This spring in Oklahoma has been particularly scary. For the past two weeks we've been surrounded by bad weather. The big tornado in Moore was three hours away, but that same night a smaller tornado touched down about five miles away from where we went to take shelter.

Through all the bad weather this song plays in the foreground of my mind. . . .I hope it does.

Last weekend two good friends and I had the chance to catch Yo La Tengo live at the Showbox in Seattle. The Showbox is one of my favorite venues and Yo La Tengo, it turns out, is one of my favorite bands. I have always enjoyed YLT's output but I realized after seeing them live that they are one of my top 25 favorite bands, (Like I have a list or something... I'm working on a list fyi).

The show was unique because there was no opener and YLT played a handful of songs in an opening acoustic set before taking a break and returning with an electric set. The acoustic set was enjoyable, with new songs and a few old. We were very close to the stage so it was nice and intimate to hear, especially Georgia, singing. But I was there to have my face melted off by Ira's feedback laden guitar work, burning organ lines and James' thudding bass. I was not disappointed. Ira looks like he could be your boring uncle or some guy who works at a grocery store but he literally flings himself and his guitar around in a savage destruction your ears. I loved it, especially fuzzed out favorites like "Sugarcube", and "The Story of Yo La Tengo."

The band topped off a great show with an encore of cover songs. They covered the Velvet Underground and even a song by the Soft Boys. And to make things even better Peter Buck from R.E.M., who lives in Seattle, joined them for the encore playing a sparkling pink Danelectro 12 string guitar! What a show! Thank you Yo La Tengo.

- Earl

The National's new album came out last week. We haven't bought it yet, so I'm listening to High Violet this morning instead. My song of the day is "Sorrow" because it is just the greatest song ever.

Thunderclap is a lot of things: talented, creative, funny, strange, dramatic, driven, energetic, and legitimate. The Niagara Falls native is currently working on his first solo record Hellbent for Success, and he's doing it all on his own (with the help of Feist producer Spooky Ruben).

He just started an Indiegogo campaign with a goal of $13,000 to fund his album. He's already made $3,500, and he still has four weeks to go. His music reminds me of Rocky Horror Picture Show, Johnny Cash, Murder By Death, and Dead Man's Bones. I recognize those influences are all over the board, but he has a very unique and theatrical sound that hasn't really been done before. I've never seen Thunderclap live, but, judging by his costumes, I can see a connection to Reggie and the Full Effect as well.

Thunderclap describes his album as "a concept album, a mishmash of socioeconomic commentary, flashes of pop media, and surreal narrative brilliance."

I obviously haven't heard the album, but I've visited his Soundcloud page, and I enjoyed what I heard. I bet that Thunderclap would be a lot of fun live. What impresses me most about this music is that it's completely DIY. He does it all himself, which is why Thunderclap needs you!

This week Tori and I reviewed Born Ruffians newest release Birth Birks. 


Tori's Review
First, let me say that I initially fell in love with Born Ruffians for their spontaneous and unpredictable, upbeat and incredibly catchy rock and roll. (Side note: I just learned this great new term, "herky-jerky" and it's actually in the dictionary and it describes their music perrrrfectly). I will always love their album, Red, Yellow & Blue more than any of their others.

That being said, I really, really like their new album, Birthmarks. The more I listen to it, the more I like it. I may even eventually love it. But, I do feel that a lot of the herky-jerky was lost in this album. There's a vague familiarity to the style they're adopting. There are brief moments in this album when I feel like I'm listening to some one else. Songs like "6-5000" and "Cold Pop" I find reminiscent of Vampire Weekend and songs "Permanent Hesitation" remind me a little of Passion Pit. There's also a little Tame Impala mixed in there at moments.

This album is much more well thought out than the Ruffian's previous albums. It's definitely more musically, lyrically and thematically mature. (But is mature always better?) As the album progresses, more and more sounds not found in their previous albums started to slide in. Once you hit "Golden Promises" you might have to double check to make sure you're still listening to Born Ruffians. My favorite track on this album might have to be "Dancing On the Edge of Our Graves." While it is really different than "I Need a Life" off their second studio record, Red, Yellow & Blue (my all time favorite song of theirs), the bridge in it is killer. Gets me every time.

Side note: I saw them live a couple weeks ago. Amazing. I may venture to put them on the top 5 best shows I've ever seen. Seriously.


Zach's Review
Before listening to this album, my only exposure to Born Ruffians was a song called "Barnacle Goose", which I still really like. For some reason I never listened to any of the other songs on the album. I'm not sure why, because if I were to judge them by that one song, you would think they would be one of my favorite bands. I listened to it all the time. I think I even put in on mixes for some of my friends.

Fast forward six years and Born Ruffians have put out two more albums since then. Their latest, released this year, is called Birthmarks. The more I listen to this album the more I find that I like it. On the first song, "Needle", B.R. channel their inner Animal Collective. The vocals sound just like Avey Tare. It's also the strongest track on the album. I've found myself going back to this song all week.

The rest of the album is, simply stated, a very good pop album. It reminds me a lot of The Spinto Band's album also released this year, Cool Cocoon. It's not mind blowing but it's a solid album that I would definitely recommend and continue to come back to.

When I first heard about Vampire Weekend I wanted nothing to do with them. In fact the whole idea of  Vampire Weekend made me sick. Preppy Ivy Leaguers with sweaters draped over their shoulders singing about Cambridge, and Cape Cod. This was one 1% percent music. Music I wanted no part of . . . that is until a girl I had a crush on burnt me a copy (sorry for writing about old crushes, Christina). Nothing ever happened with the girl, but I fell in love with album. Researching oxford commas and getting the hell out of Walcott were all I could think about.

They continued to impress me with their second release, Contra. Now with their third album, Modern Vampires of The City, I'm speechless. Ezra Koenig and the gang have really outdone themselves. Modern Vampires is far different. The lyrics are more personal. The music is more refined. I find myself relating to the lyrics in ways that I haven't related to an album in a long time. Koening is 29 (same age as me) and with lyrics like "Wisdom's a gift, but you'd trade it for youth", and "Nobody knows what the future holds and it's bad enough just getting old" the album feels like an anthem for late twenty somethings transitioning into full adulthood.

MV is  more introspective than previous albums. Koening digs deep when questioning not only his place in the world, but his feelings about religion. "Unbelievers" explains itself in the title of the song.  Not only is the title of"Ya Hey"a shout out to Outkast, it's the Hebrew pronunciation of Jehovah (Yahweh). On "Hannah Hunt" he sings about not believing in a person of faith's words about  "hidden eyes" that can see what we're thinking.

We're almost half way through the year and this album stands out above anything I've heard. I feel like it's important  for everyone to listen to. Vampire Weekend have made something that will last. Not that you can compare the two albums, but I haven't been moved this much by an album since Bon Iver's For Emma was released in 2008. Making a third album can be really difficult for most bands, especially with all the hype that has surrounded Vampire Weekend since their first release, but they pull it off seemingly effortlessly.