Sleigh Bells: Crown on the Ground
Gigi: No, My Heart Will Go On
Wolf Parade: Ghost Pressure
Kaiser Cartel: Carroll Street Station
Portland Cello Project (featuring Thao): Violet
Vampire Weekend: M79
Bombay Bicycle Club: Autumn
Mason Jennings: City of Ghosts
Múm: Kay-Ray-Kú-Kú-Kó-Kex
Karen Elson: Cruel Summer
Rickolus: King Among Kings
Surfer Blood: Catholic Pagans
Doug Burr: Red, Red
These United States: The Great Rivers
Peter Wolf Crier: You’re So High
Fruit Bats: Being On Our Own
Arcade Fire: Wasted Hours
P:ano: I Felt His Presents / Doing the Can-Can
Mountain Man: How’m I Doin
Antony With Bryce Dessner: I Was Young When I Left Home
Micah Blue Smaldone: A Winter’s Truce
John Grant: It’s Easier
Melaena Cadiz: Cold Cold River
Revolver: Leave Me Alone
Nick Drake: Tomorrow is a Long Time
Hello, Blue Roses: Heron Song
Ponies in the Surf: Government Brand
Iron & Wine: Naked As We Came
Fleet Foxes: Oliver James
Tom McCrae: You Cut Her Hair
The Avett Brothers: Famous Flower of Manhattan
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.: Vocal Chords

The Charlie Watts Riots picked and played some irresistible songs as my co-hosts for the first hour of tonight’s show. Their new album, Long Story Short, will definitely be in my top 2010 list. Let’s see each other at their next concert. Click here to hear the Local 518 podcast of them playing live in the WEXT studio from a few weeks ago.

The Charlie Watts Riots: Dress Up
Paul Simon: 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
The Courteneers: What Took You So Long?
The Charlie Watts Riots: Calling Out
John Lennon: Oh Yoko!
Glen Scott: Heaven
Neutral Milk Hotel: Two-Headed Boy
Sloan: The Other Man
The Charlie Watts Riots: Ever After
Jellyfish: New Mistake
The Charlie Watts Riots: The Narcissist
Glen Hansard: Say It To Me Now
A.A. Bondy: To the Morning
Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash: I’m Leaving Now
Rachel Ries: Without a Bird
Spoon: Who Makes Your Money
The Magnetic Fields: Queen of the Savages
Dinah Washington: This Bitter Earth
Midlake: Fortune
The Gaslight Anthem: We Did It When We Were Young
Tom McRae: A Day Like Today
Revolver: Calm Down
Charlotte Gainsbourg: Time of the Assassins
Neil Halstead: Spinning for Spoonie
Little Joy: With Strangers
Iron & Wine: Dearest Forsaken
Jim White: A Town Called Amen
Via Audio: Happening
Marisa Nadler: Dying Breed

The Mynabirds: Wash It Out
The Magnetic Fields: The Death Of Ferdinand De Saussure
Jay Reatard: It Ain’t Gonna Save Me
Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson: Blackie’s Dead
Wilco: Side With The Seeds
Tame impala: Solitude Is Bliss
Broadcast: Minim
Fleet Foxes: Blue Ridge Mountains
Sam Cooke: That’s It – I Quit – I’m Movin’ On
Frightened Rabbit: The Loneliness and the Scream
M. Ward: Stars of Leo
The Lodger: Stand Up!
Pants Yell!: To Take
Via Audio: Goldrush
Kurt Hagardorn: Rock Scissors Paper
Arctic Monkeys: Fire And The Thud
Surfer Blood: Fast Jabroni
Merle Haggard: Runaway Mama
Midlake: Fortune
Feist: The Water
Steve Mason: All Come Down
Fionn Regan: The Underwood Typewriter
Daniel Martin Moore: The Old Measure
Rachel Ries: Fine, I’m Fine
Grizzley Bear: Reprise
Tandy: The Fever Breaks
Wolf Parade: Yulia
Jens Lekman: Black Cab
Ane Brun: Changing of the Seasons
Brad Senne: Frozen Pines
Cat Power: Half of You
JJ: Light

Vashti Bunyan: Come Wind Come Rain
Light Pollution: Drunk Kids
White Denim: Regina Holding Hands
Damien Jurado: Throwing Your Voice
Little Joy: The Next Time Around
Laura Marling: My Manic and I
Josh Ritter: Right Moves
The Lodger: Time to Wait
The Tallest Man on Earth: King of Spain
Tender Trap: Danger Overboard
The Gaslight Anthem: Boxer
Sleigh Bells: Rill Rill
Jim White: Turquoise House
Fanfarlo: Atlas
Page France: Rooster and Its Crow
Cryptacize: We’ll Never Dream Again
The Baird Sisters: Lonely Town
The Avett Brothers: Murder in the City
Brown Bird: Lake Bed
Irma Thomas: Good to Me
The Innocence Mission: Rhode Island
The Boswell Sisters: Coffee In the Morning and Kisses In the Night
Efterklang: Natural Tune
Thomas Dybdahl: One Day You’ll Dance for Me New York City
Girls: Ghost Mouth
Cat Power: Say
Peter Wolf Crier: Down Down Down
The Mynabirds: Give It Time
Lone Wolf: 15 Letters
Blitzen Trapper with Alela Diane: The Tree
Red House Painters: Over My Head
Mimicking Birds: Home And Somewhere Else
Perfume Genius: Lookout, Lookout

The folks at WEXT are getting pretty psyched to be a big part of the Restoration Funstival that’s happening at the end of August. A two day music festival in Albany! It’s happening from noon to 10pm at St. Joseph’s Church on Saturday, August 28 and Sunday, August 29.

The poster for the event is pretty cool looking and the musical lineup is gigantic. Here are a random few: Matthew Carefully, Aficionado, the Mathematicians, Railbird, RESTYS, The Red Lions, Grainbelt, Scientific Maps, Beware! The Other Head of Science and Sgt. Dunbar & the Hobo Banned.

There are lots of great things about this Funstival but this is my favorite:  25% of all proceeds will go to the St. Joseph’s Restoration fund to support their $300,000 matched grant from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. I hear that the inside of St. Joseph’s is very cool, a good place to let a mind wander during a music set.

Right now, tickets are on sale online for the early bird price of $10.00 per day and $15.00 for the whole weekend at www.restfest.net. (I love that there’s an early bird feature.)

WEXT, All Over Albany, B3nson Recording Company, and Historic Albany Foundation are the sponsors of the Restoration Funstival.

Janelle Monae featuring Big Boi: Tightrope
Born Ruffians: Sole Brother
The Like: Narcissus in a Red Dress
The Tallest Man on Earth: Troubles Will Be Gone
Social Studies: We Choose Our Own Adventures
These United States: Life&Death She&I
The Films: Holiday
Yo La Tengo: If It’s True
Peter Wolf Crier: Hard As Nails
The Love Language: Brittany’s Back
The Joy Formidable: Cradle
Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse Feat. Nina Persson: Daddy’s Gone
The Drums: Best Friend
Passion Pit: Sleepyhead
Here We Go Magic: Collector
David Bazan: Bearing Witness
Lawrence Arabia: Auckland CBD
R.E.M.: Wendell Gee
Melaena Cadiz: Blue Skies
Jose Gonzalez: Lovestain
Tender Trap: Suddenly
My Morning Jacket: Lullabys, Legends and Lies
Patrick Park: Time for Moving On
Winterpills: Found Weekend
Band of Horses: Factory
Beach House: Astronaut
Living Sisters: This Mountain Has Skies
Bonnie “Prince” Billy & The Cairo Gang: The Sounds Are Always Begging
The Innocence Mission: All the Weather
Perfume Genius: Mr. Peterson
Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore: My Wealth Comes to Me
Peter Gabriel: Philadelphia

This past Thursday Metroland named Hello Pretty City as “Best Indie Rock Radio Show” of 2010! I was smiling and beaming all day! To read the little write up click here and then scroll way down!

More importantly, I think of you and me and how sometimes Hello Pretty City seems like more than just a radio show. It’s a feeling…a smile…a toe tapping…a gratefulness. And it wouldn’t feel this way without you…smiling, toe tapping, and listening.

Thank you for being a listener of Hello Pretty City. (And thank you Metroland!)

The Like: He’s Not a Boy
Freelance Whales: Kilojoules
Melaena Cadiz: Clay Pigeons
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes: Home
Band of Horses: Compliments
LCD Soundsystem: Drunk Girls
Pernice Brothers: Bechamel
Broken Social Scene: Texico Bitches
Foals: This Orient
The Love Language: Heart to Tell
The Aislers Set: Emotional Levy
Heartless Bastards: Could Be So Happy
Dr. Dog: The Unicorn
The Avett Brothers: Slight Figure of Speech
Peter Wolf Crier: Crutch & Cane
The Lodger: Have A Little Faith in People
Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse: Just War
Andrew Bird: The Twistable, Turnable Man Returns
Over the Rhine: If A Song Could Be President
The Tallest Man on Earth: The Wild Hunt
Owls: Welcome to Monday
Ramblin’ Jack Elliott: Engineer 143
The Swell Season: Love That Conquers
Damien Jurado: Cloudy Shoes
Slumber Party: Bag of Spiders
Mirah/Ginger Takahashi: While We Have the Sun
JBM: Cleo’s Song
Mercury Rev: Faraway From Cars
Spent: Bottled Mouth
Brightblack Morning Light: All We Have Broken Shines
Karen Elson: The Ghost Who Walks
Josh Ritter: Long Shadows
Lone Wolf: Soldiers
Dala: Dream A Little Dream of Me

Peter, Bjorn and John: Objects of My Affections
Peggy Sue: The Conservationist
Pete Francis: Shooting Star and the Ambulance
Deer Tick: Art Isn’t Real (City of Sin)
The Concretes: On the Radio
Dan Auerbach: Mean Monsoon
The Charlie Watts Riots: Greater Good
Dan Sartain: Ruby Carol
Delta Spirit: Golden State
Bishop Allen: Dimmer
Communist Daughter: Not the Kid
Brown Bird: By the Reigns
Shout Out Louds: Fall Hard
Frightened Rabbit: Living in Colour
Yeasayer: Tightrope
Craig Ramsey: Some Days
The Besnard Lakes: Albatross
St. Vincent: Laughing With A Mouth Of Blood
Winterpills: Portrait
The Last Town Chorus: You
Jeb Loy Nichols: I Need You So
Rachel Ries: Never You Mind
Calexico: Two Silver Trees
The Real Tuesday Weld: Little Boxes
The National: Little Faith
Jason Collett: Rave On Sad Songs
Grizzly Bear: Reprise
Ben Kweller: Gypsey Rose
Blonde Redhead & Devastations: When The Road Runs Out
Horse Feathers: Thistled Spring
Ida Mae Towns, Jesse Lee Pratcher & Mattie Gardner: Little Sally Walker
Owls: Peppermint Patty

Avi Buffalo: What’s In It For?
Jonathan Richman: I Was Dancing at the Lesbian Bar
Those Darlins: Red Light Love
Trilobite: For the Empress
Keren Ann: Lay Your Head Down
White Rabbits: They Done Wrong/We Done Wrong
The Welcome Wagon: You Made My Day
Thomas Dybdahl: Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City
Fol Chen: No Wedding Cake
Rose Maddox: Wild, Wild Young Men
Tobias Froberg: When the Night Turns Cold
Floating Action: Marie Claire
Title Tracks: Steady Love
Joseph Arthur: Too Much to Hide
Wolf Parade: Soldier’s Grin
Tom Waits: Fannin Street
Red House Painters: Follow You, Follow Me
Vetiver: Road to Ronderlin
Typhoon: Starting Over (Bad Habits)
Winterpills: A Benediction
Joanna Newsom: Good Intentions Paving Co.
Vic Chesnutt: Unpacking My Suitcase
Wild Sweet Orange: Land Of No Return
Julian Plenti: Girl On The Sporting News
Josh Ritter: Lock
Julie Doiron: The Sweetest Eyes (When You Laugh)
New Moon: First Timer
Espers: Blue Mountain
Eric Bachmann: Lonesome Warrior
Great Lake Swimmers: Catcher Son