How tired are you of playing Oregon Girl?

There are a few songs that I'm tired of playing, but Oregon Girl is not one em,' That song reminds me of my mom, and it would be like hating my mom, so I can't hate that one.

I first saw SSLYBY open for Rogue Wave five years ago at Mojo's in Columbia...what's different about the band today?

A little less hair, a few chipped teeth.

You played a few songs tonight off your next album...what direction are you headed after Pershing, the last album?

Everywhere...we went to all types of music with this one...Journey, Pheonix, Tom Petty...

Is there really a Gwyneth or Evelyn?

Yes, there is a Gwyneth, she's in New York now...she was at the last show here... No, there's not an Evelyn...

What's the best show you all have had outside the U.S.?

Moscow was probably our best show. We saw some interesting stuff there...we saw Lennon's body in a museum, it was like a haunted house. Italy was crazy, we met some interesting people there...however our performances were plagued by equipment that stopped working.

Who's the best band on Weller street?

My sister's band. They sound like us, with good melodies, it's a lot of the same sound...New Monster's Collective

SSLYBY are label mates (Polyvinyl Records) with Of Montreal and Via Audio? Have you gotten to hang out with either of them?

We played with them and met the bass player, he was in the basement...
Via Audio's like family, they're great, we toured with them a couple of years ago

I saw you all play a show at the Outland Ballroom in Springfield a few years back and you all had to switch roles in the band...

Jonathan sprang his ankle playing basketball and could only play sitting down, so we all had to learn parts with different instruments, I forgot about that. We've all played at least one show with every instrument.

So when are you going to do a Springsteen album? Everyone has to do at least one Springsteen album...

Ya, I don't know, there are some few songs on the upcoming album. Go to our My Space page, there's a song called "Cardinals Rule,' that's probably our most Springsteen song. It's all about the Springfield Cardinals...

So when can we expect the new album?

We keep saying summer, maybe July, but most likely August

If you've never heard Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, here's some tunes...

Back in October I had fallen asleep on the couch during Saturday Night Live, I woke up to hear this angelic voice singing a song about remembering. It was beautiful...I couldn't stop listening. The words, the music, the subtlety of Spektor's voice...as we said back in the 90s, "it's all good." Listen, and enjoy...

I don't think anyone who knows me would be surprised to see this song near the top of the list. Poker Face was that song of the year that got us all on the dance floor. How many different versions has this song have been seen over the past year? Even Rivers Cuomo put his own spin on it. Check out this v-v-v-video, v-v-v-video...

WIll have to post later...

Some say Passion Pit is just a bunch of disco infused rock, I say they're the best excuse anyone had to get on the dance floor. This isn't cheap music, but a golden mix of funky, screachy vocals and strong, electronic beats. The first time I heard The Reeling it was in a birthday mix one of my friends made...I recognized the voice, I knew it had to be Passion Pit...I love it!

Could there be a better band than MGMT these days? OK, maybe...but these guys from the Northeast combine synthesizers, guitar and electronic beats that motivated even Paul McCartney to seek their services on his next album...it's true, Google it! Time to Pretend gives the most shameful of hipsters the excuse to head towards the dancefloor, I'm sure this song got plenty of spins in it's heyday at London Calling. Although Kids is my favorite from this album, Time to Pretend is a close second...and was actually released in 2009. The video below was made by some British dude who put the music to images from BBC's Planet Earth...pretty cool!

1. Paper Planes - M.I.A.
2. Float On - Modest Mouse
3. Maps - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4. The Scientist - Coldplay
5. If I Ain't Got You - Alicia Keys
6. Kids - MGMT
7. Rehab - Amy Winehouse
8. Flume - Bon Iver
9. Caring is Creepy - The Shins
10. Do You Realize?? - Flaming Lips
11. Chicago - Sufjan Stevens
12. All These Things that I've Done - The Killers
13. Honey and the Moon - Joseph Arthur
14. Since U Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson
15. Young Folks - Peter, Bjorn, & John
16. Bermuda Highway - My Morning Jacket
17. Sleepyhead - Passion Pit
18. All I Need - Radiohead
19. I Will Follow You Into the Dark - Death Cab for Cutie
20. What Goes Around - Justin Timberlake
21. A-Punk - Vampire Weekend
22. Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
23. Neighborhoos #1 - Arcade Fire
24. Shut Up and Let Me Go - The Ting Tings
25. Winter White Hymnal - Fleet Foxes
26. Crazy in Love - Beyonce
27. Can't Get You Out of My Head - Kylie Minogue
28. Knife - Grizzly Bear
29. Poker Face - Lady Gaga
30. Arise - Eddie Vedder
31. Naked as We Came - Iron & Wine
32. Down the Line - Jose Gonzalez
33. Screaming Infidelities - Dashboard Confessional
34. Around the World - Daft Punk
35. Cannonball - Damien Rice
36. Love Lockdown - Kanye West
37. Don't Tell Me - Madonna
38. Heartbeats - The Knife
39. Stan - Eminem
40. Island in the Sun - Weezer
41. Falling Slowly - Swell Season
42. Long Road - Patty Giffin
43. Hey Ya! - Outcast
44. Walk On - U2
45. In the End - Linkin Park
46. Forever - Chris Brown
47. Empire State of Mind - Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys
48. Vanished - Crystal Castles
49. Lost Cause - Beck
50. Out of the Woods - Nickel Creek

The Three Worst Songs of the '00s

1. Hero - Enrique Iglesius
2. Love Drunk - Boys Like Girls
3. Any Song by the Black Eyed Peas

I'll tell you right now that this video is nothin' but bizarre, but the song is freakin' amazing. Grizzly Bear have been around for a while, but made their biggest debut on the Billboard charts with their recent album, Veckatimest. Two Weeks reminds me of Tears for Fears, but in the future and better. Grizzly Bear is the indie world's melodic fantasy and Two Weeks is it's new anthem.

The other day as I was driving home from work I made an observation that there are Christmas lights aglow all over St. Louis. My job takes me from South City to O' Fallon, and everywhere in between. I have seen huge blow up lights in the shape of Santa Claus and white lights neatly lining rooftops. While the decorations may be diverse, they collectively offer a sign of hope to me. I realized that this time of year is very hopeful for many of us, like Christmas lights, it transcends all parts of the city of St. Louis. I was moved as I thought about how common we all are...it's not just in our traditions at Christmas time, or even in our love for Jesus, but also in our desire to know and to be known. We were all created to live in community with God and with His people. Whether our differences are socioeconomic levels, or skin tone, or whatever, we have an innate need to be together.
My job, which I started around this same time last year has provided many humbling experiences that have presented commonalities among all of us. I have had such good conversations with black people, poor people, rich people, immigrants, etc; we are far more similar than we give ourselves justice. Just like wreaths that have been placed on doors both in Berkeley and in Ladue, people live behind those doors who have common needs. We have the need to be respected, to love and to be loved, having people to call our own. During the holiday season we acknowledge this with big meals and festive parties in an effort to celebrate Jesus, but also to do that in community. I think that as stressful as Christmas can be, it is such a sweet time of year. We get to see our friends and family that we haven't been with in several months and we get to laugh, see pictures and hear stories from the past year...it's a time of celebration! We ALL look forward to that.
I know this year I will be thinking about what kids in my case load are doing, I'll think about friends of mine who will return home, and I'll know that we'll be doing many of the same things...eating, talking, sharing, eating, laughing, eating, watching football, catching up, eating...a majority of our nation will be doing the same thing!
When I take my 9 hour drive home next week I will be looking forward to seeing my parents, my sister and her family, childhood friends, etc. I am so excited! Many of us have that same feeling of expectation. I think that's why peace is thought of at Christmas, because this season goes throughout our city and nation and touches so many people across many different cultures...it's a beautiful thing! I hope and pray that we also remember peace comes from the Father, and is in the form of a man...He truly makes it possible to take comfort in the Lord. Despite sin, the very thing that puts space between us and God, we are as close as possible through the Spirit...thanks be to Jesus who made this possible! In the Old Testament when the tower of Babel was built people were scattered in different languages and separated, I can't help but feel like Jesus is the undoing of the scattered pandemonium that must have been that event...He's bringing us back together through a common peace with God that we all share. It's true, we can have a relationship with Him and His people, despite our differences in politics, in race, etc. I encourage you to recognize that many of us share in this communion with the Father, both your neighbors and across town. We all worship the Father in various ways! It is He that brings us together, and it is He that is the basis for our commonalities! Thank you Jesus! Merry Christmas!

I know Animal Collective have been on a national level since '04, but their latest album, Merriweather Post Pavilion, is ridiculous. I heard My Girls for the first time at Meshugga's Coffee on the Loop and it sent me into a psychedelic/electronic haze. I love the track, I love the beat, I love the voices singing in unison, and then with tight harmonies...it's pretty awesome...and #7 on the countdown.

The first time I heard this song was during the "winter storm" of 2009. It was January and there were several inches of snow on the ground, Beach Baby came on the radio and it just fit with the quietness of freshly fallen snow branches and covered roads with no traffic in sight. I can't get enough of Bon Iver, they're up at the top of my list. Check out this video featuring the song below...