iPod Roulette

Here we go again. I'll hit "Shuffle" on my iPod, tell you the first 10 songs that come up, and then write about each one. When I'm done, you do the same thing and post your results in the comments. Come on, people...here we go.

1. I'd Hate to Leave You - Will Stratton
A nice little neo-folk song. Think Sufjan Stevens' Seven Swans album, without all the overt Christian references. Soothing vocals, a nicely picked guitar line, soft strings, and an appearance from the banjo. More people need to listen to Will Stratton.

2. The End of Medicine - The New Pornographers
I absolutely love the organ line that laces this song. An extremely well-done pop-rock song that could've been recorded in the late 70s. Is there a reason that this band is not huge?

3. Morning Bell (Live) - Radiohead
There are not a whole lot of live recordings that I listen to on a regular basis, but Radiohead's I Might Be Wrong album is an absolutely amazing live album, and this song is no exception. You can just feel the live energy oozing from this song.

4. Create-a-Monster - Monarch
It's a shame to me that Coldplay is so massive (especially seeing as how not good X&Y is), and yet a group like Monarch is still flying very low under the radar. These guys make wonderful pop music. This song features everything I love about this group: the soaring (and yet oh-so-delicate) vocals, the gorgeous piano line, the up-front drumming, the perfect guitar lines...and, of course, all of it coming together at the perfect moment. What a wonderful song.

5. Sleeping Beauty - A Perfect Circle
Perhaps not the best song on the album, but it's still pretty good. I really like how A Perfect Circle doesn't need the intensity (and complexity) of Tool in order to make a good song. This is a fairly simple rock song, and it works. Good job, fellas.

6. The Monkeygoround - The Kinks
A goofy little song that will get stuck in your head for a week straight if you're not careful.

7. Brompton Oratory - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
There's really nothing about this song that should work...but it does. I have a sneaking suspicion that Nick Cave can pretty much do anything he wants and still make it work.

8. Sweet N Sour - Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
I think Ben once referred to Plastic Fang as "a perfect album to listen to if you're a truck driver". This song does nothing but reinforce that thought. Just a straight rock/blues song...and there's nothing wrong with that.

9. When You Buy a Humvee - Patton Oswalt
I love this piece. "When you buy a Humvee, you should be hit in the back of a neck with a roll of quarters in a sock, and then wake up in Iraq with a gun...'Oh yeah, you have to get the oil yourself.'" My thoughts exactly, my little friend...my thoughts exactly.

10. Speedway - Counting Crows
I am still not ashamed of my love for the Counting Crows. Even though my least favorite album is This Desert Life, it's still a good album, and I really like this song a lot. I love the organ and how it kind of haunts the background...like a ghost wrapped in an organ wrapped in a song.

Now it's your turn.

(Make sure to check back within the next couple of days. I'll be posting a Super Review, with 5+ albums. They won't be full reviews, but I've been getting so backed up with albums to review that I need to do something to clear some of them out.)