The New Pornographers

If anyone asks, tell 'em I'm busy. But just between us, I can always find the time for discovering new music.

The New Pornographers are a Canadian indie rock band who have released five studio albums to date. The song Crash Years is taken from the last one, which came out in 2010. I must admit, though, that all of the albums are rather brilliant. I've been spinning them constantly for these past few days and honestly cannot get enough of them. Your thoughts?

You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive

I love Justified. It's one of the best scripted shows on TV. The penultimate fifth season has just finished, and while it may have been a little uneven in parts, the final episodes were once again nothing short of breathtaking. The best thing about the show is that you never know what's going to happen next. The writers have their way of coming up with completely unpredictable twists and solutions, thus keeping the audience constantly on their toes. The world of Justified is inhabited by a wide range of colourful, fascinating characters, most of whom don't get enough screen time, but the heart of the show lies in the relationship between U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens and his rival, criminal Boyd Crowder, the main duo portrayed brilliantly by Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins. Their chemistry is terrific, and so is every scene they share.

A lot of the show's plot takes place in Harlan, Kentucky, and so far, all seasons but one have ended with various covers of Darrell Scott's song You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive. It's a powerful song about the town's coal mining history, but it also sums up Justified perfectly. It has been covered by Brad Paisley or Patty Loveless, among others. Here's the original version.

Future Islands

I'm familiar with most US talk show hosts, though I don't watch regularly any of them. I wanted to share a video of Future Islands, who's brand new album Singles is rather brilliant, and this popped up. It was by far the most viewed musical segment on Letterman, and I can see why. Future Islands' frontman Samuel T. Herring dances way better than Thom Yorke. Your thoughts?

Fake Your Death

One more post today. My Chemical Romance released their greatest hits compilation, May Death Never Stop You, earlier this week. This is the first track on the album. It was one of the last songs the band recorded together, presumably some time in 2012. Last week, it had been a year since My Chem called it quits and, I hope I won't sound overly melodramatic, left a void that cannot be filled. Fake Your Death is their eulogy.

I Wanna Get Better

One of this year's big surprises. I was just wondering what fun. were doing, because I haven't heard about them in a while, and as it turns out, the members were keeping themselves quite busy. The band's lead guitarist, Jack Antonoff, for example, has been working on a solo album which is due out later this year. He's only released one song from it, but what a song it is. Your thoughts?

Fever

It's been over two years since El Camino came out, so it was about time The Black Keys released something new. Well, there it is. If you missed the the teaser for the new album, named Turn Blue, earlier this month, check it out here. It's worth it. Or you can just listen to the first song from the upcoming record, called Fever.

As for me, I think the song is pretty enjoyable and I can totally see some progress there; however, I guess I'm not as excited for it as I could be. Your thoughts?

Lost In The Dream

Best album of the first quarter of 2014? Well, I think I have a winner. If you're feeling any kind of nostalgia for the '80s, or even if you don't, dive right in.

Winter Hymns

To be honest, I haven't listened to Charlie Simpson for quite some time now. His debut album, Young Pilgrim, was great and all, but it got overplayed eventually. Nevertheless, there he is again with fresh material. Musically, it's nothing new, this road has been walked down many times before, but it's still quite pleasant, and as a long time fan of Charlie's, I'll always be interested in whatever he's up to. I only wonder if he's ever gonna release another album with Fightstar. Your thoughts?

Did somebody say "eclectic taste"?

Something for the friday evening -- a song from one of my playlists from the sixties. It used to be popular here in its czech version from a while ago by I don't know who, because we Czechs have the bad habbit of re-doing everything, which is painfully evident especially in music. But the original is, of course, miles better.

Why I'm posting this? I don't know. It has just come up on my playlist, I think it's a great song and I think they don't make them like that anymore. Enjoy.

Cuckoo!???

So the other day I was researching a band I like on Wikipedia, and saw that the lead singer was involved in another band, called Neon Horse. I had never heard of them, so I looked them up on YouTube. I have to admit, it's strange but intriguing. And I've been racking my brain trying to figure out who they sound like. The lead singer's voice during the first verse sounds so familiar! Any suggestions? At first I was thinking maybe Cage the Elephant, but that's not quite it. All I know is I like it.