This one's almost a cheat!

Don't get me wrong, I'm ready to jump back into this blogging thing. It's Shark week, my unofficial metric for getting back into the swing of things, and catching up on some ACs. One a day for 7 days. I hope you find something you like. I know I've found a few things...

So for the first AC1 of AC1 Week, I go to the album I've been spinning non-stop since it came out in June. Guster's Ganging up on the Sun is an impressive album, that continues to showcase the growth that they started to display on Keep it Together. So far, I've been very happy with this disc. Usually, when I love something as much as I did KiT, I worry that the follow-up will inevitably disappoint. So far, I'm not disappointed. Have I listened to KiT since Ganging up on the Sun came out? Yeah... But I don't think it's reflective of anything... Seriously.

"Satellite" is the main reason that I say that. It's nearly-perfect pop, and it keeps bringing me back to this album. Simple progression, lyrics that aren't complicated but seem to say a lot, and a great hook.
It stacks up well to anything that Keep it Together had to offer. (As far as pop goes, it might still have competition from tracks on Lost and Gone Forever, but I think that's for a different discussion. Keep it Together and Ganging Up on the Sun are leagues beyond Lost and Gone Forever in terms of artistic endeavor. That's where I'm coming from...)

I also love the song's placement on the album. The disc leads off with "Lightning Rod," which at first seems too simple and wispy to even catch on to (but which gains much resonance over repeated listening). But when "Satellite" comes on to follow, you really feel the album dig in. And it's really a nice step towards the robust rocker "New Underground." If I were the producer of a mix-tape, I think this is the style I'd emulate, even though for years, I've been doing the mix style suggested in High Fidelity...

Why did I say that this one felt like I was cheating? I just love this song. I started actually craving this song last week. So when I sat down to list the songs I should talk about this week, I didn't even have to think about what the first one was going to be.

This is it...

All assail!