Things I can't stop listening to.

I'd put off listening to this band for a long time. I attribute part of that to the fact that I felt like they had stolen something great from The World/Friendship society. Now that I've listened to this album, I realize that Franz made the right decision not just for himself, but for humanity. Right away, the Bruce Springsteen influence is obvious. Keyboards add a beautiful complexity to the straight-forward rock guitar. Lyrically, lots of songs about everything you'd expect: Saturday nights, fast cars and hoping for hope at the end of a bottle or the tip of a needle. This is the kind of music that doesn't help you out of a slump, it tosses you over its shoulder and gets you miles away from the nearest slump.


Sounds like: Bruce Springsteen, Gaslight Anthem, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
Best Track: Stuck Between Stations
Obsession Rating: 9/10

William Elliot Whitmore's voice was born twenty years before he was and it's rumored his heart is even older. It shows. His songs are simple, just a man, a guitar and a whole lot of sorrow. Never the type to wallow, he wears his wounds like relics. Not for everyone, but he has a knack for making you feel like you're out in the  Mojave with nothing but a jug of whiskey and a good friend. 


Sounds like: Young Tom Waits, Hank Williams, Murder By Death
Best Track: Porchlight
Obsession Rating: 7.5/10

People who have ever mentioned the second Mars Volta album around me know all too well how much I hate when records have long stretches of silence, or worse yet, abrasive noise. People who have ever heard this record know it has plenty of both. The terrible fact is, that for this album, it works brilliantly. The Residents (whose public identities remain a secret despite their widespread popularity in certain music circles and their huge celebrity following) are weirdos in the first degree. The weirdness works to their advantage, this album is all about lonely people and the expressive instrumentation brings this emotion to the forefront. Their female vocalist has the pipes of a genetically enhanced angel and their male vocalist emotes in ways that would just come off as silly if set to anything but these songs. Challenge: Sit in a dark room stoned and listen to this on a rainy day. If your brain breaks, you can't say you weren't warned.


Sounds like: Pink Floyd? Radiohead? The Smiths through a strong opiate haze?
Best Track: The Car Thief
Obsession Rating: 7/10 (Would be higher, but I couldn't take the dreams).

Funeral by The Arcade Fire

You know what this sounds like. If not, stop right now and listen to this record. I was an atheist, but it is now my belief that this album is actually the recording of a God being born. This album does not sound like it could have been made on this or any possible Earth. The way the instruments play off each other is surreal, the band has such chemistry it is nearly impossible to imagine them as individuals. Each beautiful lyric is delivered with such conviction that they manage to pierce this cynic's rhino hide. Seriously, I don't care if you're into Raw Punk, Metal, Indie, Electronica or Country, do yourself a favor, give this a try.
Sounds like: Modest Mouse, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Postal Service


Best Track: I want to say all of them, and I'd probably be right. But personally, "Crown of Love" has kept me sane too many nights for it to not get the nod.
Obsession Rating (as if it wasn't obvious): 10/10