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Song of the Day #766: ‘A-Punk (Acoustic)’ – Vampire Weekend

Apparently on one of the many shows with which Ryan Seacrest is associated, he features what he calls Green Room performances by popular acts. I happened upon this clip of Vampire Weekend performing their first hit, ‘A-Punk,’ in that setting.

I really love the music these guys make, though I can understand the urge some people have to punch them in the face. They’re just so cute and preppy and precious. A bunch of hyper-literate Ivy League types playing African-influenced chamber pop… yeah, that sounds like a group that needs to get their asses kicked.

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Song of the Day #765: ‘Can You Tell’ – Ra Ra Riot

Yesterday I wrote about discovering the new Brandon Flowers song because of its video starring Charlize Theron. I read about the clip in Rolling Stone and that sent me to the Web to seek it out.

Today’s SOTD was discovered in similar fashion. I happened upon a blog entry on some independent music site titled ‘The Hottest Babes in Indie Rock.’ In trying to find it to refer back, I’ve discovered about a dozen sites with similar articles, so this is apparently a popular topic.

I recognized, and agreed with, a few of the names on the list, including Neko Case, Jenny Lewis and M.I.A. Other names were familiar but I don’t know enough about them or their music to have formed an opinion (Bat For Lashes and Cat Power, for example).

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Song of the Day #764: ‘Crossfire’ – Brandon Flowers

It’s interesting that the demise of MTV (or rather, its complete transformation to a channel that has nothing to do with music) hasn’t meant the end of the music video. On the contrary, the Internet has made music videos more accessible and popular than ever. You can watch pretty much every video ever shot on demand simply by visiting YouTube.

I suppose that’s what Killers frontman Brandon Flowers has in mind when he hires Charlize Theron to appear in the first video from his solo debut, Flamingo. You create enough buzz with a clip like this and maybe it’ll go viral and you’ll wind up selling a few thousand records as a result.

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2010 Fall movie preview

While compiling this annual preview, I realized I’m actually more excited about the new music releases due this Fall than I am the new movies.

New CD’s from Ben Folds, Elvis Costello, Belle & Sebastian and Lucinda Williams will hit the shelves over the next few months — an embarrassment of riches.

But I’ll find time to go to the movies in between listening to all those albums, and below is a list of the ones I want to see the most.

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Song of the Day #763: ‘I Feel A Change Comin’ On’ – Bob Dylan

Many of Bob Dylan’s albums are noteworthy for the atmosphere they evoke. The Basement Tapes sounds like it truly was recorded by a group huddled together in a basement (which it was, in part, but that’s not really important). Oh Mercy evokes the gothic New Orleans streets outside the studio. Blonde On Blonde has always sounded to me like the music of a shanty fishing town.

Together Through Life is one of the best examples of Dylan’s work creating an atmosphere. In this case, it’s the sound of a dive bar on the U.S.-Mexico border. The instrumentation (particularly David Hidalgo’s accordion), Dylan’s hard-luck vocals and the songs themselves all paint that place vividly in my mind.

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