Emusic Downloads for August

This month was a pretty diverse, but some of my choices are a matter of course. For example, any time Blonde Redhead or Holly Golightly release a record, I automatically download it.

The new Blonde Redhead has received stellar reviews, and I've found it to be one of their best. Yes, it's clearly very polished and accessible, but that's not a bad thing. I'm glad to hear them avoiding the dirge-like pace of their last effort.

Also, I've been meaning to take advantage of the large collection of classic soul / R & B recordings on Emusic for a while, and Otis Redding is always the place to start for me. Remember Me replaces the cassette tape version of his greatest hits I used to have.

The records from Antelope and Okkervil River are the first I've heard of either, but I've not yet devoted enough listening hours to tell you my impressions.

Finally, The Ponys, well they're a curious case. I now have both their LPs, but I have mixed feelings about them as a band. One the one hand, I love their psych/punk guitar sound. I could seriously listen to their echo-y yet crisp tones all day. Unfortunately I've had a hell of a time learning to tolerate their singer. Dude sounds dumb as a bag of hammers. It's hard to imagine a more typical, or typically annoying punk-rawk frontman. But what the hell? I had 10 downloads left, and Celebration Castle has only 10 tracks. Problem solved.