1. Talking Dust Bowl Blues – Woody Guthrie – Poverty gets your attention, if you have ever been very poor, or even a little poor, you'll know. This talking blues finds a famer chased by the agricultural disaster and off in search of a place to raise his family. Dylan, among many, stole the form and used it many times. – Grade: B+
2. How They Want Me To Be – Best Coast – a doo woppy intro sung solo, and another track brings in Beth for a vision of complete aloneness. Damn, even her Mom doesn't know how to react to her new found fame and fortune – Grade: A
3. At Least I Have Nothing – Saint Motel – Alyson told me they killed it Saturday in L.A. -I dunno, this is another song that doesn't get all of it – Grade: B
4. The Mark – Cold Speck – I have a manic depressive friend who swears by this bands lo-fi dark indieness – Grade: B
5. Runaway – Kanye West – Kweezy's problem his he can never write this again – Grade: A+
6. Five Seconds – Twin Shadows – A big song, well executed – Grade: A
6. Home – Friends – Third song on Manifest opens with three drums interlocking and pushing, one just for accent or flavor – Grade: A
7. Viva – The Moms – Vandals like punk pop one step behind the Warped tour – Grade: B+
8. Impregnable Question – Dirty Projectors – My friend James Reynolds notes: "the time shift on the rhythm/percussion track is a little unsettling, maybe that's a good thing" Grade: A
9. Don't Yet – Wafa-Abela – The album opener is a feint, a multi-track lo fi befor Peter speak sings his way on to the track, with good advice that songs untrustworthy: "Never give up" – Grade: B+
10. Super Rich Kids – Frank Ocean – "…with nothing but loose ends, fake friends". Sorta soundtrack to Colson Whitehead's "Sag Harbor" meets Brett Easton Elli's "Less Than Zero" – Grade: B+