Patchwork has taken it’s sweet time to release a full length album; perhaps he (Jeremiah Nelson) was resting on the laurels of numerous Isthmus and Onion pats on the back or maybe it is his lack of a full time line up. Regardless of Nelson’s reasons, he has put together an album that warrants the local press praise. Patchwork may be a one man effort but it is the sum of it’s parts that make Take Me Down the Interstate something worthwhile.

Interstate plays out like a love letter to Sunday mornings and escapism. Patchwork paces the entire album perfectly from the dreamy twang of opener ‘Spaceships’ about a pharmaceutical student sampling study materials and tripping beneath the vast South Dakota sky to the lonely and seemingly hangover inspired ‘Gingerbread Houses.’ Jeremiah Nelson, if nothing else, proves to the listener that he knows how to put together a record.

Since retiring from show promoting, Matt Fanale has spent more time attending to his record label, Sonic Mainline. He has expanded it's lineup to cover more than just local bands; Boole, a group of synthpop goofballs from the East Coast, released it's first full length CD in more than 5 years on the label a few weeks ago, and Sonic Mainline has also now put out one of the most unusual (and slightly controversial) compilation CDs for charity that the planet has seen: Songs In The Key Of Death.

The CD features many marginally popular Industrial and EBM bands from around the globe, including a pair of Madison-based acts, Caustic (Fanale's band) and The Gothsicles. One thing that all 18 songs have in common is that they are all named DEATHKEY. In all caps.

People ingest albums differently - some listen to them with little thought, some listen with ear goggles strapped firmly to the ears in a dark room, some insist on listening to them in the order in which they were purchased - to each his or her own. My method when it comes to new records is to try and figure out exactly what activity would best suit it and more so, at what time in the day I should partake in said activity. To limit listening to these parameters can sometimes be difficult as questions are quick to bubble up. Would I really listen to this while jogging? No, mainly because I don’t run, unless being chased, but I smoke so even running while being chased requires inner-debate.

The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra released its latest CD, Mozart: The Early Concerti yesterday. A collaboration with recognized pianist Adam Neiman, the two-disc set features Mozart’s three Salzburg concertos: numbers 6, 8 and 9 (K. 238, 246 and 271) as well as his Symphony No. 38 K. 504, the “Prague” Symphony. Unlike the orchestra’s earlier recordings, its third CD will be distributed internationally by VAI Audio and, even better, it looks like it should be distributed internationally. With a sexy album cover featuring a sultry grand piano and two slightly blurred male figures in the background (Neiman and WCO conductor Andrew Sewell), ties loosened and hands in pocket, this CD is eye-catching and nothing like the frumpy, pastel still life with peonies one might expect to find on the cover of a regional chamber orchestra’s record. Add a world-class soloist and an interesting, intellectual choice of compositions and you get a legitimate classical music recording.

With the Breeders set to drop Mountain Battles in April, there is already plenty for a fan of the feminine side of the Pixies to be excited about in 2008. It doesn't end there for Madison Pixies fans as we have the added bonus of our very own German Art Students making an appearance on a Kim Deal tribute album set to drop that same month.

The tribute, named for Deal's most well known contribution to the Pixies song catalog, Gigantic , is set for release on April 7. Tribute albums tend to make me nervous as an investment, but this one has promise. The Pixies tribute released in 1999 was hit or miss (mostly miss with Weezer, Braid, and Promise Ring being the only stand outs that I can recall) and led me to avoid sampling others in the future. The 2007 tribute by American Laundromat Records (who are also the minds behind the Kim Deal tribute) is tempting as it features acts like Mogwai, British Sea Power, and Elk City, however, I'll probably only pick it up if the folks at B-Sides or Strictly Discs put it right in my face and say "you want this." According to Pixies fan forums the only tribute album any Pixies fan must have is the one from Japan.

It is simple to explain why you dislike something, really simple. To describe exactly why you like and love something, now that is a daunting task. I had never heard of A Catapult Western before their self-titled debut showed up in cellophane in my mailbox three weeks ago. I unwrapped the package with trepidation hoping beyond hope that I wouldn’t have to write a harsh review, but I didn’t expect this.

Jason Nyberg (Guitars, Organ, Synthesizer, and Vocals) has a haunting voice that compliments Meghan Rose’s Gillian Welch-esque angelic backing, creating a wonderfully stirring album. A Catapult Western, the album not the band, is filled with moments of quiet contemplation and deep regret that shake the core and move the listener to feel as if s/he is the one who wrote songs and had gone through the range of emotions it took to get the words to page. The band pulls you into their world through melodic instrumentation which is often reminiscent of Austin alt-country band Knife in the Water (who - if you are unfamiliar - you need to discover).

Kevin is the most recent dane101 contributor to submit an end of the year list. To read them all click on "2007 Reflections" above.

It’s time to once again throw my top 10 music selections onto the heap of top 10 lists. My annual tradition of “Top 10 Night” went off again without a hitch (with the exception of the Jameson induced headache the following morning). My friends and fellow music lovers, Peter and Mary, once again joined me for an evening of tunes, whisky, and discussion about the year in music. This year we added another audiophile, Tim, to the mix.

What follows are the top ten lists (and some near misses) that emerged from that night:

Shelley Peckham is the most recent dane101 contributor to submit a end of the year list. To read them all click on "2007 Reflections" above.

1. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Baby 81

Just when I thought this band couldn’t possibly get any better, BRMC raised the bar once again with the release of their epic fourth album, Baby 81. If you knew nothing about the band upon first listen, you would be hard-pressed to pinpoint what era the mixed bag of heavy psychedelic blues, shoegaze, and grunge songs were recorded in, but BRMC is anything but a throwback band. The grit-infested power of their music combined with the sincerity of their stand-up-and-count-for-something ideals makes them a truly unique and admirable trio of performers. It’s also been proven that listening to their music instantly raises your cool points by a minimum of 25%, which never hurts. If Baby 81 doesn’t convince you that BRMC is a band deserving of massive respect, nothing will.

Dane101's contributors and readers continue to roll out our lists for 2007. This entry is from Jordan Cohen of Mama Digdown's Brass Band, to read them all click on "2007 Reflections" above.

1) Hot 8 Brass Band, Live at Jazzfest 2007 - Stunning live set from New Orleans' best brass band, available at Louisiana Music Factory and on iTunes.

2) Dizzee Rascal, Maths & English - The UK's #1 rapper largely leaves grime behind and makes the most listenable album of his career. There's barely a lowlight to be found here.

Dane101's contributors and readers continue to roll out our lists for 2007. This entry is from Joshua James, to read them all click on "2007 Reflections" above.

10) A Catapult Western - S/T

I’m not going to give a long and drawn out explanation as to why I love this record because I am currently in the midst of reviewing it. What I will say is that I listen to anywhere between 300 to 500 records a year and after only two weeks with this album I can firmly say it deserves a place in the top ten. If all of Madison had as much talent as A Catapult Western well I don’t know what I would do but it would be something.

This top ten list comes from Steven Schwerbel who has written some music articles for Dane101, but is also one of the founders of Letters In Bottles. Steve is currently working for the Peace Corp and is stationed in Azerbaijan so this list reflects what he had with him or has been able to obtain through his limited resources.

1. The National: Boxer

There's not much to say about a perfect album, so I'll confine myself to saying that on a cold night in Azerbaijan, with a thin rain turning the round outside to a soupy mud, and a wood fire burning in a small stove, and a good book, and maybe a glass of strong black tea, the deep voice of Matt Berninger and the just slightly melancholic and yet somehow hopeful sound of The National fits gorgeously.

Today we start rolling out "the 2007 lists" from dane101 contributors, friends, and readers. You can keep up by hitting "2007 Reflections" above.

I don’t particularly like top-ten-albums-of-whenever lists—when asked to write one myself this year, my first response was “hell no.” I still haven’t heard a whole lot of this year’s crop of albums, and it’d feel wrong to sit here and say “these are the best ten albums of the year” when I’ve only heard about 1% of what’s actually been released.

As an alternative, I present here my list of ten albums, songs, trends or artists that I discovered this year that I feel like I won’t forget about. A big part of my own art is striving to write songs that aren’t just “good” (hot beat, nice flow, solid lyrics), but are memorable and unique, songs that stick with you after you’re done listening to them.

Unfortunately, the legendary Bettye LaVette has canceled her show tonight at the High Noon Saloon. Luckily, I have been posing as a music writer for The Onion A.V. Club all year and am in the process of assembling a mixtape from the year's local and national releases, with a specious air of authority. Come to the High Noon at 8 tonight and, barring weather or technical difficulties, you can hear some of it. I've also been informed of a $1 special on PBR bottles. It's a chance to check out a few of the things on the local music mixlist I'll be running in next week's issue, and a chance for me to kind of compensate for leaving out a few things ('cause I'm dumb, and there was enough deserving stuff this year that I started to lose track after 25 songs).

I'm going to get the negative out of the way in the first two sentences – a wee bit too long. Reservoir Tales, the 2007 release from Madison's The Treats, clocks in at 18 tracks just about two tracks too many (more than I can typically sit through on any album from any band so don't take it personally). Besides that one drawback the album is a solid piece of rock action with justified musical explorations down the back alleys of southern cities. The Treats have done what few local self-produced bands can do – take the energy and good times of their live show and bottle it up for home consumption. The Treats have decided not to reinvent the wheel and instead pay respect to their roots. From the sultry amped up blues swagger of "Second Hand Reserve" to the southern fried and tex-mex-noir infused "Cuchillo" - Reservoir Tales pulls off being a field guide to southern rock as seen from a Wisconsin band.

The Motorz aren’t breaking new ground. Actually they're resurrecting a style of music that has seemed to have died over the past few years: pop rock. The Motorz aren’t exploring new territory. In fact they are a revival of garage rock that hasn’t been touched upon by most acts; Merseybeat. While most, if not all, write-ups for the Madison quartet make reference to their Cheap Trick sound, I think they owe much of their sound to the British Invasion.

Numerous songs on All Day Long - the first of two new discs released by the Madison act - reminded me of The Zombies and 1960’s rock. Much like his predecessors, Kyle Urban writes formulaic songs either about love, longing, heartbreak, booze or wanting to rock - which 99.1 percent of songs written in the past fifty years are about. The other .9 percent consist of songs about wizards and zephyrs. God I hate Rush.