She & Him - "In The Sun"

Song of the Day: MGMT - "Flash Delirium"

Have you checked out the album art yet?

Goldfrapp - "Rocket"

I feel like I'm in an '80s movie montage.

Song of the Day: Cults - "Go Outside"

Tunng - "Hustle"

Song of the Day: Fyfe Dangerfield - "When You Walk In the Room"

Tucan - "Indian Harmony"

Song of the Day: Dan Black - "Symphonies"

artist recommended by @ilovelumpy

Plants and Animals - "The Mama Papa"

Song of the Day: Gorillaz - "Stylo"

there's also a video

Owen Pallett - "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt"

Song of the Day: The Mint Chicks - "Hot On Your Heels"

band recommended by @codylbrown

La Roux - "In for the Kill"

Song of the Day: The Ruby Suns - "Cranberry"

recommended by @codylbrown

Leslie Early - "Your Car"

Song of the Day: Planningtorock - "I Wanna Bite Ya"

My thoughts on the Timberwolves 'franchise' player.

I loved Al Jefferson a year ago, but now I'm in the group that wants to trade him. His inability to play consistent defense is inexcusable after six seasons, over 250 starts and after logging over 11,000 minutes. Championships are won in the trenches and even though Al’s offensive skill set is unique and undeniably effective, missing defensive rotations and allowing second-chance points will kill any playoff team. Unless you pair Al with a quick, defensive-minded center AND small forward, his offensive prowess won’t make up for his defensive ineptitude in crunch time; if it did, we wouldn’t lose so many tight games down the stretch. A contending team will pony-up for one of the game’s best low-post scorers. The Timberwolves need to continue to pile up the assets and bargaining chips and part of that process is sacrificing talent.

With all of this being said, if we can find a way to win with Al, I would have no issue keeping him around. He's a unique talent and great for the community*.

--------------------------------------

Sorry for the departure from music, but I'm also a diehard Minnesota sports fan, so this will happen from time-to-time.

--------------------------------------

*I wrote this before Al was arrested for suspicion of DWI. That being said, people make mistakes and Al's apology was sincere.

X-Wife - "Heart of the World"

Song of the Day: Bikeride - "Jennifer"

Spring Offensive - "Every Coin"

Song of the Day: The Craters - "Cool Enough For School"

Bowerbirds - "Nothern Lights"

This time it's official.

Song of the Day: She & Him - "Thieves"

Do you think M. Ward is mad that the band name isn't 'He & Her'?

Tegan & Sara - "Alligator"

Song of the Day: Clem Snide - "The Meat of Life"

Vampire Weekend - "Giving Up the Gun"

featuring RZA, Jake Gyllenhaal, Lil Jon & Joe Jonas

Song of the Day: Broken Social Scene - "World Sick"

Headlights - "Love Song for Buddy"

Headlights will be at Club David in Sioux Falls on February 24.

Song of the Day: Annuals - "Loxtep"

Casiokids - "En Vill Hest"

That cereal is out of control.

Song of the Day: Gold Motel - "Don't Send the Searchlights"

The Low Anthem - "Apothecary"

There wasn't any doubt that this would be the video of the day when I noticed it on La Blogotheque.

Song of the Day: The Morning Benders - "Promises"

Happy Presidents Day!

The Art of Outlet: Kevin Love

If you're not impressed, try to recreate this chest pass next time you're on the court. Need more evidence?

The Antlers - "Bear"

Song of the Day: The Radio Dept. - "Heaven's On Fire"

Love the intro.

Eugene McGuinness - "Wendy Wonders"

recommended by @adamkarnopp

Song of the Day: Josh Ritter - "Change of Time"

The Drums - "I Felt Stupid"

Song of the Day: Harper Simon - "Wishes and Stars"

Reflections with Rock Garden Tour

Hop on over to Rock Garden Tour to hear me regale Flowerman with my experience as a geranium salesman.

---

The Rock Garden Tour celebrates those that work the land, those that play the free range rock and roll, and those that live in South Dakota (more or less).

Jónsi - "Go Do"

Yes, my child, that voice does sound familiar.

Song of the Day: Dessa - "Matches To Paper Dolls"

Great little feature on NPR. Dessa is the one and only woman in Doomtree.

Soft Pack - "C'mon"

Song of the Day: Eulogies - "Is There Anyone Here?"

Yann Perreau - "L'amour se meurt"

French translations are welcome.

Song of the Day: Midlake - "Acts of Man"

Lightspeed Champion - "Devil In Disguise"

Check out the Elvis version.

Song of the Day: Fulka - "Misunderstood"

Vampire Weekend

via La Blogotheque
If you understand French, you'll have even more fun with this set that I did.

Song of the Day: The Album Leaf - "Falling From The Sun"

Massive Attack - "Splitting The Atom"

Song of the Day: Joanna Newsom - "81"

Lemonade - "Lifted"

Song of the Day: Lay Low - "By and By"

This is just downright pleasant.

Hatcham Social - "Sidewalk"

Song of the Day: Lali Puna - "Remember"

Groove Armada - "Paper Romance"

She looks tired ...

Song of the Day: The Fine Arts Showcase - "London, My Town"

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Skeletons"

Song of the Day: Cold War Kids - "Audience'

... from the "stuck in my head all day" department.

Tahiti Boy & the Palmtree Family - "Brooklyn"

... and the winner for Band Name That Reminds the Me Most of Hawaiian Punch goes to ...

Song of the Day: The Tallest Man On Earth - "King of Spain"

Beach House - "Silver Soul"

I spent my morning at work streaming Teen Dream on NPR's 'site and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire album. Have a listen for yourself.

Song of the Day: Wild Nothing - "Summer Holiday"

Sondre Lerche - "If Only"

Stereogum Premiere

Song of the Day: Toro Y Moi - "Low Shoulder"

Quietdrive - "Jessica"

Minneapolis-based band, Quietdrive will be performing at SDSU on March 3 in the Volstorff Ballroom (presented by the University Program Council).

Song of the Day: Owen Pallett - "Keep the Dog Quiet"

The xx - "VCR"

Song of the Day: Dave Rawlings Machine - "Ruby"

Los Campesinos! - "Romance Is Boring"

Title track from their most recent release.

Song of the Day: jj - "Let Go"

Dean Martin - "Volare/On An Evening In Roma"

Song of the Day: B.B. King - "Don't Answer the Door"

Just a subtle way to celebrate the holiday.

The Very Best (ft. Ezra Koenig) - "Warm Heart of Africa"

I posted this song back in June, but I couldn't resist posting the video, because it's an instant smile.

Song of the Day: Happy Birthday - "Girls FM"

The Mountain Goats - "Psalms 40:2"

Powerful stuff. I was hanging on every word. This song is off of their new album, The Life of the World to Come. (via Pitchfork's 'Cemetery Gates' series)

Song of the Day: Ramona Falls - "Melectric"

recommended by @ilovelumpy

The Tinder Box - "No More Weeping"

More South Dakota love, with The Tinder Box.

Song of the Day: Dum Dum Girls - "Jail La La"

M.I.A. - "There's Space For Ol Dat I See"

This got me pretty excited for the forthcoming LP that's due out this summer.

Song of the Day: Dinosaur Feathers - "Vendela Vida"

Brother Earth - "Sunny Side of the Street"

Short, but neat.

Song of the Day: Eels - "Little Bird"

Animal Collective - "Brothersport"

Easter on 'shrooms.

Song of the Day: Bensard Lakes - "Albatross"

fun. - "All the Pretty Girls"

I'm not sure how fun. slipped under my radar, but I'm glad @adamkarnopp let me know of their existence, as I am a fan of the now defunct The Format.

Song of the Day: Frightened Rabbit - "Nothing Like You"

Islands - "No You Don't"

... with a magical appearance by Michael Cera.

Song of the Day: The Middle East - "Blood"

Ten Centuries - "Fallen Trees"

Thanks to @MFRian

Song of the Day: Rogue Wave - "Good Morning"

Welcome to the Cinema - "Adrien Brody"

More from the Brookings, SD quintet here.

Song of the Day: Broken Bells - "The High Road"

Broken Bells consists of artist-producer Danger Mouse (billed by his real name, Brian Burton) and James Mercer, the lead vocalist and guitarist for The Shins.

My 15 Favorite Albums of 2009

Just like my 50 favorite tracks, this selection wasn't a scientific process, but rather the selection of the albums from 2009 that I listened to the most - front-to-back, back-to-front, on shuffle, or perhaps on repeat my entire journey home for Thanksgiving.

The positioning is also loosely justified (although my #1 choice was indeed my favorite album of 2009). Why 15, you might ask? Because many of the other albums I had in heavy rotation this year were actually released in 2008 (a list for another time, perhaps). When I started pondering this list, it just so happened that 15 was the closest round-number that resembled a suitable and bona fide list (like I said, it's not a scientific process).

I invite you to leave your favorite albums of 2009 in the comment section, because sharing new and favorite music is what this blog is all about.

(15) Bowerbirds - "Upper Air"

Northern Lights





(14) Modest Mouse - "No One's First and You're Next"

Autumn Beds




(13) The xx - "xx"

Basic Space





(12) Bear In Heaven - "Beast Rest Forth Mouth"

Lovesick Teenagers




(11) Monsters of Folk - "Monsters of Folk"

Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.)





(10) The Decemberists - "The Hazards of Love"

The Hazards of Love 4




(9) Dan Auerbach - "Keep It Hid"

When the Night Comes





(8) Matt & Kim - "Grand"

Daylight





(7) Cymbals Eat Guitars - "Why There Are Mountains"

...And the Hazy Sea




(6) The Low Anthem - "Oh My God, Charlie Darwin"

To Ohio




(5) Grizzly Bear - "Veckatimest"

Two Weeks





(4) Phoenix - "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix"

Lisztomania





(3) Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - "Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros"

Home




(2) Dirty Projectors - "Bitte Orca"

No Intention





(1) Animal Collective - "Merriweather Post Pavilion"

Lion In A Coma

My 50 Favorite Tracks of 2009

I decided to bring some closure to the first year of Me. My World. by posting my 50 favorite tracks from 2009. This was, by no means, a scientific process and the positioning, 1-50, is loosely justified. The most difficult part of this process was having to leave many great tracks off of the list.

To add this playlist to your profile, click here.

Steve Mason - "All Come Down"

Song of the Day: Or, The Whale - "Rusty Gold"

Woodsman - "Sunglass"

Song of the Day: Tape Deck Mountain - "A Cool Thing"

The Maneken - "Magic Force"

Just a little electro-pop from the Ukraine. More from the Kieviens (is this what people from Kiev are called?) here.

Song of the Day: Quail Lungs - "Dumb Dadadum"
... makes me want to restart me side-project: Albatross Kidney.

Foreign Born - "Early Warnings"

Song of the Day: The Soft Pack - "C'mon"

I'm not a betting man ...

Ok, well, I'm not usually a betting man, but I couldn't turn down the wager made over Twitter on Sunday. Scott Hale aka @sjhalestorm offered up a blog post to a Vikings' fan if the Vikings beat his Bengals. And if the Vikings lost, I risked having to blog about the Bengals on my day off. I was feeling pretty confident that after last weeks' debockle in the desert that my Vikings would rebound at home against the AFC-North leading Bengals, so I took him up on his offer.

Jared Allen talks about the Vikings' victory over the Bengals.

Since a 30-10 Vikings' win put me on the right end of this bet, head over to Social Storm and see how Scott determined that your brand should be like my Vikings.

Munich - "Into the Rain"

Song of the Day: Firekites - "Same Suburb, Different Park"

Clavius Crates ft. Silas Green - "Classically Trained"

You don't need millions to make a music video. Simple, entertaining and effective.

Song of the Day: Seasick Steve - "My Home (Blue Eyes)"
Interesting write-up from Songs to Save.

'mas music, please

If you're thinking about giving your loved ones a shiny new album for Christmas, check out some of these recommendations from former NBA player and ESPN.com's Paul Shirley (@paulthenshirtley).

Girl With the Gun - "Steamboy"

Song of the Day: Harlem - "Friendly Ghost"

Numba Five

Casual Friday.

The Rural Alberta Advantage - "Drain the Blood"

Thoughts on TRAA from the Rock Garden Tour are right here.

Song of the Day: Caroline Smith & The Goodnight Sleeps - "Closing the Doors"
Here's a little ditty from CS & TGS's appearance on Daytrotter. If you would like to hear more from this Minneapolis ensemble, you can bee-bop over to their MySpace. Caroline is also a phat rapper.

Phoenix - "Long Distance Call"

... more from their appearance on La Blogotheque here.

Song of the Day: Liars - "Scissor"

Sharon Van Etten - "For You"

Thank you Jonk Music for posting this.

Song of the Day: Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - "Even Heroes Have to Die"

Lightspeed Champion - "Marlene"

Song of the Day: Will Stratton - "Who Will"

The Fiery Furnaces - "Even in the Rain"

Song of the Day: The Builders & The Butchers - "Barcelona"

Shout Out Louds - "Walls"

Song of the Day: CocoRosie - "Happy Eyez"

The Swell Season - "Low Rising"

If you enjoyed this, hopefully you caught these Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova in Once.

Song of the Day: Spoon - "Written In Reverse"
From the forthcoming Transference.

November Playlist for Song of the Day!

11/2 - Surfer Blood - "Take It Easy"
11/3 - The Mary Onettes - "Puzzles"
11/4 - The Crayon Fields - "Impossible Things"
11/5 - Elizabeth and the Catapult - "Race You"
11/6 - Jay Z - "Empire State of Mind"
11/9 - Bear In Heaven - "Lovesick Teenagers"
11/10 - Hot Chip - "Take It In"
11/11 - Pants Yell! - "Someone Loves You"
11/12 - Julian Casablancas - "11th Dimension"
11/13 - The Wedding Present - "Always the Quiet One"
11/16 - Tindersticks - "Black Smoke"
11/17 - Vampire Weekend - "Cousins"
11/18 - Boy & Bear - "Mexican Mavis"
11/19 - Beck - "Harry Partch"
11/20 - Sia - "Breathe Me"
11/23 - Animal Collective - "What Would I Want? Sky"
11/24 - Tim & Jean - "Come Around"
11/25 - James Yuill - "This Sweet Love"
11/27 - First Aid Kit - "You're Not Coming Home Tonight"
11/30 - Beach House - "Norway"

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - "Kisses Over Babylon"

Kisses Over Babylon is the second installment of SALVO!, a 12-part music video series from Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros. Part I is available here.

Song of the Day: Beach House - "Norway"

Why? - "These Hands/January Twenty Something

Song of the Day: First Aid Kit - "You're Not Coming Home Tonight"

Peter Broderick - "Below It"

Song of the Day: James Yuill - "This Sweet Love"

Yeasayer - "Ambling Alp"

... and now with the video.

Song of the Day: Tim & Jean - "Come Around"
This song has the ability to lift one's spirits.

The Avett Brothers - "Slight Figure Of Speech"

Song of the Day: Animal Collective - "What Would I Want? Sky"
"'Sky' is probably one of the more legible, straightforward pieces of music the band has released, and is also among the most immediately appealing: three minutes of lightly overdriven drum breaks and vocal lines dissolve into three minutes of high-gloss folk-pop. The guitars are audible, the percussion is recognizable. They probably could've made it easier to bob your head to; instead, they put it in a tricky time signature that feels like the meter infants learn to walk in."

- Mike Powell (P4K)