I try to keep up with the kids. I have mastered the seemingly random punctuation required to both speak and spell 3OH!3. I can give you the name of each individual Jonas brother on sight, unless one of them has recently changed his bangs. And when people talk about the Kanye, I can always ask knowingly, "Oh, you mean, that homosexual animated fish?"
But good lord, people, why did no one tell me about Parachute? I received a press release this morning telling me that the band’s new album Losing Sleep was, in fact, no. 1 overall on iTunes, even though it is not officially released into stores until next Tuesday. They are not liars! It’s right there on the homepage!
Perplexed, I headed to the internet (another tip from the kids, bless them), and learned the following: They are young and cute like puppies. They are seemingly unconnected to both the Coldplay album that has "Yellow" on it and the Christian band of the same name that makes "worship music." They are currently touring with gentle-rock giants O.A.R. (O, R they?).
I’ve embedded an acoustic version of the album’s most downloaded track, "She Is Love"; to me, it sounds like an entirely decent entry in the Dave Matthews/Jack Johnson/Jason Mraz school of heartfelt male songdom — the kind girls adore, but guys can still manfully enjoy, in part because it helps to seduce said girls:
But tell me, Mixers, am I months behind? Do you love these young ‘Chutes, or is my ignorance bliss?
More from EW’s Music Mix:
Tuesday video roundup: Rob Thomas, Maxwell, Gavin Rossdale, and Mos Def
Regina Spektor: Stream her new single, then read her thoughts on her adventurous new album
New Lily Allen song: "Why"
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I had nvr even heard of them…but i too saw them #1 on itunes last night and i was like ok wierd, but i awlays check ITUNES free section and i saw one of the songs from that album was FREE so i got it. Um its alright…i didnt by the CD but i got the free song!
they used to be called “sparky’s flaw” and toured with brendan james (an amazing singer-songwriter) this fall.
Their song “Under Control” is pretty good! It’s the free song of the week on iTunes, and if it wasn’t the free song, I would probably still buy it.
I was surprised as well to see “Parachute” at #1. Not because i dont love them and never have heard of them i completely forgot they had changed their name from Sparky’s Flaw. The boys of this band are from Charlottesville, Va ( home of DMB and i know that Dave and the band served as an inspiration to the members of Parachutes). They have worked their butts off playing local gigs around town over the last several years and its nice to see them blow up. They are also on the VH1 countdown and in a Nivea commercial. Hopefully they will be around for a long time to come. ( I do like the name Sparky’s Flaw better though…. )
Holy crap, that’s Sparky’s Flaw? Another Virginia girl here who loved them…wow. Crazy.
One Small Step is another really good song by them
Parachute is awesome. They are here to stay!
I discovered Parachute when they opened for Jon McLaughlin back in January. But their Sparky’s Flaw E.P. which is still available on iTunes too. You can’t beat their album for $6.99, but I also suggest purchasing the acoustic version of “She Is Love”, also available, but not on the album. To me its the best version of the track & should be the radio mix! iTunes has a bunch of discs on sale for $6.99 or less under their NEXT BEST THING sale, and there are a slew of great new bands worth picking up at that price like Chester French, Cage the Elephant, My Favorite Highway, (and from the British shores) the Script and White Lies. Awesome prices & just in time to download & discover new songs before summer kicks off unofficially on Memorial Day!! Also, Lady GaGa fans should check out the release from BoA for $6.99. She’s huge in Japan, but they’re trying to break her here in the U.S. now & she is totaly in the same vein as GaGa. Thank me later….
I got their free single, loved it and then checked out their album. They have great, easy songs. I would recommend it to fans of The Fray, John Mayer and Maroon 5.
I saw these guys opening for Jon McLaughlin back in February, and at that point in time they were just cute boys with a song on that Nivea commercial. The fact that they’ve shot to #1 on itunes and managed to stay there for a few days is amazing and the album is great. Also, the acoustic and full band versions of “she is love” are both on the album (at least the itunes version)
Haha, I saw these guys in April ‘08 when they were still Sparky’s Flaw, the local band from Charlottesville, VA. A friend went to high school with a couple of the band members and was able to hire them for a small outdoor concert at my college. They rocked then and I’m so glad they are finally getting the recognition they deserve! (and they need to come back to my school again
Great article! I just discovered them from the free single of the week on i-Tunes and then I ended up buying the whole album. These guys are awesome!
They’re great! I discovered them last year and interviewed them while they were known as Sparky’s Flaw. Just wrote up a recent show review from when they played NYC last week. http://yousingiwrite.blogspot.com
I’ve known about them for years, but only because i live in charlottesville
Discovered them when they toured with Jon McLaughlin and I have been waiting for the rest of the world to realize how great they are since then!!