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The Broken WestYep, I'm talking about "Greek" again. Better yet, I'm talking about The Broken West. Odds are, you haven't heard of The Broken West. And I mean this in no offense to you, reader - I know you're very informed and up-to-date on what Pitchfork and the various other in-the-know publications have to say. But sometimes, Pitchfork gets their stuff wrong because they gave The Broken West's album Now or Heaven a 5.6 and I trust my judgment more than theirs.
The Broken West is like this perfect blend of Rogue Wave and Spoon, a severely underrated 90s band and a picaresque summer day. Ross Flournoy provides guitar and vocals for the group and let me be the first to say that there's nothing more that I appreciate than a man with a crystal clear, not-too-soft-but-not-too-hard and honest voice.
A lot of their songs have been featured on "Greek" (someone there knows what's good) and their song "Down in the Valley" was featured a while back on Grey's Anatomy. They've toured with The National (I don't get their appeal) and The Walkmen (meh). Odds are, The Broken West will find its way to your ears one way or another, whether you make the wise decision to seek them out or in one year, you're watching a movie and think "Hey! This tune is pretty snazzy. What do you call this band?" What do I call this band? The Broken West and they kick ass!
Jack Peñate"Chuck" is not only a great show because of the writing, cinematography and actors, but also because of its magnificent song choices. Last week's episode featured "40 Day Dream" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, but they've been discussed already so you'll have to do some archiving to read my thoughts.Last night's episod
e? Jack Peñate! His song "Let's All Die" - which I assure you is actually an upbeat song and not a song about weird cult suicide - opened the show and most likely caught people's attention. He has a voice that you might mistake as someone else's at first but is distinctly his own. He's from London, and it's easy to tell from listening to any of his songs. You know, instead of singing "let's ahl die" he sings "let's oohl die." Charming, yes?
If you're sick of all the shoe-gazey, spacey, experimental stuff like Phoenix and Grizzly Bear, look into Jack. It's indie music you can skank to! And get this: his new album, Everything Is New, is streaming for free on his MySpace so I can't think of a single reason why you wouldn't click that link and have a listen.
I know I rarely branch out from discussing shows on ABC, The CW, NBC and Fox, but hold on tight because I'm about to go somewhere you might not expect (unless you know me and my infatuation with television). "Greek" is on ABC Family and is honestly a good show. Yeah, it's about frats and sororities (which you would never catch me at, no matter what) but the writing is smart, the characters are relatable, and... everyone on the show is attractive. Even Clark Duke who I may or may not have a geek crush on.
But let's get down to it. Monday marked the anticipated return of the college-based show and return it did, with clever one-liners and CineMUSic worthy tunes. 
In the opening scene, my ears perked up as I recognized the sweet sound of The Submarines. The L.A. duo, which is made up of John Dragonetti and Blake Hazard (yes, those are their real names. Bitchin', right?), sing sweet little songs that make you wish they were providing the soundtrack for your life. If they were, you would be starring in a not-too-indie-but-still-quirky flick full of stolen glances, chaste kisses, and endearing speeches.
"The Wake Up Song," which also appeared in the show Gossip Girl, is a nice representation of the band's tendency to mix classic instruments and digital audio effects (note, the auto-tune). You may find yourself listening to this track thinking "These voices sound kind of familiar..." and you know what? They should!
Exhibit one: The iPhone 3G commercial that everyone in America saw every moment of every day. "You, Me, and the Bourgeoisie" is the song used for said commercial, and it's actually an infectious little track. Another one of their songs "Submarine Symphonika" was used in other iPhone commercials as well.
Exhibit two: The characters of Nip/Tuck lip-synced the song "Brighter Discontent" in the season four finale. I can't vouch for why the hell they did this as I was told the show has really gone down hill and thus, am afraid to get involved.
Exhibit three: An instrumental version of their song "Modern Inventions" (my favorite Submarines song, FYI) was used during the credits of the HBO documentary 'A Pixar Story.'
And there you have it. A rundown of pretty much all you could ever need or want to know about The Submarines. You're officially prepared to experience their music.
