Mid-Year Best Discs

Hey Sparx, I heard a completely different version of "Nothing To Say" by The Stevenson Ranch Davidians yesterday on 3WK.com. (I had drifted away from that station for awhile and when I came back, they had a whole shitload of good new music that is appealling to me. They are getting kind of gazing. They always know how to please me. :D ) Definitely the same song as from their debut EP (2005) but remixed with a lot of extra layers and effects. Do you know what's up with that?

The Stevenson Ranch Davidians are another band who may be fighting for my full list later on in the year if they've got a new release to represent 2006.

I wish I listened to enough new music so that a full 10 albums could make my "best of" but I'm not quite there yet. Here are my favorites so far this year:

Phoenix - It's Never Been Like That
Secret Machines - Ten Silver Drops
Subways - Young for Eternity
Wedding Present - Interstate 5

Honorable Mention (could still make it): Band of Horses, Mellowdrone, Built to Spill, Rogue Wave

I'm sure I'll find a few other potential favorites by poaching off of others' lists that look like mine. I also left off some that were actually released last year but that I only started listening to this year, namely Okkervil River.

Originally posted by Jaguar:
Hey Sparx, I heard a completely different version of "Nothing To Say" by The Stevenson Ranch Davidians yesterday on 3WK.com. (I had drifted away from that station for awhile and when I came back, they had a whole shitload of good new music that is appealling to me. They are getting kind of gazing. They always know how to please me. :D ) Definitely the same song as from their debut EP (2005) but remixed with a lot of extra layers and effects. Do you know what's up with that?

The Stevenson Ranch Davidians are another band who may be fighting for my full list later on in the year if they've got a new release to represent 2006.

Nice catch, I forgot to mention them. They have a new release, Psalms, Hymns, & Spiritual Songs with a revamped lineup. You can hear a few tracks here:
http://www.thestevensonranchdavidians.com/index_files/page0005.htm

Thanks! Obviously, I haven't been on their site for awhile. Damn! I'm listening now and I can already tell that they've beefed up the production. I knew they were working on new material but kind of let it all drift for too long with so much else out there to occupy my ears.

neil young - living with war
six organs of admittance - the sun awakens
sonic youth - rather ripped
espers - II
vetiver - to find me gone
om - conference of the birds
birchville cat motel - our love will destroy the world
bardo pond - ticket crystals
mission of burma - the obliterati

Originally posted by clyde725:

2. Islands - Return to the Sea

i would like to add that i got this CD a while back, never listened to it, until today, and i think its fucking awesome.

where did they come from???? oh yeah, Canada! :)

How quickly we forget that We Are Scientists - "With Love and Squalor" is a 2006 release in the US as well. It seems everybody had that last year.

1. The Sun Awakens-Six Organs of Admittance
2. Brightblack Morning Light
3. Dins-Psychic Ills
4. The Corner of Miles and Gil-Shack
5. Alienoid Starmonica-The Aliens
6. Passover-Black Angels
7. Black Gold-King Biscuit Time
8. II-Espers
9. Riot City Blues-Primal Scream
10. bootleg-Daniel Johnston/Spiritualized (what can I say, two new Spiritualized songs, perhaps)

others: Hearts-The Court and Spark, Freeze-Die-Come to Life-Michael Talbott and the Wolfkings, The Drift-Scott Walker

great calls, LGM. i totally forgot to mention scott walker's the drift and psychic ills' dins. the BML record is good but slightly disappointing, though i still need to allow it to sink in more.

this vetiver record is a real sleeper and gets better with every listen. if you're into espers, six organs, and BML, you'll probably dig it. it's better than devendra banhart's last few records, too.

Right now I can't stop listening to:

Black Keys- Chulahoma
Wolfmother
Boris- Pink

The Life Pursuit is fantastic as well, I was thinking it was 2005 because I've listened to it so much….

Originally posted by snailhook:
great calls, LGM.

I love Lazer Guided Melodies. I wished that he (I think LGM is a he) lived over here so he could hang out with us sometimes. We could use a few more good live space psyche gazers around here.

I considered Psychic Ills myself but they got lost in the cut from so much else I was considering.

As much as I like the Espers album, I just think it kind of unwinds along the way. Still very good though. Agree about Brightblack Morning Light. It's good but I think they have just a little way to go yet.

Still toying with 2 more slots and am considering everyone from Alcian Blue to Televise to Monster Movie to The Voices to Mojave 3 to…… There's just too much and that's not a complaint.

My favorite various artists collection so far is:

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• &lt;font size="2" face="Arial, Veranda"&gt;Psychedelica - Vol. One on Northern Star Records&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

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It's a double disc loaded with lots of goodness such as BJM, The Lovetones, The Black Angels, The Hiss, The Vandelles, The Stevenson Ranch Davidians, The Telescopes, Snowdonnas, Füxa, God Is An Astronaut, The Electric Mainline, Black Nite Crash, The High Dials and many, many more. (If you order it directly from the lable, tell them Jaguar sent you and they will be sure to treat you right. ;) )

Originally posted by HoyaSaxa08:
I was wondering when this thread would get started!

Top 10
1) Camera Obscura - "Let's Get Out of This Country"
2) The Essex Green - "Cannibal Sea"
3) Destroyer - "Destroyer's Rubies"
4) Islands - "Return to the Sea"
5) J Dilla - "Donuts"
6) Neko Case - "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood"
7) Artic Monkeys - "Whatever People Say …"
8) Belle &amp; Sebastian - "The Life Pursuit"
9) Drive-By Truckers - "A Blessing and a Curse"
10) Voxtrot - "Mothers, Sisters, Daughters &amp; Wives" [EP]

Honorable Mention:
Ambulance LTD - "New English" [EP]
Cat Power - "The Greatest"
Centro-Matic - "Fort Recovery"
Film School - "Film School"
Grandaddy - "Just Like the Fambly Cat"

Dissapointments:
Pearl Jam - "Pearl Jam"
The Raconteurs - "Broken Boy Soldier"
Flaming Lips - "At War With the Mystics"
Futureheads - "News and Tributes"
** these are all decent albums, i just expected more from all of them

Albums I Have, But Haven't Listened to Yet
Cities - "Cities"
Ghostface Killah - "Fishscale"
Gnarls Barkley - "St. Elsewhere"
Isobel Campbell &amp; Mark Lanegan - "Ballad of the Broken Seas"
Madlib - "Beat Konducta, Vol. 1-2"
Mogwai - "Mr. Beast"
Murs &amp; 9th Wonder - "Murray's Revenge"
People Under the Stairs - "Stepfather"
Phoenix - "It's Never Been Like That"
The Streets - "The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living"
Tool - "10,000 Days"
Wolfmother - "Wolfmother"

Did you buy all of these?

Originally posted by Rakim Indie Balzac:
Did you buy all of these?

i got 3 of these from friends, the rest from a combination of emusic.com and CDs

Originally posted by HoyaSaxa08:

Originally posted by Rakim Indie Balzac:
Did you buy all of these?

i got 3 of these from friends, the rest from a combination of emusic.com and CDs

That's pretty good for a guy who doesn't work.

How do you, poor stuggling grad student that you are, manage to afford to purchase so much music? Do you have a full-time factory job on the side??? Enquiring minds want to know.

Originally posted by Rakim Indie Balzac:
How do you, poor stuggling grad student that you are, manage to afford to purchase so much music? Do you have a full-time factory job on the side??? Enquiring minds want to know.

well, the large majority of that music i obtained from emusic.com

i subscribed to the "eMusic Premium Annual with 20% Discount Subscription", which gives me 90 downloads per month for approximately $15.99 per month, or about 17 cents per song

when sitting down and putting my budget together, i determined that $16/month was a reasonable amount to spend on recorded music

i purchased the Arctic Monkeys and Wolfmother CDs in a store on a whim, and the Voxtrot CD at their show in the GU cafeteria

i apologize, upon further review, i received a grand total of 6 of these albums in MP3 format (generally 192kbps) from friends

and i view grad school as an investment, i made the conscious choice not to seriously compromise my quality of life and eat ramen noodles for 3 years to save a few thousand dollars

any other questions about my budgetary decisions or financial background?

Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
That's pretty good for a guy who doesn't work.

I agree.

Originally posted by HoyaSaxa08:
any other questions about my budgetary decisions or financial background?

Brother, can you spare a dime?

Originally posted by Rakim Indie Balzac:
Brother, can you spare a dime?

I have a strict policy on dime-sparing … you have to either be holding two malnourished children in each arm, or be playing an instrument … if not, then tough luck, buddy

Damnation!

How will a blue collar asshole like me be able to afford that subscription to last.fm now?