• 1. Wow. Michael Stipe sounds so – clear. The remastered version of R.E.M.’s second album, “Reckoning,” needed it, and “So. Central Rain,” a song so muffled we could only make out the “I’m sorrrrrrry …” chorus before, now is as clean as a hybrid car.
  2. Hot Lava named a song after an imaginary Mac command, which sounds silly, but the song is so cheery that you won’t care. Best part? The intro. It shouldn’t work but does.
  3. Phil Ochs was a protest folkie who never gave up on his mission but never measured up to more famous peers like Joan Baez or Bob Dylan. Ochs committed suicide in 1976 – a real shame, as songs like “Links on the Chain” show he had a gift for insight.
  4. Where does a band like Spoon go after finally breaking big? By releasing an odd little EP. “Tweakers,” a noisy instrumental, is the strangest, but it’s great mood music.
  5. Behold, the resurrection of Moby. After years of being seen as a sellout (in a bad way) after “Play” sold out (in a good way), his latest, “Wait For Me,” is getting good reviews. Awesome video aside, “Shot in the Back of the Head” is our favorite.source

Posted by Ernie Smith • Permalink