While I haven’t had time to work my way through Some Nights, it’s obvious (even from the first single, We Are Young) that Fun has embraced the slick production offered by bigger budgets and notable producers. And again, I’ve only skimmed through about half the tracks, but the arena-sized hooks that populated Aim and Ignite seem present here and there.

The party in this video was almost as big of a disaster as my off-off-off-Broadway one-man show, Petunias Over Falafel: Bending the Ear of the Old Soft Shoe. Oh, the memories.

At first, I thought she was getting all teary-eyed because she was peeling an onion. But she wasn’t. I hate peeling onions.

fun.: We Are Young ft. Janelle Monáe by Fueled By Ramen

Sorry for the sparse day. I’m in Texas now, still en route to Austin. You’ll have to take this pretty sweet video (and possibly a few others later on) as consolation. Then again, not having to read anything I write for a whole day is like finding a birthday and Christmas present from the tooth fairy stashed in an Easter egg on your doorstep.

Fun – All the Pretty Girls

:: Have questions for Fun? Well, you can ask them in a couple of days.

:: It looks like Dethklok, Mastodon, Converge and High on Fire laid waste to the Hammerstein Ballroom. That’s figuratively speaking, of course.

:: Former Stones Roses frontman Ian Brown was arrested for allegedly attacking his wife. In related news, Brown looks like a 27-year-old heroin chic female model with those cheek bones. Work it, girlfriend.

:: Forgot to mention this the other day when I saw it, but Aquarium Drunkard discusses the merits (yes, the merits) of Charles Manson’s album Lie: The Terror and Love Cult.

:: It seems that Propagandhi is working on a new album. I feel like I’m back in high school whenever I hear news like this.

:: We’ve got some legislative drama surrounding a performance rights act that Congress is trying to get all sorted out.

Second-tier holidays like Boxing Day and Have a Party With Your Bear Day are always a good time. But the king of lesser special occasions has to be Columbus Day, which is this lovely Monday.

And to celebrate, Paper + Plastick is giving away Columbus, a meditation on the man who invented America by our boy Andrew Dost (you know, from Fun and formerly Anathallo). But it’s only good for today.

Columbus be praised!

Andrew Dost – I’ve Got a Feeling

I’ve been hyping Fun since I first got wind of it from my boy Andy Dost. And I’m still riding this bandwagon, because their debut, Aim and Ignite is pure pop bliss.

While I’d be lying if I said there were no weak moments, they are few and far between. You’re met with the kind of bouncy, thoughtful pop music you’d expect from members of Anathallo, The Format and Steel Train — and then some.

Fun – All the Pretty Girls
Fun – At Least I’m Not as Sad (as I Used to Be)

Remember a couple of days back when I mentioned that All the Pretty Girls was one of my favorite Fun songs, and that it was going to be the next track released from the band’s upcoming album?

Well, the cat’s out of the bag. Our good friends at Spinner have debuted the track for all of you to fawn over. It’s full of tight harmonies, violin flourishes and bouncy melodies. And fairy dust.

My boys in Fun have just announced two tours over the next few months in support of their debut, Aim and Ignite, which will be out Aug. 25 from Nettwerk. Additionally, the band is releasing the single All the Pretty Girls Aug. 4 — which is easily one of my favorite Fun tunes.

And if having insanely catchy songs that sound like all of the best parts of Anathallo, The Format and Steel Train put together wasn’t good enough, they were able to pull off something I never thought possible. Who ever would’ve thought that a band could have a press photo featuring three old-timey mustaches that doesn’t look like it belongs on LATFH. No one, that’s who.

Kudos, boys. And kudos to photographer Elizabeth Weinberg for making it work.

Fun – At Least I’m Not as Sad (as I Used to Be)

See the Fun tour dates.

It’s not like I needed much convincing to fall head over heels for Steel Train. I was already a fan of a good portion of the band’s work. Plus Jack Antonoff is in Fun, after all. I was most of the way there, right?

But Steel Train gave me everything I could’ve wanted — and then some — at Headliners Wednesday night. In addition to being tight instrumentally and vocally, they went nuts on stage. Don’t let the whole Drive Thru Records thing fool you, these dudes are legit.

Steel Train – I Feel Weird
Steel Train – Alone on the Sea

See the Steel Train photos.