Happy Monday(s), and welcome to each of you who joined us over the weekend! It’s great to have you here with us.
The playlist below is some of what I’ve been playing. The Album of the Year season is in full swing, and I had the pleasure of writing mine with 3 fantastic writers. If you missed Part 1, you can check it out here. Part 2 drops on Wednesday.
Similar to last week, this one again reflects a bit of a departure from those records.
Now it’s your turn:
What caught your ear this week? Find anything good while crate digging? Is there an upcoming release or show you’re excited for? Have you started putting a “best of” list together? If so, what’s on it? If you have a Spotify Wrapped, how’d it turn out? As expected, or were there some surprises?
It seems like whenever we lose a musician I get into a mode of listening to their music. So I’ve been listening to a lot of Wings this past weekend because of Denny Laine’s passing.
According to last.fm I’ve been listening to “Still Trying” by Cisco Swank, a duet version of “The Trolly Song” with Judy Garland and Mel Torme, and Willie Colon’s “Tiempo Pa’ Matar” a lot in the last week.
I don't know much about Saugeye, they're apparently a Tulsa band, but that's about I could find out about them online.
But I randomly stumbled across "Keystone Lillie," a song about the death of a beloved dog, and it's a great slice of folk/Americana. I've listened to this dozens of times since I found it.
Just bought tickets to The Postal Service/Death Cab for Cutie show, so revisited “Transatlanticism.” Also been vibing out to Pink Floyd’s “Meddle,” Julie Byrne’s “The Greater Wings,” and Wednesday’s “Rat Saw God.”
Yeah, it's really good. A few of us collabed to do a Top 10 albums of 2023, and this didn't crack my top 10, which is more of a reflection of how stacked of a year this was for music. Can't think of many instances where 20 albums could've been in my top 10. Maybe the last was 2010?
I want to have had your input vs my feeling overwhelmed by all of the year end lists and discovering yet more music! Julie Byrne & Wednesday's were favs though Ratboys had me over Wednesday's. Think I'll just unplug and Meddle out!
Yup, I had seen that excellent joint effort, though it's partially to blame first my being positively overwhelmed by wonderful music. Looking forward to numbers 5 to 1... I think?!
Since March of 2021, I haven’t listened to , or about , cats, after my then boyfriend and I lost our precious and precocious little Addison. She was three. Cancer overtook her jaw in just a few weeks. We are still grief stricken.
Today I’m helping him pick out a kitty for his new place. I’m a bit worried about him taking care of her alone. Maybe I’m just envious.
It’s now time to play Leon Redbone’s “Pussycats Christmas” to fill the air with joy.
It’s a silly little song, the kind you dont imagine Leon Redbone cooind about with children. I can’t imagine that he was smoking a cigar in an oversized herringbone suit thinking about bringing joy to tots with a splitting headache.
I have several playlists, one is specifically for feline holiday festivities. But Pussycats Christmas always makes me smile the most.
Margaret - the loss of a pet is the loss of a family member and I feel your pain and hesitancy to hear songs that make you think of your kitty. If you're ready to listen to something cathartic and celebratory of a pet's memory, you have to hear "Jimi and Stan" from the last Strand of Oaks record. Tim wrote it after his longtime kitty friend passed, and it's about his cat hanging with Jimi Hendrix in the cosmos. Touching, yet fun:
Pets are family, and I feel your pain/grief over Addison.
As for Redbone, I never thought I hear a song from him about cats (or a track with a kids' chorus), but here we are. On some level, I kinda hope he showed up to record in his usual uniform.
Well, prepping for an upcoming interview with a guy who works 10-hour shifts in a dark shaft the depth of 2 Empire State Buildings, I’ve been listening to a lot of songs about mining and about salt. (But, instead of a playlist, I’m leaning toward featuring only The Rolling Stones’ “Salt of the Earth.”)
I'm still blown away that Slayer's "Haunting the Chapel" is now 40 years old.
FORTY!
I listened to that one and then Hell Awaits several times. I'm also kind of an idiot: for 30 years, I thought for sure that Reign in Blood was Slayer's follow up to Haunting. Nope.
Happy Monday(s)! Started the day with Sam Cooke’s “My Kind of Blue” on vinyl. What a singer. I say this a lot, but still. Right now I’m discovering Joesef (an indie pop artist from Scotland) and his debut album “Permanent Damage” and it’s 🔥
Love the Stone Roses and St. Etienne trax! Been listening to Daft Punk Random Access Memories Drumless (went to the PoP/Riff Zoom yesterday - was great! Bunch of nice and interesting folx with excellent taste in music).
Also podcasts! My friends Sarah Silverman and Conan O'Brien, plus Dax Shepard has Maria Sharapova and Jon Batiste so I got those queued up!
Right on! I'm glad you made it. Those Zooms are always fun. I'm sorry I wasn't there; my younger son's HS football team had their end-of-season banquet/awards ceremony. It started at noon, so I thought for sure we'd be home well in time. Silly me...
Family first yo! Plus there is gonna be a write-up so it's all good. The convo was still raging on after the 1-hour mark, at which point I had to drop, so I missed a little bit too, hee hee!
I just did an interview with a DJ for a San Francisco public radio station who wanted to talk about the Charles Brown article I wrote, so I went back to an old CD — A Life in the Blues — that captured a live show from 1990 to prepare for it. That was fun, although I think I'm better at asking questions instead of answering them. Here's a link to the essay in case anyone wants to read it: https://open.substack.com/pub/glenncook/p/the-legacy-of-charles-brown?r=727x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Wow, I haven't heard Helios Sequence in a LOOONG time, thanks for putting them back on my radar. Saint Etienne is also a blast from the distant past, haven't listened to them in what feels like forever. Hearing them again brought to mind Dubstar, another band I really enjoyed in the mid to late 90s but haven't revisited since.
REALLY digging that Lauryl Sulfate track - will have to check out the album.
Kinda embarrassed to admit that I'd never listened to Wire until a few years ago. Definitely on my list of artists to do a deeper dive on. I'd welcome any suggestions on where to start.
As you know, I've kicked off my 2023 AOTY series with the top albums I missed out on in 2022, so I've been listening to these albums a lot:
Thanks for the links! Some great picks here. Please share the rest of the series as it comes out. Lauryl Sulfate is a band I found on Threads. Turns out they're from Milwaukee, so I'm hoping to see them play at some point.
As for Wire? I can talk about them ALL DAY (and probably would, if I didn't have to work. lol).
For work from the "middle part" of their discography, I'd start with 'The A-List.' It's a compilation covering tracks from 85-90.
For early stuff, you can't go wrong with "Pink Flag."
If I had to pick a more recent record to start with, I'd suggest 2017's 'Silver/Lead'
'The Scottish Play' is a live record that I play quite a bit as well.
I've been wrapping up my EOY lists with a tidy bow. My only remaining dilemma is sorting the prolific output of the Reds, Pinks, and Purples. I am counting 1 album, 4 EPs, and 2 singles from them in 2023 in my library 🙃
Also enjoying this proof that music - and good music at that - comes out in the last few weeks of the year.
'Slice' is definitely proof that good stuff comes out late. As for Red, Pinks, Purples, I think Glenn Donaldson's life goal is to best Robert Pollard's productivity! I know I have at least a couple of singles. Writing this, I tried to count up what I could remember, and got totally lost. lol.
What a list! Some killer songs on there. Soundcloud tells me that 'Skipping Like Stone' was my most played song of the year. 'Really Really Light'is one of my favorites as well.
I don't think I've listened to the Helio Sequence since the glory days of Sub Pop dropping MP3s in my inbox...worth a revisit! Also, you've got my number with St. Etienne and Wire. I'm still painstakingly whittling down my Top 25...current count: 37. Other than that, I spent Friday night at a new music concert, including radical clarinet improv and gorgeously s-l-o-w chamber music for strings and electronics. Review in progress, which will also include recent shows from Mutual Benefit and Tomberlin. When I ran into Tomberlin's bassist, Frank Meadows, at the show I knew I was in the right place! Also spent time with Marvin Gaye's Here, My Dear for an upcoming piece in Rock & Roll Globe - keep an eye out!
Nice to see Foxbase Alpha in your playlist. Love Saint Etienne. Band member Bob Stanley wrote one of my favorite music books in 2013: 'Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop'
Ha! I love it. Thanks aslo for turning me on to the Discogs "Random" feature. I must've been the last one on earth that didn't know you could do that with your collection.
I've been prepping an article on my pick for Best New Band of the Year. They're a jazz ensemble, so if you're in the mood for something different, bookmark my page and you'll see it pop up later this week!
Awesome playlist, cool to see Westerberg`s solo stuff make the list, love that song. I`ve been listening to 16 Horsepower and Wovenhead a lot. If anyone out there hasn`t heard them and you like gothic+punk+country music- your in for a treat. I`ve never heard anything like it.
Gorgeous track. Someone in the YT comments said it sounded like Joni Mitchell, and I wouldn't argue that. "Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?" has already made a bunch of AOTY lists that I've seen, and I imagine it'll be on a lot more before all is said & done.
I'm giving a shout out to the best Christmas album from the last 20 years +(okay, besides Sufjan). The Rosebuds were an amazing band, and it's a tragedy that they broke up (though Howard Ivans has released some incredible things). Their 2011 "Loud Planes Fly Low" album is a masterpiece.
P.S. Sorry forgot, on top of the Christmas tunes, blasting 60's Girl Groups.(all the top hits). I've got my toddler hooked and singing all the "sha la la" parts etc, so it's been super fun!
It seems like whenever we lose a musician I get into a mode of listening to their music. So I’ve been listening to a lot of Wings this past weekend because of Denny Laine’s passing.
Paul McCartney - And I love Her 💙
According to last.fm I’ve been listening to “Still Trying” by Cisco Swank, a duet version of “The Trolly Song” with Judy Garland and Mel Torme, and Willie Colon’s “Tiempo Pa’ Matar” a lot in the last week.
I don't know much about Saugeye, they're apparently a Tulsa band, but that's about I could find out about them online.
But I randomly stumbled across "Keystone Lillie," a song about the death of a beloved dog, and it's a great slice of folk/Americana. I've listened to this dozens of times since I found it.
https://youtu.be/ZIzhQxWbE1M?si=Jbzp4AfMCsZCIOfi
My son hipped me to Laufey, so I have been checking her out!
My kids did the same to me a few months back
I was doing some editing work, and one of the articles was on Laufey. That finally got me to jump in and check out her work. Wish I hadn't waited!
I saw her live here in the Twin Cities recently and it was a great show. Although I was probably 30 years older than everyone else at the show.
They're new to me. Fantastic song, though tbh, I focused far more on the music than the lyrics.
Just bought tickets to The Postal Service/Death Cab for Cutie show, so revisited “Transatlanticism.” Also been vibing out to Pink Floyd’s “Meddle,” Julie Byrne’s “The Greater Wings,” and Wednesday’s “Rat Saw God.”
Rat Saw God was one of my favs this year. Bull Believer is one hell of a song and I love that it’s the second track on the album
Yeah, it's really good. A few of us collabed to do a Top 10 albums of 2023, and this didn't crack my top 10, which is more of a reflection of how stacked of a year this was for music. Can't think of many instances where 20 albums could've been in my top 10. Maybe the last was 2010?
It's been awhile for me as well.
I want to have had your input vs my feeling overwhelmed by all of the year end lists and discovering yet more music! Julie Byrne & Wednesday's were favs though Ratboys had me over Wednesday's. Think I'll just unplug and Meddle out!
Here's our 10-6: https://thatguyfromtheinternet.substack.com/p/the-super-official-this-is-a-newsletter
Feel free to let us know where we went right or wrong, or what you would've ranked!
Yup, I had seen that excellent joint effort, though it's partially to blame first my being positively overwhelmed by wonderful music. Looking forward to numbers 5 to 1... I think?!
Coming out on Wednesday along with our honorable mentions. Too many good albums!
Ooooh yeah, love the Julie Byrne shout! Easy top ten on my list for the year.
I completely missed this record somehow! Gonna have to fix that ASAP.
Its music meant for that cold, grey Wisconsin winter. Byrne is so subtle but rewards so much if you spend good time with her music.
I am also in the Ratboys-over-Wednesday club. Both records are fantastic, though.
I'm a club member as well.
I'm currently trying to "sell" my better half on going to the DCFC show together.
Since March of 2021, I haven’t listened to , or about , cats, after my then boyfriend and I lost our precious and precocious little Addison. She was three. Cancer overtook her jaw in just a few weeks. We are still grief stricken.
Today I’m helping him pick out a kitty for his new place. I’m a bit worried about him taking care of her alone. Maybe I’m just envious.
It’s now time to play Leon Redbone’s “Pussycats Christmas” to fill the air with joy.
It’s a silly little song, the kind you dont imagine Leon Redbone cooind about with children. I can’t imagine that he was smoking a cigar in an oversized herringbone suit thinking about bringing joy to tots with a splitting headache.
I have several playlists, one is specifically for feline holiday festivities. But Pussycats Christmas always makes me smile the most.
Margaret - the loss of a pet is the loss of a family member and I feel your pain and hesitancy to hear songs that make you think of your kitty. If you're ready to listen to something cathartic and celebratory of a pet's memory, you have to hear "Jimi and Stan" from the last Strand of Oaks record. Tim wrote it after his longtime kitty friend passed, and it's about his cat hanging with Jimi Hendrix in the cosmos. Touching, yet fun:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9AWNqT1sfw
Sounds like a great recommendation. I will check it out when I get home later today.
Kitty Cat Christmas is the correct title
Pets are family, and I feel your pain/grief over Addison.
As for Redbone, I never thought I hear a song from him about cats (or a track with a kids' chorus), but here we are. On some level, I kinda hope he showed up to record in his usual uniform.
Correction on song name. It’s “Kitty Cat Christmas”. I’m sure someone else must have conned it. I’m not sure.
Moderator
Newish:
Bully, Lucky for You
Jamie Branch, Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die (world war)
Yves Tumor, Praise a Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume
Chris Potter, Got the Keys to the Kingdom: Live at the Village Vanguard
Old:
The Jam, In the City (promo LP I found at a record store last week!)
Big Star, Radio City
The Replacements, Let it Be
Brad Mehldau Trio, Blues and Ballads
Love Bully.....
That In The City promo is a great find!
Well, prepping for an upcoming interview with a guy who works 10-hour shifts in a dark shaft the depth of 2 Empire State Buildings, I’ve been listening to a lot of songs about mining and about salt. (But, instead of a playlist, I’m leaning toward featuring only The Rolling Stones’ “Salt of the Earth.”)
https://youtu.be/zGFjF3qkOX4?si=fjnjHZJzmWl3eZQ4
Do you have a tentative date for when this interview will be published? I'd love to read it!
I appreciate your interest, Kevin. I’m eager to publish it, but for a variety of reasons, it has to wait until mid- or a little later in January.
Working on it has been a bit life-changing for me.
I can imagine!
I'm still blown away that Slayer's "Haunting the Chapel" is now 40 years old.
FORTY!
I listened to that one and then Hell Awaits several times. I'm also kind of an idiot: for 30 years, I thought for sure that Reign in Blood was Slayer's follow up to Haunting. Nope.
Oof. And Reign In Blood has tro be closing in on 40 as well, right? 87? 88?
86, dude. 86.
Gah! Even worse than I thought. lol.
I'm right here beside you, shaking my fist at the sky or yelling at clouds.
Happy Monday(s)! Started the day with Sam Cooke’s “My Kind of Blue” on vinyl. What a singer. I say this a lot, but still. Right now I’m discovering Joesef (an indie pop artist from Scotland) and his debut album “Permanent Damage” and it’s 🔥
Joesef's a nw one for me. I'm on it!
Love the Stone Roses and St. Etienne trax! Been listening to Daft Punk Random Access Memories Drumless (went to the PoP/Riff Zoom yesterday - was great! Bunch of nice and interesting folx with excellent taste in music).
Also podcasts! My friends Sarah Silverman and Conan O'Brien, plus Dax Shepard has Maria Sharapova and Jon Batiste so I got those queued up!
Right on! I'm glad you made it. Those Zooms are always fun. I'm sorry I wasn't there; my younger son's HS football team had their end-of-season banquet/awards ceremony. It started at noon, so I thought for sure we'd be home well in time. Silly me...
Family first yo! Plus there is gonna be a write-up so it's all good. The convo was still raging on after the 1-hour mark, at which point I had to drop, so I missed a little bit too, hee hee!
I just did an interview with a DJ for a San Francisco public radio station who wanted to talk about the Charles Brown article I wrote, so I went back to an old CD — A Life in the Blues — that captured a live show from 1990 to prepare for it. That was fun, although I think I'm better at asking questions instead of answering them. Here's a link to the essay in case anyone wants to read it: https://open.substack.com/pub/glenncook/p/the-legacy-of-charles-brown?r=727x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Right on. Thanks for that! For anyone scrolling the comments, this is a great read.
Is the interview live yet? Where can we find it?
We did the interview live. Haven’t looked to see if it is archived
Wow, I haven't heard Helios Sequence in a LOOONG time, thanks for putting them back on my radar. Saint Etienne is also a blast from the distant past, haven't listened to them in what feels like forever. Hearing them again brought to mind Dubstar, another band I really enjoyed in the mid to late 90s but haven't revisited since.
REALLY digging that Lauryl Sulfate track - will have to check out the album.
Kinda embarrassed to admit that I'd never listened to Wire until a few years ago. Definitely on my list of artists to do a deeper dive on. I'd welcome any suggestions on where to start.
As you know, I've kicked off my 2023 AOTY series with the top albums I missed out on in 2022, so I've been listening to these albums a lot:
Reptaliens - Multiverse
https://open.spotify.com/album/27xosRZwZYvllPvli7uYc6?si=mlK3du6aTUmUInABi1RMfQ
Samana - All One Breath
https://open.spotify.com/album/1tZ5Wgw4NJCo4AhNyvamkP?si=qSEcdo72R3Wn-VulfQiaJA
Debbie Parker iNC. - Tears (Love Ain't That Way)
https://open.spotify.com/album/3KxmcZcouFoOis7WH01rBp?si=dfe2IkqsQ--vJBr5Vfms0Q
Danielle Ponder - Some Of Us Are Brave
https://open.spotify.com/album/2TETLoSHPG3KjGTHlMbFuQ?si=EgmY0QlgQjWJK3ORJYXv0Q
Thanks for the links! Some great picks here. Please share the rest of the series as it comes out. Lauryl Sulfate is a band I found on Threads. Turns out they're from Milwaukee, so I'm hoping to see them play at some point.
As for Wire? I can talk about them ALL DAY (and probably would, if I didn't have to work. lol).
For work from the "middle part" of their discography, I'd start with 'The A-List.' It's a compilation covering tracks from 85-90.
For early stuff, you can't go wrong with "Pink Flag."
If I had to pick a more recent record to start with, I'd suggest 2017's 'Silver/Lead'
'The Scottish Play' is a live record that I play quite a bit as well.
Are you from Milwaukee?
I'm in Madison
The Pogues. I even busted out my old tin whistle and I'm trying to learn how to play Fairy Tale in New York.
Nice!
Muireann Bradley’s “I Kept these Old Blues” https://open.spotify.com/album/5MjoBf6hON9meluGYgLECs?si=lwd9iq35QCq8N21B1WPqPQ
Just cued this up. Only a song-and-a-half in, but really digging this so far.
I've been restless this week. I'm also struggling against the holiday tunes...
Always a struggle!
I've been wrapping up my EOY lists with a tidy bow. My only remaining dilemma is sorting the prolific output of the Reds, Pinks, and Purples. I am counting 1 album, 4 EPs, and 2 singles from them in 2023 in my library 🙃
Also enjoying this proof that music - and good music at that - comes out in the last few weeks of the year.
https://open.spotify.com/album/1K83z9Tzzk6WoC3Mrs8kvW?si=S9jO9sF1TrW71EHGNb04gg
Now excuse me while I try to search for more information on the new releases from 'O.' and '@' and slowly go insane.
'Slice' is definitely proof that good stuff comes out late. As for Red, Pinks, Purples, I think Glenn Donaldson's life goal is to best Robert Pollard's productivity! I know I have at least a couple of singles. Writing this, I tried to count up what I could remember, and got totally lost. lol.
I'm getting through "The 50 Catchiest Songs of 2023" by The Wax Museum. Right now I'm vibin to DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ's “For Now and Forever” ✨ https://thewaxmuseum.substack.com/p/best-songs-of-2023
What a list! Some killer songs on there. Soundcloud tells me that 'Skipping Like Stone' was my most played song of the year. 'Really Really Light'is one of my favorites as well.
I don't think I've listened to the Helio Sequence since the glory days of Sub Pop dropping MP3s in my inbox...worth a revisit! Also, you've got my number with St. Etienne and Wire. I'm still painstakingly whittling down my Top 25...current count: 37. Other than that, I spent Friday night at a new music concert, including radical clarinet improv and gorgeously s-l-o-w chamber music for strings and electronics. Review in progress, which will also include recent shows from Mutual Benefit and Tomberlin. When I ran into Tomberlin's bassist, Frank Meadows, at the show I knew I was in the right place! Also spent time with Marvin Gaye's Here, My Dear for an upcoming piece in Rock & Roll Globe - keep an eye out!
Will do, and please share the link when it drops!
Paring down lists this year has been /tough/. I finally just had to take a proverbial buzzsaw to mine; otheriwse, I'd still be tweaking it.
I've been listening to some Spanish Pop this past week Cola Jet Set and Los Fresone Rebelde
https://colajetset.bandcamp.com/album/guitarras-y-tambores
https://spicnic.bandcamp.com/album/los-fresones-rebeldes-en-spicnic?search_item_id=2913407581&search_item_type=a&search_match_part=%3F&search_page_id=3025996687&search_page_no=0&search_rank=1&logged_in_mobile_menubar=true
Nice to see Foxbase Alpha in your playlist. Love Saint Etienne. Band member Bob Stanley wrote one of my favorite music books in 2013: 'Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop'
Great minds think alike! :)
They're one of my faves, and are never too far from my playlists. Thanks for mentioning the book! I just added it to my TBR/want list.
Also just discovered this really cool Slowdive cover that was posted on YouTube quite a few years ago but I had never heard it before -
https://youtu.be/aI6OsRbx0u4?feature=shared
It's been all Steely Dan since Saturday, as discussed here: https://daydreaminboutthings.substack.com/p/saturday-spins-vol-3. My daughters have been singing "Dirty Work" nonstop.
Ha! I love it. Thanks aslo for turning me on to the Discogs "Random" feature. I must've been the last one on earth that didn't know you could do that with your collection.
Kinloch Nelson https://open.spotify.com/album/4GMtRWqdf51mbZMyx1assd?si=jQO6KO6iRNOp5oMAEJbICQ
I've been prepping an article on my pick for Best New Band of the Year. They're a jazz ensemble, so if you're in the mood for something different, bookmark my page and you'll see it pop up later this week!
I'll keep an eye out for it!
Built and listened to this playlist all weekend long. https://ponytail.substack.com/p/im-37-im-not-old
This is my kinda list. And no, 37 is NOT old, no matter what the kids try to tell us. lol.
Jon Batiste - World Music Radio
The Killigans.... All of it.
Awesome playlist, cool to see Westerberg`s solo stuff make the list, love that song. I`ve been listening to 16 Horsepower and Wovenhead a lot. If anyone out there hasn`t heard them and you like gothic+punk+country music- your in for a treat. I`ve never heard anything like it.
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. You've definitely piqued my curiosty with that combo. I'm not sure I've ever heard anything like that, either!
Kara Jackson.
https://youtu.be/gJfzgrVah7c?si=cczb7rsX9IpjFcfK
Gorgeous track. Someone in the YT comments said it sounded like Joni Mitchell, and I wouldn't argue that. "Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?" has already made a bunch of AOTY lists that I've seen, and I imagine it'll be on a lot more before all is said & done.
One more bit from Robert Jon and The Wreck, since I had a damn fine show with them this past Thursday.
https://youtu.be/wdK5p73NyP0?si=G7RvhS0hmLz-WfCd
same old x2
can't stop listening to the Who
Been listening to this, Sandinista! Sides 7 & 8 https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3C1zS4Pjv9IOkbJ0Vn5nLx?si=921782b84b84468e
Knee deep into the Holidays over here.
https://open.spotify.com/album/5cMJYln1PO9TFu3tTeun54?si=L_4rOdE4T_uUcETupTxanA
I'm giving a shout out to the best Christmas album from the last 20 years +(okay, besides Sufjan). The Rosebuds were an amazing band, and it's a tragedy that they broke up (though Howard Ivans has released some incredible things). Their 2011 "Loud Planes Fly Low" album is a masterpiece.
P.S. Sorry forgot, on top of the Christmas tunes, blasting 60's Girl Groups.(all the top hits). I've got my toddler hooked and singing all the "sha la la" parts etc, so it's been super fun!
I love it!
The Jayhawks - Music From the North Country. Absolutely adore this band.
Also, I have a ton of Henry Rollins podcasts from his show on KCRW I'm working through.
I've had Electrophonic Chronic by The Arcs on repeat. I truly hope this isn't the last album The Arcs make together!