England’s The Boy Least Likely To hasn’t been heard from in a few years, due to record label collapses and whatnot their new album has been sitting on a shelf.  Thankfully, it’ll be released in March 2009.  I like what I’m hearing from the duo and this song is perfect for kicking off winter and the holidays.

Law of the Playground is out March 9th and has an awesome album cover. Here’s the tracklist:

The Law of the Playground
1) Saddle up
2) Balloon on a broken string (Mp3)
3) When life gives me lemons i make lemonade
4) I box up all the butterflies
5) The boy with two hearts
6) Stringing up conkers
7) The boy least likely to is a machine
Whiskers
9) Every goliath has its david
10) The nature of the boy least likely to
11) I keep myself to myself
12) The worm forgives the plough
13) A fairytale ending

Don’t let the name of Brooklyn’s Pains of Being Pure at Heart scare you aware from their sublime and shimmery sound.  With a name like that you’d expect black eyeliner emo crap.  Instead you get something emotional, but not whiney or schmaltzy.

It’s a slightly updated take on that jangly, mid 80’s/early 90’s rock and calls to mind bands like New Order and then later Black Tambourine or My Bloody Valentine.  Still, it’s impressive that their sound is so cohesive, well-arranged and poppy without losing any of that edge.

Signed to Slumberland Records, which is building an impressive roster that includes the Crystal Stilts, Cause Co-Motion, Brickolage and others, the band’s debut album doesn’t drop until Feb. 2009 but it’s certainly on our radar.

For the Art Boonparn-directed clip for “Everything With You,” which shows up on the album, the New York quartet’s represented by keyboardist/vocalist Peggy and her best friend, who have pillow fights, share gum and otherwise wander a graying city.

I know the Vivian Girls have been getting a lot of great press this year - and for good reason.  However, when I listen to POBPAH I only think how much better/enjoyable they are making comparable music.

Mp3: Pains of Being Pure At Heart - “Everything With You”

“Because everyone seemed to completely forget about The Hold Steady this year, which is only more proof that history is dying and long-term memory has become short-term memory and short-term memory has become a dream,” writes Rex Sorgatz.  To which, I would say, well yes.  Sort of.

It’s not so much that people’s memories have contracted to the point of not existing, which to a degree they have; when it comes to music people treat bands and musicians as they would movies - they’re not necessarily inclined to get down with a sequel to a beloved original.  Debut albums are movies and the majority of music writers aren’t inclined to find the sequel as interesting as the original.

A shame really.

The Hold Steady’s Stay Positive was an album I had on constant spin this year.  It will certainly be on my year end list or would be if I do one.  And this video makes me miss the graffiti and urban decay that you have to look really hard to find nowadays.   With gentrification and all.

I think this speaks for itself.  But, one of the things I love about Mathew Sweet and his brand of mid-nineties alt-rock is that the guitars are doing their own thing.  It’s almost like there is the song and there is the guitar part rocking out independent of the actual song.

That’s difficult to achieve.

I’ll be at the Little Ones show tonight at the Doug Fir.  If any readers plan on going drop me a line or look for me.  I’ll be the one with the Red Sox hat on. Their 2008 release is one of those records I wish I picked up at the beginning of the summer, rather than the tail end of fall but whatevs.  It’s the perfect type of innocuous pop record, but one that gets stuck on the roof of your mouth for days like a giant scoop of peanut butter.  It doesn’t take much before you’re humming along or tapping your feet to their melodies.

What Made Milwaukee Famous is opening up.  These guys from Austin, Texas (not from Wisconsin!) just released a free five-song EP on Barsuk Records, The Sugarhill Sessions EP features stripped-down renditions of songs from both 2006’s Trying To Never Catch Up and their new release What Doesn’t Kill Us.

I’m pretty excited about this show since both bands deliver a fun pop sound.  Doors at 8 p.m. and knowing the Doug Fir it probably starts around 9:30 or 10 p.m.

This is from episode 38, Oct., 28, 1970, of The Johnny Cash Show.  I love Satchmo’s joke about “giving it to ‘em in black and white” before playing.

Armstrong died about nine months later and this is thought to be one of his final performances, appearances, etc.  To have it be with Johnny Cash … those voices!

Mp3: Johnny Cash and Louis Armstrong - “Blue Yodel No. 9″

[via constant siege]

So all this week we’re going to bring you two Halloween related videos - a song and a movie.  We’ll kick things off with the mad genius of Warren Zevon.  Mostly because my buddy Scotty D. texted me the lyrics the other day and he got upset because I couldn’t quite figure out what he was writing about and then this tune came on the radio yesterday while I was cruising around and it never gets old. It was truly a Baader Meinhoff phenomenon.

I’ve never heard of the Miniature Tigers, who are a Phoenix foursome, but I was piqued with interest in this video/song for several reasons.  The first, is it was directed by JD Ryznar who helped create Yacht Rock, and second, the opening guitar line is straight cribbed from both Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” and Stevie Nick’s “Edge of Seventeen.”

That’s good company and really if we’re talking rock music dinner parties one could do worse than having Survivor and Stevie Nicks attending.  Throw in some combination of Jesus, Albert Einstein and Abe Lincoln and you’re set.

However, I recommend it for a one other reason.  There’s a moment in the absurdly comical video when the Raiders of the Lost Ark goon explodes into a nasty guitar shredder.  Comic gold.

Actually, the song’s pretty catchy.  Always a bonus.

Piano maestro and singer Ben Folds has earned enough lifetime fan credits from me for his early work in Ben Folds Five between Whatever and Ever Amen and especially The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner.  He hasn’t entirely squandered those credits with his solo work, but there’s something missing from it.  Truth be told it’s just not on the same level of quality as his Five days.  I don’t know if that’s a conscientious thing or if it’s that he’s trying to get mainstream acceptance.

The video for his new song was directed by Tim and Eric of Tim and Eric’s Awesome Show Great Job! and though guest Regina Spektor is nowhere to be found (for shame!) the video is like a bizarre Kids in the Hall sketch, which is saying something because every Kids in the Hall sketch was bizarre and slightly askew.

The part I’m having a hard time with is the disconnect between how catchy, breezy and enjoyable “You Don’t Know Me at All” is and how much it sounds like a saccharine song written specifically for the soundtrack to a Meg Ryan romantic comedy.  George Clooney might star opposite her in this one, so at least it’s got that going for it.

Also: How awesome is it that Ben Folds Five is reuniting for a one-off show in Chapel Hill, NC to play the entirety of Reinhold Messner?  If I had the flow to fly down there I’d be at that show without question.  One hopes it goes so well that Ben Folds, Darren Jesse and Robert Sledge realize they need to permanently play music together again.

A while ago we linked to a story about Paul Mawhanney and his very large record collection.  He was selling it for about $3 million and change, though at the time there were no takers for his 2.5 million records.  Very Ape Productions put together a video of Paul going through his collection.  Because of the digital music frenzy and the dwindling interest in physical music formats, Paul was forced to close his record shop. Now facing diabetes and rising health costs, he’s put up his entire collection for sale.

It’s been an interesting ride for Travis over the last decade.  When I saw live for the first time back in 2000 my first thought at the end of the show was, “damn I wonder how long it’ll be until Fran Healy goes solo.”  And yet, that hasn’t happened.

There is something admirable about a band that sticks together through the mucky muck.  Their first few albums were all great Britpop-rock albums, but the problem with Travis is that everything after The Invisible Band has sounded like a cookie cutter Travis album.  That doesn’t mean they weren’t pleasurable records, it’s just at a certain point I’ve had to accept that Travis made a particular type of record and they weren’t going to deviate much from that template.

To be honest, I was just happy they were making records at all, after almost calling it quites in the wake of drummer Neil Primrose breaking his back in a swimming accident. Since then they’ve taken their time getting back together as a band and last year’sThe Boy With No Name served as a reintroduction.  But there was always something missing from their last few records.

It sounded like they were okay with making Travis records.  They weren’t hungry to make a great record.  They’ve severed ties with Independiente and started their own label Red Telephone Box. 

Travis knocked out a follow-up album to The Boy With No Name in a two week session and are set to put out Ode To J. Smith, so named after a song on the forthcoming record, “J. Smith” on Sept. 29 (tracklist here).

From the sounds of the first single “Something Anything” and the leaked “J. Smith” it sounds like they might have found that hunger. The songs sound edgier, more adventurous, willing to take chances and let the guitars rip it.

This Kanye West as puppet video is about a day old, which makes it McCainian by internet standards, but I figured it would go well with the news that Kanye plans to open 10 Chicago-area Fat Burgers.

Hip-hop artist Kanye West’s KW Foods LLC, which has rights to develop 10 Fatburgers in the Chicago area, plans to open another one in January at 95th and Western Avenue in the Beverly neighborhood, according to a spokeswoman for Santa Monica, Calif.-based burger chain Fatburger Corp.

The Orland Park outlet doesn’t have a firm opening date in September, the spokeswoman said.

I’ve never eaten at a Fat Burger, but if it gets the ‘Ye seal of approval, I’ll gladly check one out.  <deadpan sarcasm>Apparently, it’s the last great hamburger stand, or so they tell me.</deadpan sarcasm>

Also, that’s one of the strongest tracks off his latest record.