i am back from being dead, sort of. lots of updates to fill you dudez+babes in on. here are some:

• weezer’s red album is pretty rad/good/amazing/average, all at once. “pork and beans” is one of the greatest songs cuomo has ever written, not to mention the video is possibly the greatest thing EVER MADE EVER (below).

other highlights are “heart songs”, with absolutely brilliant lyrics; including this gem:

and also, the completely insane “the greatest man that ever lived”. overall this record is leaps and bounds above the subpar make believe

• the dandy warhols’ new record, earth to the dandy warhols is also pretty damned good. i’ll admit i wasn’t digging it much at first, but after leaving it on repeat all night it grew on me just as much as their others. “now you love me” is a stunning fuzzed-out lovefest on par with “good morning”, “heavenly”, etc.

• ratatat - lp3 is pretty good, albeit, somewhat more chill than their first two albums. the opening trifecta of “shiller”, “falcon jab” and “mi viejo” are particular good. “gipsy threat” is just weird and creepy as hell.

• mates of state’s latest, re-arrange us, is pretty happy-go-lucky, as we’ve come to expect from such a lovestricken husband-and-wife duo. but that’s, of course, a good thing when it comes to mates of state. still, i can’t say i liked this as much as their more recent efforts, especially the epic bring it back.

• a few albums that i missed last year: the first, (i had no idea that) meredith bragg & the terminals realeased a new album in 2007. which they did, titled silver sonya, and which also, is amazing — even greater than their debut. HIGHLY recommend this record, which would have easily been in my top 15 or so of ‘07. another which i keep meaning to write about, that i learned about from good old sebastian, is junius, who play a brand of post-hardcore similar to the more melodic aspects of deftones or the more fuzz-drenched passages of maserati or cave in. their jawdropping self-titled debut was far and away one of the better records of 2007. “hiding knives” is just unreal.

• also thanks to sebastian’s writeups, i have recently been revisiting wire’s seminal work. i have been particularly enjoying 1979’s 154 and ’78’s chairs missing. though admittedly it takes a bit of work to fully begin appreciating them, i’m still not quite sure what took me so long to be able to love these albums.

• the hold steady has a new album (stay positive), but as someone who has never really enjoyed the band that much (save for the unquestionably amazing “how a resurrection really feels”, from 2005’s separation sunday), i won’t write too much about it. i’ve given it a couple of listens, and can’t say i dislike it, but as per usual, nothing sticks out either.

• finally, dead meadow released their new record some 5 months ago now, and i keep meaning to post a review of it, but my laziness has fucked you again, dear reader. nevertheless, in my opinion, it’s their best to date, which may mean that it’s your least favorite (if you’re a legit dead meadow fan). because the same things that make me like it most (it’s more structured, more pop-oriented, more accessible), are probably the things that are turning longtime fans away. the first half of the album is particularly impressive. “down here” is brilliant.

this is a mix i made about six years ago for a friend of mine. i just recently found the tracklist and decided to edit it together to let it flow. it turned out quite nice. you might enjoy, despite the seemingly strange song selection, and the fact that this is so old i even broke the sacred rule of not repeating the same band on one mix. (three times in a row). a few of these tracks would turn up on later mixes as well. still, i quite like this one.

1. idaho - for granted
2. nick drake - pink moon
3. audioslave - like a stone
4. doves - rise
5. the dirtmitts - fix and destroy
6. the dirtmitts - bank card
7. cat power - metal heart
8. cat power - evolution
9. moonbabies - have you ever said goodbye
10. moonbabies - im insane but so are you
11. the church - under the milky way
12. interpol - leif erikson
13. ms. john soda - unsleeping
14. massive attack - angel
15. new order - crystal
16. starflyer 59 - too much fun