Heavy Rotation - Week Of Feb. 11th

In our weekly series, Heavy Rotation, I will write about the five records I have been spinning regularly over the last week. There is not an expiration date. The records included can be from any time period at all. All entries are eligible to appear for multiple weeks. In fact, repetition is likely due to the fact that while I listen to a fair amount of music, it's not as much as I'd like to make time for. Also, as some of you may know, we have a vinyl only policy around our house, so as expected, all entries on the list are being listened to via turntable.

Ladies and germs, presenting installment four of Heavy Rotation . . .

The Decemberists | The King Is Dead
Capitol Records | 2011

For their sixth full length album, The Decemberists were able to meld their penchant for the British Folk Revival they'd been toying with on their previous two efforts with the tight, straightforward songs with which they began their career. The King Is Dead is still filled with the detailed narratives and maudlin characters that songwriter/frontman Colin Meloy has made his stock and trade. And, by embracing a neo-country arrangement and soliciting the assistance of Gillian Welch and Peter Buck, this album is easily the most accessible and memorable of the band's entire canon.

Watch the Decemberists play the entire album live in the video below.

Le Congo Danse | Compilation
Pathe/EMI | circa 1960s

This collection of Congolese bands from the 1960s is one of the more remarkable records in my collection. French record label Pathe compiled this LP in the late 60's for the cosmopolitan Parisian set. The result, more than 40 years later is a ridiculously energetic and unique set of songs that typify their place and time. Google queries have led me to discover just how rare this collection is and how expensive it can run to get a copy for you to add to your collection. Which is too bad, because it's an absolute gem.

Arcade Fire | Neon Bible
Merge Records | 2007

Arcade Fire often seem like the perfect poster children for the indie-pop meets mega pop world. Their epic, yet utterly accessible songs forged with lush instrumentation and bravado are a masterful example of the bridge that exists between the halls of hipsterdom and the mass appeal of popular music. My kids especially enjoy this band and I've been able to use their affection for Arcade Fire to springboard them in to other musical experiences that seem pretty offbeat to most 11 and 13 year olds.

David Bowie | Hunky Dory
RCA | 1971

In Many respects, Hunky Dory seems like the first truly Bowie of David Bowie's records. The first side alone contains the legendary tracks "Changes", "Oh! You Pretty Things" and "Life On Mars". This LP was just released just a year before Bowie invented his Ziggy Stardust alter-ego and a full six years before he began his now famous collaboration with producer Brian Eno. Bowie's charm and power ooze from the vinyl, but never get in the way of the remarkable songs herein. While his first three records contain moments of greatness mixed with very average material, this seems to be the first occasion where he knocked the whole thing out of the park.

R.E.M. | Reckoning
IRS Records | 1984

What else is there to say about this masterpiece of American rock and roll? Reckoning is one of the cornerstone's of my musical upbringing and a record I have never tired of hearing. There are very few records that seem as perfect to me as this one does. This is one of those ten records I would have to take to that mythical desert island where you listen to records all day long.