Happy Holidays!

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Galactic: Hey Na Na

Seeing this live at The Park West with B was one of the most euphoric live concert moments of my life. A vast room of people losing their freaking minds. Wow. I just got goosebumps remembering it. They are. Just. Too. Damn. Good.

Lucero: Women and Work

Their last album, Overton Park, was one of my very favorites of 2010. The addition of the horn section blew their sound up and added soul to the angsty blues/alt country sound they already had down pat. The new album is just as good, and I'm stoked to see them at Metro on April 7. This video is really just an audio track, but still worth it 'cause the song is so dang good.

And even more cool is that frontman Ben Nichols is from Little Rock, y'all! One of the best voices in rock today, IMHO.

In Honor of Chick's Leaving Atlanta (for the last time...)

The first single from Gentleman Jesse's new album, Leaving Atlanta. He's all Elvis Costello and Marshall Crenshaw and like that...so of course I love it. (Though it is not the best video.)

C'est la Pop!

After Phoenix exploded the myth that there could never be a French pop music, Damien Robitaille takes it even further and sings...in French. Sacre bleu! But he does put in down with soul.



What's up with Canada? Is it trying to be the new Australia?

Edmonton, AB: restoring intelligence and humor to hip-hop...

You read that right: Edmonton. First, Mitchmatic. Haven't heard anything this funny, breezy, and smart since De La Soul's "3 Feet High and Rising."



Buy/download Mitchmatic here.

And through Mitchmatic, I discovered another gem of the Edmonton hip-hop scene (that still sounds weird), The Joe.



Buy/download The Joe here.

Now, back to post-punk...

Prinzhorn Dance School Challenges You to a Duel

So happy this sound is coming back. And that art school dropouts still want to make pop music rather than apps for cell phones. Sharp, aggressive, jangly, spare.



Also check out Household.

Resolution

A page from Woody Guthrie's diary, 1942. Hard to improve on: "31. LOVE EVERYBODY."

Do your best in 2012. Fail. Try again. Fail better.



HT: The Daily Dish