I have come to really dislike putting together "Best Of" lists or year-ending spreadsheets of music that everyone has already heard. This time I'm gonna do it differently...Shrie -style! These are just a few albums/songs/artists that tickled my fancy and got some good stereo-play at our house. Some are indie critic darlings (and disliked by many), some are sure-fire ins and some won't be at the top ofanyone's lists this year. It's a mish-mash of sonic goodness, extrapolated on by your friendly local music writer (and sometimes critic).

In alphabetical, not ranking, order. The "Top Ten" theme is too restrictive for my wily mind to grasp.

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at The Gorge

Oh Monday! Dear third day of camping, hair unwashed, everything I own smelling like sunscreen. After packing everything up post-haste we hoofed it to see one of the two early shows that day, the Heartless Bastards. I'd heard scattered ruminations about them but didn't know much and I'm patting myself on the back for checking them out. The Heartless Bastards are a Cincinnati-by-way-of-Texas band fronted by Erika Wennerstrom, whose soulful Patti Smith/Chrissie Hynde voice unites with the rough and tumble southern sound of her Austin band to form a rich and raucous kind of alt-country that is anything but boring.

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More details about my first ever Sasquatch experience (and the bands I saw there) coming in the next few days!

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Sasquatch 2009 is a mere two days away. Go see bands all three days, cheer your head off, drink some beer and/or smoke a joint. Get dirty campin' toes and sweat through your forehead bandanna (or brave kilt-lifting style winds like in 2007). Come back harried and skip out on work Tuesday. Recount every last moment, with positive embellishments, to anyone fool enough not to attend. Buy the tshirt and flaunt the shit out of it.

Here is your big bad SASQUATCH 2009 PREVIEW.

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There's few things that get my heart racing like limited edition vinyl delivered right to my home. The folks at Suicide Squeeze Records have put together a 7” Series for 2008 that will do just that.

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