1. Spouse - I don't know who this band is, or where they come from, but... I think they might fight Nada Surf's "Inside Of Love" for the dorky indie rock boy anthem of 2003 title. One of the best songs I've presented here in a long long time.
2. The National - New album coming out next week. Or maybe it's this week. I hope they get the attention they deserve with this record.
3. Forget Cassettes - Another band I don't know anything about. I just downloaded it from the mp3 section at Insound (http://www.insound.com/mp3) and I really like it.
4. Finishing School - Jeff Johnson over at JANE Magazine sends around a list of mp3's once a month to some folks. This week I pillaged a bunch of his. I didn't know about Finishing School at all... A catchy song that reminds me of Downy Mildew in a way.
5. Holy Sons - Too smart for its own good, but... it pulls it off. Apparently Holy Sons is a couple of people from some of NYC's avant / noise scene, but this song is just pure indie twang folk bliss.
6. Mirah Yomtov Zeitlyn & Ginger Brooks Takahashi - Damn if Mirah doesn't write some incredibly memorable and pretty songs. Here's another one.
7. Okkervil River - New album coming out this fall. Ben from Western Keys turned me on to Okkervil River last year. This is tortured and over-the-top, but also really really great. I haven't caught all the lyrics, but... super smart and really nice.
8. Poulain - Don't know anything about them, either. A good song.
9. Rosa Chance Well - Vanessa from Junction and Samuel... This sounds like what Karate would sound like if Geoff Farina was a woman.
10. A Northern Chorus - A bit too long, but... a pretty song.
11. Jeffrey Lewis - Friends with The Moldy Peaches, and new to Rough Trade. Either really-dumb or really-smart folk pop, whichever way you want to look at it. It might depend on whether or not you had an appreciation for King Missile (Dog Fly Religion). (Not that that's a good reference point for Jeffrey's music.)
12. Nellie McKay - She's 19, and it's been said that she can write a song on piano like all of the following: Billy Joel, Elton John / Bernie Taupin, Rodgers & Hammerstein, and Cole Porter. I'm kinda reminded a bit of Fairground Attraction... And I'm trying to work the phrase "it's a throwback to a bygone era" into this description, somewhere.
13. Joe Walsh - Warriors... come out and play-ee-ay... warriors... come out and play-ee-ay...