Rhymes With Gigabytes

You know how Death Cab is an all-right band? Like, how when people say they like them you agree and when your friends make fun of them you also agree? How too many of their songs start dipping and eventually fall into some weird, liquid boredom? Oh-- and how the Postal Service sounds hopelessly dated, even just three years after the fact?

You know all that, right?

Listen to Softlightes, and tell me you don't hear the just the best part of those bands. Smiling.

Softlightes - Heart Made of Sound [mp3]

Softlightes - The Ballad of Theodore and June [mp3]

Visit Softlightes! Buy Say No To Being Cool, Say Yes To Being Happy Feb. 13 on Modular.

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I forgot to mention that I saw Girl Talk. The show was loud and the dancing was fun but the best part was when he told the crowd, as if he couldn't be more proud of us, that "college is hard!"

The Weight

Somme - Massless [mp3]

In the few weeks we've been acquainted, I've come to know "Massless" well. It's a feat, becoming this familiar with every corner of a song's sound, especially given how scattered my listening habits have become. "Massless", though, commands the attention by way of being big-- a massive, magnificent affair. Equally impressive are the drums and guitar, the former keeping the song upright with stately, weighted kitwork while the latter pushes, intense and unsteady. Things culminate in an alarm of handclaps before overheating and eventually smoldering, back into air. It was a while before this-- the "massless" part-- made sense in the context of such a heavy song, and the song's polytropic nature became apparent. I'd say this is the best, most complete instrumental song I've come across in some time.

Visit Somme and (maybe?) order their Weight EP.

Amen.

New Brand New

The nice young (presumably) man from Badical Beats prompted me to check out his blog today, and I was reminded of my passion for Brand New. A couple of things about Brand New:

They are better than you think. Deja Entendu was an impressive album.

They just released The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me, and from a single track I've heard, I'd say it's promising.

That track, "Jesus Christ", is a step up in every way for the band. The lyrics, which toed a line between thoughtful and too-thoughtful on the last album, display a new forcefulness, complemented well by the icy, metronomic Modest Mouse music beneath them.

Brand New - Jesus Christ [mp3]

Visit Brand New and buy The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me.

Re: L.A.

Our friend, the Drunkard, has posted a pretty essential mix over at his site, called the L.A. Burnout mix (actually, it's only the first installment). As the name implies, the songs all refer to the City of Angels, a subject I find endlessly fascinating. The well-chronicled love-hate relationship many people have with Los Angeles is like no other, and is responsible for some undeniably classic songs, from "L.A. Woman" to "Free Fallin'" to (as much as I hate to admit it) at least 30 Chili Peppers tunes.

Bran Van 3000 - Drinking In L.A. [mp3]

I've got a few L.A. songs that probably won't make the Burnout mix, though they're entirely worthy. The first is a bit of a throwback for me-- Bran Van 3000's "Drinking In L.A." It's a burnout song if ever one existed, it kinda just sounds like failure.

Buy Glee.

The Rosewood Thieves - Los Angeles [mp3]

These Lennon impersonators have hooked me, bad, along with anyone else who's heard them. I'd call their From The Decker House the best EP of '06, and quite honestly can't wait to hear a full-length.

Visit the Rosewood Thieves and buy From The Decker House.

Counting Crows - A Long December [mp3]

I'd put that Shawn Mullins song, "Lullaby", here, but I don't own it. This will do for an equally appropriate guilty pleasure tune, though.

Buy Recovering the Satellites.

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Get that new Catbird!

Happy New Year

Dramarama - Anything, Anything (I'll Give You) [mp3]

I finally got hold of the song I've been meaning to share. You know the one that goes

I'll give you candy, give you diamonds, give you pills
I'll give you anything you want, hundred-dollar bills
I'll even let you hear the songs I wanna sing
I'll give you anything, anything, anything

?

I remember listening to the radio in, like, seventh grade and hearing this song. And never thinking anything of it. Well, it's by Dramarama, and it's called "Anything, Anything", rather unsurprisingly. Listening again, the desperation in this guy's voice is remarkable-- almost scary.

Buy Dramarama here.

Breakbot - Chelsea Inn [mp3]

I made a mix for the new year, which included this song. I like the metallic, nasty bursts, how they dare you to dance (and you know you want to). It's like a shot of something.

Visit Breakbot here.