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ROCK

Top Jam! “Community of Hope” by PJ Harvey

Listen to closely to the lyrics of PJ Harvey's new single, "Community of Hope," and you can hear why DC politicians aren't proud about the public face of their housing project, with one even calling her the Piers Morgan of music. I'm sure civic leaders had higher hopes than one sit-down restaurant when they tore down the old high-rise housing project, the namesake of Harvey's new album, The Hope Six Demolition Project.
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Top Jam: “Sour Candy” by Bleached

If I was Little Steven, Bleached's "Sour Candy" would be the coolest song in the world. I'm not Little Steven, I'm Bill, so "Sour Candy" is a top jam that wouldn't sound out of place on Little Steven's Underground Garage. It has that vibe of that period in the '70s where the lines between punk, power pop and hard-rock were blurred and no matter which scene you identified with, you could find something to love about the lady rockers in Bleached.
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Watch Me: “Florian Saucer Attack” by Black Mountain

While this video for "Florian Saucer Attack" is not totally bat shit crazy, like Black Mountain's previous video for "Mothers of the Sun," it would also benefit from drugs.
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Watch Me: “Berlin Got Blurry” by Parquet Courts

Parquet Courts' newest single from Human Performance (out 4.8 on Rough Trade) may be called "Berlin Got Blurry," but I can't help but to think back to that time in music history when England got blurry, when white rockers began to integrate the island sounds of ska, dub, and reggae into punk rock and power pop.
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Rad Jam Wednesday with Car Seat Headrest, Nothing, White Lung, and The Liminanas

Why didn't anyone tell me Car Seat Headrest shreds? Fans of the Cloud Nothings' heavy era and Built to Spill will be asking themselves the same question once they play, "Vincent," the first single from the band's upcoming, second album on Matador Records.
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Jam On It! New Jams by Cat’s Eyes, Yuck, and Purling Hiss

Why doesn't anyone make lists on the internet any more? Here's a list, a list of some of my favorite downers in rock: Nick Cave, Elliot Smith, Robert Smith of The Cure, Spiritualized's J Spaceman, Faris Badwan of The Horrors and Cat's Eyes. Faris who? I feel like I say this every time I write about the Horrors, but Badwan's post-punk downer band, The Horrors, have been criminally overlooked here in the States release after release. 2009's Primary Colors should have been album of the year, everyone's album of the year. Hell, I don't know if it was even my album of the year. Someone google that. What I'm getting at, is that this man, here paired with the classically trained Rachel Zeffira, is capable of stop your heart and drop moments.
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Watch Me: “Dust” by Parquet Courts

Parquet Courts released an EP at the tail end of last year. I know this because it's filed away with all of my other albums. I can't remember much about this particular EP aside from the fact that there was one song and a lot of four dudes fucking around with keyboards and synthesizers. It was like one of those contractual obligation releases except for the fact Parquet Courts have been on a continual rise since 2011. I'd rather not talk about that last EP. I'd rather talk about this new video, "Dust," from their forthcoming album, a proper album, called Human Performance (out 4.8 on Rough Trade). Just one problem. I'm not sure we get to "Dust" without first having to go through four dudes fuck with keyboards and synthesizers.
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Watch Me: “Holding The Void/The Sickness” by So Pitted

I admire Sub Pop Records. I really do mean this, sincerely even. Every year they release a record or two by a new noisy band in the spirit of Nirvana and I inevitably buy those because I've never outgrown grungy punk rock records. Most of these bands are fade shortly after their release. Some, like Toronto punks, Metz, and California noisemaers, No Age, have shown real staying power. Now, while I can't predict the future, hell, I can barely predict which rock records people will rock these days, I want to think the career trajectory of So Pitted will be closer to that of No Age and Metz, as opposed to His Electro Blue Voice, for example. Just listen to these ragers!
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