Just a reminder of where we’ve been thus far:

10. The Hold Steady – “Stay Positive”
9. The Black Angels – “Directions To See A Ghost”
8. Sun Kil Moon – “April”

Well I guess I should confess that I am starting to get old.
All the latest music fads all passed me by and left me cold.
All the kids are talking slang I won’t pretend to understand.

Frank Turner featured on my  Top 10 list from last year and he’s back again in 2008. The wonderfully lyrical folk-punk of 2007’s “Sleep Is For The Week” really caught my ear while living in Oxford last year and Frank was kind enough to give me my first blog interview. I had high expectations for his sophomore effort “Love, Ire and Song” (Xtra Mile), which was released this spring. It is by no means a perfect album, but it marks a progression from his debut and it’s a great listen. I did a review of Turner’s new one back in April and rather than rehashing, I’ll just send you there.

Turner has not gotten much attention outside of the UK, which is a damn shame. If you’re a fan of Billy Bragg, Joe Strummer or Elvis Costello, then Turner may be just your cup of tea. Have a listen to “Photosynthesis”, which would easily make my list of Top 10 singles of the year, and if you like what you hear then how about supporting an incredibly talented and regrettably unknown artist. Buy “Love, Ire & Song” from Frank Turner - Love Ire & Song (Bonus Track Version).

And if all you ever do with your life
Is photosynthesize
Then you deserve every hour of these sleepless nights
That you waste wondering when you’re gonna die.

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I get a lot of great music from Fanatic Promotion in NYC.  When I was looking for prizes for my beloved readers, I asked and Jen from Fanatic came through in a big way. I’ve got enough CDs to give away to announce two more contests this week. So two lucky winner will split the treasure chest of CDs from Fanatic, which include:

I’ve also got a couple of copies of Motel Motel’s “New Denver” that I’ll throw in as well – another honourable mention album.

Tell me I don’t take care of you my gentle readers. How do you win? Two ways:
Contest #1: All you limerickists did a great job. Dr. O’C is hard at work judging and after she picks her favorite on Monday, I’ll put my five favorites up for a public vote. The winner will receive half the album stash.

Contest #2: SSG came up with a great contest idea (and thus wins the Salme Dahlstrom album). I’ve been thinking of renovating the space around here and one way to start is a new tagline. “An American Expatriate, Upside Down, Down Under” is a bit jumbly, so your mission is to come up with a new one. Beyond the obvious fame and fortune that will come your way as author of my tagline, you’ll win the other half of the musical booty. Leave your tagline as a comment on this post and let’s set a deadline of Friday the 21st for entries.

Good luck and remember Frank Turner, “Love, Ire and Song”, Frank Turner - Love Ire & Song (Bonus Track Version).

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Image Credits:

Frank Turner

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