The Useless Critic 2.0

Song of the Day I am the sullen girl next to the making out couple. Sylvan Esso is a duo that recently performed @ SXSW, where I was informed they were crowdpleasers. I don't have trouble believing that- their sound has that cute folksy thing going on that was popular in the mid to late 2000s combined with the distant electronic reverb more popular today. Their music video glorifies bad white people dancing, which I find endearing. Below are their tour dates- Sylvan Esso Tour Dates 3/20 London, UK - Lexington  3/21 Brussels, BE - Botanique  3/23 Amsterdam, NL - MC Theatre  3/25 Berlin, DE - Privat Club  3/26 London, UK - Oval Room  3/27 Paris, FR - Trabendo  5/9 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle 5/12 London, UK - Village Underground  5/14 Berlin, DE - Berghain  5/15 Hamburg, DE - Nochtspeicher  5/18 Amsterdam, NL - Bitterzoey  5/19 Paris, FR - Cafe De La Danse  5/26 Boise, ID - Knitting Factory Concert House...

Song of the Day/You Need to Hear This! Just in time for a limited release on  Record Store Day - which is coming up April 19th - quickly rising newcomer Sasha Siem has released "Proof." The song is an all-too-short temptress, and dare I say it, has a taste of chamber pop to it.  Sasha Siem is no throwaway indie tart in the buzz-pan, though. This girl has talent. Here is, um, "proof." My heart is all sorts of broken for her. BTWs, this is a still from "Proof." Womp womp. She's studied at Harvard and Cambridge. She already had  two sold-out shows at the Royal Opera House. Her producer, Valgeir Sigurðsson, has worked with the likes of Feist, Sigur Ros and most notably BJORK. Bjork?!?!? BJORK. Bjork?!?!!!?!! Bjork!!!! For non-music geeks out there, working with a former Bjork producer is like having Gwyneth Paltrow's personal shopper* pick out clothes for you. Oh God there I go again. I'm sorry, my brain is all goopy. ACK. I wi...

Song of the Day- Swedish Song of the Day, That Is! JuliA Spada was named the "Number 1 Breakthrough Artist for 2014" on Sweden's biggest radio station P3. And I can see why ... it's a really weird take on R&B through a Swedish weird filter. Like, Robyn would be down with JuliA Spada I think. Albeit Robyn doesn't quite have THIS kind of soul. The New York Times and Pitchfork love her; so you probably should give her a listen, you plebian. ;)

Song of the Day I'm bummed David Bowie is no where  in this video. As a bonus, have some Arcade Fire + David Byrne: I hope you had a good week- and Valentine's Day. My jury is out; Ellen Page is gay- good on her for coming out. Will have more interesting posts for you soon, Britt

Song of the Day I just discovered this Australian band. What lush, haunting music. They are no longer a band anymore- but this song is worth a listen.  (I just missed this train, ha.)

Song of the Day This song has always brought me enormous comfort. I think it's a good way to start February: a positive, empowering song. I'll have a real update tomorrow. It's the Super Bowl and Groundhogs' Day, how can I not.

Song of the Day I don't want to make of this name, but this song is probably my favorite thing from 2014 so far.

Uh, You Need to Hear This? I will let you be the judge. Iggy is interesting. She's gorgeous, foul-mouthed. A white rapper from Australia. ...  I like Uffie. So no, I can't say anything. She's also quite the looker by the by: Yep.

Song of the Day San Francisco-based crashfaster is like what would happen if The Postal Service bred with Nine Inch Nails. Their sophomore album, "further," can be streamed right now @ bandcamp .

Song of the Day I thought this was a good way to usher in 2014. Here's the official playlist I made yesterday. Enjoy!

Song of the Day Why? - Twin sisters - From Australia & Sweden - Descendants of Steve Kilbey - Swedish twins....I have no other reasons here.

Song of the Day Listening to Moby the day after Christmas brings back a lot of memories. I got "Play" in middle school and I think it was a little too cerebral/soulful for a "tween." Here's a bonus for you. BTW, it's cold and snowy in Erie, PA.

I love No Doubt. Always have, always will. You know this. This is one of my least favorite No Doubt songs, but I can still appreciate it this time of year. IF GOD CAME DOWN ON CHRISTMAS DAY, I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT'D HE SAY BTW this is the Gwen I fell in love with. Especially toward the end. I die; I just die.

Not Just Because He's Dead - I think this is an okay Christmas song- certainly not my first choice. My sister adores this song, though. And, considering the anniversary of his death (33 years), I figured this was a fair choice. Not Celine Dion's heartless slaughter of it: Also, here is a John Lennon song I love, which came out roughly the same time he was killed: Oh, Yoko!

So, Mr. Stevens has a ton of Xmas music out. Like, if you weighed it. It would be a ton. But this is my personal favorite. I hope we hear more from Sufjan soon, just in general. He's so talented. Do you remember how big he was in the noughties? I do! Him and his scraped 50-state project. Lolz. Here's a bonus secular song to get you through today: And another personal favorite: Hey random girl covering Sufjan songs! You have a good day! XOXOXOXOX

Song of the Day (It's kinda depressing) I think the holidays may be the height of suicide season? That's what I read anyway...

More Seasonal Music That Won't Make You Tear Your Wig Out "December"- Norah Jones Per se this isn't a Christmas song, but it's gorgeous anyway. I love Norah Jones; if loving her is wrong I never would like to be right. :)

I t's the politically correct holiday season again! Lest we forget, there are a ton of holiday songs out there. Some much harder-to-listen-to than the others.   Wah wah wah So I'm going to use the next 25 days to bring you the best in holiday music. Let's start with a song I posted last year. I heard it when I was shopping yesterday, which was weird but awesome. It's "I Was Born on Christmas Day" by Saint Etienne.

Song of the Day/You Need to Hear This! What do you think? It's a grower, for sure. They just opened up for The 1975- which I don't really enjoy, but hey. I'm keeping my eye on these guys. Their album will drop next summer, and they'll be touring the United Kingdom early next year.

Song of the Day I've never really gotten into Tennis, but that is about to change. I do love the sport, though.