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In case you missed it because you fell asleep while watching the season two premiere of Castle. Not admitting that happened to me, of course, but obviously it’s been known to happen. Is it hot in here? It feels really hot. I’m just going. To. Step. Aside.

If there’s any band that is at the top of my list of must see acts, it would be The Dirty Projectors.

It’s not often I’m reduced to calling a song the summer jam, but Metic’s “Help, I’m Alive” has just about become the de facto jam.

Metric’s performance for Letterman isn’t all that great, it seems like they kinda phoned in the performance.  Well, Emily Haines seems to anyways.

Still, just listen to way hammer rolls off her tongue.  It’s like she turns the word hammer into two distinct words.  But the emotion of the song is what truly resonates.  That feeling that sometimes life is so overwhelmingly amazing, so beautiful in fact, that it causes a panic attack.  As if you drink in oxygen in large gulps but it does you no good.

(psst … you can purchase a bunch of their singles for a $1)

This isn’t actually that funny, though it is miles better than Michael Bay’s new crapfest.  There is one good laugh in this list and it’s pretty obvious which one, so no surprise ruining from me.  Also, I’m pretty sure I want Peter Cullen to narrate my life for me.  Imagine him standing behind you and saying all the stupid things you do.  Getting a beer from the fridge would be epic.

I’ve really been enjoying the direction Conor Oberst has been taking with The Mystic Valley Band.  It’s slightly more playful, evidenced by this sweet rendition of “Spoiled.”  [via]

Brooklyn’s White Rabbits were the breakout band in 2007 here at Oyster headquarters.  And so when their newly-released album It’s Frightening dropped in May we were taken off guard.

Not because we weren’t expecting it, but because producer Britt Daniel (Spoon frontman) managed to capture the drumtastic-excellence of their live show. The thumping piano, so prevalent on the first album, has taken a backseat to the drums.

You see, White Rabbits bring the thunder to their live show with dueling drum kits, in fact the drums are so overwhelming and forceful that that’s all I remember from seeing them live.  And nowhere on their debut album was the percussive attack so front and center.

All that’s changed on the new album, which is chaotic, unrelenting and leaps and bounds better than their first album (which is so good it’s still in heavy rotation two years later), evidenced by the first single “Percussion Gun,” which the band played for Letterman the other night.

White Rabbits – “Percussion Gun”

It’s Frightening is out now on TBD Records; you can stream the full album on their MySpace page.

I’m planning on catching them in Boston in early June and then again when they swing back to Portland later in the month.  And so should you when they come to your city.

WHITE RABBITS TOUR DATES
5/21 – Bowery Ballroom – New York NY
5/30 – Grog Shop – Cleveland OH
5/31 – Do Division Fest – Chicago IL
6/01 – Summit – Columbus OH
6/02 – Rock N Roll Hotel – Washington DC
6/04 – Middle East – Boston MA
6/05 – Johnny Brendas – Philadelphia PA
6/06 – Brillobox – Pittsburgh PA
6/09 – Mojos – Columbia SC
6/10 – Firebird – St Louis MO
6/11 – Bonnaroo – Manchester TN
6/14 – Emo’s – Austin TX
6/16 – Club Congress – Tuscon AZ
6/17 – Casbah – San Diego CA
6/18 – Troubadour – Los Angeles CA
6/20 – Independent – San Francisco CA
6/22 – Crocodile Cafe – Seattle WA
6/23 – Doug Fir – Portland OR
6/24 – Neurolux – Boise ID
6/25 – Urban Lounge – Salt Lake UT
6/26 – Bluebird – Denver, CO
6/27 – Slowdown JR – Omaha NE
6/29 – 400 Bar – Minneapolis MN
6/30 – High Noon – Madison WI
7/1 – Empty Bottle Chicago IL
7/02 – Pike Room – Pontiac WI
8/1 – All Points West Festival – Liberty State Park NJ

As a means to promote the upcoming release of No Line on the Horizon, U2 will be performing on late-night television each night for an entire week. Only instead of Conan O’Brien, like the White Stripes did before them, Bono, Edge and the gang have chosen The Late Show With David Letterman as the place they’ll pump out the bombast from March 2–6. We can only hope that they won’t be doing “Get on Your Boots” for all five nights.  That’s not a very good song. [Rock & Roll Daily/Rolling Stone]

Here’s Farah Fawcett and Crispin Glover on Letterman.  I’m thinking Joaquin Phoenix just completed the holy triumvirate.

So it looks like Joaquin Phoenix is determined to keep the act up that he’s quit acting and going into a music career with hip-hop.  Okay fine.  It’s already tiresome It’s still really funny, highlighted by this bizarre non-interview with Letterman last night.

Someone needs to create a Where’s Joaquin? book for Urban Outfitters that puts him into Waldo type situations.

It’s almost too easy to compile a funny list when you have excellent source material to work with.  This is also, waaaaay less creepy than the Jim Carrey in a bathtub top 10 from last night.  No seriously, that was some awkward list making, involving Larry King.  I literally haven’t been able to get it out of my head.

It’s the age old question.  Maybe even more so than how many Chinese midgets can fit inside a clown car.  Let’s go to the video evidence and find out courtesy of David Letterman.

Not to nitpick but do you suppose the Black Spider-Men and the Superman count for the total?

So when John McCain bailed on Letterman to go “attend to” the financial crisis back in DC, you had to imagine that if he ever made it back to David Letterman’s show that it could be an awkward affair.

And it was!  Last night Letterman good naturedly ribs McCain.  It’s awkward and funny!  McCain shows off his humor with weird jokes about his POW days, Denny’s Grandslam breakfast and then has the tables turned on him regarding the William Ayers issue. Oh snap!

Nevertheless, John McCain still ends up looking like Skeletor and I secretly suspect that that is the reason why no one wants to vote for him.