Inside My Brain Right This Very Instant

As wiser (and perhaps less wise) people have already said, blogging is the zenith (or the nadir) of our culture's obsession with the "individual." Be that as it may, I want in. So, in shortorder, here are the things floating around my transom as this very moment:

Bitter Bitter Weeks

Looking to change up CI's sound, we approached Philadelphia producer Brian McTear about helming the next CI record. We'd heard his work with The A-Sides and Matt Pond PA and been big fans. What we didn't realize at the time was that Brian's own band, Bitter Bitter Weeks, is completely awesome. Their latest record, Peace is Burning Like a River (High Two), came out in between the sessions for our next record, and when we came into the studio for the last bits of tracking I really considered just covering Brian's songs instead of doing my own. It's been a long time since I was so enamored with every track on a record. Peace... is some really intelligent guitar rock, and if you get a chance, at the very least check out the tracks "Terrified" and "Sincerely, Last Century", and while you're at it just get the whole record cause it's incredible.

The Walkmen - "Another One Goes By"
Speaking of covering other bands, Brian actually told me an interesting story about how his pals in Mazarin received the cover tribute from their pals and tourmates the Walkmen. The tune in question is "Another One Goes By", a brilliantly simple, powerful song that would leave Bob Dylan jealous of the way it makes the everyday poignant and transcendent. Below is a live clip of the Walkmen's cover version, which turned up on their A Hundred Miles Off record.