Brad at the ‘Nac has the Arcade Fire Live at the Orpheum in Boston, Massachusetts on Thursday, May 10th, 2007 online for download.

Brad does a killer job of taping shows so if you’re a fan of live recordings and a fan of Arcade Fire you should hustle on over there before they’re gone.

(I’m on a mission to catch up the Heavy Rotation write ups. Short and Sweet is the order of the day – ed.)

This is just a Madlib-curated mixtape. It’s cool, but it’s not what I thought it was.

I’m not going to share anything from it since it’s it’s not even re-mixed.

(I’m on a mission to catch up the Heavy Rotation write ups. Short and Sweet is the order of the day – ed.)

Person Pitch by Panda Bear is, plainly, what Brian Wilson would come up with if he was 27 years old in 2007.

A man and a computer in a room. You can’t imagine how nice this sounds.

“Comfy In Nautica evokes the modern-ness and the Brian Wilson-ness of this whole thing better than I can explain. Enjoy. Seriously.

(I’m on a mission to catch up the Heavy Rotation write ups. Short and Sweet is the order of the day – ed.)

Look, Nine Inch Nails is as much a part of my music foundation as the next guy. I’ve bought the double albums, the eps and the things in between. I’m just at a point where Trent’s nihilism doesn’t do it for me anymore. I love the older stuff. I do. But ‘With Teeth’ (his last one) and now Year Zero just don’t pull my trigger.

I’m sure some of it is that I am older now than when I first started listening. And some of it is that, as a parent, I don’t like to subscribe to TR’s bleak futurescape. I have higher hopes, I guess, and the way he sells it rings a little hollow to me.

I don’t have anything to share from this one. Sorry.

(I’m on a mission to catch up the Heavy Rotation write ups. Short and Sweet is the order of the day – ed.)

I am *deep* in the Arctic Monkeys‘ camp. I tracked down a bunch of songs before their debut came out in ‘05. I was the generous recipient of an overseas copy of the album a few months before the US release (thx, Ronan). I played “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not ” into the ground. And I ran to Ye Olde Record Shoppe the day Your Favourite Worst Nightmare came out.

It’s more smart lyrics and dead solid rock hooks. It’s not straight pop music but it definitely belongs on the radio.

“Balaclava” shows the more beefed up rock the Monks are bringing while hanging on to the clever lyric turns that keep me replaying this album over and over. It’s going to be a good Summer. Enjoy.

(I’m on a mission to catch up the Heavy Rotation write ups. Short and Sweet is the order of the day – ed.)

Here’s my thing with Kings of Leon: they make 2-3 left field choices over the course of an album and I am consistently turned off by them, initially. Because I dig the band I keep trying and those same off-putting moments are the ones I end up loving the best.

Becaus of the Times was no different for me on the first listen. The album starts with a 7-minute song (‘Knocked Up’) about how he got his girlfriend pregnant and her parents hate him but it doesn’t matter, because “we’re gonna have a baby”. Young foolish love. I get it, but a slow, 7-minute builder just doesn’t work for me as an album hook. Then it’s followed on the album by a tight, sub-3-minute howler that is probably as polarizing a song (technique-wise, listen below) as they’ve put out. I am way way way into this whole album, now, but it took some work.

If you’re into the band’s other work, ‘Because of the Times’ is worth however long it takes you to get into it. This is a top5 album for me from the 1st half of 2007.

“Charmer” is, for all intents and purposes, a Pixies record. I can totally hear Black Francis in those howls and the driving bassline is smacks of classic Kim Deal. I’m not surprised anymore that this is my fave song on the album. Enjoy.

(I’m on a mission to catch up the Heavy Rotation write ups. Short and Sweet is the order of the day – ed.)

Living With the Living is just more of what we all know and love about Ted Leo and his Pharmacists. I like this one more than the last, but it’s all degrees of devotion.

Ted Leo makes good music and he tours behind it constantly. I highly recommend seeing him live if you get a chance. His music goes to another level when he performs live.

“The Sons of Cain” anchors this album, IMO. It’s a concentrated dose of all of TL’s best work. Enjoy.

(I’m on a mission to catch up the Heavy Rotation write ups. Short and Sweet is the order of the day – ed.)

Like any self-respecting music snob I make a yearly Best of… list and I invariably struggle with what to put on there. So it’s always a treat when an album comes out that will make it on that list from the first listen. LCD Soundsystem have made cool music for a while. Sound of Silver is their latest full length and it’s terrific. You should also check out their “45:33″ for the Nike/iPod Run series (only available at iTunes).

In case you don’t know, it’s electronic/DJ music with a lot of vocals. It’s a little tricky to describe without you hearing it but I think it’s great.

“North American Scum” is completely dance-able and socially scathing. It’s a tasty treat. Enjoy.

I see these headlines and I am compelled to post them.

Like a good little web-nerd I fired up a Twitter account today. You can see it in action in the left sidebar over there under the album thumbnails.

Here’s an excerpt from their FAQ:

What is Twitter?

Twitter is for staying in touch and keeping up with friends no matter where you are or what you’re doing. For some friends you might want instant mobile updates—for others, you can just check the web. Invite your friends to Twitter and decide how connected you want you to be.

How does Twitter work?

When you send in a mobile text (SMS), Twitter sends it out to your group of friends and posts it to your Twitter page. Your friends might not have phone alerts turned on so they may check your web page instead. Likewise, you receive your friends mobile updates on your phone.What is Twitter?

Twitter is for staying in touch and keeping up with friends no matter where you are or what you’re doing. For some friends you might want instant mobile updates—for others, you can just check the web. Invite your friends to Twitter and decide how connected you want you to be.
How does Twitter work?

When you send in a mobile text (SMS), Twitter sends it out to your group of friends and posts it to your Twitter page. Your friends might not have phone alerts turned on so they may check your web page instead. Likewise, you receive your friends mobile updates on your phone.

I am curious to see how the sms updates to my phone work out. I like the idea of being able to drop quickie posts from my phone but I am wary of catching updates at all hours of the night if dudes are out having shenanigans.

We’ll see.