JDW accused me of being into “folksy girl singers”, so today’s entry is Braces Tower’s Eleven Twelve, which contains neither folk nor girl singers. It does, however, contain a great groove blended with a healthy dose of childhood nostalgia, provided that “childhood” meant “the 70s”.

“Brunching?” I hear you ask. “You mean, like the sadly-defunct comedy Web site?”

Yes, exactly. Enjoy The Bjork Song.

During dada’s five-year hiatus, two-thirds of its number formed Butterfly Jones. The band was not unlike dada, although more experimental, playing around with effects and studio trickery.

The lead single from their album Napalm Springs, Anywhere But Now exemplifies the band’s sound, with heavy guitars, a catchy melody, and “da da da” backing vocals.

The Pixies, Debaser. Still sounds great, fifteen years later. And of all the songs ever written about Salvadore Dali movies, undoubtedly the best.

John Wesley Harding is an erudite singer-songwriter, somewhere between the Phil Ochs/Bob Dylan folk tradition and the Elvis Costello angry-young-man tradition.

He’s got a bunch of live mp3s on his Music page, including a great cover of Adam MacNaughton’s hilarious Hamlet, as popularized by Martin Carthy.

MC Frontalot is the man who coined the term “nerdcore hip-hop”, hip-hop for (and by) geeks. I really dig his stuff, and not just because his alter ego may or may not have gone to Wesleyan.

While the genre (and Front’s moniker) might seem all ha-ha schticky, the music isn’t. Clever, yes; novelty, no. He’s got sharp rhymes, a solid flow, and catchy backing tracks courtesy of DJ CPU and Baddd Spellah.

Take Indier Than Thou, the track that first caught my attention, a critique of the indie community’s snobbiness. Or the madcap Gonna Be Your Man, with its catchy sample of Dr. Teeth & the Electric Mayhem. Or the pointed political message (and Simpsons samples) of Special Delivery. Or the bouncy fun of Which MC Was That?. 24-7, he fronts the most.

I seem to have fallen in love with Meghan Toohey.

I saw her play with one of her earlier acts back in the late 90s, and semi-followed her as she became a big name on the local folk circuit. Several years back she formed a new band, the So and So’s, intending to move away from her folkie image into straight-out rock. I hadn’t ever heard them, so a few weeks back I decided to see if their Web site had any tracks.

And boy, does it. The band’s placed every single track from both of their albums (as well as both of Meghan’s solo discs) up for free on the Web. At 192 kpbs, no less! So I downloaded them and gave them a spin.

Holy Christ. Every single track is fantastic. I’m speechless. I can’t stop listening to them.

Try the sunny harmonies of On To You, the gritty emotion of Please You, or the production on Better or Tattoo. Hell, try ‘em all. Meghan’s angelic and expressive voice alone would make it worthwhile.

Yes, it’s a relationship doomed to fail. I, uh, don’t think I’m her type. But we’ll always have the songs, won’t we?

I’m not sure what genre to assign to Tears for Beers. They’re of the type “bands doing rock renditions of traditional folk songs”. I hesitate to call this “folk-rock”, since that makes me think of James Taylor, which this ain’t.

What it is: high-energy rock, including the Scottish mainstay Jacobites and the popular chanty Drunken Sailor. Many more, including some originals, on their Audio page.

Oh, and if you’re wondering about the singer’s accent? They’re German. Dig that.

The Old 97’s are a great alternative-country act out of Texas. Now, we can debate the term “alternative country” until we’re blue in the face, or we can just shut up and listen to the music. Suffice it to say it’s alternative-rock-type guys doing rootsy, traditional-style country instead of the “adult contemporary rock with Southern accents” crap that passes for “country” nowadays. Sometimes it’s the same guys doing country-influenced rock instead.

They’ve got about a dozen tracks on their Discography page. I’m particularly fond of their rockier tracks, especially Rollerskate Skinny and Indefinitely, but the twangier stuff like Bel-Air and Four Leaf Clover is also really great.