Comebacks

Hello all!

I'm here to tell you about the grand return of Cold War Kids, Metronomy, Peter Bjorn and John, and (I daresay most importantly?) 2 GIRLS 1 KEYBOARD! We are going to stop being deadbeat 20-somethings and start writing more often. Starting now.

Cold War Kids: Mine is Yours


It's been 3 years since Loyalty to Loyalty, the most recent album from solid 2g1k favorites Cold War Kids, but it didn't make much of a splash back in '08. I've previously noted this lack of Cold War Kids goodness, but they have returned!

Mine is Yours is a new but really good sound for them. A little less Southern bluesy, a little more inspirational, a whole lotta catchy and pretty tunes! It's worked well for the band--they have gotten popular enough to make an appearance in little ol' Albany, NY at Tulipfest 2011, which I had the pleasure of attending. Look carefully below, and you'll see a great example of a native Albany college student in all his douchebaggery.



Here's a few of my favorite tracks, since oddly I've never loved the single which has made them so popular of late, "Louder than Ever."

"Finally Begin"


"Sensitive Kid"


***

Metronomy: The English Riviera


Metronomy, how we have missed you! Thom and I are pretty big fans. Thus the three year wait since Nights Out has been sad, but The English Riviera has arrived...and it's magical.

As with Cold War Kids, this album represents a newer, more refined sound for the band, but with very good reason--the departure of one of the original three band members and addition of two new ones! Gabriel Stebbing, or as I sometimes call him, "The Hot One," amicably left Metronomy, then Gbenga Adelekan became the new bassist and Anna Prior the new drummer. (GIRL DRUMMER FUCK YEAH.) See them below in the music vid!

"The Look" (showcasing the quintessential adorable Metronomy music video style)


"Everything Goes My Way"


***

Peter Bjorn and John: Gimme Some


Just like the sandwich, PB&J always satisfies. Though only two years after their great album Living Thing, Gimme Some is really refreshing. It brings back the upbeat, hypercatchy, quirky strangeness of their golden years, complete with endearingly imperfect English lyrics.

"All art has been contemporary, dig a little deeper"
...well said, young Swedes!

"Second Chance"


"Dig a Little Deeper"


Hopefully some of these songs strike your fancy! Stay tuned for a soon-to-come Favorite Things post from both of us.

Until next time,
Tilly

The Hero's Homecoming

Dearest Tilly,

I am home, I am home, I am home: what a wonderful thing to say. A magnificent thing to say. The best thing a person can say. Yes, there were points when I struggled during my time in The District and I even became frustrated with the prospects of returning home. But Hell, I made it Tilly. And it is great to be back.

After leaving your good company in The New Yorke, I arrived safely in Austin by aeroplane. As soon as I set foot off the vessel I heard cheering Tilly, cheering. All of the inhabitants of this great city were there to greet me with accolades and ‘hurrahs’ and warm loving embraces. It was a homecoming fit for a queen. It was the hero’s homecoming.

The crowd engulfed me as I got off the landing strip and into a motorcade; I was driven past the hill country, past Zilker Park, past Auditorium Shores; I was driven into the heart of the city, straight down Congress Avenue. A marching band proceeded ahead of me and tickertape fell from the sky. We surged ahead to the Capitol, and it was there that I met the Mayor. Wearing his top hat, monocle, and unwavering pride on his shoulder, he grasped my hand and placed something in my palm. It was a key, and not just any key, but a key to the city itself!

And then, a dirigible flew overhead and fireworks shot through the air. It was grand Tilly, absolutely grand; there is nothing in the world as beautiful as this city of ours. I celebrated in the streets with the inhabitants from dawn until dusk and right as the sun was going to bed, who should serenade me but those lovable ragamuffins and precious scamps - Weezer. They knew I had arrived and played a fanfare, a selected group of their songs and the entirety of the Pinkerton phonograph record.



Stay strong Tilly, for it is only a matter of time before you escape those cowardly Yankees and join me in Austin. I look forward to your return; Austin looks forward to your return.

As always, give your mother my regards.

Sincerely,
-Thomas

Austin - who needs that place?

I'm serious. I've lived there my entire life and now that I'm gone, I can proudly state I do not miss it. Not. One. Single. Bit.*



Let's start with the obvious: the heat. Saying it is hot three hundred and sixty four days out of the year is not a stretch. It permeates your very being. You just sweat and sweat and sweat everytime you go outside - and this is only in April. Just wait until that late-July/early-August heat saunters in. Your pores become a gelatinous oozing blob unless you take refuge in Barton Springs, which I do not miss at all. In comparison, it has not even broken eighty-five degrees in DC yet; this is what a real spring feels like. Yeah, that's right Austin. Seasons. You may have heard of them?

Another thing I don't miss about Austin is that void chunk of land the city seems to associate itself with called 'Texas.' Jeeze, just thinking about that place, like all of it (and there is certainly a lot of it), makes me glad to be out of there. If you want to go to another place it takes nearly an entire day of driving. In DC, I can go through two other states - just on my bike! And if I'm feeling really adventurous I can take a four hour trip and be in this little place you may heard of called New York City. If I spend the same amount of time driving in Texas I can get to Abilene. Woo hoo.

Really, Keep Austin Weird? I've heard that sooo many times. Let's just stop it already and grow up a little. The motto where I live now is Keep DC Straight-Laced, Obsessively-Heteronormative, and Moderate-to-Somewhat-"Wild" on the Weekends and people here like it like that! As soon as I got here I exchanged my skinny jeans for dress pants, ironic t-shirts for matching blazer and skirt power-suits. Haven't looked back since.

Sure there are things about Austin I miss, but that doesn't mean I haven't found replacements that are just as good. Take music for example: I absolutely love that stuff. In Austin I would go to shows all the time, spend all my money and lose my hearing. I had to buy earplugs because I saw too many shows. In DC I don’t have to worry about that, and now I have a new object of obsession in my life – sports. Sports sports sports sports sports. That’s all people talk about here, all the time. Sports teams from the East coast to be exact. Never has caring about sports teams from Virginia played such an active role in my life. Honest to God, Virginia. Luckily, I really like sports. Otherwise, that stuff would get real old, real fast.

Here are some bands that are from Austin and are OK, I guess. Although, I’d recommend this great native DC band called Good Charlotte. If you think bands from Austin are good, these Good Charlotte folks are going to knock you out of the ballpark. See that? I made a sports reference.







"That's the Way We Get By" - Spoon


"A Stone" - Okkervil River


"Introduction" - Voxtrot




*I lied. I really really really miss Austin but can’t afford a plane ticket home. I miss the heat – it is still like forty degrees here. I don’t think it will ever be warm again and I’m freakishly pale. Also, Texas is a beautiful state and the people are welcoming and friendly there. And I miss Austin’s weirdness, I do I do I do; you don’t realize the things you take for granted back home. Finally, I absolutely despise sports, especially teams from Virginia. People here overlook the fact that collegiate-level sports detract substantial resources and time from academic institutions and give athletes biased and preferential treatment, while condoning inappropriate and sometimes criminal activities they commit outside of athletics.

And Good Charlotte? Really DC?

NXNE

Living in the frigid north instead of my sweet, hipstamatic hometown of ATX has a few hidden benefits. Oddly enough, a really good radio station is one of them.

Don't get me wrong, 102.7 WEQX FM is not perfect, but good LORD is it great. Austin is somehow both overrun with musically talented hipsterfolk AND lacking in a single, all-purpose radio station which caters to them (within which I humbly count Thomas and myself). Ridic!

So today I bring you a few gems which this rad upstate NY station has played in the last week (FYI: "rad upstate NY"? generally an oxymoron). My douchey alter ego would also like me to point out that I discovered these songs before I heard them on the radio. OK guys? I found them first.




Fitz & the Tantrums - "Moneygrabber"
A super stylin' motown-revival soul band. I'm including their performance on Conan's new show so you can see singer Noelle Scaggs' TOTALLY RADICAL DRESS. I want to go to there.




Puscifer - "The Mission"
Milla Jovovich, whatchoo doin' gurl? Oh, being a super badass singer? OK then. Proceed.






Two Door Cinema Club - "What You Know"
These electro-indie Irishmen are absolutely presh. I want to squeeze the singer's rosy little manchild cheeks, don't you? (The bassist is another story altogether. I'll have one of those to go, please. Mmm!) Anyway, TDCC is getting a lot of attention right now, especially having just rounded out their tour with the glory of Austin that is SXSW. Join the [dance] party!




*BONUS VIDEO! After watching "What You Know," notice anything similar to Metronomy's "Radio Ladio" video?! I did! In both vids: awkward Great Britons awkwardly playing music while being awkwardly surrounded by primary-color-clad hipster-chic girl(s). In terms of suaveness, the winner of this bout must be Metronomy, alas - TDCC, next time, avoid the contrived kiss on the cheek from the music video dancers, eh?

Enjoy whatever you're listening to these days, my friends. Hopefully some of these great bands will make it into the rotation.

Tootles,
Tilly

The sparrow has hit the window

Dearest Tilly,

This message must be read by you and only you. It is of utmost importance that its contests not be leaked, and that no one else be able to understand its coding. I repeat now what I once told you, should a situation like this arise: the sparrow has hit the window. May God help us all.

I am unable to give you specific details about my location at this time. Doing so would compromise an entity far greater than anything else in this nation of ours. All I can tell you is the jungle cat has left its perch in the eucalyptus tree. And it is cold on the jungle floor. Very, very cold. This jungle cat might need to buy more lotion because its paws are getting chapped.

What work brings me here? My mother once told me the story of a man named Atlas, a man who carries the Heavens on his back. The greatest minds, the purest truths, concepts we call love and euphoria - all of these things rest on the shoulders of this great man. Well, sometimes Atlas needs a cup of coffee or for papers to be filed and so a noble fledgling must do it for him. A person so pure and humble that they do this work for long periods of time and for no pay. I am that noble fledgling.

The earth is beginning its orbit towards the sun, and with it I look forward to your arrival in this place. We will meet at the third largest rotunda when the sun is at 68 degrees in relation to its crest - then and only then. Come too soon, and I will not be there. Come too late, and the consequences will be so dire I cannot list them here. Well, I don't really like to wait around. That is it.

As always, give your mother my regards; however, please do so through self-destructing stationary.

Sincerely,
-Thomas

"The Bagman's Gambit" - The Decemberists

In their own words

I'm shallow. For realio. For all my weak faux-hipster guises, I know after listening to the first 15 seconds of a song if it's going to be my next obsession of the week, lyrics and all that meaningful shit be DAMNED.

But sometimes, my instincts are spot on! Songs that sound rad in 15 seconds turn out to be totally effing rad the whole way though. It's almost like talented musicians got together and, like, thought about it or something. Those creators of awesome hooks also seem to be good at words too, or at least enough to please me (which may not be saying much).

EXEMPLARY EXAMPLES! (You are most welcome!)

Let's start with DORKY lines and make our way towards SUPER BADASS lines.



"all i want is a DeLorean"
robyn, time machine






"you in your kerchief, and me in my hat, we can settle down for an afternoon nap"
the features, the idea of growing old






"i need you to go down to the slurpee station...and get me a DRANK"
ghostland observatory, codename rondo




"modern science, i put my faith in your capable brains"
the black and white years, to modern science






"they seem wild but they are so tame"
arcade fire, rococo






"yeah, all the white girls trip when i sing at sunday service"
the dead weather, blue blood blues




Lurve,
Tilly

P.S.: This is time capsule from 2010 because I wrote it so long ago and was too lazy to post (ergo the staleness of the music choices).

Karen O is cool

You're at a party. Karen O is there too. It is at one of those houses on the east side that is trendy among young people, but you are fine with your place on the north side. Great parking though if you lived on the east. You still have not found anyone to talk to so you inspect the decorations on the wall and the magnets on the fridge. There is a postcard from Cancun. Karen O says something in the corner and the party guests laugh. You wonder what it was about. Probably something cool.

You pace around the party. You want to talk to Karen O but she is surrounded by that art-school/east-coast type who complain and smoke and smoke and complain. You know she is not like that but you are still afraid to start a conversation with her.

You check your watch and then go into the kitchen to make yourself a drink. A sprite/cranberry juice/vodka concoction. Not very cool.

"Hey, [insert your name]." It is Karen O. "Pass me a Shiner." You do. She opens the drink without a bottle opener and you take a sip of your drink. It is too strong.

"Is that your scooter out there?" You are caught off guard. Most people call it a moped even though it is not and you do your best never to correct them, but mopeds are under 50cc; your scooter certainly is not. You answer yes.

"What kind of gas mileage do you get with it?" You explain to her that you get about 60 miles per gallon, although you never check too closely. Either way, you only spend about two dollars to fill it up and that you do know.

"Wow. That's cool."

Karen O takes a sip of her beer. Her friends call for her. "Nice talking with you." She walks away.

You take another sip of your drink. It is still too strong.

Karen O is cool.


"Let Me Know" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

"Heads Will Roll" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs