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What's better than a catchy new song?  I submit that a catchy new song suddenly appearing for free when I check my email is better!  This week on iTunes you can pick up a tasty little slice of rock called "Animal" by the Neon Trees.

But don't despair; even though you're not a big time music journalist like I am*, you too can get a catchy new song for free when you check your email (your actual email results may vary), or alternately, by making with the click-click on this here link.  If you are reading this from the future, or if Time no doubt has hastened on its relentless march and you find yourself in an unfortunate week in which "Animal" by the Neon Trees is not the iTunes Single of the Week, that link will conveniently enable you to exchange virtual money for a shiny new download of an absolutely killer pop song.

It pains me to know that this band has been around for quite some time, and moreso that they are from Provo, Utah, not an hour south of my home.  So let's make up for lost time, shall we?  Here's the MySpace and here's the official site; enjoy!

*I am not.

So this has been on my mind for quite a while.  On the surface this song has a pretty catchy melody, some clever rhymes and on the whole a good return to form for the boys of Train.  Upon further listen, however, is this little lyrical gem (italics mine, horrifying):

"I'm so obsessed / My heart is bound to beat right out my untrimmed chest."

Yech.  I'm gonna go take a shower.

Christmas tunes are a bit of a fetish for me.  Why?  Well, I suppose it all started when my wife and I were put in charge of the Christmas music for the in-law Christmas party a few years ago.  As I recall, we weren't married yet - still a few months off from being engaged really, but we got our task and went about it.

Every other year I'd been to the big party I'd had to suffer through a few hours of Bing.  I'm sure he means well, but after a couple of tunes I've had enough of Bing.  You'd think that 12 months off would make it more tolerable, but to me it doesn't really help.  So, my task became clear - I needed to scrounge up enough Christmas tunes that WON'T increase my desire to off myself while in the midst of a giant in-law x-mas party - a rather daunting task at times.

Obviously I'm still standing here - I even made it through the last party on Friday 12/18/09 with no scratches, so clearly it works.  These tunes are the fruits of many hours of labour.  I have plenty more, but this is a selection of my favorites - about 1/4 of my stash.  Enjoy, and Happy Holidays.

1. Carol of Bells - Phantom Planet

2. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Local H

3. Blue Christmas - Collective Soul

4. Run Rudolph Run - Sister Hazel

5. Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms

6. Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas - Eels

7. Christmas Time (Is Here Again) - The Beatles

8. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town - Bruce Springsteen

9. Funky Christmas - James Brown

10. We Wish You a Merry Christmas - Weezer

11. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - U2

12. I Won't Be Home For Christmas - Blink-182

13. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee

14. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Bright Eyes

15. White Christmas - Dishwalla

16. 12/23/95 - Jimmy Eat World

17. Someday at Christmas - Pearl Jam

18. Happy Xmas (War is Over) - John Lennon

19. Hey Guys! It's Christmas Time! - Sufjan Stevens

20. O Holy Night - Cary Brothers

21. Do You Hear What I Hear? - Copeland

22. Silent Night - Dishwalla

23. Christmas Is Going to the Dogs - Eels

24. Noel! Noel! - Eve 6

25. Holly Jolly Christmas - The Format

26. Let Me Sleep - Pearl Jam

27. Father Christmas - The Kinks

28. Christmas Baby - G. Love

29. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - Jack Johnson

30. When I Get Home For Christmas - Snow Patrol

31. This Time of Year - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

32. Jingle Bells - Pearl Jam

33. I Wish it Was Christmas Today - Julian Casablancas

34. Little Drummer Boy - Dishwalla

35. Joy to the World - The Layaways

36. Sister Winter - Sufjan Stevens

37. Let it Snow - Magnet

38. Just Like Christmas - Snow Patrol

39. All I Want for Christmas - Matt Costa

40. Come On! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance! - Sufjan Stevens

41. Here it is Christmas Time - Old 97's

42. Don't Believe in Christmas - Pearl Jam

43. Back Door Santa - Jet

44. Do They Know it's Christmas? - Pete Yorn

45. Merry Xmas Everybody - R.E.M.

46. Maybe This Christmas - Ron Sexsmith

47. Hey Parker It's Christmas - Ryan Adams

48. Happy Christmas (War is Over) - Sense Field

49. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Death Cab For Cutie

50. White Christmas - Sister Hazel

51. Holy, Holy, Holy - Sufjan Stevens

52. Christmas All Over Again - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

53. River - Travis

54. Santa Claus is Back in Town - My Morning Jacket

55. Christmas Song - Weezer

56. Someday at Christmas - Jack Johnson

57. Star of Wonder - Sufjan Stevens

58. Blue Christmas - Bright Eyes

59. Last Christmas - Jimmy Eat World

60. Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Mason Jennings

61. Winter Wonderland - Radiohead

62. Xmas Eve - The Damnwells

63. Away in a Manger - The Layaways

64. What Child is This? - Black Lab

65. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Hem

Here's a handy dandy zip file with all the tunes.

If you're looking for a bit more "uniformity" in your Christmas mix, I'd suggest checking out these 3 albums:

This Warm December - A Brushfire Holiday Vol. 1

Sister Hazel - Santa's Playlist

Cary Brothers - Father Christmas EP

Those three have been my favorites from the last year or two.

Also - my wife has had me on a mad hunt for a "good" version of Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer.  I'm no fan of the song, but she's not satisfied by the original or the Poe version.  Anyone have any others?

Merry Christmas!

This was an impulse buy for me.  I happened to be at a local music store the day Swoon was released.  I had heard a song or two by the Silversun Pickups via The Hype Machine, but nothing that really blew me away.  I ended up purchasing the album mostly due to a want of something new to listen to (and the lack of perceived quality from other new releases).  And man, let me just say I'm glad I did.

This is a solid album from front to back. My description in two words: "dark" and "looming".  This theme is embraced throughout, with string and orchestral additions really enhancing the mood on many tracks.  Very catchy hooks and tumbling choruses make this album a lot of fun to listen to again and again.  Even the androgynous lead vocals, which I thought I would hate in short order, have grown on me considerably.

Try them on for size and ponder if you yourself can (or want to) live without this rock.

Silversun Pickups - The Royal We

Visit 'em: Official | Myspace
Purchase: Amazon | iTunes

Once again it is time to share with you the delightful sounds that have been shared with us by our friends around the webs.

First up is a young lady name Erin McKeown, a very talented singer-songwriter with Regina Spektor quirkiness and Elliot Smith melodic sensibilities (gratefully without the wretched constant-doubled-vocals-gimmick [seriously, don't even get me started on Elliot Smith]).  I prefer most of what's on her Myspace to the track that arrived the mail, but take a listen, won't you?

[mp3] Erin McKeown - The Foxes

The Flying Change is great mellow music, that sounds like it's from that bygone era of music when a band slowed things down to really say something, you know?  You can stream the album Pain is a Reliable Signal at the band's website, or check out a track right here:

[mp3] The Flying Change - Broken Bow

As always, send us stuff to listen to at sellthelie (at) gmail (dot) com.

Hopefully we are beginning to make up for our lack of coverage on The Damnwells of late.  First came One Last Century demos, followed closely by unreleased songs.  Today we've got even more demos, these a wee bit older than the last. 

My personal favorites of this bunch are Air Stereo and She's The NYC Skyline.  She's The NYC Skyline in particular features some poetic verses: "She's constant like the ringing in my ears / she's drowning out the silence of my fears" and "she surrendered 'I love you's with bitter shame".  Really, really great stuff.

Sadly, I think this exhausts my supply of The Damnwells demos.  If anyone out there has any that they think I'll want to hear (and trust me, I do want to hear), shoot me an email or leave a comment; anything by The Damnwells is well worth the time and the listen.

The Damnwells - More Demos
Air Stereo
Sell The Lie
I Am A Leaver
She's The New York City Skyline
You're Gonna Love Me
Have To Ask
While You Can
Electric Harmony

or download it all in a handy .ZIP file

Buy some already!: iTunes | Amazon
Go on the interwebs: Official | Myspace

Yesterday there were One Last Century demos to be had (technically they still are to be had, but yesterday was when they were first to be had).  Today we move on to unreleased songs.  A careful reader may have noticed that I wanted to go all reverse-chronological on yo' asses.  Well, try as I might, I had a bit of difficulty placing many of these unreleased gems in their respective time periods.  I found myself asking, "did such-and-such track come before Air Stereo and after Bastards of the Beat?  Or was it between PMR+1 and Bastards?"  I was stumped on more than I care to admit.  So it was decided that unreleased goodness comes next followed by some older demos. 

Unreleased songs are a vivid reminder of how much awesome music there is that never makes it to its intended audience's ear holes.  It's crazy.  Why is it that so much crap music gets shoved in one's face on a daily basis and, in order to find the good stuff, you've got to dig?  Maybe I should've been an archaeologist. 

Allow me to shove the good stuff in your face:

The Damnwells - Unreleased
Ballad of You
Binghampton or Bust
Honeside
How Do I Say Nothing
I'm a Bomb
It's Okay (Hey Now)
Smile Guy
Stay
Sweet Marie
Televised Telephone
The Experts
The Only One Who Laughs
Xmas Eve

or download it all in a handy .ZIP file

(Another big thank you to reader Doug for most of these)

Buy some: iTunes | Amazon
Visit the sites: Official | Myspace

[edit: Ha, screwed up already!  Turns out Untitled actually does have a title; it's called You're Gonna Love Me and can be found on the Golden Days single.  Removed it for now; it will arrive shortly with the older demos.]

This Labor Day weekend brought me back on a Damnwells kick.  It made me realize that I had forgotten some great music: demos, unreleased, and otherwise rare material from The Damnwells. 

Studio tracks can introduce you to a good band; demos and unreleased songs point out the truly great ones.  It's true, pause for a moment and consider: while stuff from the studio exudes a more polished and oftentimes over-produced quality, demos and other long-buried songs showcase a raw, passionate and powerful sound, one with a life all its own.  Sorry to wax poetic, but many of my favorite tracks from my favorite bands cannot be found on a major CD release.  Back to these particular demos, I prefer to start in the present and work my way back.  So, we'll begin with demos from The Damnwells's latest release, One Last Century.

The Damnwells - One Last Century Demos
Like It Is
Bastard Of Midnight
Closer Than We Are
Soundtrack
Jesus Could Be Right
Down With The Ship
Come To Me

(A big thanks to reader Doug for most these excellent tracks)

Buy some: iTunes | Amazon
Visit the sites: Official | Myspace

If you would like hear Aim and Ignite, the new album from Fun. in its entirety, you'd be wise to head on over to their Myspace page at this point.  If you'd like to read what I thought of the album, you'd be wise to continue reading this article traditional manner; that is, proceeding to the next paragraph.

First off, I am loving the way the album starts.  "Be Calm" is a veritable gumbo of tempos, musical styles, instruments, and cracking and collapsing vocals.  Nate Ruess is one of my favorite vocalists, and this song is a fantastic showcase of his skills.

I appreciate that Fun. is not afraid to play with song structure, and in many cases throw it right out.  Many of these tracks are well over 4 minutes (certainly a pop no-no) with no discernible big "hook."  Some of them can't decide on just one hook.  There will be times when you're listening to a song and you may think to yourself, "What am I listening to here?  Is this a pre-chorus or a middle eight or some kind of post-chorus/pre-verse hybrid?"  When that happens in your brain, I need you to just get up and dance those thoughts right the freak out.  Because life's too short not to dance to some fantastic pop songs.

Sometimes it seems like a song is a bunch of bridges and pre-choruses all thrown (fantastically) together, and at many times it seems like this is a collection of musicians with dramatically more than their fair share of musical talent.  Even the various "whoa oh"s and "ba ba ba"s are pretty great.

So go listen to it now, and buy it on August 25th.  Or pre-order it here.

It has been forever and a day since the last SIx Pack.  One might think a re-naming would be in order after such a long absence.  To this I can only reply, "Hella No!" 

Today's Six Pack features six (6) different artists who have kindly invited us to partake in their musical genius (by sending out an email informing of said genius).  I'm all for having great music brought straight to me, so without further ado, six of the greatest from the inbox:

I was instantly enamored when I first heard Microkorg by the Rockwells.  The drum intro, the keys entering, then the vocals; like I said, it caught my attention immediately.  And then, as if the sweet intro wasn't already enough, the song rocks out to a great close.  It's very good, kindly check it out:

[mp3] The Rockwells - Microkorg

Visit: Official | Myspace
Buy: Amazon | iTunes

I won't lie, my favorite part of Great Northern's Houses is the spooky "oooo"s after the chorus.  They are especially well done because they are not in-your-face "oooo"s; they are very subtle and in the backdrop.  I rather like this song, and GN certainly knows how to rock it.

[mp3] Great Northern - Houses

Visit: Official | Myspace
Buy: Amazon | iTunes

The most recent addition to our inbox full of great tracks is from As Tall As Lions.  The name of this band kept tugging on the back of my mind like I should know it, but I still am not able to place it exactly.  I was quite pleased to hear the track, Circles, though.  Upbeat and full of energy, this little gem leaves you wanting more.

[mp3] As Tall As Lions - Circles

Visit: Official | Myspace
Buy: Amazon | iTunes

"When you see me sittin' by myself / you'll think that I'm waiting for someone else / but I'm wishing for somewhere else / I'm wishing for some where else."  That's my favorite part of Postcards.  It's a nice little diddy that is very well put together.

[mp3] An Horse - Postcards

Visit: Official | Myspace
Buy: Amazon | iTunes

The Sun and Earth has good rhythm.  It also features an excellent fade-out and build-up right in the middle of the track.  It usually makes me think the song really has ended, but then WHAM! build-up right in the face and rock to a glorious finish!  You've got to love those tricksy songs.

[mp3] Middle Distance Runner - The Sun and the Earth

Visit: Official | Myspace
Buy: Amazon | iTunes

One fine day not long ago, the Counting Crows sent out an email telling me to go to their website for a free download of Borderline.  I, not keeping up on a certain lady's catalog of songs, was soon surprised to find that it was a cover of a song originally by Madonna.  So I listened, reserving any judgment for later, and came to find a pretty great song.

[mp3] Counting Crows - Borderline

Visit: Official | Myspace
Buy: Amazon | iTunes