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Entries in All Songs Considered (5)

Saturday
Dec042010

'tis the season for "best of" lists

It's that time of the year. "Best of" 2010 lists started showing up around Thanksgiving and they'll only start to smother us from now on. 

Janelle Monae's debut is an invigorating mix of R&B, hip-hop, pop, rock, and moreHere's just a few worthy rundowns that I've stumbled across so far:

Paste Magazine's Top 50 Albums of 2010: Very eclectic mix topped by LCD Soundsystem. I was pleased to see Janelle Monae's stupendous debut, "The ArchAndroid" at No. 2. 

Pitchfork Media's Top Music Videos of 2010: As with all things Pitchfork, you probably haven't heard of half the bands in question. Not saying that's a bad thing ... just saying.

NPR's "All Songs Considered" "The Albums We Missed in 2010": Although "All Songs" tends to be a bit too acoustic for me, I like lists like this that help you uncover stuff that's flown under the radar. 

The New York Times "100 Notable Books of 2010": These folks can be way too snooty, but this year's list has some worthy mainstream picks, including "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest." 

I'll add more sources as I find them. 

Wednesday
Jul072010

Best music of 2010, so far

Listeners of NPR's "All Songs Considered" think The Gorillaz's latest is the best so far this yearLotsa lists are starting to pop up highlighting the best music from the first half of 2010. Here's a roundup of the podcasts and sites I frequent:

As for me? I've been spending lots of my time listening to older CDs I've been buying from Not Lame Records, which is going out of business and is in the process of an extended fire sale. But as for new stuff, I'm really liking the Janelle Monae tour de force, which is one of the best debuts I've heard in a long time; The Chop Tops; The Besnard Lakes; Alejandro Escovedo; and The New Pornographers.

What about you?

Sunday
Feb072010

Rilo Kiley concert worth a download

I've been listening to some "old" podcasts this weekend while doing some prep work for my tax returns.

On Saturday, it was catching up on the nutty "All Songs Considered" Holiday Music Mix 2009" podcast, which restored a bit of Christmas spirit to an otherwise dreary exercise. Yeah, I know Christmas music in February is odd, but I was just in the mood.

Jenny Lewis and Rilo KileyBut it was today's podcast to which I'll be giving multiple listens: a 2007 Rilo Kiley concert from the 9:30 Club in D.C.

Lead singer Jenny Lewis has since delivered some great solo work but this concert fronting the L.A. band Rilo Kiley captures Lewis at her best: confident, spirited and sultry in tackling a diverse mix of eclectic pop. The band is tight and the 18-song, 90-minute set never hits a bump. In fact, it's nice to hear a band get its more popular songs out of the way early in the set, freeing the second half to stretch and breathe before closing with an amped-up version of "Does He Love You," with its surprise plot twist.

Highly recommended download. Here's to a return of Rilo Kiley.