"Listening to" update

So I was looking at my "Listening To" section realizing that I really wasn't listening to what was on there. So I decided to make an update, and seemed worth posting something about the albums. So without further ado! (I put links to videos and tracks from the albums where able)

The Blow - Paper Television This is one of those bands my brother recommended to me, or at least asked "Why aren't you listening to this yet?" His doctor informed me that I'm supposed to keep his frightfully low blood pressure up, and I find there's no better way to do that than ignore his recommendations ("no I will NOT watch The Wire") and make derisive comments about Sonic Youth and Masonna. But the constant crying isn't good for him, so I decided to give this one a ago. The song linked above is why I love this album. It makes me do a little happy dance.

Nellie McKay - Get Away From Me This sample is from a alive show. I heard Ms. McKay on Fresh Air during a best-of week. I was really into her songs about zombies and such, and her satirical allegations that feminists have no sense of humor. So I went and snagged her first album of iTunes. She jumps between conventionally quirky to, well, just plain quirky. I prefer convention when given the choice, which is where the above link lies.

Andrew Bird - Soldier On So I couldn't snag an actual track from this one either. But it's still quite beautiful, and the song does appear on the EP. But the REAL sad thing here is the fact that with three exceptions, I already had every track on this newly released EP. It includes Bird's contributions to a ballet called "My Name Is A Blackbird." I already special ordered the CD that includes THREE OTHER tracks. The Bob Dylan cover has been floating across the net for quite some time, and the two non-album tracks appeared in bonus form on iTunes and eMusic. So... it's got a remix, an early demo (of "Heretics," which is great because I love the demo, but didn't like the album track) and a short instrumental. In short, for fans only. Although I recommend downloading "Oh Sister" if you can find it.

Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglov - Once It's been scientifically proven that if you dislike this music, you have no heart. I swear I saw this dude try to disrespect the album, and the Grinch was all "damn, that's cold man, real cold." It's just so pretty. Check out the film, but understand it's about 60 to 75 percent straight music. This song is my favorite one.

Kimya Dawson and others - Juno My only problem with the film Juno is the alleged claim that the title character's favorite bands are The Stooges, Patti Smith and the Runaways. All great bands/musicians to be sure. But have a look at that soundtrack. There's more Mo Tucker (of The Velvet Underground) than any ACTUAL punk in there. Add to that Juno's claims that Sonic Youth was "nothing but noise." Anyone who listens to the Stooges should a) know Sonic Youth and b) at least respect something of theirs, at least Goo or something like that. But clearly Juno spent more time listening to K Records bands who listened to VU's "After Hours" on repeat throughout their adolescence. Not that I'm unhappy with the results. Because I myself listened to "After Hours" on repeat throughout my adolescence. This album is much less punk, and much more twee. That said, I love the soundtrack and the film. To put it bluntly, Juno is twee as fuck.

So that's all the new entries on the listening to post. I know you've aall been anxiously awaiting an update there. RAW!