[This weekly feature is a snapshot of what the Stranger Dance staff can't get out of our collective head each week. On any given week, we might be digging a new local act, an old jazz chestnut, the newest Japanese electro-folk or whatever else we've got on the turntable/iPod that week.]

This week’s picks are a little more aggressive than you’ll normally find around here. Of course, aggressive is a pretty relative term - you won’t find any Brazilian death metal - but we’ve got some post-hardcore, gangsta rap, the angriest song Spoon ever recorded. Judging by his pick (a new cut by Kid Cudi), it looks like Vague Panther was the only well-adjusted staff member this week.

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The Stranger: Spoon - “Towner”

There are a lot of bands I love that I only want to hear when I’m in a certain mood - one thing I love about Spoon is that they cover a lot of territory. I’ve been pretty grumpy this week, and this track from their first full-length release (1996’s Telephono) was just what the doctor ordered.

Far from the sophisticated minimalist pop of their later records, “Towner” is a wonderfully spastic and cluttered mess. Their Pixies influence is also on full display with spiky guitars, distorted shouted vocals and wide dynamic swings.

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Scooter: Ice Cube - “Check Yo Self [Remix]“

I thought I’d honor the fact that Cube is coming to the Fillmore in August with one of his classics as my pick this week. Given his new occupation as family-friendly actor, I don’t think lines like, “this ain’t no fuckin’ motion pitcha” hold the same weight as they did 15 years ago, but we’ll have to see. “Check Yo Self” is still the shit though and a central part of his early ’90s trilogy (Amerikkka’s Most Wanted, Death Certificate, The Predator).

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Uncle Corey: At the Drive-In - “Relationship of Command”

Again, I’m going back a few years for this feature. I think everyone knows the story of At The Drive-In: small band turns into buzz band, turns into exploding band, turns into The Mars Volta … and some other crappy band. I love “Relationship of Command” and especially love the opening track. This is a go-to whenever I want loud, non-punk music.

I’m a sucker for a great scream and Cedric Bixler-Zavala has one of the best – which, consequently, he completely abandoned in The Mars Volta. This song is raw power and vocals, and it makes me want to punch a fucking wall. That’s a good thing.

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Vague Panther: Kid Cudi – “Is There Any Love” [f. Wale]

I feel like there has been tons of buzz for Kid Cudi recently, but all I could find was his Day ‘n’ Nite EP on iTunes. Which is just ok in my book. But leave it to my new favorite music publication, Fader, to pick up the slack and post a sick MP3 featuring Wale that might just change my mind about his upcoming release. Keep it vague.

The good folks at the Spoon Consortium just announced that Spoon is scheduled to play three nights at the Fillmore this September (22-24).

While I shouldn’t need to explain how big of a Spoon fan I am, I’m currently wondering how ridiculous it is to see the same band three consecutive nights. Is that too much? I realize it’s a little much, but I’ve tried unsuccessfully to catch Spoon the last three times they played solo shows in San Francisco (I did manage to catch them at last year’s Treasure Island Festival), so I don’t want to miss out again.

How many nights in a row could you see your favorite band?

Spoon - “The Underdog”

MP3s:

Due to the fact that the VP is in advertising, he admittedly pays attention to a lot of TV ads. So from now on the VP will keep track of the increased number of bands that are using ads to get their music to a wider audience. Today, I give you Spoon and Acura:

Stranger, how ya feeling?

Spoon, one of my favorite current bands, (and the inspiration for the name of this blog), just released “You Got Yr Cherry Bomb” as the second single from their most recent effort, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (my #2 album of 2007). They’ve even set up a new website to host the new video that comes with it.

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2007 started off fairly slowly, but ended up as a very strong year for indie music. I’m not sure if it’s a good or bad thing, but a lot of my favorite releases came from an extended indie family (I’m fairly sure that Leslie Feist has dated, toured with or lived with almost every one), and more surprisingly, not a single hip-hop or electronic artist made my list this year.

With the advent of iTunes, I feel like music has returned to a singles-based model, but was pleasantly surprised to find more true albums (not collections of random songs) come out in ‘07.

Without further ado, here are my picks for the best of 2007:

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