Andrew W.K. draws musical inspiration from a wide variety of sources - like partying, partying, and…um, political shoutfest The McLaughlin Group. Although host John McLaughlin only makes Hypeful think of Dana Carvey (“Wrong!!!”), AWK put together a song for Fair Game with lyrics drawn from the following strange exchange that occurred between McLaughlin and Pat Buchanan:

MCLAUGHLIN: Question: Does Romney’s endorsement seal the deal? Is McCain now the inevitable Republican nominee? I ask you, Pat.
BUCHANAN: John, absent celestial intervention, I think he’s going to get the nomination.
MCLAUGHLIN: Absent what?
BUCHANAN: Celestial intervention.
MCLAUGHLIN: Well, it happens, Pat. May he rest in peace, Paul Wellstone. John Heinz was killed in an airplane crash.
BUCHANAN: Well, let’s not speculate on it.
MCLAUGHLIN: Death comes in the night on cats’ paws, Pat. You never know.
BUCHANAN: On little cats’ feet. That’s the fog, John, that comes in on little cats’ feet.
MCLAUGHLIN: I changed it to cat - Sandberg be damned.

You can listen to Andrew further explain why he is so inspired by Mclaughlin’s artistry/poetry here, or just listen to the song below. Someone should totally put together a “Wrong!!! Remix”…

MP3:
Andrew W.K. - “McLaughlin Groove”

With Spin covers and MTV promos behind them, Vampire Weekend continued their white hot trajectory to super-mega buzz band with an appearance on this past weekend’s Saturday Night Live. Backed up by a small string section, the band sounded (to quote Amy Poehler during the episode) like a fierce hot tranny mess - which means to say they were great, I think…

VIDEOS:
Vampire Weekend - “A-Punk”

Vampire Weekend - “M79″

If you’ve tuned into MTV over the past week or so, you’ve probably noticed in between seemingly marathon episodes of The Hills that the network has been airing brief promos featuring Vampire Weekend (including one where frontman Ezra Koenig confesses his hatred of Spencer Pratt). Obviously the talented band had plenty of buzz without being co-opted by MTV, so it’s awesome to see a longer spot featured on the network where the guys humbly and entertainingly promote safe sex rather than themselves. Although it may be easier to imagine the Columbia-educated band fighting werewolves rather than riding a city bus, the clip is amusing and contains more prophylactic slang than a Diablo Cody spec script!

VIDEO:

Liam Finn was a musical guest on The Late Show with David Letterman last week, where he put on a jaw-dropping performance of his ace song “Second Chance.” If you missed it, do yourself a favor and check it out below - it’s a TV debut that will leave your mouth agape.

MP3s:
Liam Finn - “Second Chance”
Liam Finn - “Second Chance (Live on The Late Show - 2.28.08)”

VIDEO:

What? Just because 2007 ended, you were ready to put “Umbrella” behind you? Not yet, amigo. At last night’s 2008 Brit Awards, Rihanna once again performed her chart-topper with The Klaxons accompanied by an impressive Daft Punk-meets-Tron light show. Rihanna enjoyed the Klaxons treatment of her song so much, she is also considering releasing it as a single. Check out the video and song below.

MP3:
Rihanna & The Klaxons - “Umbrella” (Live @ 2008 Brits)

VIDEO: