• "Think Long" - Bring It Back, Mates of State

Facts often stated about Bay Area musical duo, Mates of State: they are Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel; married (to each other); hail from the mid-west; have been in San Francisco playing music since 1997; one's a former teacher, the other a cancer researcher. My opinion is "Think Long" is one of their best songs, though my colleague Craig Rosa (Web Producer for KQED's new Quest science show) thinks their cover of David Bowie's "Starman" is without equal. Whatever. Mates of State's synth pop coils its way through the ears and around the brain, making it impossible not to finish "Think Long" without your finger twitching on the replay button. I don't quite know what the song is about. It's a little melancholy, but the predominant synth line also makes it seem strangely naïve and darkly playful. Would putting "Think Long" on extended repeat do permanent damage? Probably, but it's tempting nonetheless.

Mates of State will be performing at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, November 21 and 22, 2006. Get tickets (at virtuous.com).

• "We Are the Gothic Archies" - The Tragic Treasury, The Gothic Archies

Facts often stated about The Gothic Archies: The band is one of the many inhabited or propelled or is it haunted (?) by Stephen Merrit, the mastermind behind The Magnetic Fields, The 6ths and various other musical projects. The guy certainly has a way with words -- a lot of them. He's kind of a modern day Cole Porter, turning phrases like a short order cook turns pancakes. My favorite line in this song is "Though gothic we are Archie; though Archie we are goth." It reminds me of my own depressed, bubble-gum adolescence, both the joyous and the maudlin co-existing in that scary period where I became enamored with black lipstick (shudder). This anthem to being a Gothic Archie comes along with The Tragic Treasury, a disc that features one song for each of the 13 books in A Series of Unfortunate Events, written by local author Lemony Snicket. Snicket's other personality, Daniel Handler came in and read a chapter from HIS latest book, Adverbs for KQED's weekly literary podcast The Writers' Block. Check it out!

• "Fireburnfoot" - Heartcore, Kiila

This is definitely a kid-friendly track, which kind of reminds me of the theme from The Addams Family, "They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky. They're altogether ooky..." Blogger Kerry McLaughlin tossed this tune into the fray this month when she wrote about her ongoing love affair with Finnish label Fonal Records. "Fireburnfoot" reminds me of local band Deerhoof and is a reasonable representation of the sounds coming out of Fonal, playful toy pianos, bouncy ditties. You get the drift... Read Kerry's full article on Fonal Records.

• "Love Me or Hate Me" - Public Warning, Lady Sovereign

We can always make way for the S.O.V. She creates such catchy music, it's hard to resist her, and few do. Why should we? This track has a great repetitive synth line that feels lifted from a video game and of course, clever self-deprecating lyrics that reflect Lady Sovereign's working class roots. It's polished and "grimy" at the same time. If you like this track, then tune into September's Something Old, Something New to hear "Ch-Ching," another track featured in the Mix. Lady Sovereign plays San Francisco's The Mezzanine on November 14, 2006. Learn more (at upcoming.org).

• "FatSexyGuy" - Live on Stubnitz, Extra Action Marching Band

This tune by locals Extra Action Marching Band reminds me of Tom Waits, Disney's Dumbo and Hollaback Girl all at the same time. It's got a little elephant walk to its groove and the horns evoke cartoon elephants raising their trunks and trumpeting wildly. Apparently the Extra Action Marching Band is phenomenal live, a thirty-piece with leather clad hotties performing po-mo flag routines. Check out their calendar to see what they're up to next.

• "Drinking From the Sky" - Electric Storyland, The Sippy Cups

I don't have kids and don't spend much time around the little beasts -- some of my colleagues would say I don't like them much, but that's not true. I like the little creatures well enough, especially the smart, alternative types found in abundance at a Sippy Cups show. During the set, I was watching the kids (who must have ranged in age from toddlers to about 8 or 9) who had made their way up to the edge of the stage. I was struck by this image: the kids' eyes were pretty much level with the stage, their little fingers gripping the lip in excitement, and I thought about all the rock shows those kids would end up seeing throughout their lifetimes. I wondered what the music would be like when they hit their teens, when they picked up instruments and starting playing in their early twenties and it kind of blew my mind.

The Sippys' music is not your usual children's fare, it is catchy and intelligent, not talking down to kids, and it doesn't twinkle (like so much kiddy mess), it rawks! What I loved most was witnessing how the Sippys were basically initiating a whole generation of kids into the indie music lifestyle. Plus the place was packed with alterna-parents who were thanking the universe for kids' music that didn't suck. You could tell.

"Drinking from the Sky" is dangerously catchy. I dare you to listen without getting it stuck in your head. Alison Levy, one of KQED Arts & Culture's bloggers, plays keyboards and sings in this band. After one listen to "Drinking from the Sky," I sent her an email with the message line, "Drip Patter Drip Drip Drop." 'Nuff said.

The Sippy Cups have a whole slew of afternoon concerts scheduled throughout the Bay Area between now and the end of the year. Visit thesippycups.com for more info.

• "If You Could Read Your Mind" - Visitations, Clinic

I just plain like Clinic, in spite of their lame stage show at The Great American Music Hall a couple of years ago -- they wear doctors' ventilators for the whole set (and scrubs, too? I have put it out of my head). However, not their last album Winchester Cathedral, which kind of stunk, but the one before, Walking With Thee was so fresh and offered a great spin on the whole eighties post-punk or proto-punk revival that my appreciation for them has remained steadfast. Clinic reminds me of Gang of Four during their Solid Gold period, before they got all funked up. They make a really spooky sounding garage rock, and "If You Could Read Your Mind" throws in a James Bond-inspired surf guitar riff, which always works for me. I don't understand what lead singer Ade Blackburn is singing about and I think I'm better off NOT knowing, but I dig their music. I just do.

• "The Day I Turned to Glass" - The Day I Turned to Glass, Honeycut

The California Report's Steve Hochman wonders if Honeycut is "the sound of a revolution" in his review of The Day I Turned to Glass. The Bay Area soul/funk trio is reminiscent of Gnarls Barkley, featured on the Mix Tape back in July. Their music feels both modern and familiar at the same time. At their best when they abandon smoothness (they can be a little TOO smooth) in favor of experimentation, the group combines synth pop, jazz, soul and funk to create an unexpected hybrid that could be described as Euro-soul. "The Day I Turned to Glass" sneaks up on you and the little touches, the short musical comments are the ones that hook. Hear Hochman's full review.

• "Heard Somebody Say" - Cripple Crow, Devendra Banhart

Local boy Devendra Banhart makes gorgeous folky music. His last album Cripple Crow is a musical smorgasbord that incorporates numerous influences, with flourishes that remind one of Cuban music or Middle Eastern or southern-fried soul, but it somehow all comes together to sound uniquely like Banhart alone, eclectic, eccentric and genuine. Other locals such as Vetiver, Joanna Newsom, et al seem to be creating a new, modern version of folk that is touching and thoughtful, comforting and exciting at the same time. It's difficult to call what Banhart does "folk," there is so much going on, but in this simple song, he "heard somebody say that the war ended today, but everybody knows it's going still." I think that line shows how complex hope can be. The sentiment is rich, keeping hope alive against all hope. By the way, the bearded one is taken to task for his facial hair choices in Kerry McLaughlin's hilarious post Beards: A Growing Menace. Check it out.

• "There Goes the Day" - Landfair, The Blank Tapes

Christopher Appelgren calls Matt Adams, the man behind The Blank Tapes, " a consistently quality one-man show and just the kind of emerging, self-reliant independent artist (in all senses of the word) that deserves to be discovered and celebrated." Amen. The Blank Tapes' new album, Landfair contains 23 diverse tracks that cover a huge range of styles, proving that Adams can do just about anything, and still somehow they all cohere into this wonderfully homey sound that feels personal, intimate. "There Goes the Day" is an appropriate way to say goodbye this month. "There goes the sun before my eyes. I watch it set and watch it rise." Life goes on. Now go back to the beginning of the Mix and hit play again. Read Chris' full review.