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Much has been made ofThe Killers’ apparent attempt to become The Next Great American Rock Band; given the great schematic shift between their first two records, it seemed to be the only logical explanation. Hot Fuss was soaked with touches of 1980s Britpop (you can practically hear Morrissey crooning, “Save some faaaace...”), and smash single “Mr. Brightside” gave the shifty, nervous indie kids their anthem. Meanwhile, Sam’s Town came heralding endless mentions of apparent Bruce Springsteen homages and caked in desert sand – an album far more befitting this Vegas-based (or at the very least, American) band.

So what was this album supposed to do? And what does it accomplish? According to various reports, it was to be alternately a return to their early days, a bolder attempt at claiming “greatest band in the world” status (which Coldplay already did, and with strikingly successful results, earlier this year), or something entirely new for them. We wind up with something mostly resembling the third, though the first two do factor in from time to time. Certainly, it has the same “every song a single” feel of Hot Fuss, to which the quartet is suited.

Much of the post-leak buzz centered on “Joy Ride” and “I Can’t Stay”, two tracks that, like lead single “Human”, mark something new in the band’s catalog. Each has been alternately praised and panned in various reviews, with Stereogum calling the former “one of the most embarrassing songs of the year in any genre.” Both have a certain Ray-Ban-clan Vegas wink, but “Joy Ride” runs out of charm around the already-infamous sax solo. “I Can’t Stay” wisely utilizes Mark Stoermer’s infectiously funky bassline, along with David Byrne-esque retro charm, and deftly stays the course throughout, despite threatening to revert back to standard form.

“Neon Tiger” and “Spaceman” are wonderful singles, the latter already being prepped to whet radio appetites. “Tiger” has sleeper potential, much the same as “Read My Mind”, a song considered to be one of the band’s best despite garnering little notice, positive or otherwise in reviews. It has all the signs of an impending single

Now, don’t think for a second that they’ve abandoned their bid to become the next biggest band in the world. “A Dustland Fairytale” and closer-to-end-all-closers “Goodnight, Travel Well” wrap up each side of vinyl with obligatory bombast. Each owes something – “Dustland” to the hours spent tuned to Born To Run in their last studio stint, while “Goodnight” is almost Bono-an in it’s massive, foreboding tones that speak of death, I guess. There’s plenty of dark imagery, but it’s a little soft on substance.

Overall, they might have benefited from a little more time, but they’ve certainly not created anything to be ashamed of. While the elite critics may take them to task for running together for chunks – a justifiable critique – there are some legitimate new steps, some of which work (“Human” and “I Can’t Stay”) and some of which falter (“Joy Ride”). Flowers seems to retreat back within his vocal range, something that threatened to derail much of their previous efforts. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable record, despite some stumbles and a few forgettable clunkers. Not bad a bad outing at all, given the unfair juxtaposed expectations of both superstardom and mainstream sublimation. At their heart, The Killers are a singles band, most likely not capable of giving us the Great American Album. Here, they return to their strength – rather than trying to string together the uninspired studio efforts into some cheesy motif, they simply rest their laurels on the good stuff. And when they get it right, it’s still a fantastic treat.

OVERALL: ●●●●○

A brand new mixtapes, 25 of my favorite lead-off songs. A second batch might be on the way in a few months. I've got other mixtapes ahead of it.

Tally Hall - "Good Day" (Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum)
Patrick Wolf - "Overture" (The Magic Position)
The Smiths - "A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours" - (Strangeways, Here We Come)
Beirut - "Elephant Gun" (Lon Gisland EP)
Bob Dylan - "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" (Blonde on Blonde)
The Decemberists - "Shanty for the Aresthusa" (Her Majesty The Decemberists)
Blue Merle - "Burning In The Sun" (Burning In the Sun)
Franz Ferdinand - "Jacqueline" (Franz Ferdinand)
The Bravery "Believe" (The Sun and The Moon)
Death Cab For Cutie - "The New Year" (Transatlanticism)
U2 - "Where the Streets Have No Name" (The Joshua Tree)
Radiohead - "Everything in Its Right Place" (Kid A)
Gogol Bordello - "Sally" (Gypsy Punks Underground World Strike)
Five Iron Frenzy - "The Old West" (Upbeats and Beatdowns)
Pink Spiders - "Soft Smoke" (Teenage Graffiti)
No Doubt - "Spiderwebs" (Tragic Kingdom)
The Killers - "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" (Hot Fuss)
The Prodigy - "Smack My Bitch Up" (The Fat of the Land)
Paul McCartney & Wings - "Band on the Run" (Band on the Run)
Iron & Wine - "On Your Wings" (Our Endless Numbered Days)
The Beach Boys - "Wouldn't It Be Nice" (Pet Sounds)
The Wallflowers - "One Headlight" (Bringing Down the Horse)
Coldplay - "Politik" (A Rush of Blood to the Head)
Aqualung - "Cinderella" (Memory Man)
Interpol - "Pioneer to the Falls" (Our Love To Admire)

Official A Scenic World link here

Say, Ray, don't you think it's a little early to release a Christmas mixtape? After all, you hate Sunny 95 for playing Christmas music starting Thanksgiving Day. And here we are, four days - three waking days, really - into the month of December and here you have it completed and everything. And what, some of this music was purchased for the sole purpose of the mixtape?

Ray's you're insane. Have you gone mad with power?

Replace "power" with "boredom and a Visa Check Card" and you're absolutely right. And it is with that in mind that I give you my second annual Christmas Mixtape! (dat dada daaaaaa)


The Lineup:
1. Marah, "Baby It's Cold Outside"
2. Five Iron Frenzy, "You Gotta Get Up"
3. The Waitresses, "Christmas Wrapping"
4. El Vez, "Feliz Navi-Nada"
5. The Kinks, "Father Christmas"
6. The Black Arts, "Christmas Number One"
7. Relient K, "Angels We Have Heard On High"
8. Jimmy Eat World, "Last Christmas"
9. The Killers, "Don't Shoot Me Santa"
10. James Brown, "Funky Christmas"
11. The Smithereens, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
12. Snow Patrol, "When I Get Home for Christmas"
13. The Decemberists, "Please Daddy Don't Get Drunk This Christmas"
14. Bright Eyes, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"
15. The Bird and The Bee, "Carol of the Bells"
16. Mindy Smith, "I'll Be Home For Christmas"
17. The Weepies, "All That I Want"
18. Sufjan Stevens, "That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!"
19. Travis, "River"
20. Coldplay, "2000 Miles"
21. Eels, "Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas"
22. The Fray, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"
23. Nat King Cole, "O Come All Ye Faithful"

and don't forget the requisite bonus tack. heh.

Check it out at The Ritalin Set. Link is there.

Albeit a late-comer, I've got my top 10 list for the first half of the year.

[Note: Despite a handful of terrific albums released since the beginning of the month, i.e. Air Traffic and Gogol Bordello, I'm limiting this to January to June, as the true first half of the year. That's the price of laziness, I suppose.)

10. Noisettes, What's The Time, Mr. Wolf?
9. Bloc Party, Weekend in the City
8. Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
7. The White Stripes - Icky Thump
6. Kaiser Chiefs - Yours Truly, Angry Mob

5. The View - Hats Off To The Buskers

Scottish punk briefly rose in the late seventies, producing a few notable acts such as The Zips and The Valves, but never quite caught momentum. However, this Dundee outfit is generating quite a bit of buzz in the UK, and their terrific debut is testament why. Anchored by their singles (the plucky “Same Jeans” and “Wasted Little DJ's” stand out), they exude charisma, more than a majority of their Brit-Pop, Post-Punk peers. While they still have plenty of room to grow, The View takes some major steps here, and show promise above other bands of their ilk, even if they are getting a late start.

4. Art Brut - It's A Bit Complicated

Art Brut pulled off what seems to be one of the hardest feats for any artist: matching the sound and energy of a smash debut while at the same time maturing their sound. It's a daunting task for anyone, and more often than not (see numbers 9 and 8 above for proof) the end result is less than stellar. Yet here's an album that shows some fine songwriting ("Pump Up the Volume" and "People In Love" are testament to that) with a youthful feel. Eddie Argos' nearly spoken-word vocals still manage to work well, and the simple, candid lyrics make for a refreshing, amusing punk album.

3. Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full

Naturally, the record spends his 64th year on earth recording an album that harks back to his Beatles days. A fun, bouncy, wide-ranging album full of original material ("Dance Tonight," the lead single features in both iTunes ads and my car on a practically daily basis) make this one of his best works since the 70s.

2. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

A gorgeous follow-up to one of the best alternative debut LPs this decade, French-Canadian outit/Pitchfork darlings Arcade Fire churn out a unique album, balancing a rock record with fringes of post-rock. With ten touring members on instruments such as a violin, horns, and accordions, no band out there matches the sound, or energy of this band. From the opening pipe organ on "Intervention," to the poetical ramblings of "My Body Is a Cage," all 11 tracks captivate and thrill new and old Arcade Fire fans.

1. The Fratellis - Costello Music

And my number one is as surprising to me as it is to everyone else. Sitting down to plan out this list, I figured this would fall somewhere on the list, and as I sorted out my favorites, I realized I'd listened to it more times, spent more time singing, dancing, and simply enjoying this album more than any other. Much like Oasis burst onto the scene in 1993 with Definitely Maybe, these Scottish rockers blast a fun, high-energy mix of songs, 13 strong on an album no one seemed to see coming. But come it did, and it's arrived in a glorious disc. The strongest statement about Costello Music is that almost everyone I knew who listened to it faced the same problem: there was no getting past the first five tracks. Aside from blossoming radio hits "Flathead" and "Chelsea Dagger" (a celebratory anthem for Chelsea FC) lie 11 tracks that mimic but damn near outshine Arctic Monkeys, with a greater refinement that makes it more ready for a music-loving public. If they keep this up, The Fratellis could be the next big thing.

And there we have it. I've just compared The Fratellis to Oasis. What in hell have I done?!

In my sheer boredom, and with my computer back, I've decided to break from my usual mixtape style (compiling all the songs I've recently downloaded into a new CD) and created a truer, more authentic mixtape.

It's all my favorite rock songs, and it's going to be a terrific CD to drive around with - windows down, sound turned up. Yes.

Tracklist:

1 The Hush Sound - Crawling Toward The Sun
2 Matchbook Romance - Monsters
3 Say Anything - Wow, I Can Get Sexual, Too
4 Sugarcult - Los Angeles
5 The Sunshine Underground - Borders
6 We Are Scientists - Nobody Move, Nobody Gets Hurt
7 VHS Or Beta - Night On Fire
8 Scissors For Lefty - Ghetto Ways
9 The Cribs - Woman's Needs
10 The Holloways - Generator
11 The Von Bondies - C'mon C'mon
12 The Raconteurs - Steady As She Goes
13 Kasabian - Shoot the Runner
14 The Chalets - Love Punch
15 Switchfoot - Oh! Gravity
16 The Fratellis - Chelsea Dagger
17 Arctic Monkeys - When the Sun Goes Down
18 Muse - Supermassive Black Hole
19 The View - Wasteland
20 Cold War Kids - Hang Me Up to Dry
21 The Killers - For Reason's Unknown
22 Islands - Rough Gem
23 Go Aberdeen - Carnival Glass

I'll be glad to zip or rar it together if anyone wants a copy for themselves. Leave a message in my inbox!

Total number of tracks on my hard drive
3744

Sort by track title

First track: '80s Life
Last track: Zoot Suit Riot


Sort by Album

First Album: (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
Last Album: Zombies! Aliens! DDinosaurs! Vampires!

Shortest track: Horn Intro - 0:09
Longest track: Glastonbury 2002 (Entire Set) - 46:38

Top 7 most played songs:
1) I Will Follow You Into The Dark
2) Fearless
3) Supermassive Black Hole
4) Read My Mind
5) Clocks
6) We Intertwined
7) Sons & Daughters

First song that comes up on shuffle:
Diamonds in the Sole of Her Shoes

Search ....
"sex", how many songs come up?: 34
"time",how many songs come up?: 55
"love", how many songs come up?: 175
"you", how many songs come up?: 424
"death"? 30 (1 if you don't count Death Cab for Cutie)
"Red" ? 65
"Blue"? 76
"Black"? 65
"Green"? 45 (18 not counting Green Day)
"White"? 87

Who do you have the most songs for under one artist?
Coldplay
Who do you have the most albums for under one artist?
Coldplay

What is the strangest artist/song/album/thing in your collection?
My vote goes to Lullaby Renditions of Radiohead

So the Lappy has been down since Wednesday on account of the hard drive going capoopy. I've been waiting on Dell for my new one. Luckily, I put all my music on an external hard drive now. Go me.

Don't think for a second that my music habits have died, though. Au contrare (sp?). This has given me a chance to bond with Whitey Lockman, my new iPod. (Yes, I name my electronics. No one ever said I was normal.) I've learned to master the art of the iPod, where Ace, my old one, was constantly stuck on shuffle.

Laat week, I was all aboutThe Killers, My Chemical Romance and Muse.

I had to have played The Black Parade at least half a dozen times, if not more. Famous Last Words in particular, their new single...I had that stuck in my head all week.

This week the trend (onue points if you name that reference) is piano pop, namely Regina Spektor and Ben Folds.

11:11 is incredible. It's jazzy, intimate, and I love it. Braille is my current favorite all time track. (I'll explain that concept someday soon)

Alright, seeing as how you've gotten more information that is absolutely necessary, I'll leave you with some random stuff. Good day.

5 Songs I'm totally digging right now (That you should listen too as well)
College Kids
Pavlov's Daughter
The Crane Wife 1 & 2
It's Good To Be In Love
In the Waiting Line

So, I'm in the process of converting myself into a total alternative whore. I've come to terms with the fact that I love stuff that a lot of my friends hear and think...WTF.

I don't mind a little bit of something new every now and then. It's good for you!

The three albums I've been playing a lot lately:

Gulag Orkestar, especially
Good News For People Who Love Bad News, especially Blame It On The Tetons
More Adventurous, especially Does He Love You?Scenic World