Digital Sextant

• Belle and Sebastian, The BBC Sessions: I got this album last Christmas and listened to it some, but felt like it needed another go.  I think I’m going to make this part of my approach from now on — add in an old album to the mix.  When I do these rundowns, I usually click through the songs to see if any stood out in my memory, and none do.  They’re all catchy and good.
• Michael Jackson, The Essential Michael Jackson, disc 2: I admit it, I bought this on impulse at Target.  I like this disc quite a bit, particularly “Smooth Criminal.”  Overall, I’m impressed with how much I enjoy it, as I never thought of myself as someone who would like MJ’s music.  Hm.

From emusic:

• Johnny Cash, selected songs from American 3 and Unchained.  “I won’t back down” is great, and “I’ve been Everywhere” works very well.  “Rusty Cage” is amusing, but ultimately not great.  My favorite is his cover of U2′s “One,” which is amazing.  The low note piano chords remind me of the best JC song ever, “The Man Comes Around.”
• Soundtrack to A Mighty Wind: quite enjoyable.  “Never Did No Wanderin’” from the Folksmen and “One More Time” by Mitch and Mickey are the best.  I also like “Blood on the Coal.”
• Fatboy Slim and friends, aka The BPA,  I Think We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat: I love this album.  It’s full of catchy tunes with a variety of sounds and feels to it.  “Toe Jam” with David Byrne is my favorite.  “He’s Frank” with Iggy Pop also jaunts along nicely, using a rough deep vocal that sounds a bit like Brad Roberts from Crash Test Dummies.
• Reel Big Fish, half of We’re Not Happy ‘Till You’re Not Happy: Boy these guys are downers.  One of the reviewers on emusic suggested that they excel at dark thoughts hidden in jaunty tunes.  Anyone familiar with Turn the Radio Off‘s “Sell Out” or “She Has a Girlfriend Now” already knows this.  This album pushes it further, with songs like “Don’t Start a Band” (with lyrics like “Nobody cares what you have to say, nobody’s gonna listen anyway”), “We Hate it When Our Friends Become Successful”, and the ballad “One Hit Wonderful” (which includes samples from “Sell Out” and lyrics suggesting that they’re “14 minutes and 59 seconds through our 15 minutes of fame”).  The album cover shows a bunch of instruments on fire and reminds me a little bit of the album cover from a Mighty Wind showing Mitch digging his own grave.
• They Might Be Giants, selections from Long Tall Weekend: I thoroughly enjoy TMBG and downloaded the songs that I didn’t already have from other albums.  “Lullaby to Nightmares” is my favorite, but there’s nothing here that would crack the top 10 or even top 25 TMBG songs for me.

I haven’t been visiting Jamendo recently because I’ve come across a number of other albums (in a variety of ways) and I don’t want to overdo it.  That said, I learned that Intercontinental Music Lab had another album out, so I downloaded that stuff.  Hellz yeah.

• Intercontinental Music Lab, Superheroes of Space: Excellent as always.  I really like “Probe II’s Golden Message” for its rockin’ melody, but they’re all enjoyable.  Once again, great!