Adam Green – Gemstones : typically uneven
…And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead – Worlds Apart : interesting dynamic rock
Bright Eyes – Digital Ash in a Digital Urn : leave it to the pros, eh?
Bright Eyes – I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning : to my amazement, I like it!
The Decemberist – Picaresque : fantastic! continuing excellence!!
Early Day Miner – All Harm Ends Here : can something be nice AND sad?
M83 – Before the Dawn Heals Us : good, but somehow feels ‘unfresh’
Mercury Rev – The Secret Migration : interesting but uninspiring?
Al Green – Everything’s OK : fair
Athlete – Tourist : el crappo
Benny Sings – I Love You: Live at the Bimhuis : egad, awful
Beck – Guero (deluxe ed) : well beyond awesome
Better Than Ezra – Before the Robots : some great, most just good
Bloc Party – Silent Alarm : dynamic, fresh and fun
Chemical Brothers – Push the Button : 1st track great, then downhill…
The Mars Volta – Frances the Mute : holy fucking prog, batman!
High on Fire – Blessed Black Wings : big, scary heavy metal
Lou Barlow – emoH : stripped-up? decent to good
Readymade – All the Plans Resting : sweetly done dream-pop
The Books – Lost and Safe : very interesting ‘smart electronica’
British Sea Power – Open Season : a bit too ‘fey’ for my tastes
Marc Carroll – World on a Wire : folkie and rootsy, if a tad dull
Mike Ladd – Negrophilia : Jazz-rap, super interesting
Solomon Burke – Make Do With What You Got : awesome rock-n-soul
Stereophonics – Language Sex Violence Other? : perfectly tolerable
Wintersleep – untitled : very straightforward 90’s rock
Clem Snide – End of Love : wonderfully fabulously (subtly) eccentric
Dead Meadow – Feathers : great psychedelic shoegaze
Eisley – Room Noises : full of easy, dreamy harmonies
Jack Johnson – In Between Dreams : very easy to listen to
The Kills – No Wow : beyond all competition
M Ward – Transistor Radio : nice enough, will grow?
Queens of the Stone Age – Lullabies to Paralyze : atom-smasher stoner rock
Spoon – Gimme Fiction : typically understated and AWEsome
Brazillian Girls – Brazillian Girls : straight audio sex
Dirtbombs vs King Kahn & His Shrines – Billiards at Nine Thirty : the kahn side is super-bad!!
Moby – Hotel : d1 is ok, d2 is v.good
Amish Love Child – Amish Love Child : yucky indie gunk
Blind Boys of Alabama – Atom Bomb : it don’t move me.
Ivy – In the Clear : clear-as-a-bell and easy-as-hell to listen to
Jason Falkner – Eloquence : moments of genius, but not very many
John Doe – Forever Hasn’t Happened Yet : mmmmeh
Presidents of the USA – Love Everybody : some great catchy pop moments
Sleater-Kinney – The Woods
Spirit – Model Shop : rocket-hot lost soundtrack
The Yards – The Yards : a bit dull, but not bad
Black Mountain – Black Mountain : *inhale* Dude, cool! *exhale* … *cough*
Mountain Goats – The Sunset Tree : another excellent one
They Might Be Giants – Here Come The ABCs! : fun, but no NO!
50 Foot Wave – Golden Ocean : INTENSE!
Black Lipstick – Sincerely, Black Lipstick : excellent, fun lo-fi rocker
The Evens – The Evens : melodic (?!) and very, very good
The Forty-Fives – High Life High Volume : great garage-rock with a blues tint
The Raveonettes – Pretty In Black : nice new harmonies, overall drab
Stephen Malkmus – Face the Truth : nice and simple. less weirdness
Louis XIV – The Best Little Secrets Are Kept : garbage-rock
Natalie Imbruglia – Counting Down the Days : better than the last, still bad
Okkervil River – Black Sheep Boy : promising, but as-yet still yucky
Patrick Wolf – Wind In The Wires : N O P E
Ben Folds – Songs For Silverman : fairly ‘whatever’
Brendan Benson – The Alternative to Love : great sugar-sweet pop tunes
Garbage – Bleed Like Me : standard-issue Garbage disc
Joe Perry – Joe Perry : fairly excellent!
LCD Soundsystem – LCD Soundsystem : dancefloor action !!
Magnolia Electric Co. – What Come’s After the Blues : booooring
The Moaners – Dark Snack : grrrrrr!! blues-rock
Nine Inch Nails – With Teeth : different, but v. interesting
Over the Rhine – Drunkard’s Prayer : sweet, perhaps too…
The Ponys – Celebration Castle : leaves me sorta flat
Red As Monkey – Four Break Fast : crap
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings – Naturally : ffffunky
Teenage Fanclub – Man Made : no-frills, fun, sunny pop
Willie Nelson – Blue Skies : nice glimpse of Willie live
Of Montreal – The Sunlandic Twins (w/ Bonus EP) : awesome E6 psych-pop
10000 Things – 10000 Things : decent catchy rock-n-roll
Art Brut – Bang Bang Rock and Roll : total crappola
BBQ – Tie Your Noose : fun (but gimmicky) 1-man-band-rock
Ben Folds – Songs For Goldfish : pretty boring
Boxer Rebellion – Exits : not fun, but pretty good anyway
Bruce Springsteen – Devils and Dust (+DVD audio): next…
The Cribs – The New Fellas : boilerplate 00’s brit rock, but pretty good
Kasabian – Kasabian : deserving of the hype
Nostalgia 77 – The Garden : f-f-f-funky but uneven
Rob Thomas – Something To Be : fair to decent
Sherwood – Sing but Keep Going : bah
The 101 – Green Street : uneventful-poo-poo
Architecture in Helsinki – In Case We Die : quirky pop fun
Dave Matthews Band – Stand Up : bah. not my thing.
The Go-Betweens – Oceans Apart (w/ bonus disc) : move along, nothing to see here
Mike Doughty – Haughty Melodic : many fun ‘turns of phrase’
Oasis – Don’t Believe the Truth : ok i suppose, but why bother?
Rooster – Rooster : garbage
Ryan Adams – Cold Roses : the good is good, but the bad is AWFUL
Son Volt – Okemah and the Melody of Riot : moments of pure excellence
Statistics – Often Lie : actually fairly interesting
Sufjan Stephens – Illinois : the inventiveness mosdef grows on me
Turpentine Brothers – We Don’t Care About Your Good Times : the grimy bits are excellent
Heavy Trash – Heavy Trash : fun country-rockabilly-trash blues
Bob Mould – Body of Song
White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan : innovative, exciting and AWEsome
Earth – Living in the Gleam of an Unsheathed Sword : penetratingly heavy
Amusement Parks on Fire – Amusement Parks on Fire : good, nothing too special
Bullette – The Secrets : interesting at best
Caribou – The Milk of Human Kindness : interesting moments, but sorta uninspiring
Carlos Santana – Playin’ with Carlos : no,no,no,no and no
The Coral – Invisible Invasion : too clean and produced
Dressy Bessy – Electrified : moments of greatness
Engineers – Engineers : good electro-oddities
Leon – Uppers and Downers : fun, if very light, pop-rock
Little Brazil – You and Me : emo-tastic nothingness
M.I.A. – Arular : fun and interesting
Lulla Bye – Lulla Bye : … the hell??
Nine Black Alps – Everything Is : wanna-be UK grunge, uneven
Populous – Queue For Love : decent organic electro
The Boy Least Likely To – The Best Party Ever : excellent, simple, kiddie-esque pop
The Dexateens – Red Dust Rising : great, only missing a big single
Turin Brakes – JackInABox : typically excellent
Vera Violets – Overdose CDR : nothing to mention
World Leader Pretend – Punches : go away, and stay there…
Tullycraft – Disenchanted Hearts Unite : perfectly adequate sissy-pop
New Pornographers – Twin Cinema : a bit more raw, with hooks galore
Billy Corgan – The Future Embrace : t-e-r-r-i-b-l-e
Elbow – Leaders of the Free World : fine, understated, adventurous rock
Super Furry Animals – Love Kraft : fun and bouncy, but no legs
The Willowz – Talk in Circles : fuzzed-out, punky rock-n-roll
End Of Fashion – End Of Fashion : not awful, but not much substance
Nada Surf – The Weight Is A Gift : well done. emotive but not overwraught
Nine Black Alps – Everything Is : overly derivative, but good anyway
Sam Prekop – Who’s Your New Professor : easy, easy, easy to listen to
Spin Doctors – Nice Talking To Me : a million times better than I would have thought
The Rakes – Capture-Release : not bad, but the genre is all played out
Supergrass – Road To Rouen : very short, but sweet
Dandy Warhols – Odditorium or Warlords of Mars
-live-
Bloc Party – Lemacq Live 01-03-05
A Girl Called Eddy – Tom Robinson sessions, BBC Radio 01-05-05
Kimya Dawson – The Office, Portland ME 01-09-05
The Futureheads – Amoeba Records, Hollywood CA 01-10-05
Bloc Party – Canal+ Studios, Paris 01-11-05
Badly Drawn Boy – Tsunami Benefit Gig, Cardiff Millenium Stadium 01-11-05
Kasabian – BBC Maida Vale Studios 01-13-05
Bob Mould – The Paradise, Boston MA 01-14-05
Colin Melloy – Cafe du Nord, SF CA 01-16-05
Arcade Fire – KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic 01-17-05
Arcade Fire – The Casbah, San Diego CA 01-17-05
Beck – The Wiltern, LA CA (Tsunami Benefit) 01-17-05
Tenacious D – The Wiltern, LA CA (Tsunami Benefit) 01-17-05
Comets On Fire – Live in Amsterdam 01-17-05
Emiliana Torrini – Mark Radcliffe Show, BBC Radio 2 01-17-05
Ditty Bops – Taniger, Los Feliz, CA 01-18-05
Comets On Fire – The Hobgoblin, Brighton, UK 01-19-05
The Kills – VPRO Radio 01-19-05
Rogue Wave – The Glasshouse, Pomona CA 01-21-05
Arcade Fire – Emo’s, Austin TX 01-21-05
Modest Mouse – Austin City Limits 01-22-05
Graham Colton Band – 9:30 Club, Washington DC 01-22-05
Six Organs Of Admittance – 12 Bar Club, London 01-24-05
Soundtrack of our Lives – The Troubadour, LA CA 01-26-05
Mercury Rev – Black Sessions 01-31-05
Luna – Fox Theatre, Boulder CO 01-31-05
The Melys – OneMusic Session 02-01-05
The Delgados – Live on Gideon Coe 02-03-05
Beck – The Echo, LA CA 02-04-05
Emiliana Torrini – Live on Tom Robinson 02-05-05
The Knife – OneMusic Session BBC Radio 02-17-05
The Kills – Canal+ Studios, Paris 02-21-05
Bettie Serveert – KEXP Studios, Seattle WA 02-22-05
Paul Westerburg – Henry Fonda Theatre, LA CA 02-22-05 : classic train-wreck of a show
Paul Westerburg – Henry Fonda Theatre, LA CA 02-23-05
Beck – Henry Fonda Theatre, LA CA 02-24-05
Ditty Bops – CafÈ du Nord, SF 02-25-05
Brazillian Girls – 9:30 Club, Washington DC 02-25-05
Kings of Leon – 9:30 Club, Washington DC 02-26-05
Luna – Bowery Ballroom, NYC 02-26-05
Luna – Bowery Ballroom, NYC 02-27-05 – matinee show
Luna – Bowery Ballroom, NYC 02-27-05 – late show
Los Lobos – Craterian Ginger Rogers Theatre, Medford OR 02-27-05
Spoon – The Garage, London 02-28-05
Ben Lee – KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic 02-28-05
Luna – Bowery Ballroom, NYC 02-28-05 – Final Luna show
Mercury Rev – Canal+ Studios, Paris 02-2005
Arcade Fire – Lamacq Live, BBC Radio, Maide Vale 02-2005
Arcade Fire – Maison de La Radio, studio 106 03-07-05 (White Session)
Lou Barlow – The Loft Sessions (#74) (XFM), Wash DC 03-07-05
Slint – Great American Music Hall, SF 03-09-05
Kasabian – The Music Box, Hollywood CA 03-12-05
The Kills – Maison de La Radio, studio 105 03-15-05
Clem Snide – Gypsy Tea Room, Dallas TX 03-16-05
Robert Plant Band – Austin Music Hall, Austin TX 03-17-05
Rilo Kiley – XFM Sessions 03-17-05
The Decemberists – KEXP, Seattle WA 03-18-05
Beck – KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic 03-21-05
Hot Hot Heat/Kaiser Chiefs/Futureheads – Lamacq Live, BBC Radio, SXSW Festival 03-21-05
Beck – Le Nouveau Casino, Paris FRA 03-24-05
The Kills – Crocodile CafÈ, Seattle WA 03-25-05
The Kills – KEXP, Seattle WA 03-25-05
The Ditty Bops – The Independent, SF CA 03-25-05
They Might Be Giants – Borders Books in-store, SF CA 03-27-05
The Soundtrack of our Lives – Sirius Satellite Session 03-27-05
U2 – San Diego Sports Arena 03-28-05
The Dirtbombs – Beachland Tavern, Cleveland OH 04-01-05
Kings Of Leon – KROQ Studios, LA CA 04-04-05
Dogs Die in Hot Cars – Museum of TV & Radio, NYC (KEXP) 04-06-05
The Soundtrack of our Lives – KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic 04-07-05
Drive-By Truckers – Amoeba Records, SF CA 04-09-05
Clem Snide – KEXP Studios, Seattle WA 04-09-05
Garbage – The Warfield, SF CA 04-10-05
M83 – WERS, Emerson College, Boson MA 04-12-05
The Kills – Black Cat, Washington DC 04-13-05
Elf Power – 40 Watt Club, Athens GA 04-15-05
Olivia Tremor Control – 40 Watt Club, Athens GA 04-15-05
Clem Snide – Live @ the World CafÈ, WXPN, Philadelphia, PA 04-17-05
The Black Keys – The Dame, Lexington KY 04-20-05
The Decemberists – KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic 04-21-05
Matt Nathanson – Davies Symphony Hall, SF 04-25-05
Tori Amos – Davies Symphony Hall, SF 04-25-05
Dead Meadow – Warehouse Next Door, Wash. DC 04-27-05
British Sea Power – KEXP Studios, Seattle WA 04-28-05
Shivaree – Black Session, Paris FRA 05-02-05
The Dirtbombs – Iota, Arlington, VA 05-03-05
M83 – KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic 05-03-05
Sloan – KEXP Studios, Seattle WA 05-06-05
Built To Spill – The Metro, Chicago IL 05-07-05
The Raveonettes – KEXP Studios, Seattle WA 05-07-05
Spoon – Virgin Records in-store, NYC 05-10-05
MIA – KEXP Studios, Seattle WA 05-11-05
The Raveonettes – Double Door, Chicago IL 05-11-05
The Pixies – Sasquatch Festival, Quincy WA 05-28-08
-re-release/comps/mixes-
Marvin Gaye – Gold (2cd)
CafÈ del Mar – 1980-2005: 25th Anniversary : great 3 disk set
dZihan & Kamien – Fakes : dadgum fun to listen to
The Kleptones – From Detroit to JA : kleptones=genius
Thievery Corporation – The Cosmic Game : dub-tastic, best served *high*
Blue Note Plays Ray Charles : I’ll keep the originals, please
I Love To Ö Boogie : awesome comp!
The Smithereens – God Save the Smithereens (deluxe remaster) : fun live disk
Sunday Nights – The Songs of Junior Kimbrough : some awesome stuff here
Curtis Mayfield – Mayfield: Remixed : bah. stick with the originals
Mogwai – Government Commissions (BBC Sessions) : very interesting and cool
Hank Williams – Jambalaya (On the Bayou) : not his best stuff…
Flaming Lips – Fearless Freaks bootleg : wayne intro = classic!!
Substitution Mass Confusion – A Tribute to the Cars
Sympathetic Sounds of Montreal
Then Is the New Now : great Lookout! blast from the past!!
Basement Jaxx – The Singles : now that’s a party!
Everything But The Girl – Adapt or Die Ten Years of Remixes
Thievery Corporation – Cosmic Game bonus CD
Brian Eno – More Music For Films (remaster) : GREAT album, great remaster
Motown Meets the Beatles : basic and mostly boring
The Dirtbombs – If You Don’t Have A Look Already : covers CD is 100% awesome
-singles/EPs-
The Radio Dept. – This Past Week EP : zzzzzzzzz
Colin Melloy – Sings Morrissey EP
Matt Pond PA – Winter Songs EP : nice!, great promise for the full album
Out Hud – One Life to Leave single
Louis XIV – Illegal Tender EP : mostly just junk
Landmine Spring – Call Girl 7″ : great driving rock
Animal Collective (ft. Vashti Bunyan) – Prospect Hummer EP : freaky
Emiliana Torrini – Sunny Road 12″
Wilco – A Ghost Is Born Bonus EP
Natalie Imbruglia – Shiver CD singles (AUS & UK)
Fall Out Boy – Sugar, We’re Going Down promo single
The Delgados – Girls of Valour 7″
Cherryfalls – My Drug CDS
Death Cab For Cutie – The John Bird EP : I’m slowly warming to DCfC
The Format – Snails EP : VERY lightweight, but oddly compelling
Beck – E-Pro CDS
Beck – Gameboy Variations (Hell Yes EP)
Camera Obscura – I Love My Jean 7″ : shweet
Hot Snakes – Peel Sessions EP : straight rock-n-rollers
The Killers – Mr. Brightside 12″
Bitcrush – Shimmer and Fade EP : extremely compelling
The Coral – In the Morning EP : great pop and interesting experiments
Vera Violets – Last Kiss CDR EP