GTL - Song of the Day, The Jersey Shore Edition

**1/8/09

Atlantic Connection - Big Shot

------------I'll give this to MTV, what they lack in actual music, they make up for in absolutely ludicrous reality TV. Of course I'm talking about The Jersey Shore, which I initially started watching to giggle and fill in between seasons of Project Runway, but ever since Snooki got punched in the face, I'll be damned if I miss an episode full of drama, Karma and pasta.

Paying tribute to The Situation, bar fights at Karma and grenades was easy - I just checked out the music featured on the show via a little black scrool bar that pops up with an artist and song name during the show (MTV's pennance for slaughtering "music" television). The techno-synth simplicity of Atlantic Connection sums up The Jersey Shore perfectly.

There was no question that Atlantic Connection "Big Shot" is a broast to The Situation, Pauley D, Ronnie and Vinny. "Big Shot" is superficial, sleazy and simple-minded, the perfect song to play on the way back to the house for some pizza and jacuzzi time. Just make sure you don't ask Snooki to get rid of the grenades.

Other Good(ish) Songs of The Shore:

Glycerin - Motionless

Atreyu - Shameful

Oh Darling - Electrocute

Gotta go. GTL, baby. GTL.

http://myspace.com/atlanticconnection/

Song of the Day

**1/7/09
Angels & Airwaves - Hallucinations
---------------I'm foaming at the mouth here, people. What better way to welcome 2010 than a track listing of AVA's upcoming album, LOVE, and a listen to their single "Hallucinations?" Sounds like a perfect 1o (I had to do the pun, love it).
And as we all know, LOVE is free. No kidding - AVA is offering their album for lovers all over the world this Valentine's Day for jack squat, so downloading the album into your girlfriend's itunes won't be the dinner deal-breaker (sorry, boys, but you can listen to the album on the way to dinner!).
I've posted the track list link from absolutepunk.net below. Get your hearts and ears pumped up!

http://absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=1502062

http://myspace.com/angelsandairwaves/

Song of the Day

**1/5/09

J. Cole - Grown Simba

----------I can appreciate a rapper who doesn't mind making a Walt Disney character roar with the ryhme "I was like a young Simba/couldn't wait to be the King." J. Cole, a rapper from Fayetteville, North Carolina, relocated to the Empire State in 2003, and his rhymes were picked up by Jay Z's label, Roc Nation, in 2008.

J. Cole is a minimalist rapper - the beats and samples aren't dressed up because his words are already fresher than an Armani suit. Hope he looks fly whenever he tours his home state. Get "Grown Simba" from The Warmup Mixtape.

Key Tracks: I Get Up, Lights Please

http://myspace.com/jcole

Song of the Day

**1/4/09

The Dandy Warhols - We Used to Be Friends

--------------I've noticed that I like to cover songs that were released years ago just as much as hearing "yet-to-be-released" material. And why not - just because it came out a few years back doesn't mean you've heard it, right?

This one, you may know, especially if you dig The Dandy Warhols hit "We Used to Be Friends" from 2003's Welcome to the Monkey House. This ultra-enemies, middle-finger rock song is perfect for an angsty mix for a foe or just for your underweared self singing into a hairbrush...but no one does that...not anymore (cough, throatclears).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wK43DCm-Uc

Song of the Day

**1/3/09

Editors - Escape the Nest

-------------------Once again, I'd like to thank the public library for letting me borrow a stack of CDs to feed the belly of my already morbidly obese laptop. Seriously, that place isn't just for encyclopedias, study sessions or wrapping up a 12-page term paper at three a.m. Plus, I get a nerdy kick out of the labels that indicate the band on the CD is a "Musical Group."

Among the dozen or so "Musical Groups" I selected was Editors An End Has A Start. Editors "Escape the Nest" is riddled with wailing guitar and rides a sweeping, dramatic creshendo. The lyrics sung by a slightly operatic Tom Smith fatnasize the triumph of an ant-sized love in the overwhelming and intimidating size of reality.

Kick-ass clip from Glastonbury 2008:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hSpSYkxSrY

Song of the Day

**1/2/09
Bluetech - Prayers for Rain (JViewz Remix)
--------------My twin sister told me the first thing she thought of when she heard "Prayers for Rain" was that it sounded like Bob Marley's version of "Hotel California." And while I won't deny the similarities between the beats, "Prayers for Rain" has a mellow chicness to it that leaves your body in an inescapable groove-mode. So maybe not Bob, but more like The Verve meets soft dubstep? Blahg, I feel like my terminology is too vague for this one. The song's got a lot to it, so feel free to drunkenly swerve your mind through "Prayers for Rain" without worrying about who it sounds like.

Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qssES4oCHEo

Song of the Day

**1/1/10

The Status - Perfect Day

-----------Whooa my fingers did their habitual roll over the date 09 like it was nothing new, but hey, BACKSPACE that! It's a new freakin' decade, let alone a new year! Resolutions, promises and crowded YMCAs - it's the most wonderful and promising time of the year.

What's the status on The Status? Currently, they're in a relationship with their new E.P. Let's Be Honest, and indie pop hasn't seen a match made in heaven this sublime since Cheap Mondays and flannel. "Perfect Day" documents that devilish passer-by that is your soulmate whom you never got the courage to talk to. To get an idea of the band's sound, think of Anberlin's "A Day Late" meets The Starting Line. Not a bad formula for the perfect band, right?

http://myspace.com/thestatus/

Song of the Day (And Last of 2009)

**12/31/09

The Bird and the Bee - Polite Dance Song

------------Manners never go out of style, and dawning upon a new decade, you'll want to start things off with some sweet-talking please and thank-yous (especially if your New Year's antics require an apology for making a *ahem* mess of things near the vicinity of a toilet).

If Inara George and Greg Kurstin make any manner faux pas while welcoming 2010, at least the L.A. duo has "Polite Dance Song" to sweetly encourage us to rock out while the ball drops. "Polite Dance Song" sways slowly between a smoky cabaret tease and a contently-smiling party cool down. Get it from the album that's overflowing with courtesy Please Clap Your Hands.

Happy New Year, everyone! Celebrate with sparkling cider (you under 21-ers who are stuck with mom and dad), copious amounts of loved ones, and a big enough TV to watch the ball drop in Times Square.

Tracks That Will Make You Say "Thanks a bunch!"

Diamond Dave, Ray Gun, My Love

http://myspace.com/thebirdandthebee/

Take care!

Song of the Day

**12/29/09

Neon Indian - Deadbeat Summer

--------------It's December, and the western hemisphere is afflicted with this thing we call winter that brings in catastrophically chilly temperatures that force me to bundle up in seven hoodies and 12 pairs of socks.

Maybe a little dramatic, I know, but nothing so dramatic as my enjoyment of Neon Indian. Alan Palomo, the brain behind the beats, produces a great medley of buzzes and snaps through what sounds like an eighties-vintage atmosphere. Take a little Depeche Mode and the quirkiness of Metric. Antiquated yet thoroughly modern, shall we say?

"Deadbeat Summer" sounds like something hipsters at Columbia would throw into their playlist of Vampire Weekend and keyboard heavy dub-step while they sip top-shelf liquor whatevers. There's a playful pop element to it, but a sophisticated chicness gives it a certifiable coolness. Get it from Psychic Chasms.

http://myspace.com/neonindian/

Song of the Day

**12/27/09

Jeff Kummer - Write Me Off

----------------Guidos and guidettes around the northeast may be boycotting The Jersey Shore, but at least they've got more than cheeto-tans and spikey hair to be proud of. That piece of pride comes in the form of Jeff Kummer.

Kummer pattered on the drums over four albums with The Early November, and two more with the band's side project Your Sweet Uncertainty. But he's put down the Vic Firths in favor of a solo project with a promising release, Your Best Alternative. Will TEN fans take on to Kummer's pop-rock driven beats and nodding harmonies, or will Jersey just turn up the house music? I'm leaning towards the former.

http://myspace.com/jeffkummer/