How Can You Mend A Broken Heart

Rostam Batmanglij “Campus” – I’m not an expert, but it would seem that this string-centric version of “Campus” credited to Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij predates the arrangement that appears on that group’s celebrated debut album. This is troubling, at least in that I believe that the band severely diminished the charm of the song by downplaying its lovely, graceful melodies by performing it in their typical Afropop-goes-mall-punk style. (Let’s be really really really really real about this: Vampire Weekend are basically the Ivy League’s answer to Sublime.) Anyway, this recording is delightful, and stands as a perfect argument against band democracy. Yes, the lyrics about avoiding a girl on a school campus makes me feel very old, but the breezy sweep of the strings undercuts the minor angst of the words with the understanding that the singer’s concerns are not much of a problem. (Click here for Rostam’s MySpace page, and here to buy the Vampire Weekend version from Beggars Group.)

Diet Cola “Wicked Witch of the Northeast” – Diet Cola’s debut 7″ is a blur of overdriven keyboards, heavily reverbed vocals, high velocity beats, and urgent hooks. It’s the best sort of art-punk: effortlessly catchy and accessible despite deliberate attempts to make the music as abrasive, confusing, and abstracted as possible. “Wicked Witch of the Northeast” can barely contain itself — imagine it as a car that careens at top speed into a wall, and somehow is able to keep moving even faster until it flies off of cliff and explodes in mid-air. (Click here to buy it from Diet Cola.)