Almost seven years have passed since the release of Teedra Moses’ debut album, Complex Simplicity. One of the finest pop-R&B albums of the last 10 years, it dealt penthouse soul via the street, with some of the slickest, most sophisticated productions — featuring collaborations with pre-fame Ne-Yo on several vocal arrangements — as a backdrop for raw lines like “And listen daddy I’m too cute to fight/You better get that bitch told tonight” and “When I spit my ‘g’ at you, I bet you won’t know how to act.” Even when factoring Top 20 placement on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and a couple minor hits, including “Be Your Girl,” spun by DJ Quik at the Bat Mitzvah of Ari Gold’s daughter in a 2005 episode of Entourage, the album did not get the amount of promotion or attention it deserved. Moses’ label, TVT, was more invested in Lil Jon, Ying Yang Twins, and Pitbull, and it went bankrupt in early 2008, as the singer and songwriter was poised to release her follow-up.

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Okay, who’s up for a Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes revival? Still with me? Who’s up for discovering a band that has all the drama, instrumentation, and gutterpunk charm of that group, plus the teetering on the edge vocal stylings of Dexys Midnight Runners‘ front man Kevin Rowland, and an unhealthy amount of girl group swagger (think a tattooed, supertough version of the Shangri-Las)? Plus, songs that will kick you in the gut over and over with their hooks and ramshackle energy. Jail Weddings are the band and if you’re like me, you totally slept on their excellent record from late last year called Love is Lawless. The video for “I Thought You Were Someone I Knew” is what hooked me; give it a glance and see if they reel you in, too.

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In today’s installment of “they do write songs like that anymore”, we have a rollicking, barroom brawl of a number from the happily greasy and long-haired trio from California known as Bare Wires. “Don’t Ever Change” is a slice of boogied-up T. Rexstasy taken from their upcoming as yet to be titled album and if the rest is anything like this (or the song you can preview over at NPR), it’s going to be a welcome blast of good old rock & roll done right.

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We’re battening down the hatches in preparation for the biggest snow attack since 1974, apparently, and the last thing I’m going to do before leaving the compound for higher ground is to post some videos to help keep the pipes from freezing. Summer sunshine, hot licks, car washes, Harriet Wheeler, and shoe-meltingly hot playgrounds just might keep things warm while we’re gone.

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Anyone who has ever been in a band can tell you it can be a bit of a nightmare. Between the drummer who always shows up for practice high on airplane glue, the bass player who wants to do his own songs, the keyboard player who has classical training and really can’t be bothered to play such a stupid part (even though it’s exactly what the song needs), the guitarist who keeps stealing girlfriends/boyfriends, or the singer who can’t help but act all singer-y all the time, it’s often about as much fun as a Skins marathon.

And, apart from This Is Spinal Tap and that Metallica movie (which should both be required viewing for all kids in school so they will never grow up and form a band), this decidedly non-glamorous side of life as a bandmate doesn’t get much play. Occasionally though, bands will make videos that either capture band life exactly, or, like in this batch of bloody, scrappy films, take it to ridiculous extremes. Consider this post a public-service announcement, a kind of worst-case scenario you might want to keep in mind before you start a group.

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Now that Best Coast are so huge and they’ve been on Fallon and everyone loves them, it seems like it’s about time to start tearing them down, right? Ah, let’s save it for awhile, at least until the next album. Which will probably be terrible*. Until then I want to share this super cute video for “Crazy for You” from the album of the same name. It’s directed by CATZ!!! How can you go wrong with that?

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