The Mixtape 4/06/09

Well that didn't take long. After owning the Mixtape back in 2007 with "Lazy Eye," Silversun Pickups return to the top with "Panic Switch," after only three weeks on the chart. There's something about well-crafted straight up guitar-driven rock that brings glee to the 'Tape. It seems like almost a forgotten art these days. Call it three chords and the truth. Call it kickin' out the jams. It seems that the bands that are doing all the rocking these days lack the emotion or sincerity to really resonate. Or I'm getting old. (Nah)

I grew up on 80s metal - all varieties. It started in the early eighties with Def Leppard's Pyromania, Ozzy Osbourne's Diary of a Madman, and Motley Crue's Shout At The Devil. That initial introduction to the harder side of things gave way to the horrible in hindsight (though delightful at the time) hair metal. Then grunge, then...well, sometime after Pantera's third album, alternative rock took metal's place as my music of choice. The last few years have signaled a bit of a comeback for harder, guitar-driven rock for me personally. Bands like the Black Angels, with their droned-out, Velvet Underground meets the Doors aesthetic and No Age's lo-fi, high-energy wall of noise are keeping rock alive in a world where hip-hop continues to rule the masses and alt/indie-rock's skewed song structures and left-field production values dominates the Mixtape on a weekly basis.

This week, the aforementioned Silversun Pickups continue their loudly jamming ways while contemporary metal gods, Mastodon, reach the 'tape for the first time. Wolfmother return this week with their Zep/Sabbath hybrid updated for a new generation. There's always room in the Mixtape for all styles, but it's definitely refreshing to see good, loud, rock and roll return. Rock isn't dead. It certainly isn't what it used to be, but it's far from dead.

1. Panic Switch / Silversun Pickups (1 week @ #1) iTunes MySpace
2. Now I'm a Fool / Eagles of Death Metal iTunes MySpace
3. Zero / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
4. The Rake's Song / The Decemberists iTunes MySpace
5. Ghetto Love / Spinnerette iTunes MySpace
6. Seaside / Kestrels iTunes MySpace
7. Now We Can See / The Thermals iTunes MySpace
8. Houses / Great Northern iTunes MySpace
9. Providence, RI / Nickel Eye iTunes MySpace
10. Night Lights / Golden Bear iTunes MySpace
11. Go Square Go / Glasvegas iTunes MySpace
12. My Maudlin Career / Camera Obscura iTunes MySpace
13. Perfect Games / The Broken West iTunes MySpace
14. Starting Over / Black Lips iTunes MySpace
15. My Last Mistake / Dan Auerbach iTunes MySpace
16. Come Saturday / The Pains of Being Pure at Heart iTunes MySpace
17. 1901 / Phoenix iTunes MySpace.
18. My Girls / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
19. Brother Sport / Animal Collective iTunes Myspace
20. Search and Destroy / Peaches iTunes MySpace
21. Wrong / Depeche Mode iTunes MySpace
22. It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups Tunes MySpace
23. One Week of Danger / The Virgins iTunes MySpace
24. Sleepyhead / Passion Pit iTunes MySpace
25. Oblivion / Mastodon iTunes MySpace
26. Buddy / Iran iTunes MySpace
27. No You Girls / Franz Ferdinand iTunes MySpace
28. Statues / Clap Your Hands Say Yeah iTunes MySpace
29. Cheerleader / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
30. Rain On/ Woods iTunes MySpace
31. Back 'Round / Wolfmother iTunes MySpace
32. Wire to Wire / Razorlight iTunes MySpace
33. The Ancient Common Sense of Things / Bishop Allen iTunes MySpace
34. Cemetery Songs / The Archibalds iTunes MySpace
35. Pulling On a Line / Great Lake Swimmers iTunes MySpace
36. I Was Once a Loyal Lover / Death Cab For Cutie iTunes MySpace
37. Just Impolite / Plushgun iTunes MySpace
38. Hang You From the Heavens / The Dead Weather iTunes Official Site
39. Nothing to Worry About / Peter, Bjorn, and John iTunes MySpace
40. Kite Fight/ Hotels iTunes MySpace