Casey Kasem I'm Not

Between this blog and my photo blog, I've been getting some offers lately to participate in online projects. Some are pretty strange (like having my blog sponsored by a hair loss center), but some are pretty cool. The Internets is a strange place (as if readers of the Long Cut need to be told that) so I try to check everything out before committing.

One of the offers I received was from RIYLmusic.com ("Recommended If You Like"). They compile chart information from college and community stations across the country. Each week they publish those charts and compile their own master listing from them all. They want to start including podcasters and bloggers into the process and asked me to participate. All I have to do is send in up to 30 albums each week.

They really didn't go into detail at all on what the albums should be, and it's not like I have a "playlist" I can just print out. It seems like anything goes, alt or not, new or old. My first list is loaded with new stuff I've been digging lately - sometimes just a song or two from a new album - plus a few older discs that I've been playing at work and on the mp3 player. I'm hoping this is what they are looking for.

If I stick with this project (or they still want me next week), I think I'll post my list here as I send it in. Here's my first list - the numbering is pretty arbitrary except for the fact that the Flaming Lips new stuff rawks:

1. FLAMING LIPS At War With The Mystics
2. LOOSE FUR Born Again In The USA
3. JENNY LEWIS WITH THE WATSON TWINS Rabbit Fur Coat
4. MATES OF STATE Bring It Back
5. RHETT MILLER The Believer
6. MINUS 5 The Minus 5
7. THE SILVER JEWS Tanglewood Numbers
8. STEPHEN MALKMUS Face The Truth
9. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
10. NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
11. MARAH If You Didn't Laugh, You'd Cry
12. BETH ORTON Comfort Of Strangers
13. SONDRE LERCHE Faces Down
14. DONALD FAGEN Morph The Cat
15. THE EDITORS The Back Room
16. BELLE AND SEBASTIAN The Life Pursuit
17. VARIOUS ARTISTS See You on the Moon!: Songs for Kids of All Ages
18. NEKO CASE Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
19. CAT POWER The Greatest
20. MATTHEW SWEET AND SUSANNA HOFFS Under The Covers Volume 1
21. EELS WITH STRINGS Live At Town Hall
22. WORLD PARTY Dumbing Up
23. RAY DAVIES Other People's Lives
24. SPOON Sister Jack EP

Comments

[Marisa]

I got the email from the hair loss center as well. I thought it was a very strange request.

[paige]

Oooh. That sounds cool. Also, great list!

[Ryan Olah]

how in hellz red flames did you get the new boss record already?

[Mark]

No no no, I've just been hearing a bunch of stuff from it on WXPN - so I considered it one of my "heavy rotation" albums. They're not real clear on what should go into picking my top 30 (the site's really set up to track college radio playlists), so I'm winging it.

And watch that mouth.