5 songs to get you through the financial crisis.

Download 5 free mp3's that'll come in handy
when the global economy crumbles for realz.

WTWCIHWTGEC4Rz=Why this will come in handy when the global economy
crumbles for realz.


Car-sick Cars- Mexico (live @ D22 in Beijing)
RIYL: Joy Division, the Clean, Sonic Youth

I'm not the least bit fond of Joy Division, but Car-Sick Cars make me think I might be more forgiving if Ian Curtis were Chinese. Yeah, CSC cover the same post-punk territory, but they omit Joy Division's icy delivery and synths, replacing them with healthy doses of feedback and yelping. Something tells me these kids are quite rich because lead Car Shouwang sings in a pretty convincing British accent and has good control of the language. Must've gone to an international school or done a study abroad...

WTWCIHWTGEC4Rz

Aside from being a burgeoning player in the global economy, China might be one of the only places where punk is still rebellious. It's evident when you listen to Car-Sick Cars.

Richard Swift- The Bully
RIYL: Smokey Robinson, Jens Lekman, the Spencer Davis Group

Turns out the keyboardist from Starflyer 59 spends his downtime making silky-smooth soul. It's highly stylized but gets it just right. The man is obviously sincere in his tribute to the Motown sound, but not above a dash of humor, as The Bully reveals. Swift takes on the persona of a meathead velvety voice. A simple doo-wop groove plods along, then comes Swift talking like Fonzie on bad speed, getting all agro about his car until the chorus kicks in and he slips into a perfect falsetto.

WTWCIHWTGEC4Rz

Can we trust this this guy, the Bully? Probably not. Is this the kind of guy that we will depend on in the new free market? Almost Certainly.

Mock Orange- World of Machines
RIYL: The Anniverary, ELO, Modest Mouse

Mock Orange were card-carrying emo-kids, weren't they? Weren't they? EN-D had kept his distance for a long time and now he's second-guessing his tastes, because their new album is full of irresistibly sugary hooks topped off with keyboards and handclaps. Somehow Captain Love has overcome 1. lead Orange-r Ryan Grisham's nasally voice, 2. their alleged emo past, and 3. album art (made by someone's hippy mom?) so goofy it virtually repels potential listeners, to win over EN-D.

WTWCIHWTGEC4Rz

When the global economy really crumbles and the middle-class evaporates, people like EN-D will abandon the thought of raising children. As a result, they will pine for catchy pop songs to deaden the mounting dread. Hence the need for bands like Mock Orange.

Bound Stems- Sugar City Magic
RIYL: Deathcab for Cutie, Sunny Day Real Estate, Arcade Fire

EN-D selects another band that could be pidgeonholed as emo. Maybe the fall air is making him melancholy and nostalgic for his home soil, because Chicago's Bound Stems were brought to him by Phil, and old friend from high school. Not that Bound Stems wouldn't fit in spring or summer. They play dense, lush pop with ethereal keyboards, chiming guitars, and girl/boy harmonies, a sound fit for any weather.

WTWCIHWTGEC4Rz

The new global economy will be marked by continued global warming. Autumnal bands like Bound Stems will help us remember what autumn was like.

Zomes- All Together
RIYL: Can, Brian Eno, Pumice

EN-D is well-aware indie-pop can become tedious if it's played in excess; that's why he decided to throw in Zomes, an mysterious instrumental project that could easily appear in an art-school thriller. Grainy keyboards are the sole melody, climbing the scales and creeping from one headphone to another. Minimal drumbeats seem like they might go on long after the song ends. It's existentialism with an ear for pop melodies.

WTWCIHWTGEC4Rz

Listening to Zomes might enhance the following activities: accepting entropy, repenting for your inane, capitalist self-indulgence, welcoming your inevitable failure as an idividual in the global economy. Zomes indeed.