New Countdown: Vast Improvements!

Muse

Well, we're going to put this one in the "Win" column because, after last week, *only* 24 hours late is an achievement, to be sure!

We've got some great songs and some great Contrast Podcast news and it's just a really great time for everyone, I think!

It's hard to believe it's almost time to start keeping track of the Summer Jams! I've really got to get that second Birthday podcast published (Read: created and published)!

Enjoy!




Countdown #246

***Featuring***
AWOLNATION
Death Cab For Cutie
Foo Fighters
Milky Chance
Mumford & Sons
Muse
Robert DeLong
Saint Motel
They Might Be Giants
Vance Joy
Walk the Moon

New Countdown: The Episode That Almost Killed Me, or, The Episode That Nearly Wasn't!

Muse

Well this was a tough one! I'm not sure really what happened, but I kept being SO tired at night and then I just kept recording one or two intros and calling it a night. So that's why the dual title. I'm not sure if it almost killed me or if I almost just didn't finish it.

But it's a good one with great tunes and LOTS of Bonus Songs.

And also, even though it feels silly now, Happy Mother's Day!





Countdown #245

***Featuring**
AWOLNATION
B.B. King & Eric Clapton
Beastie Boys
Dar Williams
Death Cab For Cutie
Florence + the Machine
Foo Fighters
Milky Chance
Modest Mouse
Mumford & Sons
Muse
Robert Delong
Taylor Swift
Walk the Moon

New Countdown: Seems Like Old Times...

Milky Chance

Hello. I bet you thought I'd forgotten about you, didn't you? Well that is certainly not the case and we've got another great episode for you to enjoy this week. It's just a day or two...more aged? Like a wine? Yeah, let's go with that.

Oh! Quick correction: in the episode I say that Mumford & Sons were on SNL this past Saturday. That is incorrect. They were on the episode before last, which i believe was the 11th of April.

Enjoy!


Countdown #244

***Featuring***
AWOLNATION
Death Cab For Cutie
Florence + the Machine
Foo Fighters
Milky Chance
Modest Mouse
Mumford & Sons
Muse
Robert DeLong
Tracy Chapman
Walk the Moon

New Countdown: The Boy Who Played With Alternative Songs

Walk the Moon

If I'm being honest, this podcast is late because I'm really really into the book I'm reading. And publishing it on time fell slightly below just blasting through it. It's The Girl Who Played With Fire which is the sequel to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. It's super super compelling.

Please don't take my choices to indicate a bad week on the countdown, though. It was definitely a good one. We have such great songs on the show these days. Enjoy!

PS. Have you noticed that a full 60% of the songs on the Top Ten are by artists with names that start with either F or M? Weeeird.


Countdown #243

***Featuring***
AWOLNATION
Death Cab For Cutie
Florence + the Machine
Foo Fighters
Milky Chance
Modest Mouse
Mumford & Sons
Muse
Robert DeLong
U2
Walk the Moon

New Countdown: More Than One Big Change This Week!

Muse

Hey, check this out! A post going up at the regularly scheduled time?! This is what I'm talking about!

Hopefully the cover photo doesn't give away any surprises, although, I don't know how it can't. Maybe it'll provide a sense of excitement? Like a teaser for the show!

Enjoy!



Countdown #242

***Featuring***
AWOLNATION
Death Cab For Cutie
Florence + the Machine
Foo Fighters
Milky Chance
Modest Mouse
Mumford & Sons
Muse
Robert DeLong
The Smiths
Walk the Moon

New Countdown: I Want to See, Green on the Trees...

Milky Chance

Spring is in the air and so are the magnificent sounds of today's hottest Alternative Songs, according to Billboard! (That's how I think Casey would write my blog post)

So I hope you'll sit back and enjoy these 12 songs (two bonus songs?! has he gone mad??) perhaps with a window open and a gentle spring breeze wafting through your hair.



Countdown #241

***Featuring***
AWOLNATION
The Beatles
Death Cab For Cutie
Florence + the Machine
Foo Fighters
George Ezra
Milky Chance
Modest Mouse
Mumford & Sons
New Order
Robert DeLong
Walk the Moon

New Countdown: MOST of the Newest Alternative Hits!

George Ezra

Happy Easter everyone (who celebrates)! I've got Jesus Christ Superstar playing and we're doing all sorts of egg-related activities. Hope you're all having a great day and are ready to enjoy some of the most current Alternative Songs out there today! And Milky Chance, too! ;-)


Countdown #240

***Featuring***
AWOLNATION
Death Cab For Cutie
Florence + the Machine
Foo Fighters
George Ezra
Milky Chance
Modest Mouse
Mumford & Sons
Robert DeLong
Talking Heads
Walk the Moon

New Podcast: Well SOMEONE Has to Have Written the Book

Robert De Long

This episode of the podcast is way better than the procrastination I injected into it. I hope you enjoy it!



Countdown #239

***Featuring*** (notice how we have a band from the first 7 letters of the alphabet without missing one this week!)

AWOLNATION
Bleachers
Cage the Elephant
Death Cab For Cutie
Elvis Costello
Florence + the Machine
George Ezra
Milky Chance
Modest Mouse
The Monotones
Robert DeLong
Walk the Moon

New Countdown: Ides of March Edition

AWOLNATION

Some changes on the countdown this week. And I think for the better. I'm always interested in how long it takes for the countdown to turnover from the beginning of the year and we are getting ever closer to that!



Countdown #238

***Featuring***
AWOLNATION
Bleachers
Cage the Elephant
Death Cab For Cutie
George Ezra
Imagine Dragons
Milky Chance
Modest Mouse
Robert DeLong
Straylight Run
Walk the Moon

New Countdown: Patting Myself Firmly On the Back!

Arctic Monkeys

I did it! Here is a countdown that, if I can post it in the next 8 minutes, will be posted ON TIME, ON THE RIGHT DAY. And that's with Daylight Savings robbing an hour from me. I know. I'm impressed, too.

Enjoy!


Countdown #237

***Featuring***
Arctic Monkeys
Bleachers
Cage the Elephant
Death Cab For Cutie
Hozier
Imagine Dragons
Milky Chance
Modest Mouse
Robert DeLong
Walk the Moon

New Countdown: Shakin' It Up

Cage the Elephant

Here we are with another countdown. Man, I love doing these things.

Enjoy!



Countdown #236

***Featuring***
Arctic Monkeys
Bleachers
Cage the Elephant
Dawes
Hozier
Imagine Dragons
Milky Chance
Modest Mouse
Robert DeLong
St. Vincent
Vance Joy
Walk the Moon

New Countdown: Snowflakes and Guitars

Royal Blood

Look, this thing is coming out on Sunday, you know? So we're all going to celebrate that!

It's a winter "wonderland" where I am, but the sun is melting all this vicious white stuff and we're all walking around with hopes of spring! And what better way to do that than with great Alternative music.

Enjoy!



Countdown #235

***Featuring***
Arctic Monkeys
Bleachers
Cage the Elephant
Foo Fighters
Hozier
Imagine Dragons
Milky Chance
Modest Mouse
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Royal Blood
St. Vincent
Walk the Moon

New Countdown: Presidential Pardon My Lateness

Modest Mouse

My fellow Americans...and everyone in other countries, too. This one's late, but I think if I stop pointing out the ones that are late, it'll stop seeming to matter so much. Does that make sense?

We have some fantastic songs on the countdown and some great bonus songs, too, so I think you'll enjoy it a lot!



Countdown #234

***Featuring***
Arctic Monkeys
Bleachers
Cage the Elephant
Foo Fighters
Hozier
Imagine Dragons
Milky Chance
The Presidents of the United States of America
Royal Blood
St. Vincent
Walk the Moon

New Countdown: Secret Handshake

Cage the Elephant

Another week, another countdown coming out on Monday. I like to think that, with the subscription option and the enhanced playability that we've gotten on the podcast in the past couple of weeks, maybe a couple of late podcasts aren't that big a deal. I hope you've all been enjoying them!

I recorded the majority of this while watching the Grammys so if you are trying to avoid spoilers, then maybe watch what you need to watch before listening past #9 or so.

Have a great week guys!



Countdown #233

***Featuring***
Arctic Monkeys
Bleachers
Cage the Elephant
Foo Fighters
Hozier
Imagine Dragons
Milky Chance
Modest Mouse
Royal Blood
St. Vincent
Walk the Moon

New Countdown: Not TECHNICALLY February yet....

Vance Joy

I have most of my voice this week! There is LOTS of movement on the chart this week! We have FOUR bonus songs this week! It's a good week. You're going to like this one.




Countdown #232

***Featuring***
Arctic Monkeys
Big Data [featuring Joywave]
Blink-182
Cage the Elephant
Doomtree
Foo Fighters
Happy Fangs
Hozier
Imagine Dragons
Milky Chance
Modest Mouse
Vance Joy
Walk the Moon

New Countdown: A Voice Before Ice Cream

Modest Mouse

Well this is an interesting one. I've begun the process of losing my voice, and it's documented on this podcast! The really funny thing is that right after I hit "OK" and began to turn the file into an mp3, I had a big bowl of ice cream and now I sound semi-normal. So, maybe I should have had a glass of water to wet my whistle instead of having absolutely nothing at all. Live and learn. And today's lesson learned is: Ice cream solves problems.

So this is one to mostly enjoy for the music. And the music is very enjoyable :)


Countdown #231

***Featuring***
Arctic Monkeys
Big Data featuring Joywave
Cage the Elephant
Foo Fighters
Hozier
Imagine Dragons
Milky Chance
Modest Mouse
Nirvana
Vance Joy
Walk the Moon

New Countdown! Subscriptions available!

Vance Joy

First of all, you can now subscribe to my podcast! If you're using iTunes, go to File --> Subscribe to Podcast... and then paste this link ( http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/BScZB ) into the blank. Then you don't have to download the file and add it to iTunes. It'll download as a podcast and the new episodes will download when they're available (I'm pretty sure)

Lots of bonus songs on this one, for reasons that I go into in the episode. Enjoy!




Countdown #230 

***Featuring***
Arctic Monkeys
Big Data featuring Joywave
Cage the Elephant
Fall Out Boy
Foo Fighters
Hozier
Imagine Dragons
Milky Chance
Vance Joy
Walk the Moon

New Countdown: Welcome Back!

Alan Wilkis (Big Data)

Alright. Let's see if I still have this "new countdown" business sorted. Welcome to 2015, everyone!

The year always starts off a little slow, so I'm able to ease back into things.

I really like the songs that are on the countdown these days. They are eclectic but they mesh very well together.

Enjoy!


Countdown #229

***Featuring***
Arctic Monkeys
Big Data featuring Joywave
Cage the Elephant
DNA featuring Suzanne Vega (or, Suzanne Vega with DNA on the remix)
Fall Out Boy
Foo Fighters
Hozier
Imagine Dragons
Milky Chance
Vance Joy
Walk the Moon

2014 Year End Countdown!!!

Bastille

Well here we are at the end of another year. It's been a year of breaking bands, for the most part and this countdown reflects that. I think you'll find this is a very enjoyable countdown and I had a lot of fun making it, as well as all of the countdowns this year.

See you next week for the Artists of the Year countdown and then the week after that for the first new countdown of 2015!!!


Year End Countdown

***Featuring***
Arctic Monkeys
Bastille
Big Data featuring Joywave
The Black Keys
Bleachers
Cage the Elephant
Fitz & the Tantrums
KONGOS
Milky Chance
Neon Trees
Vance Joy

New Countdown: Welcome to the Future!!!

Milky Chance

Oh boy, we are cooking with grease now! It's only 4.5 years in and I finally found out how to embed a track into my blog. So now you don't have to download it to listen to it! Plus, now you don't have to leave the blog to download it! What an amazing age we live in.

This is the last new Countdown of the year and I hope you'll join me next week (presumably Sunday, though who knows, you know?) for the Year-End Countdown, where I count down the 10 best charting Alternative Songs of the year according to me using Billboard data.




Countdown #228 (To stream, hit the play button above. To download MP3, right click + save the file)

***Featuring***
Arctic Monkeys
Big Data featuring Joywave
Cage the Elephant
Fall Out Boy
Foo Fighters
Hozier
Imagine Dragons
Milky Chance
Vance Joy
Walk the Moon