Me and Clem Snide go way back. The first time I ever set foot in the Dame was in 2005 to see a Clem Snide concert with Marbles opening. Robert Schneider (of the Apples in Stereo, aka "Marbles") snuck my underage self into the bar by putting me on the guest list as "Matt Schneider." Great night. And though I was there for Marbles, I wound up getting introduced to Clem Snide as well. They put on a great show for a young kid who's just starting to listen to music that you won't find on the radio (and likely a great show for an older kid as well, who knows). Also they were the only band to have one member play from the bar of any band I saw until the Woggles. Nothing like being surprised by a trumpet from behind you. Then, a year later, Clem Snide frontman Eef Barzelay was nice enough to do an interview with me back when I knew even less about how to conduct a readable interview. Then, one more solo album aside, I didn't really hear much from them. But now the band are releasing Hungry Bird this February and it sounds wonderful. MP3: Clem Snide - Me No Maybe my favorite thing about "Me No" is that it's such a slow building song. And the band knows that's how they're going to get the most out of this song, to they really use that to full effect. Eef does get wild vocally once or twice, but there are large instrumental sections where they just let the song pulse and pulse for a little bit. Then, about midway through the song there's a vocal melody that's underscored by a kazoo. Brilliant. This may not be a song that 2009 is defined by, but it's a really well composed song that would serve lots of folk artists well to pay attention to. Avett Brothers, though you probably shouldn't take this direction, there's a bit you could learn from Clem Snide. Clem Snide on Myspace