Unapproved Guest Post from Brother

My brother has been one of my best music resources for a very long time. Looong before I found MySpace, Jonk and Emusic, he seemed to find the good stuff ahead of the general population. He also has both a good hold on what I like and a threshold for things I could come to like if subtly eased into.

Like rap- I'm not listening to a whole lot of Akon (took me a pause just to have an example) but I really like Black Star, Common and, most recently, the ironically named Little Brother thanks to my own. Not exactly Hotel Cafe, but it adds a little interest to my iTunes. You should still check the Hotel Cafe Tour list and get your tickets. Good music, good company and all that fun.

That said, Brother had a new rec today so instead of paraphrasing, I figured I would lay it down straight up from sibling. I did not ask permission but find nothing offensive so, Brother, you're now guest-editing. Congratulations:

I have a new favorite band - Vampire Weekend.

It should suffice to tell you that one of the best songs on the album (self-titled) is called Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, but I'll continue. To me, this is what it would sound like if Paul Simon scored a Wes Anderson movie.

My buddy Danny made the point that the CD came out too early, that it'd be much better as a summer album. I agree, but I'd say we deserve a little respite from the cold.

Sidenote: I'm a latecomer, evidently. They're playing at the MFA in Boston on Saturday night, and it's completely sold out. Tickets on eBay and Stubhub are going for around 200/pair. Yuck. It's hard to compete for indie acts like this when you've got Cambridge to the north and the Berklee School of Music right next door. Hipster fucks.

And there you have it...one of my favorite kinds of emails, verbatim. And by the by, take a little listen to Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa on MySpace and tell me that description wasn't DEAD ON. I'm even a little miffed because I just figured out that they'll be at the Metro on April 6th. Same night the Blitzen boys will be at Schuba's (and in all probability, spread out on my living room floor). Maybe there's a joint after-party to be organized. Not at my house- I'd be evicted!

The Also Rans: Other newbies in the iPod mix are Jukebox from Cat Power, Yael Naïm, Basia Bulat (via Jonk AND Emusic- ha) and I watch this video because it gives me chills and I'm still looking for the MP3.