* Office Of Future Plans have released the first track ‘Salamander’ from their upcoming debut self-titled album.
* Death Cab For Cutie will be releasing an EP called ‘Keys And Codes Remix EP’ on November 22.  The EP is made up of seven remixes of songs from ‘Codes And Keys’.  Leading up to the release, the band has been releasing one remix per week.  So far they have released ‘Doors Unlocked And Open (Cut Copy Remix)’, ‘You Are A Tourist (The 2 Bears Remix)’, ‘Some Boys (RAC Maury Mix)’, ‘Home Is A Fire (Ulrich Schnauss Remix)’, and Codes And Keys (Yeasayer Remix).
* Nada Surf will be releasing a new album called ‘The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy’ on January 24.  They have released the first single ‘When I Was Young’ for download on their website.
* Fanfarlo have released a video for the song ‘Deconstruction’ from their upcoming album ‘Rooms Filled With Light’, which is coming out on February 28.  The song is available for purchase as a single (with b-side ‘Reconstruction’) from Amazon and iTunes.
* Radiohead have announced the dates for US tour next year (there’s no Pittsburgh date) and plans to return to the studio.
* The National have released their contribution to the upcoming Philistines Jr. covers album.
* Sigur Ros have released the one studio song on their upcoming live album/film ‘Inni’.  The song is called ‘Lúppulagið’.
* Jonsi has revealed the details for his upcoming soundtrack for the Cameron Crowe film ‘We Bought A Zoo’.  The album comes out December 13 and features several new songs.
* Chris Carrabba (Dashboard Confessional) has released a new EP of covers for free download.
* Bon Iver and Feist recently performed on Later With Jools Holland.  You can see videos from the performance here and here.

The National - Think You Can Wait (from the film Win Win)

I suppose this is slightly late, but here’s my list of best albums of 2010 in no particular order:


* Jonsi - Go
I was really surprised that I liked this as much as (if not more than) the last Sigur Ros record.  Even during its slower moments, it is such an energetic record.


* Iron Chic - Not Like This
My friend Troy recommended this record and I’m so glad he did.  I would describe this as some combination of Dillinger Four and Hot Water Music…in other words, it is punk rock at its finest and it totally rules.  You can listen to the entire album and buy it for whatever price you like over at the band’s Bandcamp page.


* The National - High Violet
I still can’t decide where I would rank this against The National’s last two records (Boxer and Alligator), but since I love both of those records, that’s no knock on it.


* Polar Bear Club - Chasing Hamburg
Another recommendation from Troy (he’s on fire!) who described the band as Hot Water Music meets Third Eye Blind (after that description, how I could I possibly not check them out?).  I have seen these guys in concert and they rock live just as much as they do on record.


* Jim Bryson & The Weakerthans - The Falcon Lake Incident
Any record featuring John K. Samson and the boys is worth checking out, and I’m glad I checked out this one.  Jim Bryson makes a great front man and The Weakerthans work well as a supporting band.  This record flies by and always leaves me wanting more.


* Far - At Night We Live
I’m always nervous about records by bands that broke up and got back together (see the upcoming Get Up Kids record), but this exceeded my expectations.  I have followed Jonah Matranga’s career for years, but it’s good to hear him howling in the context of a band again.


* Minus The Bear - Omni
Definitely not my favorite Minus The Bear record, but even at that, it’s a really good album.


* Vampire Weekend - Contra
I thought the first Vampire Weekend album was ok, so I wasn’t really planning on getting this until my friend Cory recommended it.  He said (and I agree) that it sounds quite a bit like Paul Simon’s Graceland.


* Lovedrug - EP Part I
I liked Lovedrug’s first album better than their second, and I liked their second album better than their third which wasn’t a good sign to me.  They have come back incredibly strong this year with the release of several EP’s, none better than EP Part I.  I am really excited about their yet-to-be-recorded fourth album, which should be out this year.


* Eric & Magill - All Those I Know
This album from Ryan Weber (of Decibully) and Eric Osterman sounds quite a bit like Decibully and features plenty of guests: Mike Kinsella (Owen, American Football, etc.), Erin Fein (Headlights), Todd Bell (Braid, Hey Mercedes), Davey Von Bohlen (Maritime, Promise Ring, etc.), and Chris Rosenau (Pele, Collections Of Colonies Of Bees, etc.).  You can listen to and download the album for free at the band’s Bandcamp page.

And finally, two honorable mentions to albums that came out in late 2009, but were in heavy rotation for me in 2010:


* Freelance Whales - Weathervanes
I first heard this band when they opened for Fanfarlo and I’ve loved them since that first listen.  Weathervanes is simply a fantastic record.


* Decibully - World Travels Fast
I still like the prior Decibully record (Sing Out America) better, but World Travels Fast is another solid outing from this Milwaukee outfit.  You can listen to and download the album for whatever price you like at the band’s BandCamp page.

Jess and I went to see The National a couple of months ago at the Carnegie Music Hall in Homestead.  The show was fantastic and we bought a silk-screened poster commemorating the event.  The poster was done by local Pittsburgh artist (artists?) strawberryluna and it is limited to 100 copies (you can read more about the poster here).  As a Christmas gift for Jess, I got the poster framed and it is now hanging in our apartment.

Here are the latest music-related links that I enjoyed:

* Matt Nathanson has released an exclusive song to members of his mailing list.  Sign up at his website [Link]
* Trent Reznor is releasing a re-issue of the Nine Inch Nails album Pretty Hate Machine on November 22 [Link]
* Phish have released Live Bait Volume 2 for free download [Link]
* U2 are working on a new album with Danger Mouse [Link]
* The National have released a video for the alternate version of Terrible Love [Link]
* Dntel is releasing two new EP’s on December 7 [Link]
* Myspace and Spin have released a tribute to Bad Religion for free download.  The album contains 12 covers by The Weakerthans, Polar Bear Club, and more. [Link]
* Sufjan Stevens talks about his recent health problems [Link]

* Radiohead has reportedly contributed music to the upcoming Robert De Niro and Ed Norton movie ‘Stone’ [Link]
* Boy Sets Fire have reunited [Link]
* Weezer is going to release a b-sides album called Death To False Metal [Link]
* Sufjan Stevens shared some of his thoughts on his approach to The Age Of Adz [Link]
* Saves The Day have finished recording their new album Daybreak [Link]
* Gatsbys American Dream have reunited [Link]
* Owen (Mike Kinsella) played a few songs for a Champaign radio station [Link]
* Weezer has released the details for the upcoming Pinkerton: Deluxe Edition [Link]
* The National are releasing an expanded edition of High Violet [Link]
* Phoenix release Love Like A Sunset Part III [Link]

Starting with back-to-back concerts this weekend, I’m going to quite a few shows in the coming months.  Here’s the full run down:

The National - Saturday 09/25 @ Carnegie Library Music Hall
Roger Waters (performing The Wall) - Sunday 09/26 @ Consol Energy Center
Saves The Day - Thursday 09/30 @ Mr. Small’s
A.A. Bondy - Friday 10/15 @ Club Cafe (Late Show)
Old Canes - Wednesday 10/20 @ Brillobox
Freelance Whales - Saturday 12/04 @ Brillobox

Here are the latest music related links that I enjoyed:

* Sufjan Stevens has released a new EP [Link]
* Jimmy Eat World updates: album tracklist, first single, and tour dates
* John K. Samson will be releasing ‘Provincial Road 222’ on September 21st [Link]
* Small Brown Bike recorded their new album with J. Robbins [Link]
* Tim Kasher (of Cursive) will be releasing a new solo album [Link]  Hear a song from it here.
* The National unveiled another new song [Link]
* Freelance Whales recorded an acoustic session with Last.fm [Link]
* Eddie Vedder’s ‘Better Days’ is the Starbucks Pick of the Week [Link]
* Freelance Whales have released an awesome remix of the song ‘Empire’ by Jukebox The Ghost [Link]

Here are the music related links from the past few months that were of interest to me:

* Sufjan Stevens is working on a new album (at last!) [Link]
* Jimmy Eat World have finished recording their new album [Link]
* Ryan Adams may be releasing some of his previously recorded, but heretofore unreleased albums [Link]
* Richard D. James (Aphex Twin) debuts some new songs [Link]
* A new website has broken down the samples contained in Girl Talk’s ‘Feed The Animals’ album [Link]
* Hot Water Music is writing a new album [Link]
* Ryan Adams recently wrote 11 new ‘soft mellow acoustic jams’ [Link]
* The National performed ‘Afraid Of Everyone’ with Sufjan Stevens on Letterman [Link]
* Watch Phoenix perform in NPR’s offices [Link]
* An interview with Jimmy Stadt, the lead singer of Polar Bear Club [Link]
* Gary Lightbody (of Snow Patrol) has formed a new band, Tired Pony [Link]
* Twelve Hour Turn are reuniting to play The Fest this year [Link]
* Radiohead’s new album could be out by the end of the year [Link]

I haven’t put up a post about the new music that I’ve bought in three or four months, so rather than putting up the whole list, I think I’ll just list the highlights.  Here we go:

* The National - High Violet [The fifth studio album from The National.  I have loved some songs since the first listen and I’m waiting on others to grow on me.  I don’t know where I would rank it in comparison to Boxer and Alligator, but those records are hard to top.]
* Jonsi - Go [This record is like Sigur Ros on speed.  I love it so much.]
* Minus The Bear - Omni [I remember when Minus The Bear was the weird new band from Botch’s guitarist.  I remember when Minus The Bear was the band with the really strange song titles.  Now I know Minus The Bear simply as a really great band and this new album only solidifies that reputation for me.]
* Far - At Night We Live [I don’t think anything that Far could release now would mean as much to me as Water & Solutions did a few years ago, but this new record is really solid.]
* Lovedrug - EP Part I [While I haven’t enjoyed everything that Lovedrug has released, I’m really enjoying this new stuff.  Part II comes out on June 8.]
* Decibully - World Travels Fast [I really liked Decibully’s album ‘Sing Out America!’, but I hadn’t heard anything from them in so long that I thought they had broken up.  Apparently they left Polyvinyl Records and self-released this new album.  It’s good to have them back.  You can download the album (pay what you want) from Listening Party.]
* Small Brown Bike - Composite, Vol. 2 [I like Volume 1 better than Volume 2.]
* She & Him - Volume 2 [I like Volume 2 better than Volume 1.]
* Cary Brothers - Under Control [I first heard of Cary Brothers from the Garden State soundtrack, which included his song ‘Blue Eyes’.  I liked that song, but for some reason I never bought anything else until this new record.  It’s a very listenable album and has a couple of really great songs.]
* The Weakerthans - Live at the Burton Cummings Theatre [John K. Samson and the boys tear it up in Canada on this live CD/DVD.  If you’re a fan of the band, this is definitely worth checking out.]
* The Get Up Kids - Simple Science [The first new songs from The Get Up Kids in a few years…these songs sound pretty much how I would expect them to sound.  I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.]
* Peter Gabriel & Bon Iver - Flume & Come Talk To Me [Peter Gabriel covers Bon Iver and Bon Iver covers Peter Gabriel.  From what I heard of the new Peter Gabriel album, which consists of all cover songs, ‘Flume’ was definitely one of the better tracks.  I’m not familiar with Peter Gabriel’s song ‘Come Talk To Me’, but the Bon Iver version is really good.]
* How To Destroy Angels - How To Destroy Angels [Trent Reznor’s new band.  You can download the EP for free from their website.  I think it sounds like mellow Nine Inch Nails music with a female singer.  It’s worth checking out.]