Ooo-we. Just picked up 6 albums - a whopping 82 songs - for my weekend listening pleasure.

Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
Pantha du Prince - Black Noise
Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here
Stricken City - Songs About People I Know

...and to scratch today's hip-hop itch...

Strong Arm Steady - In Search of Stoney Jackson
Elzhi - The Preface

Even though I'm a student, and the week/weekend divide is an illusion, there's still something special about Friday. And Friday mostly certainly calls for good music.

DB and I used to take our paychecks directly to the record store on Friday night every other week. Y'know, back when those existed, when you could get CDs for under $18, and when it was actually our goal to burn through every dollar we made (oh, yeah, and when I actually made money). Then we'd get a burrito, go home to Babs, and spend the evening throwing ourselves a little party - loud music, beers, video games, and general merriment. Some of my favorite times ever.

Today, I did it all online, but I'm still excited. Maybe it's time to bring back the tradition. Amoeba Friday's, anyone?

Anyway, I'll letcha know what's worth your while.

Out of S. Africa. There are no words...

This jam's taking a life of its own in my house today... My roommate PA pulled up the video, a forgotten classic...

This one took me BACK...

(Unfortunately, LaLa only had the clean version)

"And i'm reminded
of the time that i was blinded
by the sun
It was a welcome change
from the sight of you hanging
like a willow
off the arm of yet another
visionary prophetess
east...
Van...
punk

I didn't stand a chance
I couldn't stand at all
You looked ok with the others
You looked great on your own
It was 2002 and you couldn't be bothered"

'Painter in Your Pocket'

Some days are Destroyer days.

Dan Bejar & Co. have a monopoly on a certain mood that I wake up in from time to time. A little bit melancholy, a little vulnerable, a little defiant, a little contemplative, maybe a little blurry.

Bejar is an artiste. His music is painting, his lyrics poetry. All vivid colors and surreal landscapes, occupied by characters that all seem to be tragic, or at least tortured. And you can tell from his one-of-a-kind voice and spoken word panache that he really lives all this beauty and pain.

This song is the one that first hooked me. For those of you that aren't hip to Destroyer yet, I would start right here. 'Destroyer's Rubies' is where it's AT.

Bejar also moonlights in The New Pornographers and Swan Lake, but for me, those projects just weigh him down.

On last year's 'Versions' EP, these sleeper Oregonians reimagined six of their previously recorded tracks, carving out the souls of the songs and lighting a fire under 'em, a la Grizzly Bear's 'Friend.' But the clear standout is the opener, 'Ida Walked Away' - the one new addition to the cause. A breakthrough of sorts!? We'll see...

Frequent comparisons to Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear are simplistic, but I think it's fair to say they are somewhere between the two. Way more manic than GB, but more orchestral and gracefully melodic than AC.

New Epic Broken Social Scene Song!