The 11 Best Songs By Iron & Wine

If my poll tells me anything, it's that most of you out there still don't know anything about Record Store Day...or you just don't care about records.  That's okay.  But if you love music...you should know a little something about vinyl.  See, vinyl is an exact physical representation of the sound wave.  Currently, there isn't any other replay device out there that can match the pure sound that a vinyl record can emit.  If you want to hear a song exactly how it was intended...vinyl is the way to go.  Once a year (technically twice) the music companies release extremely limited albums only on vinyl.  Not just a handful.  This year, it's somewhere around 250 releases.  Everyone participates.  From David Bowie, Pink Floyd, and the Grateful Dead to The Cure, R.E.M., and Soundgarden, all the way to The xx, Grizzly Bear, and Iron & Wine.  Some of the records are remasters, some are re-issues, some are live, some are demos, some are green, some are splattered, some are clear, some are filled with liquid, some are new recordings, some are old, some have never been released....ever.  And it's the only time of the year that thousands of people line-up all over the globe (yes, it's international, too) to buy physical music.  Something worth getting excited about.

Here are the 11 Best Songs by Iron & Wine:

1. Jezebel (Woman King)
2. Trapeze Singer (In Good Company)
3. Rabbit Will Run (Kiss Each Other Clean)
4. Cinder And Smoke (Our Endless Numbered Days)
5. Woman King (Woman King)
6. Boy With A Coin (Shepard's Dog)
7. White Tooth Man (Shepard's Dog)
8. Upwards Over The Mountain (The Creek Drank The Cradle)
9. Swans and the Swimming (Our Endless Numbered Days)
10. Resurrection Fern (Shepard's Dog)
11. Arms of A Thief (Around The Well)

Buy Iron & Wine's new album, Ghost On Ghost now!

The 11 Best Bands Who Have Never Played Coachella

There's something sadly thrilling about getting to sit in front of my computer and watch Coachells unfold before me without paying hundreds of dollars, enduring crazy temperatures, dust, dirt, and douche bags.  Right now I'm flipping back and forth between New Order and Phoenix.  I couldn't do that at the festival...I would have to choose...currently, I'm winning.  Because at home, I get both.

While enjoying Coachella from the comfort of my home, I started to realize how many bands have never played the festival...some that I'm actually shocked.  Some I thought for sure had played only to find out they had never made the journey to Indio. (Journey being one of them)  Below is a list of the best bands that have never played Coachella.  I have only chosen bands that are still together.  Reunions...well, that's really for another list...so, check in tomorrow for that list.

Who Am I missing?

Here are the 11 Best Bands Who Have Never Played Coachella & Should (that are still together):

1. U2
2. Pearl Jam
3. Ryan Adams
4. Fiona Apple
5. Tori Amos
6. Royksopp
7. Iron & Wine
8. Burial
9. Morcheeba
10. Sufjan Stevens
11. Garbage

Watch Coachella now!!

The 11 Best Black Friday Record Store Releases

Every April...us old dudes who still own record players crowd around record stores to pay a lot of money for limited edition colored vinyls with one extra track.  But Christmas has come early this year.  The wonderful folks at RSD have a new day for us...like a teaser trailer for spring's epic event.  Black Friday features a much smaller amount of releases but some exclusive and exciting ones none-the less.  Here's some of the most interesting releases...and click here for the the full list.


Here are 11 of the Best Releases for Black Friday:

1. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Kiss My Amps Live (No one has made a bigger effort to support vinyl than Tom Petty...so this live EP with songs from the Mojo tour promises to sound amazing.)
2. Wilco - Speak Into The Rose (a 4-song EP with two unreleased tracks from the Whole Love Sessions)
3. Janis Joplin - Move Over 7-inch box set (4 7-inch singles with unreleased tracks and versions)
4. Iron & Wine - Morning Becomes Eclectic (An collection of live tracks recorded for the show)
5. The Kings of Leon - The Early Vinyl (The first three albums on vinyl with a 4th album of unreleased material)
6. The Byrds - Eight Miles High & The Times They Are A-Changing (Two singles that were never released)
7. Ryan Adams - Do I Wait/Darkness (two songs from the Ashes & Fire sessions)
8. Silversun Pickups - Seasick (Unreleased Tracks from the Swoon Sessions)
9. The Civil Wars - Tracks in the Snow (Two new holiday tracks and two live tracks unavailable anywhere else)
10. Craig Finn - Honolulu Blues (The first single with solo material from the Hold Steady frontman)
11. Sea Wolf - Song of the Magpie (Two unreleased tracks produced by Mike Mogis)

Check out Black Friday here.

The 11 Best Songs By Iron & Wine

The big news in the music world yesterday was that Trent Reznor (the voice and force behind Nine Inch Nails) was nominated for an Oscar.  A freaking Oscar.  I was surprised when Eminem and Three 6 Mafia were nominated and won...but this is even stranger for some reason.  Eminem and Three-6 were nominated for song, and although this is a category usually reserved for Celine Dion and the Alan Menken mafia, their songs were pivotal to the story-telling.  Trent didn't do a song...he did the whole freaking score.  The music, mood, and atmosphere is one hundred percent being controlled by the paranoid delusion of a man who once bought Sharon Tate mansion, where the Charles Manson murders occurred, because it was musically inspiring.  Is this a sign that the mainstream media is becoming more excepting of eclectic artists or am I just getting old?

It has always been baffling to me that Iron & Wine never joined the ranks of rock stars turned Oscar-nominations.  With two extremely pivotal tracks in the movies Garden State and In Good Company, they should have been backstage with Celine, snacking on organic vegetable platters.  Maybe their new poppy turn will get them the cinematic recognition they deserve.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By Iron & Wine:

1. Jezebel (Woman King EP)

2. Cinder and Smoke (Our Endless Numbered Days)

3. The Trapeze Swinger (In Good Company)

4. Woman King (Woman King EP)

5. Resurrection Fern (The Shepard's Dog)

6. Upward Over the Mountain (The Creek Drank The Cradle)

7. Such Great Heights (Garden State)

8. Bird Stealing Bread (The Creek Drank The Cradle)

9. Love Vigilantes (Around The Well)

10. Boy With A Coin (The Shepard's Dog)

11. Free Until They Cut Me Down (Our Endless Numbered Days)

Buy the new album now...Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean.

The 111 Best Albums of the 2000s (45-55)

The 111 Best Albums of the 2000s (45-55):

45. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Sank (2007)
- Add one of the 80s greatest guitar forces (Johnny Marr) to one of the most exciting alternative rock bands of the decade...and what do you get? Pure rock brilliance. (Invisible)

46. The National - Boxer (2007)
- Like a 2000-ton steel train slowly rolling down the tracks. It may not move at record-breaking speeds...but it's a force to be reckoned with. (Start A War)

47. My Morning Jacket - It Still Moves (2003)
- A mammoth album when it comes to alternative country. I assume that this album so good, the band knew they would never top it...and decided to move in other directions. (Golden)

48. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky (2007)
- Tweedy & a bunch of other guys put together a record that sounds like someone created a radio that allows you to hear music from the 1970s. One of the perfect lazy afternoon records.

49. Girl Talk - Night Ripper (2006)
- If you don't think you can create your own music...just take all the best music of the past 30 years and mash them all together in one big remix. Greg Gillis takes mash-ups to a whole other level with this epic tour through the history of commercial radio. It takes talent to steal something this good.

50. Guns N Roses - Chinese Democracy (2008)
- I'm crazy to include this, right? And not just to include this in my list...but to make the top 50. Just say it. Say I'm crazy. Well...here's my reasoning: During this decade, no album has been talked about, written about, discussed, downloaded, leaked, speculated, even rumored more than this album. It was a tour de force before it even came out. And when it did come out...it had no chance. As many people who wanted to hear...just as many wanted to hate it. And many hadn't even listened to the record. But now, almost a year after its release, the record remains unique but solid effort. The album plays more like a movie score than a rock record. It challenges the concept that every song on a rock album should sound the same. It takes some gutsy chances, it pushes boundaries...sometimes with enormous payoff...sometimes not. But isn't that what great rock is supposed to be about? About challenging the norm? I honestly wish more albums sounded like this...I think rock would be alive and well if they did.

51. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular (2008)
- If GNR set the stage for the future, MGMT is that future. With an album that had more nooks and crannies than your grandmother's house, they rocketed on the scene with the uber catchy "Kids" even though the rest of the album sounded like something that might be featured on the next Nuggets box set.

52. Iron & Wine - The Creek Drank the Cradle (2002)
- If freak folk defined the indie scene this decade...I&W is the grandpappy. With the ultimate lo-fi production, it was like being transported back into time to a more peaceful era...where sitting on the porch drinking lemonade actually meant something.

53. Daft Punk - Discovery (2001)
- If you're looking for albums that weren't just great but helped shaped the decade...DP's album was the album that set the standard for club music. From the likes of Kanye West to Justice to Beck...this was the album that influenced anyone and everyone to bust a move.

54. Feist - The Reminder (2007)
- With a voice like Feist's...she could sing TV jingles and still be captivating. And with 1,2,3,4 as the perfect indie pop song...she had everyone...including pre-schoolers...singing along with her.

55. Hot Chip - The Missing (2006)
- It wasn't dance record...but it had more moves than most club albums could have dreamed for. Like the bastard offspring of Thom Yorke and Beck, it was tantilizing good time. (Colours)

Buy these albums now...right here!

The 11 Best Songs By Iron & Wine

Iron & Wine has made a career out making some very unique lo-fi freak-folk. Going to show that you don't need to have an operatic voice to make great music. Sometimes just being human and vulernable is enough to make you special. And sometimes, less is more.

This week they released a 2-disc collection of B-sides, covers, and rare tracks, called Around the Well.

Here are the 11 Best Songs by Iron & Wine:

1. Jezebel (Woman King EP)
2. Cinder and Smoke (Our Endless Numbered Days)
3. The Trapeze Swinger (In Good Company)
4. Woman King (Woman King EP)
5. Resurrection Fern (The Shepard's Dog)
6. Upward Over the Mountain (The Creek Drank The Cradle)
7. Free Until They Cut Me Down (Our Endless Numbered Days)
8. Boy With A Coin (The Shepard's Dog)
9. Promising Light (The Creek Drank The Cradle)
10. Such Great Heights (Garden State)
11. Swans & the Swimming (Our Endless Numbered Days Bonus Track)

Buy Iron & Wine's new rarities collection (Around The Well) now!!!

THE UNKNOWN: Iron and Wine - His Specific Alphabetical Nights

My friends and I have been having a discussion over the notion of freewill. The topic on the table stems from this quote by Bad Religion singer Greg Graffin: "The allusion of freewill is so strong that we might as well assume we have it." It's an interesting quote when you start to explore the thought behind it. Now remember, this quote is coming from someone who is a sworn atheist. His belief is that because of our genetic make-up and our environmental upbringing our lives are practically pre-determined. No matter what you do...from the job you choose to work at to the lunch you are going to eat...has all be pre-determined in your subconscious decades prior to this very moment. For example, today for lunch I had canned Chef Boy-R-Dee's Ravioli. My choice to eat this lunch stems from 30 years of upbringing. I like the ravioli because I used to eat Chef Boy-R-Dee as a kid. So I have an affinity for it. Also, it's an easy to make meal that I can do in little time, since I work from home and had a lot of work to do today. I am also trying to conserve money and eat things that are inexpensive. The fact that I am responsible and try to conserve when it comes to meals comes from the moral codes that my parents raised me with. So as you see, I had no choice but to eat the raviolis.

Here is Iron and Wine's B-Side Album.

His Specific Alphabetical Nights

1. The Trapeze Singer
2. Dearest Foresaken
3. Peng! 33
4. Dead Man's Will
5. Love Vigilantes
6. Communion Cups and Someone's Coat
7. Such Great Heights
8. Sacred Vision
9. Same Old Song
10. Call Your Boys
11. Sleeping Diagonally
12. No Moon
13. Sinning Hands
14. Her Tea Leaves
15. Ab's Song
16. Carissa's Weird
17. Waiting For A Superman

Pre-order Iron and Wine's new album....The Shepherd's Dog (Due Sept. 24th)

Buy Greg Graffin's Book: Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant here.