The 21st Century ’70s Springsteen, Craig Finn writes songs that are anthemic, evocative, and rich with narrative and emotional detail and perceptiveness.  If his talk-singing didn’t become a slog so often, his band would rank much higher.  This song always makes me smile though:

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The Good Life’s Album of the Year is an album of a year long relationship and as a sucker for concept albums and songs about the complications of relationships, I eat it up.  I love this (long) song most.  It’s the only one with a female lead vocal on the album:

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The first terrific 2010 debuting band to make the list:

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So, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince are a childhood favorite and “Men In Black” was essentially the song of the summer in 1997 as, dancing and singing along to it, I cleaned theaters playing the film Men In Black for weeks on end.  I rarely listen to either musical incarnation of Will Smith anymore but pure nostalgia keeps him on the list:

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So earlier in the month CWH webmaster Dave and I went to see Laura Marling, who is one of both of our favorite recording artists, and we featured two great videos taken during the show here on Camels With Hammers and expressed hopes that video of Laura whistling her way through the string portion of one of her songs would surface online.  I had observed a girl in the front row recording that song and so figured there was hope it might show up.  Well, it appears that that girl has heard my desperate plea and come forward with the amazing footage.  Behold the power of the internet.

And to hear how the song goes in its recorded form, the song’s official video can be found here.

Thanks again, Ale!

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I have their newest album, Ashes of Grammar, and it’s a really enjoyable hour long psychedelic atmospheric experience taken all in one straight through listen.  They’re the kind of band whose songs I wouldn’t even attempt to listen to apart from the full context of the album because they’re so jarring and hard to get a read on when isolated.  But listened to as an album it all is really engaging.  To characterize their sound I would say they’re the only band that I can think of who belong in whatever genre Animal Collective belongs to.  When I first heard Ashes of Grammar I considered it the first Merriweather Post Pavilion-influenced album I had heard. Whether or not that influence is direct or not, I have no idea.

Here’s their appropriately titled “Headphone Space” from an album that belongs in your headphones to be maximally enjoyed:

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The new Mr. Deity:

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