With the exception of a couple of blogs, I didn’t see too much about the recent release of Atmosphere’s You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having.

I just jumped into it yesterday, and I’m starting to feel it. I may have to take back my statement that Blackalicious’ The Craft is the lone standout hip-hop album of the year. I always feel like I have to be in a certain mood to listen to Slug, but I think the guy is a talent sorely needed in the genre. (Despite what Pitchfork says; by the way, I’m giving Pitchfork a 0.4 for that really lame play-on words to open the review.)

Be sure to check the track That Night, which recounts the story of a 16-year-old girl who was raped and killed at an Atmosphere show in Albuquerque. Read a news story about the incident here.

Atmosphere | Get Fly
Atmosphere | That Night

Dodge kindly asked me if I’d convert Laura Veirs’ performance on KCRW into mp3s. Of course I would. I kindly obliged … only about two weeks later.

Here it is, at long last. I’ll admit: This is the first I’d listened to her, and it’s quite intriguing. At times, her voice feels slightly unsettling, but her writing is amazingly vivid and her enunciation is forceful (a female John Darnielle?).

If it’s a selling point at all, her latest, Year of Meteors, is on Nonesuch, home of that little band Wilco.

Anyway, she crammed in nine songs from Year of Meteors into the performance. So get your download on.

Laura Veirs, on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic:
Cool Water
Rialto
Parisian Dream
Lake Swimming
Fire Snakes
Spelunking
Magnetized
Secret Someones
Galaxies

I first heard of Las Vegas’ the Silver State a few months back, when they played a couple of shows (in Flagstaff, Ariz., and Vegas) with sourceVictoria. Unable to go to either, I finally settled into a few of their tunes recently and wanted to share.

What strikes me most about the band is that there seems to be a certain restraint in the music because nothing sounds forced or trite. It’s more impressive considering they flirt with different styles and tempos with excellent results. I think these two tracks are a good example of that.

Stream a couple more tracks (I suggest The Question) and buy the Silver State’s EP here. Visit them at MySpace here.

The Silver State | Plastic Rose
The Silver State | Batting Average

Well, Chris and Dodge already set the bar high with their year-end best-of lists. So it got me thinking about mine, and there’s little doubt in my mind that Elbow’s Leaders of the Free World will end up somewhere at least in the top 10, if not in the top 5. They seem to be forgotten amid all the UK exports.

It’s a bit of misnomer to call this track a “b-side” — from a Forget Myself single — because it didn’t come off a vinyl pressing. Nevertheless, it’s a great song, with some thick guitars and a heavy drum beat. Although, if you’ve listened to Leaders, it might seem out of place; so it probably was best left on the cutting room floor.

Elbow | The Good Day

In sports news, today is the Territorial Cup, the fight for bragging rights in Arizona: Univ. of Arizona at Arizona State. I’d be more amped up about it if I actually thought my Sun Devils would win. That’s right: I’m conceding victory to UA (reverse psychology?). This year has been such a disappointment that it wouldn’t surprise me at all to top it off with a loss to the hated rivals.

A win guarantees ASU nothing more than a trip to the Insight Bowl on Dec. 27, just across the Valley in Phoenix. Needless to say, this isn’t the glamorous bowl I had in mind when ASU opened the season ranked in the top 15.

Still, the rivalry is fun and intense and maybe a little overlooked during rivalry week. Those punks from UA got our ‘A’ Mountain with red and blue paint. Both schools have an ‘A’ Mountain that is heavily guarded during the week of the game. I’ve been to games in both Tempe and Tucson, and the drinking, swearing and trash-talking is ruthless. If UA is losing, it’s a sure bet their fans will come back with this trusty line: “Wait til basketball season.”

Well, for what it’s worth, here’s an mp3 of the Maroon and Gold fight song.

Wow. A man doesn’t post for one night, and the traffic takes a noticeable drop. OK, I get it. I can take a hint. Sheesh.

Anyway, my new cartridge/stylus came in the mail last week from KAB, a great and helpful resource for all things phonograph. At the advice of KAB’s guru, I picked up the Stanton Discmaster II, which is modified with a hi-fi elliptical stylus, for my Technics 1200. Yes, I’ve totally geeked out.

But this comes with benefits for you, like more vinyl-to-mp3 conversions. The new cartridge/stylus combo is a big improvement in sound. The only downside is some of the pops and clicks seem more pronounced.

That said, here are the first two conversions with the new setup. The first is from a Soul Meets Body 45 that I got as a random freebie at my local Zia. The second is the b-side to a 12″ single for Bloc Party’s Tulips, which was part of an excellent birthday gift from my brother and his wife.

Death Cab for Cutie | Jealousy Rides With Me
Bloc Party | Tulips (club version)

For obvious reasons, this is a totally self-indulgent post. I couldn’t resist posting on two bands that use my first name in their band name (however, you won’t see me posting on the Dropkick Murphys).

Just to prove how totally self-indulgent this post is, I’ll admit to knowing next to nothing about either band. I do know The Kevins are two brothers (below) who play pretty sparse, acoustic ditties that rarely exceed the three-minute mark.

The Lovekevins (below) are Swedish. And poppy.

Buy The Kevins’ album here for only $10. Buy The Lovekevins EP, Max Leon, here. Go ahead. Support the Kevin cause. (Hey, wait, I think I just came up with a new band name.)

The Kevins | I Just Can’t Get Her
The Kevins | Gambling Hearts

The Lovekevins | Soviet.se

Before I get to the Dios (Malos) photos, some horrible news: Saturday’s Grand Cayenne Festival — that was to feature a pretty incredible lineup with Spoon, Mates of State, the Album Leaf, etc. — was canceled. I don’t know the official reason for cancellation, but I can only guess lack of ticket sales. It’s a sad and frustrating statement of our city that a show like this can’t spur interest. If the Phoenix/Tempe metro market wants to be a major music player, this show should have sold tickets in a heartbeat. My guess is you folks from other cities will be somewhat appalled by this. Thoughts?

Moving on to Dios …

These guys are cool, cool, cool. Modified is a small — shall we say … “intimate” — venue, and Dios rocked it. It was loud, but in a fulfilling kind of way. The dual keyboard action makes for some great noises/effects on the tunes. They played some of my favorites off the new album: “Feels Good Being Somebody,” “EPK” and “Grrrl” (I’ll love you to the end / psyche, I’m just kidding. The best.) And, yes, they played “Starting Five” (duh).

I’m also convinced that the Dios drummer and the Bloc Party drummer were separated at birth. But I’ll have to dig up photos for proof.

On to the photos of the show:

I’ve only mentioned it about 50 times this week, but we’re going to see Dios (Malos) tonight at Modified. One of the two openers is Phoenix band Asleep in the Sea.

I’m really enjoying this trio because they seem to go against the grain of what a band should do. Their melodies sound off-kilter and the whole orchestration just feels loose and a little skittish; yet, you get the feeling that’s sort of the point of it all. The vocals are frail and a touch out of tune in an endearing kind of way.

I’m eager to see them tonight for the first time. You can visit them on My Space here, where they have four songs available for download. Below are two songs off their new EP that you can buy at their Web site.

Asleep in the Sea | Dance On (highly recommended)
Asleep in the Sea | Seashorshes

You better get yer butt over to tmwsiy* for some live Jeff Tweedy, including a new Loose Fur song and an amazing version of Sunken Treasure.

The Los Angeles Times gives us a nice read on Brendan Benson, whose Alternative to Love is holding firm in my year’s Top 10.

Going to see Dios (Malos) tomorrow night. Sweet.

Excellent news from the sourceVictoria camp: They’ve been added to the bill for the Rogue Wave show on Dec. 15 in Phoenix.

A nice story in The Arizona Republic on the man responsible for this Saturday’s Cayenne Festival and many other great indie shows in Phoenix.

Also, local boys Secret Life of Painters, whom I’ve posted on before, have a 7-inch single almost ready for sale. Go say hi at their My Space page.

I have to admit: I’m doing some research to catch up with the lineup for Saturday’s show. Apollo Sunshine is one of the bands that, if my indie IQ were high enough, I should have known about before now; for proof, check You Ain’t Know Picasso, who interviewed these guys last month.

Alas, I’m playing catch-up. From everything I’ve heard and read so far, these guys put on an amazing show. Matt at YANP says: “It would probably be fair to say that Apollo Sunshine have built a reputation around being the opening band that outshines the headliner.”

The notoriously fickle Pitchfork even raved in its review:

“These songs don’t seem to mind completely reinventing themselves halfway through, interrupting what you thought was a quiet, emotional song about feeling displaced in the world with a dive-bombing instrumental passage that flits between new wave and bottom-heavy groove.”

Needless to say, I’m jazzed about seeing these guys on Saturday. Buy their new album here.

Apollo Sunshine | Today is the Day
Apollo Sunshine | Eyes