Tunes I can't stop listening to

So this has been a very musical week for me (more on that later), a time for discovering new favorites and enjoying the old gems. I've been getting into "zones", quite unintentionally. I put my iPod on random, and just listen to song after song of the nearly 6000 tunes that come up (and I *still* haven't finished ripping all my CDs...), and then I'll hear something from an artist and I'll have to go and listen to the entire album right then, at least once. This happened a few times recently, and it kind of surprised me. The first time it was Carter USM's 101 Damnations.  I heard "Every Time a Churchbell Rings" and I had to listen to the rest of the album. Three times.

Then I discovered NPR Live Music Series - and they don't just cover old people's music, either! I downloaded a bunch of concerts (all for free, legitimately!) in podcast form - Liz Phair, Death Cab for Cutie, Tom Waits, Rilo Kiley and Leonard Cohen - just to name a few. I've listened to the Leonard Cohen concert twice already. I can't believe he still sounds so magnificent at 74 years old!   And since Liz Phair is another one of those artist that I love listening to the entire album of, I am sure I will love the concert material as well. The two recordings I've heard so far have been very high quality - much better than what you would've gotten on a live album just 15 years ago.

Onto the new music - at Adam Carolla's urging, I got The Pretender's latest, Breaking up the Concrete. Wow! It's everything I've ever loved about their sound, but current and relevant.  I also just got the new EP from Dirty Little Rabbits, a new band out of Ames, Iowa. I met their vocalist, Stella Katsoudas, back when I was working for Amoco (now BP) in Chicago many years ago when she was fronting Sister Soleil. This album does not disappoint, with Stella's light vocals swelling over the heavy guitar riffs.  The drummer is Shawn Crahan from Slipknot, so I guess the band has to take breaks from recording and touring whenever Slipknot is active.

Finally, my other musical addiction is this fan made video for Turn Around by They Might Be Giants. This cracks me up every time I watch it - it's such a perfectly literal translation!