Musically Inclined

Okay, so it's been awhile since I blogged and bragged about the latest stuff bursting through my mp3 player. Let's take a trip:

My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade

Man, you gotta love this pure, raw emo. Better yet, it's grandoise emo, which makes it cool to smirk at and guilty to enjoy.

I'm not sure what I like better--the brashness or the fact that you can totally enjoy it by yourself like no other album.

These guys are so full of themselves, and the album is so geared toward the bigger ideals of a stadium show, you wonder just how much Queen they have to go around.

It's rock. It's emo. It's overreaching. And it's awesome.

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - So Divided

Another record I'm just getting into. I currently have the "good problem" of having so much damn awesome music I don't have enough time to listen to it.

If only all of my problems could be so "good".

Anyway, this is a "sum of the parts" record, where you'll be blown away by the first three tracks, then listen to the rest and like them, but find no real "standouts."

Then you listen to the album again, and the latter songs start sounding better and better on each listen.

While the band name is almost laughably long (some sites just call them "Trail of Dead"), the music sure isn't.

Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming

This is one directly from Dan's file, whereas he really enjoys the most "out there" indie possible and draws me in bit by bit (but I'm the guy who introduced him to Mates of State, so there).

Anyway, this album title is actually truncated from the best song on the record, "Shut Up I Am Dreaming Of Places Where Lovers Have Wings", one of those most laughably enjoyable song titles ever.

And the music? Pretty damn good too. This is the "band" of the guy who heads up Wolf Parade, another underrated and extremely indie band.

M. Ward - Transfiguration of Vincent

This is the guy who wrote the incredible Chinese Translation off his latest record, Post-War. Watch the video, then read on:

So this is his last record, that spoke of a poor boy named Vincent and how he changed his life.

 Why this record and not Post-War? Because this record is just better, that's all. The standouts include "Vincent O'Brien" (the album protagonist), "Sad, Sad Song" (where yesterday's lyric came from), "Helicopter", "Dead Man" and a really cool cover of David Bowie's "Let's Dance."

He's heavy on the folk but he's got enough pop and melodic sensibility to keep you very much interested. I'm a big fan.

The Decemberists - The Crane Wife

Now I've seen this on plenty of "Best Of" lists already, so hopefully this won't be a shock.

I'll also note that this album is a bit of an enigma for me: I've listened to the first two songs at least a dozen times, but I can't actually say I've made it all the way through the record. That's not for lack of trying, it's just I always get interrupted...

...and those first two are a doozy. The second track is actually three songs entirely.

A stellar record.

Etc.

Okay, that's enough for today. Download, purchase, gift, whatever. You can't go wrong with this bunch.

What do you do with the pieces of a broken heart
and how can a man like me remain in the light