Love the tender lyrics and beautiful detail shots (the piano, the guitar and the Avett Brothers’ eyes) in the “Murder in the City” video:

Other Avett Brothers songs I’m obsessed with:
“Laundry Room” — How can the rock out that goes from 4:45 to the end not make you happy? So. Freakin. Badass. And it’s pretty cute how they dance and jump around while they’re playing.
“Bella Donna” — Makes me want to learn (even more) to play the guitar.

They’re playing in New York in October. I think I have to go.

• • •

One of my dream jobs is to select the music for a film or TV show. The task almost seems impossible — to find the perfect snippet of a song for a specific scene so that it seems like they were made for each other. “Grey’s Anatomy” always does a good job, and after watching season 3 of “Weeds,” I’m noticing some stellar pairings as well.

Xavier Rudd’s song “Messages” was in a “Weeds” episode and the catchy refrain lured me in. His voice sounded familiar, but I’d never actually heard any of his songs before. Other interesting asides: Rudd is an Aussie, plays the didgeridoo and never wears shoes (as you may notice in the video).

I’ve been a fan of State Radio for a few years and have even seen them in concert in New York. But this song slipped by me until I heard it in “Weeds.”