Some CDs I got recently

Considering the triumphant return of the book club, but not today. Instead I'll offer a look at some albums I recently acquired and have been listening to. Have you heard about this thing called online shopping? You can get anything shipped right to your door, without even putting on pants! Also apparently there is something called 'emusic' which you can somehow get in your computer. Yeah.

Also this provides the opportunity to break out my convoluted 'skip' rating system first described at the end of this post. In summary, the less skips the better.

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
Apparently I got this album in and attempt to be a cool-than-thou hipster. Only I came way to late to the party, and all the real hipsters have moved on to far more obscure bands that don't have hitlists on MTV hits. Also their bassist is Scott Baio's nephew for some reason. It's kind of a weird record. Poppy beats and African rhythms matched with light, almost Caribbean type guitars and clever faux british-invasion vocals. I have no idea what that means or if it's even accurate, but you can probably dance to this album. Also 'Vampire Weekend' may well be the dumbest band name ever -- according to wikipedia it comes from a film they made about trying to escape from vampires on Cape Cod. Why not?
Notable tracks to me: Oxford Comma, I Stand Corrected, Walcott
Goats rating: 2 skips

Burial - Untrue
According to a Pitchfork review I just read, this kind of music is called 'dubstep' which is an offshoot of 'two-step' which was a short-lived genre in the UK incorporating elements of grime and bassline house. OK now I remember why I don't read Pitchfork. I was just going to call this drum and bass. Silly me. But yeah, this album is pretty good. Not the kind of thing I usually listen to -- kind of ambient, no real 'melody' per se. For some reason I always put it on when I'm driving in the rain. The best way I could describe it is the tracks kind of blend together into a mish-mash of overlapping beats and quasi-distant vocals.
Notable track - Archangel
Goats rating: 4 skips


LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
This album is really fucking good. It's like some sort of electro-punk, with maybe some little disco, and a little singer-songwriter thrown in for good measure. The lyrics are interesting and thought-provoking, the tunes are catchy, and the arrangements are fantastic. Listening to it makes me want to move to New York, or at least out of the suburbs. This is particularly true on the electronic anti-idiot American anthem 'North American Scum' and somber piano ballad 'New York, I love you (But your bringing me down)'. It's like an electronic record made entirely with analog machines (that is to say, musical instruments). I could write a whole post about this album, and if I wasn't a year late on it, I probably would.
Notable tracks: (besides those previously listed) All My Friends, Us v Them, Someone Great, shit they are all good
Goats rating: 0 skips

Nada Surf - Lucky
I bought this album on a whim, and it was a mistake. I wanted to get Spoon's Ga ga ga ga ga ga (more ga?) but they didn't have it at the Buy where I had a gift certificate. So I went with this, which is somehow shittier despite being basically the same sound. The lead singer is too fucking whiny. I should have seen this coming from back when I bought High/Low after hearing the megahit 'Popular' and then was horribly disappointed. Is is possible for a one-hit wonder to put out 5 albums and be around for more than 10 years? I like this band only in theory.
Notable tracks: See These Bones, Whose Authority
Goats rating: 10 skips

Murder By Death - Red of Tooth and Claw
Thanks to dr.gpiece and Charles for pointing this band out to me. I totally thought it was going to be all screamy and what not, but I was wrong. The lead singer kind of sounds like Johnny Cash, and there is also a cello player for some reason. Of course with a band name like Murder by Death, you know its gonna be dark. The album is all one narrative (I think), of some guy who apparently travels back to some town, kills a bunch of people, fucks bitches, gets imprisoned, burns shit down, and then leaves? I dunno. It's no concept album about demons laying siege to a Mexican town.
Notable tracks: Rumbrave, Steal Away, Spring Break 1899
Goats rating: 2 skips