Current listings that everyone should at least listen to.

I know. I know. You all have been waiting for my first real blog. So here it goes.

My current listenings include Nada Surf, "The Weight is a Gift". Though they are only known for the song, "Popular" back in the 90's, I believe this is their best cd yet. It is somewhat pop-rock, but what gets me are the lyrics. They relate to my everyday life and lyrics are what I look for in music. They pull me in and tell a story that I was thinking of, but didn't know how to write it down. Next would have to be my favorite artist of all time, Elliott Smith. Elliott has something about him that I can only compare to Neil Young, my next favorite artist of all time. His voice, lyrics and strumming were and still are the best that I ever heard. I highly recommend my personal best of Elliott. If anybody would like it, I would proudly burn a copy for you and send it to anywhere in the U.S. The band that I will be going to see on April 20 is the next cd in my tightly knit collection. Death Cab For Cutie has gotten their fame mostly from the new disc, Plans. But I highly recommend DCFC's disc, Transatlanticism. 1-11 kick some ass and Ben's voice is something else. Neil Young's "Prairie Wind" is his latest in many. For me it has to rank up there with "Harvest" and "After the Goldrush". He wrote this while suffering through a brain aneurysm and surgery. The song's are very heartfelt and you can hear it in raspy voice. The Magic Numbers are two pairs of brother/sisters. They play music that is very folksy and the brother/sister singing is very harmonic. So there are a few of my current listenings. Come on back later for more. Other ones, but I didn't feel like writing anymore. The Strokes "First Impressions of Earth", Mates of State, Joanna Newsom-very weird voice, but really good.