By Karen Glauber

Spoon

Thirty years ago today, on the occasion of my twin sister’s wedding (to a current editor of Billboard, I might add), my father had a heart attack and dropped dead. The wedding ceremony/luncheon was held at a stately penthouse ballroom on the Columbia University campus, complete with a wraparound view of upper NYC and the Hudson River. This mostly family gathering was to be followed by a “friends” reception at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, where Yo La Tengo, Antietam, Great Plains and Salem 66 were scheduled to play. My father was 55 (my current age) and I was 25.

I had just moved to L.A., lured by the promise of being able to sign Robyn Hitchcock, to replace my departing boss Mark Williams (currently President of A&R at Columbia Records) at A&M Records. My father and I didn’t know each other very well, but he loved that I worked for Herb Alpert and that I was in “showbiz” (which meant he had to occasionally supplement my $400/week salary).

The opening lyric to The Lumineers’ “Cleopatra” sums up how one unexpected incident can change the course of your life: “I was Cleopatra, I was young and an actress/When you knelt by my mattress, and asked for my hand/But I was sad you asked it, as I laid in a black dress/With my father in a casket, I had no plans.” In my father’s honor, there’s a yarhzeit candle flickering in my peripheral vision, and I’ve been listening to Whipped Cream & Other Delights on Spotify…

I’m too Type-A to wax poetic about what “might have been.” Besides, that would mean I’d have to take my steely-eyed focus away from RealTime Mediabase, which will be my constant companion (or nemesis) until Saturday night. Will “Cleopatra” unseat Green Day’s “Still Breathing” at #1, making them one of very few artists (and certainly the only indie-label artist, at least in the Mediabase era) to have the first two singles from each of their debut and sophomore albums reach #1? [Ed note: "Cleopatra" has indeed hit #1 since this column was written.] Ted and I are still incredulous that there are six stations that WON’T play this record. It’s what keeps me awake at night (plus well-placed fear of the impending apocalypse)—when empirical evidence AND my best efforts still prove futile.

In the throes of insomnia, my favorite lyric from “Cleopatra” plays on repeat in my head: “But I was late for this, late for that, late for the love of my life/And when I die alone, when I die alone, when I die I’ll be on time.” I’ve always expressed myself through the lyrics of others—somewhere in the attic is an AP English paper that used the lyrics to Billy Joel’s “Vienna” to make my thesis…

While Mike DePippa and I were going through Republic and Island’s most recent and upcoming releases, he remarked that with the label group’s roster, which includes Lorde, Bishop Briggs, Phantogram, Marian Hill, Grace Mitchell, Florence + the Machine and Misterwives, “The Future Is Female” should be emblazoned on every piece of label merch. I’m sure at least a few of our radio friends (thankfully) would be proud to wear a T-shirt with that sentiment. Mike and Amanda had a spectacular first week with Incubus’ “Nimble Bastard” and continue to find believers for Mondo Cozmo’s “Shine” (which I’ll finally get to hear live during next week’s L.A. show)…

These are the songs I believe, with every fiber of my being, will be massive hits: Sundara Karma, “She Said”; The xx, “On Hold”; Spoon, “Hot Thoughts”; Lo Moon, “Loveless”; The Strumbellas, “Young & Wild”; and Cold War Kids, “Love Is Mystical.” The hit potential of these songs won’t necessarily be realized after 150 spins (75% in the overnights), so stay the course…

I’ve been obsessed for months with Youngr’s “Out of My System,” which will soon be released on Island. For the uninitiated, Youngr is U.K. artist Dario Darnell, whose father, August Darnell, fronted Kid Creole and the Coconuts. Youngr reminds me of Robert DeLong and Jack Garratt with his one-man-band approach (although his SXSW performances will include his brother). The music and performance both feel very modern to me—I’m excited for you to hear/see it. Let’s hang out at SXSW: [email protected]