Consider this week the proverbial calm before next week’s storm of good new music.  There are still a couple of compelling releases, however, with the new one from Angus & Julia Stone, the new EP from Annuals, and the US release of Slow Club’s Yeah So.

As always, we have a couple of tracks after the list to whet your proverbial whistle.  Let us know what you’re getting, and have yourselves an excellent week.

Angus & Julia Stone – Down the Way
Annuals – Sweet Sister [EP]
Barenaked Ladies – All In Good Time
Delerium – Remixed: The Definitive Collection
Dum Dum Girls – I Will Be
E-40 – Revenue Retrievin: Day Shift
E-40 – Revenue Retrievin: Night Shift
Erykah Badu – New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh
Lady GaGa – Telephone: The Remixes [EP]
Paper Tongues – Paper Tongues
Slow Club – Yeah So
Usher – Raymond v. Raymond
The White Stripes – Under Great White Northern Lights [Limited Edition Box Set]

Slow Club – Christmas TV (mp3) from Christmas, Thanks for Nothing

Annuals – Springtime (mp3) from Such Fun

Two points of order this morning.  First, here is the link to Dave’s post on Beirut over at Breakthru Radio:

Breakthru Radio Post: Thursday

And second, we’re on their Anatomy of a Blogger show today.  It’s up now; give it a listen through their site, but be forewarned:  we sound like assholes.  I thought that they would have edited out the part where I said what question we were answering, but I guess not.  What can you do?  It’s still pretty cool I guess.

I tried to find a direct link, but can’t figure it.  So, if you go to their site, click on “Program Guide” on the right hand side of the page, and then click “Anatomy of a Blogger” under Thursday, and our show will load right up for your cringe-worthy enjoyment.

We had them use a few of the songs we’ve posted, but we also have some tracks we haven’t talked about here.  You can get the playlist on the site as well, but we’ll get it ready for you at some point.  And finally – when you say the name of the blog, it’s “pan” as in the frying type, not “pon” as in de river – at least that’s how we say it.  Anyway, back to today’s post:

About two-thirds of the way through the season finale of Chuck this past Monday, my girlfriend turned to me and asked: “Why is it that we like this show?” Perhaps it was the wedding-planning CIA agents that finally got to her; I couldn’t give her an actual answer.

When I think about it, however, my answer should have been, and is simply this: the show is entertaining. It has a plot that is completely implausible which doesn’t require me to think, a hot heroine who we see on occasion in her underwear, characters who are both interesting and flawed, and the show can be charming and hilarious in the same episode. That’s why we like this show. (Plus, Zachary Levi seems like he’s cool as hell, unlike that whiny other Zach I watch on Scrubs.)

The fact that Chuck uses great music to augment its best scenes makes it that much better. Here’s some of the music that was used in the finale.  Slow Club is in the same vein at The Moldy Peaches/Kimya Dawson, and this particular track is excellent.  I’d heard the Blind Pilot track, but Gramercy Arms was new to me.  It’s excellent as well.  And even if you don’t watch the show, you’ll enjoy these.

Gramercy Arms – Looking at the Sun (mp3) from Gramercy Arms

Blind Pilot – 3 Rounds and a Sound (mp3) from 3 Rounds and a Sound

Slow Club – Christmas TV (mp3) from Christmas TV [single]

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