Well, it’s the eve of a rather big week of work for me, so why not kick it off with some more Parov Stelar? It is a highly suitable party tune, so you have my permission to go nuts while I’m over in the corner, working my butt off!

Boy, have I been quite the slacker lately (and a poor friend, I might add). Alas, work life has derailed everything at the moment, so apologies folks!

Anyhoo, here is a band that one of my bestest buds is a part of. I missed their live gig recently, so I am making up for it with a post. And what delightful music it is! It features a catchy little, flamenco-y riff coupled with some lovely tones in the vocal department. There is an air of joyful simplicity about it, perfect for winding up an horrendously busy working week with a pal or someone special.

Too busy to look at either/or this week? Can’t be bothered scrolling down? Well, here’s the week’s worth of posts in one handy list!

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Pangea
The Wave Pictures – Strange Fruit for David
Bonobo – Stay the Same
Radio Free Universe – Sentences
The Go! Team – Get It Together
Stereophonics – Help Me (She’s Out of Her Mind)
Nana Kitade – Kesenai Tsumi

J-pop has such a distinctive sound, it could almost have its own category here on either/or. We probably don’t post enough of it to warrant that, but still! This tune comes from a manga/anime series called Full Metal Alchemist, of which I have seen and know approximately nothing about. I guess I do know it has some kind of theme song (which is this song), so maybe it’s not all bad? Man, I am terrible at making suggestions!

Stereophonics have great songs beyond Dakota, which is great: as good as that song is, having a group defined by one song is never something to aspire to.

There is a bit of an Oasis streak in this song, only it doesn’t carry the same kind of wankery connotations that have dogged them (the Gallaghers are truly appropriate recipients of the slow clap, but I digress). It’s also a little less daggy: this is crunchy and wonderfully satisfying, and should you find yourself in a situation containing an out of control lady, you will have the perfect tune to call for assistance with!

Sometimes when life bites you in the kiester with lemons, you just need a bit of a pick-me-up lemonade tune. Granted, it probably won’t do squat to help, but at least it’ll be fun for a few minutes! This is one of those tunes: it is joyously happy and would fit perfectly into a certain sack-themed puzzle platforming video game-oh, you mean it was in one? Called LittleBigPlanet, you say? Fancy that! Well, back to dreary mundane reality for me now… boo!

All this talk of that X-Factor show is making me rather ill, so here is some alternative rock! It has a sound reminiscent of Queens of the Stone Age mixed with a little bit of The White Stripes mixed in with a little blues/country because why not. It is just some pure, unadulterated rock, and a total blast as a result! In fact, I’d suggest you check out the entire album because it is just a big ‘ol pile of fun.

I usually save this kind of music for Friday/Sunday nights, but screw that rule. Since when do we have rules here anyway? Since NEVER. Bonobo, the musician, unlike the ape, has been pumping out this kind of sexy music for a good while now. This tune is no exception, aside from the fact that it blends it with the alluring vocals of Ms. Andreya Triana. It is a sexiness overload!

I could have sworn I’ve posted The Wave Pictures before, but the search function tells me that this is not true! This should probably not be too surprising for me, but oh well. They are a British lo-fi rock band that I have yet to get sick of, which is generally a feat in itself. This song in particular has a chorus that talks about the various physical qualities of marmalade, or something. As I love marmalade, this is quite the bonus! But it’s a great song by a great band and I’m sure they will be on here later as well!

I am surprised that we haven’t covered Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, and also pleased because I get to cover them. They have a name as ridiculous as our blog posts, so we are totally kindred spirits. Also, they write some fine music.

Pangea is all about heartbreak and separation, but it’s also really sweet and full of delightful puns. In case you’re looking at the title and wondering about it, Pangea was the name of the conglomerate of land that existed 300 million years ago. It split up over the years to form the land and countries we know today, so it’s a cute breakup analogy!