AURAL SEX: JUNE 2010 EDITION

Here's an ingenious idea I had. Since I'm constantly surrounded by music, whether it's at work, the gym or my shitty apartment, I decided to share with you guys exactly what I'm listening to when I'm really bored. Why? Because you're all dying to know. Or not. Whatever.

Starting in June (obviously), I'm going to bring you a new column that I came up with when I was delirious from my bronchitis meds and give it the GREATEST TITLE EVER. I'll put it up on the second Tuesday of every month to match up with the day of the week that new CD's come out.

Selections are coming from my iPod, my friends and family, and the awesome contributors on 20-Something Bloggers.

So here's what's helping me be completely unproductive:

THIS IS WHY THE GEICO CAVEMEN INVENTED MUSIC: Classic Album of the Month

THE CLASH- London Calling, Combat Rock




The Clash is my favorite band of all time. I first heard "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" done by some shitty cover band when I was like 12 years old, but I was drawn in and immediately researched more of their songs. The reason that The Clash is so great is because even though they're lumped into the "punk" category, their CD's encompass so many genres that you can't even group them into just one. There's rock, pop, reggae- the band was even diverse enough to be sampled by M.I.A. in "Paper Planes." All the band members grew up with different influences and combined all of them to form the most versatile band to emerge from the '70's British punk scene. Also, the amazing cover for London Calling is considered a classic piece of musical art, and the CD itself reached number eight on Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums of all time. I can't choose which of their albums I like better, so I'll cheat and go with both.

DOWNLOAD THIS: London Calling:

London Calling
Train In Vain
Jimmy Jazz

THIS TOO: Combat Rock:

Should I Stay Or Should I Go
Rock The Casbah
Straight To Hell

NEW SHIT THAT ACTUALLY DOESN'T SUCK: Current Artist of the Month

SHINY TOY GUNS- We Are Pilots



You know Shiny Toy Guns, even if you don't know you know them. They're the band that covers all those awesome '80's songs for the Lincoln commercials. I had never heard of them until I caught their first single, "Le Disko," in a Motorola ad.

After that they were everywhere. They did a remake of Peter Schilling's "Major Tom" and Blue Oyster Cult's "Burning For You" (yes, I do like the originals of both. Shut up!) for the Lincoln car company and comissioned well-known illustrator Glen Hanson for their first animated video. They did also a secret concert for NBC which I sadly missed because I had no idea where it was. I'll bet they're sick live.

Anyway, their album is brilliant- it's electro-pop with female vocals and sounds just like you would expect from listening to what they've released to the general public. They've also put out a bunch of remixes that are just as awesome.

DOWNLOAD THIS:

Le Disko
You Are The One
We Are Pilots

I LOATHE MYSELF: Guilty Pleasure of the Month

LADY GAGA- The Fame



Lady Gaga herself annoys the shit out of me. She wears ridiculous outfits and makes stupid comments just to get attention, and the fact that she's actually a really talented songwriter gets lost in the shuffle because of it. I made fun of my friends who worship her because I also hate her genre, so the first 97 times I heard her songs I couldn't stand any of them.

But dammit, she got me. The first one I sort of admitted to was "Paparazzi," but only because I didn't know it was her. Then I realized that "Poker Face" was kind of OK. Then my gym started playing "Bad Romance" over and over (and over) again, and now it's my new favorite song. It's on repeat on my iPod, and I actually get kind of depressed when it's over. Now I have 3/4 of The Fame (and the sequel, The Fame Monster) downloaded, and I hate myself. My only excuse is- fuck it, I don't have one.

I hope no one I know reads this.

DOWNLOAD THIS:

Bad Romance
Poker Face
Paparazzi

YOU'RE MISSING OUT: Unsigned Artist of the Month

JERKAGRAM



Jerkagram is an unsigned band that has been playing around for a while, and it's time that they got the recognition they deserve. They're a duo in their mid-twenties that have been playing their respective instruments since they were in kindergarten. The guitarist is incredibly talented, and the drummer will make your jaw drop. Their music can best be described as "ambient noise," or as the band themselves describe it, "weird."

They started out as an improv act, but after they started writing songs they got even better. Their live shows are hilarious- they combine music, performance art and costumes. They play laid- back venues that are usually free or really cheap and bring out huge crowds, too, so you'll never sit there and wish that you stayed home to watch the Discovery Channel or something. Seriously, just go see them play- the experience is mind-blowing.

PS- the name means exactly what you think it does.

Jerkagram on Myspace

Performing live...

And a special acoustic...

So there are my picks for June. I'd be interested to hear what you guys are listening to, so feel free to post your comments below. I always make good on my threats, so check back next month for the July edition.