Top 50 Albums of 2010 (so far), Listener's Picks

NPR let listeners pick their 50 favorite albums for the first half of 2010.  Regardless of what you think about the rankings it's a good starting point for finding some of this years best music.  Some thoughts that I had after reading the list:

• It's good to see The Black Keys, Broken Bells, and Mumford & Sons crack the Top 10
• Spoon, Sleigh Bells, and MGMT's new albums are overrated
• Dr. Dog's "Shame, Shame" (#27 on the list) should be a lot higher 
• I need to check out Gorillaz "Plastic Beach" and LCD Soundsystem "This Is Happening"

Here are the top 25:  (check out the full list here)
1.Gorillaz: Plastic Beach
2.The National: High Violet
3.The Black Keys: Brothers
4.Broken Bells: Broken Bells
5.LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening
6.Vampire Weekend: Contra
7.Beach House: Teen Dream
8.Mumford and Sons: Sigh No More
9.Spoon: Transference
10.Sleigh Bells: Treats
11.Local Natives: Gorilla Manor
12.Yeasayer: Odd Blood
13.The New Pornographers: Together
14.Flying Lotus: Cosmogramma
15.She & Him: Volume Two
16.Band of Horses: Infinite Arms
17.Jonsi: Go
18.The Knife: Tomorrow, In A Year
19.Broken Social Scene: Forgiveness Rock Record
20.Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings: I Learned The Hard Way
21.MGMT: Congratulations
22.Joanna Newsom: Have One On Me
23.Josh Ritter: So Runs The World Away
24.Janelle Monae: The ArchAndroid
25.Frightened Rabbit: The Winter Of Mixed Drinks

NPR....there's an app for that

I recently got an iPhone and one of the first apps I downloaded was for National Public Radio (NPR).  Just released, this app allows you to listen to a lot of great programs (World Cafe sessions, Exclusive First Listen of new albums, XPN live performances) and stream from a number of radio stations (XPN in Philadelphia, KCRW in California, and KEXP in Washington among others).  Even if you don't have an iPhone you can listen to all of these from a desktop at their website.  For someone like me though, who's on the road driving for work at least 2-3 hours a day, this app is a wonderful thing.

New from Pearl Jam - "Of The Earth"

Pearl Jam debuted a new song called "Of The Earth" at a show in Dublin earlier this week.  It's rumored to be an unreleased track off their self-titled album from 2006.  The heavy feel and guitar riffs in the song are reminiscent of material from their early albums.  The extended jam featuring guitarist Mike McCready is ridiculous!  Can't wait to hear a studio version of this.

Boot: The Avett Brothers - Bonnaroo 2010

As I mentioned in a previous post, I caught the Avett Bros set at Bonnaroo when it was broadcast on Youtube last week.  I was a casual fan of theirs already but after hearing/seeing that live set I now desperately want to see them in concert.  The video posted above is a fan recording of "The Perfect Space" off their album 'I and Love and You'.  Scott Avett even performs double duty playing piano and drums during the song.  Check out the entire show below.

Bonnaroo 2010 Setlist:
1 - The Fall
2 - Shame
3 - Paranoia in B-Flat Major
4 - The Perfect Space
5 - I Killed Sally's Lover
6 - January Wedding
7 - Colorshow
8 - Head Full of Doubts/Road Full of Promises
9 - When I Drink
10 - Salvation Song
11 - More of You
12 - And it Spread
13 - Famous Flower of Manhattan
14 - Laundry Room
15 - Talk of Indolence
16 - Salina
17 - Slight Figure of Speech
18 - I and Love and You
Download - The Avett Bros - Roo 2010

Up & Coming Band: Atomic Tom

To celebrate my birthday a group of friends and I decided to hit up the Khyber in Old City, Philadelphia.  Along with a hangover I came away from that evening with a new band to follow.  Atomic Tom are an alternative rock band from Brooklyn NY about to break out onto the music scene.  Their sound is a combination of their list of influences (the Killers, the Cure, Franz Ferdinand, etc.).  "Take Me Out" is the lead single off their forthcoming album due out in 2010.  They closed out the set with that song and by the end the entire audience was singing along to the chorus.  Pretty impressive considering it was probably the first time a lot of the people there (including me) had heard it.   Check out the video below and keep a eye out for these guys in the near future. 

The Roots with Yim Yames on Jimmy Fallon - Set Your DVR's

The Roots are scheduled to perform with Yim Yames of My Morning Jacket on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon this Friday June 18th.  They'll likely play "Dear God 2.0", a remix/cover the Roots recorded of the Monsters of Folk tune "Dear God" which Yames was a part of.

UPDATE:  Check out video of the performance from last Friday...

Hear Sets from Bonnaroo 2010 via NPR

Well I know what I'll be listening to at the office this week. NPR is streaming a number of sets from this past weekend's Bonnaroo on their website. You can hear sets from The Avett Bros, Dave Matthews Band, The XX, She & Him, LCD Soundsystem, and The National among others. The Avett Bros put on a hell of a show, I highly recommend listening to it.
NPR - 'Live At Bonnaroo' shows
Also thru NPR and Itunes you can download a free 11 song sampler of artists who performed at this years Bonnaroo. The offer expires on July 31, 2010
NPR - Bonnaroo Free Sampler

New to me: Mumford & Sons

I heard a song by these guys on XPN earlier this week and looked them up as soon as I got home. They're an English folk rock band. Their debut album titled "Sigh No More" was released back in February. I haven't had a chance to hear the whole album yet but I've liked everything I've heard so far. "The Cave" was the song I heard that caught my ear. Here's their myspace website and a show they played in Sydney back in February.
Mumford & Sons - Myspace

Oxford Arts Factory - Sydney, Austrailia 2/2/10
1. Sigh No More
2. Awake My Soul
3. Timshel
4. White Blank Page
5. Little Lion Man
6. The Cave
7. I Gave You All
8. Roll Away Your Stone
9. Dust Bowl Dance
Download - Mumford & Sons - 2/2/10