Friday iPod Reading:

1. The Bats - "We Do Not Kick" (At the National Grid). Beautiful, summery instrumental that I initially thought was Yo La Tengo.
2. The Go-Betweens - "Boundary Rider" (Oceans Apart). Ah, Grant McLennan. The world is a lesser place without that guy. Some interviewers proposed that this was the sequal to "Cattle and Cane," and I can certainly live with that.
3. Fairport Convention - "Time Will Show The Wiser" (guitar, vocal). I can't hear this now without thinking of that video I posted a few weeks ago.
4. Sleep - "Jerusalem (Pt. 3)" (Jerusalem). From the kinder, gentler edited version of Sleep's masterful stoner rock manifesto Dopesmoker. Heavy and trancelike.
5. Terrestrial Tones - "Untitled" (Blasted). Experimental noise. Great when short like this.
6. Richard Buckner - "Picture Day" (Dents and Shells). This was a nice surprise. I like this album, but many of the songs haven't grabbed me like earlier Buckner songs would. In a mix like this, the greatness of this track sticks out.
7. Faust - "Mamie Is Blue" (So Far). More experimental noise, although it turns into a song. A great song.
8. The Go-Betweens - "Girl Lying on the Beach" (Bright Orange Bright Yellow). Okay, iPod, you're killing me here. Another superpoignant McLennan song.
9. The Fiery Furnaces - "Does It Remind You of When?" (Rehearsing The Choir). From their "grandmother album," written to accommodate their grandmother's voice and memories, this track is about her playing the funeral of an old love. The instrumentation is typically trippy and works fairly well outside of the context of the album (unlike some of the other songs).
10. The Go-Betweens - "Going Blind" (The Friends of Rachel Worth). Hey, it's another sad McLennan song! Maybe the iPod is telling me I'm going to die suddenly today. If so, I sure hope I don't have to spend it at work. Starting to feel like a sick day to me. Yep.