Modest Mouse are back. With something new, well sort of. August 4 will see the release of a new EP in the shape of "No One's First, and You're Next". This eight song release is a collection of B-Sides culled from the making of their last two albums. They have been releasing songs over the last 3 months on limited edition special 7" singles, but now all of these songs can and will be found on the one CD release. Happy days!

No One's First, and You're Next Track Listing
1 Satellite Skin
2 Guilty Cocker Spaniels
3 Autumn Beds
4 The Whale Song
5 Perpetual Motion Machine
6 History Sticks To Your Feet
7 King Rat
8 I've Got It All (Most)

MP3: The Whale Song-Modest Mouse

If the words 'country music' make you scared, then just hold on a minute. If country music means Garth Brooks, Keith Urban or Shania Twain to you, then allow me a minute of your time. Allow me to talk to you about The Avett Brothers. For this is truly country music. Music with soul, passion and heart. If you are not familiar with The Avett Brothers, well then just wait until September 29. That day sees the release of their new album in the shape of "I And Love and You" (cover art above). This album is their major label debut, having signed with Columbia Records. The album's cover is actually a painting by Scott Avett named "Julianne In Vain". A multi talented group indeed! This North Carolina band's new album contains 13 tunes and was produced in California by Rick Rubin.

So, The Avett Brothers consist of two brothers in Scott and Seth Avitt, along with Bob Crawford. Their music is a delirious blend of bluegrass, rock, country and ragtime. They use guitar, banjo and stand up bass to deliver the message. A message delivered before on four full length albums, all worth tracking down. The title track is available as a single now.

MP3: I And Love and You

I And Love and You Track Listing
1. I And Love and You
2. January Wedding
3. Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise
4. And It Spread
5. The Perfect Space
6. Ten Thousand Words
7. Kick Drum Heart
8. Laundry Room
9. Ill With Want
10. Tin Man
11. Slight Figure of Speech
12. It Goes On and On
13. Incomplete and Insecure

So, unless you have been living in a cave for the last week you would probably be aware that Triple J has been counting down the greatest 100 hundred songs of all time as voted by their listeners. The countdown finished yesterday, with Nirvana taking out the number one spot. Now obviously any poll like this is going to pose questions and in some cases indignation. You can't please everyone, that sort of thing. I don't listen to the radio much anymore, preferring to source new music via the internet and although Triple J is far from perfect it is still light years ahead of the commercial alternative. When I have listened to Triple J though, they do seem to play too much hip hop and bland pop for my liking and I was worried that the poll would feature a lot of dud songs. But, on the whole, the 100 songs were pretty good. Some true classics in there and not too many bad ones.

FYI, here are the ten songs that I voted for-

Wilco - Sunken Treasure
Neutral Milk Hotel - A Baby For Pree
Wolf Parade - I'll Believe In Anything
Built to Spill - Car
Palace Music - New Partner
Arcade Fire - Wake Up
My Morning Jacket - The Bear
Teenage Fanclub - Everything Flows
The Beach Boys - God Only Knows
The Band - The Weight

Of these, only The Beach Boys showed up. I really didn't expect any of the others to make an appearance, except for "Wake Up". I was truly shocked by the absence of this amazing song. Especially as they have become a major factor in recent years. As stated, the poll did reveal many great songs but I can not fathom that the following acts were left out-
Spoon
Neil Young
Bruce Springsteen
Pavement
The Flaming Lips
REM

I thought all of these acts were big enough and important enough to get a jersey. Especially when lightweights like Kings of Leon, John Butler Trio, Bloc Party, The Killers and The Living End stuck their nose in. The poll did seem to reveal a huge amount of 90s rock to be the flavour. Thankfully, most of these have stood the test of time.

The full list can be accessed here, but I thought I would offer some commentary on the top twenty songs.
Please feel free to give your thoughts on the list.

1. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
Truly seminal. Still sends chills. Hard to argue with this choice.
2. Rage Against the Machine - Killing In The Name
I had nearly forgotten how powerful this song remains. Kicks ass.
3. Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah
Never been a huge fan. It's a good song, but number 3????
4. Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
Wow! This song will never age. Just truly extraordinary.
5. Radiohead - Paranoid Android
Didn't expect this so high. Great song from a seminal album.
6. Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
No, no, no. Queen are vastly over rated. This song sounds oooooold.
7. Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye
See number 3. Just an average song.
8. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under The Bridge
Um, used to like this. Hasn't aged too well. Decent, but too high.
9. Foo Fighters - Everlong
What? I thought they said 'Avalon'. One level above pub rock.
10. Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven
Feels like a 'had to vote for this' song. Black Dog is way better.
11. John Lennon - Imagine
Yes, this is a timeless classic. Iconic.
12. Oasis - Wonderwall
Yeah, good song. Too high, but it is a wonderful melody.
13. Radiohead - Creep
Surprised this went so high. This band wrote so many better songs.
14. The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
Never a great fan. It's good, but not great.
15. Radiohead - Karma Police
Truly amazing song. Deserves this spot.
16. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Yes, this is wonderful. Their best song. Clearly.
17. Hilltop Hoods - The Nosebleed Section
WTF!!!! Highest Australian song!!! I think I liked Taxiride more...
18. Muse - Knights Of Cydonia
Truly awful. This song is just plain bad. Shame, shame, shame.
19. Metallica - One
Pretty wanky, very predictable. Not too good.
20. White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
Just a superb song. This will never grow old.

So, there you have it. In an ideal world we might have Sunset Rubdown and Animal Collective and Sufjan Stevens and Wolf Parade and Okkervil River and Destroyer making a list like this. But we do live in the real world...

EDIT:
My partner and I were discussing the difference between favourite and best songs yesterday. You know, like 'my fav song is Song 2 by Blur, but clearly Like A Rolling Stone is a better song'. It's an interesting argument but I do believe that favourite and best is truly the same. That is, if a song or album is your favourite then you must naturally believe it to be the best. Well, that's what I think anyway.

Also, in 2004 Rolling Stone published their 500 greatest songs of all time.
Here is the Top Ten-
1. Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone
2. The Rolling Stones - Satisfaction
3. John Lennon - Imagine
4. Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
5. Aretha Franklin - Respect
6. The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations
7. Chuck Berry - Johnny B Goode
8. The Beatles - Hey Jude
9. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
10. Ray Charles - What'd I Say

'Twas a strange night. Most peculiar. Firstly, we arrived to a sparsely filled venue. It would seem that despite Vic Chesnutt's huge body of work and credibility, he is probably not too well known in these parts. In fact, I only own two of his albums. But they are very impressive, so I was intrigued to see him live. So, the support act was a put together duo of WA singer (although now US based) Natalie D-Napoleon and Melbourne singer Andre Hooke. He was very good. She wasn't. Hooke, of Melbourne band Khancoban, has a tender voice and was a very good guitar player. I could see him again. But without her. Her voice was hard to like and her songs were mediocre at best. Not a great start.

Then The Factory was starting to fill out a bit more as the main man arrived. Vic Chesnutt. He was on the bill as playing with Victoria Williams, but he arrived on stage alone and gave us 45 minutes of a weird combination of beauty, strangeness, heartbreak and oddity. For those not in the know, Chesnutt was left a paraplegic at the age of eighteen after breaking his neck in a car accident. But he has gone on to record a multitude of albums and receive huge acclaim. He gets around in a wheelchair and although he was static on stage, his music moved us greatly. He started with a warm up, actually singing "I am warming up...". His wit is quite biting, as he provided much humour through out the night. He didn't seem to have a set list either as he constantly thought out loud what he should play, taking requests from the audience along the way. So, he played some old material and some new stuff as well. It would seem that his hands are not 100% functional, having to rub them between chords. So, it would seem he sticks to songs with fairly simple arrangements, leaving the more complex songs at home. Twice he abandoned two songs from "North Star Deserter". Which was a pity, but the songs he gave us were truly effective. His voice is eathbound and magnetic, his lyrics full of candour and heart and wit and he has a strange sort of presence of stage.

So, then Victoria Williams joined us. She is a country singer from California, who I was totally unfamiliar with. I expected some sort of cross between Patty Griffin and Sheryl Crow. Boy, was I wrong. She ambled on stage and was absent minded to say the least. She started to play and then realised her guitar was not plugged in. But her guitar chords were quite interesting and I was hoping for something different. Different it was, when she begun to sing. Her voice was unique to say the least. Kind of out of tune, but not really in an endearing way and there was a distinct absence of melody. So, after a few songs we made our early exit. Having seen the main attraction in Chesnutt, that was enough. A mixed night, but still rewarding.

Yes, that's right. You heard me. Portland, Oregon's very own. Those purveyors of all things beautiful are making their maiden voyage to Australia. I truly love their intoxicating blend of pop, country, rock and all things weirdly beautiful. This is a must not miss tour.

Blitzen Trapper Dates
November 11- The Hi-Fi, Melbourne
November 12- Metro Theatre, Sydney
November 13- The Hi-Fi, Brisbane

Tickets on sale July 16

Blitzen Trapper will also be releasing an EP on August 24 named "Black River Killer". It contains 6 previously unreleased tunes, plus the glorious title track that appeared on 2008's wonderful "Furr". These songs were previously only available at live shows in CD-R format.

Black River Killer Tracklisting
1 Black River Killer
2 Silver Moon
3 Going Down
4 Shoulder Full of You
5 Preacher's Sister's Boy
6 Black Rock
7 Big Black Bird

MP3: Furr
MP3: Gold For Bread

Chet are Canadian. They are from British Columbia. They have been around for a little while now, releasing 3 albums that quite possibly have escaped your attention. Well now, please pay attention. The band will be releasing their new album on Absolutely Kosher on September 15. "Chelsea Silver, Please Come Home" contains 7 songs and was recorded in a barn in Saanich. The band is led by Frog Eyes guitarist Ryan Beattie (he also records as Himalayan Bear) and his brother Patrick. They actually now number six, this photo was taken in 2007, but I loved it so I am using it here. Apparently it was taken near Kelowna, btw.

But I digress, Chet's music is complex and quite beautiful. Beattie's voice is unique and naturally emotive. Please mark September 15 in your diary.

MP3: The Night The Night-Chet

File this under the radar. But, please find it. The debut album from Grand Lake is a little gem. A wistful creation of refined textures. Short and sweet, it only contains 8 tracks, it dishes out little melodies and creative pop tunes. Grand Lake is the brainchild of Caleb Nichols, formerly of Port O'Brien, who plays bass and takes most of the vocal duties. Rounding out the band are Jameson Swanagon and John Pomeroy. Hailing from Oakland, California they are in tune with the golden times of pop melody, having a distinct knack for creating music that is subtle and quietly arresting. Of particular note is the opening track in "Concrete Blonde On Blonde" which bubbles and perculates as it delves under your skin.

Thankfully there are plenty more gems to discover along the way. "Nevermint" staggers back and forth with some delicious guitar interplay, whilst "The Stars Are Not Projectors" is a pulsating song with real energy. "She's A Hater" is also a feature, with its loping rhythms and persuasive insistency and "Oedipus Hex" is sure to please with a style reminiscent of The Wrens. This is quite an impressive debut, concise, taut and full of melody and style. "Nevermint" is now available from 500 Records. It is well worth your time.

MP3: Concrete Blonde On Blonde-Grand Lake