Top 10 Albums of the Year... thus far

I would have put this list up about 2 months ago, but I'm lazy. Honestly, I just couldn't decide what my top 10 was and I don't even know now. So, this is my top 10 as of this exact moment. To say the least, this list is subject to change.

1. Fleet Foxes -- Helplessness Blues
2. tUnE-YarDs -- w h o k i l l
3. The Weeknd -- House of Balloons
4. Wye Oak -- Civilian
5. Radiohead -- The King of Limbs
6. Julianna Barwick -- The Magic Place
7. Yuck -- Yuck
8. The Antlers -- Burst Apart
9. James Blake -- James Blake
10. Bon Iver -- Bon Iver

-- Greg

M83 -- "Midnight City"

I am normally not a sucker for electro-dance music and truthfully speaking I am not even a huge M83 fan, but man is this song catchy. "Midnight City" is the first single from the band's upcoming double disc album, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming. Like the album's title, this song evokes a dancing dream... yeah, that doesn't make much sense, I know. Disregard that last very poorly worded statement and just give "Midnight City" a listen. Also, be sure to check out Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, which will be out on October 18h.


-- Greg

Girls -- "Vomit"

First off, I apologize for the rather big delay in posts the past couple weeks. I've actually been recording drums for a friend's album the past few weeks (not like anybody actually cares about my life). Anyways, Girls, a fantastic young band out of San Fransisco, have just released the first song off of their forthcoming album, Father, Son, Holy Ghost. This new song, "Vomit," totally blew me away. It's not at all what I expected from these guys, but it just totally kicks ass. "Vomit" has everything this band has to offer in one. It's dark, but yet glimmering by the end, musically phenomenal, and lyrically simple, but yet beautiful. People often say that a band's got "it." Not really sure what that "it" is, but whatever "it" is... Girls certainly have it. Based on this band's past work and this first song to be released from the new album, I predict to see Father, Son, Holy Ghost, in my top albums of this year. Father, Son, Holy Ghost, will be out on September 13th... CHECK IT OUT!


-- Greg

VIDEO: Cults -- "Go Outside"

Finally, the "actual" Cults video for their hit "Go Outside." I guess the one done for MTV with Emma Roberts and Dave Franco wasn't "official?" I have no idea, but all I know is that this new video is even better. The found footage that you will be watching is from a news report of  the Jonestown cult  massacre, which is such a shocking, interesting, and just weird event that I didn't think this video would work because of how happy the actual song is and how... well not happy the subject of the video is, but I love it. This video completely contextualizes the song in a new light for me.


-- Greg

The Tallest Man On Earth -- "Weather of a Killing Kind"

A totally approriate (it's pouring here in Jersey) new song by my favorite folk musician of recent memory. I really hope this means a new Tallest Man On Earth record will becoming soon.

COVER: They Might Be Giants -- "Tubthumping" (Chumbawamba)

Chumbawamba's "Tubthumping" is a pretty stupid song; fortunately however, it is also a fantastically fun song. It is quite possibly the worst best song ever written. The last time I heard this song was during a massive drunk dance fest at a summer beach house in LBI... it was the time of my life so this song has a close place in my heart as of late. That being said, when I heard that the quirky veterans of They Might Be Giants were covering this song I thought this could either go two ways: really poorly or extremely well. I will let you be the judge, but I absolutely love it and it is my pick to win A.V. Club's Undercover competition.



They Might Be Giants covers Chumbawamba


-- Greg

Adele -- "Someone Like You"

This year has been quite the year for pop music. By that I mean two things: 1.) many great pop artists have made some very solid records this year (Beyoncé and Lady Gaga to name a few) and 2.) a few Indie musicians have become surprisingly "popular," which is always nice to see (e.g. Foster The People's "Pumped Up Kicks" and Bon Iver's newest album, which was second this week on Billboard's charts). However, if there has been one artist that has truly blossomed into a future star for the ages it would certainly have to be Adele. After her first album, 19, everybody could see that this was a special young artist, but with this new album, 21, she has truly come into her element. 21 is an absolutely beautiful breakup record that crushes me every time I hear it. If "Rolling In The Deep" didn't make people realize that Adele was a star, then the song below, the second single from her new album, will. "Someone Like You" is quite possibly the most gorgeous song I have heard in the last year. I have no problems admitting that I have gotten chocked up listening to this song... it's that powerful.


Adele -- "Someone Like You"

-- Greg