New Music

I love checking out new music, even if it's only new to me. My eMusic monthly downloads were just replenished so I "went to town" yesterday. Also, I may or may not have accessed some of my friend Jeff's files via AOL Instant Messenger's file sharing service.
I'm keeping my finger on the pulse of the online community of indie rock lovers. This is some stuff I've been checking out.

Jets to Brazil - Nice melodies, a little bit "whiny singer/songwriter" for my taste. It works as background music for me.

The Expendables - From Jeff. I'm just starting to listen to it and it is sounding really good. I've been really looking for some cool Reggae. For some reason it sounds a little more original than...

Pepper - From Jeff also. Funny and catchy Reggae tunes. Sometimes it sounds A LOT like Sublime, but hey, someone has to sound like Sublime.

Matisyahu - I got "Youth" from Jeff. I know I'm way behind on this guy. I like it a lot.

Arcade Fire - Critically acclaimed Indy Rockers. The album "Funeral" is getting better with every listen.

The Clientele - They play with Spoon and are on the same record label. Its a little soft for me, but soft rock can grow on me over time.

Dogs Die In Hot Cars - Unfortunately named, they know how to rock. I want to check out more.

The Fall - It seems as though they may have come out with hundreds of albums since the '70s when they formed. I got "Boxoctosis" and I want to hear more. I wonder if they have a "best of" album...

!!! (pronounced Chk Chk Chk maybe?) Innovative electronica. I don't know much about this kind of music but this sounds good. I got the song "There's No Fucking Rules Dude" for free from Epitonic.

Neutral Milk Hotel - After checking these guys out, I read some user reviews on emusic.com and I was struck by this one written by user 78705...

Taste it...NOW!
"Never reviewed anything in my life, but I implore you,"Download now!" Stop taking your medication (that step is important). Let all those crazy effed up feelings start to creep back into your life. Relish your defects. Break it off with that girl/guy; you know it's not going anywhere. Spread all those unpaid bills out before you...breathe it in. Take a long look in the mirror: not what you'd thought you'd become, but not so bad either, right? Buy a bag, load your one hitter. Dump album to iPod. Find 50 cents, and get on the bus. That's right, a bus. Take a long hard look at your surroundings...your neighbors, your town. Plug into this album and realize why movies and books will never again change your life. Everything so far has been a prelude to this moment. I know it sound deep in a really retarded, 'I'm totally a psych frosh' way, but it works... and that's the beauty. Also try PBR tallboys and People's Court."

Pedro the Lion - Good stuff. I downloaded one song called "I Do" and I think I'll check out some more tracks.

I grabbed a couple extra Spoon songs that weren't on the original 6 albums that I downloaded. "Don't Buy the Realistic" and "Tefamon Bridge" both exceeded my high expectations for the band. In case you don't know Spoon too well, start with albums "Gimme Fiction" and "Kill the Moonlight" and you might just get hooked.

I want to check out some more Iggy Pop. I stumbled upon his album "Brick by Brick" when I was younger and I still love it. For some reason I never explored any of his other solo work or collaborations with The Stooges. I think a good place to start would be the recent "best of" album, Nude and Rude.