Albums you should be listening to

I interrupt our regularly scheduled whiny blog post to bring you a Quarter-end wrap up of some albums everyone should be "sampling" via download or purchasing from their favorite music retailer. I already love more albums in 2009 than I did in 2008, and we're not even halfway done! You gotta love that.

The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love


Okay, I know, I know, The Decemberists make a prog musical. I know how hipstery that sounds. But really, this is an amazing record and is terribly moving. I'm usually meh about The Decemberists. Colin Meloy always sounds just too affected for me, but here it totally works. And the star of the show is My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden as the evil Queen. That's worth the price of the download.

Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

Absolutely, hands down one of the most beautiful records I've heard in a really long time. I was a huge Neko Case fan to begin with, but this record just astonished me. A series of love songs with tornado and animal metaphors, it's a hearfelt and deeply personal record that shows a lot of range and subtlety (the latter being something we haven't heard from her yet). I just love it. And you also should get all her other albums, because she's amazing.

PJ Harvey and John Parish - A Woman A Man Walked By

PJ Harvey has gone from the quiet, introspective White Chalk to a record where she screams stuff like "I.WILL.NOT." and "I WANT YOUR FUCKING ASS!!". It's an angry record, but it's an amazing record - and credit is due to John Parish for writing such immediate and angry songs, but there are tender ones too. I have actually fallen hard for PJ after not loving her for a really long time. You all should too. Her back catalog is worth exploring, and since other lady musicians who came up in the 90's are insisting on sucking, it's nice to know that PJ is still doing her thing and bringing the crazy.

These are the three I love most so far. I plan on keeping this post going. But this is a good place to start.

PS - thanks for all the notes and comments...but really, I'm fine. I feel better and better with each passing day.