Playlist Week of 1-21-12

* Hesperion XXI (Savall): Orient-Occident 1200-1700 (Alia Vox SACD)
* Hesperion XXI (Savall): La Folia 1490-1701 (Alia Vox SACD)
* Marais: Pieces a Deux Violes du Premier Livre, 1686 (Savall, et al.) (Alia Vox SACD)
* Marais: Pieces a Deux Violes du Second Livre, 1701 (Savall, et al.) (Alia Vox SACD)
* Berio: Sinfonia/Ekphrasis (Göteborgs Symphoniker/Eötvös) (Deutsche Grammophon CD)
* Feldman: For Frank O’Hara, etc. (New Millennium Ensemble) (KOCH CD)
* Lachenmann: String Quartets (Stadler Quartet) (NEOS SACD)
* John Coltrane: Ballads (Impulse!/MCA CD)
* John Coltrane: A Love Supreme (Impulse!/Verve SACD)
* Bobby Hutcherson: Total Eclipse (Blue Note CD)
* Sun Ra: Châteauvallon, France 8-24-76 (AUD 2CDR)
* Charlie Haden & Pat Metheny: Beyond The Missouri Sky (Verve CD)
* The Thirteenth Assembly: (un)sentimental (Important CD)
* The Thirteenth Assembly: Station Direct (Important CD)
* Marvin Gaye: What’s Going On (Motown/Mobile Fidelity SACD)
* Aretha Franklin: I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You (Atlantic/Mobile Fidelity CD)
* Aretha Franklin: Lady Soul/Aretha Now (Atlantic/Mobile Fidelity CD)
* The Beatles: Beatles For Sale (2009 stereo) (Apple/EMI CD)
* The Beatles: Help! (2009 stereo) (Apple/EMI CD)
* The Beatles: Rubber Soul (1987/2009 stereo) (Apple/EMI CD)
* The Beatles: Revolver (2009 stereo) (Apple/EMI CD)
* Grateful Dead: Rheinhalle, Düsseldorf, West Germany 4/24/72 (selections) (GDP/Rhino 4HDCD_
* Grateful Dead: Wake Of The Flood (GDP/Mobile Fidelity LP)
* Grateful Dead: Formerly The Warlocks: Hampton, VA 1989 (selections) (GDP/Rhino 6HDCD)
* Alexander “Skip” Spence: Oar (Sundazed CD)
* Pink Floyd: Animals (Pinkfloyd/EMI CD)
* Fleetwood Mac: Bare Trees (Reprise/Pioneer—Japan LP)
* Fleetwood Mac: Mystery To Me (Reprise LP)
* Fleetwood Mac: Fleetwood Mac (Reprise LP)
* Roxy Music: Avalon (Virgin HDCD)
* King Crimson: Discipline (DGM HDCD)
* Tony Levin/David Torn/Alan White: Levin Torn White (Lazy Bones CD)†
* Adrian Belew: Desire Caught By The Tail (Island LP)
* The Police: Zenyatta Mondatta (A&M SACD)
* The Police: Ghost In The Machine (A&M SACD)
* Thurston Moore: Demolished Thoughts (Matador CD)†
* Flaming Lips: The Soft Bulletin (Warner Bros. HDCD)
* Radiohead: In Rainbows (TBD CD)†
* Radiohead: The King Of Limbs (Ticker Tape/TBD CD)†
* Tortoise: TNT (Thrill Jockey HDCD)
* Isotope 217°: The Unstable Molecule (Thrill Jockey CD)
* Isotope 217°: utonian_automatic (Thrill Jockey HDCD)
* Isotope 217°: Who Stole The I-Walkman? (Thrill Jockey CD)
* Porcupine Tree: Recordings (KScope CD)
* Porcupine Tree: In Absentia (Lava/Atlantic CD)†
* Porcupine Tree: Deadwing (Lava/Atlantic CD)†
* Porcupine Tree: Fear Of A Blank Planet (Atlantic CD)†
* Porcupine Tree: Nil Recurring (KScope CDEP)†
* Porcupine Tree: The Incident (Roadrunner 2CD)†
* Steven Wilson: Grace For Drowning (KScope 2CD)†
* Opeth: Morningrise (Candlelight CD)†
* Opeth: My Arms, Your Hearse (Candlelight CD)†(‡)
* Opeth: Still Life (Peaceville/Icarus CD)†
* Opeth: Blackwater Park (Music For Nations/KOCH CD)†
* Opeth: Deliverance (Music For Nations/KOCH CD)†
* Opeth: Damnation (Music For Nations/KOCH CD)†
* Opeth: Ghost Reveries (Roadrunner HDCD)(†)
* Opeth: Watershed (Roadrunner CD)†
* Opeth: Heritage (Roadrunner CD/DVD)†
* Mastodon: Leviathan (Relapse CD)†
* Mastodon: Blood Mountain (Reprise CD)†
* Mastodon: Crack The Skye (Reprise 2-45RPM LP)
* Mastodon: The Hunter (Reprise 2-45RPM LP)
* The Black Keys: Attack & Release (Nonesuch CD/LP)(†/‡)
* The Black Keys: Brothers (Nonesuch CD/2LP)(†/‡)
* The Black Keys: El Camino (Nonesuch LP)

†=iPod
‡=car

Commentary:
For the last week or so, rumors have been swirling about a Mastodon/Opeth tour of the U.S. in April and they were finally confirmed on Friday by Mastodon’s singer/bassist, Troy Sanders, in an interview with Belgian state radio, Studio Brussel. No official dates have been announced, but no matter what, I’m going to try to see one of these shows—in fact, I’ll travel a great distance to do so. It’s funny how I have recently gotten way into both of these bands (writing about them here and here) and now they’re going out on a co-headlining tour together. I almost feel…trendy—it’s like, now I have to go! Frankly, I haven’t felt this excited about rock music in a long time and both of these bands are superb (Mastodon's "Curl of the Burl" has been nominated for a Grammy, for whatever that is worth). As a bonus, the mysterious Swedish Satanists, Ghost, are supposed to open the shows. Oooh! Scary! This is gonna be truly awesome and I don’t want to miss it!