Matthew Berlyant’s Top Ten — November 16 by Matthew Berlyant

Matthew Berlyant’s Top Ten — November 9 by Matthew Berlyant

Got Live if You Want It

What an amazing past weeks! In addition to the historic nature of BARACK OBAMA’s election as President earlier this week and the Phillies winning the World Series the week before (thus creating several victory parades down Broad Street, though one was impromptu), there have been a ton of great shows happening in the area this week. Here are some of them, and some shows from weeks past that I just haven’t listed until now. To cap off the list, I’m also including 3 new releases that I’ve been digging lately.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno (R) by Matthew Berlyant

I think the problem is just that KEVIN SMITH is out of ideas.

Matthew Berlyant’s Top Ten — November 2 by Matthew Berlyant

Vote for Change

Make sure to go out and vote on Tuesday, November 4th. I hope, like many others, that come Tuesday BARACK OBAMA will be elected President of the United States. So, with this in mind, here is a list of songs about change, echoing his campaign’s central message.

The Dead Milkmen with Mercury Radio Theater and Women - Johnny Brenda's (Philadelphia, PA) - Saturday, October 25, 2008 by Matthew Berlyant

By the end of the night, I was covered in sweat. I felt as if I’d just finished watching a show at City Gardens back when I was a teenager.

Matthew Berlyant’s Top Ten — October 26 by Matthew Berlyant

The latest top 10!

Matthew Berlyant’s Top Ten — October 12 by Matthew Berlyant

Because I Do

This week’s list is dedicated to my fiancee, ANNE LEAVITT-GRUBERGER, who will become my wife on Sunday, October 12th. Here is a list of 10 artists that her fandom has made me appreciate more as well. I was already a fan of some of these artists (such as YO LA TENGO, SONIC YOUTH), but some of them were artists who I was largely unfamiliar with beforehand. I am off next week but will return with a brand new list on October 26th.

Matthew Berlyant’s Top Ten — October 5 by Matthew Berlyant

Matthew Berlyant’s Top Ten — September 28 by Matthew Berlyant

Matthew Berlyant’s Top Ten — September 21 by Matthew Berlyant

New Releases

There have been a lot of worthwhile and interesting new releases lately, so I thought I’d list 10 of them here. Other than the absolutely brilliant new FUJIYA AND MIYAGI album and a few others that were covered in last week’s list as well (BRIAN WILSON as well as the AMY RIGBY/WRECKLESS ERIC disc), I haven’t had a chance to spend too much time with any of them yet, so these are more first or initial impressions than anything else. It’ll be interesting to see how much I’m liking each of these releases by the end of the year.

Matthew Berlyant’s Top Ten — September 14 by Matthew Berlyant

The latest top 10!

Matthew Berlyant’s Top Ten — September 7 by Matthew Berlyant

Shudder to Think

This week’s list is dedicated to SHUDDER TO THINK, who recently reunited almost a decade after their last album, came out. As a teenager, I was obsessed with them and in particular I gravitated towards their earlier material on Dischord Records. Here are 10 of my favorite songs of theirs along with the album or single they come from and some commentary. I know some readers will be disappointed that no songs from 1994’s Pony Express Record are included here. It’s not that I don’t like that record, but rather that I like the earlier period much more.

Matthew Berlyant’s Top Ten — August 31 by Matthew Berlyant

Sonic Youth with The Hold Steady - Theater of the Living Arts (Philadelphia, PA), Friday, August 29, 2008 by Matthew Berlyant

SONIC YOUTH were terrific despite playing virtually the same setlist as they played last month.

Squeeze - Keswick Theater (Glenside, PA) - Friday, August 22, 2008 by Matthew Berlyant

They played virtually all of 45s Singles and Under, so any casual fan would’ve been satisfied with the show.