Now I'm falling asleep and she's calling a cab

If you've ever wanted to hear a low quality recording of amazing Swedish pop group Le Kid covering the Killers' also amazing "Mr. Brightside"...





...there you go. The original is one of my favorite songs of the past decade, but it makes total sense in their '80s pop version. Everything they do is so incredibly joyful or joy-inducing and it takes real intelligence to be as good as they are at composing (or arranging) music.

I love this group with my whole heart. If they're not successful, I don't know what I'm going to do. Their taste in music--impeccable. The music they make--fantastic. Their obvious love for what they do--the icing on the cake.

Eric Saade was also at the same event (singing "Break Of Dawn" and a cover of Linkin Park's "Leave Out All The Rest"), if you feel like watching more fuzzy quality live videos.

#84 The Killers, "Spaceman"

The storm maker says it ain't so bad
The dream maker's gonna make you mad
The space man says everybody look down
It's all in your mind

Catchy pop-rock with a synth dusting and the use of a repeated nonsense syllable (here, "oh")? You know I'm there. The second single from the Killers' third album, "Spaceman" isn't as dark in sound as some of the songs from the group's first album, but it is a little musically darker than "Human," the song that marked the group's return. That said, and despite the lyrics about an alien abduction, the key here is that "Spaceman" is a lot of fun. It's also another song where almost every element has been honed for ultimate catchiness, where you can see a great band at work. Percussion (whether handclaps or the build into the chorus), synths, guitar, vocal line--every riff and roll is just what it should be.

Find it on: Day & Age

You taste like absolutely everything I've never tried

I love the Killers, I really do, but I can't help wishing British group Daggers was getting even a tenth of the attention the Killers are in the lead up to Day & Age (which, yes, I am eagerly anticipating; both groups can coexist). For at least the past year (and longer another another name, I think), Daggers, who I was introduced to by #1 Hits and Worrapolava, have quietly been making epic synth-pop-rock worthy of making the '80's jealous. Frontman Theo has a fantastic voice for this sort of music, capable of of all the swooping and soaring necessary, and the group has an almost unnatural gift for creating hooks, both in the instrumental and vocal parts of their songs--trying not to sing along is a futile task. Why they aren't selling out stadium tours, let alone signed yet, I have no idea.

"Death It Feels" may very well be the best thing they've ever done, and that's quite an achievement considering the other songs they've made. Epic, soaring, hooky, exhilarating--as usual. Did I forget to mention "perfect"? Would we expect anything else? Now please, someone, somewhere, give us the opportunity to buy it already (preferably after it's become the massive hit it deserves to be).

(I was hesitant to post this song since 1.) I was introduced to it by other blogs, and 2.) the group really needs to get signed, but ultimately, it's so brilliant that I had to rave about it and do whatever spreading of the word I can.)

Please, please support this group--if you like their music--by buying what you can from them any country's iTunes store, namely, their double-sided single of "Magazine" and "Money." "Money" is another of their mindblowing tracks and very much worth your $.99. And then go listen to the songs on their MySpace and be even more astounded that this group isn't huge already...and know that they've had other songs on there that are just as good ("Lost In the Distance" is a must-listen).

Next up: maybe that interesting Italian song, that boy band song, or an American pop song. Or a Swedish electronic one.