The Twang

Thought I'd take a break from working on my new website/artproject/lifestylechoice 79-Day Maury to wish you and yours (mostly yours) a happy Valentine's Day.  Here is my favorite Valentine's Day song ever:

Luna - Slash Your Tires (mp3) (buy)

(So happy it comes from a time before anyone would have been tempted to use the title "LOLZyrtirez."  That would totally undermine its wholesome holiday spirit.)

Have never been a big fan of the band, but the undersell works so well here.  I somehow wound up watching two groups featuring former Luna-folk last CMJ.  Elk City's got a couple decent tunes, but they're too basic and boring and their frontwoman has this awkward hippie Earth mama presence.  Shudder.  & Dean & Britta would be a total snooze if it weren't for Britta Phillips' ass.  Britta Phillips has an amazing ass.  Were it given a more prominent role in that group's act, I would recommend it no end.

Happy Valentine's Day!

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But wait, there's more!

Starting today, and for one week only, Butch Walker's giving away his new live double-CD Leavin' the Game on Luckie St. fo' free (thx BV).  66% of his last record was my bestfavoriterockin'est release of 2006, so this is a box of chocolates and half a blowjob for moi.

In his patented insider-whining-like-an-outsider way, Walker's claimed the domain at therecordbusinessisfucked.com and is going to start selling stuff directly to fans.  These audio tracks - $5.99 for the batch, after the week is out (or, if you're feeling particularly honest, you can pay for them now) are really a push for an upcoming DVD, but that don't matter; the mp3s are here and free and now and you can skip around so you're not stuck with anything too syrupy.

A cover of the Boss' "Born to Run" and a version of "Taste of Red" that opens with a verse of James' "Laid" aren't on the free download, presumably due to right$, but they're both streaming at his myspace.  And...

Butch Walker - Born to Run (live Springsteen cover) (mp3) (more)

Because, y'know, it's Valentine's Day.  It's a deathtrap!  The cover suffers from a distinct lack of Clarence, but it's got energy to spare.  This killed at the Pony last year.  I was disappointed to hear he was playing it at every stop.

Glockenspiel!  It must be Indie Pop!

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Not enough?  Your Valentine's Day demands are ridiculous.  How about a new song from Emmy the Great?

She's been dropping the odd number on her myspace; there's one up now called "We Almost Had a Baby" that - though it ends a bit too similarly to "Two Steps" - is totally worth it just for how she sings the "Hey" at the 42-second mark.

In the video below - a chummy gathering of UK folkies including Lightspeed Champion and Laura Groves called "Welcome to Our TV Show" - there's another called "24," which is both a television show and her age.  So she's only nineteen years older than the hot up-and-coming It-Brit-Chick of Moment Next.  Anyway, the ditty's full of fond V-Day thoughts ("I would marry you for money but I don't suppose you'll ever have enough," "The man on the screen, he has done more in a minute than you have achieved in your whole entire life" - it's like she knows me), and it sounds absolutely nothing like this:

Dee Clark - 24 Boyfriends (mp3)

Which is fine because she's better bitter.  Here:

(Just zap through the chatty bits.  Part 1, which has Emmy backing host Jeremy Warmsley, is here.)

E.t. Great's currently on tour in England with Get Cape Wear Cape Dry Clean Cape Neatly Fold Cape Put Cape in Dresser.  She'll be at SXSW and, supposedly, in New York.  Though they're waiting to announce the date until after you've made other plans.  [UPDATE:  Emmy's at the Bowery Ballroom on 3-11 as part of the annual Rock Over London showcase with Dan le Sac v. Scroobius Pip and other artists yet to be announced The Pigeon Detectives and Joe Lean and the Offensive Onomatopoeia.  Tickets are on sale.]

tags: butch walker  emmy the great  

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