I felt the world begin, to peel off all my skin

Andy Hull rules.

I can barely deal with my acoustic guitar

Man, what kind of dexterity would you need to be able to pull off playing one of these properly?! You'd probably have to be able to perform open heart surgery with both hands simultaneously on two different patients while tap dancing WHILE juggling a soccer ball. On a tight rope. Nah, maybe not, but still, I'd love to just try one of these Eigenharps out.

Top Notch, Butterscotch lyrics - its the mood!

Big ups to my buddy Niccolo for introducing me to solid hip hop - Slum Village, anything Jay Dee touches, and Pete Rock. Here's Pete Rock and CL Smooth's 'Carmel City', off the 1994 essential The Main Ingredient. I could honestly pick any song off The Main Ingredient and it would blow 90% of the hip hop out there clear out of the water, even 15 years after it dropped.

I Might Be Wrong

I just got Amnesiac. Kid A was my favorite Radiohead album, but I'm not too sure anymore. I might be wrong

Surfer Blood

I don't know what their deal is, and if they didn't make such awesome tunes, I'd probably hate them. You see, I have this rational fear of sharks. (I was about to say irrational, but who ISN'T afraid of being chomped on by a great white shark?) Every time I paddle out for a terrified surf session, I do my best to keep my legs out of the water while paddling, and put my self on self appointed fin watch. You should've seen my face the first time I saw a dolphins crescent fin break the treacherous, shark infested (so I would believe since I'm ridiculous) waters out in Santa Barbara. Before I even describe their music, just take a look at their album cover!

Luckily for me, this wouldn't be my sound track for my first and last shark attack (God forbid it happens) - you won't find tracks like Limbless, My Arm Is In A Warmer Place, Float like A Seal, Sting Like A Severed Leg etc. Au contraire, mon frere - Surfer Blood's lo-fi, fuzzy distorted pop rock sound is upbeat and uplifting. Opener 'Floating Vibes' calls to mind the Silversun Pickups on prozac - same fuzzy sound, with just an extra does of happy pop rock/indie goodness. The Floridians are currently on tour with Japandroids.

Surfer Blood myspace

Yes, Fall Be Kind Leaked

and yes, I'm only bringing it up because while I can get down to some Animal Collective, I don't fawn over them like everyone else seems to. This EP however, is rock solid, embracing almost traditional song structures (traditional in the Animal Collective world, mind you) in the sense that you can almost sing along with Avery Tare. 'What Would I Want? Sky' is probably my favorite AC song I've ever heard, so if you're on the fence as to whether abhor the hipsters' wet dream, or to go to Amoeba in your skinnies and lensless glasses and buy everything they've released on vinyl to play in your 'artists' loft' on your grandad's vintage record player that is so cash (who the fuck says that? 'so cash'?), make sure to pick up Fall Be Kind.

It's so cash (shoot the next person who says that)

With Honor

Hardcore is a great genre, that is littered with so many bands, that sometimes its hard to find a band that genuinely excited you and makes you take notice of the way THEY play hardcore. Whether it be with introspective song structures and lyrics, harrowing screams, furious banging on the drum kit or a relentless aural assault of pummeling guitar riffs (holy extreme use of adjectives, Batman!)

One thing I look for is an earnest sincerity in song writing, where the bands passion truly shines through - cause if they are just a cookie cutter formulaic entity with no rhyme or reason behind their guitar riffs and angered shouts, then how can I be expected to get into their music, if they're truly not into it themselves? Now, this is a pretty brash claim, and how can one truly understand a band's motives? And the short answer is, you can't. But certain bands give off the vibe they truly care about each note played, each hi hat hit, each vocal hook sung. The passion that comes through is obvious in my newest favorite discovery in hardcore, With Honor. Their 2004 release, aptly titled (for the sake of my long winded pompous rant) Heart Means Everything, encompasses emotion, song writing that doesn't get stale, and is among one of the most enjoyable hardcore releases I've heard in recent memory.

If you're gonna do something, do it with passion, or don't do it at all.

(the only video I could find on youtube, but it's still a great track)

Maths

(insert lame joke about hating math, functions, how this record equates to something amazing. ok good, now it's out of the way)

Another steller 09 release this time coming by way of the United Kingdom's screamo/post-hardcore quintet, named Maths. The solid musicianship is what will strike you first, from the very start of Belief in Sorrow, where the guitars almost call to mind post rock tremolo picking and song structures. The harsh vocals and seamless segue between tracks make it a quick but highly enjoyable listen. Harsh impassioned vocals plus (haha! I hate myself for that) a band that is up to the challenge of keeping their brand of screamo fresh make Maths stand out from the pack - and of the 09 releases as well. Well worth scoping out.

---> Maths' myspace

These Ears Need More Tunes

... like this. This Town Needs Guns combine mind blowing technical proficiency on guitar, dipping and diving vocals, with a calculating and steady rhythm section rounding out the angular math/indie band out of Oxford, England. With two full lengths to their name as well as a split, the impressive band sometimes can over burden listeners with their frantic guitar riffing, but beyond the lightning quick hammer ons and pull offs, string skipping and precision picked notes lies earnest and heartfelt song writing, driven home by the impressive atmosphere the pining vocals and sound scapes the music makes. Besides, some beauty needs to be admired in awe, put on a pedestal, and Tim Collin's guitar work is so incredible that it's enough reason to keep listening to this band.

Head to their website to purchase acoustic reworks of two songs off their latest LP, Animals

+++This Town Needs Guns