Current rotation - early November

Current heavy rotation on my MP3 PLAYER (cuz iPods are evil).

All of these but the last two are available off Pitchfork Media's "Infinite Mixtape" feature, which I finally got around to downloading.

Giddy Motors - "Panzrama". The wickedest shit I've heard since Liars' debut. Jazz/punk fusion, crazy-fucked up time signatures, and the singer is deranged. And it's about a serial killer. Have I mentioned this song is INSANE? I CANNOT WAIT for the album to come out at the end of this month.

Asobi Seksu - "Thursday". Pure gorgeousness, a kissing cousin to both Kitchens of Distinction and the Cocteau Twins. It actually moved me to tears last week. And I'm SEEING THEM November 22 at the Great American Music Hall.

El Perro del Mar - "Party". By all rights I should hate this... mopey chick trying to talk her boyfriend into spending time with her over fairly standard indie strumming. But the vocal is nuanced and manages to convey both her desperation and her sorta-disgust with herself.

Figurines - "The Wonder." A total kickback to early 80s jangle pop (the Feelies should really sue), but it's catchy and switches gears enough to stay interesting. The nasally singer is amusing.

Oxford Collapse - "Please Visit Your National Parks". Yet another kickback, sorta Dumptruck meets Pavement. But the vocalist is totally in on the joke, singing "Oh-E-Oh-E-OHHHH!" and daring you not to laugh.

Beirut - "Postcards from Italy". I swear I resisted this: too precious, too contrived. It still managed to crawl into my head and take up residence. He's like an indie-rock M.I.A., stealing instruments and musical styles from all over the world (okay, all over Europe).

Matmos - "Tract for Valerie Solanos". A woman stridently reads from a feminist/separatist tract about destroying the male sex. The music mocks her but also eggs her on. The sounds of a cow uterus being manipulated, of shit being thrown on a pile, and various other squelches and mysterious squakws, all feature prominently in the mix. You really have to hear it before you'll believe me that it's FUCKING BRILLIANT, and hilarious, and makes me laugh every single time I hear it. I saw them perform this a couple weeks ago at GAMH, and it was one of the two standouts. Drew Daniel is an amazing programmer; I would totally be his disciple. And they're a gay couple from San Francisco!

The Knife - "We Share Our Mother's Health." The musical equivalent of that jigsaw puzzle you just couldn't stop putting together as a kid, over and over, and always feeling a sense of surprise at how the whole emerges from the parts even though you've seen it (heard it) a million times before. It's that minimal, that basic, and still - every time I hear it I feel utterly hit over the head with how FRESH it is. Caught their show Friday night at Mezzanine, and while I'm not quite as overwhelmed as some other folks on the internet have been, it was still visually engaging and just a bit creepy, and totally entertaining.