There's a bunch of new albums being released this week. Here's a quick overview of some of the more promising titles.

Today, I'm starting a new feature at Jude13. Each week, we'll showcase an album we find to be especially listen-worthy. If we can swing it, we'll soon try to toss in a free download of one of the tracks on the album. On to the good stuff...

Kings of Leon - Because Of The Times
Jude13 Rating:

This album's been out for a while, and while I've owned it since the day it was released (over a year ago), I didn't give it much of a listen. King's of Leon's last album, Aha Shake Heartbreak was a good effort and is what ultimately blew open the doors of fame for them, but I thought it lacked authenticity and and sounded too wild, uncontrolled, and frankly, a bit amatuerish. I really didn't expect much from this past release. It was only after Jenny Eliscu's relentless playing of "Knocked Up" on Left of Center that really got me to give it an honest listen. Jenny apparently knows her stuff, because this is a great album!

There's been a lot of good music released this summer, and while I've done a lot of listening, I've done very little blogging on it. There's been some monster releases, Coldplay's Viva la Vida, Death Cab for Cutie's Narrow Stairs, and my favorite, Sigur Rós and their album Ros Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, which I still just refer to as, "the new Sigur Rós album." But there's also been some great releases by some bands you may not have heard of.

In an effort to get caught up, I'm going to give you quick reviews of the last 3 albums I've bought (Viva La Vida excluded from this list until another day).

Jayhawk basketball is a religion. You think I’m overstating things? You’re wrong. Let me show you.

The most holy city in Jayhawk basketball is Lawrence, Kansas. Tens of thousands make an annual pilgrimage to the city to witness and worship. On April 12th of this year, over 100,000 descended on the city in a single day to give the Jayhawks a “triumphal entry” through the city. Instead of riding on a borrowed donkey the team came in on borrowed Mustangs. Instead of waving palms the masses waved pom-poms and crimson and blue flags.

While laying on the couch late on this Monday night, I find myself in a reflective mood.

Looking in hindsight over my life, I realize the regrets I have are not decisions I've made, nor things I've done (or haven't done), but rather, the relationships and friendships I've lost.

This is part 11 of a 11 part series of posts. Read all 11.

#1) Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
At some point in every galaxy, the stars align just so, the dust from a dying comet falls into the atmosphere, and out of the depths of the sea emerges a beast that can either save or destroy the world with one breath from its lungs. In this case, that sea is Montreal, the beast is Arcade Fire, and its fiery-breath is their latest album, Neon Bible. Biblical metaphors aside, Neon Bible is good stuff, REAL GOOD.

My extended family has a group email address in which we can mail to contact everybody. It goes out to about 30 family members, and we use it to plan family gatherings and to update each other on family news. Lately, we've been using it to discuss the Democratic and Republican primary elections. In one such email, a relative stated they had never previously put a bumper sticker on their car, but they now sport one for a certain candidate. I know I'm overly cynical and jaded in my views of politics, and I've made a conscious decision to keep this blog relatively politics-free, but I thought I would share with you my reply...

The Arcade Fire has released a new interactive video for the opening track "Black Mirror" on their 2007 release Neon Bible. If you missed The Arcade Fire's last video, the interactive masterpiece for the title track, "Neon Bible," be sure to check it out.

The Arcade Fire is breaking new ground with these videos. Instead of being a one-sided visual performance, these videos become a multi-sensory experience. In the video for "Neon Bible", you will never see the same video twice, as what you see is dependent on how you interact with it.

This latest offering from The Arcade Fire features artwork from Tracy Maurice, who designed the illustration above. It was directed by Olivier Groulx.

Check it out for yourself.

A blog I frequent, ChurchRelevance.com, recently posted an article about the recent decrease of abortions occurring in America.

The Guttmacher Institute has published findings from a study that discovered that the U.S. abortion rate is at its lowest level since 1974. In fact, the 1.2 million abortions of 2005 were 25% fewer than the all-time high of 1.6 million abortions in 1990. Unfortunately, despite the decrease, roughly 1 in 5 pregnancies still ended in abortion in 2005.

This is part 10 of a 11 part series of posts. Read all 11.

Editors note:
I've been a bad blogger. I took some time off after the New Year and never got back to it. Time to kick start the old blogging engine.

#2) Yeah Yeah Yeahs - IS IS - EP
Karen O and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are incredible. In this latest EP, measuring in at a mere 17 minutes in length, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs submit you to a musical kick to the face with this rockin’ bombardment. With its ultra-post-punk sound and the crazy guitars riffs, IS IS easily carries the weight of #2 on my Best of 2007 list.

This album is raw, the sound is dirty and sweaty, and band leader Karen O will have your head swimming with the amount of blood and passion she puts into her singing.