For Those Who Have The Means

1/7 - Maximo Park (DJ set) at Don Hill's
1/7 - Tapes 'N Tapes at Delancey
1/8 - Tapes 'N Tapes at Pianos
1/9 - Tapes 'N Tapes, Finian McKean (Push Kings) at Mercury Lounge
1/10 - Ben Gibbard at Bowery Ballroom
1/12 - We Are Scientists at Bowery Ballroom
1/12 - White Rose Movement at Mercury Lounge
1/13 - White Rose Movement at Don Hill's
1/13 - The Wrens at Bowery Ballroom
1/15 - The Wrens, Nada Surf (acoustic) at Knitting Factory
1/17 - Hard-Fi at Bowery Ballroom
1/20 - The Editors at Mercury Lounge
1/20 - Travis Sullivan's Bjorkestra at Bowery Ballroom
1/23 - The Section Quartet (playing OK Computer) at Mercury Lounge
1/26 - Colin Meloy at Town Hall
1/26-28 - Broken Social Scene at Webster Hall
1/28 - Field Music at Mercury Lounge
1/29 - Evan Dando at Joe's Pub
2/3 - Low, His Name Is Alive at Southpaw
2/5 - Jenny Lewis at Angel Oresanz Foundation
2/6 - Low, His Name Is Alive at Bowery Ballroom
2/9 - Sigur Ros at Madison Square Garden
2/13 - Saint Etienne at Irving Plaza
2/14 - Cat Power at Town Hall
2/25 - Stars at Webster Hall
3/1 - Test Icicles at North Six
3/2 - Test Icicles at Mercury Lounge
3/3 - Of Montreal at Bowery Ballroom
3/8 - Nada Surf, Rogue Wave at Webster Hall
3/22 - Jose Gonzalez at Joe's Pub
3/24 - Jose Gonzalez, The Books at Bowery Ballroom

The Young Mod Gift Guide

For the young mod kid who thinks he or she has everything, I propose the following:



As a setlist connoisseur, this handwritten Elliott Smith setlist is at the top of my personal wishlist. Available to the highest bidder on eBay.



Elliott has been memorialized several times by Elizabeth Peyton, whose portraits are the subject of this new, self-curated retrospective, available at Amazon and other fine booksellers.



Much harder to find is Hedi Slimane's photographic tribute to Pete Doherty, London Birth of a Cult. Released only a few weeks ago, the book's limited printing of 750 copies is already sold out, though Amazon UK continues to believe otherwise. As someone who expended considerable effort finding a copy of this beautifully-packaged book, I wish you happy hunting.



Perhaps the only man in Britain who can presently lay claim to being more notorious than Pete is Banksy. In the past year, he has gone from being simply the world's most important graffiti artist to being perhaps the world's most important artist period. This newly released monograph, Wall and Piece, beautifully charts that evolution. Available at Amazon UK.



Banksy is quickly becoming this generation's Andy Warhol. Earlier this year, Paul Frank released a series of Warhol-related items which quickly flew off shelves and now sell for a tidy premium on eBay. While several of those pieces were nice, none were quite as attractive as this new series of silkscreened Andy Warhol canvas tote bags from Pop Deluxe.



Speaking of tote bags (as well as this generation's Warhol), you would be wise to snap up these Takashi Murakami flower totes, which are available for a mere $10 here.



For those looking to spend a little more, what says "I care" more than a signed copy of Yoshitomo Nara's newest book, Drawing File, which consists of 77 full-page prints, and is available only in Japan, and (of course) on eBay.



Also criminally unavailable in the U.S. (or the U.K. for that matter) is this new 2-DVD reissue of Qui êtes-vous Polly Maggoo? Along with Antonioni's Blowup, this film defines everything that was brilliant about the 1960's world of mod fashion. Often referenced, but rarely seen, now you too can be one of the cool kids. Available at Colette (click "Product List") or from Amazon France.



Finally, on the subject of cool things from France, D'autres nouvelles des étoiles, a 2-DVD, career-spanning collection of Serge Gainsbourg videos, is a must. This 80 video set includes the full version of "Histoire de Melody Nelson", as well as what may be the greatest video of all-time, "Bonnie & Clyde" (with Brigitte Bardot).
Available here.

The Young Mod Year In Review

So here we are...

SONGS OF THE YEAR

1. Babyshambles "Albion"
2. Raveonettes "Ode to L.A."
3. Hot Hot Heat "Middle of Nowhere"
4. Wir Sind Helden "Nur Ein Wort"
5. Futureheads "Hounds of Love"
6. The Kooks "Eddie's Gun"
7. Fiery Furnaces "Here Comes the Summer"
8. Doves "Snowden"
9. Maximo Park "Graffiti"
10. Arctic Monkeys "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor"
11. Razorlight (w/ Lisa Moorish) "Fairytale of New York"
12. The Bravery "An Honest Mistake"
13. Babyshambles "Fuck Forever"
14. The Magic Numbers "Love Me Like You"
15. Kaiser Chiefs "The Modern Way"
16. Franz Ferdinand "Walk Away"
17. Raveonettes "Uncertain Times"
18. Nada Surf "Always Love"
19. Belle & Sebastian "Another Sunny Day"
20. Arctic Monkeys "When the Sun Goes Down"
21. Thirteen Senses "Thru the Glass"
22. Kaiser Chiefs "I Predict a Riot"
23. Franz Ferdinand "I'm Your Villain"
24. The Strokes "You Only Live Once"
25. Cloud Room "Hey Now Now"

Honorable Mention

Andrew Bird “Fake Palindromes”
Art Brut “My Little Brother”
Athlete “Wires”
Ben Lee “Catch My Disease”
Bloc Party “So Here We Are”
Bravery “Unconditional”
Bright Eyes “First Day of My Life”
British Sea Power “It Ended on an Oily Stage”
British Sea Power “Please Stand Up”
Cardigans “I Need Some Fine Wine and You, You Need to Be Nicer”
Cat Power “The Greatest”
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah “Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood”
Colin Meloy “Everyday Is Like Sunday”
Decemberists “Sixteen Military Wives”
Decemberists “The Sporting Life”
Duels “Potential Futures”
Frank Black “I Burn Today”
Franz Ferdinand “Do You Want To”
Franz Ferdinand “Eleanor Put Your Boots On”
Franz Ferdinand “Outsiders”
Idlewild “Love Steals Us from Loneliness”
Jose Gonzalez “Heartbeats”
Louis XIV “Finding Out True Love Is Blind”
M83 “Don’t Save Us from the Flames”
Magic Numbers “Forever Lost”
Magic Numbers “Long Legs”
Mando Diao “Clean Town”
Martha Wainwright “When the Day Is Short”
Maximo Park “Apply Some Pressure”
Morning Runner “Gone Up in Flames”
New Order “Waiting for the Siren’s Call”
New Pornographers “Sing Me Spanish Techno”
Oasis “Let There Be Love”
Special Needs “Blue Skies”
Stars “Ageless Beauty”
Stars “Reunion”
Stars “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead”
Stellastarr* “Damn This Foolish Heart”
Ted Leo “Since U Been Gone”
Teenage Fanclub “Fallen Leaves”
The Coral “In the Morning”
The Tears “Lovers”


ARTISTS OF THE YEAR

Does anyone bother to listen to albums anymore? Certainly not me. Even I can't help but notice, however, when an artist releases several very good songs in a single year, whether or not they happen to be on a single disc. This list reflects those artists who in my opinion came closest to having enough really good songs to warrant a full album.

1. Franz Ferdinand
2. The Magic Numbers
3. The Decemberists/Colin Meloy
4. Bloc Party (incl. remixes)
5. Babyshambles
6. Arctic Monkeys
7. Maximo Park
8. Kaiser Chiefs
9. The Futureheads
10. British Sea Power
11. Art Brut
12. Stars
13. The Raveonettes
14. New Order
15. Doves


SHOWS OF THE YEAR

1. Colin Meloy at Fez
2. Art Brut at Mercury Lounge
3. Bloc Party at Roxy
4. Nouvelle Vague at Joe's Pub
5. Kaiser Chiefs at Tribeca Grand
6. Maximo Park at Rothko
7. Futureheads at Pianos
8. Arctic Monkeys at Mercury Lounge
9. Doves/Magic Numbers at Bowery Ballroom
10. Ben Kweller at Irving Plaza
(tie) Graham Coxon/22-20s at Bowery Ballroom
(tie) New Pornographers/Stars at Prospect Park


BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS OF THE YEAR

Mew -- And the Glass Handed Kites
Oasis -- Don't Believe the Truth
Coldplay -- X&Y
White Stripes -- Get Behind Me Satan
Spoon -- Gimme Fiction


MOST INSANELY OVERRATED ARTISTS

Kanye West
M.I.A.
Animal Collective
Sufjan Stevens
Antony & the Johnsons

Feedback and comments warmly welcomed.