Justice: D.A.N.C.E.

The song is absolutely infectious, but it's just as much the video that made we want to feature Justice's "D.A.N.C.E." The video mixes live action with a barrage of T-shirt animation. It could be mistaken for a Threadless commercial. The song is uniquely organic sounding for the club/house genre. Your inclination may be to think the voices used are samples, but nay nay friend, they are indeed the real deal recorded solely for the song.It makes me want to get some groove-friendly kicks and show the youngsters what's up on the floor.

The French duo appreciates strong imagery, tapping So Me to lend well over 500 illustrations to give the video its look. Get into it, it's gonna make ya squiggle and squirm in yo seat!

Song Breakdown:

Best Place and Time to Listen:

Talk the struggling wedding DJ into getting the party started with this rambunctious jam.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:

Mila Kunis. Really need a why?

Justice - "Dance" - Justice

At the Drive-In: Star Slight

Just as I began to think there was nothing under the "hardcore" banner for a guy like me, Relationship of Command came out and blew my mind man! So, I devoured everything I could by At the Drive-In and it was all good. The older albums definitely had a more lo-fi, indie sound, but all the same energy and aggression with a punk rock spirit.

Star Slight is off the earlier Acrobatic Tenement and full of the post-punk sound and hook that seperated them from the pack. It's a short romp of a song, but it's not always about size.

Song Breakdown

Best Place and Time to Listen:

Getting ready to do something ill-advised.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:

Max, from Where the Wild Things Are.

Starslight - At The Drive-In

Brass Castle: Hamlet

Listening to Brass Castle is like getting punched in the face . . . but a good punch in the face, you know, the kind you just might drop a Hamilton for. The two-man Atlanta-based band, traces it's roots back to some of the most caustic, interesting and epic Jacksonville bands including Gizzard and Dampading.

At time it can seem slightly in disarray, but it's truly purposeful and noisily novel. Forget White Stripe comparisons, this music is amazingly raucous and dirty. I swear to God that I smell whiskey soaked breath and cigarette smoke laden clothes from just listening to these songs. "Hamlet" is off their album Get on Fire. Brass Castle also contributed a song to the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters Soundtrack.

Song Breakdown

Best Time and Place to Listen:

To prep for a night you won't remember.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:

George C. Scott.

Hamlet - Brass Castle

L.S.U. The Fold

L.S.U. (Life Savers Underground) was truly an enigma among CCM bands and "The Fold" may be one of the best songs that you have never heard . . . OK, I know a couple of you have, but in general. L.S.U. was mainly Michael Knott and you never really knew what to expect from album to album, and The Grape Prophet was no exception. It is a rock opera or a concept album if you will about an orange picker trying to rescue his fellow pickers from a sinister prophet.

"The Fold" encompasses a lot of sound in a short amount of time. From hair rock to indie rock and chorale conclusion, there is truly nothing else like it. Tortured vocals, howling guitars and thunderous drums eventually meet a children's choir-that's just how L.S.U. rolls. Incendiary and unforgettable, it's one of the reasons why this album is a true classic.

Song Breakdown

Best Place and Time to Listen:

It's the perfect soundtrack for late night, in-house hide and seek . . . yes, with the lights out. It's a blast, just try it.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:

Nicolas Cage as Sailor Ripley in Wild at Heart.

Click Below to Listen to The Fold:

LSU - The Grape Prophet.wma

Beck: The Golden Age

Sublime, delicate and gorgeous. Sea Change was such a reflective, beautiful album that somehow makes sadness appealing. Taking a break from genre hopping, blips and bleeps and experimentation, Beck made a timeless album that will sound poignant and fresh and have the emotional weight fifteen years from now.

"The Golden Age" is bittersweet and despite being fueled mainly by acoustic guitar, pleasingly spacey. It's hard to pick just one song from Sea Change, but this one has everything. Embrace the melancholy, it looks good on you!

Song Breakdown:

Best Place and Time to Listen:

Sitting in your driveway after having just gotten home from a long night. Cigarettes and alcohol may or may not further the experience.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:

Bill Murray as Bob Harris in Lost in Translation.

The Golden Age - Beck

Iron & Wine: Boy with a Coin

Galvanic hand claps blended with an ethereal backward guitar loop and Sam Beam's patented, whispered vocals makes "Boy with a Coin" a big spooky delight. Off The Shepherd's Dog, a real evolution for Iron & Wine, "Boy with a Coin" possesses a snappy guitar progression and a rare danceable quality. 

While this is a departure from the hushed, understated singer-songwriter quality of earlier records, it's got the Iron & Wine stamp of sound architecture, distinct resonance and enigmatic, story-telling lyric. On that note, a lyric snippet:

Boy with a coin he found in the weeds

with bullets and pages of trade magazines

close to a car that flipped on the turn

when God left the ground to circle the world

Song Breakdown

Best Place and Time to Listen:

Meandering, twilight drives.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:

Laura Harring . . . Mulholland Drive.

Boy With A Coin (Single) - Iron & Wine

Barcelona: It's About Time

I first heard this guitar hook as bumper music on a talk show and couldn't get it out of my head . . . and couldn't find it either. Until this fortuitous day! Thanks to an imeem play list, I've discovered that this fantastic hook and song is "It's About Time" by Barcelona.

"It's About Time" is an endearing song with tons of crossover potential. While this song could find a home on any modern rock radio station, it possess the elements that appeal to good indie rockers everywhere. The ethereal guitar work juxtaposed with the straightforward rock sound of the rest of the song, strong vocals and rich layers throughout have made it a staple in my rotation.

Song Breakdown

Best Place and Time to Listen:

While Scrubs is in my television show graveyard already, Barcelona could up the ante. This is the sound bands like The Fray wish they could find. C'mon Zach, freshen it up, you know you can hear this song in an episode.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:

Zach Braff.

ITS ABOUT TIME - Barcelona

Modest Mouse: The World at Large

From the fanciful guitar at the beginning and the vocals delivered as if they are a conversation to the subtle string arrangements and repeated vocal refrain uh uh uh ah uh that gives the song an infectious undercurrent this song should be counted among Modest Mouse's best. "The World at Large" is the second track, first song really, off of Good News for People Who Love Bad News. The song almost feels like a proclamation, a sort of renewing, but never a complete abdication of the old.

I love what the song doesn't do. They were able to abstain from cluttering "The World at Large" with a sparse drum beat made up mainly of bass drum thuds. While The Moon & Antartica was more of their coming of age album that showed an undiscovered depth and ability to make a cohesive statement from beginning to end, Good News for People Who Love Bad News displayed the unpretentious ability that all who were fans knew Modest Mouse had, to appeal to a broader audience without sacrificing anything.

My favorite snippet of lyrics:

I like songs about drifters - books about the same.
They both seem to make me feel a little less insane.
Walked on off to another spot.
I still haven't gotten anywhere that I want.
Did I want love? Did I need to know?
Why does it always feel like I'm caught in an undertow?

Song Breakdown:

Best Place and Time to Listen:

Your next pier picnic with jug of wine in tow and legs dangling over the water.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:

Ferdinand Magellan.

Interpol: Public Pervert

There are really no missteps on Antics. Interpol has carved out their own sound and possess a certain swagger that moves me to designate them as modern rock's answer to Frank Sinatra. Paul Bank's delivery may not be as grandiose, but he has that unique phrasing and a certain confidence that lends itself to crooning. But chiefly, it's in the lyrics. Can't you hear and picture Old Blue Eyes with scotch in hand singing this:

Oh, so swoon baby starry nights
May our bodies remain
You move with me, I'll treat you right, baby
May our bodies remain

There is love to be made
So just stay here for this while
Perhaps heart strings resuscitate
The fading sounds of your life

Song Breakdown

Best Place and Time for Listen:

Mounting up for that hot date. Yeah, you know, the cologne has been splashed, you actually ironed your date shirt and you perused the news online as to appear up-to-date with current events.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:

What a stunner, Frank Sinatra.

Click Below to Listen to Public Pervert

Public Pervert.wma

Sebadoh: Magnet's Coil & Drama Mine

Yep, that's right, a two-fer. So in the spirit of getting jazzed up for the Dinosaur Jr. show, some Sebadoh today and some Jay tomorrow. Bakesale may be Sebadoh's most celebrated album, and in my opinion, for good reason. These indie angst anthems employed the Pixie's quiet - loud dynamic and lyrics of dissolution all in fuzzy guitar wrapped 3-minute indie rock gems.

Although "Magnet's Coil" possesses a more uptempo beat and poperiffic sound, it's just as angry as any of the other songs on Bakesale. "Drama Mine" (notice clever wordplay, bravo Lou!)builds on a muted guitar riff, to a simple but arresting progression to the climax where the lyric "It's like wasting everything on someone else's dream," are screamed to your heart's acrimonious content. Both songs classics off of a timeless record.

Song Breakdown

Best Place and Time to Listen:

Anywhere you are feeling indignant and better than those phonies . . . with PBR in hand.

If This Song Was a Celebrity It Would Be:

Dennis Hopper

Magnets Coil - Sebadoh

Drama Mine - Sebadoh

Red House Painters: All Mixed Up

I missed my Sunday post, so here to make up for it, The Red House Painters with one of the most transformative covers of all time, "All Mixed Up" originally by The Cars. It's incredible that he even heard the possibilities in the original in creating this steadily ascending, timeless mix tape for that girl your crushin' on gem.

All Mixed Up - Red House Painters