In order to return my blog to its usual format, I need to clear out the backlog of music created by my summer hiatus. This post should bring you up to speed on some of my favorite albums released in the past few months. It won’t be poetic, but then again, housekeeping rarely is.

MY MORNING JACKET Official Website | MySpace | eMusic | Insound | Amazon | CD Baby | Amie Street

After the massive disappointment that was Z, I expected very little of My Morning Jacket’s latest album Evil Urges. After several months of listening, I can honestly say Evil Urges doesn’t suck. In fact, it’s pretty solid. The band continues to distance themselves from the sound they perfected on At Dawn, which, at least for me, is disappointing because that’s the sound I originally fell in love with.

I think, however, I’ve come to terms with their new direction. Seeing them live at the Greek two weeks ago definitely helped. These guys put on an amazing show. One of the many highlights that night was an incredible version of “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2,” the epic closing track on Evil Urges. The studio version of this song is posted below.

[mp3] My Morning Jacket - Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2

THE WALKMEN Official Website | MySpace | eMusic | Insound | Amazon | CD Baby | Amie Street

On You & Me, The Walkmen not only perfect their sound but finally feel comfortable with it. And they sound as if they’ve just shaken off an epic hangover: their new album contains a sense of weariness and regret not present in previous albums. Maybe The Walkmen have grown up.

If so, it’s for the better. You & Me is their most consistent, and ultimately, their most rewarding album to date. Ironically, its consistency might also be its biggest turn-off. Songs sometimes bleed too much into each other. It takes repeated listens before tracks distinguish themselves. After nearly two dozen spins, I’m finally there. Right now, “On the Water” is my favorite track, but this will probably change on a weekly basis.

[mp3] The Walkmen - On the Water

SHEARWATER Official Website | MySpace | eMusic | Insound | Amazon | CD Baby | Amie Street

Similar to The Walkmen, Shearwater sounds like they’ve finally figured themselves out. With the release of Rook, Meiburg and his band fully step out of the shadow of Okkervil River. I’m only disappointed it took so long.

There is a lot going on under the surface of Rook. The shear gorgeousness of the music often masks a strong undercurrent of anger and frustration. Which is part of the reason I like Shearwater so much: their ability to combine beauty and violence is striking. The title track from Rook, which is posted below, captures this balance perfectly.

[mp3] Shearwater - Rooks

SIGUR RÓS Official Website | MySpace | eMusic | Insound | Amazon | CD Baby | Amie Street

Sigur Rós has yet to release a disappointing album. With every new CD, they manage to explore new territory while at the same time maintaining their core sound (My Morning Jacket should take a lesson from them). The first few tracks on Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust, for example, can almost be described as joyous, which is definitely new territory for the band.

This mood, however, doesn’t last long. Soon the band retreats to familiar ground, slowing the flow of music to that of a glacier. “Illgresi,” the track posted below, resides on the slower second half of Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust and features the band at its simplest: a pretty acoustic guitar riff, some violin flourishes, and Jónsi’s plaintive vocals.

[mp3] Sigur Rós - Illgresi

Before starting, I must confess: I don’t know much about the south beyond the typical negative stereotypes (which I will not enumerate here). But for a region plagued by such a controversial and turbulent history, the south sure inspires gorgeous music.

And while only some of the artists featured in this mix call the south their home, all the songs conjure up images of sitting on the front porch at twilight watching the sunset and fireflies, which I imagine they do quite often in the south. I know I would.

This mix was largely inspired by my obsession with country-tinged indie music. Far from the typical Toby Keith garbage you hear on the radio, the songs below borrow the best parts of country music to create something that tugs at your heartstrings.

Some call it alt-country, some call it folk, I just call it good music (with a twang).

1. [mp3] My Morning Jacket - Where to Begin
2. [mp3] Palace Music - New Partner
3. [mp3] The Black Keys - The Lengths
4. [mp3] Iron & Wine - Resurrection Fern
5. [mp3] Ryan Adams - Oh My Sweet Carolina
6. [mp3] The Acorn - Glory
7. [mp3] The National Lights - O, Ohio
8. [mp3] The Everybodyfields - Good to Be Home

Once again, I recommend listening to the songs in the above order. Check the comments for a link to a zip file containing all 8 songs.

“Time is near to come forward with whatever killed your spark…”

I’ve only just realized that posting one song by each of my favorite bands was a gross injustice. Please accept my sincerest apologies and consider this post to be a supplement to my first Artist Spotlight.

There is good reason My Morning Jacket is my favorite band of all time. That’s right: they sit at the very top of my top 5 - no questions about it. Not only do they write incredibly affecting songs, but Jim James’ vocals are otherworldly.

Up until now, I feel like I’ve done the band an disservice. I’ve posted a few of their songs on my blog (”Strangulation,” “Phone Went West,” “O Is the One that Is Real,” and “Dondante”), but they can be difficult to digest without the proper introduction.

With this post, I hope to right this wrong. Listen to the songs below in the exact order posted, then hit up the tracks mentioned above for further listening (side note: “Strangulation” is my absolute favorite song of all time).

I sincerely hope that My Morning Jacket becomes one of your favorite bands. Despite the slight misstep that was the album Z, they are an incredibly-talented and inspiring band that deserves your attention.

[mp3] My Morning Jacket - Bermuda Highway
[mp3] My Morning Jacket - I Will Be There When You Die
[mp3] My Morning Jacket - The Bear
[mp3] My Morning Jacket - Eveyln Is Not Real
[mp3] My Morning Jacket - X-mas Curtain
[mp3] My Morning Jacket - Tyrone
[mp3] My Morning Jacket - O Is the One That Is Real

What a difference a month makes.

In the past 4 weeks, I’ve completely settled into my new apartment, taken my first midterm as a grad student, and partied about as much as I did during a typical year as an undergrad. Needless to say, this podcast is the exact opposite of last month’s.

I’ve been meaning to make a good driving mix for quite some time now. And the songs on this podcast need to be played loud. They could be the soundtrack to you and your friends’ drive into the city on the weekend, or the motivation you need to get some (home)work done.

Here’s the tracklisting:

1. Built to Spill - Goin’ Against Your Mind
2. Interpol - Evil
3. The Tragically Hip - Escape Is At Hand For the Travellin’ Man
4. Weezer - Say It Ain’t So
5. My Morning Jacket - O Is the One That Is Real
6. Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Let It Ride
7. Belle & Sebastian - Another Sunny Day
8. The Twilight Singers - Teenage Wristband
9. Wolf Parade - I’ll Believe In Anything
10. Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye
11. Tapes ‘n Tapes - Jakov’s Suite

I know that a few of these songs are repeats from previous posts/podcasts, but they were just too perfect to leave out. You may also notice that this mix tape is an enhanced podcast, so feel free to skip from track to track, though I recommend listening to it in its entirety (as always).

Directly download my podcast here. Visit the archives here

Whenever I am about to begin a new stage of my life, I always get a little depressed. It doesn’t matter how excited I am, it still happens. Tomorrow I officially start grad school at Cal, which could be a particularly rough transition seeing as how I spent last winter snowboarding in Tahoe. Add to that the fact that, for the last month, I haven’t been able to find an apartment and you can potentially see why I’m bummed.

My second podcast definitely reflects my current mood. It’s a mix of slow, somber songs - both old and new. I titled it “Late Night Drinking” because I feel that the songs were originally recorded under those conditions. It’s definitely mood music; listen to it late at night on your headphones for full effect. Sorta the exact opposite of my first podcast, which I feel works anytime.

Here’s the tracklisting:

1. My Morning Jacket - Strangulation!
2. Brand New - Play Crack the Sky
3. Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s - A Light On a Hill
4. The National - Lucky You
5. Ryan Adams - Oh My Sweet Carolina
6. The Mountain Goats - Sometimes I Still Feel the Bruise
7. The National - Daughters of the Soho Riots
8. Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - How Do You Keep Love Alive
9. Shearwater - Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up That Old Gang of Mine
10. Jeff Hanson - Something About
11. The National - About Today
12. Songs: Ohia - Blue Chicago Moon

Directly download my podcast here. Visit the archives here.

PS - I wanted this mix to be an enhanced podcast, meaning you can easily skip from track to track within the mp3, but I couldn’t get it to work. Hopefully I can figure it out by next month. Also, there will be no Weekly Download on account of the podcast. Bonus points to anyone who reads this far into the post, and extra bonus points to whoever can guess which of the 12 tracks is my all-time favorite song.

The moment has finally arrived! Mike Went West proudly presents its first podcast (aka mix tape). Mix Tape 01 features the Top 10 Songs of 2005 according to Mike Went West.

I know it’s about 8 months late, but this mix has gotta be one of the best I’ve ever made. I enjoy it as much now as I did back in December 2005. Every song is top-notch - I wouldn’t change a single thing. I hope my future mixes can top this one!

Here’s the tracklisting:

1. Wolf Parade - Shine a Light
2. The New Pornographers - Sing Me Spanish Techno
3. Spoon - I Summon You
4. Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Let It Ride
5. Sufjan Stevens - The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!
6. Akron/Family - Running, Returning
7. Sigur Ros - Hoppi­polla
8. Iron & Wine - The Trapeze Swinger
9. Okkervil River - A Stone
10. My Morning Jacket - Dondante

Directly download my podcast here. Visit the archives here. Make sure to tell all your friends and leave comments if you appreciate my efforts.

Enjoy!

Before uploading a podcast (which is coming very soon), I think you all should know the type of music I enjoy. But seeing as how I could go on forever, I have decided to reduce my entire music collection to my 5 favorite artists. It wasn’t very easy - and it’s even harder to rank them. So I won’t. Please enjoy the fruit of my labors…

MY MORNING JACKET: Soaring vocals drenched in reverb.

You know you’ve discovered one of your favorite bands when you stop listening to the rest of your music collection. That’s what the first note of Jim James’ amazing voice made me do. My Morning Jacket is the inspiration for the name of my blog, so I will share with you the song whose title I ripped off.

[mp3] My Morning Jacket - Phone Went West

BUILT TO SPILL: Epic guitar band with melodies to match.

Initially unimpressed with some mp3’s I downloaded, I let Built to Spill collect dust on my harddrive for several months. Then one fateful day I decided to buy Perfect From Now On after finding nothing else appealing at Rasputin. Next thing I knew, I was buying everything they released and thought that all other music sucked. No joking, they are that good. I saw them live at Slim’s on June 22 and they blew me away. They played ridiculously epic versions of “Untrustable” and “Broken Chairs.” I leave you with the studio recording of the former. Enjoy.

[mp3] Built to Spill - Untrustable / Pt. 2 (About Somebody Else)

OKKERVIL RIVER: Lyrics as beautiful as the instrumentation.

One of my more recent finds, Okkervil River has quickly moved up the ranks of my favorite bands. The focal point of the music is the lyrics, which, though they range from heartbreaking to murderous, are always excellent. If this seems contradictory, just listen to these two songs.

[mp3] Okkervil River - A Favor
[mp3] Okkervil River - Westfall

RADIOHEAD: The original innovators.

Radiohead is the band that started my love affair with music. Senior year of high school my friend introduced me to them. I remember the first time I heard “Fake Plastic Trees.” It was incredible. I’m sure that you all know and love Radiohead, but on the off chance that this is your first exposure, I’ll start you off where I began.

[mp3] Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees

SUN KIL MOON: Heartbreaking, yet uplifting nostalgia.

Despite having only one proper album to their name, Sun Kil Moon still makes my top 5 because Ghosts of the Great Highway is one of my favorite records of all time. I bought it with a gift certificate my ex-roommate Joel gave me for my birthday (I hope he enjoys the shout out). Beautiful, uplifting music that at the same time breaks your heart. So few bands can pull it off successfully. I hope you like it as much as I do.

[mp3] Sun Kil Moon - Carry Me Ohio

BARELY MISSED THE CUT: Make sure to check out these other excellent bands, though I will most likely post on them in the future: The National, Songs: Ohia, Iron & Wine, and Ryan Adams.