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/

Song of the Day

**12/26/09

Drive A - Can't Sleep it Off

-----------Hope everyone had a magical Christmas, filled with tasty fudge, loved ones and a pony underneath the tree. Personally, I'm thrilled to finally have an ipod that can fit all of my music, and I've been re-checking album after album to get on my 160GB Titanic of mp3 storage.

Welcomed to my library is Drive A, a snarly bunch of punks that revive my faith in dirty, pissed-off SoCal punk. After a listen to Drive A's "Can't Sleep it Off," you won't be able to quash the impromptu rush of anger that made you break a lamp or table or something made of glass. Who doesn't want to hear a band that has melody AND impulsively commands you to disrespect your surroundings?!

Get ready for Drive A's tour with The Used, taking off in San Diego for a January/February circuit. Get "Can't Sleep it Off" from Drive A album, Loss of Desire.

Key Tracks for Breaking Furniture with a Smile on your Face:

Everyone's Alone, Are You Blind, Out of Focus

http://myspace.com/drivea

A Few Thoughts On This...Book?!?!

No, OK, calm down - it's very unusual (in fact it's the first time) that I talk about anything longer than a set of lyrics. But let's be real - just because most of us would rather watch the Star Wars marathon going on FX than pick up a book, it doesn't mean ALL of us are flying away with Harrison Ford in a Millennium Falcon.

Which brings me to Why White Kids Love Hip Hop: Wankstas, Wiggers, Wannabes, and the New Reality of Race in America.

The brief history and influence of hip hop as told by Bakari Kitwana explores the source of hip hop magazine, The Source, takes a look at the controversy routinely surrounding the career white-boy-rapper phenomenon Eminem and how record labels find out what Cds we pull from the shelves and downloads we click on Itunes.

There's even a little foreshadowing tidbit on a certain Black Senator's influence in Illinois, and his appeal to a white demographic (take a guess...it rhymes Barack Obama). And for a book published in 2005, Kitwana presents the reader with an accurate look at who voted for whom even in the 2008 elections.

You'll like this book even if hip hop only relatively grabs your attention. Though the question of why white kids love hip hop doesn't have a straight answer, Kitwana gives the reader something to consider the next time you come across a tiny white girl blasting Get Rich or Die Tryin' from her Honda.

By the way: shout out to the new followers (Hey, embebe!).

Song of the Day

**12/23/09

Summerlin - I've Got a Future and You're Not In It

----------------The primary colors. The band tees with mummies, robots and splatters painted on the front. The synth-pop rock melodies so catchy, they shake your tushy for you. So is the successful formula for Summerlin, a U.K. powerhouse for punk rock lovers everywhere. They've got SPUNK and I like it, darn it! Why these guys haven't been signed is beyond me (Get on it, A&R!).

"I've Got a Future" is the theme song for your breakup mix, the lyrics you'll quote in your Facebook status and the anthem for the newly and perfectly single.

Even when I'm a batty old woman with christmas lights strung in my front yard yearround and a pile of furniture by the mailbox, I'm gonna love this type of music. I'm pleased as punch to have heard Summerlin, and I hope you'll be happy as a clam with their album, So Make Your Move.

http://myspace.com/summerlin/

Song of the Day

**12/22/09

Rise Against - Savior

-------------It's felt like time travel the past couple of days. Saw the opportunity to listen to some albums I haven't picked up in a while (loooove Christmas break), and Rise Against Appeal to Reason found out how to beat my eardrums the right way. For those unaware, Rise Against shreds like Shinedown, only better. Their single "Savior" shouts with a punky angst at the way love gets people stuck, whether you want to save them or you're too scared to let go.

Dang, human beings are terrible at this whole "relationship thing," am I wrong? Bleechh...that's all I have to say to it. Thank goodness for songs like this. Get "Savior" from Appeal to Reason.

http://myspace.com/riseagainst/

Song of the Day

**12/21/09

Reinventing Your Exit - Underoath

-------------This song definitely gets a thumbs up on my Pandora playlist. I never used to pay any lick of attention to Underoath because I, like many others, discounted their credibility as real rockers due an old mantra of mine: "If they scream, in your dreams."

But then I saw the Florida rockin' out for Jesus at Vans Warped Tour, and I couldn't turn away from thier absolutely dees-gusting energy. "Reinventing Your Exit" examines the anxious desire we have to go somewhere, to be someone bigger than ourselves and admitting we aren't invincible. Get it from the band's 2004 album, They're Only Chasing Safety.

Underoath are currently on tour with August Burns Red and Emery. Their latest album is Lost in the Sound of Separation, released in September 2008.

http://myspace.com/underoath/

Song of the Day

**12/20/09

The Horrors - Scarlet Feilds

---------------British bands and their colors and landscapes! Coldplay made violet hills dark and morbidly pretty with thundering guitars and Chris Martin's sireny echo (not to mention those brightly shining yellow stars). And now on their 2009 album, Primary Colours, The Horrors are smearing the landscape in a flushed scarlet. Am I complaining? - course not! Makes me want to grab a bucket of paint and drench the azeleas my front yard...too bad I'd be screwed....

While they may not have the same pop attraction as Coldplay, The Horrors are a seriously spooky rock group all their own. With the low drone of Faris Badwan and the echoing, underground dungeon rock, The Horrors sound like The Smiths dropped the moping and picked up some moody, more penseive attitudes. Get "Scarlet Feilds" from The Horrors 2009 album, Primary Colours.

Colored like a rainbow from "Scarlet Feilds?" Check out the electro-head bopper "Whole New Way" and the gritty "Who Can Say."

http://myspace.com/thehorrors/

The Holiday Buzz of Straight No Chaser

Before you run away from this post about Christmas carols (you knew I'd do one, c'mon!), listen carefully. Nary a trumpet or sleigh bell in hearing range, Straight No Chaser is solidly a cappella and anything from watered down.

Straight No Chaser puts the zest into classic Christmas tunes, with a fresh, rousing take on songs such as "The Twelve Days of Christmas," "Aud Lang Syne" and "Jingle Bell Rock." And these guys aren't a bunch of barbershop bums. Backed by Atlantic Records and followers old and young, SNC brightens up retro and modern music with their angelic, manmade melodies.

SNC's Christmas Cheer is the perfect holiday album for those who still haven't replaced their Miriah Carey Christmas album and are looking for a very new, delightful spin for the season.

Still don't care for carols? Check out the group's outstanding mashup of Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." If it doesn't put a smile on your face...Grinch...all I've gotta say.

http://myspace.com/sncmusic/