It’s Friday, and as always, that’s fantastic. The Oscar nominations came out yesterday, and as a movie buff, I’m excited to see how this year’s awards are going to go down. There were a few snubs, as there are every year, but this year’s seem particularly strange and farsighted. You take a look at the Best Director category, and to not have accomplished and great people like Ben Affleck, Kathryn Bigelow and Tom Hooper included when they all turned in some of their finest work this year seems crazy. Perhaps the nominations got a little screwed up in the wake of some balloting issues they encountered while attempting to allow members of the Academy to vote digitally. Either that, or maybe the Weinsteins are threatening more families than usual this year. I’m just kidding, though really there’s a couple ounces of truth behind that I’m sure. So anyways, there are a number of things I’m disappointed with in this year’s Oscar nominations, but I’m not going to tackle them all here. Instead I’ll hope for better results when it comes down to the Golden Globes, which are on Sunday. That’s Hollywood’s most fun awards ceremony, so make sure you watch if you’d like to see a bunch of people having a good time while winning (or losing) awards. Now then, let’s get to today’s Pick Your Poison. Songs that get my stamp of approval today come from Apricot Rail, Camper Van Beethoven, Chelsea Light Moving (Thurston Moore’s new band), Gospels, Hollis Brown, Lapland and Milo Greene. In the Soundcloud section (located after the jump), stream some good tracks from Carmen Villain, Guards, Ryan Hemsworth and Widowspeak. Have a great weekend!

Apricot Rail – Basket Press

Blind Architect – Lebanon

Camper Van Beethoven – Someday Our Love Will Sell Us Out

Chelsea Light Moving – Empires of Time

Gospels – Animal Feelings

Hollis Brown – Down on Your Luck

The Hot Dark – In Retrospect

Jacco Gardner – The Ballad of Little Jane

James Hersey – Don’t Say Maybe

Jerusalem in My Heart – Yudaghdegh al-ra3ey wala al-ghanam

Kris Menace ft. Unai – Lone Runner (Axel Le Baron Remix)

Lapland – Unwise

Majical Cloudz – Turns Turns Turns (Blue Hawaii Fluchtig Mix)

Milo Greene – Parents (The Descendents cover)

SOUNDCLOUD

Carmen Villain – Lifeissin

Coasts – Oceans

Guards – Ready to Go

Ryan Hemsworth – An Overture Might Help Me Stop Thinking About You

Widowspeak – Thick As Thieves

The Woolen Men – Mayonnaise