Thanks for the recs, David, I knew I could count on you. I'll have some fun looking these up...

Alas, if Jim Eaton-Terry were still around he'd drop in and say, "Those are fine (if obvious) choices but what I really think sums up that era is...[_______}"

Also, Corwood will pop in any second to point out that the Rought Trade Post Punk comp is the one to have, not the dippy Rhino one with the crap-ass synthpop numbers mixed in.

Hey, the Rough Trade Post Punk comp is the one to... ah, never mind.

I haven't yet fallen for the new Decemberists album, and downloaded the new Hold Steady last week, but have yet to listen to it. Does this make me a bad person? Perhaps. I'm digging the new Yo La Tengo, and can't quite recommend the new Eric Matthews, which breaks my heart, because I love to recommend that guy's work. This one's only ok, not quite up to his previous two full-lengths. I'm a bit so-so on the new Mountain Goats, too, but those albums always take a couple of weeks to really sink in.

Anyway, I heartily second the Gang of Four's Entertainment!, which blew my socks off when I first heard it and still does today, nearly two decades later. And, on that note, to hell with poverty! Let's get drunk on cheap wine!

Don't click on the link. I posted it before I realized that the video is gone now. Here's a blurry, inferior substitute.

Two steps forward...
six steps back
six steps back
six steps back
six steps back

Love will get you like a case of anthrax

The Gang of Four's drummer now teaches at the Art Institute of Boston, btw.

I'm a bit so-so on the new Mountain Goats, too, but those albums always take a couple of weeks to really sink in.

My love for Darnielle knows no bounds, but I just don't like the new album. Too sad. Too mellow. To focused on one subject. Many of the lyrics are gut-punchers for sure - he's a badass at telling you how lonliness feels - the whole package is just not doing it for me. I'll give it another listen in a few weeks and see if things have changed.

In other news - I saw the Pavement documentary The Slow Century for the first time last night. It was really great, but it was also like the most boring Behind the Music ever. Very little drugs. No sex. No angrily quitting the band mid-performance. Just great music and relatively humble musicians talking about said music. What's up with that?

hmm. I think I'm going to have to find a good record store. There's one that I sort of know of, but I haven't been that impressed with their selection when I went in before. but they could probably give me leads on where to go to look.

But an album I bought last week that I cannot stop listening to is the new Thermals.

Have you heard their previous albums? I think I like them more. The new CD is mixed funny I think, with the vocals too far in front.

I just listened to Power, Corruption, Lies and I think I went into like a music coma. It was so ridiculously good.

Have you heard their previous albums?

My recent obsession caused me to download all I could get off their subpop page - two tracks from Fuckin A and one from More Parts Per Million.

I really like everything I've heard and need to buy the albums. Though nothing could possibly be as catchy as "No Culture Icons."

The vocals on the new album remind me of John Darnielle a bit actually - a friend who is a big Mountain Goats fan initially sent me the link for the video because he saw a similarity.

I am going back to KC this weekend and cannot wait to browse through my much-missed record stores in Lawrence and KC.