Good Problem to Have

Unlike last year, were I mainly found myself listening to singles - "Handlebars" by the Flobots, "100 Yard Dash" by Rafael Saadiq, or "Golden Age" by TV on the Radio - lately I've had lots of good albums (as archaic as both of those terms - singles and albums - sound) to choose from on my daily commute. In no particular order, I've enjoyed listening to the following:

"It's Blitz" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Actually, this list IS in some order since this record has been my favorite since it came out over the summer. This band gets better and better on every record.

"Wilco (the album)" by Wilco. This disc sounds like a greatest hits album made up of all new material. There are songs that sound like Summerteeth, YHF, Sky Blue Sky, even a little A.M. in there.

"No Line on the Horizon" by U2. This record has grown on me quite a bit. There are still a few weak songs on here but tunes like 'Magnificent' and "Breathe' make up for them.

"21st Century Breakdown" by Green Day. Sounds and feels a lot like 'American Idiot' but that's like saying he plays a lot like Albert Pujols.

'Santogold' by Santogold. Not that new, but this album full of great singles such as "LES Artistes' and 'Lights Out' has been in my heavy rotation for a long time.

"Townes" by Steve Earle. A little self indulgent if you ask me, and not as strong as some of his stuff was 5 years ago, but always good to listen to Steve Earle.

"Back from the Dead" by Spinal Tap. England's loudest band keeps milking their 1983 mockumentary with this record. There is not much new material but there are reworked versions of "Listen to the Flower People" and "Sex Farm" and it's still Spinal Tap. But for the first time on record you do get THREE versions of 'Jazz Odyssey'!