Brandon Flowers Breathes New Life Into Forgotten U2 Track

I'm generally against covers of U2 songs (the reasons for which I articulate here), but holy freaking crap. This particular song, from U2's album Pop, is lyrically and structurally beautiful, but I think one could argue that U2's original recording left much to be desired and does not inject into the song the same amount of feeling and conviction as does Mr. Flowers in this performance. The result: through Flowers, the song experiences a kind of rebirth during this performance, and it leaves one hoping that an audio track might be available for purchase someday.

Andrew Bird Playlist

Whistling. Violing plucking. Obscure one-word song titles. Personally, I love it. Check out this collection of live Andrew Bird performances I put together after I heard a few songs from his latest album, Noble Beast.

Two-fer: Alpha Rev

This band kind of reminds me of Coldplay. Below is a music video of the song "New Morning" from the album of the same name and a live performance of "Phoenix Burn"

Arcade Fire on SNL

I can't stop listening to the song "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" ever since I saw Arcade Fire's performance on SNL last Saturday. True, the vocals on the recorded version are much better, the dancing was a bit distracting, and (as one blogger put it), the outfits look like something from a Tron wedding, but even if they seem a bit awkward and nerdy in appearances, these nerds can rock.



And perhaps most impressive is that these nerds can write. The lyric from this song that most haunts me: "Living in the sprawl/ the dead shopping malls rise/ like mountains beyond mountains/ and there's no end in sight,/ I need the darkness, someone please cut the lights!"

Hump Day Blues: Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown

Come on, now. I know you're feeling it. Here's some blues to inject a bit of soul into your week, whether you are one of the lucky few who will be enjoying a four-day weekend, or whether you will be plugging away straight on through without a break.

This track can be found on the album Standing My Ground.

Tuesday Two-fer: The National

One live performance and one music video from The National, featuring songs from their latest album High Violet. Below is a clip of the band performing "Afraid of Everyone" on Letterman:

Next is the music video for "Bloodbuzz Ohio." Most intriguing/perplexing lyric: "I was carried to Ohio on a swarm of bees."

Monday Motivational Music: "Devotion" by Viva Voce

Sometimes we need a little music to get ourselves going on Monday mornings, especially now that the clocks have been turned back and it is just a tad bit darker outside when we finally drag ourselves out of bed. My pick to start off the week is "Devotion" by Viva Voce, from their latest album (released last year), Rose City.