Here’s what’s new in stores & worth your time this week, kids. Frankly, there’s not a whole lot of new compelling stuff — I almost decided against posting this week — but iTunes saves the day:

iTunes Live: London Festival ‘08
This bunch of live EPs, recorded earlier this summer at London’s KOKO, has been available in the UK store for a while now, but they’ve finally been loosed on American ears. It’s not a complete set — the intro text mentions 4 big acts not featured at all (N.E.R.D, Paul Weller, the Zutons, Death Cab for Cutie) — but what is there is mostly new for us Yanks: our first tastes of the heretofore UK-only Glasvegas and Gabriella Cilmi; sets from buzzed-about imports like Lykke Li, Does It Offend You, Yeah?; and some more established acts like Suzanne Vega and James Blunt. Recordings are good — I only wish all the acts who played the festival could be found. Definitely worth checking out, tho.

Sorry I’m late, kids: here’s what’s new in stores and worth your time:

Amy MacDonald, This is the Life
MacDonald’s fantastic debut, which was a huge hit in her native UK and one of my top 10 albums of last year, finally gets a proper US release, and it’s well worth seeking out. She’s a knockout songwriter, and the album is loaded with strong folk-pop hooks. Her thick Scottish accent is also a treat. Amazon MP3’s version is inexplicably lacking closing song “The Road To Home” so I’d go with the iTunes version, which includes a previously unreleased bonus track “Rock Bottom.”

David Byrne and Brian Eno, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
The first Byrne/Eno collaboration in about 30 years is a pretty good one — give it a shot at http://www.everythingthathappens.com where the album is streaming in full. I still think that Bryne’s last, Grown Backwards, is a better-sounding album, but I’m happy that Eno rebounded nicely from the travesty that was Paul Simon’s Surprise. It’s not out on disc until the end of November, but you can order it digitally right now from the site.

Lykke Li, Youth Novels
This Swedish chanteuse has been much-blogged-about, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the buzz was justified. Her voice is pretty and slight, but when combined with the quirky, organic pop arrangements of Youth Novels, it becomes something really special (except for a couple oddball spoken word/tone poems, that is — those are eminently skippable). Give this a try:

Download: Lykke Li, “I’m Good, I’m Gone” (mp3)

Like what you hear? Grab Youth Novels at iTunes.

The Dandy Warhols, …Earth to the Dandy Warhols…
Finally in stores after debuting online to the Dandys’ fanclub a couple months back. Every outlet seems to be offering the album with different bonus tracks, so I’m recommending Amazon MP3, whose edition features a cover of Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay.”

If only all bands could feature a tenor kazoo.

I had the pleasure of being introduced to the greatest banjo/upright bass/kazoo duo on earth the other night: NYC’s Two Man Gentlemen Band. They played a crackerjack show at Cambridge’s historic Club Passim, and I can highly recommend the live Gentlemen experience: their look and sound is like something out of a time capsule — the kind of delightful olde-tyme thing you’d expect to hear pumping out of an old Victrola — but with just enough modern touches and double entendres in the lyrics to keep things light and fresh; their ‘tween song banter is laugh-out-loud funny; and the audience is encouraged, nay, required to participate thanks to the free kazoos distributed at the beginning of the show.

The tunes are the real star, tho: every number is uptempo, bouncy fun, and the lyrics are razor-sharp. The evening’s standouts were “William Howard Taft,” a jumpy, call-and-response ode to our heaviest president; “When Your Lips Are Playing My Kazoo,” which is about, uh, musical talent; the pleasantly uncomfortable “Heavy Petting”; and the mathematical “Prime Numbers.” Their cover of Ray Parker, Jr.’s “Ghostbusters” theme song was a great touch, too. I grabbed a couple of their discs at the end of the show, and I’m happy to report that they’re just as fun on disc as they are on stage. Their most recent release, Heavy Petting, is lively fun from beginning to end. Definitely worth a look — take a listen & hear for yourself:

Download: The Two Man Gentlemen Band, “William Howard Taft” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Two Man Gentlemen Band, “Heavy Petting” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Like what you hear? Grab Heavy Petting at Amazon MP3.

Pushed this ’til today to allow the new playlists to shine. Here’s what was new in stores on Tuesday & still worth your time:

Conor Oberst, Conor Oberst
Oberst takes a break from his Bright Eyes incarnation with this, his first solo album. It’s not a huge departure from the Bright Eyes sound, but something is definitely different — I’ve listened to it once, and I can say that it’s more immediately gripping than anything from Cassadega. More investigation is necessary, of course, but Oberst is a crackerjack songwriter and lyricist, so you can’t go wrong here.

Lewis Black, Anticipation
Daily Show fans pay attention: Louis Black released his seventh comedy album this week. I haven’t heard it yet, but you’re guaranteed some good laughs from Lou, whose twitches and mannerisms come through beautifully on disc.

I was having a hard time picking a theme for this month’s lists while poring over the suggestions readers sent us back in April. “Man,” I thought, “I wish I could come up with ideas as good as those. I appreciate everyone’s help, but I want the inspiration to come from me, dammit. I’d have come up with a good one by now for sure, but I’ve just been too lazy to send my ideas around to the other Uncles.”

Then I stopped and checked off a few items on my mental checklist: envy, pride, sloth… I’m almost halfway towards Gwyneth Paltrow’s head in a box. How about the seven deadly sins, then?

So here’s how this month will work: each of us four Uncles is putting together a playlist dedicated to a single sin, and, to flesh out all seven, we’re each contributing a single song to lists for the other three sins. Coolness, no? Have fun being a glutton for music @ SS this month!

• UNKLE Matt’s “Wrath of My Mattness”
• The Man(del) from UNCLE’s “Greed is Good”
• Uncle Sam’s “Sloth love Chunk”
• Onkel Rudi’s “Lust Me Do”
• “Our cup runneth over…”
• “Green with, well, you know…”
• “…In the Name of Love? Not quite.”

I always thought that The Beatles would have had more of an edge if they’d written about lust, rather than love. Think of the title possibilities:

• “Lust Me Do”
• “She Lusts After You”
• “All You Need Is Lust”

Lust is a tough nut to crack in my music collection, mainly because I never really got into the stuff where a lot of lust plays out: misogynist metal and rap. But that made the challenge even more complex, so I dove in head-first and here’s what I came up with.

1. “Let’s Regret This In Advance” - Susan Werner
   An opening fit for lust: preparing for the eventual regret of a lustful relationship that leads to a hasty (or perhaps not-so-hasty) marriage. Why not cut to the chase and regret the whole thing up front? Couldn’t hurt any more, right?
2. “I Need You” - The Beatles
   Sure, this doesn’t seem to be a lustful song from the outset. I mean, it’s the squeaky clean Beatles, and even more so, it’s George Harrison, the quiet one! But this song does talk about an intense need for his girl. He needs her so very, very much, that it borders on a sociopath’s road to Bad Things™.
3. “Sexbomb” - Tom Jones with Mousse T
   I’ll cut this short: Tom Jones is Welsh for “lust.” I mean, he’s got the ladies throwing their pants on stage - still - and he is no spring chicken.
4. “Sex Farm” - Spinal Tap
   I can’t think of many Tap songs that aren’t related to lust of some kind - and this is the most blunt of ‘em all. I saw the movie (at least the first hour of it) on the return flight from California the other day and this song made its way into the list.
5. “Young Lust” - Pink Floyd
   Matt was right: Roger Waters is a lustful man. And while there are plenty of other songs that could fit the bill (including “Sexual Revolution” on The Pros & Cons of Hitchhiking), this one is nice and dirty - and aided by David Gilmour’s raw vocal and dirty guitar.
6. “Let’s Spend The Night Together” - The Rolling Stones
   This song oozes lust - as do many songs from The Glimmer Twins - but it was made even more lustful when they performed it on The Ed Sullivan Show and were forced to change the lyric to “let’s spend some time together.” The suggestive rolling of Mick’s eyes, or the licking of his lips, or the cocksure strut - all of them simply spilled lust over the CBS airwaves.
7. “Randy Scouse Git” - The Monkees
   The title translates out (roughly) to “horny Liverpudlian asshole,” which earned this song the rather bland name of “Alternate Title” in the UK. But the song talks about a rather dominating man who, while he has a “wonderful lady,” also berates her. So this inches toward wrath, but it also shows a guy whose lust has gone perhaps a wee bit overboard. And all writing credit goes to Micky Dolenz - who also played all of the drum parts on this one, recorded during the Headquarters sessions.
8. “Johnny’s Camaro” - David Wilcox
   A long tale of a woman whose boyfriend, Johnny, “loves his Camaro / even more than life itself.” So the lust appears mostly at the beginning and end of the song, but it’s a great tale of the comeuppance that results from being a bit too lustful toward the wrong things.

Download: “Let’s Regret This In Advance” - Susan Werner (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “I Need You” - The Beatles (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Sexbomb” - Tom Jones with Mousse T (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Sex Farm” - Spinal Tap (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Young Lust” - Pink Floyd (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Let’s Spend The Night Together” - The Rolling Stones (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Randy Scouse Git” - The Monkees (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Johnny’s Camaro” - David Wilcox (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Pride. Here’s what goeth before the fall:

UNKLE Matt:
Muddy Waters, “Mannish Boy”
This is the version from “Electric Mud” - the song that launched a thousand brag-rap careers.

The Man(del) from UNCLE:
Elton John, “Ego”
One of the great forgotten gems from Elton John’s canon. This was released as a single in 1978 and it stalled on the lower end of the Top 40. Love Bernie Taupin’s lyrics in this song and it’s got a mad piano riff that I love to bang out on my piano. Ripe for a cover or for use in a movie… and I highly recommend going on YouTube to find the video. It’s one of Elton’s first videos and it’s quite a hoot…

Uncle Sam:
Electric Six, “I’m The Bomb”
I almost went with Prince’s “My Name Is Prince,” but I couldn’t resist the Six’ call to awesome self-delusion: “3-2-1, I’m the bomb/And I’m ready to go off in your shit.”

Onkel Rudi:
Joe Walsh, “Life’s Been Good”
The ultimate party boy of The James Gang and The Eagles talks of a life of excess (double points for gluttony, right?), but otherwise is proud of his achievements and blunders. Note that this song is, in many respects, autobiographical.

Download: Muddy Waters, “Mannish Boy” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Elton John, “Ego” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Electric Six, “I’m The Bomb” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Joe Walsh, “Life’s Been Good” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Gluttony. Here’s what’s filling us up:

UNKLE Matt:
Depeche Mode, “Just Can’t Get Enough (Schizo mix)”
Unfortunately, The Fat Boys’ “All You Can Eat” really just isn’t that good a song.

The Man(del) from UNCLE:
Mousercise, “Pig Out”
This cute, corny song was from the 1981 Mousercise album, part of a Walt Disney Records trilogy that also includes “Mickey Mouse Disco” and “Splashdance.” “Mousercise” was the Disney company’s attempt to cash in on the fitness club craze spearheaded by Richard Simmons and Olivia Newton John’s “Physical.” The album came with a booklet that had illustrated exercises that kids could do with the songs. I still find it ironic that an album about fitness had a song called “Pig Out.”

Uncle Sam:
David Bowie, “Cracked Actor”
Bowie’s Ziggy-era ode to Hollywood excess (both chemical and carnal) is about as elegantly filthy as he’d ever get. This live version — recorded in 2000, about 25 years after the original — shows that even an old dog can still overindulge with the best of them.

Onkel Rudi:
The Beatles, “Savoy Truffle”
George Harrison gets his lyrics from a box of chocolates, and sums up the body’s response to such a feast of cocoa goodness: massive indigestion.

Download: Depeche Mode, “Just Can’t Get Enough (Schizo mix)” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Mousercise, “Pig Out” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: David Bowie, “Cracked Actor” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Beatles, “Savoy Truffle” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Envy. Here’s what we’ve got to offer:

UNKLE Matt:
Jellyfish, “All I Want Is Everything”
I suppose The Jungle Book’s “I Wan’na Be Like You” fits this perfectly, but somebody had to go and use it on another playlist not too long ago…

The Man(del) from UNCLE:
Joe Jackson, “Is She Really Going Out With Him?”
This one’s a no-brainer for this sin. When I did my music-comedy act at the college coffeehouse, I’d do a parody of the song called “Is He Really Going Out With Him?” I know… no big surprise…

Uncle Sam:
The Black Crowes, “Jealous Again”
May be a bit obvious, but it’s a fantastic, often overlooked song from their debut album. Great live, too.

Download: Jellyfish, “All I Want Is Everything” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Joe Jackson, “Is She Really Going Out With Him?” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Black Crowes, “Jealous Again” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Because I came up with the idea for this month’s lists I got first dibs, so I chose the sin most in line with my priorities: sloth. I am, of course, the man who, at 32, still tries to sleep until noon on weekends and has remote controls for just about everything in my apartment, so it was fitting. It also jogged my memory in a couple of cases, so it was also lots of fun — hope you dig!

1. David Byrne, “Lazy”
   I first became familiar with this song via a remix. Scratch that, a remix of a remix: Fatboy Slim’s version of Xpress 2’s clubbed-up version that was a minor chart hit in 2002. This month’s theme had me seeking out the original, and boy am I glad: Byrne’s original is a longer but more nimble mix of strings, electric rhythms, and his deliciously quirky voice. In fact, I’d recommend anyone who digs “Lazy” to check out the rest of Grown Backwards — methinks Byrne’s solo oeuvre deserves a closer look.
2. Otis Redding, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay”
   You know, there’s probably a generation of kids raised in the 80’s who only know this as the first single by famed no-talent ass clown Michael Bolton. So sad.
3. The Flying Burrito Brothers, “Lazy Days”
   Nicked from Hot Burrito, Gram Parsons’ last album with country-rock pioneers The Flying Burrito Brothers, this tune is a fantastic example of what Parsons was all about, blending country, rock, and folk into something special.
4. Sex Pistols, “Seventeen”
   It’s the most energetic song about doing nothing you’ll ever hear.
5. Todd Rundgren, “Bang The Drum All Day”
   As I was thinking about the theme, the chorus of this song popped right into my head. Thank Google for helping me figure out who exactly was behind it. This song is one of those great tunes everybody is familiar with, but I’ll bet 9/10 people can’t name who the artist is. So now you (and I) know.
6. The Kinks, “Sunny Afternoon”
   This was the hardest song to track down. Anyone know why the bulk of the Kinks’ 60’s catalog is (a) out of print, (b) unavailable digitally, and (c) import-only? They’re not getting the props they deserve for their contribution to the British Invasion.
7. “Weird Al” Yankovic, “Couch Potato”
   The pop-culture references that give Al’s TV-centric take on Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” its zing are a bit dated, but it still never fails to give me a smile, partially because Eminem wasn’t a fan.

Download: David Byrne, “Lazy” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Otis Redding, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Flying Burrito Brothers, “Lazy Days” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Sex Pistols, “Seventeen” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Todd Rundgren, “Bang The Drum All Day” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Kinks, “Sunny Afternoon” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Weird Al” Yankovic, “Couch Potato” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)