Woodhands | “I Wasn’t Made for Fighting”

I have a friend who complains that dance-rock has finished its run. I don’t know. If Woodhands can extend the era into this new year, I wouldn’t have any issues with that at all.

Woodhands – MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

Lykke Li + Bon Iver | “Dance Dance Dance”

What I would’ve given to come across this impromptu jam session in L.A.

Lykke Li – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

Bon Iver – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

We Are Wolves | “Psychic Kids”

Before I actually went to university, this is what I thought my life would be like.

We Are Wolves – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

Matt and Kim | “Daylight”

I’m seeking a new replacement hobby for my leisure time (putting photography on the back burner); so far, the most thrilling idea is returning to my first love… video. (GASP.)

I just saw the effervescent Matt and Kim at the Whippersnapper last night. Their new clip here bleeds the juice I want to shoot down my gullet and spew back out at the world. The best execution comes around the 2:10 mark.

Matt and Kim – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

MGMT | “Kids”

One of my coworkers teases me about liking saccharine suburban dance pop, rife with handclaps and high-pitched vocals. Guilty. But she talks about it way more than I bring it up, so I get this inner-glow feeling that she is just trying to convince herself to hate them.

The other day, she admitted to liking this song and then cringed when she discovered it was MGMT. HA HA! In your face, non-believer! Sell out, just like I have!

MGMT – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

Lykke Li | “Little Bit”

I saw this gal recently at Emo’s Annex during SXSW 2008. I knew nothing about her beforehand, thinking only her name sounded like something you’d do under the covers. Pretty cute and confident performer, especially given her age.

I think she’s gonna go places.

Lykke Li – Official Site | MySpace | Wikipedia | Last.fm | Amazon

Daft Punk | “Around the World”

Please indulge me as I dip into my late university years, an era filled with so much electronica my ears and tummy were bursting. It was a period of all-night parties, of super-long naps in the afternoon, of Trainspotting, of watching other people spend their student loan money to really screw themselves over. And now I see these same people adding a million applications and friends on Facebook, all wizened, some of them starving artists, some of them well-off parents, and me? Well, I’m sitting here, listening to music from my past, analyzing my history like I was part of some big, long, lost movement. Yeah, I hardly think so. But whenever I hear this song, I get start tasting the sensuality of the late ’90s all over again, the people, the dress, the smells, the late-night gatherings at pubs and coffee shops. That’s gotta count for something.

Anyway, this video for Daft Punk’s “Around the World” still fascinates me, largely because of Michel Gondry’s directorial finesse — but also because it makes me believe I’m on drugs without really being on drugs (the safest and cheapest high ever). Thanks, guys.

Daft Punk – Official site | MySpace | Last.fm | Amazon

Datarock | “Computer Camp”

“She’s not that kind of a girl, Booger!”

It would take more than hand cuffs and a head-dunk into a toilet to stop me from playing “Computer Camp Love” over and over again. The song’s a perfect mix of quirk, retro flair, and Scandinavian novelty, and I pity the fool who tries to stop me from belting out the lyrics and playing it on loop over and over… and over again.

Press play. Rinse. Repeat. Play. Rinse. Repeat. That’s right. You’ve been Datarock-ified.

Datarock – Official site | MySpace | Last.fm | eMusic

Similar artists: Hot Chip, The Rapture, The Presets