Not Quite What You Might Expect

I stole an idea from a friend's blog (stealing is OK if it's online, right?). Instead of having the handy playlist that everybody has to show off their favorite music, she had a "featured artist of the week." "What a great idea", I thought. So now I'm stealing it.

I thought I might take it a bit further though. I'll give you a little background to the music, why I like it, some humorous anecdotes, etc. Some weeks it may be a new band; some weeks may have an old classic. Who knows? Please let me know if you like it, hate it, rushed to iTunes to get it, or busted your speakers trying to make it stop. Any thoughts will do.

I'll also be giving it minivan ratings on a scale of 1-4. One minivan means that if you play this music in front to your kids it will make them dumb and secure your eternal damnation; four minivans and your talking about a family roadtrip sing-a-long classic.

The inaugural selection is:

Vampire Weekend

It's been a long time since I've been all geeked up about a new band, but these guys have managed to consume my ipod for several months now. Don't let the name deter you; I've yet to square the dark image of vampires in my mind with the upbeat, lively, creative music this band puts out.

They mix African beats with string quartets. Flutes with indie rock. Reggae with pop. You name it, it's probably in there. It's impressive and, well ... Fun. The entire album is pretty solid top to bottom, yet they manage to mix up their style in some new way with each song. Lots of bands that try to pull that much off usually end up with a sound that's busy and cluttered. Not the case here.

So, give it a listen. If you don't like one song, try another. Odds are you'll probably find something you like. Let me know what you think.

Minivans:

You'll have to skip one or two songs for language, but they'll enjoy singing and dancing to most of the album.