Band Plug: Jukebox the Ghost

Jukebox the Ghost are a couple of guys who met at GW and started a band that plays catchy, cute, keyboard driven songs with creative lyrics ("The sun is just a supernova turned the other way around"). I saw them at Chums (the venue at my school) last night, and their stage presence was so energetic and playful, I almost felt bad for their headliner, Say Hi, who couldn't capture the "crowd's" (aka 20 people) attention nearly as well.

They have a comedic song about the apocalypse, and several songs involving handclaps. How could I resist?

Get their music before you hear it blasting out of the nearest Urban Outfitters.

Sounds like: Pale Young Gentlemen, Born Ruffians, Vampire Weekend

VERY IMPORTANT Band Plug: World Without Strangers

World Without Strangers is the name of the first side project of the Ben Weiner Music Collective, a group of musicians whose main studio is based approximately 10 feet from my room.

Ok, basically my younger brother Ben has finally finished fully recording his first song! The single, Isle Of The Automatons (previously known as "the robot song"), will eventually be on a meticulously planned out concept album he is hoping to release by spring of next year. The track is extremely catchy with really interesting lyrics and plenty of beeps. The songwriting is quite impressive for a 16 year old sophmore in high school (I am not biased whatsoever).

Go check out the song! It is fully downloadable here at Ben's myspace. And if you feel so inclined, message me and I'll give you my address, then you can mail Ben a buck or two and he'll mail you back a shiny CD-R with totally awesome robot drawings on it! You know you want to.

Band Plug: Seabear

I decided to listen to the Icelandic indie folk/pop band Seabear for amusement, due to their band name's similarity with my brothers west-Sonoma-County-high-schooler ska band Fishbear. So I got their album (The Ghost That Carried Us Away), knowing nothing about them whatsoever. I was surprised to find that I like their music more than many other better known bands I have heard lately! I'd say they sound like what would happen if Sam Beam did the vocals on Architecture in Helsinki's first album (yes, finally figured that out!). However, I'm pretty bad at that kind of thing, so you might want to just check out their music for yourself!

Band Plug: A Pack of Wolves

Electro-rockers A Pack of Wolves are based about ten minutes away from my house, boast a whopping 68 listeners on last.fm, and certainly deserve far more. Their sound is simple and danceable, two things that, when combined, ensure my love for a band. I just listened to their song "Best Defense" seventeen times in a row- yes, it's that good. Check out their MySpace at the above link and give them a listen.