It’s not often that I’ll be aware enough of what’s going on in my head well into the day that I can identify what’s playing on the internal soundtrack.

But today, as I was playing barista and making myself a mid-day latte, the intensity of the Afghan Whigs just wouldn’t let go.

1965 was the last album the band would record, and gives up the soul that was always behind the band’s indie-rock music, the Motown sound that they dabbled in with their previous release, Black Love.

The Afghan Whigs are one of my favourite bands of all time; I’m surprised that they don’t show up on the internal soundtrack more often, and I’m a bit disappointed in myself that I had to dig this morning to identify the particular song. I used to know them all without having to check.

EDIT

Rhino Records is releasing a retrospective of the Afghan Whigs.

Here’s the release from Rhino.

When I realized this song was playing on the internal soundtrack this morning, I was faced with the task of remembering who performed it. For some reason, I thought it was the Fall.

I was tempted to just let it go, but the phrase, “Do you know where I’m coming from? / Bang the drum,” just wouldn’t get out of my head, so I decided to go looking for the song.

When I found it, on the excellent compilation album What’s Up Matador? I discovered the reason for my erroneous assumption.

The song, “Bang the Drum,” is from Railroad Jerks, who shared a U.S. label the Fall for a time, and on What’s Up, Railroad Jerk’s punctuated punk sounds vaguely Fall-ish. More importantly, it follows the Fall’s “Hey Student” on the CD.

No wonder the song is associated with the Fall in my foggy brain.

In this week’s Channel Changer, I take a stab at why Hurley, from Lost, and Hiro, from Heroes are different geeks than, say, Deputy Barney Fife from the Andy Griffith Show.

Read all about it over here.

In the latest edition of Trigger Happy, I take a look at research that found that surgeons who have experience playing video-games are better at performing laparoscopic surgery. Cool, huh?

Also in the Georgia Straight this week, my reviews of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07, Test Drive Unlimited, and Flushed Away.

Studio 60 may be on the verge of cancellation, if the fact that NBC shuffled the show into hiatus a week early is any indication. Although, the future of Sorkin’s latest may depend on how well The Black Donnellys, Canadian writer Paul Haggis’s show, performs.

Get the details in this week’s Channel Changer.