Today is particularly important because my favorite Athens event of the year is happening tonight: The Annual Athens Christmas Parade! (OK, yeah, the city gov. calls it the “parade of lights” but no one else does.) If you live in town and have seen it then you know why I love it. if you’ve never seen it and you’re in Athens, or close enough to get here, please come and see our town do it up right. High School marching bands, rescued dogs, a garbage truck, church/civic floats and more. The parade starts at 7 PM and culminates with the lighting of the Athens Christmas Tree in front of City Hall. See map and highlights below.
See ya there!
Clarke Central High School Band (shot by Hillary Brown)
I like things that are cute. I like things that are sweet. Particularly, I like sweet pop songs about nice things. Honest, I do. That said, let me talk about a band who embodies every single bad thing that could possibly ever be said about indie-pop, Twee-pop or whatever you want to call that particular brand of over-the-edge, self-consciously cutesy garbage that is the musical equivalent of a college upper classman’s etchings and a bottle of cheap red wine.
I received this email this week. Highlights are in bold.
In the day and age where album leaks are rampant, our favorite cuddly band, The Boy Least Likely To, was faced with a rather interesting predicament. This past summer (doesn’t summer warmth seem so long ago?) they were ready to entertain our ears and iPods with their adorably titled sophomore album, ‘The Law of the Playground’ but were met with a rather temperamental record label which no longer existed and they and their album were given a time out!
After sitting in the corner and thinking about what they had done (but really, what their non-existent label hadn’t done) they regrouped and are now ready to assault our eardrums with preciousness that only the boy least likely to could conjure up. You know you’re excited for it, and so are we.
Prepare yourself with some milk and cookies as ‘The Law of the Playground’ is coming out on March 3rd through +1 Records (US) and Too Young to Die Records (UK). The album is nothing short of twee perfection with the usual suspects ( glockenspiels, banjos, fiddles and recorders) that will fill you with joy when winter is really starting to get to you.
But not to fret, the band of children who never seemed to grow up are contributing to the holiday season with a single called ‘the first snowflake’ which will be available for your listening pleasure on December 15th which you can currently stream at stereogum.com.
‘The Law of the Playground’ tracklisting:
1) saddle up
2) balloon on a broken string
3) when life gives me lemons i make lemonade
4) i box up all the butterflies
5) the boy with two hearts
6) stringing up conkers
7) the boy least likely to is a machine
8 whiskers
9) every goliath has its david
10) the nature of the boy least likely to
11) i keep myself to myself
12) the worm forgives the plough
13) a fairytale ending
Go check out their stupid new record if you want. I say fuck them and the and Cadbury Creme Egg they rode in on. This is just insulting. (Yeah, it’s the Christmas season. No, I’m not a Grinch. )
And I do.
I like things that are cute. I like things that are sweet. Particularly, I like sweet pop songs about nice things. Honest, I do. That said, let me talk about a band who embodies every single bad thing that could possibly ever be said about indie-pop, Twee-pop or whatever you want to call that particular brand of over-the-edge, self-consciously cutesy garbage that is the musical equivalent of a college upper classman’s etchings and a bottle of cheap red wine.
