I used to post music here. Once upon a time. It’s funny how little things like life get in the way of updating your meaningless blog.

Here is some lovely new music to make up for it.

Foo Fighters – Bridge Burning

from Wasting Light

Childish Gambino – Break

from Untitled

Frank Turner – I Am Disappeared

from England Keep My Bones

Alex Turner – Piledriver Waltz

from Submarine S/T

The Strokes – Macchu Picchu

from Angles

Hodgy Beats and Domo Genesis – TANGGOLF

from Untitled

Fleet Foxes – Sim Sala Bim

from Helplessness Blues

The National – Think You Can Wait

from Win Win S/T

Burial & Four Tet & Thom Yorke – Ego

from Ego/Mirror 7″

Arctic Monkeys – Brick By Brick

from Suck It And See

Lupe Fiasco – All Black Everything

from Lasers

Death Cab For Cutie – You Are A Tourist

from Codes And Keys

So, finally, here are my choice of some of the best metal/hardcore/rock tracks of 2010. I would have done this earlier, but I’m lazy and the holidays are for being lazy. Happy 2011!

Bison B.C – Stressed Elephant

from Dark Ages

Converge – On My Shield

from On My Shield 7″

Blacktusk – Way Of Horse And Bow

from Taste The Sin

The Dillinger Escape Plan – Chinese Whispers

from Option Paralysis

Ryan Adams – Ghorgon Master Of War

from Orion

Deftones – Royal

from Diamond Eyes

Sleigh Bells – Infinity Guitars

from Treats

Glassjaw – Stars

from Our Colour Green (The Singles)

Kylesa – Spiral Shadow

from Spiral Shadow

Mastodon – Indian Theme

from Jonah Hex Official Soundtrack

Crippled Black Phoenix – Troublemaker

from I, Vigilante

Instead of doing what I did last year and listing my favourite albums and talking about them, i’m going to post my favourite tracks from albums I dug this year in groups of 10 or so. First up is the tracks from beat-orientated albums, such as elecronic and hip-hop albums. And that way, if you dig the track, you can check out the album. I recommend every album listed, but in particular Yeasayers’s Odd Blood, my favourite album of the year. It’s incredible. Coming next: the heavy shit!

1. LCD Soundsystem – Dance Yrself Clean
from This Is Happening

2. 65daysofstatic – Crash Tactics
from We Were Exploding Anyway

3. Hot Chip – One Life Stand
from One Life Stand

4. Yeasayer – I Remember
from Odd Blood

5. Mellowhype – Blaccfriday
from YelloWhite

6. Passion Pit – Sleepyhead
from Manners

7. Kanye West – Power
from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

8. Errors – Supertribe
from Come Down With Me

9. Tyler The Creator – Bastard
from Bastard

10. Caribou – Odessa
from Swim

11. Child Rebel Soldier – Don’t Stop
from G.O.O.D Fridays

12. Daft Punk – End Titles

from Tron Legacy

Weezer just re-released their incredible second album Pinkerton, with enough b-sides and rarities to  please even Rob Fleming. It reminded me that, during their golden period 1992-97, Weezer were an incredible band who rarely, if ever, wrote a bad song (oh how they would change their ways in future years) and consistently had incredible b-sides. So I’m lumping in the b-sides to their legendary first 2 albums together to hear exactly how prolific Rivers Cuomo was at this point.

I’m not gonna include everything, as that would be pointless, but here are the cream of the crop of non-album tracks from that particular time period. Enjoy, as these songs could have really formed an incredible third album. From the lurching I Swear It’s True to the sugar coated vocals of Suzanne, the vast majority of these songs were as good if not better than most of their preferred bretheren that made it onto The Blue Album or Pinkerton. And lets all try to ignore what the band have become now.

Weezer B-Sides (92-97)

1. Jamie
2. You Gave Your Love To Me Softly
3. Suzanne
4. You Wont Get With Me Tonight
5. Devotion
6. Mykel And Carli
7. Waiting On You
8. I Just Threw Out The Love Of My Dreams
9. I Swear It’s True
10. Long Time Sunshine
11. Getting Up And Leaving
12. Tragic Girl

And, if that wasn’t enough, i’m gonna offer up their cover of the classic Pixies tune Velouria, released on the Where Is My Mind compilation in the late 90′s. Why? Cause it’s great.

Weezer – Velouria  (Pixies Cover)

Here’s the second Random iPod Playlist. Not as much hip hop this time, which is a shame. Ah well, just as well most of these songs are fantastic. Apart from Metallica’s The Outlaw Torn, which is a weak song off possibly their weakest album. But whatever, the iPod has spoken. Elliott Smith’s incredible John Lennon cover Jealous Guy more than makes up for this. Enjoy.

1. Spinnerette – Sex Bomb
2. Tom Vek – On The Road
3. Elliott Smith – Jealous Guy (Live)
4. Editors – Blood
5. Metallica – The Outlaw Torn
6. Tom Waits – Gospel Train/Orchestra
7. Burial – Homeless
8. Every Time I Die – Floater
9. Josh Homme – All The Same
10. Bon Iver & St. Vincent – Rosyln
11. Queens Of The Stone Age – 18AD
12. Wu Tang Clan – Heaterz
13. Bloc Party – Banquet
14. Frightened Rabbit – The Twist
15. Converge – Losing Battle

Random iPod Playlist #2

Buy all these albums at Amazon. Or else.

Well, what the hell could that mean? The band are going to give out pizza?

The influential hardcore band have been releasing vinyl singles in a pattern for 3 months now, on the 8/8, 9/9 and 10/10, releasing All Good Junkies Go To Heaven, Jesus Glue and Natural Born Farmer respectively. They have booked a gig on January 1, 2011 at New York’s Best Buy Arena, and fans are anticipating another vinyl release. But there have been rumours of an album or an EP in the pipeline for a while. And now their official website is adorned with this.

I must say I love the fact that this band are not playing the usual advertising/marketing game when it comes to releasing material, but this is their most perplexing move yet. I guess we will find out in a couple of days what the hell this all means.

Glassjaw – Flag Burning Dakota

So the ol’ blog has had a bit of a makeover, just in case you hadn’t noticed. I was reeeallly tired of the white background and shitty text links everywhere, and the animé chick in the header (I don’t even like animé, apart from Akira, of course). I guess I just needed a change, and I’m pretty happy with the result. Hopefully you are too.

Screaming Trees – Change Has Come

Okay, so I had the intention of posting my awesome Halloween playlist around that time, but several things got in the way, namely dressing up as Dexter and playing Fallout: New Vegas. So again I havent posted anything in aaaages. Oh well, its not like anyone actually cares.

I might post that Halloween playlist at some point, maybe around christmas just to be unseasonal. Yeah, that sounds good. For now, have the first in a ongoing feature: The iPod Random Playlist! Hold your applause!

1. AC/DC – Back In Black (Live)
2. Aereogramme – Barriers
3. Tool – AEnima
4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Skeletons
5. Tom Waits – Innocent When You Dream
6. Radiohead – India Rubber
7. Ryan Adams – Let Us Down Easy
8. Bad Religion – Forbidden Beat
9. Real Estate – Fake Blues
10. Cave In – Requiem
11. Kid Kilowatt – Blue/Green Heart
12. Earl Sweatshirt – Luper
13. Slayer – Reborn
14. Arctic Monkeys – What If You Were Right First Time
15. Queens Of The Stone Age – I Think I Lost My Headache
16. Dr Dre – Murder Ink
17. Metallica – Fade To Black

iPod Playlist #1

Travis’ Fran Healy on Belle and Sebastian, via The AV Club:

“Stuart [Murdoch] is an old friend of mine from Glasgow. He and I were best friends with two sisters. His friend was called Kiera, and my friend was called Jude. His dad was a really famous Irish writer; it was a big eye-opening moment in my life to get to hang out at their place, because they were so cultured. His dad would listen to classical music in his front room and stand and conduct it. He would have loads of really cool arty-fartsy people over at the house. I was just a kid, like 16 or 17. Stuart was a really nice guy, but slightly annoying. He always pulled his cardigan cuffs over his hands and twiddled with the wool at the corner. He always looked down at his feet, and I was like, “For fuck’s sake!”

I remember I was just starting out in a band, and he wasn’t in a band or anything, one day he wrote a review of our show. It was like our second show, and he absolutely pasted us. He was just so horrible about it. I sat down and confronted him on the stairs at the front of Jude’s house in Glasgow. I was like, “Stuart, what the fuck? Give us a chance, man.” He was like, “Oh, I just thought, um, I just didn’t really enjoy it.” I’m like, “Fuck you, come on! It was our second show.” He totally gave us a pasting, and I never forgave him.

Then one day in Glasgow at the art school—I think Stuart was at university—I think we were in second year, and it was evening. We were at the art-school bar, and there were people setting up musical equipment. I saw Stuart and I said, “Say, man. What are you doing?” He was like, “We are going to play a gig.” I’m thinking, “Oh yes! This is going to be rubbish. Fucking brilliant!” So all of our mates, we all got pints, and we are sitting waiting for this horrible gig to happen, while we sit and gloat in the front row.

They were setting up and we had a few drinks. Then it all goes quiet. Stuart steps up, still playing with the wool at the end of his cardigan, and he’s like, [Whispers.] “Hi. We’re Belle And Sebastian.” “Oh God, this is going to be rubbish. He’s not even projecting.” He went up to the mic, and everyone is so quiet, because we couldn’t bloody hear the guy talk. You could hear a pin drop and he went, [Sings.] “I was surprised / I was happy for a day” and started playing ["The State That I Am In"]. Everyone’s jaws hit the floor. To this day, it was one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to. I was like, “Fuck! Not only are you kind of smug, but you are amazing as well.” I went up to him after and was like, “I so wanted that to be shit.” He was so sweet. He was like, “Thanks. Thanks a lot.” That was the first gig they ever played. It was the Glasgow Arts School at the Vic Bar. They are just amazing.”

Belle and Sebastian – The State I Am In
from Tigermilk

What we have here is possibly the best song written about adolescence ever. Written from the point of view of a 17 year old male, on the cusp of adulthood and freedom, who escapes his troubles by drinking and hitting the road. The song reeks of catharsis, fear and anticipation. And the chorus encapsulates the entire song into one line perfectly. John Darnielle is a songwriting god amongst mere mortals.

The Mountain Goats – This Year

Please, buy The Sunset Tree. And then every other one of his albums. I guarantee your life will improve if you do this.