Five Things

(Jon Foreman and Drew Shirley from Switchfoot)

• Sun Kil Moon plays the biting "Track Number 8" backstage at Fallon.
• Who says rock music cannot have a great message?  Not these California surfers.  The D Man and Rip hit the Switchfoot show this week.  The San Diego band played a fun and inspiring set, swelling with the accessible dare-you-to-move anthems they do so well.  After eight albums, Jon Foreman's lead vocals could not sound better, and his bandmates could not sound tighter.  It was refreshing to see a regular-looking crowd, too, complete with college and high school kids, suburban dads, and a sprinkling of skaters and punks.  The overwrought hipsters and less-showered were noticeably absent.  Highlights included big hits "Stars," "Meant to Live," and "Dare You to Move."  Lesser known tracks "Needle and Haystack Life" and "Restless" really struck a chord with me, too.
• Check out Natasha Khan in the ballad "Laura" from The Haunted Man.
• Check out the video for "Chained" from the xx.  
• The D Man has been obsessed with this song and this song the past couple weeks.  It invariably happens this time of year.

Song of the Week

My man Mark Kozelek made his national television debut this week on Fallon.  Hard to believe for a guy who has one of the most staggering songwriting catalogs of the past twenty years.  He performed two songs with the Roots, starting with a restrained but noteworthy version of "The Moderately Talented Young Women" from Sun Kil Moon's new release, Among the Leaves.  And imagine my surprise when he closed things out with a plugged-in rendition of the Red House Painters' classic "Mistress."

Five Things

(Grizzly Bear's Daniel Rossen, Ed Droste, Christopher Bear, and Chris Taylor)

• Prepare to have more holiday cheer than you can possibly fathom.  Sufjan Stevens is out with his second Christmas box set, titled Silver & Gold: Songs for Christmas, Vols 6-10.  The 5 EPs were recorded between 2006 and 2010, and are sure to contain intimately epic classics and all-new originals.  You can pick up the ultimate stocking stuffer on November 13th.
• Check out the new video for Grizzly Bear's "Yet Again."  And a live take of "Sleeping Ute."
• Chad Murphy's (aka Markarians) Move, Lord is excellent.  Enjoy "Go & Ask Shelly" and "Alligators." Easily the coolest stuff to come (in a round-about way) from the Beehive State in a long time.  And his tight-end brother just had a nice reception in the Utah-USC football game.
• Beth Orton released her new album, Sugaring Season, her first collection of songs in six years.  Take a listen to "Magpie."
• Seems natural that Adele, the current world-conquering Brit, would get a shot at the new Bond theme.  You will have to Google the elusive and just-leaked "Skyfall."