October is always one of my favorite months. I love when summer starts to go away and it starts to get cold again. We have been having some October rain out here in Los Angeles that has been fabulous! This also means that Halloween is right around the corner! Many labels save their big releases for the end of the year, which also makes this time of year exciting for those of us that love music. October 12th is a big release day -- three of my favorite artists have releases on this date! It's almost too much to handle! Sufjan Stevens, Belle & Sebastian, & Antony & the Johnsons all have new albums -- all in one day! I have been patiently waiting for Sufjan to continue his series on all the 50 States. He gave us the brilliant Illinois and Michigan and then nothing else. I am of course wanting California and New York, but also all the States in between. I am hoping that he has actually been working on them in secret. He just continues to release these other albums to distract us, right? But then in a couple of years he will release a comprehensive 50 state box set. It will have an album for each state and also contain 2 7"s for the commonwealths and it will come with a puzzle. I could even be satisfied with an album of 150 songs with 3 songs for each state -- just give me something, Sufjan! A 7" for each state would also be amazing! His new album is called Age of Adz. I sort of had a strange reaction to it at first. It incorporates some electronics and at times sounds like a Lil Jon album...but it is still Sufjan, and I still love it. I just takes a couple of listens.

Belle & Sebastian's new album Write About Love also took a couple of listens to fall in love with. I was sort of still on my Belle & Sebastian high from seeing them in Vegas. And I do love the contest they ran to get fans to write about love. There are some great songs on Write About Love for sure but I really could have lived without the Norah Jones duet. I know this band is both easy to love and hate. Some people are very proud of their hatred of the band. I am one of the lovers of the band and I always will feel the same.

#1
Sigur Ros-Agaetis Byrjun
(Play it Again Sam) 2000




listen to "Ny Batteri" by Sigur Ros....




#2
Yeah Yeah Yeahs-Fever To Tell (Interscope) 2003






listen to "Y Control" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs...






#3
A Place To Bury Strangers-
A Place To Bury Strangers
(Killer Pimp) 2007

Time seems to be flying by so fast as we get close to the end of the year. I really do love this time of year and hate that it goes by so fast. As soon as October begins it seems to end. Halloween has come and gone and Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year's Eve will be here and gone before we know it. The music releases will start to slow down in November and December but there are still some great albums coming out. We have a new fantastically great reissue from the fantastically great band Pylon. I can't believe it has already been two years since their last reissue, but it's true! I was about to do a whole blog about Pylon but it was sounding a bit familiar as I was thinking about it in my head. That is because I already did a whole blog about them two years ago. Pylon's first album, Gyrate, was reissued by DFA two years ago on October 16, 2007. You can go back and read my blog here if you want. I just went back and read it myself. I was amazed what I had forgotten over the last couple of years and actually learned something myself. Pylon was great. You may not know that. I sure didn't know anything about them until 2 years ago when that first reissue came out. DFA has now reissued their second album, called Chomp. It is equally as great as the first one. And I love how they recreate the LP artwork for the CD reissue along with the worn in imprint from the vinyl. Pylon was a new wave band from Athens, Georgia, but they have a darker sound than fellow Athens groups the B-52's and R.E.M. They remind me of Siouxsie & the Banshees at times, mixed with the Motels and Romeo Void. Basically, you can just think of any fantastic female led new wave band and mix them all up together and you get Pylon. The band toured a bit with Gang Of Four and also sound like them at times. This second album is at times dark and gothy and at times just a dark sort of punk. I like to think of them as Athens Goth. Seriously. These songs would not be out of place at a death rock night at any club. Good stuff. I really did love that first reissue but had sort of forgotten about Pylon until now. I was so excited when I heard that their second album was also getting reissued. I went and listened to that first reissue again to get myself ready. The second reissue does not disappoint.

Christmas is so close that I can already feel it being over. Holidays go by so fast that they are always over before you know it. This whole year went by pretty quickly, but I guess it actually took the same amount of time as the year before. It just felt quicker is what I mean. But a lot did really happen this year, and if you thought there were not very many albums out this year you are simply wrong. You might've just had to look a little bit harder this year.

Since the year is quickly winding down, there's only a couple more street dates of releases. This week includes releases from two of my favorites. One of them is only avaialbe on vinyl and the other is just a new sort of collection, but they are still worth our time to talk about. Cat Power still remains one of my favorite singers and personalities. Some might have turned their back on her, while others are still discovering the genius that is the sad, sad voice of Chan Marshall. Chan Marshall is Cat Power, just in case you didn't know. I have had my ups and downs with her over the years, but I have always stood by her side and always been a fan. If you have not heard her albums yet, you should come on down to Amoeba and pick one up. It is never too late to become a Cat Power fan. Or if you already have her entire catalog, you will need to complete it with this album. There is no time like Christmas to listen to Cat Power. Might not seem like the obvious choice for Christmas music, and she doesn't actually have any Christmas albums, but I always like listening to her around the holidays for some reason. I guess for the same reason I like listening to The Carpenters' Christmas Album. I like mixing dark and intense music with such a festive and joyous time. I am actually one of those people that does love Christmas, but I like my Christmas a little darker than normal.