January wrap up...

So, yeah, my whole approach to music is that I hope that I'm yet to find my favourite band or album of all time. I'd hate to be one of those people sitting around living in nostalgia. You know the type, "the last great rock album was Sticky Fingers" or "I don't think anyone will top Fear of a Black Planet" or "Metal died the day Dokken split up." Fuck that! I constantly read about music reviews and listen to new albums in the hope that I'll find something wonderful and life changing. But I have to say, January 2011 has been a total bust.

I've listened to a whole bunch of new albums and nothing has stuck with me. The one album I had in my sights was the new Iron and Wine album which I would contend is near unlistenable. Sorry dude, I know you've got the beard but if I want prog-psych-folk-80's pap I'd smoke a bong out of my arse and asphyxiate myself while listening to Jack Johnson's last album. When I'm looking forward to the new Foo Fighters album (primarily because Dave Grohl does a duet with Bob Mould), you know it is not a promising year musically.

So, the biggest surprise of January? Pitchfork gave the Dismemberment Plan a 10 for the reissue of Emergency and I. Don't get me wrong, it is an amazing album but I remember when they were releasing records and couldn't get arrested. In fact, I think most 2nd hand record stores had a Dismemberment Plan section (along with the Jawbreaker and Jawbox sections)*.

Then last week they gave Ride's Nowhere 9.5. Again, another great album and having listened to both of them again, I'm starting to get that painful feeling in my gut "maybe I'm too old for new music." Despite 2010 being a great year of new music for me (Arcade Fire, Deftones, Grinderman, the National etc...), 2011 is starting very, very slowly. Maybe it's too early in the year but is there any good new music yet? Anyone?

*Second hand cd stores in the 90's to early 2000's were always assured to have multiple copies of Hole's Live Through This, Green Day's Dookie and Live's Throwing Copper. If you don't remember Live that's because they suck.

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