¡viva la graham!

i discovered scottish rock band travis nine years ago, amusingly enough, while waiting for the spice girls to perform in an ampitheater just outside nashville. the girls had no opening act, so instead they played pop videos from their native britain on several giant screens on the stage.

afterwards, all i could recall was the title, “tied to the ’90s.” this was before the internet was so easily accessible, so i had to search a catalog in a record store to figure out who sang the song. when i did, i purchased the album good feeling and became an instant fan.

when the band made it big a few years later with the man who and “why does it always rain on me?,” they attempted to distance themselves from this silly, beatle’esque track. i don’t think they ever play the song live. if you’ve never seen this clip, you should enjoy seeing what travis have been hiding all this time. ah, don’t they all look so young??

after my slightly embarrassing admission yesterday, i thought i’d remind you that i do have an “indie” sensibility as well. it’s not all divas and disco!

you might not have heard about spoon, an austin-based veteran rock act who just released their most commercial album to date, ga ga ga ga ga. some might call it selling out, i call it getting my attention.

lead single “the underdog” utilizes fiesta-ready horns and a simple guitar riff alongside very useful hand claps and a hummable chorus. the result is an irresistible pop-rock stomper that has helped the band breakthrough to a more mainstream market (the album debuted at no. 10 on billboard last month).

visit spoon’s myspace to check out their sound, peruse their tour dates and even watch a video or two. you’ll be glad you did.

i admit i was way harsh when i first mentioned katharine mcphee’s debut album back in february. since then i have been singing a different tune…

first i fell in love with “over it,” which i initially panned. now i’m getting into her new single “love story,” which sounds like an outtake from christina aguilera’s back to basics sessions, and i mean that as a major compliment. i must have been in a bad mood when i listened to it the first time around, because i totally didn’t give it the time of day. and now i realize that the whole thing is actually much better than i originally thought, which means basically that you shouldn’t pay attention if i immediately hate on something.

oh yeah, and did i mention the video is totally hot? she looks amazing. check it out after the jump. Continue Reading »