ON MY IPOD: Nov 8th 2011

• 'It's Real' — Real Estate
• 'Facing the Sun' — Treefight for Sunlight
• 'Hurts like Heaven' — Coldplay
• 'Change the Sheets' — Kathleen Edwards
• 'Helix' — Justice
• 'We Found Love' — Rihanna
• 'Domino' — Jessie J
• '1979' — RAC
• 'Jesus Fever' — Kurt Vile
• 'The Same Thing' — Cass McCombs
• 'Dust on the Dancefloor' — The Leisure Society

I take great pride in not hating Coldplay but instead sifting through the chaff looking for the good stuff and 'Hurts Like Heaven', despite lyrics extolling the virtues of emotional masochism, is a full tilt into the wind, with harmonies that slice the room at shoulder-height: they make self-pity as exciting as bungee-jumping. I've never heard of Real Estate before but their entire album, 'Days', has me hooked: they sound like someone melodic from Manchester but in fact are from New Jersey and look to be barely out of their teens. I can't find a mix of Rihanna's 'We Found Love' that I'm happy with (is there one that doesn't sound so Hamburg rave-y?) but the song has me nevertheless. Nothing wrong with the production of Jessie J's 'Domino': the song hangs in mid-air, perfect as a plum. Kathleen Edwards I've already praised on this blog, but 'Change the Sheets' isn't getting any worse. Justice's 'Helix' is a guilty, chunky synth-funk pleasure: the song I most like restraining myself to on the subway. The Leisure Society: this song has really grown on me, but then the song itself keeps evolving, only repeating itself at the 1:50 minute mark. That's halfway through the song — my favorite example of chrysalis structure since Oasis's 'I Hope, I Think, I Know'.