Oh, to hell with it.

Here are some of the releases of note for this coming year:

THE GOOD
Stephen Malkmus - "Real Emotional Trash"
Malkmus is undeniably one of the greatest musical minds of our generation, besides being the indie messiah. Definitely listen to this one a few times.

Blur - Title TBA
The world needed this. Badly.

The Magnetic Fields - "Distortion"
Stephen Merritt habitually puts out great - if slightly quirky - records. "i" was a magnificent achievement, so this is probably one to pick up.

Hello, Blue Roses - "Hello, Blue Roses"
Dan Bejar is on fire. Can't be too sure about what to expect here, but that's nothing new from Mr Bejar. All that can be said is that it is worth your time to listen to anything he produces.

British Sea Power - "Do You Like Rock Music?"
It's always been a source of great surprise to me that nobody seems to have heard of BSP. Their previous two records were sensational, but largely unheralded by the general public. Album three would be a good time to jump on the bandwagon. There's plenty of room.

Ambulance LTD - Title TBA
Their self-titled debut showed immeasurable potential with tracks like "Primitive (The Way I Treat You)" and "Stay Tuned", and the New English EP continued on that trend. Barring the dreaded sophomore slump, this should be a hell of a record.

The Mountain Goats - "Heretic Pride"
One of the best lyricists in the world today is back to follow his much fuller, quite good "Get Lonely". In recent years, Darnielle has moved away from the four-track, lo-fi sound he championed to a more polished folk in the vein of Sufjan Stevens. This is one to look forward to.

Massive Attack - Weather Underground
God yes. If you don't pick this one up, or don't know why you should, you need to seriously re-evaluate your life.

Cat Power - "Covers II"
The first one was fun. No reason why the second one shouldn't be.

The Divine Comedy - Title TBA
One of the most underrated bands in rock today will put out yet another great album that not enough people will hear, and it will be a huge shame.

The Silver Jews - "Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea"
New albums from indie rock mainstays like TSJ always deserve everyone's attention.

The Raconteurs - Title TBA
You should get excited about the second record from the most badass collective in rock and roll today. Another batch of songs penned by Brendan Benson with the guitar chops of Jack White and the one of the best rhythm sections around is a recipe for something delicious.

Wolf Parade - Title TBA
Like him or hate him, Spencer Krug is a genius. So stand to attention and listen up.

Shearwater - Title TBA
Will Sheff is arguably the best songwriter working today. Granted, a new Shearwater album is basically like a bunch of stripped-down Okkervil River B-sides, but then again, that's better than a vast majority of music that will be released this year.


THE BAD
The Mars Volta - "The Bedlam in Goliath"
They're back to say more nothing!

Nada Surf - "Lucky"
Watch. These musical chameleons will probably put out a dance-rock record.

U2 - Title TBA
Because we desperately needed yet another album full of self-aware, pompous arena rock. Thanks Bono!

Plain White Ts - Title TBA
They should probably call this "Riding on the Coattails of Our Last Single".

Louis XIV - "Slick Dogs and Ponies"
Unnecessary.


THE NOT SO SURES
Chris Walla - "Field Manual"
This had better be good. We've all been kept waiting long enough for the Death Cab guitarist/producer to get his shit together. Somehow, it's hard to shake the suspicion that this is going to be a Field Manual on little more than disappointing your fans.

Death Cab For Cutie - Title TBA
I'm sorry, but eventually, Ben Gibbard's songwriting is going to get bland and trite. The only question is when. It could be on this album, it could be later. Come May, we will all know.

Franz Ferdinand - Title TBA
Their sophomore effort may have been better than their debut - it's debatable; I don't think so, most critics would disagree - but it was unarguably less instantly listenable and more forgettable than their first. If the trend continues on this record, it will rightly get panned.

Coldplay - "Prospekt" (Working Title)
Coldplay have risen to worldwide acclaim, but seem afraid to alienate a single fan. Their last effort, "X & Y" was a largely bland, undoubtedly overproduced collection of songs that showed no growth. The only chance this album stands of being anything worth the hype is if these boys finally step out of their comfort zone.


In addition to these, we're overdue on releases from Tapes 'n Tapes, The Postal Service, and Noel Gallagher. "Chinese Democracy" is overdue too, but that doesn't really count anymore.