The Drums - "I Need Fun In My Life"

The Drums - "I Need Fun In My Life": "I know a lot of people who love this album and lots who love them live. I don't think either is bad, but I have to say I don't quite 'get' them either. Something just hasn't clicked with me yet. But I will admit that this track does have a nice lo-fi charm and is catchy in the same way similar lo-fi ditties grabbed me in the 90s. And I agree with the song's message too!
[Coachella - Friday 4/15]"

Interpol - "Success"

Interpol - "Success": "Was their Coachella set a good one? No, not really - something was just kind of off with them (although I've since heard that their drummer had faulty monitors for the whole show, so that would explain a lot) and their pre-hyped multi-media display was rather tepid. That said, the set list would have had a nice slow build, had it been able to keep the intensity that I'm sure they expected to bring. I heard a lot of folks were not happy with this as their opener track (probably expecting 'PDA' instead?), but it made me remember this as an overlooked track from their recent, self-titled release and it's been popping in and out of my head since...so that was one win from their set for me.
[Coachella - Friday 4/15]"

Arcade Fire - "Wake Up"

Arcade Fire - "Wake Up": "Okay, so everyone knows by now about the amazing AF Coachella show and the synchronized LED light-up balloons they dropped over the crowd, but it really was just epic to see, especially in tandem with the huge swell of emotion coming back from the huge crowd at the same time. A really great show overall with an inventive climax.
[Coachella - Saturday 3/16]"

Duran Duran - "A View To A Kill"

Duran Duran - "A View To A Kill": "Where to begin - how awesome this song is? The great James Bond movie opening title sequence that features it? The extra-cheesy video at the Eiffel Tower with 'Bon, Simon le Bon' and telescopes that turn into guns? Any one of those would have been enough of a reason to send me into a full froth when I finally got to see Duran Duran perform it live this last weekend... BUT when DD added a live orchestra introduction, joining a white-tux'ed Simon in a bravado vocal performance, in tribute to 'View' co-writer (and legendary Bond composer) John Barry...well, I pretty much damn melted.
[Coachella - Sunday 4/17]"

The Kills - "Future Starts Slow"

The Kills - "Future Starts Slow": "A little sad, a little gritty, a little sexy - it's pretty classic Kills in that respect, not to mention that it's pretty much their stripped-down core of Alison, Jamie, a guitar and a drum machine. Is it wrong to consider this a (slightly downer) rough indie bump'n'grind tune?"

Urge Overkill - "Sister Havana"

Urge Overkill - "Sister Havana": "So excited this is finally in Rhapsody. I have a pretty large soft spot for this record, certainly more than most it seems. I don't care who 'actually' played on the record or if their Touch and Go records are 'better' - I just care that this record ROCKS...and, man, it does."

Telekinesis - "Coast of Carolina"

Telekinesis - "Coast of Carolina": "It's been less than a month since I saw them live at SXSW and I've become a full-fledged fan already. After John A. pointed me at their self-titled debut this weekend - I had only been listening to their 2nd and most recent album - I've now fallen in love with that too. The songs, particularly this one, are sing-along-chorus catchy but still with a nice emotional underpinning. It's kind of what I first loved about Superchunk (even if they don't sound the same), so no surprise they're on Merge.
(Should also thank Bob M. for first playing them at Distortion+ some months ago and putting John and I on their trail in the first place.)"

R.E.M. - "Circus Envy"

R.E.M. - "Circus Envy": "I like Monster. While more maligned R.E.M. records followed this one (Up, anyone?), at the time Monster came out, it certainly felt like a release that longtime R.E.M. fans greeted with a bit of 'WTF?'...which is probably why I feel like it's still a bit of a statement to say I like it. It's not pretty or jangly or whatever R.E.M. was 'supposed' to be, but it still has moments that are intimate ("Tongue"), touching ("Strange Currencies") or angry - like this track - that are worth embracing. Maybe it's the angry Michael Stipe that frightened people off, but I don't mind it one bit."

True Widow - "Skull Eyes"

True Widow - "Skull Eyes": "Even putting the band name and song title aside, the song still sounds like a metal tune at first, all low and heavy. That continues through the song, but more as as a base under a swirl of dark dream pop, cresting with overlapping boy-girl vocals leading into a pleasantly disorienting swoon. Yeah, you've heard a lot of these elements before, but this song puts them together pretty well."

TV On The Radio - "Second Song"

TV On The Radio - "Second Song": "I don't know how a song that starts off sounding so aimless manages to slowly compose itself at the end of the first minute, kicking into an increasingly urgent groove, moving into a bouncing, joyous chorus. I guess it's just more of the strange balancing act of art rock and pop that TVOTR seem to do most of the time."

Peter Bjorn and John - "Second Chance"

Peter Bjorn and John - "Second Chance": "'Young Folks' aside, I liked both of the last two PB&J albums, although I admittedly liked Writer's Block a bit more. So it's not shocking to me to hear them come up with more awesome songs, like this one - even if the wordless "oohs" are the catchiest part and will definitely invite some comparison to 'Young Folks' for that reason alone."