Maximum Balloon Provides Maximum Awesomeness

Dave Sitek is a guitarist and producer originally from New York, now based in Beverly Hills. He's probably best known as a member of TV On The Radio. but in my opinion, his first solo album under the name Maximum Balloon is his best work so far. To me, it's much more accessible and fun than TVOTR, but you know, that's just me.

Each song is a collaboration with similarly minded artists such as Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, David Byrne, and two other members of TVOTR, Kyp Malone and Tunde Adebimpe. Pretty much almost all of the collaborators seem to have some connection to Sitek's previous work producing or playing.

My favorites are Apartment Wrestling with David Byrne, Groove Me featuring Theophilus London, and Tiger featuring Aku Orraca-Tetteh, but the whole album is pretty solid. My favorite part of the Groove Me video is the fact that London is wearing a Smith College hat the entire time. I wonder if he went there?

Gram Rabbit - Party in the Desert

Gram Rabbit - They rock. They dance. They glam. They electro. They clash. They country. They sexy. They have a thing for bunnies and cults. They from Joshua Tree in the deserts of California, and there's something weird and beautiful about them. Their sound is luscious and somehow manages to be fun and sinister at the same time.

I would say they remind me most of Madonna, Lady Gaga, and the Ting-Tings, but way more strange than any of those. In that sense, they're more like Electric Six. Their latest album, Miracles and Metaphors, continues their awesomeness. Here's my favorite track on that album, Candy Flip, and below are some other great tracks from their catalog.



The Rest of Us Sleep and In My Book off of RadioAngel & the RobotBeat


Bloody Bunnies off of Cultivation


Cowboy-Up off of Music to Start a Cult To


Her Secret Power off of The Desert Sound EP - Listen to it here.

Foxy Shazam-wow!

Sometimes you just have to give a band props for sheer awesomeness. The name of this band (Foxy Shazam for fuck's sake!!) their glam-rock over the top arena anthems, and that Semi-Pro, 70s blaxploitation inspired album cover combine to make Foxy Shazam the awesomest band from Cincinnati right now. I would call them a cross between Queen, Faith No More, and Like a Prayer-era Madonna. Connect, Count Me Out, and Unstoppable are my favorites. I promise that you will hit the Like button.