This past weekend marked my return to the Hanger Bar on East 3rd street. I brought my favorite tracks from the UK excursion, as well as a newfound love for the “What Band Do You Think YOU’RE In” game. Amazingly enough, one can play the game while shooting pool at HB. So it goes when a Friday night party attracts disgruntled locals (aka, starving musicians of the E.Vill.) and the women who love to grind em.
So here we are, a lil guide to my favorite singles of the moment:
1. “The Beginning of the Twist” – The Futureheads. Kudos to these guys for getting this single to number 20 on the UK charts without a shred of advertising money. The guys are iconic of the new business model, finding success on the merit of sheer talent… and covert Myspazz tactics. The “Twist” is probably the best original song they’ve ever recorded. (I nearly wrote best song overall, but what they’ve done to “Hounds of Love” is hard to beat). www.myspace.com/thefutureheads
2. “Great DJ” – The Ting Tings. Sorry UK friends, I know this shit is trendy, but I LOVE it. The fact that they’ve got a chick singer and I don’t mind… it means something. I can hear this song 3847893 times in one night (thanks XFM Big Night Out DJs), and still get stoked. www.myspace.com/thetingtings
3. “Time to Pretend” – MGMT. Finally, a hype band from NYC that I actually LIKE. (I say this with the assumption that White Rabbits are not a hype band, and no one truly believes We Are Scientists are from NYC). www.myspace.com/mgmt
4. “After Hours” – We Are Scientists. Yes, speaking of the Scientists, I adore them. I’m never one to argue music’s merits. I believe that taste is wholly subjective, and if you want to hate on this band because you think they’re more comedy than substance or losers in the game of reinventing the music wheel, so be it. But if that’s the case, you might very well be missing a soul, and you will absolutely be missing out on a feel-good tune of late night lock-ins (and I’m sorry, but you know as well as I that making lock-ins sound happy is a daunting, daunting task). www.myspace.com/wearescientists
5. “Cassius” – Foals. This is what music by Mexican jumping beans would sound like if the jumping beans were actually pothead British music nerds who recorded their debut with David Sitek in BK before pissing him off and remixing a large portion of his work after the fact. Also, points to them for puking onstage at Bowery Ballroom (ok, Maybe not). www.myspace.com/foals
6. “Diamond Hoo Ha Man” – Supergrass. Such an unattractive frontman, such a fun (albeit White Stripes rip off) comeback single. Anything with a refrain of “BITE ME!” wins in a tequila shoot-out. Shit like this makes me just as much a fan of natural selection rejection as my man, Faris Rotter. www.myspace.com/supergrass
7. “Elvis” – These New Puritans. Speaking of the Horrors, they were the first people to tip me off to TNP (as made evidence by the “check this shit” bookmark in my web browser, courtesy of Joshua Third). The version of “Elvis” on their Myspace sounds like absolute shit, but I assure you the proper recording is like a fashionpop version of “Blindness” by the Fall. As in, that song, with a supersexy chorus. If any of you ever partied at Lit or the Hole in NYC circa 2003, “Elvis” will remind you of slinking alongside some dark-haired PYT with a dangerous sense of adventure. www.myspace.com/thesenewpuritans
8. “Let’s Lightning” – Pull Tiger Tail. One of only two or three properly released singles from this London trio, “Let’s Lightning” is only the tip of an iceberg. It’s fairly likely that these songs will never get their due in the States, which is unfortunate, because I’d rather dance to this than the boring crap being splashed all over MTV2 (newsflash – Tokyo Police Club are NOT good. They are BORING. I’ve seen them live enough times to be won over, to no avail. PTT on the other hand – fun. as. balls). www.myspace.com/pulltigertail
Annnnnyway, that’s only a small portion of this past week’s playlist (other notables: “Young Love” by Mystery Jets, “It’s Not Over Yet” by Klaxons, and, um, “She Bop” by Cyndi Lauper), but you get the idea of my likes. You can start with your judgements now, because it’s time for me to unleash mine. Yes, it’s time for this week’s edition of What Band Do You Think YOU’RE In????
This week’s offenders? I got the tip from a friend who attended the inaugural Bamboozle Left festival (thanks, Aaron!).
Ladies and gentlemen, ESCAPE THE FATE.
Don’t be alarmed, they’re all dudes. But can you guess each of their favorite bands? I bet you can! Ready? Left to right, as always.
30 Seconds to Mars. The Runaways. Kill Hannah. Aiden. Annnnnd…… Velvet Revolver. Yeah that’s right. Not Guns N Roses. Velvet Revolver. The former version of Slash would be too cool for this guy.
Yaaaaaaaaay! That was fun. (But not as fun as the Futureheads single).
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