In a nostalgic moment last week, I purchased Flashpapr’s self-titled CD from Polyvinyl (they’re not actually on Polyvinyl, but you can order it there). Flashpapr is/was (don’t think they’ve made music together in awhile, unfortunately) a really great band from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Some of the musicians were living in New York at the time, but they all have roots in Ann Arbor. They are also a group of really nice people. The singer, Fred Thomas, has been involved in a bunch of other good bands/projects, including the current Saturday Looks Good To Me (who are actually on Polyvinyl) and has released solo stuff too.

I know I had this CD at some point, but it has been lost in the shuffle of numerous moves (or stolen along with most of my other CDs from the break-in of Laura’s jeep in Detroit). Anyway, I decided that I wanted the real thing once again. Here is a song, Free Rides on the Bus, from that CD:

Free Rides On The Bus

I am discovering a new phenomenon brought on by Rock Band. No, it’s not wrist fatigue and back aches, although I have fallen prone to both. I have found myself actually liking songs by The Killers and Weezer, two bands who I had what could best be described as an elitist attitude toward prior to this obsession with Rock Band. When You Were Young by The Killers? Killer song (pun intended). I find myself singing, “He doesn’t look a thing like Jesus, But he talks like a gentleman, Like you imagined when you were young” nearly every day.

I fear that I will soon be buying the new Flyleaf album and hiding it in my closet. Or maybe I will invest in the South Park created band Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld. I see dark things in my musical future.