The iPod's between a quarter and a third full, and it's getting daily use.What's getting played?
Interpol, "Antics" and "Turn On the Bright Lights." Almost every day. The hype's well-founded--don't let it deter you. I don't hear the Joy Division echoes so many others seem to. More like Television without the solos, or the Buzzcocks if they were less spastic and a little meaner. There is something streamlined, stripped-down, even severe about Interpol, and yet they leaven the hard stuff with some deliciously sad songs.
Madeline Peyroux, "Dreamland." So evocative of Billie Holiday, you can't not comment on the likeness, but to leave it at that would be woefully inadequate. Her songs are lush and sexy, but she has a quirky side, too--flashes of humor leaven the longing, and her band feels pleasantly loose.
The Sorts, "More There," "Contemporary Music," and "(This Is) Gateway Sounds." Try finding that last one online. Really nice to listen to them again.
Clifford Brown and Max Roach, "Alone Together: The Best of the Mercury Years." This is where the iPod shines--I have a few other Brown and Roach discs that I typically reach for first, and this one gets neglected. But I intentionally put only this one on the iPod, so I'd listen to it more, and it's yielded some hidden gems, like their version of "Night in Tunisia."
Squirrel Bait, "Squirrel Bait." Best high school band ever.
