New Release Tuesday - 12/5/06 (and Sufjan and Neil)

Not one of the most inspiring weeks in recent memory. I did finally pick up a couple of recent releases that are worth checking out.

Sufjan Stevens: Songs for Christmas (Asthmatic Kitty) – I gotta hand it to the guy. In a day and age when so many people download (both legally and illegally) their music, and even major labels recognize that the CD is a dying format, Stevens made a CD package that is well worth owning. The packaging for this thing is great - five individually sleeved CDs with stickers, singalong books and great artwork all for $20. I’d still rather have this thing on vinyl, but since that’s not an option I’m happy with the purchase. Of course if the music wasn’t so much fun the packaging wouldn’t matter. He does covers (both jovial and serious, novelty and spiritual), instrumentals and originals. You won’t want to hear a lot of this stuff after January 1st, but you’ll definitely return to it next December. Believe it or not, you’ll return to some of the original songs throughout the year (I’m thinking about the new songs that use Christmas as a setting or state of mind). Download “That Was the Worst Christmas Ever” (a fun one) and “Sister Winter” (an emotional one) Letter Grade: A

Neil Young: Live at the Fillmore East (Reprise) – This one’s a bit disappointing based on value. Six songs, a running time of 42 minutes and an MSRP of $18.98. Come on Reprise. That’s outrageous. All of these performances are well worth having, but that price makes it hard to justify. Fans definitely need to hear this version of “Wonderin’” (it wasn’t released, and in a much different form, until his 1983 rockabilly record). Another big highlight is the late Danny Whitten’s performance of, “Come on Baby Let’s go Downtown.” The live version of “Winterlong” is good too (the Pixies love to cover that one). There are also two extended, classic Crazy Horse jams: “Down By the River” and “Cowgirl in the Sand.” For people who don’t mind downloading bootlegs, the Aquarium Drunkard has some classic Young performances available for download. Letter Grade: B (it would probably be an A- if it wasn’t $19)

Top Five New Releases

Artichoke: Never Mind the Bollocks Here’s the Sex Pistols (self-released) – The local band does their non-punk tribute to the Sex Pistols only studio record. Stream samples HERE
Eminem: Eminem Presents the Re-Up (Shady Records) – Eminem wants to turn you on to a bunch of artists and then sell you their albums.
I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness: S/T EP (Secretly Canadian) – The Austin band’s debut EP is re-issued. Britt Daniel of Spoon produced it. Todd from Sea Level highly recommends it. Download “When You Go Out”
Gwen Stefani: The Sweet Escape (Interscope) – Her last one sold 3.8M units.
Various Artists: The OC Mix 6 – Covering Our Tracks (Warner Bros.) – Pitchfork panned this thing today. I like a few of the bands doing the songs and a few being covered but it still seems like a bad idea. The ones I feel I should hear are: Rogue Wave doing the Pixies, Pinback doing Black Flag and Band of Horses doing the New Year.