stream new the xx album "coexist"

The share tracking app is also cool.

top 5 for the week of 11 july 2011

1. deerhood - cast off crown



2. the xx - heart skipped a beat (hard to pick just one when the whole album is amazing.)



3. wooden sky - something hiding from us in the night



4. circulatory system - symbols and maps



5. clinic - tusk

"house of balloons" mixtape

Normally the way I decide on my top 5 songs of the week is by the number of times I've played a track during the previous week. It's sort of a retrospective on what was pouring through my ear buds. If I followed that rule for 4 April, the top 5 would be 5 of the 9 songs on The Weeknd's mixtape House of Balloons. Instead, here's a step to keep some variety on the list while exposing you to the 3rd album to make my short list for album of the year so far.

It's the most sleazy, sexy, sensuous album I've heard since 2009's debut from The xx. Enjoy

You can currently download "House of Balloons" for free at Pretty Much Amazing.

Who the f**k is Pinback?

Greetings! This blog is addressed to all of you who use Pandora. Have you been blitzed in the last week or so by Pinback tracks on your indie rock stations? They have turned up in heavy rotation on 3 of my stations (the xx, the pains of being pure at heart, the temper trap). I haven't thumbs up'd any track because they aren't godawful but leave me more or less meh. I'm curious if Pandora is staging a micro-marketing campaign to hype these guys ahead of their announced forthcoming album due in 2010 on Temporary Residence Ltd.

I'm not exactly sure I would be opposed to such targeting at this point. However, I am getting a little annoyed with the frequency with which these guys are popping up in my rotations. I'm tempted to hit thumbs down next time just to get some relief. A Pinback track has come around every 4 to 5 songs it seems.

So let me know surfers! Are you experiencing a Pinback forcefeed? Do you know if Pandora inks these kinds of promotion deals with record labels? It would be something awful if Pandora became just another Clear Channel chasing revenue in the name of profitability and at the expense of listeners.

Add:

I am not shilling for either Pinback or Temporary Residence Ltd. Or Pandora for that matter.