Song of the Week

Joshua James resides in Provo, Utah (by way of Nebraska) and may be one of the most talented local singer-songwriters we have seen in a long time. Some of his second album, Build Me This, was recorded in American Fork and the collection of songs has received glowing reviews for its literate Americana and deep-rooted sounds--opening track "Coal War" is a righteous gospel-tinged stomper.

Check out the video for the excellent "Weeds," which was clearly filmed on location in Utah. The D Man doesn't believe baptism is supposed to be this dangerous, but it's probably a good idea, if you're thinking of salvation, to let someone other than the self-annointed greasy-haired preacher guy handle the duties.

More Kings

In 2004, The D Man and Barndog listened to Erlend and Eirek with a few dozen others at Brothers on High Street in Columbus. One of the most captivating live performances I've ever seen. Do yourself a favor over the weekend and pick up the duo's latest album. The remaining days of autumn will be that much more brilliant.

Enjoy a recent sit-down with the coolest Norwegians on the planet. They play the beautiful "24-25," the opening track from Declaration of Dependence. And keep your fingers crossed that they come to the States again.

BONUS: Lest you forget, Erlend is also the funkiest white person alive. His DJ Kicks album may be the best electronic album you've never listened to and his aptly-named (other) band has kicked out two fantastic dance-influenced guitar records.

Song of the Week

Brooklyn's The Drums dabble in contagious indie-pop and chase endless summer on their recent Summertime! EP. From the band's website:

"We only write about two feelings: one is the first day of summer when you and all of your friends are standing on the edge of a cliff watching the sun set and being overcome with all of your hopes and dreams at once. The other is when you're walking alone in the rain and realize you will be alone forever."

Check out the video for "I Want to Go Surfing." The band runs like a bunch of wussy hipsters. Maybe it's the tight pants. Just bring the hooks and we'll forgive you, I guess.

So Close . . .

The D Man struggled winnowing down his Best Songs of the Decade to just thirty songs. The following are all great songs from artists that came ever so close to making the cut. Do yourself a favor and click on the links below to enjoy the best the decade had to offer. You may just discover a song or a band that you won't be able to live without. For the sake of full disclosure, I can tell you that Beck, Bon Iver, Doves, Jens Lekman, Junior Boys, Phoenix, Wilco, and Vampire Weekend came closest to cracking the glass ceiling.

• "Twenty Two Fourteen" by The Album Leaf. From the most sublime ambient album of the decade.
• "Plasticities" by Andrew Bird. Get loopy with this violin-pop maestro and world-class whistler.
• "Brother" by Annuals. One of the best album openers turns into something fiercely exciting.
• "Wires" by Athlete. The birth of singer Joel Pott's son will break your heart.
• "Daniel" by Bat for Lashes. A flawless, atmospheric pop recording from Peter Gabriel's daemon.
• "Guess I'm Doing Fine" by Beck. I'm not sure I believe you.
• "Rocky Took A Lover" by Bell XI. Because this is about music for the people. And Mr. Reese said so.
• "I'm A Cuckoo" by Belle & Sebastian. Plenty more where this ditty came from.
• "The Luckiest" by Ben Folds. Sentimental and superb. But now in too many wedding videos.
• "You're Quiet" by Brendan Benson. "I'm Brendan. What's your name?"
• "Out of Sight" by The Brother Kite. How is this song not on the interweb? "Get On, Me" will have to do.
• "Skinny Love" by Bon Iver. Just about any song from his debut will do.
• "Jacknuggeted" by Caribou. Makes me feel good just thinking about it.
• "Hearts on Fire" by Cut Copy. Smooth electro-pop from Down Under.
• "A Movie Script Ending" by Death Cab For Cutie. The highway. The highway. The highway.
• "Pounding" by Doves. Two killer climaxes. The D Man apologizes for leaving this one off.
• "1234" by Feist. This song was everywhere. And deservedly so.
• "Be Good Or Be Gone" by Fionn Regan. One of the best videos of the decade too.
• "Stacey's Mom" by Fountains of Wayne. "You missed a spot over there."
• "Stray Dog and the Chocolate Shake" by Grandaddy. Supervisor guy turns off the factory lights so the robots have to work in the dark.
• "Stuck Between Stations" by The Hold Steady. A great rock'n'roll song, plain and simple.
• "In Front of the House" by Human Television. You should own this effortless pop record.
• "The Lakes of Canada" by Innocence Mission. Exquisite.
• "The Opposite of Hallelujah" by Jens Lekman. Broke my heart to leave Jens off. I'm so sorry.
• "In The Morning" by Junior Boys. One of the decade's crowning electro-pop achievements.
• "My Love" by Justin Timberlake. He's smooth so get over it haters.
• "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers. Hey, Brandon grew up in Nephi, Utah.
• "Someone Great" by LCD Soundsystem. You can run forever to this funky electro groove.
• "I Am John" by Loney Dear. Bet you can't sing this high.
• "Pushover" by The Long Winters. The most underrated band of the decade.
• "So Much Trouble" by Matt Pond PA. What I wished the college band I never had sounded like.
• "This Woman's Work" by Maxwell. Only Maxwell could make Kate Bush better.
• "The Zookeeper's Boy" by Mew. Fighting for the best falsetto rock song of all time.
• "My Young Bride" by Midlake. Great American band that needs to be celebrated.
• "Get Ur Freak On" by Missy Elliot. Saw this performed live and in person on Letterman. Supa dupa fly.
• "Starlight" by Muse. Lil' D's favorite song because it talks about black holes.
• "Blizzard of '77" by Nada Surf. Sweet first track to a great collection of songs.
• "Silver & Gold" by Neil Young. Apparently only people who cover Neil Young are on the web.
• "In Need of A Miracle" by New Radicals. The D Man's desperation circa summer of 2000.
• "One Step Inside Doesn't Mean You Understand" by Notwist. Still love when the sticks come in.
• "Little Secrets" by Passion Pit. This song will get you higher and higher and higher.
• "On Your Side" by Pete Yorn. A late-night burner from a phenomenal debut.
• "Young Folks" by Peter Bjorn and John. Stay cool and keep whistling.
• "1901" by Phoenix. Maybe the decade's best three minutes of pop music. Why did The D Man leave this off?
• "Samson" by Regina Spektor. Original, lovely, and spellbinding.
• "By Your Side" Sade. With that voice and those words you can stay by me forever.
• "Lazy Eye" by Silversun Pickups. The best "alternative" song in years. The pay-off is totally is worth the wait.
• "Chocolate" by Snow Patrol. Came out when I was 25. Still makes sense. Still taking those steps.
• "The Underdog" by Spoon. Forget about the underdog and you will not survive.
• "Ageless Beauty" by Stars. Dreamy shoe-gaze pop doesn't get much better.
• "Jenny & The Ess-Dog" by Stephen Malkmus. He's the son of a Coca-Cola middleman.
• "Of Montreal" by The Stills. The sexiest guitar song you've ever heard.
• "Love Don't Owe You Anything" by Strays Don't Sleep. This will catch your attention while driving in the middle of the night.
• "Someday" by The Strokes. The garage band that took over the world for a little while.
• "Juxtaposed With U" by The Super Furry Animals. Zany Welsh band: "You've got to tolerate all those people that you hate."
• "Big Sur" by The Thrills. Ireland does California. And it sounds good.
• "Wolf Like Me" by TV On The Radio. Wolves are cool.
• "Oxford Comma" by Vampire Weekend. If they're good enough for Shakespeare, they're good enough for me.
• "The Rat" by The Walkmen. Seriously intense torcher.
• "Golden Cage" by The Whitest Boy Alive. Funky guitar minimalism will play tricks on your brain.
• "Jesus, Etc" by Wilco. Great band. Great album. Great song.
• "Maps" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It's hard to see a rock chick cry.

Snow Patrol

Oscar Wilde said all bad poetry is sincere. But sometimes when sincerity is coupled with obvious talent and refreshing earnestness, much can be forgiven. The D Man and his lovely wife went to the Snow Patrol concert on Saturday night at the McKay Events Center and reveled in the warmth, humor, and genuineness of Gary Lightbody and his bandmates. The band's performance was good and left The D Man and his wife feeling good. Sometimes you just need a few heart-on-your-sleeve anthems to dust off the cynicism and start loving anew. The highlights included the following:

• Lightbody can flat-out sing. His voice never strains and possesses a strong crystalline resonance that makes everything he sings pleasing to the ears. Lightbody may have the best voice out of any of his so-called Brit-pop peers, including the frontmen for Coldplay, Elbow, and Keane.
• Lightbody bantered with the crowd the entire night and may be the most affable frontman The D Man has ever seen in concert. He joked with the crowd about the band's failed attempts to play tennis that afternoon at UVU, poked fun at the school's designation as "BYU West," and marveled at Utah's beauty. Lightbody said it was the biggest sky he'd ever seen and our home was "flipping beautiful," emphasizing his curse-word restraint much to the crowd's appreciation. Not bad for an Irishman.
• The band opened with "If There's A Rocket Tie Me To It," the first track from the recent album A Hundred Million Suns.
• "Chocolate" made Mrs. D Man bounce in delight. She claims it is the best running song of all time.
• "Hands Open" name-dropped Sufjan Stevens and "How To Be Dead" reminded The D Man why the band's 2003 album Final Straw is one of the best Brit-pop records of the last ten years.
• With the rhythm section prominently on display, new song "The Golden Floor" was more striking than the album version. Snow Patrol is extremely polished and its accessible sheen was apparent on every number they played. Case in point: the band played a smooth, melodic, albeit huge version of "Run," with Lightbody singing and playing solo for the song's first half and then the band joining him for a massive finish.
• Lightbody divided the crowd into groups and had us singing in round for a groove-laden version of "Shut Your Eyes."
• Hearts were melted with back-to-back versions of "Chasing Cars" and "Crack the Shutters." The D Man knows he's in for a good week on the homefront. (28 million happy ladies can't be wrong, right?)
• The band got all synthy on new single "Just Say Yes." The D Man was digging it, his weaknesses exposed and exploited. "Open Your Eyes" left the venue ringing as the band exited the stage.
• The encore consisted of the closing three-song suite from A Hundred Million Suns titled "The Lightning Strike." A large-screen multimedia presentation accompanied the music, complete with mesmerizing origami animation of suns, planets, and our tiny place among it all. "Daybreak" sounded downright hypnotic.
• Snow Patrol closed the night with "All I Have." You can't convince The D Man that this song won't have you singing in your car. Quit being such a man and let it out.

Song of the Week

Kings of Convenience are back and more nonchalant cool than ever. The D Man wishes he could be the third wheel in the video for "Boat Behind" from the duo's forthcoming album, Declaration of Dependence. The Kings recorded some of their new material on the coast of Mexico (in addition to Norway) and this song reflects that laid-back vibe. As always, Erlend and Eirek hit all the right notes in every aspect of their pitch-perfect performance.


BONUS: Check out another video for new track "Mrs. Cold." About a minute into this video The D Man decided for the hundredth time that he is in love. These guys can do no wrong.

Passion Pit

Rip, Rizzo, Lindsay, G-Reese, and The D Man had a great time at the Passion Pit concert last night. Thanks to E-670, the DJ who warmed things up complete with his hoodie, John Stockton Ocean Pacific shorts circa 1988, and white high-top sneakers. He brought his A game and so did we. The highlights included:

• Rip forgot his state-issued I.D. but with some bob-and-weave subterfuge he still managed to get into the club, buy a concert t-shirt, and talk with keyboardist Ayad Al Adhamy about Boston living and the economic logistics of the band performing at his birthday party. Once again Rip proved he can do more damage in thirty-minutes than George Costanza.
• G-Reese and The D Man held our own in the sorority mosh pit. We will be pledging Delta Sigma Theta sometime next week.
• Passion Pit's performance was pure brain candy. Nothing quite like it. The Boston-based band's buoyant synth-dance-pop lifted spirits, changed lives, and had The D Man crushing all comers with his cat-like spin moves.
• Opening number "Better Things" from the Chunk of Change EP was right on the money.
• A killer combo followed: "Little Secrets" and "To Kingdom Come" demonstrated that no band this year delivered more enjoyable hooks. Higher and higher and higher.
• The in-between musical moments were just as satisfying as the band's buildups and choruses. The band sounded tight, funky, and groovy.
• Singer and songwriter Michael Angelakos' falsetto revved up during the course of the show and was used as more of a heady musical instrument than a lead vocal.
• "Sleepyhead" broke things down with its swervy electronica. Ten times better than the album version.
• Other standouts were "Smile Upon Me," "Moth Wings," and "I've Got Your Number."
• The band's final song was a rock-tinged version of "The Reeling" that had the entire house jumping. Great send-off.

The Best Song of the Decade: "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out To Get Us!" by Sufjan Stevens (2005)

Now that we have a proper list (and a very good one, I might add), The D Man can at last share the best song of the decade. No strings attached. No numbers or rankings. Indeed, no list can contain the following song's triumphant musical and lyrical perfection. Did you really think The D Man would leave his loyal readers on such a downer? For heaven's sake, The D Man cried three times during church meetings this past weekend.

This song gives me chills. There was nothing like it conceived, written, or produced this decade. Lennon couldn't have imagined it. McCartney couldn't have written it. Dylan couldn't have arranged it. There is no other songwriter or musician likely to approach Sufjan Stevens' masterful "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out To Get Us!"

The song, track fifteen from Stevens' to-date masterwork Illinois, is a watershed of musical wonder and poetic faith, its intimate grandiosity (or grandiose intimacy) swept up in an exquisite and staggering orchestral and choral arrangement. Soaring oboes, heavenly violas, plucked banjos, chorus hallelujahs, and a pitch-perfect trumpet solo that Miles Davis would beg to play.

Two of Stevens' favorite themes thread their way through this metaphorical masterpiece: a tangible description of childhood wonder and bewilderment takes flight with an elliptical, almost hermetic knowledge of the awesomeness of the Divine. The spiritual transcendence of "trusting things beyond mistake" can be understood and experienced by every true seeker, musical, spiritual, or otherwise.

"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"

Thinking outrageously I write in cursive

I hide in my bed with the lights on the floor

Wearing three layers of coats and leg warmers

I see my own breath on the face of the door

Oh I am not quite sleeping

Oh I am fast in bed

There on the wall in the bedroom creeping

I see a wasp with her wings outstretched

North of Savanna we swim in the palisades

I come out wearing my brother's red hat

There on his shoulder my best friend is bit seven times

He runs washing his face in his hands

Oh how I meant to tease him

Oh how I meant no harm

Touching his back with my hand I kiss him

I see the wasp on the length of my arm

Oh great sights upon this state! Hallelu-

Wonders bright, and rivers, lake. Hallelu-

Trail of Tears and Horseshoe Lake. Hallelu-

trusting things beyond mistake. Hallelu-

We were in love. We were in love.

Palisades! Palisades! Palisades

I can wait. I can wait.

Lamb of God, we sound the horn.

Hallelujah!

To us your ghost is born.

Hallelu-

I can't explain the state that I'm in

The state of my heart, he was my best friend

Into the car, from the back seat

Oh admiration in falling asleep

All of my powers, day after day

I can tell you, we swaggered and swayed

Deep in the tower, the prairies below

I can tell you, the telling gets old

Terrible sting and terrible storm

I can tell you the day we were born

My friend is gone, he ran away

I can tell you, I love him each day

Though we have sparred, wrestled and raged

I can tell you I love him each day

Terrible sting, terrible storm

I can tell you...

Why listen? "Palisades" elicited the greatest pleasure of any song this decade. The song lifted listener's spirits to unreachable heights and its power and poignancy has remained undiminished over time. The song allows listeners to come back, again and again, seeking solace and understanding, and will unfold meaning and musical discovery listen after listen. "Palisades" is the decade's finest achievement of chamber-pop and may be the ultimate expression of the form. In short, the song's language embraces the poetic sublime. And its arrangement, musicianship, and lyrics are worthy of our greatest songwriters and pop masters.

Something else? "Chicago," "Come On! Feel The Illinoise! Part I: The World's Columbian Exposition / Part II: Carl Sandburg Visits Me in a Dream," "Decatur," "He Woke Me Up Again," "No Man's Land," "A Good Man Is Hard To Find," "Sister," "Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!)"