I just wanted to put this out there for all the non D.C. folk who probably haven’t heard of Argyle Academy. It’s a great comic strip that appears on DCist centering around a vampire cat, chatty fruit flies, and other weird/awesome characters.
To get a taste of what it’s all about, click here and here.
It’s always inspiring to see local art/creative work that is actually good.
You can visit the Web site here.
I went to Jared’s DJ night a few weeks ago at the Rock and Roll Hotel and kept running up to the DJ booth to find out about certain artists he was playing. Ends up, I walked out of the venue with two loaner CDs (that I haven’t returned yet) from Forget Cassettes and The Western Civilization (listen to songs on their MySpace pages) — both of which I’ve grown fond of in different ways.
Forget Cassettes are a super dramatic rock band fronted by the theatrical Beth Cameron. Their new album, Salt, has a lot of loud/soft dynamics and prominently features Cameron’s blistering vocals. Very urgent, very wounded. It’s melodic, but definitely a step away from the cutesy shit I’ve been listening to lately. That’s for damn sure. The song that grabs me the most is called “Quiero, Quieres,” although I think it might just be because every once in a while I like to hear someone beat the living hell out of a drum kit. Click here to download it directly from the label!
The Western Civilization is poppier than Forget Cassettes. And less dramatic. Unlike FC, they probably aren’t on suicide watch, but they’re still pretty downbeat, lyrically. Jared’s a huge fan, according to his post on them (click here to read it and download Bruise the Paper). They feature male and female singers and a lot of drum machines. For them, it seems to be all about the multi-textured layers. Keyboards, acoustic and electric guitars make for a pretty heterogeneous album.
Continuing in the series of bands I love with exclamation points in the name (Oh No! Oh My!, The Go! Team, Pony Up!), there’s the Welsh band Los Campesinos. If I were truly OCD, I’d try to make the upside-down Spanish exclamation point before “Los.” Lucky for you, my laziness trumps my commitment to linguistic accuracy.
As I said, Los Campesinos are from Cardiff, Wales. Considering I’m recommending them, it shouldn’t be surprised that they feature boy/girl vocals, bouncy rhythms, liberal violins and unabashedly poppy melodies.
I would be a little hard-pressed to put the band in “cute” category. They rock harder than most twee pop acts. I’d probably say they’re closer to Architecture in Helsinki than, say, Tilly and the Wall.
They’re just really quirky, and it comes through in their songwriting most of all. I have to admit — and this is really embarrassing to say, as a writer — that it’s not terribly often that I get caught up in lyrics. But their sense of fun catches my ear. Take the chorus of “Death to Los Campesinos!”: If you catch me with the hands in the till/ I promise, sugar, I wasn’t trying to steal/ I’m just swimming in copper/ To smell and pretend like I’m a robot.
Here’s the video for “You! Me! Dancing!” It’s a long song, but very enjoyable and the animated video is pretty cool. After that, go to their MySpace and listen to “Sweet Dreams Sweet Cheeks.”
Ladybirds are a duo out of Pennsylvania who make bouncy electro-pop. It fits right into this prolonged cutesy phase I’ve been going through lately.
There’s a little bit of boy/girl vocals, but it’s primarily female. At one point they even enlist a children’s choir. Usually I hate it when children sing, but the track in question “Andy Lex” is actually pretty good.
Head over to good old Jared’s site for an mp3 of one of my favorite tracks off the album entitled “Oh No! The Unicorns are Knife Fighting Again!”
I just discovered this band called Seabear out of Iceland and their debut, The Ghost That Carried Us Away, is growing on me with every listen. It’s Sufjan-y beta male stuff, with hushed vocals, strummy guitars and a fiddle.
This blog has an mp3 of Owl Waltz, which is pretty good. But if you only listen to one song, stream the song Arms at their MySpace.
You should have an egg and cheese sandwich on a bagel!
I had one the other day and I was all “Holy crap! Why don’t I have these every day?” And then I thought of my fat kid past and remembered.
But still, you should totally have one. Normally, I have an aversion to processed American cheese, but it is entirely necessary on the sandwich. Also, you can add sausage or bacon, but I tend to just stick with the egg and cheese. Only if I’m feeling particularly gluttonous will I add the sausage patty — another non-kosher treat I allow myself a couple times a year.
You totally want one now, don’t you? Mmmmmmmmmmm……….
Seriously. Go the bank and ask them for some wrappers. Then go to the coin jar or wherever you keep your loose change and then roll that shit up.
I just deposited $82.50 in my checking account. You can do it in front of the TV, so you don’t feel like a loser.
Warning: your hands smell like metal afterwards. You can solve this by washing them.
Specifically the lemonade flavor.
Thanks for all you do.
I’ve just gotten into this band from Australia called Love of Diagrams — particularly their first album called The Target is You. It’s mostly instrumental and reminded me a little bit of Sleater-Kinney with their distorted, sinewy guitar lines and angsty energy.
I guess they just released a new one on Matador and there’s some singing on it. I don’t know if I care for it as much as the early stuff, but maybe it’ll just take some getting used to. Jared has Pace or the Patience available for download (off the new one). I couldn’t find an mp3 of my favorite track, but it’s called Tiger Pancakes.
And I’m sorry that I can’t make this an interesting post, but I’m sort of tired. And hungry, even though I just had a huge lunch.