Been listening to some newer stuff lately after a period of not buying much music:

The new Rilo Kiley disc "Under The Blacklight" is great. It's a bit more rocking than the band's previous albums, which range from folky to poppy. Check out: "Close Call," "15," and the title track.

"Challengers" by The New Pornographers is the group's usual winning pop gold. Check out "All The Old Showstoppers," and "My Rights Versus Yours."

The more I listen to "An End Has A Start" by Editors the more I like it. I wouldn't say it's as good as the group's first album, "The Back Room," but it's good. It continues the band's brooding, dark, yet strangely dancable genre of tunes. Check out "Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors," "When Anger Shows" and the title track.

Looking forward to Tuesday when I can have the new albums by Interpol and the reunited Crowded House. Sure The Police are back together, but I think I'm just as excited about Finn and Seymour recording again. Despite my Big Trip To Chicago, I put up the money to go see Crowded House in September in Atlanta.

Here's what else has been keeping me interested lately:
"Working Class Hero" by Green Day
"Our Velocity" by Maximo Park
"You Don't Know What Love Is, You Just Do As You're Told" by The White Stripes
"The Heinrich Manuever" by Interpol

So here's a sampling of what's been in my rotation lately:

"The Heinrich Manuever" by Interpol
"Yours If You Like" by Oleander
"Selfish Jean" by Travis
"Traffic And Weather" by Fountains Of Wayne

Interpol has its new site up. The new album is apparently called "Our Love To Admire."

I'm really looking forward to this one. The group has become one of my favorite bands. I've seen them live twice and they put on a great show.

OK, it's very likely to bankrupt me, but I'm going to Lollapalooza.

Who needs a singer?

"All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone" by Explosions In The Sky is worth a listen if you love big, room-filling guitars, drums and piano. It's all instrumental, but don't let that turn you off. These guys all play exrtremely well and know how to bring the huge sound.

Here's what's been in my rotation lately:

"Yours Truly, Angry Mob" by Kaiser Chiefs -- More swaggering pop from these guys. Their first effort "Employment" was a bit catchier, but this one has some gems on it. The first single, "Ruby" has been getting some airplay around here and is a good transition from one album to the next. "Highroyds" is another synth wonder that the band does well. "Heat Dies Down," "Angry Mob" and "My Kind Of Guy" are the band's "I'm-really-tough-and-could-kick-your-ass-but-that-doesn't-mean-I-can't-write-a-really-dancy-song-about-it" tunes. Worth a listen.

"Yours To Keep" by Albert Hammond Jr. -- This is one I've been meaning to pick up for a while. If you don't know, Hammond is the guitar player for The Strokes. But don't expect that kind of music on this one. He goes with a much more breezy pop feel. He can still bring a great guitar sound, but it's just in a different vein. Sean Lennon and Strokes singer Julian Casablancas help out.

"Favorite Worst Nightmare" by Arctic Monkeys -- This is the answer to the question "How do the Arctic Monkeys follow-up on last year's 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'" File this one under "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The band stays with its foot-stomping, frenetic Brit-rock. Singer Alex Turner's quick, rhyming turns of phrase are evident on "Balaclava" and "Teddy Picker." They seem to be trying some different sounds with "Do Me A Favour," but they don't stray too much.

"Writer's Block" by Peter, Bjorn and John -- This one came out last year, but I just hadn't heard about them since recently. I love the album though. Think euro-folk. It's got strumming guitars with great beats. "Young Folks" has a perfect back-and-forth vocal while "Objects Of My Affection" soars. "Amsterdam" may be the most "European" sounding song (they're from Sweden though, I think). "Paris 2004" may be the best song written with such an involving what was for breakfast. A great album. This one would have made my top picks for last year.