Essential 11 -- October 2010

I've been passing on quite a few big names for this list Weezer (I actually prefer Rivers Cuomo's collaberation with BOB). Soundgarden (can't get too excited about a reject from Badmotorfinger, back before they discovered how to write songs, even if it has a neat Zeppelineque flourish at the end) Smashing Pumpkins (Siamese Dream is looking more and more like a fluke) Let's see what's really worth listening to this month....

1) Blue Blood Blues -- The Dead Weather Another blast from the ambassadors of the Deltas of Mars.
2) Sick Of You -- Cake This time their sound is taking on a fuller, almost R&B sound. They're sounding less and less like a novelty act and that's a good thing.
3) Fade Like A Shadow -- KT Tunstall She likes to think of this album as her electronica move -- think more late 80's Suzanne Vega and not LCD Soundsystem and you get the idea. Nice lyric about a relationship that doesn't quite measure up and while on the surface it sounds slick, the arragement has got an edge that sneaks up on you when you're not paying attention.
4. Precious Stone -- Peter Yorn. After a couple of listless albums and a collaboration with model-actress Scarlett Johannsen which succeeded mostly by not sucking as much as expected, Peter Yorn has found his edge again.
5. Dead American Writers -- Tired Pony An Americana supregroup imagine that. This band gets by on literacy and sheer integrity.
6. F#%k You -- Cee-Lo On first listen I was prepared to write this one off as an attempt to get by on shock value alone. Nillson tried somehting like this in the early 70's with "You're Breaking My Heart" On repeated listens I had to admit that Cee-Lo can write intricate cathy R&B and the voice of Gnarles Barkley sure can dance around a melody.
7. Heartbeat Song -- The Futureheads Ahh Singalong melody, guitars and a pumping punky beat. Never gets old does it?
8. Walk With Me -- Neil Young One man, an electric guitar, lots of feedback and Daniel Lanois. A jaw dropping performance and this is NEIL YOUNG we're talking about.
9. Radioactive -- Kigns of Leon Their songs usually take a while to work for me and this one was no exception. This band is not content to crank out "use Somebody -- Part II" and good for them. What hooks me into this one is how the guitarist plays in counterpoint against the rythmn of the drummer.
10. Anybody Out There -- Civil Twilight This is their U2 song, as opposed to "One of These Days" which was their Radiohead song. This is not a criticism. That was are really good Radiohead song and this is a really good U2 song and this talented band is plainly on the verge of transcending their influences.
11. White Knuckles -- OK Go An addictive funky tune. Love the video that features man's best friends in co-starring roles.