Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

The good is good and the bad you can skip. This has a lot of awesome guest appearances, too - Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, Lou Reed, the guys from The Clash - and debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts. Who knew there could be life after Blur?

Ke$ha - Animal

Turns out I love pop music. I had no idea.

Apples in Stereo - Travellers in Space and Time

Most of this album reminds me of ELO and in no way is that an insult.

Narrows - New Distances

I was (and still am[and will always be]) upset that These Arms Are Snakes broke up. These Arms Are Snakes were one of the few bands that got me through high school so they hold a special place in my heart. That pain relaxed slightly after I saw Narrows a couple weeks ago. I had heard this album and enjoyed it, but it really came to life after seeing them live. Listening to the album I was impressed except it starts strong and ends weak, having a long, instrumental track finish the album. When I saw them live they opened with the last track on the album and it worked perfectly. The guitarist let his looper pedal do the work while he went to the bar to get another beer. It was the quintessential build up to a live show. By the time he returned to the stage with a fresh Tecate everyone in the small venue was ready to rage. The band is a veritable super power with members coming from such bands as the aforementioned These Arms Are Snakes as well as Botch, Tropics, and Some Girls. By the end of the show, with everyone in awe, I expected the singer to grab the mic and say, "We know what we're doing."