mothers’ Health (Trentemoller remix)” (We Share Our Mothers’ Health single)
7. Dirty Projectors – “Useful Chamber” (Bitte Orca)
8. The Hold Steady – “Citrus” (A Positive Rage)
9. edIT – “Artsy Remix (feat. The Grouch)” (Certified Air Raid Material)
10. The Gaslight Anthem – “The ‘59 Sound” (The ‘59 Sound)
11. Mathew Good – “Champions of Nothing” (Hospital Music)
12. Manchester Orchestra – “Colly Strings” (I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child)
13. Passion Pit – “Moth’s Wings” (Manners)
14. The Veils – “Sit Down by the Fire” (Sun Gangs)
15. mewithoutYou – “Allah, Allah, Allah” (it’s all crazy! it’s all false! it’s all a dream! it’s alright)
16. The Dear Hunter – “Mustard Gas” (Act III: Life and Death)
17. Bruce Springsteen – “Born to Run” (Born to Run)
18. Wilco – “I’m the Man Who Loves You” (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot)

Regular posts return this week as I slowly collect my brains post-travel and try to spit them out for you to read. Meanwhile, enjoy the music!

Jeez, is it May already? April flew by real quick.

Of these twenty songs that made up the audio journey of April 2009, about half were highly Coachella-influenced. The rest are present thanks to my constant exploration the musical landscape. Same old, same old.

1. Glasvegas – “It’s My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry” (Glasvegas)
2. Eels – “Things the Grandchildren Should Know” (Blinking Lights and Other Revelations)
3. Los Campesinos! – “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed” (We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed)
4. Silversun Pickups – “Lazy Eye” (Carnavas)
5. Okay – “Natural” (Huggable Dust)
6. Blitzen Trapper – “Furr” (Furr)
7. Grand Duchy – “Come On Over to My House” (Petits Fours)
8. TV on the Radio – “Stork & Owl (Gang Gang Dance remix)” (Read Silence EP)
9. Stone Temple Pilots – “Sour Girl” (No. 4)
10. My Brightest Diamond – “Feeling Good” (Dark Was the Night)
11. The Hold Steady – “Citrus” (Boys and Girls in America)
12. The Veils – “Sit Down by the Fire” (Sun Gangs)
13. Cage the Elephant – “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” (Cage the Elephant)
14. Fucked Up – “Crooked Head” (The Chemistry of Common Life)
15. Antony and the Johnsons – “Kiss My Name” (The Crying Light)
16. Radiohead – “I Am Citizen Insane” (Go to Sleep)
17. The Hold Steady – “Stuck Between Stations” (Boys and Girls in America)
18. Camera Obscura – “French Navy” (My Maudlin Career)
19. Silversun Pickups – “Growing Old is Getting Old” (Swoon)
20. Radiohead – “Let Down” (OK Computer)

And for those interested, I made an imeem playlist so you can check the whole thing out. Enjoy.

Or just listen to it here.