"OMG, He broke up with me...

...Now I hate the world, and I hate you too, she said" These are the opening lines to probably the most catchy song of the year. The song is called Emo Phillips and it is by a small indie group called Arrah and the Ferns. Dispite the title, however, this pop masterpiece has nothing to do with the absolutly hilarious comedian. The song itself is pretty hialarious, as well as terrificly written.

I say this a lot, but I honestly 'can't stop playing it'. It really depicts this drama-queen teenager that everyone knows. Instead of making fun of the girl's problems, Arrah and her mighty Ferns offer the troubled teen consolation. 'You care about the weather, when you know its going to change tommorow'.

Usually songs dealing with teenage love/depression tend to be cheesy and over the top. Emo Phillips manages to add just enough humor to the beautiful backing arrangements, which is refreshing to hear in a pop song. You'll never hear this song on the radio, but it sure is better than any teeny bopper pop I have heard. Look up Arrah and the Ferns, support them. After hearing this track I immediatly ordered their album, Evan is a Vegan, off of their website. They also have a few tracks on their myspace that are worth checking out.




Emo Phillips







Post-War

What is there to say about M. Ward that hasn't been said before? The man is a brilliant song writer, plain and simple. Last year's Transistor Radio made it on to my top 10 2005 and 'Fuel for Fire' ranked as the number 2 song of last year for me (behind Casimir Pulaski Day). I first heard of Ward while watching the Austin City Limits concert with Bright Eyes on PBS. Sure, Bright Eyes was good, but the one song that sttod out for me was M. Ward's O'brien. From that point I discovered Transistor Radio and worked myself backward.

Ward has already built up a pretty extensive catalog for himself, and in a couple of weeks, he plans to add to it. His new LP, Post-War, is due put August 22nd, meaning I will make sure I have nothing to do that day so I can give it the good listen it deserves. The three tracks that have been leaked are superb.

A few weeks ago he had a free show planned in the city, but for some reason he canceled. This really upset me because U really wanted to attend. I have never seen him live before and the fact that it was free was an added bonus. He is stopping at Webster Hall this September, but all my cash is tied up in Decmberists/Flaming Lips/Sufjan tickets (I have all three, yes!). While it upsets me that I won't get to see Post-War live, I'm still happy to see a new Ward album out this year.

Chinese Translation


Todays Undertaking


Requiem (Highly Recommended)






Indie Supergroup

2006 has been filled with amazing releases and the 'coming soon' list for the year excites me. There is room on that upcoming list for at least one more release. Swan Lake is yet another indie supergroup including the amazing Destroyer and Pornographer, Dan Bejar. This time, however, his co-conspirators do not have red hair. They are Spencer Krug (of Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown) and Carey Mercer (of Frog Eyes).

If you were to tell me a week ago that these three extremely talented musicians were going to join together and release an album, I would not have been suprised. After all, they are Canadian, and if Broken Social Scene/Stars/Metric/The Weakerthans has tought us anything, it is that every Canadian musician is interchangable.

The only track out, Swan Lake, is very strong. A lot of people are bashing it for 'not trying to be different' but I respect that decision. Krug has a good thing going with Parade/Rubdown, so why would he change it? Also, this is only track available, I would wait for at least a few more tracks to become available before making such a claim.

I don't see where Bejar contributes to this track, but I'm sure his presence will be more than evident on the LP, which is due out November 21st. Hopefully, they'll do a Krug/Bejar track by track switch ala New Pornographers.

All Fires




P.S. Canada, I'm still looking for a Buck 65/Arcade Fire collaboration!