Dave Heaton’s Top Ten — July 1

by Dave Heaton
1 July 2007

Stuff I’m listening to lately

1. Namelessnumberheadman – Wires Reply

   Still one of the best unsigned, unheard bands in the country. On this new album their schizophrenic style has become especially seamless and natural—no longer schizo at all. Not a hybrid of styles, but their own unique style.

2. Kelly Willis – Translated From Love (Rykodisc)

   Love the Iggy Pop and Adam Green – strange how well they work in a country context.

3. Hallelujah the Hills – Collective Psychosis Begone (Misra)

   Best indie-label rock album to come out in a long, long time. Very ‘90s in some ways, but forward-looking too. Surrealism and rock n’ roll and trumpets…can’t beat it!

4. Amp – All of Yesterday Tomorrow (Rropp)

   Awesome three-disc rarities retrospective of these visionary song/soundscape experimenters.

5. Wu-Tang Clan – Wu-Tang Forever

   Bought this used on vinyl the other day, what a buy. I decided this album works better on vinyl than it did on my cassette of it – self-indulgence is more forgivable when you’re working with 8 sides of music.

6. Busta Rhymes – When Disaster Strikes

   Bought this on vinyl same time as the Wu-Tang.

7. LL Cool J – Walking With the Panther

   ...and this one too!

8. Wilco – Sky Blue Sky

   Is everyone hating on this? I haven’t been paying attention to the latest consensus, but I’m liking this so far, after just a couple listens. More focused in intention than they can be sometimes, and none of the forced striving for catchy hooks that gets on my nerves about them sometimes. I am wondering sometimes if he thinks he’s a soul singer now – that’s my biggest complaint, that some of the singing’s more dramatic than it needs to be. Come to think of it, the guitar solos get a bit overdramatic too – maybe I need to keep listening before I decide what I think of it.

9. Paul McCartney – “Dance Tonight”

   Can’t say I love the whole album yet, but this song is great. So simple.

10. Jeff London – The Bane of Progress (Hush)

    Excellent – pristine folk-pop sound and lyrics that smartly explore modern-day life dilemmas.