IVANA CONTEMPLATES THE HORIZON, ALONG WITH THE STILLS, MODEST MOUSE, PHANTOM PLANET, POLYPHONIC SPREE & HOOBASTANK

TIME IS RUNNING OUT
There’s an enormous black rain cloud hovering over the office, yet off in the horizon, maybe 10 miles north, the sun has lit the mountains like a backdrop from Average Joe: Hawaii (minus last night’s shocking finale revelation that Larissa used to date Fabio). Ten miles to the east, in beautiful downtown Burbank (cue Laugh-In intro), our friends at the various WMG labels are trying to keep their heads down, spirits up and sights focused on the records they’re trying to break, as the proverbial "other shoe" hastens its descent.

Since everyone could probably benefit from a brief distraction, let me enchant you with Garett and Halloran’s March picks for KBZT "94.9 Recommended": The Stills "Still in Love Song," The Postal Service "Such Great Heights," The Shins "So Says I" and Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Maps." A big shout-out to Sue at Sub Pop for her "double" this week.

As last week’s highly anticipated Stills show drew within an hour of commencement, the late hour, rain, exhaustion and The Apprentice nearly kept me rooted to my house. Once I braved the parking nightmare (how dare Starsky & Hutch have its post-premiere party next to the Troubadour!) and found my spot upstairs with Kris, Ron and Gene Sandbloom, I was so grateful I was there. The Stills show was energizing on every level (I was too wired after the show to sleep, of course), especially as a reminder that even when it seems as though everything around us is becoming undone, great music prevails. So it might take longer in this current PoMo radio climate (appreciably fewer slots for new bands) for "Still in Love Song" to become a massive hit at the format, but success can still happen in small and meaningful ways, market by market, until the gods smile, planets align, ducks on the pond, dog pile on the rabbit, or whatever is that voodoo that you do so well. Besides the aforementioned KBZT, Live105, WPBZ, WBUZ, KRZQ, WJSE and WXTW added The Stills this week, which is truly fantastic!

We were also psyched to see the vast array of early adds for the brilliant new Modest Mouse single, "Float On," including Live105, WHFS, WBCN, WRAX, WZNE, WHBZ, KMBY and WXTW. Here’s an example of a band that has built a fervent following from eight years of indie and major label releases and non-stop touring, who now have a "radio" song which will introduce them to the PoMo mainstream. This Epic band is definitely on the road to somewhere.

The PoMo PD we love to torture, WEDG’s Lenny Diana, remains in our good graces for the second consecutive week (a record!) for adding Phantom Planet’s "Big Brat," as did KROX and WWDC. Gosh, we love this record!

Reprise’s Lynn McDonnell jumped through hoops, ran around the bases, kicked it into the end zone (and every other sports cliché I can muster), as she scored two huge adds this week on The Living End’s "Who’s Gonna Save Us?" at 99X and KTBZ. Ask her about the Von Bondies’ "C’mon, C’mon."

Rob Goldklang and his WB gang landed three more early adds on Muse’s "Time is Running Out" with WZTA, WAQZ and WBRU. Very impressive!

If KQXR and WZNE can find room in their oh-so-crowded playlists for N.E.R.D.’s "She Wants to Move" then you have no reason not to play this smash. Who is possibly more deserving (or cooler) than Pharrell, after all? In other Virgin news, A Perfect Circle’s "The Outsider" is officially a PoMo SMASH. Q101 added Courtney Love’s "Hold Onto Me." IMA Robot’s "Alive" was added at KCPX. The Thrills will be at SXSW. Yippee!

Speaking of SXSW, Hollywood’s Geordie Gillespie is your best friend if you want access to the super-special Polyphonic Spree showcase on Thursday, March 18. Post-Spree, I’ll be dashing to wherever Franz Ferdinand is playing. So many incredible bands playing this year—can’t wait to use up next week’s column listing them all!

Hoobastank’s "The Reason" will be Top 10 PoMo airplay by the time you read this. We hail Island’s Howie and Christine for this incredible achievement, especially since there are a lot of records in the Top 10.

Sugarcult are back with a new single, "Memory," which should absolutely expand the band’s near-gold base to multiplatinum! Sherri Trahan and Eric Cole at Artemis are spearheading the radio campaign, so success is inevitable!

SONG TO HEAR: Franz Ferdinand’s "Take Me Out"

ANOTHER SONG TO HEAR: Franz Ferdinand’s "Darts of Pleasure"

PEOPLE TO WATCH: Dave Beasing, Paul Driscoll, Jim McGuinn, Lynn Barstow, Chris Williams, Ben Berkman, Matt Smith, Nan Fisher, Kris Gillespie, Bill Burrs, Robert English, Marc Young, Carly Brown and Buddy Deal.