The Go-Go's - "Vacation"

The Go-Go's - "Vacation": "That's right folks, even I eventually take a vacation. See y'all in a week!"

Michael Penn - "This Is The Life"

Michael Penn - "This Is The Life": "Michael Penn may talk about having an anti-technology bias, particularly with digital music, so I have to praise him for releasing his three new tunes from the IFC mini-series Bollywood Hero as a digital EP, just to make sure the fans could have it. It would have been a shame not to have songs like this, a classic Penn ballad."

The Wombats - "Moving To New York"

The Wombats - "Moving To New York": "I've already started seeing Xmas displays at retailers all over the place - and it isn't even Halloween yet, which I thought was the current calendar line of demarcation for such things (since it was already no longer Thanksgiving). Anyhow, it reminded me of this song's lyric: "Christmas came early for me". Great song."

The Big Pink - "At War With The Sun"

The Big Pink - "At War With The Sun": "This works my 90s British alt-rock soft spot, so of course I like it. It's an upbeat rush of warm fuzz and a touch of melancholy melody."

The Psychedelic Furs - "I Don't Mine"

The Psychedelic Furs - "I Don't Mine": "From the bleak and under appreciated Book of Days album. Some of the harsh sound comes from what I suspect is a poor digital transfer, but it still works with the chilly vibe of many of the songs, including this one. I particularly like the overlapping vocals at the end and the intentional contradiction of the song's title."

Idlewild - "Hidden Ways"

Idlewild - "Hidden Ways": "It always mystifies me when bands leave great songs off albums, like this one (a UK b-side and a bonus track on the US version of Make Another World). There's still a touch of the "R.E.M. - but more rocking" sound they conjure from time to time and I'd be interested in hearing R.E.M. cover it, now that they too are rocking again."

Cyndi Lauper - "She Bop"

Cyndi Lauper - "She Bop": "The Captain Lou Albano news (RIP) couldn't help but make me think of this song...which makes me feel odd, given what this song is about."

James Brown - "Get Up Offa That Thing"

James Brown - "Get Up Offa That Thing": "I have so much I need to get done today and this is the sound of me psyching myself into it. Just something about JB yelling "I'm back!" before getting seriously funky gets me all hyped, like I'm going to run a race.
(Also, this gives me an opportunity to link back to this earlier James Brown post, which is one of my favorites from this blog.)"

Electric Six - "We Were Witchy Witchy White Women"

Electric Six - "We Were Witchy Witchy White Women": "Another rocker from Electric Six that brings you tongue-in-cheek silliness with the straightest delivery possible. I like to think this song is about a coven of Stevie Nicks/Rhiannon wannabes. (Probably because it then makes me think of the urban legend about Stevie Nicks needing to be coaxed out from her pre-concert dressing room in the 70s by her handlers telling her, through the closed door, 'You are Rhiannon! You are the witch!')"

Ben Lee - "Cigarettes Will Kill You"

Ben Lee - "Cigarettes Will Kill You": "This song is the moment for me where Ben Lee shifted from vaguely-annoying-but-catchy offbeat teen troubadour to adult musician. I particularly like how the song is largely driven by a fairly simple piano line without sounding like a repetitive loop."

Warpaint - "Billie Holiday"

Warpaint - "Billie Holiday": "I stumbled onto this band opening up for School of Seven Bells at Slim's the other night. This song is a weird, dream-like chant - all wrapped around a moody reworking of "My Guy" at its core - which is the highlight....even if it does kind of recall a chorus of Cat Powers singing together, which is not necessarily a bad thing."

Julian Plenti - "Fun That We Have"

Julian Plenti - "Fun That We Have": "As I'm sure many of you know, Julian Plenti = Paul from Interpol. This song is more playful and less ominous feeling than most Interpol tunes, but it still feels like it would have been a more solid song had it been performed with the full-band oomph of Interpol. (Which is not to say that the chorus didn't drill itself into my head regardless.) I kind of hope it sets the tone for their next album, where they perhaps might take a stab at it."

Gaunt - "Hit The Ground"

Gaunt - "Hit The Ground": "Rawk with a drumbeat like a horse galloping double-time and a band more than willing to keep up, even if the music is closer to melancholic Superchunk otherwise."

Starflyer 59 - "Mall Monarchy"

Starflyer 59 - "Mall Monarchy": "SF59 frontman Jason Martin is a product of Riverside and Orange Counties, CA, so it makes sense for him to sing about malls...except it turns out this is a cover. No matter, it still sounds like a authentic SF59 track!
(Bonus fact: the original is performed by Compulsion, featuring Garrett Lee - now known as 'Jacknife Lee', producer of R.E.M., Snow Patrol and others.)"

The Cribs - "We Share The Same Skies"

The Cribs - "We Share The Same Skies": "Clearly this is some kind of nasty breakup record for The Cribs (check out song titles like "Cheat on Me" and "Emasculate Me"), but they've smoothed out their sharp edges instead of sounding angry. Perhaps that's also because they traded the production of Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos, from the last record, for having The Smiths' Johnny Marr actually in the band - and the 'influence' swap plays out exactly as you think it would. Still, this track recalls gems from the previous record like "Girls Like Mystery", without sounding like a tired retread because of the related sonic shift."

Shaan - "Milo Na Milo Main Milane"

Shaan - "Milo Na Milo Main Milane": "Love Story 2050 is a trainwreck of a Bollywood sci-fi movie, especially at its near 3 hours of running time, but this song is definitely the movie's centerpiece and probably it's shining moment. It's got a certain Timbaland-meets-Eurodance vibe to it that's cheesy and cool."

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears - "Bitch, I Love You"

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears - "Bitch, I Love You": "This is a very classic sounding song with some very...uh, modern lyrics. Other than that, I think the song best speaks for itself. Listen."