A Quick Word from the Author:

February seems to be living up to expectations, despite how high the bar has been set so far this year. The music is just too good. This week is a compilation of the past two weeks, it's a bit lengthier, and fairly grand. The Tryptophan, specifically, is fairly impressive.

Also, if any of you are planning on recording one of these nonsensical "Harlem Shake" videos, don't. It's annoying and frankly, you're not going to top Matt & Kim.

By the way, if you live in Richmond, VA, stop by my place and catch a show sometime. The Bauhaus Haus, as we call it, specializes in local and fairly local and sometimes hardly local up-and-comers. We're throwing down for my birthday this Saturday. Good times will be had. The doors are generally almost always partly open.

Move along now and dive into those tunes below; they're certified fresh."

The Bees Knees

Your life will be much easier now.

These are the creamiest tracks of the week, one each from the three sections. These are here for those who only wish to sip. Yes, I'm looking at you, with your impenetrable ADHD and fascination with with Country Time Lemonade products. You and your inability to listen to more than just a few tracks because you have 1 new Facebook Notification and a Twitter Message.

This is for you, you beautiful, busy bastard.

The Pasture:  Wildcat! Wildcat! - "Please and Thank You"

      Please-and-Thank-You--EM0213

Download:Wildcat! Wildcat! - Please and Thank You

The Tryptophan: James Blake - "Retrograde (Minorstep remix)"

      Retrograde-(Minorstep-remix)--EM0213

Download: James Blake - Retrograde (Minorstep remix)

The Chicken Dance: Purity Ring - "Grammy"

      Grammy--EM0213

Download: Purity Ring - Grammy

The Indie Gift Basket

Overview

• The Pasture covers the basics, from Folk to Rock to Pop, and will now serve as the hub for the tracks perfect for any occasion.
• The Chicken Dance is a hodge podge of tracks that you could be excused for doing the, err... Chicken Dance to. Although these aren't simply Dance tracks, they're all good to whip your hair around to.
• Lastly, The Tryptophan is built for those relaxed moments, where you're winding down with the aid of something herbal -- or even for a time where you might just want some background atmospherics to doze off to.

WANT MORE INDIE SABBATH?

There's plenty more where this came from. Click the link above to check out the rest, and stay tuned in for more of the best in Indie as well as everything else, right here on EARMILK.

Upon this day, I declare that Indie music is leaps and bounds more pure than anything else, and the term "Indie" means not that a band isn't mainstream, but that a band has been able to hold on to its roots, even through fame and fortune. While the wonderful thumps and womps of other genres get me grooving, it will always be the sui generis of Indie that guides me to the homeland. And for that -- I both thank it and applaud it -- for it has brought me great pleasure in the past and will so in the future.