The quote that is tonight’s title is normally attributed to Elvis Costello (although it is typically followed by a parenthesized note giving possible credit to Frank Zappa). The lack of certainty on this point seems ironic in its own right. But when you’ve got your headphones on and you sit down with the sole purpose of writing about the music that injects itself into your ear, this phrase becomes the bitter pill that you must swallow before proceeding to fill the page with similes that liken music to a cherry blossom sky or a razor blade smile. It is true that writing will never succeed in capturing what you are experiencing. Even the best music writers, those who through their turns of phrase actually conjure up cadence and sweet imagined melodies never manage to play me the actual tunes before I have heard them for myself.

So it is a lost cause, but one that we will all continue to pursue in the name of rock n roll. Because sometimes, you get close — you find that one hammer of a phrase that seems to nail it indisputably. And suddenly, dancing about architecture makes perfect sense.

And with that, here are tonight’s offerings:

Annuals – Frelan Mas

“There’s a garden outside of my door..” is how this song begins, with birds chirping and children playing and when it kicks in you suddenly find yourself there with the band playing hopscotch and twirling around the barnyard in some lush lilthium-induced stupor. Beautiful music that you don’t want to end.

Annuals are currently on tour with Manchester Orchestra and will be arriving in Vancouver on November 11th at the Plaza. Other listings can be found here.

Manchester Orchestra – Brother

Annuals – Where Have You Been

As well as touring together, the two bands have released a Split 7″ EP on which each band performs cover versions of the other’s songs. Brother and Where Have You Been, posted above, are samples of what has come out of this collaboration. Each band approaches the other’s material very differently with Manchester Orchestra sticking to a pop driven acoustic take while Annuals layer together a more electronic interpretation. AND, for those of you out there with mad mixing skills, Purevolume.com is hosting the official MANNUALS MASHUP CONTEST and awarding an Epiphone guitar, merch and music to the best mashup of the two bands’ tunes.

Drones – Shark Fin Blues

There is something timeless in the sound that the Drones have going on here. With a voice that seems to barely hang on throughout the song — hell the entire band threatens to tear apart at the seams — the Melbourne group always manages to keep it together creating music that is immediate and raw; qualities that are rarely heard in these more polished and sterile times.

Life has been somewhat chaotic as of late with the wife in Uganda and myself hitting the ground running at a new job. Meanwhile, the mp3′s have been piling up in my inBox like a February snowdrift. So it is time to do a little cleaning house. Which is easy when the music is as it is: all over the spectrum and all bloody good. Perfect for a Friday post.

Robber’s On High Street: Crown Victoria

These guys immediately reminded me of Spoon, which is never a bad thing. Just good rock really, with a perfect combination of retro 60s and 70s AM radio and a cool fresh feel. This track is off of their second album Grand Animals on which the band worked with Italian film composer Daniele Luppi, (Danger Mouse, John Legend) and the album was mixed by Jeff Lipton (Beach Boys).

The Forms: Knowledge in Hand

There has got to be something in the Brooklyn water that is producing such great sounds from bands like The Forms. Their self titled 2nd album is currently only available on pre-order from iTunes so in the meantime, enjoy this lead off track and if you dig what you hear, check out Stereogum’s brilliant tribute album to R.E.M’s Automatic for the People for which The Forms contributed Ignoreland.

Innerpartysystem: Don’t Stop

I will admit that the vocals on this tune didn’t immediately do much for me. But the backing track is killer and every listen is bringing me a little closer to jumping up and disco moshing with the living room furniture.

The album, The Download EP is available on iTunes but even better, check out their website.

Nicole Atkins: Party’s Over

Love the groove on this track. Makes me want to just drop everything and drive headlong into the mountains. A little Stevie Nicks perhaps? A little Roxy Music? There is definitely something in the guitar sound that is taking me back a bit but I can’t quite place it. Either way, I look forward to hearing more from her.

Puscifer: Queen B

Probably the strangest of today’s offerings, this track by Puscifer is off of the album “V is for Vagina” which apparently is cumming soon … I probably don’t need to say much more about that. Puscifer is a side project of Maynard James Keenan of the band Tool. Keenan describes it as “a playground for the various voices in my head,” “a space with no clear or discernible goals,” and “where my Id, Ego, and Anima all come together to exchange cookie recipes.” Check out their youTube page for a better, if not a little disturbing, sense of what this is all about.