The end of the year is coming up fast and I am mega mega behind on getting up to date on all things music. Gonna keep plowing through the list as my fat little fingers can peck. Onward:

Animal Collective - Centipede Hz: I always hear an undercurrent of that shitty 90s tribal/electronica/rave culture in Animal Collective records. I generally dislike most of the electronic music of the 90s and 00s, especially that attached to vapid escapism. What is amazing about AC is that they are the first group that has actually made me LIKE that stuff. More amazing still, that isn't really what they do. The connection I think is that almost all AC stuff reeks of some sort of improv drum circle shit that is finished up and made into something listenable by a bunch of exceptionally talented musicians whereas 99.9% of the drum circle shit remains the putrid improv it was at its conception. In the case of this album I REALLY like what they have done and am very perplexed that this album is being seen as a headscratcher by the kiddies who have otherwise carried their banner. To call this weird simply betrays a total lack of exposure to stuff that is actually weird. This may have a little less of the pop undercurrent to it, and it isn't as much a love letter to Brian Wilson as Panda Bear's contributions usually are, but just the same, it is a really good collection of ideas executed with some heart. It isn't a great album or anything in a historical sense, but it is a sort of return to form for them in that it is somewhat experimental. Somewhat. I guess they will always be an acquired taste for some and a mandatory favorite for others. I am too old to figure into that schism either way. I am hearing moderately experimental alt.rock by kids whose formative years were the mid 90s and who found something redeeming in it they decided to run with. That is no small feat. Huzzah to them. (B+)

Metric - Synthetica: I am a late convert to Metric, but I really like them. They channel that commercial post-punk stuff of the early 80s really well, and they construct their albums with the same old school ethic. These are actual pop songs - stuff that would have been MTV fodder 25 years ago that now has no home but the Indie ghetto. True. there is nothing terribly original about them really, and one wouldn't expect the world to beat a path to their door for reproducing a transient rock movement decades old. In a sense, I actually feel like I should be ashamed for listening to stuff and liking it because it is so similar to the music I grew up on too. Even so, I can't help but like this album. In fact I like their albums end-to-end generally speaking, and this is no different. Again, nothing earth shattering about it, but what it does, it does well. Maybe one day they can get Ric Ocasek to produce an album for them and just get it over with. That would probably be an awesome album. (B-)

John Coltrane - First Meditations: When In Japan last year, I dropped a pile on 2 records. One was an original pressing of Sun Ra's The Magic City, and the other was this. Not considered a major release in his history by those who chronicle such things, but for me, this contains one of the highlights of Western culture - the "Heartbeat Of God" riff he plays on Compassion is one of the purest expressions of human emotion I have ever heard. I get goose bumps every time I play it to this day. This was released only after his death, and it was the last thing he did with his Classic Quartet. They obviously weren't ready to follow him into the outer realms (understandable, if sad.) I would say the music at the end of the quartet and start of the Out era is my favorite of his, and nothing hits me too much harder than the stuff on this album. I'd love to turn - you - on. (A)

Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs - Sunday Run Me Over: I keep snapping up Holly's stuff when it comes out. I probably always will. She isn't rockin' it Kink's-style with her current band, the Brokeoff's; but rather more playin' it high-n-lonesome like some Western Swing Punk. The last album didn't hit me all that hard, but I had a chance to road test this one in the desert, and HOT DAMN it was perfect for a ride through the wide open spaces. Not the best at this sort of thing, but always good; plus the awesome cover of Mac Davis' Hard To Be Humble. (B-)

Andrew Bird - Hands Of Glory: A companion piece to his last album, this little disc of covers plays like one suspects it would. His musicality, chops, and love of music are all over the songs, and like most of his albums, eventually becomes somewhat fatiguing. When Mr. Bird is good, he towers above most. At his best, he can be jaw-dropping. There are some moments on here that approach his best stuff, and as such, a handful of these cuts are essential to any Andrew Bird playlist. I can't say it is something I will spend time listening to end-to-end, but I will find my way back to the cream often enough. Good if you like him, but I would still recommend Production Of Eggs as an intro to him. (B-)

Frank Zappa - Understanding America: I am not sure why I bought this. I actually thought it was gonna be a live compilation like some of the excellent ones that have come out after his death. This isn't that - it is a compilation of stuff from his entire career covering his take on US politics and culture. For someone who has more than a passing interest in FZ, this is just a curation of stuff I mostly knew that isn't all that revelatory. In truth, some of the additions - like the extra shit tacked into Porn Wars (which I actually listen to on occasion in original form) - isn't worth the price of admission. I suppose it works as an overview of what FZ was about in terms of his commentary on life in the public sphere, and for new fans, it makes sense. However, because part of FZ's legacy is a musty Libertarian curmudgeonly-ness, I am not sure many of the kids will be picking this up and having their eyes open. The sad irony is that FZ died just before technology caught up with his compositional and performance aspirations, and so he never had any time to really use or prepare for the internet. As such, his foundation and those protecting his legacy have made his music all but invisible to the internet. It is sad to think of FZ fading into obscurity because of format and such, but this is a real possibility. Repackaging his stuff like this primarily as physical product is going to to do little to fight that long long goodnight. Sad. (B-)