The Top 60 Bands (Ryan Saw) At CMJ 2006

[part 6 of 6]

Here it is – the final installment of my CMJ adventures. They just announced that my favorite week of the year will be October 16th – 20th this fall. Register now!

I’ve compiled all of the audio clips from the previous posts on one page that will remain accessible at the top of the site. Enjoy, because I doubt I’ll ever have enough time or energy to do this again. I know the “rankings” are highly debatable, but some bands ended up near the bottom because I didn’t see much of their set. I enjoyed every act I saw on these lists, even if I did bust on them a bit. Though, I really did hate The Knife. Man, was that show overrated.

#1 ¡Forward, Russia! – My favorite live act of 2006. I sense that they are fading fast into obscurity, but I’ll still be rocking out with ‘em the next time they come through New York. Whether you love them, hate them or just don’t give a sh*t, ¡Forward, Russia! give a fantastic performance. In addition to these two shows, we also saw them at the KEXP in-studio performance. Though there are pictures here it would appear they never actually released the audio to that show.

¡Forward, Russia!
Live at Mercury Lounge
01 Nine
02 Fifteen Part II
03 Eighteen
04 Seventeen
05 Sixteen
06 Thirteen
07 Fifteen Part I
08 Twelve
09 Eleven

¡Forward, Russia!
Live at Fontana’s – Brooklyn Vegan day party
01 Twelve
02 Seventeen
03 Eighteen
[intro]
04 Fifteen Part II

#2 Oppenheimer – This marked the first time in a long while that I walked into a venue and immediately fell in love with the band on stage. I heard that these guys were great when they opened for Hot Chip at South Street Seaport, but I never expected to connect with them the way I did. I’m sure plenty of you are saying, “yeah, they’re ok, but the second best band at CMJ?” As far as I’m concerned, hell yes.

Oppenheimer – M.O. (live at Tonic)

Oppenheimer – Time Loss/Gain (live at Tonic)

Oppenheimer – Nine Words (live at Tonic)

Oppenheimer – Saturday Looks Bad To Me (live at Tonic)

#3 The Hold Steady – Since they didn’t actually play a showcase, I feel a little bit funny placing The Hold Steady towards the top of this list, but regardless, this was one of the craziest sets I saw all week. I’ll be surprised if I ever see them in a place as tiny as The Annex ever again.

The Hold Steady – Party Pit (live at The Annex)

The Hold Steady – Stevie Nix (live at The Annex)

#4 Land Of Talk – My love for three-piece bands notwithstanding, Land of Talk was one of my top five discoveries in 2006. They sounded better and better each of the five times I saw them this year, with this midday Pianos set topping off the list. I can’t wait to see what they do with a full length album.

Land of Talk – Summer Special (live at Pianos)

Land of Talk – Sea Foam (live at Pianos)

Land of Talk – Speak To Me Bones (live at Pianos)

Land of Talk – [new song] (live at Pianos)

Land of Talk – All My Friends (live at Pianos)

#5 Colin Meloy – The Decemberists frontman played a short acoustic set upstairs at Pianos as part of a Zune promotion. Then he was carted a few blocks west to the Apple Store where the whole band helped to promote Microsoft’s largest competitor. Is it fair to even suggest the word “sell out” if the two causes cancel each other out? I could care less who’s paying him to play where. Hearing Colin play “California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade” solo on acoustic guitar was simply magical.

Colin Meloy – O Valencia (live at Pianos)

Colin Meloy – California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade (live at Pianos)

#6 Pela – Though I prefer to hear Pela plugged in on a stage that can actually fit the whole band, this acoustic set was only my second experience hearing Pela live and I was quite impressed. You could tell that the band was figuring out how to transfer their material into the acoustic domain as they went, but the constant force behind all their songs was still Billy’s powerful voice. You can check out a full Pela-plugged-in show here.

Pela – Waiting on the Stairs [acoustic] (live at White Rabbit)

Pela – No Doves Just Pigeons [acoustic] (live at White Rabbit)

Pela – Desert’s Not A Desert At All [acoustic] (live at White Rabbit)

Pela – The Trouble With River Cities [acoustic] (live at White Rabbit)

Pela – Philadelphia [acoustic] (live at White Rabbit)

#7 Birdmonster – For the most part, I’m not a huge Birdmonster fan, but their performance of “Balcony” was one of my single favorite songs of the entire festival. Go ahead, listen and just try to resist the urge to shout along with the chorus.

Birdmonster – Ice Age (live at Cake Shop)

Birdmonster – Cause You Can (live at Cake Shop)

Birdmonster – Skeleton Suit (live at Cake Shop)

Birdmonster – Balcony (live at Cake Shop)

#8 Annuals – From a musical composition standpoint, Annuals were the most impressive band I heard in 2006. Their songs defy convention, yet somehow they’re still accessible and able to keep your attention in a live setting. Intriguing as it is, “Dry Clothes” still seems just plain weird to me, but “Brother”… damn that’s a good song.

Annuals – Dry Clothes (live at Fader Lounge)

Annuals – Complete Or Completing (live at Fader Lounge)

Annuals – Brother (live at Fader Lounge)

Annuals – Carry Around (live at Fader Lounge)

#9 Silversun Pickups – A lot has been said recently about Silversun Pickups lack of enthusiasm during their live show. I have to agree that they seem a little reserved when they’re playing a show, but I still love their sound. This is more or less the type of music that had me glued to the radio in my formative years and in my opinion, there aren’t enough bands maintaining and/or updating that sound these days.

Silversun Pickups – Little Lover’s So Polite (live at the Puma Store)

Silversun Pickups – Future Foe Scenarios (live at the Puma Store)

Silversun Pickups – Kissing Families (live at the Puma Store)

Silversun Pickups – Lazy Eye (live at the Puma Store)

Silversun Pickups – Rusted Wheel (live at The Annex)

Silversun Pickups – Kissing Familes (live at The Annex)

Silversun Pickups – Lazy Eye (live at The Annex)

Silversun Pickups – Common Reactor (live at The Annex)

#10 Tigercity – Another pleasant surprise, I had no idea what to expect of this band when I walked into Arlene’s Grocery for their late set. (In case you haven’t noticed, bands get extra points on this list for surprising me… I mean, everyone knew what to expect from friggin Girl Talk). Tigercity are part 80’s, part funk and flat out fun. I think they recently inked a record deal and I’ll be real curious to see what they sound like in a studio.

Tigercity – Solitary Man (live at Arlene’s Grocery)

Tigercity – Cloakrooms (live at Arlene’s Grocery)

The Top 60 Bands (Ryan Saw) At CMJ 2006

[part 5 of 6]

#11 Eastern Conference Champions – At CMJ ‘05 I went to see this band based solely on their name and they turned out to be one of the best acts I saw that year. They were even better this time around, cementing their current status as one of my favorite bands. They’re starting to get noticed by more and more people including my friend Bret who says, “they’re like Our Lady Peace, only cool.” I hadn’t made that connection, but it’s true (hinging of course on your definition of “cool”). We’d also like to compare them to a three-piece version of Bends-era Radiohead, if that’s allowed.

They’ve been asked to support acts like Mew, Sliverchair and The View recently and they will be at SXSW in March despite having all of their gear stolen in LA. There are a bunch of good tunes on their myspace page. Also, their drummer is left handed so he sets his kit up “backwards”. That shouldn’t be a big deal, but I think it looks awesome.

Eastern Conference Champions – The Box (live at The Delancey)

Eastern Conference Champions – Noah (live at The Delancey)

Eastern Conference Champions – To The Wind (live at The Delancey)

And here are two songs that I was unable to figure out titles for:
unknown 1, unknown 2

#12 The Wrens – This was my first time seeing The Wrens. I wish it could have been in a smaller venue, but the energy that they were able to expend while playing in a seated theater amazed me. I’ve since seen them at the Knitting Factory and it’s safe to say that this band is in a league of their own when it comes to putting on a great live performance.

The Wrens – Faster Gun (live at Skirball Center)

The Wrens – Hopeless (live at Skirball Center)

The Wrens – Happy (live at Skirball Center)

#13 The Little Ones – The last band of CMJ ‘06. I wish I had recorded one of their better tunes, but I was happy to get anything on tape by this point. Of all the bands I saw that week, they were the first group that I went to see again at an actual gig a few weeks later. That must be saying something. I wrote about that show here.

The Little Ones – Face The Facts (live at Northsix)

#14 The Evening Episode – Another California band, The Evening Episode put out one of my favorite records of 2006. The album balances soft and loud very well, but in the live setting they were either soft or really, really loud – almost too much for me to enjoy myself. I like bands that rock out, but Pianos is not a good place to test how loud you can be. Feedback became the sixth band member for the night, but it’s not nearly as painful on these recordings as it was in person. I would absolutely love to see them play a venue like Mercury or Bowery.

The Evening Episode – Learn Your Ps and Qs (live at Pianos)

The Evening Episode – New Love (live at Pianos)

The Evening Episode – Backstroke (live at Pianos)

The Evening Episode – Photocopied Residence (live at Pianos)

The Evening Episode – We’ll Be Read (live at Pianos)

The Evening Episode – unknown (live at Pianos)

#15 The Grates – I saw The Grates a total of five times this past year, which says a lot about how much I enjoy their shows but even more about how much they love playing them. It would’ve been six if hadn’t arrived late to their show with We Are Scientists in November. By my count they made at least four separate trips to the US in 2006. Here’s a full review of their June show and an interview conducted in July.

The Grates – 19-20-20 (live at Knitting Factory)

The Grates – Suckafish (live at Knitting Factory)

#16 Cadence Weapon – I don’t know very much when it comes to hip hop, but Cadence Weapon spent a good two minutes discussing hockey so he won me over. He’s definitely a unique performer with witty lyrics who puts on a good show, but I’ve yet to be completely bowled over by his actual beats.

Cadence Weapon – Black Hand (live at Fontana’s)

Cadence Weapon – Sharks (live at Fontana’s)

#17 Thunderbirds Are Now! – I feel like this band went from being slightly overrated at the beginning of last year to being vastly underrated today, but such is the state of new music in the age of the internet. They are one of the more energetic bands I’ve seen lately and I knew that listening to them at 2 in the afternoon on a wednesday was going to be either really painful or really awesome. Thankfully, it was the latter.

Thunderbirds Are Now! – 198090 (live at Pianos)

Thunderbirds Are Now! – We Win (Ha Ha) (live at Pianos)

#18 Via Audio – This young New York band writes catchy songs that are fun without being sickeningly sweet. They have those boy/girl lead vocals reminiscent of Stars with simpler instrumentation. An album is in the works and I’m going to be sure to check them out at SXSW.

Via Audio – Presents (live at Fader Lounge)

Via Audio – unknown (live at Fader Lounge)

#19 The Big Sleep – I saw these guys a bunch in 2006 and recorded a full set back in August. I would have enjoyed the show more if it weren’t a mid-day performance in a noisy club, but they were still solid as always.

The Big Sleep – Slow Race (live at The Annex)

The Big Sleep – Brown Beauty (live at The Annex)

The Big Sleep – Murder (live at The Annex)

#20 Loney, Dear – Along with Cansei de Ser Sexy, this band is part of Sub Pop’s recently enacted foreign policy. They hail from Sweden, recent hotbed of smiley pop music. Band leader Emil Svanängen often sings in a falsetto that people either love or hate. If you’re open minded when it comes to music – enough so that you found your way to this corner of the internet – you’ll probably dig it.

Loney, Dear – I Am John (live at Pianos)

Loney, Dear – Le Fever (live at Pianos)

Loney, Dear – The City, The Airport (live at Pianos)

The Top 60 Bands (Ryan Saw) At CMJ 2006

[part 4 of 6]

#21 Casey Dienel

I’ve written about Casey before and she was just as endearing as ever during her CMJ show. You know you’re in the middle of an amazing week when you can see The Knife and Girl Talk in the same night. Even more amazing is that I was more impressed by this young songwritter playing to a crowd of 30 than by two of the more popular acts of the festival.

Casey Dienel – Embroidery (live at the Living Room)

Casey Dienel – The La La Song (live at the Living Room)

#22 Fields

This young British band released a great EP last year and at CMJ they proved that they can deliver live as well. Their Fader set was “garagey” by their own token so you can expect them to sound more polished when they play the opening slot on the Bloc Party tour. They also played a private party at Bed while they were in town. Yeah, this place.

With all the record label power behind this band, I have a fear that their full-length might end up being a little too polished. Pat Long of NME sums up my worries in this article. “So when they’re daytime radio staples or soundtracking adverts for cars, and you’re pretending that you never liked Fields, remember how much you enjoyed them while it was safe to.” However, I’m listening to the first single from the album as I read this, and I like it a lot. He kinda sounds like Ben Gibbard fronting Muse with Bloc Party’s drummer. It’s the kind of song that will kill on the British airwaves and one that I’d be happy to hear on US radio (though I won’t).

Fields – Charming The Flames (live at Fader Lounge)

Fields – Heretic (live at Fader Lounge)

#23 CSS

CSS kicked off CMJ week with this rousing set that included crowd surfing (of sorts) over the seated patrons of the Apple Store. My friend Mike got kicked in the head while I tried not to get strangled by the microphone cord. The band was keeping their sound level relatively low and not using a real drumset, but Lovefoxx stole the show with her energy and antics.

CSS live at the Apple Store:
CSS SuXXX
Alala
Fuck Bug Off Is Not The Only Thing You Have To Show
Music Is My Hot Sex
Let’s Make Love And Listen Death From Above
Acho Um Pouco Bom

We also saw CSS the next afternoon at Brooklyn Vegan’s day party. They didn’t feel the need to censor themselves this time around.

CSS live at Pianos:
Fuck Off Is Not The Only Thing You Have To Show

#24 Shout Out Out Out Out

These guys may have a silly name and you not have room in your music collection for another dance rock band, but these guys were one of the best acts I saw at the Fader Lounge all week. I’d love to catch them in a real venue with my dancing shoes on.

Shout Out Out Out Out – Chicken Soup for the Fuck You (live at Fader Lounge)

#25 So Percussion

So Percussion are a four-piece emsemble from Brooklyn who play mostly acoustic instrumental music that leans toward modern classical with a hint of electronics. Minimalist, ambient, experimental, post-rock… those are all words that can fairly be used around to describe aspects of their music. Most of their instruments are traditional, but anything that can be struck, bowed or otherwise co-opted to make a noise is fair game. They’ll play vibraphones with violin bows, strike pieces of scrap metal for cymbals and use anything anything as a mallet, from bottles to flowers to their own eight hands.

So Percussion – White (live at Tonic)

So Percussion – July (live at Tonic)

#26 Casey Shea

Perhaps better known as the lead singer of The Undisputed Heavyweights, Casey Shea also performs his solo material around New York City quite often. He’s a little more serious when not wearing the Heavyweights hat, but puts on just as good a show.

Casey Shea – Quincy Howzin (live at Rockwood Music Hall)

Casey Shea – Come On (live at Rockwood Music Hall)

#27 The Thermals

I have to admit, after 50 or so bands, fatigue was starting to catch up with me at this point in the week. We enjoyed the sounds of The Thermals from the benches in the rear of Fontana’s after watching a song or two up close. I’ll always remember them as the last band to ever open up for Sleater-Kinney before their indefinite hiatus.

The Thermals – St. Rosa and the Swallows (live at Fontana’s)

#28 The Carribean

I decided against seeing any bands in Brooklyn because I prefered to sick around the Lower East Side, but when my roommate sent me on a mission to get his The Knife tickets that he left at home I found myself passing The Trash Bar at just the right time to catch a band I’ve never had the chance to see live. The Carribean have a definite D.C. quality to their sound, like a downtempo Fugazi, along with story-telling vocals similar to Casiotone For The Painfully Alone which match the music perfectly.

The Caribbean – French Radio (live from The Trash Bar)

#29 Dirty On Purpose

Dirty On Purpose closed out a long Friday with a show put on by Crackers United at Sin-e. Light Pollution and No Radio were two of my favorite songs of 2006.

Dirty On Purpose – Light Pollution (live at Sin-e)

Dirty On Purpose – Spider Eyes (live at Sin-e)

Dirty On Purpose – No Radio (live at Sin-e)

#30 Christopher Willits

Stumbling upon Christopher Willits in the Knitting Factory Tap Room at one in the afternoon was a very pleasant accident. Surrounding himself with keyboards and computers and assisted by a live drummer, he played a sample-heavy set of electronic music that was relaxed enough for mid afternoon, but exciting enough to command our attention. It reminded me of a slightly more ambient Four Tet and also drew many comparisons to Vitaminsforyou, my album of the year.

Christopher Willits – Medium Blue/Love Wind (live at Knitting Factory)

Christopher Willits – Orange Lit Spaces (live at Knitting Factory)

The Top 60 Bands (Ryan Saw) At CMJ 2006

[part 3 of 6]

#31 Figurines – The vocals of Figurine’s lead singer Christian Hjelm are of the high-pitched, somewhat nasal variety which I normally don’t love. However, in this case I think it fits the music perfectly. Most songs on their album “Skeleton” are faster and more anxious than the following track, which they used to close both their album and their set at CMJ. If you look them up on myspace make sure you get these guys and not these guys.

Figurines – Release Me On The Floor (live at Mercury Lounge)

#32 Archie Bronson Outfit – In addition to high-pitched, nasal vocals, I also don’t typically go for vocals that are all vibrato-like and shaky. Once again, I’ve been won over by a strong performance. Archie Bronson brought the RAWK to Mercury Lounge. His songs have a very simple chordal structure and they are a bit bluesy for my taste, but the dude can sing. This is exactly the type of show you want to see towards the end of a long day, unless you’re actually trying to fall asleep.

Archie Bronson Outfit – [unknown] (live at Mercury Lounge)

Archie Bronson Outfit – Dart For My Sweetheart (live at Mercury Lounge)

#33 What Made Milwaukee Famous – These guys started to get popular on the interweb about a year ago, then sort of dropped off of the blog radar. Their album may not be rife with hits, but I still think they’re better than some of the other “indie rock” bands who have recently gotten mainstream exposure, e.g. Cold War Kids.

What Made Milwaukee Famous – Mercy Me (live at Bowery Ballroom)

What Made Milwaukee Famous – Sweet Lady (live at Bowery Ballroom)

#34 Eliot Lipp – One of my favorite electronic artists, Eliot Lipp uses his computer and a variety of synths to create some great melodies and beats. The sounds he creates are in the 8-bit music realm in that they are composed of simple waveforms, but they all fit together perfectly to create a unique sounding whole.

Eliot Lipp – [unknown] (live at The Annex)

#35 The Undisputed Heavyweights – This recording comes from a short acoustic set that the Heavyweights played upstairs at Pianos. They will be playing at Mercury Lounge on February 22nd to celebrate their first official release – a live album which was culled from one of my own bootleg recordings.

The Undisputed Heavyweights – Mr. Murphy (live at Pianos)

#36 Frida Hyvönen – I first saw Ms. Hyvönen when she was opening for Jens Lekman during his New York City stint last summer. Compared to the Mercury Lounge and Bowery Ballroom, the Skirball Center at NYU felt like a huge room for her to be playing, but the crowd was attentive, the sound was fantastic and Frida played a great set. The recordings are surprisingly intimate for a 879 seat room.

Frida Hyvönen – Once I Was A Serene Teenage Child (live at Skirball Center)

Frida Hyvönen – Straight Thin Line (live at Skirball Center)

Frida Hyvönen – Oh Shanghai (live at Skirball Center)

#37 Cold War Kids – I don’t like many of the Kids’ songs besides “Hang Me Out To Dry”, but that song is damn good. It almost got people to shut up at this show. The Annex is one of those venues at which people never seem to be there for the music. Sorry for all the crowd noise. Actually… I’m not. I wasn’t talking.

Cold War Kids – Every Valley Is Not A Lake (live at The Annex)

Cold War Kids – Hang Me Out To Dry (live at The Annex)

#38 Slowlands – This is one of my favorite local bands and I hope that 2007 turns out to be a big year for them. During CMJ they were in the midst of some lineup changes and this 1am performance was not the best I’ve seen them give, but still quite impressive. I’ll be sure to let you know when they are playing in New York again.

Slowlands – Crooked Crown (live at Pianos)

#39 The Changes – I wish I had caught more of this Chicago band’s set. I’m sitting here thinking about comparing them to Bound Stems and it hits me. Maybe there really is a “Chicago” sound. At least when the label is applied to indie rock. I can’t put my finger on it, but I like it, especially the energy in the lead singer’s voice. I also really like that the chorus of this song consists of a chord progression so awesome it doesn’t need any words.

The Changes – Modern Love

#40 Tokyo Police Club – I rarely let audible commentary leak onto my mp3s, but in this clip you’ll hear me and my friends laughing about how surprisingly curt TPC’s songs are:

Tokyo Police Club – Box (live at The Annex)

Tokyo Police Club – Shoulders And Arms (live at The Annex)

Whoo! Halfway done.

The Top 60 Bands (Ryan Saw) At CMJ 2006

[part 2 of 6]

#41 The Tyde – Ever since we saw them at CMJ my buddy Bret has been obsessed with this band and last year’s album “Three’s Co.”. He calls them a criminally underrated pop band. Sunny, surfer pop from California, they remind me a bit of The Shout Out Louds minus the foreign accents and glockenspiel. I thought that the vocals were a little weak, but it seemed that all the bands were having issues in the makeshift venue that was the Fader Lounge.

The Tyde – Do It Again, Again (live at Fader Lounge)

The Tyde – Brock Landers (live at Fader Lounge)

#42 IV Thieves – Yes, that is the Roman numeral “four”. No, they are not breaking into the hospital to steal your drip. Or maybe AIDS Wolf stole their H. Terrible band names aside, this UK-via-Austin band is a weird mix between Texan and Brit. I like their sound, but have never been big on blues infused rock bands. That hoedown bassline in the “All The Time” gets on my nerves, but “You Can’t Love What You Don’t Understand” is a great song.

IV Thieves – All The Time (live at Fader Lounge)

IV Theives – You Can’t Love What You Don’t Understand (live at Fader Lounge)

#43 Hotel Lights – I had been meaning to check out this band for a long time now. Darren Jessee – drummer for one of my favorite bands, Ben Folds Five – started Hotel Lights as a solo project and it expanded into a band a few years ago. I only got to hear this one song though, so I’ll have to catch them again soon.

Hotel Lights – Marvelous Truth (live at Tonic)

#44 The Carter Administration – This band I caught completely by accident at Arlene’s Grocery while I was passing time waiting for another show. They’re a little more pop/punk than most bands I listen to and that’s mostly due to the singer’s voice which becomes more bearable as the song progresses. I’ll follow that up by admitting that I’m fully capable of sounding like that when I sing. They were a pleasant surprise, as opposed to some other bands I saw by accident who didn’t even make this list (there were 67 total). Or maybe I just have a soft spot in my heart for three-piece bands.

The Carter Administration – [unknown] (live at Arlene’s Grocery)

#45 Lo Fi Fnk – As far as I can tell, Lo Fi Fnk has one really good song. Here it is.

Lo Fi Fnk – The End (live at Fader Lounge)

And here it is again.

Lo Fi Fnk – The End (live at Fontana’s)

#46 Benjy Ferre – Similar to IV Thieves or Archie Bronson Outfit, Benjy Ferre is a little too southern influenced for me to be a huge fan. But if country tinged rock is your thing you can do much worse that Benjy.

Benjy Ferre – [unknown] (live at Mercury Lounge)

#47 Scanners

I’m wary of anything that uses a dance rock beat these days, but Scanners don’t rely on it as a crutch or a gimmick like some bands do (The Bravery, Hello Stranger). Their songs take their time weaving in and out of that four-on-the-floor beat and in this song, even when the steady bass/snare/bass/snare pattern drops, it’s the backbone of some wicked guitar work.

Scanners – Changing Times (live at The Annex)

#48 Irving – I remember these guys sounding a lot better opening for Voxtrot last April. Maybe it was the sound at Pianos, which has been disappointing in general lately, but Irving didn’t leave a lasting impression on me this time around.

Irving – Care I Don’t Care (live at Pianos)

#49 Forget Cassettes – This band is almost awesome. I like their sound and dig their energy, but something about the songs themselves is lacking. The loud sections are great, but it takes too long to get there and the slow sections lack the emotion that comes pouring out by the end.

Forget Cassettes – Venison (live at Pianos)

#50 Oxford Collapse – While I can understand why people enjoy this band, I personally can’t get into the sound of the vocals or tone of the guitar. They do have that one song I really like. You can hear “Please Visit Your National Parks” on their myspace page.

Oxford Collapse – All The Boys Go Home Alone (live at Fontana’s)

And so begins my noble experiment to see if I can generate interest for something that happened three and a half months ago. If nothing else, this should get some of you psyched for SXSW.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Top 60 Bands (Ryan Saw) At CMJ 2006

[part 1 of 6]

#51 Girl Talk – The worst display of people going nuts over something that wasn’t all that impressive since The Knife show two hours prior. Guess I just wasn’t in the mood to jump on stage and take my shirt off like most of the people there.

Girl Talk – excerpt (live at Mercury Lounge)

#52 Humanzi – This song speaks for itself.

Humanzi – Diet Pills and Magazines (live at Fader Lounge)

#53 The Knife – Silent Shout has merit. I enjoy listening to it when I’m in the right mood. But, I don’t go to shows to see two people pretend to play music while crappy projections try to distract you from watching two people pretend to play music. The low point of my week was wasting an hour going home to pick up my roommate’s tickets for this show because I was afraid I might not get in with my badge. I walked out after five songs and my roommate didn’t even get out of work before the show was over.

The Knife – Forest Families (live at Webster Hall)

#54 Rejectionist Front – I stopped into Arlene’s to use the bathroom and bumped into the lead singer of this group. He convinced me to stick around for their show and since I made up 10% of the crowd I didn’t have the heart to say no. They’ve been working to raise awareness about the situation in Darfur, which is quite noble, but I wan’t a fan of their music.

Rejectionist Front – [unknown] (live at Arlene’s Grocery)

#55 Oh No! Oh My! – Remember when these guys were poised to be the next big thing? I don’t.

Oh No! Oh My! – [unknown] (live at Fader Lounge)

#56 120 Days – The one full song of theirs I heard felt like it lasted for at least 119. Though I will say after listening to the album, that this song is disproportionately long and more boring compared to their other material. I’d give them another chance live.

120 Days – I’ve Lost My Vision (live at Mercury Lounge)

#57 O’death – These guys are really fun to watch. But on the listening end… well, I can only get into this kind of music about once every year or so and it takes a lot of moonshine to do it. They’re one of the more interesting and creative acts I’ve seen in a while, I’m just not a fan of their sound.

O’death – [unknown] (live at The Delancey)

#58 The Whigs – Nothing bad to say, just unimpressed.

The Whigs – [unknown] (Live at Mercury Lounge)

#59 Sandi Thom – The fact that this song was ever #1 in the U.K. lowers my opinion of all British people by a considerable amount. The bands that played after her (Archie Bronson Outfit, Forward Russia) helped to restore my confidence in the Brits. The best thing about this song is that both hippies and punks were alarmed that they might be confused with each other.

Sandi Thom – I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (live at Mercury Lounge)

#60 Hello Stranger – I didn’t think their music could be as bad as their album cover.

I think it’s a tie, but judge for yourself:

Hello Stranger – [unknown] (live at Mercury Lounge)

Stay tuned, there’s much more to come. And trust me, it gets better.