I’ve been a pretty poor excuse for a music snob lately. I haven’t searched for new artists in ages. I don’t even think I’ve done it this year. I’m just tired of sifting through junk, which is basically how the system works. I used to have much more patience for this.

I just cleaned my iPod of the stuff I am sick of. As much as I enjoy The Postal Service, I think that album has been on the iPod for the last five years. Enough already. Basically, I’ve been listening to the same artists over & over again. Despite this, there are a few albums I may never take off the iPod (though ask me again in five years). The following are my classic, fallback albums, the ones with the highest play count by a considerable margin.

Brand New: Deja Entendu
(also: The Devil & God Are Raging Inside Me)
It recently occurred to me that Brand New is probably one of my favorite artists. I listened to Deja Entendu obsessively when I first bought it—I’m not sure I ever took the CD out of my drive (yes, drive; I’m a musician without a CD player. What?). Their song The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows has the highest play count in my iPod.

The Arcade Fire: Neon Bible
(also: Funeral)
My second favorite artist ever. At first I was hesitant to listen to Neon Bible, because Funeral was pretty much the best thing I ever heard. But after a few plays, I liked it more. I hadn’t thought this to be possible. Best song: Antichrist Television Blues. [Though it was Rebellion (Lies) from Funeral that got me hooked on them to begin with.]

Sunny Day Real Estate: How it Feels to be Something On
In my emo days, I listened to their album The Rising Tide rather frequently. But even then I knew it wasn’t their best, because I heard so many rave reviews about the artist. The moment I stumbled upon their song Pillars, I absolutely had to buy the album it’s featured on. The entire album is amazing and I don’t know why I didn’t buy it sooner. Random tidbit: Pillars was my favorite song of 2007.

Cursive: Such Blinding Stars for Starving Eyes
(also: The Ugly Organ)
How can I have a list like this and not feature Cursive? While The Ugly Organ is my favorite album of theirs, Such Blinding Stars gets a higher play count. Figure that out. But After the Movies is a beautifully sad song, and I’ll find myself sitting through the entire album just because I put it on for that particular one.

The Mars Volta: The Bedlam in Goliath
(also: De-Loused In the Comatorium)
Another one of those artists that I should just admit belong on my “favorites” list. I actually hadn’t realized I listen to this album as often as I do. But when I’m sitting on the train, and flipping through the albums on the iPod, I’ve actually said, “okay, not this one. Again.” And then select it anyway. The song Cavalettas has a pretty high play count, especially since it appeared on Soundtrack 2009.

While this is great & good, and I can listen to these five albums alone the rest of my life and be content, I need some new music. I feel like I’ve heard everything. Prove me wrong.

Sunday, 18 July 2010   ♦   music