Friday, April 9, 2010

The Daily Five - Weekly Edition!

Daily posting is still my ultimate goal, but until then I'm thinking of naming this feature The Weekly Five. Anyway, without further ado, here are five new songs that have been rolling through atmosphere around me this week.

1. "Hollywood" by Codeine Velvet Club: Besides an awesome band name, the Codeine Velvet Club has something else going for it: Jon Lawler (better known as Jon Fratelli from the Fratellis). While I don't actually know much about the Fratellis--I always avoided them because the name makes them sound like some gooey teenage pop--apparently Jon Lawler is awesome. And I've been into a ton of Scottish bands lately (Frightened Rabbit, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Camera Obscura). After listening to this CD three or four times, I'm beginning to agree about Lawler, plus I love the retro, 1960s big band sound.

2. "Terminally Chill" by Neon Indian: The first 10 seconds sound like Daft Punk and then the song breaks out into a nice 1980s synth-jam. This song makes me want to drive to Palm Springs and snort cocaine with Julian--but (SPOILER ALERT!) hopefully not die in the car ride back.

3. "Sun Hands" by Local Natives: Apparently this LA-area band killed at SXSW (according to my friend Jeremy from New York). I'm into almost any song with a catchy, sing-along section that you can clap to (see: "15 to 20" by the Phenomenal Handclap Band). Before you go overboard there with the clapping, I said "almost." Maybe I should dial that back to "some" before you drag me to a karaoke bar and force me to sing along with "Saturday Night" by the Bay City Rollers. (And yes, I am now thinking about So I Married An Axe Murderer. And no, I don't think I digress too much.)

4. "Stranger" by Dr. Dog: I was a huge fan of Dr. Dog's last album, Fate--especially the Beatles-esque "Army of Ancients" and "The Beach"--and this follow up of the recently released album Shame, Shame continues along with the same, smooth sound. So far, this might be my early-summer anthem. I'm seeing Dr. Dog (along with Deer Tick) in a few weeks at the Fonda, and I'm excited.

5. "White Punks on Dope" by the Tubes: Inspired by my t-shirt today(which says "White Dopes on Punk"), here's an old track by the Tubes. You better know where you came from, son.



Thursday, March 25, 2010

Evolution of Heartbeats

I had these songs running through my head last night and I thought I'd put them together in a playlist.

Though it's not in order of release (I know the Knife's version came first), I think this flow is better as it builds as the songs go on. José González starts it off with his cover of the Knife's 'Heartbeats,' which comes second. Finally I threw in the Get Busy Committee's new track, 'My Little Razorblade,' that builds off the Knife's version and adds some much needed attitude to the electronic rhythm. Also, I highly recommend the Get Busy Committee's album Uzi Does It, because who doesn't love koalas, machine guns, and good samples?

Ladies and gentleman, introducing the Evolution of Heartbeats:

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

On the spot . . .

Lately, I've been obsessed with the Onion's headlines. They're always witty, to the point and absolutely spot-on. Some recent faves include
Tiger Woods Announces Return to Sex
Intelligent, Respectable Women Across Globe Inexplicably Excited For Figure Skating
Sports: Senator Dikembe Mutombo Blocks Record Amount Of Legislation

Today I was reminded of the other news source in the U.S. that is as spot-on as the Onion: Jon Stewart. I'm probably the last person to get into a health care argument right now (for the record: I'm for reform, but I don't know what kind), so I'll let Jon Stewart do it for me.

I also recently learned of some health-care horror stories that were recounted on a friend's Facebook status update, a simple complaint that was hijacked into a long thread of people's frustrations with the current health care system. It just doesn't seem like the Man in D.C. pays attention to the man in the rest of the country.

So here is one of Stewart's takes on health care reform. Full disclosure: it's a trap.

[Update: Here's ANOTHER timely Onion headline for a fake op-ed from a Senator featured in the piece below: My Constituents Care Way More About Political Gamesmanship Than Jobs, Health Care, And The Economy ]

UPDATE: Damn you Hulu and Comedy Central, why can't you just play nice?