Indie Music Blog – PartRocket.com

2010 Releases You Might Have Missed: Boy Eats Drum Machine, Phantogram, ArpLine, BlueBrain, Wakey! Wakey!

Every Tuesday, we publish the Best New Releases of the Week. However, there are always releases that we don't have time or room to feature, or that we don't hear about until after their initial release date. This playlist features 2010 releases that we're featuring for the first time. They include new tracks from Boy Eats Drum Machine, Phantogram, The Exhibition, ArpLine, Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore, Charlie Alex March, Bluebrain, Schooner, and Wakey!, Wakey!."Hoop + Wire" - Boy Eats Drum Machine from Hoop + Wire - released Feb. 16thBoy Eats Drum Machine on MySpace"Bright New Worlds" - The Exhibition from s/t EP - released Feb. 22ndThe Exhibition on MySpace"When I'm Small" - Phantogram from Eyelid Movies - released Feb. 9thPhantogram on MySpace"Parts Unknown" - ArpLine from Travel Book - released Feb. 16thArpLine on MySpace"Something, Somewhere, Sometime" - Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore from Dear Companion - released Feb. 16thDaniel Martin Moore on MySpaceBen Sollee on MySpace"Ten by Ten" - Bluebrain from Soft Power - released Feb. 9th"Twenty Two" - Wakey! Wakey! from Almost Everything I Wish I'd Said... - released Feb. 2ndWakey! Wakey! on MySpace"Feel Better" - Schooner from Duke Kee Sessions - released Feb. 9thSchooner on MySpace"Black Glass" - Greg Gibson from Black Glass - released Jan. 17thGreg Gibson on MySpace"Carot No. 9" - Charlie Alex March from Home/Hidden - released Feb. 16thCharlie Alex March on MySpaceRecent Popular Posts and Playlists:Best New Releases of the Week: Bear Hands, Local Natives, The Hush Now, Field Music, Son Lux, The Good ListenersBest New Releases of the Week: Fang Island, Shout Out Louds, Shearwater, Holly Miranda, Blood Feathers, Quasi and MoreMore Great Songs from 2009: Le Loup, The Perms, Jet, Netherfriends, The Vision, Loney Dear and MoreSome of the Best Tracks of 2009: Radiohead, Girls, Sunset Rubdown, Flaming Lips, Deer Tick, WWPJP and MoreBest Rarely Heard Songs of 2009 Vol. III: Furcast, Ape School, Regrets and Brunettes, Lower Heaven and Pure EcstasyLabels: 2010 Releases, Indie Playlists

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San Francisco’s Noise Pop 2010 Festival Guide: Artists, Schedules, Trailers, Venues, Ticket Prices and Resources

San Francisco's 18th annual Noise Pop festival, featuring indie rock artists, independent films, and special events that will take place at venues throughout the city over a span of seven days, starting this Tuesday, February 23rd.Artists and bands scheduled to perform include an eclectic line-up, ranging from folk and rock to pop and electronic. Some of the headliners include Rogue Wave, The Magnetic Fields, The Dodos, Zee Avi, !!!, Edward Sharpe and the Zeros, John Vanderslice, Atlas Sound, Memory Tapes, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Thao Nguyen, Mark Kozelek, Foreign Born, Far and The Soundtrack of Our Lives.Claudia Gonson Of Magnetic Fields will present the keynote speech at the opening ceremonies at the Industry Noise. A number of shows have already sold out, including performances headlined by Rogue Wave, Atlas Sound, Four Tet, Memory Tapes, Edward Sharpe and the Zeros and The Magnetic Fields' Monday night show at the Herbst Theatre. Some film screenings have also sold out (see details below; plus plenty of trailers).The Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band will perform for the first time in San Francisco in 15 years opening night at the Fox Theatre in Oakland. Performing with Yoko Ono will be her son, Sean Lennon, With Cornelius, Yuka Honda and Deerhoof. This is the full schedule for Noise Pop organized by music and film, and including information such as artists, venue names and locations, show times, ticket prices, song streams, and video trailers.Wednesday, Feb. 24thMusic Rogue Wave with Princeton, Man/Miracle, and Two Sheds at Bottom Of The Hill (website | 1233 17th St. ) - 8 p.m. Tickets: Sold Out. All ages."Good Morning" - Rogue Wave"Sadie and Andy" - PrincetonThe Ghost of a Saber Toothed Tiger at The Independent ( website | 628 Divisadero St. ) - 8 p.m. Tickets: $20. Ages 21+.Harlem, Best Coast, The Sandwiches and Young Prisms at Cafe Du Nord (website | 2170 Market St. ) . Tickets: $12. Ages 21+."Friendly Ghosts" - Harlem"This Is Real" - Best CoastForeign Born, The Fresh & Onlys, Free Energy and The Splinters at the Rickshaw Stop (website | 155 Fell St. ) - 8 p.m. Tickets: $15. All ages."Vacationing People" - Foreign Born"Free Energy" - Free EnergyFilmAustin, Texas: Live Music Capital of the World? at the Roxie Theatre (website | 3117 16th St), 7 p.m. Tickets: $10. All ages.Related: See a three minute, cool promo video mashup of Austin with some great shots of the music scene and other Austin attractions, via AustinTexas.org and set to music by Vallejo.P Star Rising at the Roxie, 9 p.m. Tickets: $10. All ages.Thursday, Feb. 25thMusicCitay, Greg Ashley and Tape Deck Mountain at Cafe Du Nord - 8 p.m. Tickets: $12-$14. Age requirement of 21 years."Careful with That Hat" - Citay"Ghost Colony" - Tape Deck MountainFar (Reunion show) with Stomacher, Picture Atlantic, The Trophy Fire at Bottom of the Hill - 8 p.m. Tickets: $14. All ages."Pony" - FarThe Dodos with Magik Magik Orchestra Collaborative at the Palace of Fine Arts (website | 3301 Lyon St.) - 8 p.m. Tickets: $25. All ages."Jodi" - The DodosZee Avi with The Hot Toddies, Leslie and the Badgers and Tiny Television at Rickshaw Stop - 8:30 p.m. Tickets: $12-$14. All ages."First of the Gang to Die" - Zee AviFilmBlood Into Wine at Viz Cinema (website | 1746 Post St. ) - 7:30 p.m. Tickets: Sold Out. All ages.The Heart is a Drum Machine at the Viz Cinema - 9:30 p.m. Tickets: $10. All ages.Friday, Feb. 26thMusicJohn Vanderslice with Nurses, Honeycomb and Conspiracy of Venus at Swedish American Hall (website | 2174 Market St.) - 8 p.m. Tickets: $15. Ages 21+."Me and My 424" - John Vanderslice"Asleep" - NursesAtlas Sound with Geographer, Magic Wands and Nice Nice at Great American Music Hall (website | 859 O'Farrell St. ) - 8 p.m. Tickets: Sold Out. All ages."Walkabout" (featuring Noah Lennox, aka Panda Bear, of Animal Collective) - Atlas Sound"Can't You Wait" - GeographerThe Mumlers with The Growlers, Sonny and the Sunsets and The Ferocious Few at Cafe Du Nord - 8 p.m. Tickets: $12-$14. Ages 21+."Red River Hustle" - The Mumlers"Barnacle Beast" - The GrowlersWallpaper, The Limousines, Butterfly Bones and Battlehooch at Slim's (website | 333 11th St. ) - 8 p.m. Tickets: $14. All ages."Pool Party" - Wallpaper"Dancing at Her Funeral" - The LimousinesFour Tet with Nathan Fake, Rainbow Arabia and New Villager at The Independent - 8 p.m. Tickets: Sold Out. Ages 21+."Plastic People" - Four Tet"Harlem Sunset" - Rainbow Arabia"Rich Doors" - New VillagerScissors for Lefty, Judgment Day, Ghosts and the City, and Glaciers at Bottom of the Hill - 8 p.m. Tickets: Sold Out. Ages 21+.FilmBlood Into Wine at ATA (website | 992 Valencia St. ) - 7 p.m. Tickets: $10. All ages.Downtown Calling at ATA - 9 p.m. Tickets: $10. All ages.Saturday, Feb. 27thMusic Memory Tapes with Loquat, Birds & Batteries, and Letting Up Despite Great Faults at Bottom of the Hill - 9 p.m. Tickets: Sold Out. All ages."Plain Material" - Memory Tapes"Sit" - LoquatThe Magnetic Fields at Fox Theatre in Oakland (website |1807 Telegraph Ave.) - 8 p.m. Tickets: $32.50. All ages."I Don't Believe You" - The Magnetic FieldsTrue Widow, P.E.E., Ovens, and Grass Widow at Cafe Du Nord - 8 p.m. Tickets: $12-$14. Ages 21+."Duelist" - True Widow"Time Could Bend" - Grass WidowWe Were Promised Jetpacks with The Lonely Forest, Bear Hands, Tempo No Tempo at Slim's - 8 p.m. Tickets: $16. All ages."Conductor" - We Were Promised Jetpacks"What a Drag" - Bear HandsThao Nguyen with Mirah and Horse Feathers, Dave Smallen, Carletta, and Sue Kay at Swedish American Hall - 8 p.m. Tickets: $15. Ages 21+."Beat" - Thao Nguyen"Curs in the Weeds" - Horse FeathersThe Soundtrack of Our Lives with Nico Vega, Music for Animals, and Imaad Wasif at The Independent - 8 p.m. Tickets: $16. Ages 21+."Firmament Vacation" - The Soundtrack of Our Lives"Beast" - Nico Vega"Red Cells" - Music For Animals"Wanderlusting" - Imaad WasifMark Kozelek with Laura Gibson, Paula Frazer, and Fences at The Great American Music Hall - 8 p.m. Tickets: $26/$30. All ages."Celebrated Summer" - Mark Kozelek"Come By Storm" - Laura Gibson!!! with Maus Haus, Sugar & Gold, and My First Earthquake at Mezzanine (website | 444 Jessie St. ). Tickets: $20. Ages 21+."Take Estasy With Me (Magnetic Fields)" - !!!"Rigid Breakfast" - Maus HausBlack Prairie (with members of The Decemberists), Trainwreck Riders, Billy & Dolly, and Birds Fled From Me - 8:30 p.m. at Rickshaw Stop. Tickets: $14. All ages."Engine Driver" - The Decemberists"Chug Along" - Trainwreck RidersFilm Unusual Heroes: John Darnielle and Lou Barlow at ATA - 2 p.m. Tickets: $10. All agesWoodstock: Now & Then at ATA - 4 p.m. Tickets: $10. All ages.Sunday, Feb. 28thMusicDizzy Balloon with The Houds Below, Visqueen and Laarks at Bottom of the Hill - 1 p.m. Tickets: $12. All ages."Raise A Glass" - Dizzy Balloon"All The Words" - LaarksEdward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros with The Watson Twins, AB & The Sea, and The Northern Key at Bimbo's 365 Club (website | 1025 Columbus Ave ) - 7:30 p.m. Tickets: Sold Out."Daydream" - Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros"Sky Open Up" - The Watson TwinsFilm The Secret to a Happy Ending at ATA - 2 p.m. Tickets: Sold Out. All ages.All My Friends Are Funeral Singers at ATA - 4 p.m. Tickets: $10. All ages.A Film About Stephin Merritt and The Magnetic Fields at Mezzanine - 8 p.m. Tickets: $15. All ages.Monday, March 1st - The FinaleThe Magnetic Fields with Mark Eitzel at Herbst Theater (website | 401 Van Ness St. ) - 8 p.m. Tickets: Sold Out. All ages."All The Umbrellas in London" (Live at KVRX, 1999) - The Magnetic FieldsTickets for all performances listed above can be purchased on the Noise Pop full schedule pageNote: The official website homepage's top menu links - Artists, Schedule, etc. - do not contain the updated 2010 information, for some strange reason; a bit confusing, but make sure to click here for all of the information for the 2010 event. The Bay Bridged put together a cool feature of free Noise Pop events.We're gearing up for Noise Pop! Thanks to Tell All Your Friends PR and Noise Pop organizers for helping us out in planning for the festival.Labels: Festivals, MP3s, Noise Pop Festival, San Francisco

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Disbanded: Band Break-Ups, Vol. I: New Faces, The Fake Fictions and The Catholic Comb

It sucks when good bands break up. In the past year, we've seen a number of bands split, and the band members go their separate ways, including Page France, the awesome indie duo The Format, the sensational band, The Sun, and a relatively unknown (in comparison to their talent), but fantastically promising, New Faces.Seattle's New Faces split in November of last year, sending mini-shock waves through the Puget Sound music community. In a post on their MySpace page on Nov. 16th, the following statement was issued: "Due to irreconcilable conflicts, we have decided to break up. We want to thank everyone that supported us...Sorry there wasn't a second album."The New Faces received a flood of critical praise, especially in the Seattle area, with the release of their debut EP in 2007, and their debut LP, Two Years, in 2008. They had an undeniable gift for enthralling music, a sound refined beyond their time as a band, and a potential that could have made them international rock stars (if they wanted it) - those are not usually characteristics of a fresh, unsigned, totally DIY band."My Alarm" - New Faces from Two Faces (2008)"She's Like The Snow" - New Faces from s/t EP (2007)"Ms Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" - New Faces from Two Years (2008)But with as much promise as New Faces had, and the praise of music critics throughout the Northwest and beyond, it's a blow to all music fans when a spectacular band ends before they hardly got started. In 2008, the Seattle blog, Sound on the Sound, proclaimed: "I'm often asked what are the best new things I’ve been hearing...In the New Faces, I finally feel without reservation that I have an easy (and good) answer to that question."Artists and bands that influenced New Faces: David Bowie, The Smiths, The Libertines, Interpol, The Strokes, The Clash, Franz Ferdinand, The Rakes, The Beatles, The Velvet Underground, Arctic Monkeys, New Order, Violent Femmes, Joy Division, NWA, The Cure and XTC.When the punk pop band The Fake Fictions announced in January on their official website, "The Fake Fictions are done. It has been a wild ride. We played our last show on Nov. 20, 2009..." fans of the band were understandably disappointed. The band had delivered a steady stream of edgy, engaging albums and EPs since their formation early last decade.Thankfully, however, the band has been good enough to offer much of their music as free MP3s, spanning a total of seven releases."Parallel World" - The Fake Fictions from Magic Infinity EP (2010)"Laugh Track Loser" - The Fake Fictions from Les Faux Fictions (2008)"TV Snow" - The Fake Fictions from Krakatoa (2009)The Catholic Comb, only months after announcing work on a new album, Halloween Street, suddenly broke up last summer. In a non-explanatory post on their MySpace blog, dated August 4, 2009, and titled, 'Comb Over', the band wrote: "We are no longer a band. Sincere thanks to anyone who ever supported us in any way." The Catholic Comb were Adam Dishart, Daniel Awand, Ryan Rene Wansley and Andy Rice, all from the San Francisco Bay Area.The band first rose to national, and in some cases, international, recognition with their 2005 single, "Sixteen to Twenty-One," which was later used as the soundtrack to a Corey Duffel skateboarding video."Sixteen to Twenty-One" - The Catholic CombThe band described their music as "a morbid bicycle ride." But that doesn't begin to explain the far-reaching, intoxicating sound they had cultivated, and which was being gobbled up within the circuitry of the underworld alternative rock network.The past year has seen plenty of evidence of culture's long-standing obsession with vampires, whether in film or music, but somehow most people missed out on The Catholic Comb's splendid track, "Vampire Life."Not surprisingly, the song is all about the dreaded existence of life as a vampire, but with a musical twist that infuses acoustic pop, prog rock and goth to create a song that is hard to pin down, and even harder to ignore. Despite it's subject matter, the song is intriguingly bright and melodic.The lyrics of "Vampire Life" fit perfectly with the tempo of the song, while being slightly ironic and direct: "I go out at night/I eat what I like/I sleep where I might/the vampire life..." Hmmm, is this The Smiths slowed down to a ballad pace or The Cure with folksy abandonment?"Vampire Life" - The Catholic Comb from s/t 7"The Catholic Comb on MySpaceLabels: Band Breakups, Indie Artist/Group Profiles

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Best New Releases of the Week: Fang Island, Shout Out Louds, Shearwater, Holly Miranda, Blood Feathers, Quasi and More

This is a blockbuster week for music releases as evidenced by the sheer number of tracks featured in this post. Brooklyn's prog-rock quintet, and grads of the Rhode Island School of Design (which has also given us The Talking Heads, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Les Savvy Fav), Fang Island, belt out punk inspired pop with spirited vigor, triumphant harmonies, riff-heavy jams and uplifting tempos.The Shout Out Louds return with their third album, Work, that will be followed by an extensive European and North American tour, including a sold out show next week at New York's Music Hall of Williamsburg. Shearwater are back with a new album, The Golden Archipelago, and the featured track, "Black Eyes."Denmark's experimental pop band Efterklang released their new album, Magic Chairs, and will kick off a U.S. tour next week. The recently disbanded The Fate Fictions dropped their final album today, and the long-awaited new album from San Francisco's Brian Johnstown Massacre also dropped today. Another San Francisco band, Man/Miracle, released their new LP, Shape of Things, today. The band will perform tomorrow night as part of the city's 18th annual Noise Pop festival.We also have new singles from fresh releases from Blood Feathers, Wolf People, Toro Y Moi, We Are Wolves, Holy Fiction, Xiu Xiu, Quasi, Holly Miranda, The Exhibition and others. Enjoy."Life Coach" - Fang Island from s/t debut"Daisy" - Fang Island from s/t debutFang Island on MySpace"Walls" - Shout Out Louds from Work Shout Out Louds official website"Black Eyes" - Shearwater from The Golden ArchipelagoShearwater official website"Hot Sprawl" - Man/Miracle from Shape of ThingsMan/Miracle official website"Modern Drift" - Efterklang from Magic ChairsEfterklang on MySpace"Parallel World" - The Fake Fictions from Magic Infinity EP The Fake Fictions official website "Let's Go F**king Mental" - Brian Jonestown Massacre from Who Killed Sgt. Pepper? Brian Jonestown Massacre"Don't Know You at All" - Blood Feathers from Goodness GraciousBlood Feathers on MySpace "Repulsion" - Quasi from American Gong Quasi on MySpace "October Fires" - Wolf People from Tidings Wolf People on MySpace "Blessa" - Toro Y Moi from CausersToro Y Moi on MySpace"Gray Death" - Xiu Xiu from Dear God, I Hate Myself Xiu Xiu official website "Iron Eyes" - Holy Fiction from Hours From It Holy Fiction on MySpace"Colors" - April Smith & The Great Picture Show from Songs For A Sinking ShipApril Smith & The Great Picture Show"Waves" - Holly Miranda from The Magician's Private Library Holly Miranda on MySpace"Rapture" - Elaine Lachica from I Think I Can See the Ocean (feb 23 viaElaine Lachica on MySpace"Half Truth" - Dead Leaf Echo from TruthDeaf Leaf Echo on MySpace"Bright New Worlds" - The Exhibition from s/t EPThe Exhibition websiteWe realize that all of this music is a bit overwhelming, but it would be a disservice to our regular visitors, subscribers and new visitors to exclude certain tracks for the sake of creating a smaller list of releases - we feel all of the tracks we represent are worth the space they consume. While we do filter which tracks from new releases to present to you all (many do not "make the final cut"), we also try to be as thorough and eclectic as possible, and let you decide which songs you like the most in an effort to help you decide which albums you want to purchase for your music collection.Reminder: You can stream continuously all of the songs in any of the playlists featured on IRC - while you do other things - just by clicking on the first song.Next Week: Rogue Wave, Dinosaur Feathers, Portugal. The Man, The Whigs, Butterfly Explosion, Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, Peasant, Kiki Pau and more.Previous New Releases Mixes2/16/10: Music Bear Hands, Local Natives, The Hush Now, Field Music, Son Lux, The Good Listeners2/9/10: Music Showstar, Yeasayer, Hot Chip, Galactic, Vinca Minor, Drew Danburry, FM Belfast and More2/2/10: Music from Midlake, The Album Leaf, King of Prussia, Seth Augustus, The Heligoats and More1/26/10: Music from Beach House, The Magnetic Fields, No Through Road, Woodpigeon, Retribution Gospel Choir, Citay, Boy Genius and MoreLabels: New Releases

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Some of the Best Tracks of 2009: Radiohead, Girls, Sunset Rubdown, Flaming Lips, Deer Tick, WWPJP and More

There have been literally hundreds, probably thousands, of blogger and mainstream music media "best of" lists of 2009 for indie and alternative rock and pop.No list is right or wrong. However, we don't pretend that we can put together a definitive 'best of' list for an entire year because it's frankly too difficult, and perhaps pretentious. Plus, everyone has there own set criteria and personal tastes. This playlist mix is merely a representation of some of our favorite tracks of 2009 and also ones that all of you responded to the most when we originally posted them during 2009. You can also view hundreds of sweet songs from 2009 via the Ears To The Music playlist series."Hellhole Ratrace" - Girls from Album (2009)"My Twisted Words" - Radiohead, single (2009)"Apollo & the Buffalo and Anna Anna Anna Oh!" - Sunset Rubdown from Drayonslayer (2009)"Pink Sabbath" - Dananananaykroyd from Pink Sabbath (2009)"Quiet Little Voices" - We Were Promised Jetpacks from These Four Walls (2009)"Roses in the Park" - Liechtenstein from Survival Strategies in a Modern World (2009)"Silver Trembling Hands" - The Flaming Lips from Embryonic (2009)"Know Better, Learn Faster" - Thao with the Get Down, Stay Down, single (2009)"Easy" - Deer Tick from Born On Flag Day (2009)"Bow Down and Die" - The Almighty Defenders from s/t debut (2009)"Paralyzed" - Starlight Mints from Change Remains (2009)Fantasy Nation - Kordan from Fantasy Nation (2009)Labels: 2009 Indie Songs

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The MadeLoud PlayCount ShowDown – Michael Keefe

The day iTunes started calculating playcounts should be celebrated as a revolution – finally, a way to track all of our most-fetished tracks! But there's a downside, too - those 37 plays of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” aren’t a secret anymore, you’ve gotta own up to your less-than-hip pop tendencies. Our playcounts serve as a surprisingly concise snapshot of our musical demeanor, not just the particulars we choose to show. We recently asked our staff to write a little bit about their top five most-played songs in their library. The results were predictably eclectic. Michael Keefe: "Girlfriend in a Coma" - The Smiths - 6 Plays My hard drive crashed last fall, and my iTunes Library file proved irretrievable, so I lost many years' worth of my listening data. The small number of plays accorded to "Girlfriend in a Coma" may seem pitiful, but it's all relative. Part of the reason the song has received the most spins from me in recent months is that, shortly after installing my new (and much bigger) hard drive, I temporarily joined a Smiths cover band. Despite also having just contracted the flu, I dove into daily practice of over a dozen Morrissey/Marr-penned tunes, for the simple reason that The Smiths are among my very favorite bands of all-time. In particular, "Girlfriend in a Coma" is a perfect gem of a pop song, with its bouncy rhythm, winsome melody, and wonderful lyrics, which stretch the limits of both melodrama and satire. "Once More, With Feeling" - The Cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer - 5 Plays A decade ago, no other force on earth could match my obsession with the travails and triumphs of a certain kick-ass ex-cheerleader who "saved the world a lot." The show's mastermind, Joss Whedon, flexed his songwriting chops during a season 6 episode in which a spell caused the entire cast to burst into song, revealing key plot points in a highly entertaining fashion. The title track from that episode's soundtrack, Once More, With Feeling, expresses the characters' conflicted natures during an especially dark period of the show's run, along with a small yet welcome dose of show tune campiness. I chose this song to conclude my 534-track compilation of the best music of the 2000s and became obsessed once more (with feeling). "Home" - Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes - 5 Plays There aren't enough love song duets about falling out of windows. Here, Edward and Jade allow us entry into their fallible and flirty friendship, as the guy pledges his love to the girl he's been hangin' with. The country-colored song recalls the playful and generally earnest musical comminglings of Johnny and June Carter Cash, as well as the dryly sarcastic Lee Hazlewood's teamings with Nancy Sinatra, Ann-Margaret, and Suzi Jane Hokum (yeah, Lee got around). This ditty gets bonus points for showing up on one of television's best new shows, Community. "Some Girls" - Rachel Stevens - 5 Plays Mostly lost amidst a glut of mid-2000s pop singers paraded out as the next Britney, Britain's Rachel Stevens didn't get anywhere near enough attention in America for her solid sophomore record, 2005's Come and Get It. At the very least, Polydor could have tested the U.S. market after the deliciously seductive and sonically squelchy "Some Girls" peaked at #2 in England. After all, the single was produced by Richard X, who also helmed brilliant debut albums by Annie (Anniemal) and M.I.A. (Arular). "You made a promise to make me a star," Stevens sings. Yes, but not worldwide, baby. "Key" - James Blackshaw - 5 Plays Fingerstyle acoustic guitar master John Fahey generated several decades of followers, most of whom are mere pretenders to the "American primitivism" throne. With the sad, early death of Jack Rose, James Blackshaw now stands alone amongst the latest generation of men to weave magical, genre-busting melodies from their six-strings. While Rose leaned more toward the blues end of Fahey's sound, Blackshaw emphasizes the cleaner lines of folk mixed with classical, with some eastern modalities thrown in. The sound is beautiful and beguiling.

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The MadeLoud PlayCount ShowDown – Ira Brooker

The day iTunes started calculating playcounts should be celebrated as a revolution – finally, a way to track all of our most-fetished tracks! But there's a downside, too - those 37 plays of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” aren’t a secret anymore, you’ve gotta own up to your less-than-hip pop tendencies. Our playcounts serve as a surprisingly concise snapshot of our musical demeanor, not just the particulars we choose to show. We recently asked our staff to write a little bit about their top five most-played songs in their library. The results were predictably eclectic. Ira Brooker: “Mother of Pearl” - Roxy Music- 181 plays The play count is a little misleading, as I once forgot my iPod in the car overnight playing this song on repeat. But the fact that I was driving around with this song on repeat – and not for the first or last time – pretty much sums up my feelings on it. The point around the 1:23 mark where the rock-out fades into the piano rhythm is maybe my all time favorite musical moment. Bryan Ferry’s lyrics here come pretty damn close to out-Dylaning Dylan. Fun fact: All of my current Twitter lists are named for this song. “Springfield, Or Bobby Got a Shadfly Caught in His Hair” - Sufjan Stevens - 43 plays There’s no question that Illinois is Mr. Stevens’ crowning achievement, but for my money, the album’s best song didn’t make the cut. I’ve always favored this track from The Avalanche, his collection of outtakes from the Illinois sessions. There’s a majestic mundanity in his narrative of a sad little extramarital affair in the shadow of the state capitol. It keeps me coming back, especially on grey days. “The Past is a Grotesque Animal” -of Montreal- 39 plays The greatest love song – and maybe the greatest song, period – of the past decade, if you ask me. Kevin Barnes pushes beyond the clichés and digs disturbingly deep into the passion, obsession and destruction that often comes bundled with a heartfelt relationship. I’m generally a fan of long, complicated songs, but it takes something special to make me play a 12-minute track with this much regularity. This one makes it worth my while by revealing more with every listen, both about itself and about me. “The Mixed-Up Kind” - Trader Horne - 31 plays What music snob doesn’t love coming across a fantastic album that nobody else knows about? That how it was with me and 1970’s Morning Way, Trader Horne’s lone album. I sought it out after hearing the haunting title track on a British psychedelic rock sampler and was pleased to find that there was plenty of good stuff where that came from. “The Mixed-Up Kind” is the group’s masterpiece, a lyrically cryptic showcase for the incomparable Judy Dyble’s eerie vocal work. There was a period in 2007 when I was convinced that I’d unlock the secret of the universe if I listened to this song often enough. Still waiting on that... “Marlon Brando" - Black Randy and the Metrosquad - 26 plays This is another beloved obscurity, discovered because I liked the satirical cover art of Pass the Dust, I Think I’m Bowie enough to buy the album (again, the band’s only LP) sound unheard. In a just world, Black Randy would be cherished as the godfather of California punk-funk, if not the only guy to ever really do it well. This is arguably his best song, a smirking tribute to Brando’s bizarre boycott of the 1973 Academy Awards. It’s one of my go-to tracks when I need to crank out some copy on a tight deadline.

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