A Day in a Lolla

Last Saturday, me and my steady gal (Maggie) checked out Lollapalooza. We only bought the one day pass because we'll be seeing a lot of the bands at Austin City Limits (the best festival in all the land) and wanted to save some scratch. Why Saturday though? Quite simply, The Hold Steady played on Saturday; but we'll get to that later. Here's a rundown.

I'm From Barcelona played at 12:30 and we caught the end of that show, which is unfortunate. What transpired was 40-50 Swedish (not actually from Barcelona...I was confused too) folk running around on stage in brightly colored clothing, animal suits, or both. I was visibly shaken.

Pete Yorn was on at 1:30. We got their early to get close to the stage because Maggie's in love with him, which is unfortunate for me. The set was solid, but I couldn't completely enjoy it for aforementioned reasons. By the way, I'm convinced that if Pete Yorn took off his sunglasses he'd look like a weasel. That was uncalled for. Also, Lance Armstrong was on the side of the stage for the show, and Pete Yorn's keyboardist may be Elvis Costello...thought you should know. Here's the set-list (Recorded by Little Dynamite Cell Phone Method)

Pete Yorn at Lolla:
1. June
2. Already Is
3. Ask Yourself
4. Life on a Chain
5. Splendid Isolation
6. Just Another
7. The Man
8. Closet
9. Policies
10. On Your Side
11. Murray
12. Young Folks (Peter Bjorn and John cover...neat suprise)
13. Strange Condition
14. New Track...sorry

The Cold War Kids were next show we checked out. The show was packed. We had to sit under a tree, and we couldn't see the stage. However, the show was phenomenal. I liked every song. Bought the album when I got home. Soaring vocals (provided by Nathan Willet), strong back beats, bluesy guitars, sloppy piano for a fantastic product. Plus they're obsessed with Tom Waits, which has to be a good thing. I also heard that they had a poet open for them on tour. Myspace them. Do it.

Which brings us to The Hold Steady. They played for one hour, and in that one hour provided one of the top five shows I've ever seen. The Hold Steady is pure joy on stage. No one could ever accuse these guys of taking themselves too seriously; they are having the time of their lives up there. Keyboardist Franz Nicolay waved to the crowed and jumped up and down beaming in anticipation for the show. Frontman Craig Finn came out giddy as well, adorned in a Ron Gardenhire jersey (for those of you that are not from Minnesota like Craig Finn or Little Dynamite, Gardenhire is the Twins manager...and Finn was wearing his jersey...how cool is that). And the smiles continued throughout the show. After songs, Finn would scream jokes across stage at bassist Galen Polivka and lead guitarist Tad Kubler. Between lyrics, Finn would move to the front of the stage, away from the mic, and yell at the crowd, as if he was having a conversation with us, further explaining the lyrics to the song. As Kubler's six-string wailed out a solo, Finn would dance the type of dance you do when you think no one's watching.

The set was fantastic. They played 7 tracks from Boys and Girls in America (Stuck Between Stations, Chips Ahoy, Hot Soft Light, Party Pit, You Can Make Him Like You, South Town Girls, Massive Nights) but also dipped into their earlier catalogue, which I'm not too familiar with, but desire to become familiar with. The audience of mainly males aged 20 to 35 was jumping up and down the whole show, screaming lyrics back at Finn. The band patted each other's back, swigged Bud Selects, and laughed. At the conclusion of the show, Finn told the crowd that they started playing as an excuse to get together and drink beer once a week. He told us how much joy there was up on stage, as if we couldn't see it, and thanked us for sharing in it. It was, of course, my pleasure.

Post-script: I bought a Hold Steady t-shirt that has the first names of the band members listed down the front...and that's it.

Pictures of the show to follow.

My Top 25 Most Played

I'll start by saying that my list is reset every time I update my iTunes, so this list is very new and very album biased since I tend to listen to albums at work almost exclusively...with that in mind, here goes:

1) The Shins - Australia
2) Bob Schneider - Oklahoma
3) The Shins - Pam Berry
4) Ryan Adams - New York, New York
5) The Shins - Sleeping Lessons
6) The Shins - Phantom Limb
7) Feist - Past in Present
8) The National - All the Wine
9) The National - Abel
10) The National - Mr. November
11) The Shins - Sea Legs
12) The Shins - Red Rabbits
13) Teddy Thompson - I Should Get Up
14) Feist - 1234
15) M. Ward - Post-War
16) M. Ward - Chinese Translation
17) M. Ward - Eyes on the Prize
18) M. Ward - Magic Trick
19) M. Ward - Neptune's Net
20) M. Ward - Rollercoaster
21) M. Ward - Today's Undertaking
22) The National - Baby We'll Be Fine
23) The National - The Geese of Beverly Road
24) Ray LaMontagne - Three More Days
25) The Slip - Children of December

Slaid Cleaves; Live in Ballard Park

Saw a little gem of a show the other night - Slaid Cleaves live in Ridgefield, CT on July 24. It was an outdoor venue where Slaid and his bluesey guitar playing companion put on almost a 2 hours show that was quite enjoyable, especially considering it was a pretty pleasant New England summer evening.

First things first; Slaid Cleaves is a Maine native who's been down in Austin, TX - a place near and dear to the authors of this blog - for about 7 years now. He's put out 3 albums since 1997's No Angel Knows, the latest of which was an album of covers you've never heard of.

He was charming and chatty and engaging and played a bunch of folksy, fun songs. If you enjoy folk ballads, then you'd certainly like to see Slaid live if you get the chance. He's not going to blow your mind, but he's definitely going to make sure you have a great time.

Highlight of the night was definitely 'Oh Roberta,' a lovely tune off of his latest cover album, Unsung that he played towards the end of the show. A few other songs off that album are streaming on his myspace page.

Awesome dude of the night award goes to the guy sitting on a blanket by himself way up front with about 8 empty Sierra Nevada Pale Ales in front of him, and four more to go. This would be far less impressive except for the fact that, to my knowledge, there are no restroom facilities within a quarter mile.

Anyway, if you're a fan of folk music, and have not checked this guy out yet it might be worth your while to do so. Finally, Friday Sept. 7, in Edgerton Park in New Haven Slaid shares the stage with a stellar lineup of musicians including Greg Brown, Mary Gauthier, and The Campbell Brothers in an evening of music that may be worth your while if you're in the locale.

I don't have any Slaid tracks in my catalogue yet, so I'll leave you with a folk ballad by another artist instead. Slan go foill.

Listening pleasure - The Ghost Of Tom Joad

Odds and Ends

I have three talking points:

1) It's always fun to check out your Top 25 Most Played feature on itunes. It's a pretty good barometer as to where you stand musically. I think from now on, whenever anyone asks me what kind of music I'm into, I'll just throw some of these on a mix cd and say "enjoy." I'm not saying that this list completely defines my musical tastes (it lacks more tracks from Van and Bruce, in favor of more modern tracks), and it is definitely skewed due to various variables (a lot of chill songs that were listened to while studying, etc.), but it is still very interesting. Here's my list. Gentleman of the blog and readers, I'm very interested in your lists (I know JTR doesn't have itunes, but I'm sure that yahoomusic has something similar...but seriously, its getting kind of embarrassing for all of us.)

Little Gun's Top 25 Most Played
1. Land-Locked Blues - Bright Eyes
2. Secret Heart - Feist (Live at Chicago Park West)
3. West of Her Spine - Bell X1
4. Monster Ballads - Josh Ritter
5. The Hardest Part - Ryan Adams
6. Once In a Blue Moon - Van Morrison
7. Shelter - Ray LaMontagne
8. What'll We Do - Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
9. Summerteeth - Wilco
10. Reasons To Lie - Whiskeytown
11. Pinball Machine - Bell X1
12. Jesus, etc. - Wilco
13. Happy - Brandi Carlile
14. Houses on the Hill - Whiskeytown (Live on KCRW)
15. Sovay - Andrew Bird
16. Strange Condition - Pete Yorn
17. Girl From the North Country - Bob Dylan
18. Mrs. Potters Lullaby - Counting Crows
19. What Would I Do Without You? - Ray Charles
20. The Henney Buggey Band - Sufjan Stevens
21. Good Man - Josh Ritter
22. Jacksonville Skyline - Whiskeytown
23. Jesus, etc. - Wilco (Not a typo, I have two of this track on my itunes and they BOTH made the Top 25...that's how good a song this is)
24. Gotta Have You - The Weepies
25. When the Night Feels My Song - Bedouin Soundclash (really got caught up in this track last year...along with every 16 year old girl in the nation)

2. And that was just the first talking point. Second talking point: You're an artist, and you're playing at a sweet intimate music venue (Magic Stick in Detroit, First Ave in MN, Knitting Factory in NYC, etc.). What drink do you have with you on stage? Do you have a bottle of wine like Eddie Vedder? Are you sipping a Red Stripe like Bryce Dessner of The National
(I will post on their show I saw in June sometime in the next year)? Or do you use up so much energy on stage like The Boss that you've gotta hydrate with some H20? At first, I was going to go with my favorite beer currently, Bell's Two-Hearted Ale out of Kalamazoo, MI, but it might be too heavy for a show. So I switched to a brew that's equally as enjoyable, and also may quench the thirst a bit more: Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale (hopefully not too obvious a pick). Again, interested in your choices.

3. Austin based Voxtrot is a solid band whose album I just purchased. They're basically an 80's rock sounding band with piano, strings, and catchy lyrics thrown in the mix. Check out their myspace.

Paintjam

Trust me it's music related...enjoy the tunes while you watch, but make sure to watch until the end...

Jack the Rabbit Stages A Triumphant Return - Sleepyhead, or NYC in the 90s

"If Syd Barrett had not departed for another dimension, this is how Pink Floyd would have sounded in 1999."

-- some Portugese (?) guy at a place that bills itself as The History of Rock Music

[disclaimer: this quote is not true; this guy is nuts -- but his arrogance is so out of control we need to respect him]

Sleepyhead:

Chris O'Rourke

Rachael McNally

(Mike Galinsky) - old bassist

Dan Cuddy - current bassist

absurd that someone else is writing about these guys; check out the June 12, 2007 post

---

Saw these guys with my cousin Beez a few years ago in a Jamaica Plain bar named....can't remember the name. They had just switched bassists from their long time buddy Mike Galinsky to Dan Cuddy, mostly because Mike didn't want to leave NYC, and Chris and Rachael did.

Core band members Chris O'Rourke and Rachael McNally (who are married, incidentally) packed it up and moved Sleepyhead to Boston with some 4 odd albums, a number of singles and some compilations under their belt. This is the background.

The night we saw them in Jamaica Plain was one of their first performances they had played since basing their crew back in Massachusetts, and they were on fire. The studio space was limited, and the venue was intimate and they scorched through a set of tunes which were unfamiliar, but exceedingly entertaining. O'Rourke's guitar was screaming, even as he tempered the sound with his disarming voice. McNally held down the beat and added her sometimes gorgeous, sometimes spacey supporting vocals, and took the lead on a few songs. Cuddy thumped away seamlessly like he'd been playing with them since the mid-90s.

There's not much you need to know about this band except that they're impossibly underground, extremely hip and have talent to boot. They're ambitious in their endevours, and that's one of the most magnetic aspects of their vibe. I'll throw in a few tracks at the end of this post, as always, to give you a taste where they're coming from. They've come a long way on their musical journey, from a post punk era band in NYC in the early 90s to their current status as mature, talented and conscientious rockers in New England.

The best kept secret is this. Each album released has been significantly different, and better, than the last. The Brighter Shore, their last issue, was the closest they've gotten yet to their true potential. And the big news is that there is another album which has been in the works for about 5 years now which should be released sometime in 2008, I expect. (The recording and producing work was de-railed on two occaisons by additions to the O'Rourke/McNally family.) This next album, by all reports, will be their most impressive yet, and you should definitely keep an eye out for it. Get on the bandwagon now, and it'll be legitimate when you're cranking their next album at full volume. Go find their old albums. My fellow blogger linked above has some details on how you can find them.

You could write volumes on the angstful indie scene in NYC in the 90s, but most of that stuff ended up being whiney rubbish. Sleepyhead, however, transcends the scene. Here's some proof:

ALL FROM THE BRIGHTER SHORE:

-- check out the Rosalita-esque theme (by the way, I have reports this is a big hit in the Rathmines village of Dublin):
Big Fat Cigar

-- another gem from the Brighter Shore, a real indie anthem:
Citizen's Band

-- yeah, listen to these lyrics again:
Perfect World

-- track 1 of the album...believe it:
Song For The Pied Piper


See you at their next album release party.

A Pretty Sweet BBQ disc and other father's day goodies

About a month ago, Jack The Rabbit wrote a piece regarding BBQ cds which are to be played on summer days when you have nothing to do but sip on a Sam's Summer, toss the football around, and take down a few burgers. The cd that I wish to discuss today should not be played in this setting. Instead, it is the ultimate cd to be played post BBQ, when everyone's still sitting out on the deck, still consuming brews, checking out some stars, solving the worlds problems. The CD is Sam Cooke, One-Night Stand: Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963. I discovered it when my buddy played it post-BBQ on such a night as described above in Rio Grande City, Texas. On the CD, Cooke simply puts on a show; after you listen you'll probably never listen to one of his studio albums again. You feel like you're there. You feel the crowd getting into it, as they sing along on "Chain Gang." You feel Cooke feeding off their energy, and delivering his raw, yet silky smooth voice. And as Cooke says, "Don't fight the feeling."

And as a bonus, it kills in the 50 and over age group. I gave it to my pops for father's day, and we threw it on after dinner (on the deck) and mom and pops were straight groovin. Anyway, pick it up, throw it on, and if you feel like dancing, I won't fault you for it.

Track List
1. Soul Twist/Introduction
2. Feel It (Don't Fight It)
3. Chain Gang
4. Cupid
5. Medley: It's All Right/For Sentimental Reasons
6. Twistin' The Night Away
7. Somebody Have Mercy
8. Bring It On Home
9. Nothing Can Change This Love
10. Having a Party

Along with the Sam Cooke tunes, the old man received what I called "Dad's Rock 'n' Roll Mix." Often, when I play my dad tunes, he'll say, "I like it, but it's not really rock 'n' roll (keep in mind my dad's version of Rock 'n' Roll is Beatles, Stones, Clapton...not Replacements, Nick Cave...although I did put a song on by The Replacements front man...so I don't really know where I'm going with this)." So I threw together a mix with a little more punch, a little more tempo and a little less of my beloved nancy pants tunes (I still threw in a few of these however..just for a balanced cd). Here's what transpired:

1. Eddie's Gun - The Kooks
2. Midnight In Her Eyes - The Black Keys
3. Another Sunny Day - Belle And Sebastian
4. Oklahoma - Bob Schneider
5. Four Winds - Bright Eyes
6. Been There All The Time - Dinosaur Jr.
7. Chips Ahoy - The Hold Steady
8. I Want To Hold Your Hand - Al Green (This is a must have)
9. Josephine - Brandi Carlile
10. You Can Tell Georgia - Joe Purdy
11. When You Were Young - The Killers
12. Float On - Modest Mouse
13. Mr. November - The National
14. Love You In The Fall - Paul Westerberg
15. Murray - Pete Yorn
16. Consolation Prizes - Phoenix
17. London Girl - The Pogues
18. To Be Young - Ryan Adams
19. Australia - The Shins
20. Past In Present - Feist
21. Yellow Datsun - Neva Dinova

The Kooks-Pure Pop

I first heard of The Kooks last summer on the blog I Am Fuel, You Are Friends (which all three of us are huge fans of) when Heather posted a little 4 song Kooks sampler (Naive, Sofa Song; Crazy, and California). I quickly absorbed the four songs and listened to them non-stop. I tried to order the album, but for some reason it was only available on import from Japan (I think) and cost around $40...so despite the awesomeness of the tracks, I passed. A few months later, a very special lady somehow got their debut cd, Inside In/Inside Out for me...hopefully not having paid $40 to buy it from a Japanese bookstore. But now, the album is available stateside, through the convenient medium of itunes, and I'm here to tell you about it.

The album is 18 tracks of rockin pop tunes, all with catchy guitar riffs, bold vocals from lead singer Luke Pritchard, and appealing lyrics telling tales of these barely 20 year-old (or younger) band-mates' nights out and the girls they meet in their native town of Brighton, England. Apparently these guys are all the rave in Britain, and are starting to make some noise in the states as well (sold out all of their U.S. shows on their current tour). Their big singles overseas are Sofa Song and Eddie's Gun. Both are very good representations of the type of sound you'll get from The Kooks on this album. Both feature strong guitars at the forefront and Luke yelping about trying to get under girls dresses. The single I've heard floating around certain radio stations in the U.S. is "Naive," which offers more of the same of this successful formula.

But beyond the singles, there are plenty of other tremendous tracks in this 18-song burst of energy. "She Moves In Her Own Way," slows down the tempo and intensity (and adds a bit of hand-clapping) for another catchy number. The next track, "Matchbox," picks it back up a notch, but also shows evidence of the band's wide array of influences when they slip in a little reggae feel to the middle of the song.

And it's this last point, the wide array of influences, that I think intrigues me most about this band. They claim to listen to everything from Marvin Gaye to Gnarls Barkley (aforementioned "Crazy" is a cover of the Gnarls Barkley hit), and Pritchard claims that their next album will attempt to include every genre, no exclusions. Also, the fact that every member of the band shares the songwriting load ensures that the songs won't stay static.

And if none of these reasons convince you to buy the album, consider this: the one cover they have on the album is Mason Jennings' "California." A Britpop band that covers a folksy crooner like our boy Mason Jennings? I take that as a good sign. On their website, Pritchard says when pop is good "there's nothing better." The Kooks make good pop.

California

Sofa Song

Bob Schneider - Live at the Nutty Brown Cafe (Austin, TX) 5/26/07

It finally happened. Little Gun and I made it to the music mecca, aka Austin, Texas, to see one of our all-time favorites, Bob Schneider, play to his home crowd. We saw BSchneids play two of our three nights in town and it was amazing. Our first night in town was Saturday where he played the Nutty Brown Cafe a few miles out of the city.

We showed up early enough to get a table and eat some delicious kobe beef burgers and down a couple of Shiner Bocks on the enormous patio deck before Bob came on. Actually, we finished eating well before "Johnny," the painfully amateur solo guitarist, opened the show. But for the time being, it was a beautiful Texas night and I was enjoying the delicate taste of fine Texas beer.

Before I start in on the concert, I have to paint a picture of the venue: a LARGE outdoor patio that bumps up to a backyard with a separate bar and soundstage in the middle. After a collection of about 15 picnic tables in the yard portion, a concrete floor adjoins a permanent stage adorned with faded gray logs that have been attached around the base of the stage. I kept thinking I was in Iowa at an extended-family function in the country. Families chatted during the opening act while kids played with trucks, toy guns, and bouncy-balls on the concrete floor. High school kids sat together, enjoying the freedom of summer and the joys of youthful flirtation under a newly threatening gray sky.

I've been a big fan of Bob's since I first heard "The World Exploded Into Love" about four years ago and have since tried to see him live many times. I caught him for the first time with Jack the Rabbit in NYC at the Knitting Factory this past October for a solo show that basically turned into a night of Boddington's and yelling out favorites (which Bob played until about 2 am). My brothers always joke that Bob only sings about "blue skies, bubblegum, and cherry pies." While true, these lyrics do show up in some songs, BSchneids never takes himself too seriously and has plenty of songs that explore religion, drinking tequila in Mexico, relationships, along with songs titled "Big Butts and Blow Jobs", "Perfectly Shaved Asian Teens", and "Assknocker." Basically, Bob doesn't give a shit what you think of his music; he's going to play whatever he feels like -- and I wouldn't have it any other way. His blend of Texas rock, sometimes alt-rap, and feel good soft spots all combine to make Bob Schneider one of today's most underrated artists (outside of Austin, that is...).

While waiting for Bob to come on, Little Gun and I decided to think of what car he drives. I said a Dodge Charger, Little Gun Said an '88 Monte Carlo, and Jack the Rabbit said a '94 Pontiac Firebird via text message. I think that about covers our vision of Bob as a Bill Brasky-type character.

As the clouds began to build, so did our anticipation for Bob. He came out as casual as the atmosphere of the venue and began to play my currently-most-played song "Oklahoma." Even a few drops of rain here and there could do nothing to kill my mood. I was in Texas, with my best friend, listening to one of my favorite artists, and drinking a beer outside. Life was good.

Bob's set was varied and he played plenty of old favorites throughout the night. As Little Gun and I talked earlier in the night, we discussed how random instruments can instantly lift a good song to great song status. My favorite instrument in this category was the mandolin, and sure enough, after a great "Come With Me Tonight," the mandolin came out for "A Long Way to Get" (as well as some fancy whistling work by Bob). Another live Bob favorite, "The Paraplegic Blues" also got a little mandolin action, as Bob brought out the harmonica and rocked.

It seems BSchneids has been moving more towards his rap style as of late with some songs like "Cheaper," "Rollin'", "It's Alright 'Cause I Love You Baby," (with Bob's seemingly favorite toy that can only be described as a mouth keyboard...) and - my favorite - "Mudhouse." I like when he throws these songs into his sets because it keeps everything fresh and the audience on their toes. Bob doesn't have a Jack Johnson-like style that you can define. He goes all over the place, with hard rock tunes like "Everything I Have...", "Holding in the World" and "The Californian" ; soft-lullaby songs like "Big Blue Sea", "Piggyback", and "Metal & Steel"; and funky up-tempo songs like "Round and Round", "Mix It Up", and "Cap'n Kirk" all in one performance.

All in all the night was great, albeit a little wet, and my Austin experience had only just begun. As Bob closed with a lively Scabs (Bob's former band) fan favorite "Tarantula" that had the crowd dancing and singing wildly, and a great cover of "Is This Love," I was hoping for a worthy encore. While not disappointed with "Cap'n Kirk" and "Big Blue Sea," neither were captured on the live cd that is featured below. I guess they had to shut down the recording to get cds burned in time for people to buy them, but I wish they could've made it on because they were a great way to finish off the night.

(*note, the recording is also missing "Love Theme from Mork & Mindy", "My One True Love", and "Getting Better" between songs #13 and #14...this is where the split for the double cd came in...but here's a great performance of Bob singing "Love Theme from Mork & Mindy").

So here is the live recording of the show for your enjoyment. You have to see Bob if you get the chance, be it solo or with his full band. He always puts on an entertaining performance that will leave you feeling like "the world exploded into love."

Bob Schneider - Live at the Nutty Brown Cafe (Austin, TX) 5/26/07

1. Oklahoma--I Don't Know For Sure
2. Come With Me Tonight
3. A Long Way to Get
4. The Paraplegic Blues
5. Piggyback
6. Heart Holds Diamonds
   
7. I'm Good Now
8. Cheaper
9. The Californian
10. The Californian (cont'd)
11. Everything I Have Don't Mean Nothing to Me Now
12. Bullets
13. Holding in the World
14. Rollin'
15. Flower Parts
16. It's Alright 'Cause I Love You Baby
17. Medicine
18. Round and Round
19. Mix It Up
20. Boom Box
21. Metal & Steel
22. Tarantula
23. Mudhouse
24. Is This Love
25. (Goodnight)

I highly recommend a visit to Bob's official website where you can listen to most of his entire discography for free, as well as some pretty entertaining commentary on each song. Also, head on over to BobSchneiderLive.com for a large collection of old live shows that you can stream for free. A bunch of these shows are at Saxon Pub in Austin, where we saw him play that Monday night (which Little Gun will probably be posting on in the near future).

The National - Jack The Rabbit's New Favorite Band

Over memorial day weekend, Little Dynamite flew down from NYC to meet me in Austin for plenty of live music, Shiner Bock and breakfast tacos. The details of this trip and the music we saw and heard will be documented at a later date (probably in some sort of 5 part series). The purpose of this post is to talk about the cd that we listened to almost exclusively in my car (1998 Toyota Sienna mini-van...thanks for asking). The band was The National, and the cd was their 2005 release Alligator, which apparently was praised by music snobs everywhere, but I somehow missed out on until now. Now, I don't think that JTR is aware of this band's greatness, and I'm pretty sure that they will be his new favorite band. So, this post is dedicated to showing him why they will be his new favorite band because he could not be in that mini-van with us in Austin. Without further-ado.

1) They write beautiful, catchy music: This aspect of the band might be overlooked by most (due to the strength of points 2 through 5), but at some point within each song lies a sweet melody that keeps you coming back for more.

2) Front man Matt Beringer's delivery: Beringer's baritone (or as my mom said, mono-tone) delivery is most reminiscent of Leonard Cohen, but it is definitely a unique voice; and a unique voice is something that JTR values in an artist (ex: Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Craig Finn of the Hold Steady).

3) Their style: They can pass for a rockin' garage band ("Mr. November," "Abel" off of Alligator), play slow beautiful tunes ("Gospel" off of their latest, Boxer) and anywhere in between. Regardless, they never lose their intensity.

4) Lyrics: This band might just be arrogant enough for JTR. They have some fantastic one-liners, and it's evident they know it because they usually repeat them throughout the song. They also quite beautifully romanticize the subjects of their songs ("We'll run like we're awesome, totally genius/We're the heirs to the glimmering world;" from Geese of Beverly Road or my personal favorite, "I'm put together beautifully/I'm a perfect piece of ass" from All The Wine).

5) Coolness: For evidence of coolness go to blogotheque.net, watch The National's "Start a War" video and watch Beringer (I'm gonna let Little D go in depth about blogotheque.net because he introduced it to me; and Little D, go to The National's website for more videos by Vincent Moon of blogotheque fame).

This has gone on way to long. I'll probably post more next week about The National because I'm seeing them next week in Detroit, MI. For now, pick up Alligator and then quickly thereafter buy their latest, Boxer. You know Jack The Rabbit will.

Until I post some tracks, check out some myspace. "Secret Meeting" is friggin fantastic.