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Hey folks,

Thought I'd get this thing updated before I headed out of town for Memorial Day weekend. If you happen to be up in the bay area this weekend, pop by Aunt Charlie's for a drag show Saturday night. That is where I'll be, getting trashed on cheap booze.

Musics:

Things that Are Square 5-21-09

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Real Emotional Trash - Real Emotional Trash

(*) Wavves - So Bored - Wavvves
(*) King Khan & The Shrines - I Wanna Be a Girl - What Is?!
Jaguar Love - Highways of Gold - Take Me to the Sea
Lullabye Arkestra - All I Can Give Ya - Ampgrave

(*) Chain and the Gang - Interview with the Chain Gang - Down with Liberty...Up with Chains!
The Halo Benders - Don't Touch My Bikini - God Don't Make No Junk
Guided by Voices - I Am a Scientist - Bee Thousand
Deerhunter - Nothing Ever Happened - Microcastle/Weird Era Continued

(*) Akron/Family - Set 'em Free, Pt. 1 - Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free
Grizzly Bear - Merge (Dntel Remix) - Horn of Plenty
High Places - From Stardust to Sentience - High Places
(*) Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Optimist vs. The Silent Alarm (When the Saints Go Marching In) - Vs. Children

(*) Dan Deacon - Snookered - Bromst
Patrick Wolf - Accident & Emergency - The Magic Position
Best Fwends - Skate of Live - Alphabetically Arranged
(*) EAR PWR - Sparkley Sweater - Super Animal Brothers III

The 6ths - Looking for Love (In the Hall of Mirrors) - Wasps' Nests
Galaxie 500 - Snowstorm - On Fire
The Replacements - Here Comes a Regular - Tim
Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard - If Life Exists(?) - 'Em Are I

Fugazi - Waiting Room - 13 Songs
Swell Maps - H.S. Art - A Trip to Marineville
Polysics - My Sharona - Polysics or Die!!! Vista
The Death Set - Impossible - Rad Warehouses Bad Neighborhoods

A Silver Mt. Zion - The Triumph of Our Tired Eyes - Born Into Trouble As the Sparks Fly Upward

If this slew of tunes looks appealing to you, feel free to tune in any Thursday, 6-8pm PST on KUCI 88.9FM in Irvine, CA, and worldwide on the internet at KUCI.ORG, the public radio presets of iTunes, and the public radio app on your iPhone.

And see you at the Chain and the Gang/The Hive Dwellers show tonight at the Smell.

<3,
Kyle

First, make a list of your top-20 artists overall. Then, for each of these artists, add the 8 most similar artists to your list. Delete any duplicates, count up the number of entries on your list and this will give you some idea of how eclectic your listening habits are. A score of 9 represents an extremely unvaried musical taste while a 160 represents an extremely varied one.

Top 20 artists:

1. Okkervil River
2. Bright Eyes
3. The Decemberists
4. Conor Oberst
5. Iron & Wine
6. Two Gallants
7. The Shins
8. The Lucksmiths
9. The National
10. The Magnetic Fields
11. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
12. Belle and Sebastian
13. Rocky Votolato
14. Sufjan Stevens
15. City and Colour
16. The Beatles
17. The Mountain Goats
18. The Kooks
19. Band of Horses
20. Bon Iver

Similar Artists

1. Shearwater
2. The Hold Steady
3. Wolf Parade
4. Neutral Milk Hotel
5. Desaparecidos
6. Commander Venus
7. Son, Ambulance
8. Neva Dinova
9. The Good Life
10. Elliott Smith
11. Cursive
12. Tarkio
13. Andrew Bird
14. Death Cab for Cutie
15. The New Pornographers
16. Park Ave.
17. Jenny Lewis
18. M. Ward
19. Great Lake Swimmers
20. Horse Feathers
21. David Dondero
22. The Felice Brothers
23. Rogue Wave
24. The Postal Service
25. Vampire Weekend
26. The Guild League
27. Math and Physics Club
28. Darren Hanlon
29. Tullycraft
30. Pipas
31. The Field Mice
32. The Fairways
33. The Cat's Miaow
34. Interpol
35. The Walkmen
36. Spoon
37. Frightened Rabbit
38. The 6ths
39. Future Bible Heroes
40. Stephen Merritt
41. The Gothic Archies
42. Jens Lekman
43. Beat Happening
44. Camera Obscura
45. of Montreal
46. The Boy Least Likely To
47. Architecture in Helsinki
48. Waxwing
49. Owen
50. Denison Witmer
51. Kevin Devine
52. The New Amsterdams
53. Dustin Kensrue
54. Chuck Ragan
55. Kind of Like Spitting
56. Fleet Foxes
57. Beirut
58. Anathallo
59. Luke Pickett
60. Anthony Green
61. John Lennon
62. Paul McCartney
63. George Harrison
64. Ringo Starr
65. The Who
66. The Extra Glenns
67. John Vanderslice
68. Silver Jews
69. Arctic Monkeys - gross
70. The Wombats
71. The Fratellis
72. Razorlight
73. Grand Archives
74. My Morning Jacket
75. Justin Vernon
76. Stuart Murdoch
77. The Tallest Man on Earth


I pride myself in knowing/having/have heard virtually all of these artists. Much different than last time around, still about the same amount of artists. Crazy.

Pick an artist.
Go to their page. Write down their top similar artist that is not already in your list. Click through to that artist's page. Repeat.
Asterisks indicate bands that I have "listened" to. I arbitrarily chose 10 plays for this.
Starting with my top overall artist:

1. Screaming Trees *
2. Mark Lanegan *
3. Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan
4. Isobel Campbell
5. The Gentle Waves
6. Camera Obscura
7. Belle and Sebastian *
8. The Magnetic Fields
9. The 6ths
10. Future Bible Heroes
11. Stephin Merritt
12. Beat Happening *
13. The Halo Benders
14. Built to Spill *
15. Pavement *
16. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
17. Stephen Malkmus *
18. Silver Jews *
19. Smog *
20. Bill Callahan
21. Will Oldham
22. Palace
23. Palace Music
24. Palace Brothers
25. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy *
26. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy & Matt Sweeney
27. Songs: Ohia
28. Jason Molina
29. Magnolia Electric Co.
30. Damien Jurado
31. David Bazan
32. Pedro the Lion
33. HEADPHONES
34. Pinback
35. Rob Crow
36. Thingy
37. Heavy Vegetable
38. Other Men
39. The Ladies
40. Hella *
41. Zach Hill
42. Marnie Stern
43. Deerhoof *
44. The Fiery Furnaces *
45. Destroyer
46. Frog Eyes
47. Sunset Rubdown
48. Wolf Parade *
49. Handsome Furs
50. Apostle of Hustle

Not a bad list. A few different genres, from grunge to indie to alternative to folk to math rock.
It makes me want to check the 50 degrees of some other band.

Coincidence: I happened to be listening to Another Day Full of Dread (on 'Artists Similar to Tom Waits) just as I started navigating through #'s 21-25. I did not know that he had so many aliases.

P.S. I got this idea from here: http://www.last.fm/user/godwand/journal/2009/02/03/2gcsir_similar_artist_game

The 6ths, The Gothic Archies, Future Bibles Heroes, The Magnetic Fields, or just plain Stephin Merritt - the man's a genius. Here's a (bit over) 90 minute introduction to the man and his moosic. It's low-fi, it's lyrically brilliant, it's Music To Listen To Closely. It's a bloody joy, so it is.

The show was originally on the wonderful Purple Radio but you can download it here:

http://tinyurl.com/tssSM

1. Magnetic Fields - Acoustic Guitar
2. The Magnetic Fields - All The Umbrellas In London
3. Stephin Merritt - At Madam Plum’s
4. The Magnetic Fields - The Book Of Love
5. The Magnetic Fields - Born on a Train
6. The 6ths - Dead Only Quickly
7. Future Bible Heroes - Don't You Want Me?
8. The Magnetic Fields - Experimental Music Love
9. The Magnetic Fields - How Fucking Romantic
10. The Magnetic Fields - I Don't Believe In The Sun
11. The Magnetic Fields - I Don't Believe You
12. The Magnetic Fields - I Shatter
13. I Thought You Were My Boyfriend (Rob Rives Remix)
14. The Magnetic Fields - I Wish I Had An Evil Twin
15. The Gothic Archies - In a Cave
16. The Magnetic Fields - Josephine
17. The Magnetic Fields - Love Is Like A Bottle Of Gin
18. Stephin Merritt - The Meaning Of Lice
19. The Magnetic Fields - No One Will Ever Love You
20. The Magnetic Fields - The Nun's Litany
21. The Magnetic Fields - Papa Was A Rodeo
22. The Magnetic Fields - A Pretty Girl Is Like ...
23. Future Bible Heroes - She-Devils Of The Deep
24. Future Bible Heroes - The Slow Fade
25. The Magnetic Fields - Smoke And Mirrors
26. The Magnetic Fields - Strange Eyes
27. The Magnetic Fields - Strange Powers
28. The Magnetic Fields - Suddenly There Is A Tidal Wave
29. !!! - Take Ecstasy With Me
30. Future Bible Heroes - A Thousand Lovers In A Day
31. The Magnetic Fields - Washington, D.C.
32. Future Bible Heroes - The World Is A Disco Ball
33. The Magnetic Fields - Yeah! Oh, Yeah!

What's up, folks!

Are you guys totally stoked on life right now? I'll bet you are. I am too! I rode my bike and bought bubble bath and candy, and now I'm listening to old school hiphop in my underwear, thinking about reading or playing more Super Mario Galaxy. Yes, ma'am. Life's a pretty sweet fruit.

Leave me a comment letting me know how rad your summer is, thus far. I'd like it. :)

Anyway: the playlist.

Things that Are Square 7-24-08

(*) = New release

Simon Joyner - I Will Find You - The Lousy Dance

Andrew Bird - The Happy Birthday Song - Andrew Bird the Mysterious Production of Eggs
Nouvelle Vague - I Melt With You - Nouvelle Vague
Jeffrey Lewis - Alphabet - It's the One Who've Cracked that the Light Shines Through
Jacob Borshard - Ernest Hemmingway - The Last Brontosaurus

(*) Mirah - Birthday Present - The Old Days Feeling
Calvin Johnson & the Sons of the Soil - Can We Kiss - Calvin Johnson & The Sons of the Soil
Stephen Malkmus - The Hook - Stephen Malkmus
Ted Leo + Pharmacists - Timorous Me - The Tyranny of Distance

Red Pony Clock - My New Best Friends - God Made Dirt
Cars Can Be Blue - I Like - All the Stuff We Do
Jens Lekman - Happy Birthday, Dear Friend Lisa - When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog
The Go-Betweens - Was There Anything I Could Do? - Bellavista Terrace: Best of the Go-Betweens (For Aiko in Seattle, WA)

(*) Herman Dune - Pure Hearts - 1-2-3/Apple Tree
Clem Snide - Happy Birthday - Soft Spot
(*) Silver Jews - Suffering Jukebox - Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea
(*) King Khan & The Shrines - I Wanna Be a Girl - The Supreme Genius of King Khan & The Shrines

(*) Abe Vigoda - Skeleton - Skeleton
mclusky - The World Loves Us and Is Our Bitch - mclusky Do Dallas
Death From Above 1979 - Going Steady - You're a Woman, I'm a Machine
Totally Michael - Birthday Song - For You

The 6ths - You Can't Break a Broken Heart - Wasps' Nests
Tender Forever - Happy Birthday - The Soft and the Hardcore
(*) High Places - Sandy Feat (7" Version) - 03/07-09/09
(*) Sigur Ros - Med Sud i Eytym - Med Sud i Eyrum Vit Spilum Endalaust

Jonah Matranga - Birthday - Songs I Hope My Mom Will Like
Mercury Rev - Opus 40 - Deserter's Songs
Man Man - Black Mission Goggles - Six Demon Bag
The Blood Brothers - The Shame - ...Burn, Piano Island, Burn

Old Time Relijun - Daemon Meeting - Catharsis in Crisis


I hope to see you guys tomorrow night, Thursday, 6-8pm PST (and every Thursday night), on KUCI 88.9fm in Irvine, CA, or worldwide live on the internet at KUCI.ORG, the public radio presets of iTunes, and the flash player on our myspace page.

<3,
Kyle

The following ratings, comments, and anecdotes are entirely personal. I'm not trying to be objective, nor do I believe such objectivity to be possible or desirable. If you think you can judge anything objectively, be it music, film, literature, or any art form, you probably just don't love it enough. Having said that, here is my entirely subjective journey through my record collection.



The 6ths- Hyacinths and Thistles. 2000.
3.5/10. Stephen Merritt, I love you. But this is both boring and redundant. In fact, Hyacinths and Thistles is probably one of the biggest letdowns of my musical life. The suspense built up for months as I searched for this record before finally giving in and ordering it. The 3.5 rating is generous and awarded on the merit of other 6th's and Magnetic Fields releases. My sense of betrayal calls for a 1, but this is unfair and I will resist.

The 6ths- Wasps' Nests. 1995.
8.3/10. I love this record, although that is love is mostly based on Falling Out of Love With You and San Diego Zoo. It is alternately gorgeous and tacky, and I forgive any and all of its missteps. This is one of the albums that I associate with the early days of Luis' and my relationship; he introduced me to The 6th's after learning of my love for The Magnetic Fields. There is a surviving doodle from my 10th grade chemistry class that features both a lyric from Falling Out of Love With You and what I thought was a very clever and abstract depiction of our relationship at the time. Now it looks rather amateur, but I still enjoy the same irony that I perceived at the time. Luis and I were falling in love to the tune of Falling Out of Love With You. Lovely.

The 13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds Of. 1966.
I absolutely refuse to rate this record. I know why it is important and everything, but I just cant get over the awful sound quality. It sounds like someone thought You're Gonna Miss Me was worth remastering, did an excellent job with it, listened to the rest of the record, got scared, and decided to leave it alone. I wouldn't blame them for that. This is probably just an issue with the particular CD edition that I have. I actually just saw this on vinyl a couple of days ago and now I'm thinking I may have to buy it in order to actually hear it properly. If only my record player weren't 3,000 miles away from the record store. I've carried vinyl through airports across the country many times before and it is a pain. Try getting a calander-sized, inflexible object into first a carry on bag and then underneath the seat in front of you. And then the corners of the record poke your arms all day as you carry the bag. Plus, who wants to carry objects on to the plane that have no immediate utility? I have no problem carting around four different books that I will obviously not have time to read, but bringing an object doesn't even have a potential for usefulness until well after you arrive at your destination? Pass.

A.C. Newman - The Slow Wonder. 2004.
8.9/10. 2004 was a good year for me. That was when I started buying music magazines, which in themselves didn't really change things, but made me feel connected. I could flip through Magnet and recognize 80-90% of the bands mentioned in the articles. I was catching the references. I felt like I belonged. Of course, this couldn't last. I don't know if they magazines changed, or if the subsequent estrangement was my fault. At any rate, The Slow Wonder came out during my golden years of Magnet-reading, when I had a subscription that would consistently fail to deliver the newest issue for weeks after it appeared in stores. Boy, did the magazines love this one. They were right.

Adorable - Against Perfection. 1993.
6.5/10. Okay, so this isn't the best record ever. But it certainly isn't the worst. It reminds me of (the good parts of) early high school and it has all those elements of late 80's, early 90's Cure-esque shy-kid music that I really do love. Homeboy makes me feel like I'm 15 again, in the best way possible. I remember walking to the school bus with this in my walkman, and I will never denounce it, no matter how many times I choose to leave it out of my iTunes library. Never.

Al Green - Call Me. 1973.
8.0/10. Honestly, I don't think I'm cool enough to listen to Al Green. Yeah, he made really good music, the production is great, and his voice is fucking incredible, but every time I hear his albums I feel strangely inadequate. This is probably what I would listen to if I had that mythical sort of "good taste", like John Cusack in High Fidelity, or Dean Wareham in his own mind. Alas, I am a mortal. And while I enjoy this, I can't say I reach for it during long car drives or those empty stretches of time when I am home alone. If my life were a movie, perhaps I would listen to this more often. Although then it would definitely be on vinyl, and I would have to lay on the floor with headphones over my ears. And really, who has time for that anymore?


Al Green - Gets Next to You. 1971.
9.0/10. Now, this is why I needed to go through my iTunes! I know I just wrote about how I'm not cool enough for Al Green, but Gets Next To You one gives me hope. I actually enjoyed just about every moment of this record, and I don't think I'll be taking it out of my iTunes any time soon. I'm a Ram is fantastic, and it is certaintly within my realm of musical understanding and appreciation. I don't need to make excuses for this one; it isn't a "grower", or something that needs to "sink in". It is just really well done, well produced, and well performed pop music. And hooray for pop music!

Al Green - Let's Stay Together. 1972.
8.0/10. Ah, Let's Stay Together. This was my first Al Green record, and I'm more than a little sentimental about it. The title track does an incredible job of showcasing his amazing voice, and it has the added bonus of reminding me of when I met Luis. The real standout track, though, is How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?, which is just flat out unbelievable. Unfortunately, the record as a whole doesn't have the kind of momentum that Gets Next To You has in such abundance. While those two songs are some of my very favorites of his, Let's Stay Together is, overall, my least favorite of the three albums I have. You win some...


Andrew Bird - Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs. 2005.
9.4/10
I think I missed something. Lately, Andrew Bird's name has been popping up more and more often. I don't know if this is a result of his newest offering (which I still haven't heard. Luis isn't a fan), or if there has been some sort of resurgence in popularity. At any rate, I seem to be hearing his name at an unusually high rate these days. I'm intrigued, and honestly a little surprised. Not because he isn't very very good, because he is. It is only surprising because Mr. Bird is such a "headphones musician". Unless you are willing to sit in place for a good hour or more and keep those headphones glued to your ears, you really aren't going to get the whole experience. There are so many layers and textures to this album that I had completely forgotten about; I confess that on this first listen in over a year, I am completely blown away. So, whatever Luis says, I will never again unfairly restrict Andrew Bird from myTunes, despite his shady past with the Squirrel Nut Zippers. Oh, and as a serious word dork, how can I not go gaga over lyrics like:
"my dewey-eyed disney bride who has tried
swapping your blood with formaldehyde? monsters?
whiskey-plied voices cry 'fratricide'!"
Did he really just rhyme "bride", "tried", "formaldehyde", "cried", and "fratricide"? Uh, hero? This is one of the brainiest records I have ever heard. I may need to dig my old Andrew Bird shirt out of hiding now.

"Indie Rock" as in the style that succeeded 1980's hardcore, mainly american guitar music of the Pavement variety.

This is not a "what is indie" discussion.

100 GREAT INDIE ROCK ALBUMS!
Compiled at MAC.



...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Source Tags & Codes (2002)
59 Times the Pain - Calling the Public (2001)
The 6th's - Wasps Nests (1995)
A Frames - II (2000)
A Northern Chorus - Spirit Flags (2003)
Abandoned Pools - Humanistic (2001)
The Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen (1993)
The American Analog Set - Know by Heart (2001)
Animal Collective - Sung Tongs (2004)
Arab on Radar - The Stolen Singles (2003)
Arab Strap - Elephant Shoe (2000)
The Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004)
Archers of Loaf - Icky Mettle (1994)
Band of Horses - Everything All the Time (2006)
Beat Happening - You Turn Me On (1992)
Beck - Odelay (1996)
Bedhead - What Fun Life Was (1993)
Bedhead - Transaction de Novo (1996)
Bettie Serveert - Palomine (1992)
Blackmail - Friend or Foe (2003)
Blonde Redhead - Misery Is A Butterfly (2004)
Boyskout - School of Etiquette (2004)
The Breeders - Cannonball (1993)
Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People (2003)
Built to Spill - Perfect From Now On (1997)
Cat Power - What Would The Community Think (1996)
Chisel - Set YoU Free (1997)
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (2005)
Codeine - Frigid Stars (1990)
Come - Don't Ask, Don't Tell (1994)
The Concretes - The Concretes (2004)
The Dandy Warhols - Come Down (1997)
Death Cab for Cutie - You Can Play These Songs With Chords (2002)
The Decemberists - Her Majesty (2003)
Dinosaur Jr - You're Living All Over Me (1987)
Delorean - Delorean (2004)
Eels - Daisies of the Galaxy (2000)
Engineers - Folly (2004)
The Fiery Furnaces - Gallowsbird's Bark (2003)
Grifters - Crappin' You Negative (1994)
Guided by Voices - Bee Thousand (1994)
Head Automatica - Tokyo Decadence (2004)
Idlewild - The Remote Part (2002)
Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days (2004)
Jack Off Jill - Clear Hearts, Grey FLowers (2000)
Johnossi - Johnossi (2006)
Juliana Hatfield - Beautiful Creature (2000)
Kashmir - The Good Life (1999)
Knife in the Water - Red River (2000)
Les Savy Fav - Go Forth (2001)
Liars - They Were Wrong, So We Drowned (2004)
The Long Blondes - Someone To Drive You Home (2006)
Love of Diagrams - The Target Is You (2006)
Love Of Lesbian - Ungravity (2003)
Luna - The Days of Our Nights (1995)
Macha - Forget Tomorrow (2004)
Madrugada - Industrial Silence (1999)
The Magnetic Fields - The Wayward Bus (1991)
The Make Up - Save Yourself (1999)
Maritime - The Glass Floor (2004)
mclusky - McLusky Do Dallas (2001)
Mew - Frengers (2003)
Minus the Bear - Menos el Oso (2005)
Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antarctica (2000)
Money Mark - Push the Button (1998)
The Mountain Goats - We Shall All Be Healed (2004)
The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema (2005)
Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (1998)
The Organ - Grab That Gun (2004)
Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted (1992)
Pavement - Wowee Zowee (1995)
Pedro the Lion - Control (2002)
Pinback - Summer in Abaddon (2004)
Pixies - Trompe Le Monde (1991)
PJ Harvey - Dry (1992)
R.E.M. - Out of Time (1991)
Relaxed Muscle - A Heavy Night With (2003)
Ryan Adams - Love Is Hell (2004)
Sebadoh - III (1991)
The Secret Machines - Now Here Is Nowhere (2004)
The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow (2003)
Sleater-Kinney - The Woods (2005)
Some Girls - Feel It (2001)
Songs:Ohia - Magnolia Electric Co. (2003)
Sonic Youth - Dirty (1992)
Sparklehorse - It's A Wonderful Life (2001)
Spoon - Gimme Fiction (2005)
Starlight Mints - Built On Squares (2003)
Superchunk - On the Mouth (1992)
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Hearts of Oak (2003)
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Living With The Living (2007)
Thirteen Senses - The Invitation (2005)
Tim Booth - Bone (2004)
Timesbold - Timesbold (2003)
The Tragically Hip - Fulyl Completely (1992)
The Twilight Singers - She Loves You (2004)
The Veils - Nux Vomica (2006)
Wilderness - Wilderness (2005)
Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary (2005)
Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One (1997)

Thanks to everyone at the Indie Rock Desk.

Okay, I have finally had to break down and admit that I like The Magnetic Fields. On long road trips, my wife sings along to selected tracks from 69 Love Songs in order to stay awake while driving (I use Danzig for the same purpose) and so I ended up knowing all the lyrics but fighting the urge to enjoy the music. I think it's mainly the synth-poppiness of the music that irritates me, because, really, the vocals are very nice and the lyrics are very clever.

Therefore, it was kind of a foregone conclusion that after seeing them live in concert with real instruments, I would end up liking them. We caught them on the late show of the second day of their three-day set of concerts in Chicago, and they were visibly worn out (either that, or very stoned). Claudia seems to be the main source of stage presence in the band and she was a bit off her game, drinking tea to stay awake. She and Stephin bicker like an old married couple on stage, which is pretty amusing. He played a bazuki and a fancy ukelele, and they used the cello to fill in a lot of the synthy parts on the albums which I thought was awesome (since I really like the cello in general).

The songs from the new album sounded great, particularly California Girls. They played a lot of Gothic Archies and 6ths songs, which I didn't recognize, plus a Lemony Snicket related song called "The Crows" which was amazing (featuring a particularly adorable part where the two female singers sing "The Crows!" "Caw Caw" in the background of the chorus).

The most amusing thing I've seen a band do is when they were introducing Three-Way for the encore, and when somebody in the audience yelled out the name of the song, they said "okay, that guy guessed it, so we'll play the next song instead", and went on to play some other song...

So, yeah, I like the Magnetic Fields.