Disc Junkies Volume 44

Ok, before we kick this off I want to explain the cover art. Check out the this clip before reading any further.

1. Willow- GILBERT: I try to open every disc with an instrumental song to kick things off. This song was a great find to fill that spot. Gilbert is an individual from England who was unsigned when I first stumbled across 'Willow'. He has since released a song on the Shifty Disco label. According to his bio he studied classical music and composition at Oxford University and Goldsmith's College, before writing soundtracks for film, television and theatre for some years. I love this track, the layering, the piano, the strings, etc...it might be my favorite song on the disc.

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2. Johnny Appleseed- JOE STRUMMER AND THE MESCALEROS: As the lead singer of The Clash, Joe Strummer carved out his place in music history. However, what gets overlooked many times is the great things that he has done with his various projects post-Clash. This song played over the opening credits of the HBO show 'John From Cincinnati'. The song was the PERFECT soundtrack for this incredible opening credits that featured grainy old surfing clips spliced together. Check it out here.

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3. Man Overboard- KRISTOFFER RAGNTAM: This song caught my ear because of it's unique sound. It is not specific to any one genre, but it is pop in its truest form. Super catchy and a little offbeat, it's exactly what I think of when I think of Swedish pop musicians...which is often.

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4. Trains to Brazil- GUILEMOTS: This is a guilty pleasure in a way. It's another pop song that doesn't really have any totally unique characteristics. However, when I started getting this disc together I was on a semi-mission to include as many songs with horns as possible. I love brass in a song, and this song has an excellent horn riff. It's catchy English pop music...and that's that.

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5. The Underdog- SPOON: Again, horns can make the song. This is an incredibly catchy song that I actually first heard on the radi0 (when was the last time that happened). Spoon are indie vets from Austin that are full of great hooks and riffs. I love the way that this song builds at the end and ends with a bang.

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6. Wild Mountain Nation- BLITZEN TRAPPER: Despite seeing BT on Zeke's disc, I could not help but include this track on mine. Zeke managed to 'steal' two of my recent favorites The National and M. Ward for his disc, but I couldn't let this song NOT get out there. Supposedly their recent album Wild Mountain Nation is a VAST improvement on their past effort (surprising a lot of people). This is a like a funky, country Flaming Lips...or something.

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7. Real Long Distance- JOSH RITTER: I got Pearson's excellent disc in the day today as well marking the first ever unplanned dual disc (I was REALLY late...sorry!). As Mr. Trotter put it, there was a 'mystic Josh Ritter connection'. The AMAZING thing is that between the two of us we had 5 Josh Ritter songs, all from his recent disc 'The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter' and we didn't overlap at all (...mystic indeed!). That speaks volumes to the depth of this album. It's a true breakout album from a very talented singer songwriter. Josh Ritter's previous efforts have been stripped down folky acoustic records while this one is a grand opus of sorts featuring a full orchestra, etc. It's Josh Ritter doing his best Yankee Hotel Foxtrot impression.

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8. Weed Party- BAND OF HORSES: This is from BOH's debut (and only) album that came out last year. Their big hit was "Funeral', but the disc is loaded with great songs. 'Weed Party' is a My Morning Jacket-esque rocker that epitomizes the summertime to me. Great for driving...Look for their new album in the next month (MMJ has one as well so there will be no shortage of good ole fashioned hard rock out there this fall).

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9. Ragoo- KINGS OF LEON: I know that KOL seem to show up more than almost any other band in DJ history, but I could not withhold this track because it's upbeat and fun to listen to. I really like their new disc and would have put more songs from it on here if they weren't already so well represented in the past.

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10. Our Life Is A Movie Or Maybe- OKKERVIL RIVER: Another Austin based band that I am loving. For those that are familiar with the notoriously critical music review site 'Pitchfork', you know it's tough to get a solid rating. OR's most recent disc got a stellar review which caught my eye. I had heard them before, but never took too much interest in their slow ballads. This disc is high energy as are their shows (see my review below). The musical arrangements are great, but what strikes me the most is the vocals (very expressive and unique) and the fantastic lyrics.

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11. All The Old Showstoppers- THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS: From the new album 'Challenger', this is a standout track. Although I was slightly disappointed with the new disc, I really liked this track.

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12. Heretic- ANDREW BIRD: This is the second disc in a row that I have included an Andrew Bird song. He is a local Chicago guy, so I may be biased. But, there is no denying his talent. He broke into the music industry as a violin player who gained noteriety with The Squirrel Nut Zippers in the mid 90's. Since then, he's been refining his sound and his identity. This song has great percussion and great choral fills from his Arcade Fire like chorus.

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13. Two Days Short Tomorrow- TWO GALLANTS: You've gotta love the two man band. There was Local H back in the 90's and The Black Keys today (and many many others). They remind me of The Black Keys that are more rough around the edges. The songs are pretty stripped down and fueled by aggressive start stop playing and vocals. I like the under production on this song and liked the way that they kept me guessing the first time I heard it.

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14. To The Dogs Or Whoever- JOSH RITTER: I've already talked about JR and his disc. This song is the most lyrically impressive song that I have heard in a LONG time. This is remenicant of Bob Dylan with some fantastic piano work.

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15. July 4th, 2005- JASON ANDERSON: Jason Anderson is a very simple singer-songwriter that seemed pretty insignificant to me. His first couple of albums were very heavy and slow (not that that's bad). However, I got hooked on this song from his EP Tonight because of the high energy, foot stomping, call and answer, sing along chorus. The whole album sounds like he just got 10 of his friends in a room and started busting through his favorite Bruce Springsteen sing alongs...when consumed in moderation, I love it.

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16. Hollywood Bass Player- JOSH ROUSE: For the last 10 years, this Nashville singer-songwriter has been compiling what I consider to be one of the most consistent catelouges of music out there. He has a gift for writing and arranging quality memorable songs. Aside from his semi-hit 'Direction' (which found its way onto the Vanilla Sky soundtrack), he's just great at writing good songs...lots of them. I like this story/song about a wandering bass player that moves from New York, to France, to Hollywood to be part of the rock n' roll scene.

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17. Bullets- EDITORS: These guys are like a more dynamic Interpol. I really like their sound and I really like this song. There it is.

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18. Insomnia- ELECTRIC PRESIDENT: I know nothing about this band. It took me a while to warm up to this song, but the more you listen to it, the better it gets. I love the electronic undertones and unique arrangement. It's something different.

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19. Last Song- DNTEL: I should have probably made this the actual last song...whoops. Anyway, this is one half of the 'band' Postal Service (the other being Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie). If you can't tell, DNTEL is largely responsible for the Postal Service's signature sound. Since I try to slow things down at the end of every disc, I used this song to bring the momentum down without totally killing it....hopefully.

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20. Eyes- ROUGUE WAVE: I always end with a slow track. I really like Rogue Wave and I had never heard this song before. It's a few years old and I really took a liking to it because it's so simple and it still drives it home for me.

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I can't believe that I actually wrote all of this. Hopefully my efforts here will inspire lots of future posts to get this blog alive and kicking. I see a lot of momentum lately! If you actually read it-THANKS!

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TD