A visual representation of my current musical interests.

These are just a few clips I've been meaning to share over the past few months, so why not do them all together?

First off, let me say that if you haven't purchased or otherwise acquired a copy of last year's album "Wincing the Night Away" by The Shins, you're missing out on something truly incredible. I don't care what kind of music you're into. If you have ears, you will love this album.

They even made videos for my two favorite songs, although I wonder where you even watch good videos these days OTHER than on YouTube.

Here's my favorite track from the album, and the video's pretty cute.

"Australia" by The Shins:



Mega huge thanks to Emily for hooking me up with an album that is essentially perfect.

On a slightly more obscure note, Karen and I found one of the greatest live acts around when we went to see Modest Mouse a while back. While Modest Mouse itself was weak, it was worth it to see the experimental lunacy of Man Man. Click here to see a loud, jarring clip of their high-energy stage presence, or you can watch this to actually hear what they sound like.

A while later, we got a chance to see Man Man again at a smaller venue in Birmingham. This time, their set wasn't so hot, but the opening act again made my day. The Extraordinaires were hilarious and very talented. A great find.

Here's The Extraordinaires performing "Neighborhood Watch," my favorite song off an excellent self-published album called Short Stories.



And one last one here. I simply love the husband-wife duo Mates of State, especially their newest album, "Bring it Back." Maybe it's their ability to sing completely different parts over each other, or the fact that no two songs ever sound alike (for better or worse).

Here's "Like U Crazy" by Mates of State:



So now that I've flooded your browser or RSS reader with massive, obnoxious videos....anyone got any other recommendations?