Gram Parsons - GP

So if by now you're not RSSing Nathan Rabin's Nashville or Bust feature at the AV Club ( http://www.avclub.com/features/nashville-or-bust/ ), I can't imagine what we'd have to talk about. Besides the opening Johnny Cash bits, this week's Merle Haggard was great, but I missed until today his entry on Gram Parsons' solo work. Holy fuck, this is the music my soul has yearned for since I was born. His vocal collaborator is none other than Emmylou Harris, and it turns out this is where she made her mark as the greatest harmony vocalist in the history of pop/rock/country music.

Listen to every musical example on here, and if your work internet blocks these things, burn down your office and live in freedom.
http://www.avclub.com/articles/week-7-gram-parsons-solo-years-life-hurts,26634/

Metric - Fantasies

I can list off a string of previous Metric successes, but Fantasies is the best place to figure it all out.  The first song is perfect. The last song is perfect.  A couple of the middle songs are perfect, too. Electrogirl. Give it a chance. because, wow.

Bob Dylan with Johnny Cash - Nashville Skyline - Girl From the North Country

I've been sniffing around this song for awhile, listening to some Dylan and Cash, even listening regularly to a cover by Conor Oberst, M. Ward, and Jim James. Finally I heard the Dylan / Cash version the day Bill DeVille played Johnny Cash on his Honey Do list on The Current. It fucking blew me away. I knew Oberst and the rest were covering Dylan, and I know everyone does that, but those guys do not in any respect hold a candle to the Dylan / Cash version.

I also notice that Nathan Rabin at the Onion's AV Club is doing a wonderful yearlong country retrospective (Nashville or Bust Week 3; also watch the Joni Mitchell duet), and I watched video of Dylan and Cash doing this song on Cash's TV show. Life-changing.

The Lonely Island - Incredibad

While I'm a little reluctant to post silly albums. . . this is awesome.  Andy Samberg  got a bunch of these songs on Saturday Night Live, and they're pretty amazing. He's got this sense of nerdy-guy-vs.-hiphop, and has some impeccable production.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/56632/saturday-night-live-digital-short-im-on-a-boat#s-p1-st-i1
http://www.hulu.com/watch/1397/saturday-night-live-snl-digital-short-lazy-sunday#s-p1-st-i1
http://www.hulu.com/watch/1404/saturday-night-live-snl-digital-short-natalie-raps#s-p1-st-i1

Bishop Allen

This band is pretty much what indie rock should be. Their first LP, "Charm School", is really great. I saw them at the Entry shortly after they released "The Broken String", which is just pretty much perfect. And on March 10, their new album "Grrr..." comes out, which is maybe even better. 

They're not a big-name band, but they believe in what they're doing, and they do it very, very well.  They've got kind of a higlight reel at http://www.bishopallen.com/ .

The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound

Unapologetic old-style rock 'n roll. It's like it's 1994 on a Sunday afternoon in the summer and you're driving around and your radio starts to pick up a station from the future, but it all makes perfect sense and you just keep on driving west.

M.I.A. - Kala

I heard "boyz" a few times on the current, but thought it sounded like just some passing teen fad.  I became more intrigued when I independently ran across this amazon.com editorial review:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TJ6CM2/ref=dm_dp_cdp?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1234414132&sr=102-6#productDescription

Now, I think I'm hooked.  I was pleased also to hear "Paper Planes" in Slumdog Millionaire.

Imperial Leisure - The Art of Saying Nothing

Brit ska/hiphop/rock. Why can't more bands have horn sections?

"Weird Al" Yankovic - Straight Outta Lynwood - Close But No Cigar

I was listening to this song on an airplane ride, and it dawned on me that this song borrows so much (musical styling) from Cake, that it is clearly no accident.  I think I didn't notice at first because I listen to enough Cake that their sound is more of a genre to me than an artist's sound.

Oxford Collapse

Like Pavement, but a little more in control.  I'm not quite sure what it is, but I've listened to little else than their latest album "Bits" in the last few days.  Thing is, if this band is playing, you'll like it. Maybe you won't know why. That's why they're great.