David Musto: March 20, 2011

1. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Belong (Slumberland)

   
   

   My early pick for album of the year and it’s not out for another week. See my full review here

   
   



2. Mark Lanegan – “Burning Jacob’s Ladder,” from the upcoming video game Rage

   
   

   Limited time download available at this site for his first new solo track in 11 years. Worth the wait? Just makes me want more.

   
   



3. R.E.M. – Collapse Into Now (Warner Bros.)

   
   

   Good to hear that Accelerate wasn’t the aberration and that there is real reason to be interested in the post-Bill Berry R.E.M.

   
   



4. Busted At Oz Compilation (Permanent)

   
   

   Naked Raygun, Effigies, and Strike Under headline this invaluable piece of Chicago punk history. Check my full review of that here

   
   



5. Del Rey – Immemorial (At A Loss)

   
   

   A Chicago post-rock band that somehow had escaped my attention. They have some very interesting instrumentation that separates them from the rest of the scene. Stream the album here in full.

   
   



6. The High Strung – “The Luck You Got,” from Moxie Bravo (Park The Van)

   
   

   If you’ve seen the Showtime comedy Shameless, you’ve heard this song in the opening credits sequence. I sometimes watch the beginning of the show several times before getting into the episode.

   
   



Raekwon – Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang (Ice Water)