I need cute fun summer songs!

for this commercial thingamajig. Upbeat, silly, cutesy; even cloying. Organic instruments, nothing heavily programmed. Songs like Lily Allen "LDN" or Belle & Sebastian "We Are the Sleepyheads" or The Pipettes "Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me" or Saturday Looks Good to Me "Lift Me Up."

Post ideas in the comments. Please! Otherwise we're gonna get stuck corny techno song!

dance, dance, dance, and go crazy

Brother Daniel told me that if anyone acts like a sourpuss, ask them 'did I step on your trumpet?' It's this summer's hot catch phrase. In case you haven't heard Modest Mouse's summer party anthem, this summer we're all partying like we're waiting for year the 2000. Just the smell of the summer can make me fall in love. Listening to the sound of distant carnival drums and spanish guitars - oh the memories come a streamin, when i'm walkin round here dreamin, it's a sweet summer's night on hammer hill.

"bogmatch" - a song scrabble entry

Beatles - Octopus's Garden
Massive Attack - Teardrop
the Cure - Homesick

Unscrabbled bonus songs: last night we saw José González play a powerful show at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis, including a cover of Massive Attack's Teardrop and my favorite, Heartbeats. Also, to go with the octopus's garden theme: Damian Marley's Pimpass Paradise.

XLimp WristX

In honor of Pride Week here in the Twin Cities, I'm posting about Limp Wrist, my favorite gay straight edge hardcore punk band. They "put the ‘core’ back in homocore." You may know their lead singer, Martin Sorrondeguy, from his former band, Los Crudos. We (Jecca, Chris, and I) saw Limp Wrist play at the Triple Rock last weekend, and they cock-slapped our minds. It was heartwarming to see mohawked, spiked leather jacket-wearing kids moshing in a circle pit with a giant inflatable penis, while Martin, wearing only a jockstrap, sang about how he "likes hardcore boys" as well as "boys hardcore" (see picture). I'm glad that punk kids are less homophobic these days, much thanks to bands like Limp Wrist for raising consciousness that sexual equality and anti-discrimination should be part of the punk and straight edge ethos. Listen to Limp Wrist on their my space page.

iTunes + Scrabble = New 3 Song Challenge

Spell a word using the artist and song titles as acronyms.

My Entry:

• HORACE ANDY "ROME"
• DESCENDENTS "HOPE"
• AMON TOBIN "SLOWLY"

"God Laura, death makes me horny."

Just before this picture was taken, George said, "Hey Kofi Annan, watch while I slip Laura my forked tongue. Seeing the pope dead is giving me a major boner. I'm too drunk to fuck now, but tonight I'll give it to the wife while ass-clenching my popemobile buttplug and imagining all the black people like you whom I hate." The theme of this picture is "president death fucker." And I'll put that theme to music in a stepped-up version of the 3-song challenge:
Napalm Death - "divine death"
Death - "evil dead"
Dead Presidents - "bigger than hip hop"
Biggie Smalls - "dead wrong"
Dead Kennedys - "too drunk to fuck"

3 Song Challenge - 2nd entry: Chicago Park Hotel

I heard that down in Chicago, "they had cigarettes where there's supposed to be eyes!"
The Hold Steady "Chicago Looked Tired Last Night"
Chicago "Saturday in the Park"
Maximo Park "The Coast is Always Changing"

3 Song Challenge - 1st entry: Saturday Sleeping

... did anyone else notice the banner in the link on Vijay's last post?

Okay here's my entry into the 3 song challenge:

• Cut Copy "Saturdays"
• Saturday Looks Good to Me "Can't Ever Sleep"
• Sleepy Jackson "Good Dancers"

Summer Songs

My recipe for how to start the summer right: find yourself an axe and an ipod and a joint, mosey on over to your local park, cut down a tree, break it down into reasonably-sized logs, build a little cabin, light it on fire and crank up your ipod - watch it burn while listening to:
These Days by Nico (please do not confront Nico with her failures, she has not forgotten them - light up that joint when she stops her rambling), Big Drop by Black Dice (you'll want to keep your eyes glued on the fire for about 16 minutes of this song, but do not walk into the fire), and Will to Love by Neil Young (sit down and be one with your spirit animal - your high should have mellowed out by now - take off your clothes and burn them - yeah, you've got the will to love).

Eastern Youth

This Japanese punk band puts the scream back in screamo.

Muyohnosuke

NOFX and Jesus in my local bar

Along with Paddy of Dillinger Four, you can see Jecca's sister, Sheela "Mad Dog" Namakkal, and brother-in-law, Ben "1-2-Go Crew" Durban, play punk nuns in this video.
Seeing Double at the Triple Rock

Akron/Family

These songs may be hard to appreciate out of the context of Akron/Family's opera-like concerts, which ebb and flow from quiet folk ballads to foot-stomping rock to twenty minutes of sheer body-rattling noise, leaving us in a dehumanized pit of despair, only to pull us out finally with a sing-along about love and truth, with the whole crowd belting it out like a gospel choir.

I'll be on the water, Running, Returning from Akron/Family

Field Music

These dudes represent the quieter side of the Newcastle scene (Maximo Park, Futureheads). Their sound is akin to a British version of The Shins, in the complex-emo genre, but with more buttery, falsetto-topped harmonies.

You Can Decide, You're So Pretty, Shorter Shorter from Field Music