Some people I know say that they’ve stopped listening to new music and just replay their CD collections over and over; I’m the opposite. I voraciously seek out new music.  I listen to Internet radio to find new artists, and I even sometimes TIVO video blocks to find a mainstream song that I might have otherwise missed (that Maroon 5 video in the airport is catchy, damn, you, and if you don’t agree with me I’ll totally shiv you).

The problem is, I feel as though I’m becoming a less sophisticated listener than I used to be. If I found another album like Peter Gabriel’s Security--which I initially didn’t like--would I keep listening to it until it started to unpeel its layers and reveal its art to me?  I did that as a teenager but I don’t know if I have the patience now.  I’m like a drug abuser, years and years into his addiction.  I’m looking for the quick hit. I’m looking for the easy buzz.  I want a song to slice through me and enflame those nerve endings which, after decades of heavy music use, have become more jaded and deadened than I like to admit.

But it’s always worth it when the hit comes off just right.  For one week only (because that’s when the links will expire), here’s three songs* that have recently given me that energy rush. They’re not especially deep or sophisticated; they’re like blunt hammers. But they make my senses speed up a little when I hear them.

Tim Armstrong - Into Action

The Sippy Cups - Drinking from the Sky

Hot Chip - My Piano

*And hopefully they’re obscure enough that the artists won’t sue because I’m, like, giving them exposure or something.  Right guys? Right.