AV Club's Interview with Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

Read the interview here.

AVC: You've often talked about being easily bored and restless when it comes to music. How long will it be before you tire of The Mars Volta?

ORL: It remains to be seen. Like anyone else, I go up and down. You wake up some days, and you're like, "Life is great." You wake up other days, and you're like, "This is so shitty. I just want to stay in bed." Right now, I feel confident that as long as I can keep the sound moving forward, this is something I'll be doing for at least another five years. Other times, I feel like the clock is ticking. I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about anything at any given moment. When you feel like you've arrived somewhere, that's the real problem. With the old band, I felt we arrived somewhere. Like, "Okay, this is what our records will sound like from now on." When you keep contributing songs and they keep coming out the same, and there's no room for growth, you got somewhere. That means the lifespan is over. It's death.

8 Track: Something New

A new year brings new music, new bands, and new opportunities. Here are some of the bands that I've recently discovered and enjoyed.


The album is a mixed bag but this song is catchy as hell. Really, I can listen to this one over and over again.
MP4: These New Puritans - "Elvis"


I wasn't much of a fan of DFA1979 but I have yet to hear a Sebastien Grainger song that I don't love. I can't wait for his album.
MP3: Sebastien Grainger and Les Montagnes - "American Names"


Appears to be the next great hype in the U.K. Dev Hynes is ex-Test Icicles but this music couldn't be further removed from his former band. I'm on board.
MP4: Lightspeed Champion - "I Could Have Done This Myself"


Perhaps an up-and-coming band in the U.K. I don't know much about them but I like every song I've heard thus far.
MP4: Fanfarlo - "Fire Escape"


First single from their upcoming album, What Doesn't Kill Us.
MP4: What Made Milwaukee Famous - "Resistance St."


An unsigned band out of Edinburgh. Similar to Fanfarlo in that I've liked all of the songs they've released thus far.
MP4: Broken Records - "If You News Makes You Sad Don't Watch It"


One of my favorite female-fronted rock bands. Their new release, Neptune, far exceeds their debut.
MP3: The Duke Spirit - "The Step and The Walk"


They're from Mississippi and they share a label with Dinosaur Jr. Enough said.
MP3: Colour Revolt - "Naked and Red"

Weiland Back w. STP For Summer Dates

One of my favorite frontmen. Ever.

From Billboard:

"After Velvet Revolver wraps a spring tour in support of its second album, Libertad, frontman Scott Weiland will rejoin his former bandmates in Stone Temple Pilots for a handful of summer reunion shows, guitarist Slash tells Billboard.com.

"STP broke up in late 2002; the band's last album was the previous year's Shangri-La Dee Da. No other details have yet been revealed about STP's plans." [More: Guns, Revolver, Hall]

Tokyo Police Club Album and Tour Dates

Finally some good news. The long awaited Tokyo Police Club debut is finished and will be called Elephant Shell. The track listing is “Centennial,” “In A Cave,” “Graves,” “Juno,” “Tessellate,” “Sixties Remake,” “The Harrowing Adventures Of…,” “Nursery Academy,” “Your English Is Good,” “Listen To The Math,” “The Baskervilles.” I haven't seen an exact release date but NME is saying April. Here are their updated tour dates:

Mar. 18, 2008 Call The Office - London, ONT
Mar. 19, 2008 Birdy’s Bar and Grill - Indianapolis, IN
Mar. 20, 2008 Jackpot Saloon - Lawrence, KS
Mar. 22, 2008 Kilby Court - Salt Lake City, UT
Mar. 24, 2008 The Independent - San Francisco, CA
Mar. 25, 2008 The Glass House - Pomona, CA
Mar. 26, 2008 Troubadour - Hollywood, CA
Mar. 28, 2008 Soma - San Diego, CA
Mar. 29, 2008 The Clubhouse - Tempe, AZ
Mar. 31, 2008 Meridian Red Room - Houston, TX
Apr. 1, 2008 House of Blues - Dallas, TX
Apr. 3, 2008 Club Downunder - Tallahassee, FL
Apr. 4, 2008 Studio A - Miami, FL
Apr. 5, 2008 Backbooth - Orlando, FL
Apr. 7, 2008 40 Watt Club - Orlando, FL
Apr. 8, 2008 Exit/In - Nashville, TN
Apr. 9, 2008 The Spot - Cleveland, OH
Apr. 18, 2008 Barrymore's Music Hall - Ottawa, ON
Apr. 19, 2008 Cabaret du Musee Juste Pour Rire - Montreal, QC
Apr. 20, 2008 Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY
Apr. 21, 2008 Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY
Apr. 24, 2008 Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA
Apr. 26, 2008 Pearl Street Night Club - Northampton, MA
Apr. 28, 2008 First Unitarian Church - Philadelphia, PA
Apr. 29, 2008 Black Cat - Washington, DC
Apr. 30, 2008 Big Orbit's Soundlab - Buffalo, NY

R.I.P. Heath Ledger

[Photo Credit: Carlo Allegri/Getty]

Last week it was Brad Renfro. And now, Heath Ledger. Another great, young talent gone.

Time: Star in Distress
EW: Remembering Heath Ledger
Washington Post: Heath Ledger Found Dead in NYC at Age 28

No Ed Ved @ the Oscars?!?!

Can someone please explain to me how he was not nominated for best song? 3 fucking songs from "Enchanted?" The Academy should be ashamed at themselves. I've lost what little interest I had in this show. Below are the nods in the major categories. At least "No Country For Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood" were rightfully recognized.

BEST MOTION PICTURE
"Atonement" (Focus Features) A Working Title Production: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster, Producers
"Juno" (Fox Searchlight) A Dancing Elk Pictures, LLC Production: Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick and Russell Smith, Producers
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.) A Clayton Productions, LLC Production: Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orent, Producers
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production: Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) A JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production: JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, Producers

ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE
George Clooney in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)
Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Johnny Depp in "Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Tommy Lee Jones in "In the Valley of Elah" (Warner Independent)
Viggo Mortensen in "Eastern Promises" (Focus Features)

ACTRESS IN A LEAD ROLE
Cate Blanchett in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (Universal)
Julie Christie in "Away from Her" (Lionsgate)
Marion Cotillard in "La Vie en Rose" (Picturehouse)
Laura Linney in "The Savages" (Fox Searchlight)
Ellen Page in "Juno" (Fox Searchlight)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Casey Affleck in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (Warner Bros.)
Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Charlie Wilson's War" (Universal)
Hal Holbrook in "Into the Wild" (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment)
Tom Wilkinson in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Cate Blanchett in "I'm Not There" (The Weinstein Company)
Ruby Dee in "American Gangster" (Universal)
Saoirse Ronan in "Atonement" (Focus Features)
Amy Ryan in "Gone Baby Gone" (Miramax)
Tilda Swinton in "Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax/Pathé Renn), Julian Schnabel
"Juno" (Fox Searchlight), Jason Reitman
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.), Tony Gilroy
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax and Paramount Vantage), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage and Miramax), Paul Thomas Anderson

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.) Roger Deakins
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Seamus McGarvey
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Janusz Kaminski
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roger Deakins
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Robert Elswi

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Falling Slowly" from "Once" (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and: Marketa Irglova
"Happy Working Song" from "Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
"Raise It Up" from "August Rush" (Warner Bros.): Nominees to be determined
"So Close" from "Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
"That's How You Know" from "Enchanted" (Walt Disney): Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz

Coachella 2008

This lineup just saved me a couple hundred bucks.

Early Confirmations on Coachella

From Billboard:

"Portishead, My Morning Jacket, the Verve, Jack Johnson, the Breeders and Rilo Kiley are among the early confirmations trickling in for the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, according to sources and an L.A. Times report. Full details are expected later today (Jan. 21)." [More]

From the LA Times:

"At a news conference scheduled for today, Tollett and his business partners, which include concert promotion giant AEG Live, plan to announce the full lineup for the ninth edition of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio this April. It will include the Verve, the Raconteurs, Jack Johnson, My Morning Jacket and Rilo Kiley.

"Tollett is also planning to elaborate on his new venture in Jersey City, N.J.: a three-day August festival (reportedly headlined by Radiohead and Johnson) on a grassy expanse in 1,200-acre Liberty State Park that has a dramatic vista of the Manhattan skyline." [More]

From the LA Times blog, Buzz Bands:

Prince, rumored to be one of the headliners at Coachella, will not play the festival, a source says.

Roger Waters will, reprising his Dark Side of the Moon show. [More]

Loser.

[Photo Credit: AP/Stephan Savoia]

As a Pats fan, my biggest disappointment wasn't Brady's 3 picks. It wasn't our subpar offense. It was our competition, particularly All-Pro running back, LaDanian Tomlinson. You have to expect more from this guy. If you can't play, get up of the bench and root Michael Turner on. Get your team pumped. Be involved.

LT's mask, his hiding behind his face shield on the bench, spoke volumes about his character and attitude. As my dad said after the game, "they should have to peel you off of the field." I wonder what the great Kellen Winslow, a former Charger who was once carried off the field after giving one of the most epic performances in professional sports, thought about LT today.

As for me, I like rolling with Laurence Maroney and Kevin Faulk. All the way to the Super Bowl.

New Franz This Summer

[Once Upon a Time in DC]

Another meeting with Franz in the Coachella Valley, perhaps? Supposedly we'll find out this Monday.

Here's the word on the new album from Billboard.com:

"'The idea of making a dirty pop record -- this is what has been on our minds,' Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos tells Billboard.com of the band's ongoing studio sessions in Glasgow. A new, as-yet-untitled album is expected from the group this summer via Epic.

"'It's the opposite of punk/pop, which took something that was wonderful and removed all the dirt,' Kapranos says. The approach is best-heard on 'Ride Together,' a 'full-on upbeat, riding across the desert rock song. A lot of the other stuff is more rhythm- and dance-based,' he says.

After demoing material in Glasgow, the group intended to record the album in a proper studio in London. But after trial sessions there, 'we decided the ones we did in Glasgow sounded much better,' according to Kapranos. 'There was a real dirtiness, edge and attitude.' [More]

Calibrating Omar

Learn more about Omar's new album at the MySpace page. The skinny:

Calibration (is Pushing Luck and Key Too Far) is the forthcoming debut rock/electronic fueled solo record from Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. The CD, LP and digital download is set to be released on December 15, 2007 in Japan and in February-March 2008 in the US and UK & Europe through N20 Records an underground American indie label known for hard hitting drum and bass, J-pop, rockstar turntablism, metal jungle, west coast hip hop, reggae and dubstep.

The Calibration album found a home after Mars Volta bassist Juan Alderete linked up Omar and longtime friend Nate "N8loc" Shimizu of N2O Records. "We both are into hard drum breaks, heavy electronic music and pressing records old school analog style, on all kinds of rare dope colored vinyl. Omar's concept of the 2 part album is an original artistic piece that fit perfectly into the sound we've been breaking. Look out for some all-star producers and artists on the 2 albums," says Shimizu.

To complete the original album, the cover art was created by renowned San Francisco graffiti artist GREY, a childhood friend of Rodriguez-Lopez. An exciting "luck and key pushing" follow-up album featuring remixes of songs from the album will be released later in 2008 featuring Omar's friends and artists from the N2O Records roster.

John Frusciante lends vocals on the track "Glosa Picaresca Wou Men".

Enter Thomas Pridgen

The Mars Volta on Letterman.

radiohead.tv

They just eased through "All I Need". They've taken In Rainbows from the top. It is beautiful in every sense of the word. A great band, endless technology, broadband for days and they continue to reach out to us and share this experience and their music. Can't wait for "Reckoner" and "Videotape" and everything else that we know is coming. If they tap into Disc II and deliver some "Go Slowly" and "Bangers and Mash" I think my head will explode.

UPDATE: They're still going after In Rainbows wrapped up. "Up on the Ladder" (Thom acoustic) > "You and Whose Army?" > "The National Anthem" > "My Iron Lung" > "The Bends"

The Mars Volta on Letterman Thursday

[Photo Credit: ShowBuzz/AP]

While I'm a little pissed Dave let go of his strikebeard (I'm still standing, Dave!), I'm pretty excited about this news.

From TMV:

"On Thursday, January 17th, The Mars Volta will make their late night television debut when they take the stage at Ed Sullivan Studios as the musical guest on Late Night with David Letterman. The performance will be broadcast on CBS. Check local listings for showtimes."

Pre-Order Bedlam now. And the leak....is out....

Radiohead Webcast/In-store Tonight

Since I can't get here in time:I'll tune into Radiohead.tv around 8 [UK time]. Thanks, Jonny:

"So, we've got a small gig tonight.

"It's in London at the Rough Trade East shop on Brick Lane, and we're planning to play a short set of in rainbows material. It's very limited free entry, first come first served. Also, as it might be a little uncomfortable for anyone queuing early, they're planning a numbering system so people at the front of any queue can get snacks and toilet breaks in the store. Good bagels round there. But dress warm...doors won't open until 7, and we'll play at about 8.

"For those who can't get in - and it's pretty small in there - we'll have some screens and speakers outside, if we're allowed. I think we are. And we'll also webcast it. I'll put the link up here, as well as any other info, later today.

"Hope you can make it - should be....interesting. Us being us, we're taking far too many instruments....."

Convert your timezone here.

Coachella East. What Exit?

Via Brooklyn Vegan:

All points lead to Radiohead for this event and the Coachella out here until the actual info drops. The fake lineup over at Los Anjealous looks almost too good...

The Mars Volta Overload

Our friend Frat caught The Mars Volta at Lupo's (Providence, RI) over the weekend and had quite a mind-blowing experience. He is still gathering his thoughts and formulating some kind of expression regarding the experience, but he whet my appetite with the setlist. Wow. He also noted - and this comes from a HUGE Jon Theodore and Danny Carey fan - that Thomas Pridgen was the best drummer he had ever seen.

This is about the most ridiculous opening 6 songs I could even imagine:

"Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)"
"Viscera Eyes"
"Wax Simulacra"
"Goliath"
"Conjugal Burns"
"Tetragrammaton"
"Agadez"
"Cygnus…Vismund Cygnus"
"Metatron"
"Drunkship of Lanterns"
"Liyena"
"Meccamputechture"
"Aberinkula
"Day of the Baphomets"

UPDATE: Brooklyn Vegan has pics from the Terminal 5 show. The third one down says it all.

UPDATE: More on the Terminal 5 Show..."There were virtually no breaks in the action last night—Rodriguez-Lopez often kept soloing between songs—and there was no encore. There was no need." - David Fricke, RS Rock Daily

Radiohead - "All I Need"

Created by the same person that merged Arcade Fire's "My Body Is A Cage" with Once Upon A Time In The West. Sick.

The Mars Volta: Bedlam Webisodes

"The Volta is taken from a Federico Fellini book about his films, what he characterizes as a changing of scene, or a turnaround; a new scene to him is called Volta. Y'know, changing of time and the changeover. And Mars, we're just fascinated by science-fiction so and it's something that ultimately looked as in anything I write, its meaning is always up to the listener. As the way we write songs and words, if it looks great on paper then to us it's like painting, so if it looks good meaning the second then people usually have a better interpretation than we ever would." - Cedric Bixler-Zavala

"Wax Simulacra"


"Aberinkula"


"Goliath"


"Askepios"


I cannot wait for this to drop. No leak that I can find so far. Frat is catching them in Providence tonight, at the site of my dismantling by the same band several years ago, Lupo's. I'll never forget walking a couple of blocks to some trendy spot where my fiance was waiting for me with friends and rolling in completely fucking drenched in sweat. As in: soaked. Pants. Shirt. Face. Shorn head sans sweatband. It was fucking glorious. Frat will grace us with a complete report tomorrow. Or whenever he recovers. These videos kick. "Wax Simulacra" and "Goliath" (the epic previously known as "Rapid Fire Tollbooth") are 1, 2 for the best songs of 2008. So far.

 

MP3: Omar Rodriguez-Lopez - "Rapid Fire Tollbooth"

Okkervil River - Golden Opportunities

This dropped on December 12th, but I just caught wind of it. It's an album of covers recorded live, between '06 and '07. They did no press for it, no hype and set it up through their website OkkervilRiver.com. Pretty tight. Give me a little while to tell you how it is. I'm hitting up Elvis Perkins and Bjork's Volta before I make my better-late-than-never-year-end-list.

Radiohead No. 1; U.S. Tour Stops

Radiohead sold 122,000 units to take the number 1 spot on the Billboard album chart. I was one of them; I paid $7.99 at the Best Buy in my neighborhood. That's one way to encourage people to pay for an album that was previously available for free. The band have also announced their U.S. tour stops:

Atlanta
Boston
Charlotte, N.C.
Chicago
Cleveland
Dallas
Houston
Indianapolis
Los Angeles
Miami
Montreal
New York
Philadelphia
San Diego
San Francisco
Santa Barbara, Calif.
Seattle
St. Louis
Tampa, Fla.
Toronto
Vancouver
Washington, D.C.

via Billboard

Trent Reznor on NiggyTardust

Lifted verbatim from NIN.com. I'm sure Trent and Saul don't mind:

It's a strange time to be an artist in the recording business. It's pretty easy to see what NOT to do these days, but less obvious to know what's right. As I find myself free from the bloated bureaucracy of major labels, finally able to do whatever I want... well, what is that? What is the "right" way to release records, treat your music and your audience with respect and attempt to make a living as well? I have a number of musician friends who are either in a similar situation or feel they soon will be, and it's a real source of anxiety and uncertainty.

I'd like to share my experience releasing Saul Williams' The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust and what I've learned from the process. Perhaps by revealing of all our data - our "dirty laundry" - we can contribute to a better solution.

A quick history: Saul makes a great record that I produce. We can't find the right home at a major label. We decide to release it ourselves, digitally. Saul does not have limitless financial resources so we shop around for a company that can fulfill our needs. We choose Musicane because they are competent and are willing to adapt to what we want. The results are here: niggytardust.com.

We offer the entire record free (as in totally free to the visitor - we pay bandwidth costs) as 192 MP3s, or for $5 you can choose higher fidelity versions and feel good about supporting the artist directly. We offer all major CCs and PayPal as payment options.

Here's what I was thinking: Fans are interested in music as soon as it's available (that's a good thing, remember) and usually that's a leak from the label's manufacturing plants. Offering the record digitally as its first appearance in the marketplace eliminates that problem. I thought if you offered the whole record free at reasonable quality - no strings attached - and offered a hassle free way to show support that clearly goes straight to the artists who made it at an unquestionably low price people would "do the right thing". I know, I know...

Well, now I DO know and you will too.

Saul's previous record was released in 2004 and has sold 33,897 copies.

As of 1/2/08,
154,449 people chose to download Saul's new record.
28,322 of those people chose to pay $5 for it, meaning:
18.3% chose to pay.

Of those paying,

3220 chose 192kbps MP3
19,764 chose 320kbps MP3
5338 chose FLAC

Keep in mind not one cent was spent on marketing this record. The only marketing was Saul and myself talking as loudly as we could to anybody that would listen.
If 33,897 people went out and bought Saul's last record 3 years ago (when more people bought CDs) and over 150K - five times as many - sought out this new record, that's great - right?

"I have to assume the people knowing about this project must either be primarily Saul or NIN fans, as there was very little media coverage outside our direct influence. If that assumption is correct - that most of the people that chose to download Saul's record came from his or my own fan-base - is it good news that less than one in five feel it was worth $5? I'm not sure what I was expecting but that percentage - primarily from fans - seems disheartening.

Add to that: we spent too much (correction, I spent too much) making the record utilizing an A-list team and studio, Musicane fees, an old publishing deal, sample clearance fees, paying to give the record away (bandwidth costs), and nobody's getting rich off this project.

But...
Saul's music is in more peoples' iPods than ever before and people are interested in him. He'll be touring throughout the year and we will continue to get the word out however we can.

So - if you're an artist looking to utilize this method of distribution, make of these figures what you will and hopefully this info is enlightening.

Best,
TR

Freed from Majors in '07

UPDATE: "Freed" sounds better than "dropped" which is the word I originally used incorrectly.

Posting this list since I found it to be pretty interesting. Obviously, some have already moved on to new labels (Radiohead, The White Stripes) or just broken up entirely (Blood Brothers, Sound Team).

Airbourne
Alexz Johnson
Alkaline Trio
Amerie
...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead
Annie Steela
Ari Hest
Aslyn
Big Pooh and Little Brother
Blood Brothers
Bo Bice
Brendan James
Brett Ryan
Christian Daniel
Christina Milian
CMurder
Dandy Warhols
DMX
Fischerspooner
From First To Last
Goldie
Hedley
IMA Robot
INXS
JC Chasez
Jewel
J-Kwon
Joe Budden
Kelis
Kevin Devine
King Elementary
Liz Phair
Melissa Auf der Mar
Men, Women and Children
Moby
Mooney Suzuki
Natalie Warner
Nine Inch Nails
Northern State
Otep
Over It
P.O.D.
Paris Hilton
Paul McCartney
Phase 9
Prophet Omega
Radiohead
Reeve Oliver
Ronnie Day
Ruben Studdard
Shaggy
Shout Out Louds
Skye Sweetnam
Sound Team
Sparklehorse
Stacie Orrico
Sugarcult
Summer Obsession
The Clipse
The Donnas
The Music
The Outline
The Redwalls
The Vines
What About Frank
White Stripes

Rebroadcast of Scotch Mist on Current TV

For those of you who did not catch Radiohead's NYE broadcast (or subsequent rebroadcasts, for that matter) on Current TV, now you can:

Wednesday 01/09/08
4A – 5A EST / 1A-2A PST

Friday 01/11/08
tune in for show times

Saturday 01/12/08
tune in for show times

It's far more enjoyable than watching it on YouTube.

via Filter Mag.

From the Left Coast: Best of 2007

Albums

25. Jay-Z American Gangster
24. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Se Dice Bufalo, No Bisonte
23. Feist The Reminder
22. Eddie Vedder Into the Wild [OST]
21. LCD Soundsystem Sound of Silver
20. Ataxia AW II
19. The Poison Control Center A Collage of Impressions
18. Dinosaur Jr. Beyond
17. Saul Williams The Eventual Rise and Fall of NiggyTardust
16. Queens of the Stone Age Era Vulgaris
15. Spoon Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
14. Bloc Party A Weekend In The City
13. Interpol Our Love to Admire
12. Modest Mouse We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
11 Klaxons Myths of the Near Future
10. Okkervil River The Stage Names
9. The White Stripes Icky Thump
8. Band of Horses Cease to Begin
7. Daft Punk Alive
6. Arcade Fire Neon Bible
5. Boris w. Michio Kurihara Rainbow
4. Cloud Cult The Meaning of 8
3. Justice - †
2. The National Boxer
1. Radiohead In Rainbows

Short Stack (Singles, EPs, and the like)

5. TV On The Radio Live @ Amoeba Records
4. The Shins Phantom Limb [EP]
3. Pearl Jam Live @ Easy Street
2. The White Stripes Conquest [CD-Single]
1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs Is Is [EP]

Tracks

50. Okkervil River "John Allyn Smith Sails"
49. Eddie Vedder "No More"
48. Explosions in the Sky "The Birth and Death of the Day"
47. Radiohead "15 Step"
46. Okkervil River "Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe"
45. Klaxons "Two Receivers"
44. Lupe Fiasco "Dumb it Down"
43. Jay-Z "Ignorant Shit"
42. Queens of the Stone Age "Suture Up Your Future"
41. Bloc Party "The Prayer"
40. Midnight Movies "The Coral Den"
39. Cloud Cult "Chemicals Collide"
38. Division Day "Into the Woods"
37. Arcade Fire "Intervention"
36. Rihanna "Umbrella"
35. Kanye West "Stronger"
34. LCD Soundsystem "All My Friends"
33. The Shins "Sleeping Lessons"
32. Modest Mouse "Fire It Up"
31. Arcade Fire "(Antichrist Television Blues)"
30. Eddie Vedder "Hard Sun"
29. Queens of the Stone Age "3's and 7's"
28. Bloc Party "Hunting for Witches"
27. Arcade Fire "My Body Is A Cage"
26. Spoon "The Underdog"
25. The Shins "Turn on Me"
24. Feist "The Limit to Your Love"
23. The White Stripes "Icky Thump"
22. Radiohead "Bodysnatchers"
21. The National "Green Gloves"
20. Cloud Cult "Please Remain Calm"
19. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez "Rapid Fire Tollbooth"
18. Boris w. Michio Kurihara "Starship Narrator"
17. Klaxons "Atlantis to Interzone"
16. The White Stripes "Effect & Cause"
15. Interpol "Pioneer to the Falls"
14. Band of Horses "Ode to LRC"
13. The White Stripes "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just...)"
12. The Poison Control Center "Ride the Thunder"
11. The National "Fake Empire"
10. Radiohead "All I Need"
9. Bloc Party "The Once And Future King"
8. Okkervil River "Unless It's Kicks"
7. Sebastien Grainger & Les Montaignes "Are There Ways to Come Home"
6. Arcade Fire - "My Body is a Cage"
5. The National "Guest Room"
4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Down Boy"
3. Boris w. Michio Kurihara "Sweet No. 1"
2. Cloud Cult "Take Your Medicine"
1. Radiohead "Reckoner"

MOVIES

4. Eastern Promises, dir. David Cronenberg
3. No Country for Old Men, dir. Ethan & Joel Coen
2. There Will Be Blood, dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
1. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, dir. Andrew Dominik