Couch Session: ARMS

Couch Session #2 — ARMS.

Head, shoulders, knees and toes,
This is how the story goes.
We met Todd back when he was a Shake,
One of the Harlem types, before they did break.
ARMS emerged, and with clown doodling skills undebatable,
their solemnly sweet tunes have left us insatiable.
Much like the cookies they're eating above,
both munchies and these melodies we wholeheartedly love.
They brought to our couch two new songs and one not,
Music we wanted to download to our gadgets on the spot.
So enjoy, Big Ugly reader, these tunes they have made,
And we hope you adore what these three boys played:

To download all three songs from this session, visit Big Ugly's land of the MP3s.

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Sleigh Bells Is The Product Of My Mother's Dreams.

While reading through the February issue of Nylon on a train ride to the middle of nowhere for a Superbowl Party (7 layer dip can motivate me to do just about anything),  I read a story about Sleigh Bells with this fine tidbit:

"In July 2008, [Alexis Krauss] was dining with her mother...at a Williamsburg restaurant, when their waiter, [Derek] Miller, mentioned he was looking for a female singer. Mom played indie-rock yenta, and soon the pair was talking shop."

Wha...? As a jewish twenty-something with a ton of meddling female relatives, this happens at EVERY meal, whether I'm around — "Carlye, isn't that waiter sweet? He likes writing! He works for a school newspaper, you should write together!" — or nowhere to be found — "I met the most adorable boy last night while waiting in line for a movie, you would have loved him. He likes music, and television and, oh! He was just like a young Cary Grant".

Everyone who selects a chosen person for this chosen person does a pretty crapola job, considering baby-faced teenage waiter isn't really my type, and, you know, I live in a yellow couch-holding apartment with that kid Donald.

That being said, it is incomprehensible that not only did a mother's mealtime meddling work, but caused deserved popularity and a tour with Yeasayer instead of necessity to ashamedly apologize and leave a 25% tip. Maybe the next time Grandma Leila thinks I should spend some time with the guy swirling my frozen yogurt, I'll heed her advice.

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oh, thanks:
photo from the clink

Couch Session Preview.

Here's a sneak peek of our next session...Make sure to stop by Monday to see the entire thing!

Video Review: Ra Ra Riot

The Antlers were fantastic and Ra Ra Riot was too, but considering no one wants to hear me babble using synonyms of the word "great" for two minutes, I'll give you what other stuff I thought about RRR instead - that they're all secretly dating and someone could have gone home with a fistful of $20 bills.

Those kids know how to perform, and they played their folk-rock hearts out last night. And, when I say that their songs sound similar, I realized it's because I like every single one of them — which, althought it doesn't sound like it, is actually a very good thing.

The Weirdest Press Release I Have Ever Recieved.

MEDIA ALERT

TAYLOR BRIGHT - NOT TAYLOR SWIFT - BACK HOME IN THE U.S. FOLLOWING BRITISH MEDIA BLITZ OVER SUPERSTAR IDENTITY MIXUP

Meet the Rising Teen Star Who Caused U.K. Media Frenzy When Liverpool Newspaper Error Forced School Concert Cancellation Over Security Concerns

***AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS BY PHONE AND LIVE BY APPOINTMENT***

WHO: TAYLOR BRIGHT, the 16-year-old rising teen pop star from Philadelphia who recently won an ASCAP Young Songwriter Award, has returned home from England after landing in the middle of a British media frenzy last weekend once the Liverpool Echo made the typo heard ‘round across the Atlantic Ocean - that teen superstar “Taylor Swift,” not Taylor Bright, would be performing at St. Margaret Mary's Catholic Junior School. That prompted an announcement of same to 44,000 people at the Liverpool Football club. The show was cancelled due to “safety concerns” and an apology and goodwill donation from the newspaper followed. Meantime, the Liverpool Football Club has vowed to debut Taylor Bright’s new single ‘Striped Socks’ – whose remix currently on the Billboard Dance Charts due only to social media and other internet buzz -- during the Merseyside Derby this weekend.

Watch the "Striped Socks" Music Video: www.youtube.com/taylorbrightofficial

Good god I hope they one day confuse a traveling carnival petting zoo with an outdoor Animal Collective performance.