out this week 3/20 & 3/27 & 4/3...The Shins...Tanlines...Madonna... at the Amoeblog

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out this week 3/20 & 3/27 & 4/3...The Shins...Tanlines...Madonna...

Posted by Brad Schelden, April 6, 2012 05:02pm | Post a Comment

I am always very nostalgic about music from the decades past. But I have been even more nostalgic than normal the last couple of months. I really dove head first back into the '90s. I feel like I was obsessed with the '80s for most of my time during the '90s. I did obviously live through the '90s but I have really been appreciating it so much more this last couple of months. I have been dissecting the '90s down to all of its genres and making mix CDs for '90s indie, britpop & shoegaze, freestyle,r&b, hip hop and dance music. It has been a ton of fun and I will be soon posting some of my favorites of the '90s on the blog soon I hope. But it has really also got my thinking of the year we are currently living in. Because there really is still a ton of amazing music coming out this year. You might think that every band name and every type of song has already been written. But this really is not the case. I suppose there will be some day when I stop liking new music. But at this point in my life I am both obsessed with the bands from the last 30 years but also super excited about what lies around the corner. I am still amazed every week when I fall in love with some new song or some new band. I am so happy that I lived through the '80s and '90s. But I am really so happy to be living in this moment of time as well!

The Shins are finally back with a new album for us to enjoy. This band has been around now for over 15

years. This is their fourth album. And what a fantastic album it is. It has been five years since their last album, Wincing The Night Away. I was a bit worried since this is their first album after leaving Sub Pop. James Mercer is still of course the voice behind The Shins. But the band has a whole new set of members other than James. That James Mercer has one of those amazing voices that can just do no wrong. I was never really obsessed with this band. But I did always like them. A certain ex-boyfriend of mine was obsessed. And it did wear off on me a bit. That tends to happen. I was starting to get really excited for this album. And now I can't get enough of it. It is the perfect album to put us all in the mood for summer. My favorite tracks on the new album are "No Way Down" and "40 Mark Strasse." Those are the songs that keep making me come back for more.

Listen to "40 Mark Strasse" by The Shins from the new album Port of Morrow...

Tanlines have just released their debut album Mixed Emotions on True Panther Sounds. Another album that is perfect for the last couple of months before Summer. This should be your spring break album. The album does not really take itself too seriously. It seems to be just two guys trying to make a super fan dancey album. I am glad that there are still people out there with the goal to just make albums to make people happy. This is what this album does for me. One of the dudes is from Don Caballero. But you would never be able to tell. I can't even really explain what exactly it is about this record that I like. It is just one of those things that I know that I like. Mix up The Drums with a band like Washed Out and you get close to the sound of Tanlines.

Check out the video for "Brothers" by Tanlines from their new album Mixed Emotions...

There are a couple of music DVDs that I have been patiently waiting for to come out on Blu-ray. One of madonna

those is Depeche Mode 101. Another one is Show by The Cure. We still have to wait a bit for those I guess. Depeche Mode 101 was at least reissued on DVD a while ago. But Cure Show has not even been released on DVD yet! I am still keeping my figures crossed for those two. Truth or Dare by Madonna was another one that I have been waiting for. It remains one of the best tour documentaries out there. In my opinion at least. The VHS version of Truth or Dare was released on May 24th 1991. 21 years later it has been reissued on DVD and Blu-ray. It was released on DVD year ago. But had been out of print for a while. There is unfortunately no commentary or any special features on the Blu-ray. It was most likely just rushed to be released to coincide with the release of MDNA last week. But I am still happy to just have it on Blu-ray. I really would have loved listening to a commentary track of Madonna watching the film 20 years later.
david sylvian

There have also been some other great albums out in the last couple of weeks. Lee Ranaldo from Sonic Youth really surprised me with his new album Between The Times & The Tides. It really is a fantastic album and worth your time. The new Lost In The Trees is also really great. And Thieves Like Us always make me happy. I have not spent much time with the new album yet. But I like what I have heard. The Smiths catalog also just got reissued individually. All of the albums are now finally available remastered. These are the versions released in the box sets last year. Also fantastic new albums from Bear In Heaven, Oberhofer & Lotus Plaza. I need to schedule some more time for the new Mars Volta. I have loved those guys since the days of At the Drive-In. And I do seem to be liking this new album more than the last couple of albums they have put out. New collection from David Sylvian is amazing. He is of course the man behind the band Japan. It is a nice reminder that he also made some amazing songs post Japan. That voice is just amazing. There is nothing like him. And a great little album of twee from Glasgow by Strawberry Whiplash has also just been released this week.

The albums keep coming this year! Next week is an fantastic new album from Unison. Witch-house best coast

from France! And M. Ward has a new album. And the debut album by Alabama Shakes is also coming out next week. I am hoping this album really becomes a big deal and everyone falls in love with them. Then the new album by Spiritualized is finally out the week after next on 4/17. This is followed by new albums from Death Grips and Jack White on 4/24. And Record Store Day is right between those street dates on Saturday 4/21. There are about 325 releases this year for Record Store Day! So get ready and save your money. Then in May is the new Light Asylum, Santigold and Marilyn Manson on 5/1. New OFF! and Silversun Pickups on 5/8. New Beach House and Best Coast on 5/15. New Gossip on 5/22! New Sigur Ros on 5/29! And all these albums are available for Pre-order on CD and LP at amoeba.com!

out 3/20...

jesse ruins