But I feel like I'm stuck in a faux-indie-with-a-twist-of-bad-80s-and-70s-soul rut. Please suggest something for me to pick up.

Hmmm, I could write a whole book on the subject...

Though I'm probably less useful than usual since I've been rummaging through the indie world a lot lately. I always do that, though. I go back and cherry pick the best things after the dust has settled.

It's very cheap to pick up 90s Britpop at Amoeba these days. Behind the curve - that's where the bargains are.

I will note that I am really loving The New Pornagrphers Twin Cinema, The Mountain Goats' Tallahassee and Silver Jews' Tanglewood Numbers right now.

Please suggest something for me to pick up.

Find yourself some small, blonde thing. You bed her, you love her, you treat her like crap, you break her heart. You and your inner demon will thank me, I promise. </fake T'ish Magev>

A lot of places are still discounting the Monk/Coltrane at Carnegie Hall CD & it lives up to the hype. If you aren't familiar with their music it's a great place to start, and if you are it's a must have. Blue Note did a great job, too. Sound is excellent as are the liner notes (some more than others -- there are six contributors!)

Please suggest something for me to pick up.

If you don't already have an emusic account, sign up for one! You can start downloading right away and it's darn cheap. (No, they don't actually pay me to pimp their site - but they should.)

Other than that...hmmm Fall is feeling acoustic/twangy/country/alt.country/bluegrassy to me this year - so in that vein:

Mostly rock w/a twist of country: Bobby Bare Jr. both Young Criminal Starvation League and From the End of Your Leash are outstanding, fun and instantly accessible.

Pretty country/bluegrassy lady: Gillian Welch Time (the Revelator). I have been listening to this album nonstop lately. And I listened it to almost every day for months when I first bought it. And I always put it on when I have guests who I'm not sure of their music taste over. It's just perfect.

Centro-Matic Love You Just the Same. I first bought this album because I liked a song of theirs on a mix Jon made (I'm pretty sure). This album is a grower that I listen to all the time. Maybe they are not alt. country-ish, but that's how I think of them.

Old Crow Medicine Show O.C.M.S. or their Live from the World Cafe EP (with Gillian Wech). Bluegrass with just a dash of punked out rockabilly thrown in. Good lyrics. Fun.

Richard Buckner Since. Not too country but not exactly not countryish. Great voice, excellent songwriter.

Mike Ireland and Holler Try Again. Straight up music of pain served in the traditional country style.

Townes Van Zandt Our Mother the Mountain. Perfect for homebound winter nights.

That was probably a lot more than was required.

dw, do you have any interest in African music? I could toss up some tracks on buffistarawk if you want, and you can see if anything catches your fancy.

Apparently, I asked the right question to the right people. :)

Hmmm, I could write a whole book on the subject...

There's a BOOK about this subject? Wow. I would have never guessed.

Knowing how these things work, I'd guess that it's probably one of those compilations put out by some music publication, like a zine.

It's very cheap to pick up 90s Britpop at Amoeba these days. Behind the curve - that's where the bargains are.

Problem is that I was in the curve when it happened. Blur over Oasis, but Paul Weller still good. Closer to Cardiff the better -- Stereophonics, Catatonia, Manic Street Preachers. Never did understand Ocean Colour Scene. Starting to come around on Teenage Fanclub. When Ash was on, they were bloody brilliant.

I will note that I am really loving The New Pornagrphers Twin Cinema, The Mountain Goats' Tallahassee and Silver Jews' Tanglewood Numbers right now.

Have the Pornographers new one. Silver Jews I have never heard of.

A lot of places are still discounting the Monk/Coltrane at Carnegie Hall CD & it lives up to the hype. If you aren't familiar with their music it's a great place to start, and if you are it's a must have. Blue Note did a great job, too. Sound is excellent as are the liner notes (some more than others -- there are six contributors!)

I'm a bigger Monk fan than a Coltrane fan. I'll add this to my list.

If you don't already have an emusic account, sign up for one!

I have one. Sadly, already burned my 65 for the month (but they have most of Robert Earl Keen's catalog now!)

Mostly rock w/a twist of country: Bobby Bare Jr. both Young Criminal Starvation League and From the End of Your Leash are outstanding, fun and instantly accessible.

Hmm. Should check it out.

Pretty country/bluegrassy lady: Gillian Welch Time (the Revelator). I have been listening to this album nonstop lately. And I listened it to almost every day for months when I first bought it. And I always put it on when I have guests who I'm not sure of their music taste over. It's just perfect.

This was my post-9/11 CD of choice. The title track + "Everyone Is Free." And also "We Float" by PJ Harvey. That's what I listened to a lot of during that period.

Townes Van Zandt Our Mother the Mountain. Perfect for homebound winter nights.

I'm not sure you can ever go wrong with Townes. His music is like Al Green to me -- makes me want to grab the nearest wife and do it. Sadly, Susan thinks he's boring.

That was probably a lot more than was required.

No, all are good. I'm just making a list of stuff to check out. I really am in a rut.

dw, do you have any interest in African music? I could toss up some tracks on buffistarawk if you want, and you can see if anything catches your fancy.

Absolutely. Thanks!

Hard to beat The Rev, Dylan. Have you got his latest?(Not really the walk on the wild side you're looking for, but nice nonetheless.)

Tina Johnson is right! Especially about Buckner's Since, a wonderful album.

I don't know what to recommend to you, dw. My music listening today:

• Eric Matthews - Six Kinds of Passion Looking for an Exit (2005), which is orchestral-folk with an indie-rock bent. Major influences: Nick Drake, Game Theory, Burt Bacharach.
• Richard Davies - Barbarians (2000), which is psych-folk-indie rock from Matthews' former bandmate. Major influences: Syd Barrett, Flaming Lips (actually, they're more like admirers and acted as Davies' backing band on his 1995 tour), um, The Clean or early psychedelic Bee Gees, maybe?
• Go-Betweens - Oceans Apart (2005), which is pitch-perfect indie pop. You're probably familiar with these guys, but if not, this album (their latest in 27 years of recording) isn't a bad start. Major influences: well, going the other way, the G-Bs influenced Belle & Sebastian and any number of Dylanesque, post-New Wave guitar-pop bands.
• Six Organs of Admittance - School of the Flower (2005), which is mostly instrumental folk guitar with avant-weirdness flourishes, like mixing all of John Fahey's different periods together at once. Trancey! I luff it.
• Gary Higgins - Red Hash (1973), which is early damaged-hippie folkiness. Six Organs covered one of these songs on the album above, causing Drag City to secure the rights and re-release this album. It's lovely and rather Donovan-ish, if Donovan had been a bit more depressed and listened to Beefheart for a couple of days straight. Higgins apparently recorded the album in a two or three days immediately before beginning to serve a long drug sentence.

Absolutely. Thanks!

Sure! I'll put some songs up when I get home tonight.

Oh, I put some Jandek covers (and their originals if I had 'em) on buffistarawk last night. Covering artists were Mountain Goats, Six Organs of Admittance, Okkervil River, and Jeff Tweedy.

Tina Johnson is right!

Rarin'!

"Can't you see that's the last act of a desperate man?" "We don't care if it's the first act of Henry V, we're leaving."

Richard Davies - Barbarians (2000)

I think that's the one my friend George played on. Allmusic's credits are no help.