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California is no place for a frenetic indie rock band from Toronto. Well, at least not usually. But for much of 2010, blog buzz veterans Tokyo Police Club have found themselves lost in the Golden State. First, it was when they came here to record their forthcoming new album, Champ, with former Elliott Smith producer Rob Schnapf. But then, the angular troop also ended up playing an energetic late afternoon set last month at Coachella (pictured above), for which they made the following playlist to listen to during the drive out.

And, really, this thing is pretty great: You got Billy Bragg, Big Star, Wilco before they got arty. These dudes know good music. So, with that in mind, we asked keyboardist Graham Wright to dig a little deeper about his selections, and this is what he had to say.

10/21/09 San Francisco, CA
Twenty years. When that point is reached in virtually any band’s career, you pretty much know what to expect out from their live show. They’ll come out, play the hits, and then gladly thank everybody as they make their way to the parking lot.

Thank God then for Weezer who are just now putting on some of the most unpredictable performances of their two decade career. When you see the Weez now, you can expect everything from trampolines to total strangers playing the trombone, which is why we jumped at the opportunity to have them play this very special Secret Show last week at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco.

10/15/09 Hollywood, CA
At the Nike Montalban Theatre
with Embryonic
In partnership with Citi Forward

07/07/09
12:01am – Washington, DC
12:00pm – Chicago, IL
11:00pm – Anaheim, CA

When you set out to play three shows, in three time zones, all in the same day, you expect things to be wildly different in each city. Fans shouldn’t automatically react the same way in, say, Washington DC as they would in Chicago.

But that wasn’t the case with All Time Low, who decided to celebrate the release of their hook-filled new album, Nothing Personal, by playing three secret shows across the US.

3/3/09 San Diego, CA
A Neko Case show at a club like The Casbah wouldn’t be that odd if this were, say, ten years ago, when the auburn-haired songstress was just starting out her career.

But in 2009? Forget about it.

In the time since Case released her first album, The Virginian, in 1997, she has become one of the most beloved songwriters in the entire world. Her last record, Fox Confessor Brings The Flood, became a legitimate hit here in the US and she toured the world in support of it. Hell, she even played at open aired amphitheaters with fricken’ Willie Nelson.