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30's Top 68 Albums of the Decade
Why 68? 'Cause 67 is too few and 69 would give too many frat rubes an excuse to feel like they had a sense of humor. We'll be unveiling the list day by day, disc by disc until we run out of decade. So drop back now and again, or just show up on the 31st. It probably won't matter either way.

Present Ghosts of Freddy Ruppert: A Sighting of Former Ghosts
Jesus Christ and Zola Jesus, do we write about anything other than being emo anymore? Sure we do. We write about how hasty deception in the name of poor humor might belittle the efforts of whoever went out and actually wrote something for our sorry site. And that's what makes us invincible. Er, irrational. Hey! Check out what Mark wrote!

The Get Up Kids – A 10 Song Retrospective
If you've ever wondered what makes a person get entrenched in the tawdry and vicious world of the Get Up Kids, or if you've ever just wanted a blueprint for how you might join the teeming masses, boy howdy, does Tyler Greenleaf have a tale to tell.

3 Inches of Blood, on the Floor
You've played it safe for far too long, young jeezy, so now it's become the task of our longest-running contributor, James Dufendach, to call you out on your Sufjan-loving, hipster-haircut , Sunggie-mocking ways.

Features

This Week In College Radio: 07/23/07

What the icky thump? We take a week off and Spoon goes and waddles past The White Stripes for the number one slot. Spoon does = college radio, though, so there you have it. This week we preview a few new EPs and singles along with what seemingly no one is digging (except maybe Billy himself): Zeitgeist.

Top 10 most played albums (according to CMJ Music Report):

1 SPOON Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
2 THE WHITE STRIPES Icky Thump
3 BEASTIE BOYS The Mix-Up
4 POLYPHONIC SPREE The Fragile Army
5 INTERPOL Our Love To Admire
6 METRIC Grow Up And Blow Away
7 RYAN ADAMS Easy Tiger
8 THE NATIONAL Boxer
9 WILCO Sky Blue Sky
10 GOGOL BORDELLO Super Taranta!

Smashing Pumpkins - Zeitgeist [Martha’s Music/Reprise]

This is a Smashing Pumpkins album in name only. The band that blitzed alternative rock radio and the minds of teenagers and college kids everywhere in the ‘90s is long gone. The band is entirely made up of only two members now: Jimmy Chamerlin, the original drummer, and of course, Billy Corgan, who plays “all the rest.” It’s evident that Corgan is trying to recapture past glories using the old band name after the commercial failures of Zwan and his painfully bad solo effort, The Future Embrace. Zeitgeist is packed with loud, overdubbed rockers, some of which succeed (“Tarantula” and “Doomsday Clock”), while others just seem forced. Corgan tackles these troubled times with admirable verve, but he has forgotten what made the original Smashing Pumpkins so captivating: the ability to balance hard rockers with great melodies. There is no “1979” or “Today” on Zeitgeist. The closest they come is on “That’s The Way (My Love Is)” and “Bring The Light.” Overall, a disappointment with a few nice moments.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Is Is [Fontana/Interscope]

Most of the five tracks on the new EP from Karen O and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were written between their two main albums, Fever to Tell and Show Your Bones, and they ride that line between the raucous feel of the former and the more mellow feel of the latter. It’s a nice way to kill the time before their third full-length, starting with the loose and ragged “Rockers To Swallow.” They slow it up (relatively speaking) with a groovy beat on “Down Boy,” before hitting you with the delicious, soaring “Kiss Kiss,” then the mini-epic “Isis,” and then close it out with the pretty “10 X 10.” All in all, a nice way to spend seventeen and a half minutes.

Rilo Kiley - The Moneymaker (single) [Warner Bros.]

The first single from the fourth album by Rilo Kiley (Under the Blacklight, out Aug. 21) is a catchy, groovy little number that leaves one hopeful for the major label debut of the band led by cute, charismatic singer/songwriter Jenny Lewis who took a slight detour last year recording a delightful solo album with the Watson Twins. This is a promising track.

V/A - The Trials of Darryl Hunt: Official Motion Picture Soundtrack [Young American]

This is the soundtrack to an HBO Documentary film about Darryl Hunt, a black man who was wrongly accused of the rape and murder of a white woman and spent twenty years in prison before finally being released in 2004. The film is supposed to be extremely powerful and the soundtrack is an interesting one, to say the least. It features four pieces written by Paul Brill, specifically for the film, as well as several songs by prominent names in the indie rock world (M. Ward, Portastatic, Califone, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Marot & The Nuclear So And So’s, Starsailor, Mark Kozelek/Red House Painters, and Andrew Bird). What makes this such an unusual soundtrack is that it also includes four oddly placed rap songs (Ras Kass, Dead Prez featuring Sticman, The Last Poets feaaturing Dalek, and Spider Loc). It makes the listening experience a little uneven, but there are too many great songs to complain. Check out the music and the film.

Johnny Irion - Ex Tempore [Rte 8/RCAM]

Irion’s brand of country-folk is like Neil Young in the ‘70s and he seems authentic. Maybe it’s because he’s distantly related to the family of John Steinbeck or because he’s married to Sarah Lee Guthrie (daughter of Woody), who makes an appearance here on two tracks. Or maybe it’s just because he is authentic. He is a great songwriter. Ex Tempore simply reminds me of why I really can’t stand Ryan Adams. Irion is much better than Adams and so are many of their contemporaries. This is a pleasant, eccentric listen. Try “Short Leash” or “She Cast Fire” or “Madrid.”

A Fine Frenzy - One Cell in the Sea [Virgin]

The cover art is what initially attracted me to this album. What a great photograph! Then I listened to the music. What a pleasant surprise! A Fine Frenzy (taken from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream) is the moniker of young, redheaded singer/songwriter Alison Sudol. She started playing the piano after becoming inspired by bands like Coldplay and Keane during her teen years. Now she’s opening for Rufus Wainwright and putting out a lovely debut album, carried by Sudol’s formidable soprano. All in all, a pleasant listen. Try “Come On, Come Out” or “Almost Lover” or “Liar, Liar.”

Bodies of Water - Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink [Thousand Tongues]

Inevitably, many comparisons will be made with this LA group’s debut album. You’ll hear that their combination of theatrical music, folk, and gospel is reminiscent of the Polyphonic Spree (it is), you’ll hear that they’re like The Choir Practice (yeah, but much better), and you’ll probably catch a few references to Danielson Famile (a fair comparison, but the singers in Bodies of Water are much better). In fact, the recent uprising of indie Christian bands all kind of owe their existence to Danielson Famile (check out the documentary Danielson: A Family Movie to find out why). This particular band is definitely one of the best in that particular indie subgenre. They have a nice, strong instrumental sound to go with some capable vocals by the four main members. Though I may not subscribe to their beliefs, there’s no denying that this is a truly captivating listen. Listen to “These Are The Eyes” or “Doves Circled The Sky” or “Here Comes My Hand.”

-30-

Josh Bledsoe is the Music Director at WWSU 106.9 in Dayton, Ohio. You can listen to WWSU online here. Bledsoe’s show, “The Dean’s List,” airs 1-3 PM EST every Thursday.

written on 2007/07/24 by Josh Bledsoe

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