Wisconsin knows how to produce some bands, let me tell you. That Midwestern state has some soul.

By now, we all know of Eau Claire's Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver fame), but Baraboo, Wisconsin has its own claim to fame with PHOX. PHOX manages to marry the soul rock revival that is so popular right now with tangible emotion and self-conscious lyrics. I love a good dance tune as much as the next reserved introvert (only in my car), but many of those songs lack any depth. 

PHOX's self-titled debut LP is out now, and they are touring all over the country. Someone go see them for me. My favorite song off the album is "Satyr and the Faun," with "1936" as a close second, although I really love them all. The former has a perfect ethereal sound that only enhances Martin's comfortably raspy, yet arching vocals and the latter takes a standard acoustic track and layers it with a banjo, choir-like vocals, and charming lyrics. This album straddles the four corners of pop, r&b, folk, and alternative rock and roll, making it a unique addition to its contemporaries on the alternative charts. The lyrics are self-aware, questioning, and observant. Listen to "Raspberry Seed," another of my favorites, below.

XM radio is a true blessing. I can listen to the best of the 90s and also hear some great rock and roll. Zach and I drove to some waterfalls yesterday and then went on a 4-mile hike and only brought home one tick. Before we hit the trail, this song came on the radio. I was hit with two reactions: to makeout in the car like a teenager and recline the seat, close my eyes, and listen in solitude. I'm at a crossroads.

The twangy guitars, just enough whiny vocals, the fine straddle between singing and talking, and steady, strong strumming make it a perfect amalgam of Neutral Milk Hotel, Daniel Johnston, Wilco, and Weezer. Palace Music is a Will Oldham project, but I prefer it to Bonnie "Prince" Billy. It makes my heart race and my head float in a way BPB doesn't. Enjoy.

I'm currently playing FKA Twigs on repeat. Geoff Rickly of Thursday is a fan, and I will listen to anything he listens to on repeat because he has great taste in music. I would recommend this for fans of Emily King, the XX, Grimes, and James Blake. It's good Sunday music. I really enjoy the clacking sound on "How's That," which I shared below. It sounds like a turn signal clacking or fingers hitting a keyboard, both sounds that I find oddly soothing. Anyway, enjoy.

We Gibsons are huge proponents of public radio. I don't know how people function without it actually. I hear the important news in-depth and also listen to interviews with people like Joaquin Phoenix, Robert Redford, Conor Oberst, and the creator of Orange is the New Black. Over the years, I have developed friendships in my head with some of my favorite hosts. Audie Cornish, Steve Inskeep, Kai Ryssdal, Lynne Rosetto Kasper, Terry Gross, and last but not least....

Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton. They are my best pals. You might think you know Bob Boilen, but it's probably just Ryan Earl Ward (made famous by the Wires and Waves blog). Anyway, I digress. I heard two great songs on World Cafe this weekend, and I wanted to share them here.

The first song was "Does Someone Have Your Baby Now?" by Mazzy Star. I have not listened to them much in the past, but not for any particular reason other than I am stupid.



The second song was "Start Choppin'" by Dinosaur Jr., another band I have never listened to for no particular reason.


Finally, I want to share "Popular by Design" by the Polyphonic Spree. I did not actually hear this on NPR. I searched for it on my own free will. I was always scared by their costumes because they have a certain cultish vibe, so I never actually listened to them. I am terrified of cults. Even thinking about cults worries me, as if the thought will render me a Kool-Aid drinking fundamentalist worshiper off things. PS is not a cult, though, but no one bothered to tell me that. I know a lot of people who really love them, and Annie Clark, my dream lady-musician, played with them for a long time, but none of that led me to listen to them until yesterday when I was sitting in a bookstore doing homework for 2+ hours.

Here's a fun fact: I sometimes get anxiety at the thought of discussing my favorite albums. It's just hard to convey the effect they have had on me. With that being said, I'm going to talk a little bit about the new Taking Back Sunday album. Their last album was powerful. The energy was electric and palpable, and I was nervous that it was a product of their reunion. Fortunately, this new album is no different. It pulses with loud guitars and heavy drums, but it leaves room for soft reflection.

It is odd to compare it to an album that came out over a decade ago, but "Tell All Your Friends" is undeniably influential. TBS maintains the TAYF energy on Happiness Is... but the themes have changed. This album is filled with a lot more nostalgia and an acceptance of oft-unfortunate events. Don't worry-- TBS has not gone soft. They still do angry really well. Also, the back and forth singing of Adam Lazzarra and John Nolan will always warm my heart in a way that no other pair of singers could. They have a give-and-take that is often only possible between siblings.

I love this album. I shared the videos for "Flicker Fade" and "Stood a Chance" but every song is great. A couple of my favorites include "It Takes More" and "Better Homes and Gardens." "Beat Up Car" calls to mind the Used, which makes sense since they are pretty close with that band.
This album really solidifies the new generation of the band as a music staple. Enjoy.

My song of the day is "Divisionary (Do the Right Thing)" by Ages and Ages. I am really, really into it today.

My song of the day is by Valerie June. Her music combines the best elements of rock and roll, pop, and soul in the vein of Jack White or the Black Keys. Her voice is heavy and rich and really all over the board. The title track "Pushin Against a Stone" feels like the Beatles mixed with 60s girl group pop, "You Can't be Told" has a definite rock and roll tinge to it, and other songs get a little bluegrass and folky. You have to listen to the whole album to understand its depth and range. Below are two of my favorites.

I am working on three very big papers, but don't worry, I will be back to my regularly scheduled ultimatums and declarations of love very soon. I just had to share this great song I heard today.

"Worms" by Youth Lagoon was included on Space Project, a 14-song compilation put out on Record Store Day. All of the songs incorporate sounds from outer space. "Worms" utilizes noises from Uranus's rings. I'm not a scientist, so I don't know how that works. But it's great.

You can read a little bit more about it here.

I spent a good portion of my youth watching my peers play music at the Boys and Girls Club. If I may quote Abraham Lincoln... It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.

Anyway, I don't know if any good bands actually came out of that mini-scene. Regardless, I have been on the hunt for a good local band since we moved to Oklahoma. It's just good to have someone to claim, you know? Well! I didn't exactly find a local band, but I found one that is close enough and is actually good. The Midwest Indies hail from the great town of Springfield, Missouri, and I am stoked because it is only an hour and a half away! (That's like a twenty minute drive when you live in the middle of nowhere.) I haven't seen them play yet, but I have high hopes.

Their music is a good blend of rock and roll and pop in the vein of Bishop Allen or Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin. Enjoy.

I think I haven't blogged in a while. School isn't even that overwhelming right now, but I have been working on two big projects for both of my classes. Also, I have yet to review the new Taking Back Sunday album, but I haven't forgotten about it. Au contraire...

Anyway, my song of the day is "Love is not Enough" by Owen. A billion and one people have told me to listen to him, and I don't know why I haven't. I'm the worst. He is fantastic. It's windy and tornado season-y over here, and this entire album is (L'Ami du Peuple) is perfect for this kind of day. I hope it isn't tornado-y where you are.

Vanessa Carlton has always conjured up two things for me: my best friend Amanda and the movie White Chicks.

"One Thousand Miles" is the ultimate sing-a-long driving song; don't try to deny it. I was in the bookstore the other day, and I heard the best song. (Digression: I am so thankful for the Shazam app. I remember the days of hearing songs on the radio and having no idea who sang them. And I walked uphill both ways.)

Anyway, the song turned out to be "Tall Tales for Spring" by Vanessa Carlton. She just married John McCauley from Deer Tick and Stevie Nicks was their officiator! You will probably like this song.

Taking Back Sunday always lifts my mood. Their new album Happiness Is... comes out in eight (8!) days, and they just released their second single from the album. The song is "Stood A Chance." Watch the video below:

If you don't already know, I am the president of the St. Vincent fan club. I'm really not, but I love Annie Clark (a.k.a. St. Vincent). She is one of the most talented musicians making music right now, and her new self-titled album is a testament to her tremendous talent.

St. Vincent comes right after her project with David Byrne, Love This Giant, and its influence on her solo work is obvious, especially in the song "Digital Witness." You still get a taste of classic St. Vincent with the gnarly guitar parts and hauntingly angelic vocals; in fact, both aspects are only amplified. But Clark is much more experimental on this album, and that's what is going to make this album one I go back to in one, five, ten years from now.

Listen to "Rattlesnake," "Birth in Reverse," "Prince Johnny," and "Digital Witness" for four songs that highlight the various sounds on the album. Listen to it all, though. "I Prefer Your Love" is incredible, as is "Bring Me Your Loves."

I spent days one and two watching every bad (and good) independent film on Netflix. I couldn't lift my head to read, so I missed out on my anti-procrastination school reading (finishing the text before school starts) and my irresponsible, self-indulgent reading (Divergent is incredible, you guys).


It's day three, and I am feeling the pressure looming, so like it or not, I've got to start reading. (I like it.) I'm still casting YouTube onto the television in our bedroom, but I'm letting it play study-appropriate music.

The internet has been buzzing about the band Quilt in the last few days, but I have been wary to check out them because everything is electronic these days, and I don't even like electronic music that much when I'm not sick.

My gut has been wrong so much on this front lately, and I am thankful for that. What can I say? I'm no Olivia Pope.

Quilt reminds me a little of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros without all the acid-drenched, party-with-P. Diddy weirdness. Their music is calming without being boring, and carries just the right amount of 60's folk nostalgia with it.

I don't know which song to recommend, so I'll post their album below. Check it out and let us know what you think.

St. Vincent (a.k.a. Annie Clark), a woman on whom I have an undeniable ladycrush, put out a new song today called, "Digital Witness." This is her second single off her upcoming self-titled album. She was obviously influenced by the music she made with David Byrne; this song is more horn-heavy than anything, but Annie Clark's signature guitar sneaks in throughout. "Digital Witness" is a satirical social critique on our obsession with technology.

"People turn the TV on, it looks just like a window."
"What's the point of sleeping if I can't show it? You can't see me."

Yes, there is a smidgen of irony in my listening to this song on the internet and blogging about it so everyone can see what I think. Pair this with The Circle by Dave Eggers for maximum (and justifiable) technology phobia.

I read a lot this year, so it was inevitable that I read some of the best books I have ever read in my life. I've been reading since I was five, and I always felt like my reading peak was between the ages of eight and eleven back when I re-read the Babysitter's Club books weekly, but I may have surpassed that landmark. I finally outshone elementary school Christina in one area.

I read somewhere around fifty books this year, and it was great. I have a pretty hard time remembering things a lot of the time, so I decided to document every book on my Goodreads account. In lieu of ranking them, I decided to create categories to highlight a few great ones.

Funniest Book

• Bossypants by Tina Fey: This book was laugh out loud funny, but it also showed how good of a writer Tina Fey is. A lot of funny people write books that are average because their humor doesn't translate to the page. This book is just essays about Fey's life and they aren't in an overly rigid chronological order, but they are funny and help you to understand Fey better as a woman and a comedian.

• Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell: This book was pretty heavy and realistic. Rowell is great at explaining the emotions of people you might not understand. We have all known (or not known) an Eleanor. She seems cold or distant, but she contains so many more layers than we are aware of. Rowell knows how to write a dynamic character, let me tell you.

• The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart: I really tried to branch out and read more YA novels this year. This book was fun and surprising. I couldn't wait to find out what happened next, so I read this pretty quickly. It's a story about a bunch of orphans who are recruited by Mr. Benedict to take on a secret mission that will save the world. That's all I can say. Carson Ellis, who is apparently pretty well-known in the independent music illustration scene (I made that up), illustrated this book, and her art is wonderful. It fits the precociousness of the four main characters very well.

• The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer: This book was heart-wrenching. It follows four people from the time they meet at summer camp when they are teenagers to sometime in their fifties. The main character falls in love with two kids after they make her feel included and interesting for the first time in her life, and she remains bound by this for her whole life. This bond is strong and understandably produces a lot of drama. I empathized with every character, which made this novel particularly heavy for me.

• Z: a Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler: I had to constantly remind myself that this was just a fictional account. F. Scott is a longtime favorite writer of mine, and this book skewed my perception of him quite a bit. It is a very illuminating account, and the word is that Fowler was as accurate as she could be. It will make a diehard Zelda fan out of you, but shouldn't we all be? She was tough, and I admire her so much. Fowler is also just a fantastic storyteller. I hope she disillusions all my favorite authors for me.

Best Book about Sports that is about so much more than Sports

• The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach: This is another of those books where I empathized with every character. And Quentin, man. I loved how disconnected everyone seemed at the beginning juxtaposed with the final scene. A high school baseball star is recruited by a fledgling team at a Midwestern university and this recruitment has implications for the most unlikely people. Good and bad implications. And surprises. I want to read this book again and again. It crushed my heart and made me supremely happy. I wish Harbach would write a million more novels.

Honorable mentions: Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple, The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris, Another Bullshit Night in Suck City by Nick Flynn, Everything is Perfect When You're a Liar by Kelly Oxford, This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper, The Keep by Jennifer Egan, The History of Love by Nicole Krauss, Room by Emma Donoghue

The year is officially over in twelve hours, but I still think in terms of school years, so I have another five months to go. My goal is to stay up until midnight tonight and to avoid watching NYE celebrations on television at all costs. The one time I did that was by far one of the saddest new year's eves of all time.

My song of the day is "New Year's Resolution" by Camera Obscura because duh. My dear friend Nick reminded me that I have yet to review Desire Lines, but I have already featured "This is Love (Feels Alright)" as a song of the day, so maybe I will make it through the album song by song until I reach the end.

This song has all the elements of a good Camera Obscura song: doo-wop harmonies, melancholy lyrics, sugary pop, and solid guitar. Enjoy, and go ahead and make some fail-safe resolutions such as breathe in AND out, wear mismatched socks, pet a cat, or go outside. Don't try too hard this year, but do listen to this song.

It is currently 29 degrees on the day before the first day of winter, and I am wrapped up on the couch in my warmest, softest most comfortable blanket with the heater cranked to 80. I needed some easy yet soulful listening while I accomplished important tasks like reading lifestyle blogs, but I also wanted something new. As I perused blogs, I stumbled upon musician Nathan Reich. He is perfect and just what I needed.

His voice reminds me of a combination of Bob Nanna, Jack Johnson, and Damien Rice. It carries the Christina-approved stamp of melancholy with a hopeful vitality. Enjoy this live video on this glorious first day of winter.

(I just clicked on the full YouTube link, and it turns out that it is a part of the Avett Brothers' crackerfarm YouTube page. So great.)

Favorite Albums

Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
The National - Trouble Will Find Me
Saves the Day - S/T
Mikal Cronin - MCII
Best Coast - Fade Away EP
Into It. Over It. - Intersections
She and Him - Volume 3
Avett Brothers - Magpie and the Dandelion
Portugal. The Man - Evil Friends
Jason Isbell - Southeastern
Justin Timberlake - 20/20 Experience Part One
Geoff Rickly - Darker Matter

Honorable mentions include: Anthony Green - Young Legs, Kurt Vile - Wakin' on a Pretty Daze, Waxahatchee - Cerulean Salt, HAIM - Days Are Gone, Arcade Fire - Reflektor, Thao and the Get Down Stay Down - We the Common, Adam Green and Binki Shapiro, Paramore - S/T, Eisley - Current, City and Colour - The Hurry and the Harm, Iron and Wine - Ghost on Ghost, Phosphorescent - Muchacho


Favorite Songs

"We're Going Home" - Drake
"Remember" - Saves the Day
"Elephant" - Jason Isbell
"Holy Grail" - Jay Z and Justin Timberlake
"Who Have I Become" - Best Coast
"Flicker Fade" - Taking Back Sunday
"Man" - Neko Case
"This is Love (Feels Alright)" - Camera Obscura
"Delicate Cycle" - The Uncluded
"Desert Babbler" - Iron and Wine
"Retrograde" - James Blake
"Sacrilege" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
"Locked Out of Heaven" - Bruno Mars
"Still Into You" - Paramore
"San Francisco" - Foxygen