60 Songs at Midyear (Updated July 4 from original post of May 29)

Wow, hard to believe we've hit the 4th of July! I know I've been spotty on the posts, but hey, whatever. Here's a list of 60+ songs (in, perhaps, some semblance of order) that have caught my attention so far and will be on my list of best of 2010.

"Squealing Pigs" - Admiral Fallow
"VCR" - the xx
"Evening Star" - Blitzen Trapper
"Bloodbuzz Ohio" - the National
"The Ghost Inside" - Broken Bells
"Winter Winds" - Mumford & Sons
"Apple Pie Bed" - Lawrence Arabia
"What Time Is It Now?" - the Consulate General
"Vacation" - Beach Fossils
"Sleeping Bag" - Blind Man's Colour

"I Can Change" - LCD Soundsystem
"Weathervanes and Chemicals" - Team Me
"Readers and Writers" - Idlewild
"Take It In" - Hot Chip
"The High Road" - Broken Bells
"Wait" - Alexi Murdoch*
"Ambling Alp" - Yeasayer
"Nun" - I Am Arrows
"Audience" - Cold War Kids
"In My Younger Days" - eels

"The Other Side" - AM
"Heavy in Your Arms" - Florence + the Machine
"White Knuckles" - OK Go
"Giving Up the Gun" - Vampire Weekend
"Swim" - Surfer Blood
"Heaven and Earth" - Blitzen Trapper
"Us vs. Them" - Common Prayer
"Swim Until You Can't See Land" - Frightened Rabbit
"A Story of Nashville" - Oblio
"Own Stunts" - Breathe Owl Breathe

"It Will Never Slip" - Marching Band
"Shark's Tooth" - Archie Bronson Outfit
"One Day Like This" - Elbow*
"Crash Years" - the New Pornographers
"Drunk Girls" - LCD Soundsystem
"Trap Doors" - Broken Bells
"Love Is a Dirty Word" - Jason Collett
"The Curse" - Josh Ritter
"Love Is a Chain Store" - the Ropes
"Runaway" - the National

"I Got Tamed" - One for the Team
"Starting" - Matt Pond PA
"Compliments" - Band of Horses
"The Tree" - Blitzen Trapper
"Bullets" - Tunng*
"Twenty-two" - Wakey! Wakey!
"The Dead Dog" - Portugal the Man
"Mirror Mirror" - Dr. Dog
"Sink/Let It Sway" - Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
"Conversation 16" - the National

"Stole My Heart" - Little and Ashley
"Take Everything" - Greg Laswell
"Unsophisticated Heart" - Joe Pug
"Norway" - Beach House
"Laredo" - Band of Horses
"Skinny Little Bitch" - Hole
"The A.B.C. of L.O.V.E." - Pravda*
"Love and Hate" - Blitzen Trapper
"Well Alright" - Peasant
"World News" - Local Natives

"Paved with a Little Pain" - Dot Allison
"The Cave" - Mumford & Sons
"Afraid of Everyone" - the National
"Death by Diamonds and Pearls" - Band of Skulls
"Banned (by the Man)" - Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
"Rill Rill" - Sleigh Bells
"Moves" - the New Pornographers
"The Beautiful Young Crew" - Lawrence Arabia
"Suicide Policeman" - Yuck
"Hard as Nails" - Peter Wolf Crier

"Slow Poison" - the Bravery
"Hide It Away" - Retribution Gospel Choir
"Circles in the Stars" - Idlewild
"Castles in the Snow" - Twin Shadow
"New Inheritors" - Wintersleep
"Super Television" - the Cascade
"The Loneliness and the Scream" - Frightened Rabbit

* Yes, I know this was released sometime prior to 2010. Get over it.

A Nifty Little Nugget from Arcade Fire

Fun to play with: click on and spin the digital 12″ for a few seconds of an upcoming single from Arcade Fire. Pretty nifty, and I also like what I'm hearing. (You can even spin it backward to get all the hidden messages, ha ha. And don't forget to flip to side B.)