Just added a fresh batch of local cuts to the South Sound Mix Tape player in case you haven't noticed. Check 'em out and click the artists' links. Recently added:

"Newton's Third Law" by Leanne Trevalyan, from her new solo joint "Dandelion" ... See her Saturday at Jazzbones.)

"The Eternal Battle" by John Walker and the Hitchhikers from their "Why Can't I Have a Normal John Walker and the Hitchhikers Like Everyone Else?" disc

"Wanna Fall in Love" by Vicci Martinez, recorded live at the Swiss Pub

"Lay Me Down" from Matt Coughlin's "Let It Go" disc

"Walking Down the Sidewalk" by Tacoma's Deborah Page

OK, so I’m not live from Sasquatch any more. But I had to share a few more pics. Plus, this post is kind of a Critic’s iPod thing, too, since you can click on the links in the cut lines below to hear samples from all the CD’s I picked up at the Gorge.

Also, scroll down the Nine Inch Nails set list and click on the first couple of songs for something special (but well within “fair usage” standards. Too bad my recorder conked out before Reznor and company covered Gary Numan’s “Metal.”

South African indie-rock outfit BLK JKS features (from top) singer-guitarist Lindani Buthelezi, guitarist Mpumelelo Mcata, Molefi Makananise and drummer Tshepang Ramoba on the Yeti Stage. I knew next to nothing about the band - which blends prog-rock and dub into its trippy, uplifting sound - but checked them out on the Yeti stage at the insistence of Seattle Weekly’s new music editor, Jonathan Cunningham. I like! Good pick, J.C. Listen: "Summertime, "Lakeside".

ERNEST JASMIN

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“Black Hearted Love” PJ Harvey & John Parish

Harvey last teamed up with Parish on 1996's relentlessly arty “Dance Hall at Louse Point” album, a disc that features on of my favorite PJ cuts, "That Was My Veil." They seem to have conjured up magic again, starting with the gorgeous lead single.

“The Girl and the Robot” Royksopp feat. Robyn

There’s a decent chance that at least one of this electronic duo's songs has gotten stuck in your head. “Remind Me” was the soundtrack to that funny commercial where the Geico caveman is on an airport conveyor belt. The duo teams up with fellow Swedish all-star Robyn for this lush, new dance track.

“Weekend Wars” MGMT

Sue me, hipsters! I slept on MGMT when I was making my best of 2008 albums list. I even kept getting them mixed up with STS9 for a while. Stupid acronyms! But I’m definitely on the bandwagon now.

“The Czar” Mastodon

On their new "Crack the Skye" disc, the hippest metal band on the planet is partying like it's 1974 with sprawling, prog guitar epics that channel King Crimson and, here, Pink Floyd. Personally, my favorite Mastodon songs are hooky but heavy tracks from “Leviathan” and “Remission.” But the new album is growing on me in stages.

“Who Medgar Evers Was” Dalek

Lately, I’ve been trying to turn friends on to this trippy, Jersey hip-hop duo, describing its hazy, foreboding beats and politically oriented lyrics as “Public Enemy meets My Bloody Valentine.” Not a description that that's likely to get them played on KUBE, hence their penchant for touring with the Melvins, Isis and other trippy rock label mates from Mike Patton's Ipecac Records. “Absence” and “Abandoned Language” are unsung masterpieces. This one’s from the new “Gutter Tactics” disc.

“Grandfather Claws” Helms Alee

Lastly, several posts ago I mentioned becoming a fan of this local trio after catching it up at Top of Tacoma. Here’s a sample of the heat they bring on their "Night Terror" CD.

For the forthcoming “War Child presents Heroes” compilation, a bunch of hipster-approved artists remade some of their favorite material from their own idols, all to benefit children displaced by war. (Click here to learn about the cause.) Beck recorded that remake of Dylan’s “Leopard-Skin Pill-box Hat” local fans heard him play at Bumbershoot last year. TV on the Radio revamped their homie, David Bowie’s, “Heroes.” And I’m kind of partial to Peaches’ electro-punk treatment of this classic Stooges tune.

Know all those hilarious pop parodies Andy Samberg and company do for “Saturday Night Live”? Now you can pop a bottle of Santana DVX and enjoy the uncut versions, as featured on “Incredibad,” the debut album from comedic trio, the Lonely Island (also SNL writers Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone.) Yes, Justin Timberlake’s most infamous collaboration is on there -- the thing about boxes. But surprisingly, that’s not quite as funny or filthy as Natalie Portman unleashing her inner gangsta. Who knew?

Haven’t spent enough time with Lily Allen’s sophomore disc, "It's Not Me, It's You," to form a strong opinion, aside being apprehensive about how seriously the cheeky pop star seems to be taking herself this time around. She starts out with social commentary on the soul-numbing perils of self-medication, fer cryin’ out loud. But a couple of tracks in, on this twangy number, she’s back to what she does best – namely, skewering the laddies with their sexual shortcomings. Note to British dudes: Stop dating Lily Allen. It’s not good P.R.

And on the old school tip, I was watching my copy of the must-see PBS documentary, “Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story” the other night, and was embarrassed by the lack of Otis Redding and Booker T & the M.G.’s in my collection. Fixed that recently. Just soak up the heart-rending expressiveness of Redding's voice. Then compare that to the Auto-Tune-drenched dreck all over urban radio nowadays. At the risk of sounding like my dad, they just don’t make 'em like this any more.

More of what I liked in '08 ...

Ten more of my favorite songs from '08 ...

The year's coming to a close. And for '08, I thought I'd be ambitious and post the biggest installments of Critic’s iPod ever, featuring 50 of my favorite songs from this year, from 50 different artists. I'll post 10 a day for the next five days, and here's the first batch.

“Business Time” Flight of the Conchords

“Oxford Comma” Vampire Weekend

“Let’s Reggae All Night” CSS

“Halfway Home” TV on the Radio

“Say Aha” Santogold

“Twinkle” Erykah Badu

“Like the Rest of Us” Atmosphere

“Rock N’ Roll Train” AC/DC

“The 3rd World” Immortal Technique

“Murder We” The Bug featuring Ricky Ranking

I’ve been listening to track a lot as my night winds down lately, then drifting into oblivion to “Corona Radiata” and “The Four of Us Are Dying,” the ambient tracks that follow it on Nails' "The Slip" album. Note to self: Consider Zoloft.

Actually, scratch that. In my attempt to stave off Seasonal Affective Disorder, I think I'll just listen to more of ...

There are acts you love for the risks they take and how their music evolves, i.e. Beck, Radiohead, TV on the Radio. AC/DC is not one of those. And the new album has enough sounds-kinda-like-you-shook-me-all-night-long moments to make you wanna crack a Foster's and party hearty like it's 1982. Whooooooooooh!!! No, really, it’s quite good, and I can’t wait to see these blokes at the Tacoma Dome on Nov. 30.

And also likely to perk ya right up ...

Jesse Hughes and Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme are back with EODM, cramming all the awesomely cheesy '70s machismo they can muster into the raunchy dance party that is “Heart On.” “Wannabe in LA” and “High Voltage” are pretty tight, too, but this is easily the new disc's funniest cut for my money. (Huh huh! That dude's got tight pants.)

Here are a few cuts I'm obsessed with this week.

I've had this Brazilian dance-rock outfit's sophomore album “Donkey” loaded onto my iPod for weeks. But I didn’t get my hands on the band's Sub Pop debut “Cansei de Ser Sexy” until I went to catch C.S.S. at Neumo’s last week. And this track now narrowly beats out “Let’s Reggae All Night” as my favorite C.S.S. cut.

The lead track from TVOTR’s new “Dear Science” disc is one of the Brookly band's best. I especially love how lead singer Tunde Adebimpe’s melodic falsetto works with David Sitek’s lush production in the chorus.

Don’t let the dreamy psych-pop vibe fool you. This is one of the normally quirky Beck's most existential songs, as he sings eerily detached lines about the masses “down by the sea, swallowed by evil / already drowned.” (That image is menacing enough before you even read into the whole "chemtrail" reference.) Among other things, this song's phenomenal drumming made it a perfect number to walk off with at Bumbershoot.

I’ve been trying to avoid downloading from iTunes when I can help it in protest of their stupid five computers only rule. But it took me forever to find a record store that could successfully order “The Greatest Gift,” a collection of this obscure noise rock band’s entire output. (Rocket Records eventually came through for me.) Scratch Acid is another one of Nirvana’s influences (though you can't really tell from this string-heavy track) and some of you may remember this song from the “About a Son” soundtrack.

Detroit’s Electric Six is kind of like Flight of the Conchords without the accents. And more ridiculous, I think. I first fell in love with "Down at McDonalz" from their "I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me That Restricts Me from Being the Master" album. But lately I've been digging this track.

The new album, “New York City,” snuck up on me this month, but as a big fan of this New York outfit I was quick to run out and invest. This clip is from one of the spacier tracks. But elsewhere the vibe veers toward the dance-rock stylings of bands like C.S.S., a group that actually has Brazilian girls in its lineup. Hey! I think I found their perfect tour mates.

This week I watched “The Future is Unwritten,” an insightful and sometimes moving documentary on the late Joe Strummer. And as a result, it’s been all Clash all the time for me this week. Here are three songs that you should download now if they’re not already in your collection.

From back when the Clash was more of a conventional punk band, this anthem has really been stuck in my head this week.

“The Future is Unwritten” features a cool scene with Topper Headon describing the day he came up with the piano riff for one of the great pop tracks of our time – you know, right before his band mates kicked him to the curb.

This is a lesser known Clash gem. But some of you young'uns may still recognize this as source material for M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” (which you can hear on my "essential 2007 mix tape" here.)