Stop Okay Go

A Horse Galloping

Edinbronian bros Django Django have enough self awareness to know that when they pull out the coconut halves in concert, it can look a little "Monty Python." It's all part of a sound that blends Advisory Circle, Animal Collective and The Age of Aquarius (and while amazing, I'd love if it was all sitting atop a platter of some deep, heavy, shaky bass; can't wait to hear some remixes).

On this song, they get kind of Beck-y and aboriginal.

Django Django tours with another SOG fave, Metronomy, in the months to come.

Pow Pow Bang

Wikipedia is great and I rely on it extensively. It does however, have some awkwardly phrased sentences:

The duo was noted for early use of the Roland TR-808 drum machine in English-language popular music, which was used in most of its productions.

Alls y'all's non English language cultures get no drum machine!!

Here's a clip from a documentary about Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis' career called Flyte Tyme in which a post it note is used and Janet Jackson gets a case of the giggles.

Strong and Precise

Riverside's own Chelsea and Justine Brown aka The Summer Twins play The Smell on February 11th.  Please to enjoy this playful, very L.A. video where their friends re-enact some of their lyrics. Summer Twins say that they specialize in dream pop but there's an edge to her voice that cuts through all the softness nicely. It brings to mind traces of The Go Gos, Dirty Dancing and polka and where do you get those things these days?

Start An Ocean

++Top of the Pops: I updated the Stop Okay Go You Tube Favorite Page with only two songs from this week: Kakkmaddafakka Your Girl, and Flunk's beautifully twisted Cigarette Burns.

Both are highly recommended!

++Just choose a spoon, Reese. Any spoon. (X variable in her movies is who plays the spoon and whether or not she chooses to be with her spoon.)

++If they ever do a Weird Horse movie they Gotsa use the Silver Jews song.

++She doesn't give a Duck: You gotta give credit to those Onion photoshoppers.

++Was cruising around the bottom of the Elbo.ws hotlist and came across the name Benjamin Francis Leftwich whose single Pictures, below, comes out on February 20th. In this market, where everyone's got a Bandcamp page, it's difficult for someone with just a song and guitar to stand out from the crowd. BFL manages to do this, dispensing advice in hushed tones that sound as though he's letting you in on a little secret. RIYL : Sufie Steves and Damien Rice. (It's a Damien Rice kind of day.)

Quickies

++Beginners star and Kate Capshaw-when-she-was-younger lookalike Melanie Laurent duetted with Damien Rice last year. Her voice is deeper than what I was expecting somehow, but it's nice to hear some variety in women's voices in music and not the usual chirpy twee-ness.

++So uhhhhh, like when do the Shiba Inus show up, Phoenix?

++Picture of Robbie Williams and South Park's Matt Stone yukking it up with fans at last year's DeLuna Fest, talkin' like "we're #1!" (Note: not actually Robbie Williams and Matt Stone.)

++Former American Idol singer Kellie Pickler has a new album out called 100 Proof. Here, Pickler talks about sharing intimate details with songwriter Leslie Satcher:

"So she asked me, 'Well, who is Kellie?' It was so easy to open up to her, so I told her about my life and some personal things that I'd never shared with anyone. She went home and locked herself in a room."

...Ok, fine! The rest of the quote is" She went home and locked herself in a room and wrote this song, taking what I had told her," Pickler said.  I find it more amusing stopping the quote where I did and you gotta make your own fun.

 

Zig Zag Woman

The women from two years ago (and their fashions) are killing it on Stop Okay Go this week! Accomplished paper wadder Sara Lov's plaintive wails keep on expanding until they just can't expand no mo'. Wonderful.

It's Automatic

Here's a smoothie from Zoot Woman that'll probably appeal to fans of the buttoned down work of Ace or Whitest Boy Alive. I love the girl's dress and the playing out of the courtship ritual by this hip, mute couple. Dance in video is the best, especially mime used to communicate ideas... but on some level I always want them to break and do the I'm-a-little teapot (a crowd pleaser for those tired of the Robot, you heard it here*) and as always the Ross and Monica.

Won't Take Long

++I feel like the Internet is forcing me to click around and form an opinion on Karmin who I know nothing about thus far, but I refuse and what's more I give you a High Flying Bird, Internet.

++Dillon Francis: Is it bad that of all the glimpses into this DJ's glam life the thing that looks the most appealing to me is the part where he's eating Pho?

++Continuing on with what seems to be a cigarette theme this week, here's a song from last year by The Sweet Serenades' album Balcony Cigarettes. Nice contrast between the pulsing classic rock mojo and the lead singer's falsetto that reminds me of a less-bananas Josh Homme.

Sweet Serenades have resolved to put out a new song by the end of this month with the possibility of an album by the summer.

Ulf and Jo In Oslo

++Oof, it's taken forever to come up with a song that's finally worth my time and it's a frivolous tune from 2 years ago!  Lastfm characterizes the Norwegian trio Flunk as "summer pop" which fits I think:

 

 

So much to love/latch on to here: the oversized buttons on her cool retro dress (like they pulled a secretary from a Hitchcock movie through time to jam with Joel McHale), the extended pause, the dark lyrics sung in happy tones with a slight accent: "I guess the pills don't work, and the drinks don't work..." Just great.

++Here's a new song by Joe Goddard from Hot Chip's side project The 2 Bears. The album, Be Strong, has a Jan. 30th release date. Viva 90s beats!

++I somehow got signed up for a subscription to Smithsonian Magazine. One of the teaser headlines of "The Obsession Issue" is The World's Sexiest Flower (Hothouse Hybrid Orchids). Hopefully the article will will breathlessly describe some steamy Hawkmoth action. Fingers crossed.