This Sounds Like Something I've Heard Before...

There's something delightfully hazy about some good old fashioned Built To Spill. Reason: they are the best.

The most popular song from Archers in Loaf was once covered by local band Hot IQs. Fun times were had by all. Stuck a pin in your backbone... 

The (now defunct) tape label Wild Animal Kingdom Records put out some great releases during their heyday. This song comes from a WAKR collection of GBV covers and features the hazy / surfy stylings of Pill Wonder. This post gets bonus points as this is my favorite GBV song.

The KCSP's new double album Container Ship is massive. While many of the tracks top the 10 minute mark, "Mookie Suit" is the shortest on the album at a little under 7 minutes. Time aside, this track's softy strummed electric guitar and ethereal layers come together into a calming piece of music.

A Love Supreme was the first record I bought on vinyl ($2 at the CSM book sale a few years back). While it's really meant to be listened to as a whole, the B side (featured here) stands out for this reason: dynamic range.  This side of the record skews much more toward improvisation and has some killer drum and bass solos. Around the 10 minute mark you'll hear a soft, yet complex bass solo that is so quiet that you need to play the record loudly enough to hear it. In an ideal case, you should listen to A Love Supreme the entire way through at a loud enough volume to take it all in. This is one where your laptop speakers won't suffice, go get some good headphones or a sound system with ample low end.

Marc Cohn hasn't really done anything notable since the early 90's. This isn't the greatest song in the world, it still feels fitting for today for some reason. Fun fact: if you're in Memphis you can visit Elvis's grave for free before Graceland opens for tours, just tell the security guards you're there to pay your respects.

My wife is a major Beatles fan. I inherited my parents' Beatles LPs when I started getting serious about record collecting. Despite all of this I some how never took the time to fully appreciate Revolver until I saw it referenced on the TV show Mad Men (which has a fantastic soundtrack, several songs which have been featured on this tumblr). What makes "Tomorrow Never Knows" one of my favorites is that it serves as strong closer to the record that marked The Beatles new path into experimentalism.

A Denver act from a couple years ago that has since dissolved into obscurity, Spires had a good grasp on making silvery guitar tunes. A few of their members reformed as Confluence (a band with a bit more straightforward style and less dreamy overtones). This song will always be the strongly associated with memories of the summer after I graduated college.

For some reason this is still the only Dusty Springfield LP in my record collection (still need to get my hands on Dusty In Memphis). What makes this song great is that we get to hear Dusty really belt it out. Definitely a classic.

Everyone loves In The Aeroplane Over the Sea, but On Avery Island is certainly worth the time. My two favorites from the record: Naomi and Gardenhead.

I get the feeling that people either love The Smiths or hate them (see Warlock Pinchers - Morrissey Rides A Cock Horse). As someone who used to be a little too in to several bands that cited The Smiths as a primary influence I still have a soft spot for a great 80's tune like "How Soon Is Now?"

I loved Whirr (then called "Whirl") from the first time I heard their shoegazy masterpiece Distressor (a tape from Bridgetown Records). Although I never really got in to Pipe Dreams, I did pick up this fantastic 7" at Waterloo Records when it came out. Definitely stands it's own even as a single.

The one of the first album reviews my friend Jake wrote for the college newspaper was for Boxer. The resonating piano (fun fact: it was played by Sufjan Stevens) and Matt Berninger's baritone voice make this one of the best album openers out there.

I heard this one on OpenAir 1340 AM one Saturday afternoon while I was working in my sunroom. I love this song and I love that station. If you're in the Denver area check them out. Elsewhere: http://www.openaircpr.org

A side project from Teen Daze, I love this track off of "The Ocean," a cassette released by the good people at Crash Symbols. 

The King of the Surf Guitar was the first concert I ever attended (back at the Aggie Theater in Fort Collins probably 8 years ago). While everybody knows Misirlou, Shake 'n Stomp has always been my favorite. Hang ten everybody 

Steely Dan makes for a great soundtrack while you're doing home improvement projects. I recently removed popcorn texture from my ceiling and King of the World kept me groovin' the whole time.