What music are you listening to?

[SRN]

SRN, real question. I think you have impeccable tastes about music. But what's with the love for Disclosure? Really? You like it?

What Jimmy said; Disclosure are a boat-load of fun. They might not have that much lyrical depth, their sound might be a bit kitsch and hankering towards 90's simplicity but Disclosure is just so moving, so comfortable and so fun. Plus, I have DJ'd their music a whole lot, since I started, so there is that connection as well.

[Jimmy]

It's also nice to have some kind of, like, main-stream ish dance music which, quite simply, just doesn't suck. It's infectious, easy listening that everyone can have fun too - and it seems fresh in comparison to what you usually find in the British chart scene. They've collaborated with a nice range of British artists which is cool, too. Plus they're super young, so I'm guessing it's only going to get better.

[SRN]

And while I am here, I might as well get to the list and other things.

Over the last few weeks, I have really delved further into more electronic music and hip-hop, and also country, a genre that I have never really bothered with until now. Both Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings got a few spins; I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed The Silver Tounged Devil and I. There are some really interesting lyrics here and backed by the somber music, it just had me from the start. Jesus Was a Capricorn is another story, though, but then I got some good advice to just keep away from all Kristofferson where the name "Jesus" is involved. With Waylon Jennings I got a hold of Lonesome, On'ry and Mean and although the album has stuck with me so far, I am not entirely convinced that Jennings is something I would want to explore further. I am going to give it another listen before I let it go, though.

Enough of that shit, though, time for wild beats! God damn, this new Nick Thayer EP is crazy. For those of you who don't know, Nick Thayer used to be a producer of ghetto funk and other hip-hop based beats and electronic stuff but on Worlds Collide he just decided to go all Wolfgang Gartner/Skrillex on his fans and it is just insane. I mean, it is this wild concoction of dubstep, electro house and then you can clearly hear his past in ghetto funk and... man, I love it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwhrLeCRtWg. It beats me up that it hasn't seen a vinyl release but when it does I am going to be all over that shit.

On a related note, by random encounter, I found that the producer for Kidd (Danish alternative rapper, who you either hate or love) actually released an EP this year containing from sweet sweet trap and dubstep sounds. ELOQ played Roskilde Festival this year but I had no idea what he was doing until I got home from the festival itself and fell upon his music. If I say that I already bought the EP and have already DJ'd a few tracks from it, I think that tells you all you need to know.

Speaking of beats, I finally got to sit down and listen to the Think and Change compilation. Sporting some of my recent favorite dubstep, UK Garage and techno artists like Joy Orbison, Kassem Mosse, Boddika and Pearson Sound, I was really excited but what I got was this sort of disjointed collection of tracks. I mean, individually there is a lot of quality but cramming it all on a ninety-minute compilation where everyone just wants to be experimental, downplayed and whatnot, it is really taxing to sit and listen to. There aren't any overly bad tracks per se but it is a very hectic compilation where you get thrown around a lot. I think you need to be in a certain mood to really enjoy it and that mood doesn't come often. It was released in different sets over the course of last year and this year and I can see why; four sets with four to five tracks instead of one mastodon of 14 tracks puts much less weight on you when it is this kind of experimental electronic sounds everyone is gunning for.

And finally, the hip-hop. Oh, the hip-hop. As some have probably noticed, I have really hit it off with Run the Jewels. It is just such a fantastic release to me; almost every track is just a banger and it seems El-P and Killer Mike were really heading for quality over quantity. And I just love it; it was pretty much the only thing I listened to over the course of a week or something. And on that note, I sat down and finally listened to R.A.P. Music. And with that I can say that Killer Mike has made a fan in me. Damn, that dude can spit; I can't wait to dig further into his discography.

Concerning THE LIST, a lot of stuff has happened on the undercard and the lower ends of it since I also had the time to re-listen to a lot of stuff from earlier this year and really think about what I liked and what I didn't like; which is why there are a lot of move-arounds on top of the debutants. And yeah, I guess people were right about the new Gold Panda LP - I had high hopes after his really downplayed and almost droney EP from January, Trust, but when Half of Where You Live turned out to be a mix between ethnic sounds, glitch, UK Garage and ambient I was more shunned than enthralled really. Still better than Nosaj Thing's Home, though.

Debuted
Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels
Various Artists - Think and Change
Gold Panda - Half of Where You Are
Vinnie Who - Midnight Special
The Dillinger Escape Plan - One of Us is the Killer

Top Ten
1. Helen Money - Arriving Angels
2. Redwood Hill - Descender
3. Det Nopsus - Det Nopsus
4. Disclosure - Settle
5. Kvelertak - Meir
6. Iceage - You're Nothing
7. Humanfly - Awesome Science
8. Summoning - Old Mornings Dawn
9. Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels
10. Boris - Präparat

The Great
11. Shugo Tokumaru - In Focus?
12. The Knife - Shaking the Habitual
13. Peer Group - Brutalist Sketches in the Style of Water-Stained Concrete
14. Kavinsky - OutRun
15. Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest
16. A$AP Rocky - LONG.LIVE.A$AP
17. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
18. James Blake - Overgrown
19. Thundercat - Apocalypse
20. Charles Bradley - Victim Of Love
21. Wormed - Exodromos
22. David Bowie - The Next Day

The Good
23. Various Artists - Think and Change
24. The Dillinger Escape Plan - One of Us is the Killer
25. aivi & surasshu - The Black Box
26. Mountains - Centralia
27. Cult of Luna - Vertikal
28. Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience
29. Alberich - Guard Tower: Cassette Works, Vol. 1
30. Alberich - Fortification: Cassette Works, Vol. 2
31. Tomahawk - Oddfellows
32. Woodkid - The Golden Age

The Alright
33. Suuns - Images Du Futur
34. Gold Panda - Half of Where You Are
35. inc. - No World
36. Dirty Knobs - A Disenchanted Snake
38. Otis Taylor - My World Is Gone
39. My Bloody Valentine - m b v
40. Snoop Lion - Reincarnated

Ech, No More
41. Vinnie Who - Midnight Special
42. Nosaj Thing - Home
43. Foals - Holy Fire
44. Portal - Vexovoid
45. Emancipator - Dusk to Dawn

[RPS]

SRN, real question. I think you have impeccable tastes about music. But what's with the love for Disclosure? Really? You like it?

What Jimmy said; Disclosure are a boat-load of fun. They might not have that much lyrical depth, their sound might be a bit kitsch and hankering towards 90's simplicity but Disclosure is just so moving, so comfortable and so fun. Plus, I have DJ'd their music a whole lot, since I started, so there is that connection as well.

Jimmy's got great tastes, for the record.

I don't hate Disclosure, I just think it's pretty middle of the road and average. I just think they've sort of taken what others are doing in more interesting ways and taken all the edge out and streamlined it. I've listened to their LP a bunch and think they've done some good things, I just would love for them to take the ball and run a bit more.

[METALMAN]

Muswell Hilbillies is a really good album

[Jimmy]

SRN, real question. I think you have impeccable tastes about music. But what's with the love for Disclosure? Really? You like it?

What Jimmy said; Disclosure are a boat-load of fun. They might not have that much lyrical depth, their sound might be a bit kitsch and hankering towards 90's simplicity but Disclosure is just so moving, so comfortable and so fun. Plus, I have DJ'd their music a whole lot, since I started, so there is that connection as well.

Jimmy's got great tastes, for the record.

I don't hate Disclosure, I just think it's pretty middle of the road and average. I just think they've sort of taken what others are doing in more interesting ways and taken all the edge out and streamlined it. I've listened to their LP a bunch and think they've done some good things, I just would love for them to take the ball and run a bit more.

Which is something they could totally happen. As I've said, I'm a big fan already, but the two guys are 19 & 21, so the potential for something even more exciting in the future is almost certainly there.

[KONGO]

One reason I love Electric Wizard so much is that they are really totally B-movie. A lot of stoner/doom bands can be fun or can be dark, but no one can really be dark and fun at the same time like Electric Wizard. It totally is like a cheesy Dracula movie where he's all dripping with blood and about to bite the neck of the virginal blonde white teen. They play it completely straight but there's some way where you know they've got to be into just how over-the-top it is, there's just an infectious energy despite the fact that the subject and scene is so macabre.

I think the closest band to them was Reverend Bizarre, and they did a much more traditional version of doom, plus a handful of outright "let's have fun, this is a funny one!" songs.

[KONGO]

Yeah, if I was still wrestling, my theme music would definitely be either "Layla" or "White Room."

Or:

[KONGO]

Also, "Fucked Upstairs" is one of my favorite song titles ever.

[Hector Jones]

The Revenge of Johnny Skyline.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8oE1xRqifY

drugs.

[Benji]

Stereophonics' "Just Enough Education To Perform" has suddenly jumped in plays. I forgot how much I adore this album.

[jack95]

I've been listening to lots of Steve Earle recently. I think when he's on form he really does rival the likes of Springsteen in terms of storytelling ability and insights into American culture. It's a pity he's not on form often enough.

[thatshortguy]

I've been listening to lots of Steve Earle recently. I think when he's on form he really does rival the likes of Springsteen in terms of storytelling ability and insights into American culture. It's a pity he's not on form often enough.

If you haven't already, check out his

Dude has been through some crazy stuff, but still comes across as the guy you want to jam with half the time and listen to his tales the other half.

[munky]

I just stumbled upon Southern Culture on the Skids' Dirt Track Date album.

Holy nostalgia, Batman.

"You make me wanna walk... Like a camel."

[stokeriño]

[thatshortguy]

My favorite jazz/big band song to play on the drums. Impossible not to shimmy at that beat.

Edit: New Civil Wars is a blatant cash-in on the name. Newsted's debut is okay, but nothing great. Hugh Laurie's latest is pretty solid, but longer than you may expect.

[deli]

How have I only just discovered this? The guitar on this is just pure sex.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I've been listening to Daughter. Elena Tonra has a lovely and haunting voice.

[Damian WayLNKe]

Ty Segall's latest album is now available for streaming. I've been listening all morning. www.npr.org/2013/08/11/210155632/first-listen-ty-segall-sleeper

[livid]