Season 12 Episode 2: March 2nd, 2015

Surfer Blood (West Palm Beach, FL)
01 Dorian
1,000 Palms
(iTunes, Amazon MP3)

Radiator Hospital (Grand Rapids, MI)
02 Lose Sight of You
Something Wild
(iTunes, Amazon MP3)

Radiator Hospital (Grand Rapids, MI)
03 The Eye
04 Five & Dime
Torch Song
(iTunes, eMusic, Amazon MP3)

Smoking Ghosts (San Francisco, CA)
05 Dance the Disillusionment Away
06 Maybe Tonight I'll Find You
Flores de los Muertos
(bandcamp)

Belle & Sebastian (Glasgow, Scotland, UK)
07 Perfect Couples
08 A Politician's Silence
Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance
(iTunes, Amazon MP3)
similar to: Camera Obscura

Kadhja Bonet (Los Angeles, CA)
09 Tears for Lamont
Tears for Lamont Single
(bandcamp)
similar to: Quantic & Alice Russell

Dengue Fever (Los Angeles, CA)
10 Tokay
11 Golden Flute
The Deepest Lake
(iTunes, eMusic, Amazon MP3)
similar to: Ros Sereysothea

Computer Magic (Brooklyn, NYC)
12 Shipwrecking
Dreams of Better Days (Don't Pass Me By) EP
(iTunes, Amazon MP3)

Also On This Episode

This episode features a clip from Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, where Jon is responding to the right-wing media's reaction to news that he will be stepping down as host of the show sometime this year. I only put on a minute of it, but the whole segment is glorious. Don't miss the 50-lies in 6 seconds vine they put together.

Season 12 Episode 1: February 16th, 2015

Swami John Reis & The Blind Shake (San Diego, CA)
01 Sea Saw
Modern Surf Classics
(iTunes, eMusic, Amazon MP3)
similar to: Man or Astro-Man?, Beware the Dangers of a Ghost Scorpion!

North Highlands (Brooklyn, NYC)
02 Shade
03 Quitter
North Highlands
(iTunes, eMusic)

Sonny & the Sunsets (San Francisco, CA)
04 The Application
05 Secret Plot
Talent Night at the Ashram
(iTunes, Hype Machine pre-release, Amazon MP3)

The Twilight Sad (Kilsyth, Scottland, UK)
06 There’s a Girl in the Corner
07 Pills I Swallow
Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave
(iTunes, eMusic, Amazon MP3)
similar to: Interpol, The National

Andrew Jackson Jihad (Phoenix, Arizona)
08 Candle in the Wind (Ben's Song)
Only God Can Judge Me
(iTunes, eMusic, Amazon MP3)
similar to: The Mountain Goats

Andrew Jackson Jihad (Phoenix, Arizona)
09 Temple Grandin
10 I Wanna Rock Out in My Dreams
Christmas Island
(iTunes, Amazon MP3)

Leggy (Cincinnati, Ohio)
11 Grrrls Like Us
Nice Try EP
(bandcamp)
similar to: Bleached

Leggy (Cincinnati, Ohio)
12 Sweet Teeth
Cavity Castle EP
(bandcamp)
similar to: The Tourettes

Chancius (Brooklyn, NYC)
13 Making it Up as We Go Along
Bando
(bandcamp, Amazon MP3)

Also On This Episode

In recognition of Saturday Night Live's 40th Anniversary, this episode features a couple of my favorite old SNL commercial parodies, which have been impossible to watch until recently, including Wilson Countersink Flanges, and Bad Idea Jeans. And it's not on the show, but who could forget the awesome classic Leevi's Three Legged Jeans?!

PERMALINK

Download

Season 11 Episode 19: December 29th, 2014

SPECIAL "SOME RANDOM COVERS" EPISODE!

Headless Heroes (Portland, OR)
01 Just Like Honey
Silence of Love
(iTunes, Amazon)
cover of: Jesus & Mary Chain

The Shins (Portland, OR)
02 Strange Powers
Strange Powers Single
(blogs)
cover of: The Magnetic Fields

She & Him (Portland, OR)
03 God Only Knows
God Only Knows Single
(iTunes, Amazon MP3)
cover of: The Beach Boys

She & Him (Portland, OR)
04 Unchained Melody
Classics
(iTunes, Amazon MP3)
cover of: The Righteous Brothers

Loudon Wainwright III
05 Where the Blue of the Night (Meets the Gold of the Day)
Margot Bingham
06 Dream a Little Dream of Me
Boardwalk Empire Vol. 3
(iTunes, Amazon MP3)

The Nevermind Orchestra (Brooklyn, NYC)
07 Smells Like Teen Spirit
08 Come as You Are
Brass Nirvana EP
(soundcloud)
cover of: Nirvana

Of Montreal (Athens, GA)
09 Friends of Mine
If He is Protecting Our Nation Then Who Will Protect Big Oil, Our Children?
(iTunes, Amazon MP3)
cover of: The Zombies

Teen Commandments (Brooklyn, NYC)
10 The Opposite of Hallelujah
The Opposite of Hallelujah Single
(YouTube)
cover of: Jens Lekman

Mobius Band (Brooklyn, NYC)
11 Digital Love
Digital Love Single
(YouTube)
cover of: Daft Punk

They Might Be Giants (Brooklyn, NYC)
12 We've Got a World That Swings
S-E-X-X-Y EP
(YouTube, Amazon)
cover of: Lil Mattis & Louis Yule Brown

Also On This Episode

This episode features a memorable clip of Chalky White (Michael K. Williams) from the first season of HBO's Boardwalk Empire, where he confronts the leader of the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan and tells him a story about his upbringing.

PERMALINK

Download

Season 11 Episode 18: December 15th, 2014

Special "11th Annual Christmas Music" Episode!

The Kickstand Band (Detroit, MI)
01 Hooray for Santy Claus
Suburban Sprawl Music Holiday Sampler 2013
(free download)
similar to: The Go! Team

Piney Gir (London, UK)
02 Christmas Time
XO for the Holidays Vol 4
(free download)

The Garlands (Stockholm, Sweden)
03 I Don't Intend to Spend Christmas Without You
Christmas Single
(iTunes, Rdio, Amazon MP3)
cover of: Margo Guryan

JD McPherson (Broken Arrow, OK)
04 Twinkle
Twinkle Single
(iTunes, Rdio, Amazon MP3)
similar to: Early Rock 'n Roll

Dengue Fever (Los Angeles, CA)
05 Little Drummer Boy
Little Drummer Boy Single
(free download through 12/31)

The Fuzztones (NYC) and The Vacant Lots (Burlington, VT)
06 Santa Claus
07 No More Christmas Blues
Psych-Out Christmas
(iTunes, Rdio, Amazon MP3)

Star Matters (Boston, MA)
08 Just Like Christmas
Just Like Christmas Single
(bandcamp)
cover of: Low

The Eastern Sea (Austin, TX)
09 Walking in the Air
First Christmas
(iTunes)

Mark Kozelek (Atlanta, GA)
10 2,000 Miles
Sings Christmas Carols
(iTunes, Rdio, Amazon MP3)
similar to: Evan Dando

Laura Gibson (Portland, OR)
11 Wonderful Christmastime
All Is Bright
(Amazon MP3)
cover of: Paul McCartney

Master Slash Slave (Northern California)
12 All I Want for Christmas
XO for the Holidays
(free download)

Blue Skies for Black Hearts (Portland, OR)
13 Wishing You a Merry Xmas
XO for the Holidays Vol 2
(free download)

Sunturns (Oslo, Norway)
14 The Closest I Can Get
Christmas
(iTunes, Rdio, Amazon MP3)

The Olms (Los Angeles, CA)
15 Christmas Thyme
Paste Holiday Sampler 2013
(free download)
somehow reminds me of: Diego Garcia

Also On This Episode

This episode features a clip of Chris Rock's monologue from his recent appearance on Saturday Night Live where he talks about the way America commercializes everything, even things that shouldn't be, like Christmas. (watch it)

PERMALINK

Download

Season 11 Episode 17: December 1st, 2014

Molly Rankin (Toronto, Canada)
01 Bombshell
She EP
(buy online at Zunior)
precursor to: Alvvays

Alvvays (Toronto, Canada)
02 Next of Kin
03 Archie, Marry Me
Alvvays
(iTunes, Rdio, Amazon MP3)
similar to: Camera Obscura

Craft Spells (Seattle, WA)
04 Breaking the Angle Against the Tide
05 Laughing for My Life
Nausea
(iTunes, Rdio, Amazon MP3)
similar to: Beach Fossils, Real Estate

Richard In Your Mind (Sydney, Australia)
06 Hammered
07 Four Leaf Clover Salad
Ponderosa
(iTunes, Rdio, Amazon MP3)
similar to: The Bees

Popstrangers (London, UK)
08 Distress
09 Country Kills
Fortuna
(iTunes, Rdio, Amazon MP3)

Literature (Philadelphia, PA)
10 Court / Date
11 Chorus
Chorus
(iTunes, Rdio, Amazon MP3)
similar to: The Drums

Hopeton Lewis (Jamaica)
12 Take It Easy
13 Cool Collie
Take It Easy with the Rock Steady Beat
(iTunes, Rdio, Amazon MP3, versions I played are from the recent Bandcamp release)
similar to: If Bill Withers Made Reggae

Chilly Gonzales (Cologne, Germany via Canada)
14 Knight Moves Solo Piano
Re-Introduction Etudes
(book on iTunes, song in Rdio, cd from Amazon)

Also On This Episode

This episode features a clip of Bill Nyetalking about the uniquely American problem of belief in young-earth creationism. Watch the whole clip, and check out his great new book where he outlines just how Undeniable the evidence is for evolution.