Bon Iver- Blood Bank

Go Blugolds! 

Track 1 is great. Track 2 & 3 are solid (I like 3 a little more) and track 4 sounds like Lil' Wayne (& not in a good way)

Down with Lollipop. 

Nathaniel Merriweather presents... Lovage: Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By

Fresh off the heals of one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time, Deltron 3030, producer Dan The Automator formed another supergroup in 2001 and released this instant classic, Lovage: Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By.

Producer Dan the Automator, DJ Kid Koala, singers Mike Patton and Jennifer Charles and a slew of special guests ranging from Prince Paul to Damon Albarn make up LOVAGE.

The album is not a gimmick or a brush off concept album, rather an amazing collection of songs to not only make love by, but to chill or relax or lounge around.

The wikipedia entry for Loavage boasts all about the Serge Gainsbourg album cover reference and song titles that sample and take from Hitchcock.

Patton's raspy vocals and Charles sultry voice on top of solid beats and instruments from The Automator and Kid Koala perfectly coexist.

Check out Pit Stop (Take Me Home), Sex (I Am) and To Catch A Thief, but do yourself a favor and listen from beginning to end. (Even the skits are worth checking out)

Unfortunately, this album is out of print and Automator sort of fell off the face of the earth, but in a cold February night at First Avenue in 2001 (or was it 2002 by that point??), the live incarnation of this album is one of my favorite concerts of all time. Patton had a 17 year old kid wearing a Korn shirt jump on stage and lick Jennifer Charles' shoe soul just to get a dance with her. Complete with Cigar and bathrobe, Automator walked around on stage and got drunk off Alize while all the soon to be hipsters in the crowd just dreamed of what they could be doing while this music was playing.

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

Okay, long time reader, been a while poster.

I have some time this week at work, so I decided I will post 2 albums each day, one being a new indie rock hype band and the other a random classic album to me.

The first posting happens to be what many bloggers are claiming the album of the year. Now, I never quite jumped on the noise bandwagon that is Animal Collective. Their album a few years ago, Sung Tongs, is a fun listen but never stuck with me. In the last 2 years I feel you couldn't get away from them, with each new track being dissected by the likes of Pitchfork or Gorrilla Vs. Bear.

Well, Animal Collective release their most accessible album to date with Merriweather Post Pavilion and it happens to be good. I am not going to freak out and claim them the next Purple Jesus or this album the best of 2009 no matter what else comes out, but I will say this album certainly deserves a listen.

Their first single off the album is called My Girls.

Oh, and the album covers moves! Optical Illusions a must!

2009

Admittedly, it's been a little quiet around here. That may be because there hasn't been a lot of new music lately or Kevin isn't sharing everything he's stealing from the interwebs. Whatever the reason, there is a lot to be excited about in 2009. Below is a list of some of the albums I am most excited about in the first 3 months alone.

01/20/09 Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
01/20/09 Bon Iver - Blood Bank EP
01/27/09 RZA – Afro Samurai: The Resurrection
02/03/09 P.O.S. - Never Better
02/17/09 M. Ward – Hold Time
03/01/09 The Decemberists – Hazards of Love
03/03/09 Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
03/03/09 The Boy Least Likely To – The Law of the Playground
03/17/09 Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Beware

Anything else?

Coldplay: Viva la Vida

It's up; it's what you expect. But it got good reviews and I happened into it, so drag it down and listen to the definitive pop rock of our time.