What I'm Listening To...

I finally managed to eject The Best of ZZ Top from my car's tape deck, only to have it replaced by the Xanadu soundtrack. My car's technical limitations may render me incapable of representing much beyond my undying love for Billy Gibbons, Jeff Lynne, and especially Olivia Newton-John, but the iPod stereo on my bike has been cranking out a slightly more diverse playlist:

"Minotaur" by the Drones: this ridiculously talented Australian band is at the Tractor tonight, and as I stated in my column today, you simply must attend. That is, provided you like the idea of McKlusky and the Velvet Underground having a meeting of the minds. Video of this and more of what I'm listening to after the jump...

"On the Turning Away" by Pink Floyd: The defacto music snob party line is to claim Syd Barrett-era PF as the band's best work, but I actually like their whole damn catalog, including the later stuff, like this single from A Momentary Lapse of Reason:

"Amish Touch" by local band Telepathic Liberation Army: Lisa Orth's new dub-punk project is simply electrifying and I can't wait till they finish their full-length.

"After All" by Heaven and Hell: Is it still called nostalgia if you didn't know it existed? Somehow this gem from the Dio-fronted incarnation of Black Sabbath didn't come to my attention until a couple of months ago.

"When We Fell" by David Bazan: Everyone loves a good break-up record, and Bazan has done a brilliant twist on this by writing Curse Your Branches, a Dear John letter to God. This is an easy contender for best local record of the year:

"Regular John" by Queens of the Stone Age: The first QOTSA record just shreds, and it's a shame it's been out of print for so long. Luckily, frontman Josh Homme has plans to re-master and re-issue it in November.