Playlists -- Sufjan Stevens. He Knits.

I really kind of love Sufjan Stevens. I have yet to hear a song of his I didn't like. I haven't been listening to him long, but it's been quality time together. I think his insane awesomeness is multiplied by the fact that he's a knitter. There aren't many men who own up to being purl friendly. He also teaches knitting to the blind. You can probably guess how I feel about men with a charitable nature.

The only other knitting dude I can think of is that guy who knits with drum sticks -- Oh, wait. He drums with knitting needles. Much less impressive. (Not really. I just like to kid.) Him, and Michael Kors. There's others, but I like to pretend that it's only Sufjan Stevens and me. Oh, Sufjan Stevens and your yarn.

Let's admit it. He's super cute. (Evidence: Choose one. Preferably with the ties and tidy-messy hair.)

But that's not why this is a Sufjan Stevens-only playlist day! It's because Alison is lazy! Who said that? No, it is because someone should point it out when people are awesome. Maybe not in those exact words, but everyone loves a little recognition. Even occasionally bed-headed musician boy knitters. Especially.

The Lineup:

1. "Demetrius" by Sufjan Stevens (last.fm)

2. "A Sun Came" by Sufjan Stevens (Sound Only -- The end of this one is like someone's headache. It makes me laugh.)

3. "The Oracle Said Wander" by Sufjan Stevens (last.fm -- The only video for this doesn't have the whole song. It doesn't make much sense to me. Now I've probably enticed you to watch it anyway. I hope you like teeth.)

4. "A Winner Needs a Wand" by Sufjan Stevens (Fanvid for Sufjan Stevens and No Country for Old Men)

5. "Dumb I Sound" by Sufjan Stevens (Sound Only)

Video. "Chicago" by Sufjan Stevens (Audio Only with very nice pictures! I think I did a live one of this before, but that's okay. You can never have enough.)

Video. "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" by Sufjan Stevens (Unofficial -- Dioramas Animals from Natural History Museums. No wonder I like it. The Natural History thing, not the dead animals thing.)

Video. "The Lord God Bird" by Sufjan Stevens (Unofficial -- Fields of flowers. Blond chick frolicking.)

Playlists -- I'm Not The Grasshopper.

I come to you in a sort of moving back to school depressed limbo. It's almost the end of the summer, and I will soon be forced to stick to normal human hours. That's instead of the Vampire Bill circa beginning of Club Dead full-on computer junkie vampire hours. So it's a sad and weird time which requires some last hurrah summer music. And so I bring you, "I'm Not The Grasshopper." And if you don't understand that reference, then you're probably starving to death this winter too. Welcome, my fellow Ants. It sure was worth it.

The Lineup:

1. "Grasshoppers in Honey" by The Meligrove Band (last.fm -- Remember the grasshopper from Aesop's Fables? Yeah, I'm the other guy. Life lesson I didn't follow here.)

2. "The Carnival" by The Spinto Band (Live in a Lighthouse)

3. "Swimming Pool" by The Submarines (Live at Paste)

4. "The Ocean (Is Bleeding Salt)" by Margot & the Nuclear So and So's (Live)

5. "She's Only Happy in the Sun" by Ben Harper (Live)

Video. "Black Sand" by Jenny Lewis (Live - partial)

Playlists -- Yes? Yes? Yes?

Just a couple of songs based on a song title and the ultimate monosyllabic answer. That is, if you only say it once and not three times... Unless the question is "Don't you hate True Blood?" or "Want this pack of Necco Wafers?" (They taste like old antacids.) That is all.

The Lineup:

1. "Hell Yes" by Beck (Official -- I love this. Dancing robots? Hell Yes.)

2. "Yes/No" by The Futureheads (Sound Only and "Toddler Style" -- Man, isn't it hilarious how all little kids do the same dance? Giggle, bend knees, raise arms, jump!)

3. "And Then I Dreamt of Yes" by The Dandy Warhols (Official)

4. "Yes" by Coldplay (Live)

5. "Yes I Am" by Radiohead (Live)

Video. "Say Yes" by Elliot Smith (Live)

Video. "Yes? Yes? Yes?" by Flamingo Crash (Official)

Playlists -- I MUST Have the Beat.

Today, I am trying very hard not to fall asleep after setting my alarm at an insane 6:30 a.m. after months of vampire sloth-like hours. Ask any college student that isn't slightly strange and you'll understand the hardship of getting up before 9.

But seriously, it isn't just coffee that gets me going (although my cup was delicious with my banana brown sugar oatmeal...). It's the music, duh! Maybe it's not "Macho Man" (See Clip from "Witch" below or watch full episode on hulu -- Actually one of my favorite episodes of Season 1) and I'm not hyped up on blood spells, but I still "I MUST have the beat." (That one's from "The Dark Age," opening scene but full episode is below.) Oh, Buffy reference. Sometimes I scare myself.

OK, have the beat. Or at least the upbeat.

The Lineup:

1. "Paris" by Friendly Fires (Official)

2. "Magique" by We Are Wolves (Official -- I feel like adding only We Are Wolves right now, but that's not a proper mix! Bad Alison.)

3. "To Kingdom Come" by Passion Pit (Official)

4. "Hummer" by Foals (Official -- I wanted "Tron," but last.fm hates me.)

5. "It Don't Move Me" by Peter Bjorn and John (Official)

Video. "All in My Head" by Good Shoes (Official)

Playlists -- Boy's Names

I'm an equal opportunity poster. And I like boys. So, here we are. There's one name we all know on there! And it sounds just like his Fellowship days... or at least the part about the sun (It's son, but I don't care!). Oh, Jason. I like you so much better when you're fighting bigotry with paint balls than when you're the bigot. And it doesn't hurt that you're pretty.

The Lineup:

1. "Alfie" by Lily Allen (Official -- Puppets are creepy. Except for Angel puppets. I still love "Smile Time" best.)

2. "Phil & Don" by Camera Obscura (last.fm)

3. "Saint John" by Cold War Kids (Live)

4. "Georg Bendemann" by Siberian (Sound Only)

5. "Jason" by Sufjan Stevens (last.fm)

Video. "Jimmy Fallon" by The Willis (Live -- I think I needed a famous one. Burn a CD-R.)

Video. "Oh Larsen B" by British Sea Power (Live -- So it's a male Antarctic shelf. Because I say so. -- For poor audio... Lyrics.)

Playlists -- Girl's Names: Part 2

Now for Part 2 of our 2-part Playlists series, "Girl's Names." (See Part 1 here.)

The Lineup:

1. "Ruby" by Kaiser Chiefs (Official -- You know half the song lyrics if you know the title.)

2. "Annie Oakley" by Miniature Tigers (last.fm and Real Annie Oakley shooting -- True story - I used to love Annie Oakley when I was little. That's why this liberal vegetarian knows things about "Little Sure Shot," I'm not a secret gun enthusiast. Another True Story - Related video to that one? "Hotties Shooting Guns." Yay Feminism!)

3. "Dammit Anna" by The Morning Benders (Official)

4. "Vivian, Don't" by The Spinto Band (Live -- Yes, Vivian is a popular name.)

5. "Mariella" by Kate Nash (Sound Only with Kate Nash Photo Slide show)

Video. "Luna" by Malajube (Official -- Luna girl has some nice hooded knitwear! Chlorine and knits don't mix. What happened to the sweater? I'm concerned.)

Playlists -- Girl's Names: Part 1

There's a reason it's a classic. And there's a reason this is a 2-part series... and that would be that I love Interpol and Malajube's music videos and could not choose between the two. Moving on... Whether it's love or the aftermath, every girl has a song with her name in it. She can only hope it's something along the lines of Mobius Band's "Hallie" and not Nerf Herder's "Annalee." Although they're both pretty catchy. Maybe she'll take the "streetwalker shoes" over nothing at all.

The Lineup:

1. "Hallie" by Mobius Band (Live)

2. "Ann Disaster" by Ben Kweller (Live - Solo, last.fm)

3. "Mary" by The Maccabees (Live)

4. "Vivian" by Nerf Herder (Live)

5. "Emily Kane" by Art Brut (Official)

Video. "Stella Was a Diver" by Interpol (Live)

Playlists -- It's Brit, not Bret.

Music has to fit your mood, right? Or at least the mood you'd like to be in. As I'm packing away my things for school (or pretending to), I need a little upbeat tune to help me out. (I was thinking, help me whistle while I work, but that sounded a little too Disney.) Anyway, I've found some pop/rock songs from Britain work well for me. Why? Who knows? And "It's Brit, not Bret." because I'm American and do not confuse girls with my New Zealand accent. It's Brit.

The Lineup:

1. "First Love" by The Maccabees (Official)

2. "Death to Los Campesinos!" by Los Campesinos! (Recording)

3. "Eddie's Gun" by The Kooks (Official)

4. "A Love to Die For" by The Rifles (Sound Only - with annoying beginning ad)

5. "News and Tributes" by The Futureheads (Sound Only)

Video. "Thank You Very Much" by Kaiser Chiefs (Live)

Playlists -- Radiohead Covers: Part 2

It's been fun, but here's the final chapter in my 2-part playlist series of Radiohead covers (See Part 1 here). Goodnight and good Computer. OK? (Har de har.) Thank you, Stereogum!

The Lineup:

1. "Fitter Happier" by Samson Dalonoga (Feat. The Found Sound Orchestra) (last.fm and Original Unofficial Animated) -- P.S. There is speculation that Samson Dalonoga is really David Cross.

2. "Electioneering" by Cold War Kids (last.fm and Original Live Jay Leno)

3. "Climbing Up the Walls" by The Twilight Sad (last.fm and Original Live)

4. "No Surprises" by Marissa Nadler (Feat. Black Hole Infinity) (last.fm and Original Official Vid)

5. "Lucky" by My Brightest Diamond (last.fm and Original Live)

Video. "The Tourist" by Radiohead (Live)

"The Tourist" by Flash Hawk Parlor Ensemble (last.fm)

Playlists -- Radiohead Covers: Part 1

I had originally planned something different for tonight, but instead, I've found myself unable to stop listening to this collection of covers. These Radiohead covers from some of my favorite artists were originally available as a free download on Stereogum. Then they lost the rights. BUT now, I find in my linky research that it's available for download once again! Here are some of the artist notes, and of course, the download. So, now it's streaming (among other places) on last.fm and I can bring it to you. These covers of Radiohead's OK Computer were collected on the tenth anniversary of the album's release. And boy are they awesome. So here we go with Part 1 of my 2-part playlist series of Radiohead covers. Enjoy!

The Lineup:

1. "Airbag" by Doveman (last.fm and Original Live)

2. "Paranoid Android" by Slaraffenland (last.fm and Original Jools Holland)

3. "Subterranean Homesick Alien" by Mobius Band (last.fm and Original Live)

4. "Exit Music (for a Film)" by Vampire Weekend (last.fm and Original Live)

5. "Let Down" by David Bazan's Black Cloud (last.fm and Original Live)

Video. "Karma Police" by Radiohead (Above is Live and Left is Official)

"Karma Police" by John Vanderslice (last.fm)

Playlists -- Art Brut

Just because I've gotten lazy and I want to put up a new playlist, I give you Art Brut. If you haven't heard of them, they're all about rock 'n roll and "Yes. That is my singing voice." Because they "formed a band," yes, they "formed a band." End of my fun. If this makes no sense, refer to "Formed a Band." If you don't like it, I'll tell you right now that neither did I when I first heard it. But if you don't laugh when they say, "I've seen her naked... twice!" you're made of stone. Or you just don't get Art Brut.

The Lineup:

1. "Formed a Band" by Art Brut (Live)

2. "St. Pauli" by Art Brut (Live)

3. "Alcoholics Unanimous" by Art Brut (Official)

4. "The Passenger" by Art Brut (Live on KEXP)

5. "Direct Hit" by Art Brut (Official)

Video. "Pump up the Volume" by Art Brut

Playlists -- Knit Knit Play

It's high time I chose some songs for knitters. So here we are, a collection of songs closely and less closely related to knitting. I've included a knitting pattern after each song or a helpful video. Get knitting!

The Lineup:

1. "Socks and Shoes" by Four Fifty One (Live -- in a fishtank and How to Turn the Heel of a sock)

2. "The Sweater Song" by Weezer (Official and from How to Pick Up Dropped Stitches and Drop Stitch Vest from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation)

3. "Pink Sweater" by Noisettes (last.fm and This awesome Pink Sweater from Stitch 'n Bitch and Knitty Gritty)

4. "Wise Man" by Liam Finn (Live and ...Is he a knitwise man or a purlwise man?)

5. "Over" by Portishead (Official Vid and Use Yarn Over in this pattern to make a holey shawl! -- Opens pdf.)

Video. "Ball of Yarn" by Birdmonster (Live in NYC -- at beginning -- and Baby Cashmere Merino Silk Yarn by Sublime. Yes, please!)

Video. "Three Seed" by Silversun Pickups (Live and How to make Seed Stitch -- This easy Seed Stitch Scarf)

Playlists -- Writer's Block

The idea for this stems mostly from the fact that I happen to love "Kurt Vonnegut" from Born Ruffians and I wanted to do a writer's playlist around that. So it's about the process, the products, the greats. There's a live version at the top, and a sound-only link at the bottom. (They didn't play the whole song on the first vid.) Sharpen your pencils!

The Lineup:

1. "Handwriting" by Bottom of the Hudson (Unofficial Vid -- In the olden days.)

2. "Cut Cut Paste" by Tokyo Police Club (Live -- Something I always do when I write...)

3. "You Could Write a Book" by Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (Live -- ...If you were Kurt Vonnegut?)

4. "& So It Goes" by Albert Hammond, Jr. (last.fm -- Not sure if it's meant to be, but I always thought this came from the saying in Slaughterhouse-Five.)

5. "Kilgore Trout" by The Appleseed Cast (last.fm -- Science Fiction writer in Slaughterhouse-Five)

Video. "Kurt Vonnegut" by Born Ruffians (Live and link at left to Sound Only Vid)

Playlists -- Bands with Animal Names: Part 2

And now the exciting conclusion of our 2-part playlist series, "Bands with Animal Names." (Find Part 1 here.) Here we go.

The Lineup:

1. "Wasting My Life" by The Hippos (Official Vid and Real Hippos -- Why are animals always more amusing when set to music? and Animated Hippos in Tu-Tu's -- "They don't unnerve me like they used to." ... For you Oz fans.)

2. "Teenage, Bats & Anthropology" by We Are Wolves (Live and Real Wolves -- With Pan flutes! Or some kind of pan flute-like instrument...)

3. "Lolita" by Elefant (Live and Real Painting Elephants -- More talented than me.)

4. "The Wedding Song" by Das Llamas (last.fm and Real Llamas and Murderous Animated Llamas -- Kaaaaarrrrl.)

5. "Lord Leopard" by Caribou (Unofficial Vid -- Animated and Real Caribou -- Fighting Grizzlies. If this happened in the music world, it would either be a lot less or a lot more exciting. I haven't decided yet.)

Video. "Let's Dance to Joy Division" by The Wombats (Real Wombat -- This is sad and cute at the same time.)

Playlists -- Bands with Animal Names: Part 1

Tonight's playlist is inspired by the band, Fruit Bats which I saw on WXPN's My Morning Download today. (They're kind of like The Swimmers meets The Meligrove Band, if you need a frame of reference.) There is a certain problem when looking for videos for bands with animal names. You're looking for this and you find this. But AAAAWWWW. Maybe it's not a problem. Just because that was so much fun and kuuuuuute (I thank Chris Leavins for that one.) I'll link a corresponding animal video with the music one. Yay for confusion! I'm making this a 2-day extravaganza, so get ready to be dazzled by some vids! This has to be my greatest idea EVER.

The Lineup:

1. "Library Sex" by Flamingo Crash (last.fm and Real Flamingos -- Dancing fools!)

2. "Cherries in the Snow" by Elk City (Official Video and Real Elk and his Dog friend -- Born to be wild!)

3. "Ex-Girl Collection" by The Wrens (Sound Only and Real Carolina Wrens)

4. "Good Arms vs. Bad Arms" by Frightened Rabbit (Live Acoustic in Philadelphia and Real Wheelchair Rabbit)

5. "Alligator" by Grizzly Bear (Live and Real Grizzly Bears)

Video. "Canyon Girl" and "Lives of Crime" by Fruit Bats

Playlists -- The Game of Clue?

Okay, maybe that's just a nice way for me to say all these songs are about murder. Why are there songs about murder today? Well, me tell you a story. This morning, I ate cereal for breakfast and that made me wonder if anyone liked cereal enough to write a song about it. The answer? No. No one except the Post company. But who did write a song about cereal? Method Man and Redman. The only thing was, they wrote about a "cereal killer" in a song called "Cereal Killer." (No I am not making this up.) So, of course, I laughed about that for a while. I am completely convinced that that song title made it all the way to the album just for my fun. Anyway, I also noticed that there were a lot of songs about murder and killing and weapons. So why not share them with you folks? My top choice for killer songs would have to be "Psycho Killer" by Talking Heads. It's been covered so many times and it's still awesome.

The Lineup:

1. "Knife" by The Briefs (Live -- Sorry, crappy audio.)

2. "Cold Blooded" by The Horrors (last.fm)

3. "To the Kill" by Violent Femmes (Live)

4. "Murder Me Rachael" by The National (Live at SPIN)

5. "Kill" by Sufjan Stevens (Unofficial Fan Vid)

Video. "Psycho Killer" by Talking Heads

Playlists -- A Fangy Salut

Well, just because I've got True Blood fever, I thought I'd get a head start on my playlist for tonight: Vampire Songs. Record Cozy's playing Connie the Corpse from K-DED for the night ;) First of all, because last.fm doesn't have a clip or full-length version of Say Hi's "Angels and Darlas" I have to include the link here. (That would be the Joss Whedon characters for those of you who are unfamiliar.)
And because I think it's important you know your band history (even recent history), below is the trailer for the movie Vampire Weekend. One I'm not sure was ever made. Sure, it's pretty low budget, but it had to have the best soundtrack EVER. In any case, it is the namesake for that hipster favorite, you guessed it, Vampire Weekend. They don't really sing about vampires, but they deserve some representation. Don't you think? (And yes, that is Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend and Wesley Miles of Ra Ra Riot. I know, I love it too.)

The Lineup:

1. "Georgette Plays a Goth" by Tullycraft (Official Vid -- Animated)

2. "Fresh Blood" by Eels (Official Vid)

3. "Blood" by Editors (Official Vid)

4. "Closer" by Kings of Leon (Live -- Everyone sing along!)

5. "We Suck Young Blood" by Radiohead (Unofficial Vid with Paper Cut-Outs)

Video. (Linked) "Angels and Darlas" by Say Hi

Playlists -- Scary Storms!

Now, I'm writing this post after the fact because I wanted to explain my song choices for this day. On this particular Sunday, I was in my house waiting for True Blood to come on and there was an insane rainstorm outside. The power was flickering on and off, the driveway was practically flooded and the trees looked like they were about to be uprooted, the wind was blowing so hard. So there I was, thankful for my laptop's battery, and choosing some songs about the rain. End of story time.

Asobi Seksu's "Blind Little Rain," a little happier than my rainstorm, but the water's still "not safe to go in today." That's a little serious.

The Lineup:

1. "Sound of Thunder" by Duran Duran (Live)

2. "Swimming in the Flood" by Passion Pit (Sound Only)

3. "Mind Flood" by Sam Roberts (Live -- Yee-haw!)

4. "Just Stay In" by Annuals (last.fm)

5. "I Am a Lightning Rod" by Margot & The Nuclear So & So's (Very Casual Live Vid)

Video. "Blind Little Rain" by Asobi Seksu

Playlists -- Robot Songs

Why robots? Just because I can.

The Lineup:

1. "Robot Rock" by Daft Punk (Official Video -- "We wanted ones like Daft Punk." Yo.)

2. "Citizens of Tomorrow" by Tokyo Police Club (Live)

3. "Paranoid Android" by Radiohead (Jools Holland)

4. "Sad Robot" by Stars (Live -- "Do you like the ambient noise box?" Random, and yet, I heart.)

5. "Doyle is Dead" by Apes & Androids (Live)

Video. "Robots" by Flight of the Conchords (clip from the show)

Playlists -- Nerd Songs

Tonight's playlist is all Nerd Songs, in honor of my post on Jean-Claude in the Anita Blake comics. It's Marvel, not DC, but it's still a tad bit nerdy.

The Lineup:

1. "DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshake" by Art Brut (Live at KEXP)

2. "Mr. Spock" by Nerf Herder (Official Video)

3. "And I Was a Boy from School" by Hot Chip (Official Video)

4. "Supergirl and Superboy" by Tullycraft (Live)

5. "Flickr" by Jonathan Coulton (Official-ish Video with Pictures)

Video. "Japan is an Island" by The Spinto Band (Atari is for nerds!)