The Songs We Can't Escape

THE KILLERS
"Spaceman"

Alecia, to me, while watching the now-less-hirsute Killers run through this number on Saturday Night Live: "I wish I knew what these songs were about." Me: "Yeah, totally." Whatever they're on about—some sci-fi/Icarus first-person BS?—it's likable enough even though the pace's a bit lacking and there aren't enough random '80s BubbleYum "oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohhhh's." Question for those who've caught 'em live before: Is Brandon always so blasted jittery onstage? That was really unnerving.

courtesy of the artists

The Killers

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More About

• MOUNT EERIE withJULIE DOIRON
• Saturday Night Live
• Fred Squire
• Phil Elverum
• Steve Malkmus

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50 CENT
"Get Up"

"You got a Bently coupe booty, baby/I wanna drive" = He's a smooth ladies' man at heart! "I have the savoir faire/I'm the reason everybody here" = An excuse, finally, to include Fitty and Steve Malkmus in the same sentence. Ludicrous, baseless metaphors abound, but at least he chose a high-caliber Swizz beat this time and didn't blow his wad on another bloody "Candy Shop" clone. Promising.

MOUNT EERIE withJULIE DOIRON & FRED SQUIRE
"If We Knew"

Collaboration, it seems, brings out the best in Phil Elverum, because Lost Wisdom might be his most nuanced work yet. And Doiron's breathy, quavering breeze of a voice fits its pared-down surroundings like a velvet glove.

PEACHCAKE
"Did I just do that, or was it Jim Carrey?"

No two ways about it: This is more or less imitation I Am the World Trade Center synth-flourescence with the on-point vengeful chick switched out for some jibber-jabbering dude, but since IATWTC's been AWOL for so long, no harm done. We're on board; we wanna chair dance in our cubicles.

WALLPAPER
"Solar Panel Sleeve"

Gross garage-y affectation: It's what's for dinner, forever and ever. How many times, I wonder, can "Louie Louie" be rewritten before even the act of thinking about swiping that riff becomes fatally meaningless?