i hate the sound of guitars

1. The Ex – Spun an early years best-of. I was pretty much ignorant about The Ex until I heard Ex Orkest (large band arrangements; very Mekons-y); I’ve enjoyed learning more, but nothing else has quite scaled those heights.
2. The Mekons – I [heart] Mekons. I [heart] I [heart] Mekons. I [heart] Mekons Rock’n'Roll etc., etc.
3. The Like – Lala.com hooked me up with Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking?, which turns out to mostly be more polished versions of the songs I already had on the 3 demo eps. I’m kind of ambivalent. They play, sing, and, (especially) write standard-issue modestly poppy alternarock remarkably well given their very tender years. On the other hand, their dads are all famous music industry veterans (producer/A&R man Tony Berg, producer Mitchell Froom, and Attraction Pete Thomas) so the band has a considerable nepotistic leg up.
4. Oxford Collpase – Finally caught up with the 2006 release from this indie rock outfit. I like this quite a bit, despite some of the lyrics rubbing me the wrong way.
5. The Go! Team – Maybe I would have liked Thunder, Lightning, Strike better if I hadn’t first read the gushy Allmusic.com review? It was an interesting listen and I’ll give it another go, but I didn’t think it lived up to the hype.
6. Peel – I know I like several songs from this indie-rock outfit, especially “Sliding Doors,” but they don’t have a strong personality of their own — they draw on most of the expected late ’80’s collegiate radio influences, with the result that when I’m not actually listening to them, I tend to forget what they sound like.
7. Chicks on Speed – mostly Will Save Us All, with a few spins of the new “Art Rules.” Chicks on Speed have enough feminist sass to keep me listening through the less sonically-interesting bits, of which there are quite a few.
8. The Maccabees – I have a pretty high tolerance for the sort of slightly jittery retro new wave of The Futureheads, Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, et al, but it’s beginning to wear a little thin. “X-Ray” is catchy enough for me to ignore the fact that The Maccabees aren’t bringing anything new to the table; most of the rest is pleasant enough, but doesn’t compel me to listen again.
9. The Out_Circuit – Ex Frodus-man Nathan Burke’s second album has a few indie/punky/shouty bits (Thrice and Coalesce’s singers guest on it) but the moody, expansive electronica seems more interesting, particularly “Across the Light.”
10. Ozma – Catchy songs, (comparatively) slick production), and notable guest vocal turns from former that dog member Rachel Haden enliven this emo-pop/alternative/whatever you call it now outfit’s 2007 disc Pasadena. Still working out if this is a guilty pleasure, or just a pleasure. Either way, surprisingly good for an album with a flying car on its cover.

146 unique artists, 368 tracks played.