I've had this panel open not doing anything for nearly 20 minutes because I haven't found a good opening line. So I'll just give you the playlist link and move on.

September 2nd: Foiled by Blue October

This was something I'd been meaning to listen to ever since Crash Thompson said that he'd really liked it, and I was not disappointed. This album has a broad range of styles and instrumentation and yet it's all coherent as the same band, and I really like the lead singer's voice. They also have a real ear for hooks, as "Congratulations" and "Hate Me" did get stuck in my head. Also, it features Imogen Heap, who is on my list for later. My favorite track was "Congratulations."

September 3rd: Wildflowers by Tom Petty (but not the Heartbreakers. I mean, the Heartbreakers do, in fact, perform on this album but they are not referred to as the Heartbreakers.)

I had heard one song from this album, "It's Good To Be King," and I've loved that song for a while, with its creeping, sinister, detached, hedonism and amazing chorus. The rest of the album, unsurprisingly, is also very good. The title track is both musically and lyrically beautiful, "To Find a Friend" breaks my heart (even though these aren't technically the Heartbreakers), and I cannot say enough good about "Crawling Back To You." "You Don't Know How It Feels" was my favorite.

September 4th: The Cold Vein by Cannibal Ox

Hip-hop duos of this nature, however technically proficient and forceful, end up just making me want to listen to Run the Jewels again. Luckily, El-P is on two songs on this album, so that somewhat scratches the itch. Vast Aire and Vordul Mega are both very charismatic and skilled MCs, as proven by "Ox Out the Cage" and "Stress Rap," and I can't place exactly isn't clicking for me. Maybe I just need to spend some more time with it. My favorite track was "Straight Off the D.I.C."

September 5th: Litourgiya by Batushka

This was a recommendation from a friend, and this friend listens to a lot of obscure metal bands from all over, so here's this Russian black metal act that writes exclusively in Church Slavonic and seems to be a band by and for people that were traumatized by the Eastern Orthodox Church. I don't listen to much black metal, so I don't really have much to compare this to, but I did enjoy it more than I thought I would. My favorite track was "Yekteniya III: Premudrost"

September 6th: Bachelor No. 2 (Or, the Last Remains of the Dodo) by Aimee Mann

Aimee Mann has been in the sphere of artists I like, notably Rush and JONATHAN MOTHERFUCKING COULTON, so here's this album. One thing you'll notice when listening is how Aimee Mann writes lyrics. For example, "Red Vines":

They're all still on their honeymoon
Just read the dialogue balloon
Everyone loves you, why should they not?
And I'm the only one who knows
That Disneyland's about to close

Every song has evocative lyrics like that, delivered with that brilliant kind of fuzzy indie rock that I associate with the Shins or Modest Mouse. Also, her voice. It's so beautiful it hurts me. My favorite track is, of course, "Red Vines," but I also could have chosen "Deathly" and "Satellite."

September 7th: Speak To Me by Julian Lage

This one came out this year and was being talked up in music circles, and I can now see why. Lage is a jazz guitarist, but this is not exclusively jazz. I expected exclusively jazz from opening track "Hymnal," but then that was followed by the blues rock-ish "Northern Shuffle." There's also the achingly beautiful "Serenade," and the endlessly listenable "As It Were." This makes me want to listen to more of his work, and it reminds me of my fun times listening to Herbie Hancock and Marcus Miller while taking math tests in high school. "Omission" was my favorite.

September 8th: Supa Dupa Fly by Missy Elliott

Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott is one of those artists that I knew a few songs from without having heard a full album. After listening, I now feel like that's probably all you need. This album suffers from frontloading and bloat, which doesn't lessen the impact of "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" or "Beep Me 911", but it does make the full listen gradually less rewarding. Still, guests like Ginuwine and Lil Kim do perform very well on it. My favorite track was "Hit 'em with the Dee."