High Five! from Lawrence & Leigh

Straight from Brooklyn, this week's High Five! is brought to you by Lawrence & Leigh:

1. Enter the Void

Enter the Void is an AWESOME movie! Unfortunately, I can't tell you anything about it, because you'll just have to experience it for yourself. The film is visually stunning, very intense, long, and it says something about our time on earth. Tokyo, psychedelics, and the Tibetan Book of the End are major inspirations for this movie, to give you a hint.

2 Ken Nordine's Colors

This is a 1967 jazzy, spoken word album about colors. Each poem is about a minute or two long and it intricately describes one of Nordine's 34 favorite colors, from orange to ecru. Ken Nordine is the master of spoken word—and a hit at any party.

3. Adult Onesie

Who wouldn't want to wear a cozy, fleece/flannel body suit that has rubber dots on the bottom of the feet around this time of year?! The onesie is waaaay more functional than the Snuggie and it is so warm and comfy, it gives a whole new meaning to the words "leisure suit." Toddlers know what's up!

4. San Francisco Burrito

New York might be the "world's capital," but that city doesn't know shit about burritos. We flew back to our native land of California just for the mexican food (oh yeah...and to be with family for the holiday...). Since we arrived, we've literally eaten burritos every other day, in order to reach our maximum burrito potential. Listen, a person's got to do what a person's got to do! What is the best way to eat a deliciously made S.F. burrito, you ask? Curled up in a onesie.

5. Huruki Murakami

What happens when you take an ordinary, thirty-something-year-old Japanese man and place him in extraordinary, fantastical circumstances? The clear fascination of the wildly imaginative author, Huruki Murakami. Murakami uses a basic template in various ways, in various novels, blending the line of reality and fantasy, human and otherworldly, and singular consciousness and universal interconnectedness to such an extent that readers often lose sight of what is real. Our recommendations include: Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (a quick and consuming read) and The Wind-up Bird Chronicle (a beautiful novel that will have you savoring all 607 pages).

To celebrate the end of the nine to five, a Green Light Go staff member or artist will leave you with their short list of favorite things, better known as the High Five!

This week's High Five! is brought to you by: Lawrence & Leigh

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Favorite Friday with No Second Troy

No Second Troy's
Favorite Albums of the Week

With the May release of No Second Troy's album Colors, positive reviews keep rolling in. Skope Magazine read into the title of the album, writing, "‘Colors’ is a great title for the experience, as the encouraged mood seems to be of vibrance and faith. Campus Circle is into the vibe as well. They might be the first ones to refer to NST as "indie-electro pop." We're cool with that.

No Second Troy front man Jeff Wharen (clearly the one "sipping" water in the pic) checked in with us and sent us a list of five albums that he's been listening to a lot lately. "I'm loving all these albums for different reasons," he said. "If it makes me feel good, inspires songwriting or the lyrics stir up emotion I'm digging it. I'm always listening to The Beatles in some way. It's like keeping a picture of your grandparents up on the wall they keep me grounded and remind where we came from."

5. The National High Violet
4. The Avett Brothers I and Love and You
3. Passenger Wide Eyes Blind Love
2. Spoon Transference
1. The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band


No Second Troy Tour Dates

Saturday, Jun 5, Herndon Festival 2010

Downtown Herndon - 777 Lynn Street Herndon, VA
3:00 - 3:45pm at Depot Main Stage


Each Friday, hence the name Favorite Friday - one GLG band/artist will send us a list and comments about their "favorites" of the week. It could be a list of albums they are listening to in the van, books they are reading, guilty pleasure TV, and so on. We hope these various "favorites" will give you unique glimpse into the lives of our bands.
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The Shins, Rogue Wave Have Competition

The Naked Hearts and No Second Troy album reviews are still rolling in, making us glow with pride!

Medleyville had really seems to get what No Second Troy are creating with Colors; how their indie sensibilities can be related to radio-ready lush modern rock, but the album's hues are up for different interpretation by each listener.
"In his band's bio, No Second Troy keyboardist Mike Beach talks about trying to navigate the middle ground between today’s pop and indie music, and in doing so makes a reference to pre- and post-"Clocks"-era Coldplay. Beach's Washington, D.C.-based band really has a lot more in common with The Shins and Rogue Wave in terms of pop sensibilities, attention to detail and good indie instincts – in other words, having the nerve and the smarts to throw in just the right amount of twists and turns to keep things interesting and a little different. Colors (out now) has plenty of crafty gems, with "The Black and White Movie" and "This Is the End of Me" far and away the best of the album's 12 tracks."



It may be obscure, but website Aiding and Abetting are into the '90s swing of Naked Hearts' Mass Hysteria. Read on....

"Oh, goodness. It's been a while since I've heard some honest-to-God indie rock. The Naked Hearts are Amy Cooper and Noah Wheeler (Cooper handles the guitar, Wheeler the bass and drums; both sing). Grungy, bouncy, lo-fi, sparkly, you name it. The Naked Hearts do it all in a minor key, and they make it snarl. Pop songs for the truly disaffected, I suppose. These are brittle pieces of brilliance pasted to the ceiling of a disillusioned teenager. I think we've all been there. The Naked Hearts have moved on a bit, but not so much that they cannot tap that primal pit of pain."

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Coldplay, Snow Patrol, No Second Troy Stand Out with Colors

Our boys of No Second Troy are in the beginning stages of getting some great press for their new album Colors.

On Tap Magazine is on board. "A unique cross between indie and pop, this five-piece band’s latest CD, Colors, is a successful 13-track blend of melodic tunes and smooth, effortless sounds. Ironically titled “Grounded,” the second song was a personal favorite, with mature and instantly infectious lyrics like, “My feet don’t touch the ground, you feel like coming down.” The rest of the album follows suit combining their experienced sound into an authentic mix of five musicians at their best. You won’t be skipping songs on this album, since each and every one will be a favorite," writes Ashley Estill.

NST lead singer Jeff Wharen was interviewed for a Southern Gothic Productions podcast in which he talks about the new album and so much more. You can hear the entire podcast, which also includes some tracks from the album.



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Washington Post Kindred spirits: Kings of Leon, Coldplay

Upon the release of No Second Troy's new album Colors, celebrated reviews have been popping up everywhere, all in time before the band's CD release show, Saturday, May 1st at The Black Cat in Washington, DC. Yes! Finally the show is here!!! Woot!

Catherine Lewis of The Washington Post listened to Colors with feeling when she wrote, "The D.C.-based quintet effortlessly conveys the ennui of early adulthood without sounding mopey or solipsistic. These songs are, at their core, sweet pop-rock tunes; they're just infused with a sense of realism and truth." Lewis also noted, "The album standout is the thoughtful "Leap of Faith," in which lead singer Jeff Wharen's vulnerability sounds as if he's both pleading with someone specific and wondering whether that special someone will ever appear."

Delusions of Adequacy also posted an in-depth review of Colors, noting the album's audible sense of colors. "The album’s strategy can be simply detailed: everything, including the music, is made up of colors that attempting to deem something as right/wrong, bad/good, or even, black/white will never amount to anything because of all the grays involved. But upon further listening, one can easily notice that while topical in many forms, it’s a debate that has been raging for years. And through the album’s music, everything is brought forth by musicians that are all comfortable in their own skin, aware of their abilities as band mates. These assets provide an album that is not only aware of its challenging themes but at the same time, filled with an abundant amount of great music," wrote Bryan Sanchez. Click Here to Read More..

No Second Troy's "Colors" Streams in Full on AOLToday!

Want a sneak peak of No Second Troy's upcoming album? Get one on AOL, TODAY, before the April 27 release of the band's much-anticipated new album Colors. The site will be streaming the entire album as part of their Listening Party feature.

Produced by Chad Clark, T.J. Lipple and No Second Troy, Colors spills over with lush atmospheric pop songs driven by subtly infectious hooks. Trickles of keyboards highlight the earnest warm vocals and melodic, hip-swaying choruses while the guitars chime without overbearing. It makes you feel good all over. Colors, is an apt name for the album; it provides songs for every color of mood you may be in.

No Second Troy are the kind of indie band you want to hear on the radio. Their shimmering songs have potential to cross over just as so many former indie bands have. The kind of alternative indie rock that, if The O.C. was still on television, there's no doubt that No Second Troy would play at the Bait Shop. Click Here to Read More..