Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Mia and Mia

Sick to death of my dependence,
Fighting food to find transcendence.
Fighting to survive.
More dead, but more alive.
Cigarettes and speed to live,
And sleeping pills to feel forgiven.
All that you contrive, 
And all that you're deprived.

I mentioned Ted Leo yesterday, and it got me thinking about him, so let's do something of his shall we? Having no idea where to start, as I'm a fan of just about everything he does, we'll go with "Me and Mia", a song that illustrates the best of what he brings to music; thoughtful and clever songwriting paired with a hard hitting yet upbeat pop rock sensibility that is unmatched in my opinion. There's a lot I more could say, but I'll let the music speak for itself. Give it a listen.

If you like this, you can pretty much pick up anything he's done and go from there, but I'd also highly suggest catching him live if you can. His shows are always entertaining and he's one of the best live acts around.

Upcoming Shows

Death Cab for Cutie - Good Help (Is So Hard To Find)

I know it's such a dangerous place
For there are more ascensions than there is space
Angels causing accidents
The camera phones'll document
But if I start to levitate
Pull me down with all your weight

Death Cab for Cutie are extremely well known for a band that still considers itself "indie" (maybe that's the Seattle in them). Despite their ubiquity, this track is the first one that I put on a playlist and keep repeating. Weird, I know, but that fact has made me go back and find fresh appreciation for their previous releases, including tracks from Ben Gibbard's short-lived electro-pop band The Postal Service, and discovering that DCFC's video for "You Are a Tourist" made history in 2011 for being the first live, scripted, one-take short film/video.

Something to look forward to if you're going to a festival this summer is the possibility that Lauren Mayberry (of Chvrches) will join Gibbard and company on stage for a song. That happened twice last week  - Wednesday in South Carolina and again Saturday at the Firefly Festival in Delaware.

Upcoming Shows

Bones & Beeker - Each Time I Die

I was livin' in some other life
Another time I guess
Inside a different mind
A million eyes deceive
and quickly fade away
oh no
The shape I take and walk another line now

There is something haunting and familiar about this song. I can't place my finger on it, but I know I like it. Those groovy horns and funky beats would make a great backdrop to a Day of The Dead second line, or, something you might hear on the backlot of a particularly hip carnival. Bone Daddy (the skull-faced and red suit wearing bobble head on my desk) approves!

The rest of the tracks on their self-titled album is a bit different, with kind of an island meets hip-hop meets lounge feel that's quite nice; if a bit hard to define. If you like this and are interested in more, give "Lupine" a listen.

Upcoming Shows

School of Seven Bells - Ablaze

The day we met
there was a new fire
whose heart had been drowning for so long
When I was dark
you found a glowing ember
and set my world into a blaze again

It's both sad and beautiful that we have the final album from School of Seven Bells released this year. Sad because Benjamin Curtis died of cancer (in December 2013) after barely completing the recording of his parts for each track. And beautiful because his partner, Alejandra Deheza, made the effort to complete production of the songs she says they wrote at their most prolific and happy, just prior to Curtis' diagnosis. She will not tour solo with material from the band, but Deheza does plan to continue making music. 

Upcoming Shows

Chairlift - Moth to the Flame

I should know better than to take your love letters to heart
When the game's already lost before it starts
But hope hides inside the cliché
Like a nod of understanding
From the poet who first felt this way
How can I turn away?

Keith introduced me to Chairlift when he added "Crying in Public" to his fav new releases list, back in January. We both dig their sound, so we made an effort to see them at this year's SXSW. The duo did a beautifully theatric job performing to the packed club. Fun fact: the band started out making music for haunted houses!

Upcoming Shows