Follow these simple directions:

• Enjoy this excellent video directed by Jack Ferry.
• Listen to Ted Leo live on WFMU tonight.
• Donate some money to WFMU to keep a good thing going! (Pledge during The Best Show with host Tom Scharpling tonight from 9:00pm-Midnight EST.)
• For your kind support, you’ll receive some some lovely gifts!
• Now watch Scharpling-directed video for The New Pornographers because Carl Newman will also be playing live tonight!

More: Bottled In Cork video directed by Tom Scharpling

Latest Updates: @scharpling @tedleo

Topics: The Pros and Cons of Parades, Best Music of 2010, The Soup, Zooey Deschanel is the Worst, Great TV of 2010, Beatles, Todd has Sick Voice, Conan Needs a Little Help, Community vs. Modern Family!, Andrew Bird Really Loves Whistling, Dumb Spitting Wrestlers, Good Comedians, Unemployed Sidekick, eMusic Blows, New Sherlock Holmes!

Preview: “Parades? Firetruck, firetruck, tank, karate class… alright, done.”

Playlist: Whole Sky Monitor, Paper Bird, Versus, Bad Plus

Play Now: http://www.usedwigs.com/pod/podcast82.mp3

iTunes: Download, Listen and Subscribe

Podcast Website: www.usedwigsradio.com

Ted Leo And The Pharmacists – “Bottled In Cork” (Official Video)

“Take a whispering class!” Vote Funny.

More: Funny Videos for Great Songs

Magically make your Friday much more mellifluous. Click the little blue arrows to listen then click the song titles to download these fabulous free  MP3s.

Roky Erickson with Okkervil River - “Goodbye Sweet Dreams”
(via Pitchfork)

Matt Pond PA – “Starting”
(via Magnet)

Love of Diagrams - “Part of You”
(via MBV)

The Soft Pack - “C’Mon”
(via NME)

Titus Andronicus - “A More Perfect Union”
(via Stereogum)

Nada Surf – “Electrocution”
(via nadasurf.com)

Valley Lodge – “Every Little Thing”
(via valleylodge)

Audible – “The Last Thing I Remember”
(via audible)

Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore – “Something, Somewhere, Sometime”
(via Brooklyn Vegan)

Midlake – “Acts of Man”
(via KEXP)

Ted Leo – “Mighty Sparrow”
(via Village Voice)

WHO: Ted Leo & The Pharmacists

WHEN: Friday, January 29th, 2010
Doors Open at 11:30 a.m.
Concert Starts at 12:00 p.m.

WHERE: World Cafe Live
3025 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

COST: This is a free show but registration is required at www.xpn.org

Ted Leo’s debut CD on Matador Records will be called ‘The Brutalist Bricks” and will be available on March 9, 2010. Enjoy a track:

• Download MP3: “Even Heroes Have To Die”

Okay, not better, but hopefully a bit different than most lists out there. 2009 was not my favorite year for music or for Jennifer Garner/Matthew McConaughey romcoms, but we’ll save that hot-button topic for another day. For the most part, the belles of the blog ball left this cranky old fella yawning, not fawning — either too twee or too quirky or just too lifeless, take your pick — but I won’t harp on that. I’m here to offer you only sparkling gems and I promise not to mention any of the listless turds of ’09 like Monsters of Folk, Wilco and Kings of Leon, I swear, not a peep about them. Here’s the goodness in no particular order.

Click song link to download. Click arrow to play. Click CD title to buy.

Malcolm Middleton – “Subset Of The World”
CD: Waxing Gibbous

Tegan and Sara - “Hell”
CD: Sainthood

The Lawrence Arms – “The Slowest Drink At the Saddest Bar on the Snowiest Day in the Greatest City”
CD: Buttsweat and Tears

Propagandhi – “Night Letters”
CD: Supporting Caste

Sky Larkin – “Molten”
CD: The Golden Spike

Kevin McAdams – “A Different Kind of Love Song”
CD: “It’s My Time to Lose My Mind”

Obits – “Pine On”
CD: “Good Friends, Bad Habits”

Owen – “Good Friends, Bad Habits”
CD: New Leaves

Mumford & Sons – “Little Lion Man”
CD: Sigh No More

Chris Wollard And The Ship Thieves – “All the Things You Know”
CD: Chris Wollard & the Ship Thieves

Tortoise – “Prepare Your Coffin”
CD: Beacons Of Ancestorship

No Age – “You’re a Target”
CD: Losing Feeling

Ted Leo – “Even Heroes Have To Die”
CD: The Brutalist Bricks (March, 2010)

The Bomb – “The Kids”
CD: Speed Is Everything

Paint It Black – “Bliss”
CD: Amnesia

O Pioneers!!! – “The Architect of Disney World”
CD: Neon Creeps

Frank Turner – “The Road”
CD: Poetry of the Deed

Maserati - “Monoliths”
CD: Passages

We Were Promised Jetpacks – “Quiet Little Voices”
CD: These Four Walls

Mystery of Two – “Repeat It”
CD: Mystery of Two

Mission of Burma – “1, 2, 3, Partyy!”
CD: The Sound the Speed the Light

And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – “Bells of Creation”
CD: The Century of Self

Bonus Videos!

Hell from Tegan and Sara

Sky Larkin – Molten

Tortoise – Prepare Your Coffin from Thrill Jockey Records

Owen – good friends, bad habits from Hobbledehoy Record Co

Munford & Sons – ‘Little lion man’ from Ben Magahy

We Were Promised Jetpacks – Quiet Little Voices from WWPJ

Good Buzz: Ted Leo’s debut CD on Matador Records will be called ‘The Brutalist Bricks” and will be available on March 9, 2010. Can’t wait til then to get your Ted on? Well, read this and grab the following freebie below. I’ve been a big fan of Ted’s since his Chisel days, he’s a master of marrying the punk ethos and urgency with effortless melodic pop sensibility.

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists will be in Philly on Wednesday, Dec. 2, at The First Unitarian Church. Hope to see you there! Show Info

• Download MP3: “Even Heroes Have To Die”

MUST KNOW NOW! Is Twitter down or is it just me? Facebook down or just me? I need people to know about my busy busy morning right now!! Social media addicts check here: downforeveryoneorjustme.com

Good Question: “Has your favorite holiday song changed over time?”

Guilty! “Local TV learns the consequences of posting your breaking news tweets on an electronic billboard.” (via @tvnewser):

10 Things You Don’t Give a Shit About Anymore: Bing’s 2009 Top Search Terms: Michael Jackson Beats Out Twitter

Marathon Recycling: Runners are annoying for many reasons, I could and should build a website to list them all. One of my major peeves is all the self-centered race participants who carelessly toss their clothing on the side of the road at the beginning of the race and also during. “I’m important and rich, behold my discarded clothes laying at your feet! I need not these oppressive garments, do with them what you will! Pick up my packets of GU while you’re at it!”

Listen, I’m a runner (and annoying) and I ran the Philly marathon and witnessed way too many of these wanton wastrels chucking their warm-ups over the crowd like it’s some sort of serious runner ritual. I’d rather be freezing my underdeveloped calves off at the beginning of the race then part with even one piece of my limited amount of running gear because, A.) it’s expensive and B.) Grandpa Daphne always said, “Waste not, want not… now get me another can of warm Schaefer from the back shed.”

In years past, the majority of these clothes were put in the trash. Lovely. It’s nice to know now someone smart and with a heart decided to collect the clothes and donate them to the homeless.

Put on Your Super Dancing Shoes: Marvel Cartoons of the 1960s with Music and Lyrics (via metafilter)

“We Built This City! Doot Doot! We Built This City… Un-Der-Ground!”: Chairman Mao’s Underground City

I Like This Kid: Corduroy Skirts Are A Sin

Guest: Jon Solomon of WPRB.

Topics: Jon Solomon’s Annual 24-Hour Holiday Radio Show, Reunited Bands (Good Ones), Tegan and Sara Love, Albert Brooks & Comedy Minus One, Old Comedy Records, Gallagher Too, Macho Man Randy Savage & Top-notch Wrestling Music, Professional Radio Voices, Remembering Jerry Fuchs, Horrible All Star Tributes.

Playlist: Tegan and Sara, White Rabbits, Kurt Vile, Obits and Maserati

Preview: “Have you ever been in a fight with another radio guy?” and “I like radio… and basketball… and watching Dr. Who.”

Play Now: http://www.usedwigs.com/pod/podcast69.mp3

iTunes: Download, Listen and Subscribe

Website: www.usedwigsradio.com

Related Links: View here!

Don’t You Dare Complain About Your Job: “Waahhh, my reports didn’t format correctly!”  “Waahhh, the conference room is double booked!” Yes, that is devastating, Rick, but at least you’re not Sulfur Mining in an Active Volcano.  Speaking of volcanoes—and who isn’t—here’s one that might remind you of the kick-ass lava-spewer I crafted in fourth grade. Remember that one? Baking soda and vinegar all up in your face? NASA Volcano Image Shows Atmospheric Shockwave.

Site for Sore Eyes: 45 Beautifully Designed Book Covers

More Eye-Soothing Goodness: 50 Amazing Gig Posters Sure to Inspire

Not So Eye-Soothing: Soviet Russian Album Covers:

Warning: Contents May Be Hot! Want to see the largest fusion device on Earth? “During a reaction, nuclear fuels are held away from the walls by electromagnets, and reach temperatures more than ten times hotter than the core of the sun.”

That’s great nerds, it gets real hot, but what is it good for?

…it’s being used as a test bed for a new reactor, ITER, which will generate electricity from fusion, using fuel found in ordinary seawater. Just one cubic kilometre of seawater contains enough deuterium – used as a nuclear fuel by JET – to generate more power than the world’s entire oil reserves.

New Favorite Jingle: “Todd, Todd Barry… Todd, Todd Barry!” Rock out to 35 seconds of Todd Barry from the “Tim and Eric” DVD.

Listen: The almighty Ted Leo on The Best Show (also appearance by villainous Brush Man).

Eric is Making a Salad and Busting Out His Ponda Baba Costume: Star Wars Themed Picnics @ The Mann Center?

Do You Love Movies? Doug Benson does. Download his entertaining podcast.

Watch Some Videos: Blooper and TV’s Gay Friend Obsession.

U-Stay: Our pal Chris attempted to use U-Haul on his big move, it did not go so well. I’ve had similar problems with the shady business. Please don’t use them, I think they charge extra for a truck with brakes.

Well-Spent $5: The Weakerthans – Live Session on iTunes

Your Daily Dilemma:

Sorry Jersey, this is not some Eastern European Bruce impersonator, this is the real deal, America’s Boss learning some sweet-ass choreography. (Geez, it looked so natural in the video, who would have thunk it). I’m speechless yet overjoyed watching this. Thanks to the always brutal folks at Chunklet for digging up this large chunk of cringe.

Speaking of, Chunklet hates everything and that’s why we love them so. Issue #20 in now on newsstands, check it out, it’s jammed pack with our favorites like Ted Leo, Zach Galifianakis, AD Miles, Death Cab for Cutie, Mogwai and more.