Maybe, just maybe, you’ve noticed the recent lack of activity on my blog. You’ll be happy to know that this time I attribute it to a reason other than laziness.

As of late, I’ve been listening to lots of old music: Tokyo Police Club, Songs: Ohia, Jeff Hanson, Tom McRae, Devin Davis, Ryan Adams, etc. Or, in other words, stuff I’ve already blogged about. And while I’ve also been listening to lots of new stuff (Ryan Adams, Rocky Votolato, Interpol, Spoon, Bishop Allen), nothing has inspired me to post on the ole blog. As a result, I effectively missed the first birthday of Mike Went West and, maybe more importantly, left my readers out in the cold in the middle of a rather active month for music.

I can’t say that I’m disappointed with the recent batch of new releases. Spoon’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is quite solid; Ryan Adams and Rocky Votolato put forth worthy discs; Interpol is quickly gaining strength. All this goodness, however, has been obscured by older stuff in my catalog.

I guess I should clarify what I mean by “older stuff.” I have this terrible habit of listening to an album for about a month and then tossing it aside for something new (that’s how I can listen to so much new music all at the same time). The main drawback to this approach is that if the album doesn’t hit me almost immediately, it gets lost in the noise. And while some deserve this kind of treatment, others do not. To make a long story short, I consider “older stuff” to be anything I’ve already tossed aside.

Time to bring this rambling mess back on track. Below I’ve posted several mp3′s. The first is a gorgeous sad-bastard song by Ryan Adams. The second is super cool track from Spoon’s newest release Ga x 5. And the last is a haunting number by Tom McRae, a guy I should’ve mentioned a long time ago. Enjoy.

• Ryan Adams – Elizabeth, You Were Born to Play That Part
• Spoon – Eddie’s Ragga
• Tom McRae – Walking 2 Hawaii