Friday Fingerbangers is where I post 5 songs that have been coming through my headphones this week. (thanks to the cleaning crew for vacuuming up my headphones cord and shredding it. Obviously it is too much courtesy to avoid running over everything in my office. See you in hell.)

Margo Guryan in the 60’s, trained as a classical and jazz musician; one day she listened to the Beach Boys and decided that pop music was where it was at ( I skipped a bunch of details here). This might sound like someone trying to ride the bandwagon of success, except that she only released one record, and it flopped. However, that record called Take A Picture is quite a sophisticated album. Margo went on to write for other artists (including Dion, Harry Nilsson, Jackie DeShannon, Glen Campbell, the Lennon Sisters, and Mama Cass) but never recorded another album. Thank god for re-releases. Margo might be finally getting 5% of the attention this album deserves… Long overdue. You’re going to want to buy this, HERE. Let Margo know you appreciate: Myspace here.

Fingerbanger 1: Margo Guryan – California Shake.

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Bitcrush is not a new band (actually, just one dude), but this is off the newest album Epilogue In Waves. In a sense, Bitcrush has evolved, not advanced from the last album into an vast auditory voyage (or something).. what I’m really trying to say is… imo, this is pretty fucking good. It sounds like Explosions in the Sky, B.O.C., or maybe Godspeed (depending on the album). Myspace Here. Buy it Here.(btw, cool label)

Fingerbanger 2: Bitcrush – An Island, A Penninsula

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High Places is a Brooklyn duo with sparse regressive sounds accompanied sometimes by soft vocals and intermittent wailing… which means absolutly nothing until you listen to it. Do so and geek out to the lofi sounds, some that I like, some that I don’t. This is off the album 03/07 – 09/07. You can download this and other tracks on their myspace Here.

Fingerbanger 3: High Places – Head Spinning

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Though Alliance is from Sweden and could be maybe possible classified and electro pop? idk… it’s hard to say, sort of like its hard to classify the Petshop Boys (really?)… not that I’m drawing that comparison… because the tough alliance is most assuredly hetero considering that they uplifitingly(now a word) sing about committing crimes and violence and stuff. Actually, I’m just pissing about here; The Tough Alliance is possibly some of the more engaging (if not stangly wonderful) music I’ve heard lately.

Fingerbanger 4: The Tough Alliance – Neo Violence

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The Knux isn’t here to save hiphop… because lil’Wayne is already doing that. Point is, hiphop has been gangbanged for the past 10 years and nothing is really feeling all that original (fresh) anymore. Backpakers have been replaced by tight pants scenesters (who secretly like hiphop… but only in their cars) and commercial rap looks and sounds like a miami beach party on whippets and pcp. Is weed even illegal anymore?, does anyone besides UK rappers smoke up? I personally blame Outkast… they fucked up hiphop with that Hey Ya /The Way You Move bullshit… the flag was posted in the summit and it was a landslide down from there (I feel the need to mention Kanye here, but even if he can still be classified as hiphop, he’s still a pop artist to everyone else).

So… what does that have to do the the Knux? Three things: 1. The Knucks are definitely a hiphop duo. 2. Their style is throwback to the early 90’s. 3. They actually sound fresh. Mypace Here.

Fingerbanger5: The Knux – Cappuccino

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