The Rob Gordon Politick

I'd be pumped too if I was protecting the Constitution and sticking it to The Man.

Awesome, awesome blog I Guess I'm Floating is hosting some new Shins songs (just live stuff, sorry guys) and a bunch of obscure Sufjan Stevens tracks I didn't know existed. Dude's going on the blog roll.

Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - "Loop Duplicate My Heart": mp3 (link removed)
These guys are schmaltzy like The Magnetic Fields are schmaltzy, which means they're actually quite good. It's that disembodied baritone, I guess. RIYL the version of "Call Me" from the first Austin Powers soundtrack. File under: 2005 albums I ignored for 6 months.

We Are Scientists - "Lousy Reputation": mp3 (link removed)
So these guys are kind of overrated after all, but this song is great and doesn't try too hard to sound like its more distinctive predecessors. File under: blander, more accessible post-punk that still kicks the shit out of those Killers poseurs.

Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - "Big Guns": mp3 (link removed)
This reminds me a little bit of Elliott Smith until Lewis' voice comes in and gets all Emmylou heart-melting on us. The album is much better than I expected, and unlike the Belle & Sebastian track I almost posted, you'll be able to buy it next week. File under: apple-pie alt.country.

Kind of a rockist Rob Gordon, huh? I guess he'd be proud.

***

The Rob Gordon Shuffle is a weekly Sunday rundown of fascinating songs without particular regard to genre or timeliness. It is absolutely not a top 5.