I hate to admit this, but I found myself uninspired and unmotivated when it came to writing this week’s post. I just couldn’t find anything to blog about.

The 10 or so people who regularly read my blog might remember that I recently said I was experiencing music overload. Unfortunately, none of this new music has really grabbed my full attention. Instead I will attempt to uncover an old song that is hopefully new to most of you.

So without further ado, I present one of Interpol’s first tracks, “Specialist.” The song runs nearly 7 minutes long, though you may not initially notice it. I especially love the song’s numerous twists and turns, each one eclipsing that which came before.

Despite being one of the band’s earliest tracks, “Specialist” perfectly encompasses Interpol’s sound. Definitely check out their two LP’s Turn On the Bright Lights and Antics if you enjoy this song.

mp3: Interpol - Specialist

So I know the last post contained 7 mp3’s, but I’m making up for my recent slacking. Prepare for a music overload similar to the one I’m experiencing.

On one of the past KEXP podcasts, I heard a catchy little song by The Little Ones called “Cha Cha Cha.” After just two listens, I fell in love. The song is catchy as hell, and has the ability to brighten one’s day.

When I found out that The Little Ones were from LA, I wasn’t surprised. Southern California seems to inspire happy, carefree indie pop. Feel free to disagree with me on this generalization, I know there are exceptions.

On the strength of “Cha Cha Cha,” I got the rest of The Little Ones’ debut EP Sing Songs. While I’ve been captivated by two songs in particular (which you can download below), the whole disc is pretty good.

If you’ve recently been feeling down, I highly recommend listening to The Little Ones. They just might brighten your day.

mp3: The Little Ones - Cha Cha Cha
mp3: The Little Ones - Lovers Who Uncover

“Time is near to come forward with whatever killed your spark…”

I’ve only just realized that posting one song by each of my favorite bands was a gross injustice. Please accept my sincerest apologies and consider this post to be a supplement to my first Artist Spotlight.

There is good reason My Morning Jacket is my favorite band of all time. That’s right: they sit at the very top of my top 5 - no questions about it. Not only do they write incredibly affecting songs, but Jim James’ vocals are otherworldly.

Up until now, I feel like I’ve done the band an disservice. I’ve posted a few of their songs on my blog (”Strangulation,” “Phone Went West,” “O Is the One that Is Real,” and “Dondante”), but they can be difficult to digest without the proper introduction.

With this post, I hope to right this wrong. Listen to the songs below in the exact order posted, then hit up the tracks mentioned above for further listening (side note: “Strangulation” is my absolute favorite song of all time).

I sincerely hope that My Morning Jacket becomes one of your favorite bands. Despite the slight misstep that was the album Z, they are an incredibly-talented and inspiring band that deserves your attention.

mp3: My Morning Jacket - Bermuda Highway
mp3: My Morning Jacket - I Will Be There When You Die
mp3: My Morning Jacket - The Bear
mp3: My Morning Jacket - Eveyln Is Not Real
mp3: My Morning Jacket - X-mas Curtain
mp3: My Morning Jacket - Tyrone
mp3: My Morning Jacket - O Is the One That Is Real

I haven’t forgotten that I promised a new Artist Spotlight by midweek last week. I’ve been really busy lately, plus I’ve been going through music overload.

I will likely post both a new Artist Spotlight and Weekly Download by tomorrow (Monday) night. Fingers crossed.

And once I have listened to all my newly-acquired music, I’ll post a new podcast featuring the best of the bunch.

In the meantime, visit the archives of my site to see if you missed anything.

Okkervil River recently grabbed some headlines when they released a song called “The President’s Dead” on an Australian tour EP called Overboard & Down.

Given my liberal tendencies, I was intrigued by what was most likely a protest song from the band I so dearly love. So I ordered the import from an Australian website and eagerly awaited its arrival.

Turns out the song isn’t really a protest song. Instead, it’s more like Will Sheff singing about how the president’s assassination would effect his day. No Bush-bashing, no cries for revolution, just another great story from one of my favorite bands.

It also turns out that this post isn’t about that song. It’s about “Love to a Monster,” another fantastic track from the EP. The song would’ve fit perfectly on my Late Night Drinking mix tape, though the melody/beat/mood/instrumentation is a rather upbeat given the subject matter. Listen closely to the lyrics for some excellent lines.

mp3: Okkervil River - Love to a Monster
mp3: Okkervil River - The President’s Dead

PS - Look for this month’s Artist Spotlight sometime this week.

A few years ago I stumbled upon the (largely) wordless world of post-rock. Initially, I didn’t know what to think. I worried that the lack of lyrics would prevent me from emotionally connecting to the music.

Call me lame, but at that point in time my musical tastes were still evolving. I gravitated towards slow songs with sad lyrics. I wasn’t necessarily sad and depressed, I just liked listening to other people who clearly were.

But you can’t be depressed forever. The same goes for music too. I had exhausted the catalogues of David Gray and Coldplay and needed something different.

I don’t remember the exact sequence of things, but I think I discovered Sigur Rós and Explosions In the Sky at around the same time. Both bands differed from everything in my music collection: Sigur Rós sang in a foreign/made-up language and Explosions In the Sky didn’t sing at all.

After a few listens, my initial concerns were put to rest. This was really good music. And with no lyrics to distract me, I could assign my own meaning to each song. For example, I’ve always pictured myself cruising down pristine slopes through epic powder while listening to “The Only Moment We Were Alone” by Explosions In the Sky.

Those of you who know that song may think I’m crazy, but that’s what I get from it.

And then there’s a song by The Album Leaf called “TwentyTwoFourteen” that perfectly fit one of my last drives through the mountains of Tahoe last winter. I think it’s the only track that I can link to an exact place and moment in time.

Now I’m not saying that songs with lyrics are bad. Good lyricists use words to paint blurry images that can be uniquely interpreted by the listener. I think everyone would put Bob Dylan in this category, though I think I’ll take a more modern example: Jim James of My Morning Jacket. Especially on the album At Dawn.

Writing this lengthy dissertation has made me realize something: when I listen to a song for the first time, I rarely hear the words. Instead, I focus on the instrumentation and overall mood of the song. For example, I didn’t realize that “The Monitor” by Bishop Allen was about the Civil War until several of my friends told me. I was focusing too much on that damn guitar part. Whether that’s good or bad is debatable…

I honestly don’t know what sparked this post. I just wanted to point out the fact that music doesn’t need lyrics to have impact. Then I planned to reinforce this observation by sharing a really good track by Mono called “Sabbath.” But somewhere in that process things went horribly awry.

mp3: Mono - Sabbath

What a difference a month makes.

In the past 4 weeks, I’ve completely settled into my new apartment, taken my first midterm as a grad student, and partied about as much as I did during a typical year as an undergrad. Needless to say, this podcast is the exact opposite of last month’s.

I’ve been meaning to make a good driving mix for quite some time now. And the songs on this podcast need to be played loud. They could be the soundtrack to you and your friends’ drive into the city on the weekend, or the motivation you need to get some (home)work done.

Here’s the tracklisting:

01. Built to Spill - Goin’ Against Your Mind
02. Interpol - Evil
03. The Tragically Hip - Escape Is At Hand For the Travellin’ Man
04. Weezer - Say It Ain’t So
05. My Morning Jacket - O Is the One That Is Real
06. Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Let It Ride
07. Belle & Sebastian - Another Sunny Day
08. The Twilight Singers - Teenage Wristband
09. Wolf Parade - I’ll Believe In Anything
10. Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye
11. Tapes ‘n Tapes - Jakov’s Suite

I know that a few of these songs are repeats from previous posts/podcasts, but they were just too perfect to leave out. You may also notice that this mix tape is an enhanced podcast, so feel free to skip from track to track, though I recommend listening to it in its entirety (as always).

Subscribe to it using iTunes or directly download it here. Visit the archives here